100 Reasons to Believe New Testament History
78. The Pavement
In John 19:13 we read of how Pilate brought Jesus out and sat down in the judgement seat in a place called the Pavement (Greek “Lithostroton”, Aramaic “Gabbatha”, which means “ridge” or “elevated platform”).
Originally it was assumed that the pavement was located near Herod’s palace and the Jaffa gate. However, Pere L.H. Vincent discovered some fine early Roman pavement under the Ecce Homo arch. Originally the pavement would have covered 3,000 square yards as the courtyard of the Antonia fortress. Roman builders constructed the arch on top of the fort ruins during the reign of Hadrian. E.M. Blaiklock notes:
“The discovery strikingly illustrates the accuracy of the topographical nomenclature of John. He was describing a pre-70 situation.” E.M. Blaiklock, “The Archaeology of the New Testament”, Revised and Updated, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1984, p. 84
78. The Pavement - Notes and References
A. “The Pavement in Pilate’s court, where this scene took place, survived even the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. Its rediscovery was the result of years of work on the part of the archaeologist Father L.H. Vincent. His success was due to the exact description given in St. John’s Gospel.” Werner Keller, “The Bible as History”, New Revised English Translation, Hodder and Stoughton, 1980, p.347