Did You Know?

In the first century, how did the temple priests dispose of blood from sacrificial animals?

EVERY year, the priests in ancient Israel offered thousands of animal sacrifices on the altar of the temple. According to first-century Jewish historian Josephus, on Passover, more than 250,000 lambs were sacrificed, resulting in a large amount of blood being poured out. (Lev. 1:10, 11; Num. 28:16, 19) What happened to all that blood?

Archaeologists have uncovered an extensive drainage system in Herod’s temple that was used until the temple’s destruction in 70 C.E. The drainage system was evidently used to dispose of blood from the temple mount.

Consider two features of that drainage system:

• Holes at the base of the altar: A description of a drainage system for the altar is found in the Mishnah, a collection of Jewish oral laws compiled toward the early part of the third century C.E. It says: “At the south-western corner there were two holes . . . by which the blood that was poured over the western base and the southern base used to run down and mingle in the water-channel and flow out into the brook Kidron.”

  This ancient tradition of “holes” near the altar harmonizes with the findings of modern archaeologists. The Cambridge History of Judaism confirms the discovery of “an extensive drainage system” near the temple. It states: “This was probably used to drain the water mixed with blood of the sacrifices which came out of the Temple Mount.”

• An adequate water supply: The priests needed ample amounts of water to keep the altar’s base and the drainage channel clean. To carry out this important task, the priests had access to a constant supply of fresh water from the city. That system was made up of canals, aqueducts, cisterns, and pools. Archaeologist Joseph Patrich remarked: “Such an elaborate system of water supply, cleansing and draining a temple precinct, is unique in antiquity.”