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In 70 CE, the Roman general Titus Flavius placed a siege around Jerusalem by digging a trench and building additional walls. Anyone caught fleeing was crucified. During this siege many Jews hid in a drainage canal and escaped through the city's southern gate. This drainage canal was discovered underneath the rubble of the Second Temple, under what was the main road during the time.

Now, right opposite the Second Temple, below the parking lot, archaeologists have found the remains of a palace which was destroyed in 70 CE. This palace, in high probability belonged to Queen Helena, a wealthy Babylonian aristocrat who converted to Judaism and moved to Jerusalem with her sons.

The find includes massive foundations, walls whose remains soar five meters high in some places, two-story-tall halls, a basement, ritual baths (mikvaot), remains of colored frescoes, and more.  The archaeologists say they can see, in the narrow openings discovered in the basement level, evidence of the drama that transpired in the structure prior to its destruction by the Romans. It appears that the inhabitants attempted to flee through the openings.  Attempts were also made to destroy the structure at the time.[Discovered: Large 2nd-Temple House Adjacent to Temple Mount ]