2,000-Year-Old Ritual Message Is Uncovered…Then Begins to Vanish!

The symbols inside the ritual bath. — The symbols found inside the ritual bath include palm trees and other vegetation.

(Image credit: Israel Antiquities Authority)

An enigmatic message, hidden for 2,000 years inside an underground cave, was recently uncovered in Israel.

And archaeologists who uncovered the mysterious message had to work quickly, as the symbols and text began to vanish as soon as they were exposed to the elements.

The message, a series of symbols and writings painted and carved onto the side of a ritual bath (or mikveh), was discovered about two months ago in the Arnona quarter of Jerusalem. Officials from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) were performing a routine inspection of a construction site when they found the subterranean facility, which boasts its own anteroom (a sort of lobby area), complete with benches for ancient bathers. [The Holy Land: 7 Amazing Archaeological Finds]

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The symbols adorning the plaster sides of the bath include a boat, palm trees, various plant species and possibly a menorah. Some of the markings are crafted with soot or mud, while others are carved into the bath. The words that decorate the bath are Aramaic, but they are written in cursive Hebrew script, which was not an unusual way to write Aramaic during the Second Temple period (538 B.C. to A.D. 70) according to the IAA.

The researchers excavating the site are familiar with most of the symbols displayed on the bath (the vegetation and boats) because these drawings were commonly used to decorate baths and other spaces during the Second Temple period. However, the drawing of what could be a menorah has the researchers stumped. Ancient people of this period typically refrained from drawing sacred objects, such as the multi-branched lampstand that has long served as a symbol of Judaism, according to the IAA.

Of course, the researchers would also like to figure out who created the symbols and written message and why he or she (or they) may have done so. So far, they've suggested a few different possibilities. Perhaps these markings are the work of an ancient prankster (making them the Second Temple period equivalent of bathroom stall graffiti). Or maybe a deeply religious person created the enigmatic message, the researchers speculated. The message may have been drawn during the destruction of the Temple or the war that raged afterward, IAA officials suggested in the statement.