Unearthing Traditions: Archaeological Insights into Second Temple Purity Practices

This presentation examines stone vessels and ritual baths (mikvaot) from the late Second Temple Period, discovered in the town Galilean of Yodefat. While these artefacts are often associated with the purity practices of the temple priests and cult in Jerusalem, archaeological evidence from Yodefat and other sites in central and northern Israel reveal that the use of mikvaot and stone vessels was not limited to Jerusalem or its priesthood. The findings suggest that such purity practices were far more widespread than previously recognized. What began as biblical purity laws had by the Second Temple Period evolved into significant cultural and domestic norms.