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.

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 Jewish heritage: a menorah on the bas-relief of the first-century Arch of Titus; Jewish catacombs; sundry Roman-era inscriptions, and a synagogue at Ostia Antica.

Archaeologists working at Ostia Antica, an ancient Roman port city, have discovered the oldest Jewish ritual bath outside of the Middle East, along with an oil lamp decorated with a menorah dated to the fifth to sixth centuries.