Ancient Drainage Channel Discovered
CBNNews.com
September 10, 2007
CBNNews.com - JERUSALEM, Israel - In excavations in the City of David to uncover the main road leading to Jerusalem during Second Temple Times (516 BC to 70 AD), Israeli archaeologists discovered the city's ancient drainage channel for winter rains.
The channel, built beneath the main road, follows a route from the Temple Mount to the pool of Siloam (Hebrew: Shiloah) and from there to Nahal Kidron, about 20 miles north of Ein Gedi on the western shore of the Dead Sea.
Based on the writings of historian Flavius Josephus, Jews fleeing the Roman seige of Jerusalem and destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD, fled to the underground passageway, which in some places is 10 feet high and three feet wide, providing a way of escape for desperate Jerusalemites fleeing the Roman conquerors.
In the 330 feet excavated so far, the team, led by Professors Roni Reich (University of Haifa) and Eli Shukron (Israel Antiquities Authority, IAA), have discovered pottery shards, vessel fragments, and coins from Second Temple Times.
"There is evidence in the writings of Flavius Josephus, the historian who described the revolt, conquest and destruction of Jerusalem, that many people took shelter in the channel and even lived in it for periods of time until they succeeded in fleeing the city through its southern end," IAA's press release stated.
Archaeologists have yet to excavate the northern end of the channel, which extends to the Kotel (Western Wall -- of the Temple's outer retaining wall), but the excavated section provides ample evidence of its advanced architectural structure.
The walls, constructed of hewn stones three-and-a-half feet deep in some places, are covered by heavy stone slabs used to pave the main road, with portions of the ancient plastering still intact.
The channel deepens on its route southward toward Nahal Kidron, facilitating the flow of rainwater to keep the city streets of ancient Jerusalem from flooding.
Source: Israel Antiquities Authority
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