1,500-year-old street uncovered in Jerusalem's Old City

　 Excavation Director for the Israel Antiquities Authority Dr. Ofer Sion holds a replica of an ancient map as he speaks to the media at an archaeological dig in the Old City of Jerusalem February 10, 2010. The Israel Antiquities Authority said on Wednesday that the excavations in the Old City confirm the accuracy of an ancient map depicting Jerusalem in the Byzantine period.(Reuters Photo)
　
　

　 A worker for the Israel Antiquities Authority stands at an archaeological dig in the Old City of Jerusalem February 10, 2010. The Israel Antiquities Authority said on Wednesday that the excavations in the Old City confirm the accuracy of an ancient map depicting Jerusalem in the Byzantine period.(Reuters Photo)
　
　

　 A worker for the Israel Antiquities Authority climbs up a ladder under an archaeological dig in the Old City of Jerusalem February 10, 2010. The Israel Antiquities Authority said on Wednesday that the excavations in the Old City confirm the accuracy of an ancient map depicting Jerusalem in the Byzantine period.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

JERUSALEM, Feb. 10 (Xinhua) -- Israeli archaeological authorities on Wednesday said that they have found an ancient street in Jerusalem"s Old City that used to be a main artery of the holy compound 1,500 years ago.

The old road came back to light when municipal infrastructure workers conducting excavations just inside the Jaffa Gate at the western flank of the Old City discovered large stones beneath what is known as the David Street today, said the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) in a statement.

"After removing a number of archaeological strata, at a depth of 4.5 meters below today"s street level, much to our excitement, we discovered the large flagstones that paved the street," excavation director Ofer Sion was quoted as saying in the statement.

A number of ancient artifacts were also found at the site, which the IAA said was a "large bustling street from the period when Jerusalem became a Christian city.

"It is wonderful to see that David Street, which is teeming with so much life today, actually preserved the route of the noisy street from 1,500 years ago," added Sion.

The discovery emerged in accordance with a mosaic map discovered in a Jordanian church and known as the Madaba Map, which depicted the Holy Land in the Byzantine era.

The IAA said that the ancient map showed that "the entrance to Jerusalem from the west was via a very large gate that led to a single, central thoroughfare on that side of the city."

Among the artifacts discovered in the digging are coins and pottery vessels, as well as five small square bronze weights supposedly used by ancient shopkeepers for weighing precious metals.