Eli Shukron
{{Short description|Israeli archaeologist}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
Eli Shukron (Hebrew: אלי שוקרון) is an Israeli archaeologist employed by the Israel Antiquities Authority. He has made several significant finds from the period of the Second Temple of Jerusalem.
In 2004, Shukron and archaeologist Ronny Reich excavated the Second Temple period Pool of Siloam. The find was formally announced on August 9, 2005.{{cite news |title=Archaeologists identify traces of miracle pool |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna6750670 |agency=AP |date=Dec 23, 2004 |location=Jerusalem}} The pool was used for Jewish healing rituals and is cited in the New Testament as the site of a healing miracle of Jesus.{{cite news |title=Site Of Biblical Miracle Located |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/site-of-biblical-miracle-located/ |date=December 23, 2004|website=CBS News |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041224124934/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/12/23/tech/main662781.shtml|archive-date=24 December 2004 }}
In 2007, Shukron and Reich excavated an ancient Jerusalem water channel that drained Jerusalem. Items discovered in the tunnel appear to confirm Josephus's account of Jews using the sewer as a refuge and escape from the burning city.{{cite news |title=Tunnel to flee ransacking Romans found in Jerusalem - The Boston Globe |author=Amy Teibel|url=http://archive.boston.com/news/world/articles/2007/09/11/tunnel_to_flee_ransacking_romans_found_in_jerusalem/ |work=archive.boston.com |date=September 11, 2007}}{{cite news |title=Israeli archaeologists discover Jerusalem escape route |url=http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/world/jews-escape-route-found/story-e6frf7mf-1111114387518 |work=Herald Sun|date=September 11, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110614233624/http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/world/jews-escape-route-found/story-e6frf7mf-1111114387518 |archive-date=14 June 2011}} Among the finds was a rare half-shekel coin, used to pay the Second Temple tax; only seven other such coins have been found in archeological digs.{{Cite web |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/jpost/access/1450468691.html?dids=1450468691:1450468691&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Mar+21%2C+2008&author=ETGAR+LEFKOVITS&pub=Jerusalem+Post&desc=Archeologists+believe+newly+unearthed+coin+was+used+to+pay+Second+Temple+tax&pqatl=google |title=Jerusalem Post, March 21, 2008, cited at pqasb.pqarchiver.com |access-date=6 July 2017 |archive-date=3 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103184507/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/jpost/access/1450468691.html?dids=1450468691:1450468691&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Mar+21,+2008&author=ETGAR+LEFKOVITS&pub=Jerusalem+Post&desc=Archeologists+believe+newly+unearthed+coin+was+used+to+pay+Second+Temple+tax&pqatl=google |url-status=dead }}{{cite news |last1=Rubenstein |first1=Sara |title='Half-shekel' from First Temple era unearthed near City of David |url=https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/half-shekel-from-first-temple-era-unearthed-near-city-of-david-572423 |work=The Jerusalem Post {{!}} JPost.com |date=21 Nov 2018}}
In September 2009, Shukron and Reich uncovered the ancient Jerusalem pilgrim road.{{cite news |last1=Shragai |first1=Nadav |title=City of David Dig Unearths Pilgrims' Road to Temple |url=https://www.haaretz.com/2007-01-24/ty-article/city-of-david-dig-unearths-pilgrims-road-to-temple/0000017f-df04-db5a-a57f-df6e77610001 |work=Ha'aretz |date=January 24, 2007 |language=en}} Limited sections are currently open to the public.{{fact|date=April 2022}}
In May 2012, Shukron told the public, that archaeologists, while sifting through the debris from the excavation site City of David just south of the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem, found a shard from a bulla bearing the name of the city of Bethlehem. This is the first time that Bethlehem is mentioned outside the Bible from the period of the First Temple.The Times of Israel, 23 May 2012
In May 2014, Shukron claimed to have discovered the legendary Citadel of David described in the Bible during his excavation of the ancient City of David in East Jerusalem.{{cite news |title=Archaeologists claim to have found Biblical Citadel of David |url=http://descrier.co.uk/science/archaeologists-claim-found-biblical-citadel-david/ |newspaper=Descrier |date=May 6, 2014}}
In December 2022, it was announced that, together with Gershon Galil, he had discovered a summary inscription in the Siloam tunnel recording the deeds of Hezekiah, including the cutting of the tunnel, and giving the date it was completed. An extension of the Siloam inscription was also discovered.{{cite news |last1=Siegel-Itzkovich |first1=Judy |title=Proof of biblical kings of Israel, Judah deciphered on rock inscriptions |url=https://www.jpost.com/archaeology/article-725074 |work=The Jerusalem Post |date=16 Dec 2022}}