An Archaeologist of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) holds a rare 2000-year-old measuring table used for liquids such as wine and olive oil, in Jerusalem on January 6, 2020. — AFP/VNS Photo

JERUSALEM — Israeli archaeologists unveiled an ancient table on Monday used to measure wine and olive oil, which they said helps prove a market once stood at the site in occupied east Jerusalem.

The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) said the 2,000-year-old table was unearthed in the City of David National Park, between the Old City and the flashpoint Palestinian neighbourhood of Silwan.

Only the third artifact of its kind to be found so far in Jerusalem, the table could be filled with liquid to give a unified measure, according to the IAA.

"When shopkeepers wanted to make sure they were working with the same standard, they used to see... the manager of the market" who owned the table, archaeologist Ari Levy said.

The find provides evidence of trade in the area, which lies south of Jerusalem's Old City, the archaeologist said. — AFP