From the Baltimore Son:

“Archaeologists peeling back layers of history beneath the historic Lloyd Street Synagogue in East Baltimore have uncovered what is believed to be the oldest Jewish ritual bath complex in the United States.

Hints of the presence of the 1845 bath, or “mikveh,” were first detected during excavations in 2001. But further digging this winter has revealed about a quarter of a five-foot-deep wooden tub, and linked it to a related cistern found in 2008, and to remains of a brick hearth once used to warm the bath’s water.

“The idea of a ritual bath complex helps fill out the history of Jewish religious practice in this country,” said Avi Decter, executive director of the Jewish Museum of Maryland, of which the old Lloyd Street Synagogue is now a part. “This is a very ancient practice, going back thousands of years.”

There is a lot of interesting information in the article.