Current sectionArt & CultureShare to FacebookShare to XArticle printing is available to subscribers onlyPrint in a simple, ad-free formatSubscribeComments: Zen reading is available to subscribers onlyAd-free and in a comfortable reading formatSubscribeMamilla Pool this week, archaeologists surveying tombs near the pool and a rendering of the site after the planned renovation.City hall is refurbishing the ancient site, but the project would ruin the natural winter pool that formed there and threaten a cemetery already encroached on by Israel's Independence Park over the decadesNir Hasson05:31 PM • June 10 2026 IDTLate last month, two toads embarrassed Jerusalem City Hall. The site: a meeting of the city's conservation committee, which was discussing the planned renovation of the ancient Mamilla Pool.Loading...Click the alert icon to follow topics:JerusalemPalestiniansIsrael archaeologyEnvironment & NatureJews and ArabsJews and MuslimsCommentsLoading...In the NewsIn the News: Israel-Iran Live UpdatesGaza OffensiveU.S.-IranWest Bank SanctionsIsrael ElectionsGraham PlatnerHaQuizHaaretz PodcastMuslim Graves and Rare Toads: The Fight Over Renovating Jerusalem's Mamilla PoolN.Y.C. Actress Malky Goldman Survived a Haredi Arranged MarriageNatalie Portman Defends Israeli Director Nadav Lapid After Festival BoycottIsraeli Director Dropped From French Festival Jury Amid pro-Palestinian PressureTribeca Condemns Palestinian 'Dog Rape' Joke by Israeli Film's ProducerRemembering and rebuilding two years laterICYMI'We Were Ordered to Kill': The 1967 Nakba That Israelis Don't Know AboutOne Killed, Five Wounded in Terror Shooting Rampage in Central IsraelGermany Is Paying a Price for Its Sweeping Support for IsraelIf the Netanyahu Government Falls, This Will Be the Reason'Server in the Sky': How Israeli Drones Became a 'Target Generator' Over GazaHow the U.S. Air Force Is Turning Israel's Ben-Gurion Airport Into Its Own Base