A 300-meter section of an ancient aqueduct was uncovered ahead of plans to develop a new neighborhood in southern Jerusalem. The discovery was announced on Sunday, and The Times of Israel reports that the 2,000-year-old structure is part of one of ancient Israel’s most ambitious engineering projects. The aqueduct transported water from Bethlehem to the Temple Mount, navigating changes in elevation and passing through mountains. The newly discovered section will be incorporated into the neighborhood’s design and identity.
Access to water has always been a challenge for Jerusalem, situated high in the central plateau of the Judaean Mountains, site director Benyamin Storchan explained. Annual rainfall and the water from the Gihon Spring, at the bottom of the Kidron Valley, were not enough to meet the needs of the city during the Second Temple period, especially when its population swelled during the pilgrimage festivals.
Constructing an aqueduct to bring water from springs in the Judaean lowlands would have required a technological innovation to bring the water uphill, due to the incline in elevation. So around 100 BCE, Hasmonean kings built a waterway, now known as the Lower Aqueduct, that would transport water 21 kilometers (13 miles) from the three springs known as Solomon’s Pools, south of Bethlehem, to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
“The construction is not like what you would imagine when you picture the aqueducts in Caesarea or Italy with large bridges and arches,” Storchan said. “It’s much simpler — a wall built of two rows of stones, with a U-shaped channel inside that was plastered and probably covered on top by stone slabs.”
No pumps or mechanical devices were needed to transport the water. Instead, gravity did all the work as the water flowed along a gentle downward gradient. Tunnels were cut through mountains because routing the aqueduct around them would have disrupted the necessary gradient. The system also featured access points that allowed workers to clear blockages and maintain the channels.
The recently discovered section is part of the Lower Aqueduct, which supplied Jerusalem with water from three springs near Bethlehem. The Upper Aqueduct was built later to supply water to the elites living in Jerusalem’s upper city and featured more advanced engineering. However, the simpler design of the Lower Aqueduct allowed it to remain in use for 1,000 years longer.
Plans for the new neighborhood in Jerusalem’s Ramat Rachel area include incorporating the aqueduct into a promenade, allowing residents and visitors to appreciate this remarkable piece of ancient engineering.