Saturday, October 25, 2014

On Water Reaching Jerusalem 2000 Years Ago

From Liat Oz's Final Report on a salvage excavation on a section of the Lower Aqueduct from Solomon's Pools to Jerusalem at the Abu Tor neighborhood:


...From historical sources and archaeological excavations, we know that the Lower Aqueduct was constructed during the Second Temple period; changes and repairs were done to it over the centuries, having been used until the early twentieth century CE.
...Two vertical sections of the aqueduct, c. 20 m apart from south to north (L100, L101; Figs. 2–4), 

were cleaned and documented...In the earliest phase, during the Second Temple period, the aqueduct was a plastered, stone-lined, rock-hewn channel; it had a U-shaped cross-section and was situated at an elevation of c. 739 m asl. In the latest phase, during the Ottoman period, sections of terracotta pipes (diam. 0.26 m) were incorporated inside a cement casing....The property owner recalled that the pit was used as a cesspit until several years ago.

In the section of the Lower Aqueduct that was excavated, at least six phases of use—from the Second Temple period until the Late Ottoman period—were identified. The lime pit was apparently hewn in connection with the aqueduct in one of its later phases

Did someone mention the Jewish presence in Jerusalem, from time immemorial?

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