The ruins of an ancient Jewish ritual bath have been found near Rome – the oldest such discovery outside of the biblical region of Israel and the surrounding area.

Archaeologists excavating Ostia Antica, the ancient port city of Rome, have unearthed what is now considered the oldest Jewish ritual bath (mikvah) outside the Middle East. Dating back over 1,500 years,

As they worked, the team uncovered a smaller rectangular room with a wide set of steps leading down to a well. Archaeologists identified it as an ancient Jewish ritual bath, known as a mikveh, dating back at least 1,400 years.

Rome and Ostia to this day are dotted with remnants of ancient Jewish history: a menorah on the bas-relief of the first-century Arch of Titus, commemorating the emperor’s sacking of Jerusalem; Jewish catacombs; sundry Roman-era inscriptions, and a synagogue at Ostia Antica.