Ancient Pool

A large pool was uncovered during the excavation in the lower area of Bethany beyond the flanking the Jordan River, called the “Zor” area. This large stone-built and plastered pool measures over 25 x 15 meters, and might have been used for group baptisms in the Byzantine period. A well-built canal directed water into the pool from a nearby spring to the north, and carried water out of the pool’s southern wall. Material recovered from the pool dates the structure to the Byzantine period, during the 5th-6th centuries AD.