A spectacular arched bridge that was part of the ancient aqueduct which conveyed water to the Temple Mount was exposed recently in archaeological excavations the Israel Antiquities Authority conducted near the Sultan’s Pool
Yehiel Zelinger, excavation director on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, said...“The route of the Low Level aqueduct from the time of the Second Temple, beginning at Solomon’s Pools near Bethlehem and ending at the Temple Mount, is well known to scholars..."The upper part of Gai Ben-Hinnom passes between the two sections of aqueduct where the Sultan’s Pool was built as a reservoir for flood water. In order to maintain the elevation of the path along which the water flowed, a bridge was erected above the ravine. Two of the original nine arches that were in the bridge were currently excavated to their full height of about 3 meters”.
“The bridge was built in 1320 CE (in the Mamluk period) by the sultan Nasser al-Din Muhammed Ibn Qalawun, as evidenced by the dedicatory inscription set in it; however, it was apparently constructed to replace an earlier bridge dating to the time of the Second Temple period that was part of the original aqueduct”.
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