Ancient water system discovered near Jerusalem

By Michele Chabin

Religion News Service

JERUSALEM - Israeli and American archaeologists have discovered what they term a "monumental rock-hewn water system" near Jerusalem dating back to the eighth century B.C.

The discovery, announced Aug. 9, was made during an eight-week dig at a cave close to Jerusalem, in Ein Kerem, which is regarded as the traditional birthplace of John the Baptist.

Last summer, Shimon Gibson, the chief archaeologist at the dig, announced that he had found a cave that may have been used by John the Baptist to anoint his followers.

A statement by Gibson and archaeologist James Tabor from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte said that the latest excavations have revealed the cave to be part of "a much larger Iron Age water system, rock-cut in places to a depth of 65 feet."

The archaeologists said the cave, which dates back to the time of King Hezekiah (according to pottery shards from that period), contains a vertical shaft, an open horizontal corridor, a flight of stone steps above a tunnel and three external plastered pools, all of which was on the slope above an underground reservoir.

Although elaborate water systems "have been found elsewhere," Gibson said, until now they were discovered only within Israelite cities such as Beit Shemesh and Gibeon.

"Never before has such a massive water system been found isolated in the countryside without a town or city attached to it," Gibson said, leading the team to believe that the project had been undertaken "by the Kingdom of Judah."

The cave was discovered in 1999 and has been under excavation ever since.

Another ongoing biblical-era excavation -- what is believed to be the Pool of Siloam -- was highlighted in the latest issue of Biblical Archaeology Review, whose editor reported the find to The Los Angeles Times on Monday (Aug. 8).

For more than a year, archaeologists have been excavating the pool outside the walls of what was once the site of the biblical temples.

The pool was the main water reservoir for Jerusalem dwellers two millennia ago. It is fed by the nearby Gihon Spring, which has been under excavation for decades. In biblical times it was utilized by Jews making annual pilgrimages to ancient Jerusalem. The Gospel of John (Chapter 9) says that Jesus, one such pilgrim, cured a man of his blindness by the pool.