Real Digging

Archeologists discover segment of J'lem drain from Second Temple period

A 70-meter-long segment of Jerusalem's central drain dating from the Second Temple period was discovered Sunday by the Israel Antiquities Authority. The segment is located between the Temple Mount and the Pool of Siloam. It apparently was part of a long drain that spanned from the Western Wall to the Kidron River, near the Dead Sea.

The drain stretched underneath the Old City's main street, and cleared rainwater from the areas now known as the Jewish Quarter and the western section of City of David, as well as the Temple Mount, before the city's destruction at the hands of the Romans in 70 C.E.

The excavation, conducted by the Antiquities Authority in conjunction with City of David Foundation, also found shards and coins from the period. The drain is made of massive slabs of stone, and is about three meters high and one meter wide.

...The northern segment of the drain, which is yet to be dug up, is believed to reach the Western Wall area, where another major drain was previously found. The archeologists assume that they are both part of the same drain.