Ancient Water Course Revealed

July 6, 2015

Section of the newly revealed aqueduct that brought fresh water to Jerusalem two thousand years ago A section of Jerusalem’s Lower Aqueduct, which conveyed water to the city more than 2,000 years ago, was exposed in the city’s Umm Tuba quarter (near Har Homa) during the construction of a sewer line in the neighborhood.

The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) conducted an archaeological excavation there following the discovery of the aqueduct. According to Ya’akov Billig, the excavation director, “The Lower Aqueduct to Jerusalem, which the Hasmonean kings constructed more than two thousand years ago in order to provide water to Jerusalem, operated intermittently until about one hundred years ago. The aqueduct begins at the ‘En Eitam’ spring, near Solomon’s Pools south of Bethlehem, and is approximately 21 kilometers long (13 mi). Despite its length, it flows along a very gentle downward slope whereby the water level falls just one meter (1.09 y) per kilometer (.62 mi) of distance. Initially the water was conveyed inside an open channel, but about 500 years ago, during the Ottoman period, a terra cotta pipe was installed inside the existing open channel in order to better protect the water.”

Since this was one of Jerusalem’s principal sources of water, the city’s rulers took care to preserve it for some two thousand years, until it was replaced about a century ago by a modern electrically operated system. Due to its historical and archaeological importance, the IAA is taking steps to prevent any damage to the aqueduct, and is working to expose sections of its remains, study them and make them accessible to the general public.

Source: Excerpts of an article by Ashernet

Photo Credit: Photo by IAA/Ashernet