The Israel Antiquities Authority conducted a complex operation to temporarily move a 2,000-year-old mikvah (Jewish ritual bath) discovered during excavations in the Carmei Gat neighborhood of Kiryat Gat. To move the structure, engineers reinforced its base with steel beams and treated its interior plaster to protect it from damage during transport. The mikvah was part of a Jewish settlement that was abandoned during the Bar Kokhba revolt in the second century AD. It measured 13 feet (4 m) wide and weighed 25 tons. Engineers moved the mikvah to the National Treasures Department while construction and conservation work continues at the site. Once the work is complete, the mikvah will be returned to its original location and opened to the public.
Source: https://www.iaa.org.il/en/page/news-index (see “An Exceptional Engineering Operation in Kiryat Gat’s New Carmei Gat Neighborhood: An Intact 2,000-year-old 25-Ton Purification Bath Was Extracted Whole out of the Ground” [Sept. 17, 2026])
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