Archeologists Discover Segment of Jerusalem Storm Drain from Second Temple Period

From Archeologists Discover Segment of Jerusalem Storm 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 stretched underneath the Old City's main street and cleared rainwater from the areas it served. It is made of massive slabs of stone, and is about three meters high and one meter wide.

Biblical Pool of Siloam Is Uncovered in Jerusalem

Workers repairing a sewage pipe in the old city of Jerusalem have discovered the biblical Pool of Siloam, a freshwater reservoir that was a major gathering place for ancient Jews making religious pilgrimages to the city and the reputed site where Jesus cured a man blind from birth, the LOS ANGELES TIMES reports.

The pool was fed by the now famous Hezekiah's Tunnel and is ``a much grander affair'' than archeologists previously believed, with three tiers of stone stairs allowing easy access to the water, according to Hershel Shanks, editor of Biblical Archeology Review, which reported the find Monday.

``Scholars have said that there wasn't a Pool of Siloam and that John was using a religious conceit'' to illustrate a point, said New Testament scholar James H. Charlesworth of the Princeton Theological Seminary. ``Now we have found the Pool of Siloam ... exactly where John said it was.''

A gospel that was thought to be ``pure theology is now shown to be grounded in history,'' he said.

The discovery puts a new spotlight on what is called the pilgrimage to Jerusalem, a trip that religious law required ancient Jews to make at least once a year, said archeologist Ronny Reich of the University of Haifa, who excavated the pool.

``Jesus was just another pilgrim coming to Jerusalem,'' he said. ``It would be natural to find him there.''

The newly discovered pool is less than 200 yards from another Pool of Siloam, this one a reconstruction built between A.D. 400 and 460 by the empress Eudocia of Byzantium, who oversaw the rebuilding of several Biblical sites.

Read more on Jerusalem - Water Systems of Biblical Times, an excerpt here:

The Siloam Channel, cut at the beginning of the 2nd millennium BCE, emerges from the Gihon Spring and extends approximately 400 m. southward along the low, eastern slope of the City of David, around the city's southern end and empties into a reservoir in the Tyropoeon Valley. The channel's northern part is 2.75 m. deep and is covered by large stones; the southern part is open, but becomes a rock-cut tunnel towards the end. Openings along the channel allowed water to flow out and irrigate the terraces on the eastern slope of the City of David.

Some identify the Siloam Channel with the waters of Shiloah that go softly (Isaiah 8:5). It was blocked after the cutting of Hezekiah's Tunnel. The biblical passage referring to this is probably II Chronicles 32:4: So a great many people were gathered together, who stopped up all the springs, and also the wadi that ran through the midst of the land, saying, Why should the kings of Ashur (Assyria) come and find much water?

Archaeological excavations prove Jews lived in Israel as far back as 530 BC

Folks, readers have asked us about how we can state that Israel belongs to the Jews. Well, you can start by doing your own research on British archaeologist Kathleen Kenyon, (search on her name at www.google.com) who excavated several areas in Israel. One site in particular, the area known as the Citadel - is part of the foundation to the First Jewish Temple, built on a wall of stones, and when it was uncovered appeared as an escarpment. She found a structure that was in existence when Jerusalem was conquered by David. It was originally a Jebusite palace, and for a time King David used it as his own residence.

Another evidential archaeological structure that has come to light from the time of the First Temple in Jerusalem is the Broad Wall, which gets its name from its unusual width. It is located on Mount Zion in the Old City Jewish Quarter, which is west of the Temple Mount and the City of David. It is part of the defensive wall that was built around Jerusalem when the city was threatened by Assyria. The city's water source, Gihon Spring, was channeled under the City of David thru Hezekiah's Tunnel, so that it surfaced at the Pool of Siloam.

The Four Room House is an architectural signature that has been found, not only in Jerusalem, but all over the land of Israel. This distinctive residence was universally used by the Jewish people during the time of the Judges and the First Temple period, until the Babylonians destoyed the Temple and Jerusalem. Only the Israelites used this floor plan, not the Canaanites or the Philistines and the plan was largely discontinued after the Babylonian Captivity. Thus when a Four Room House is discovered it is a clear indication that it was occupied by Jewish people during the time of the Judges or the kings of Jerusalem.

These are just a sampling of the archeological evidence proving Jews lived in "that" area for thousands of years. If you want more information on Achiel's House, Professor Amnon Ben-Tor's archaeological dig at Hazor, information on Megiddo, a dig funded under the auspices of the Rockefeller Foundation, The Tower of David, the Temple at Tel Qesilla, the Pilate Stone, the site of Tel Dan, Zippori, or the House of David Stone, just search the web using those keywords.

Yup, we were there hundreds and hundreds of years waaaaaaaay before jihadists and arabists claim we were, and you know what? We ain't going away.

Second Temple pool found

Another hat tip to Hasidic Gentile for posting about this fantastic archaeological discovery that proves once again the historical accuracy and the Biblical record that establishes that the lands bequeathed by G-d to the descendants of Abraham through Isaac have been the Hebrew homeland long before any son of Ishmael ever resided there:

A pool that served as a main water reservoir for Jerusalem residents 2,000 years ago has been uncovered, the Antiquities Authority announced Wednesday.

The Pool of Siloam was uncovered last week by chance at the southern end of the City of David – in what today is Silwan – while the city was carrying out infrastructure work for a new sewage pipe.

Archeologist Eli Shukrun said that two millennia ago, Jewish residents would use the pool to gather water for their homes, as a meeting place, and also possibly as a mikve.

After lying untouched for 2,000 years, archeologists first uncovered one step, and then several more leading down to the pool, whose water came from the nearby Gihon spring.

"This find is of major importance to the archeological world," Antiquities Authority director Shuka Dorfman said Wednesday at a short ceremony at the site, where excavations are ongoing.

"This is our history and it is important that we know and remember that Jews lived here, and that this is our inheritance," Education Minister Limor Livnat said.

Livnat, whose ministry oversees the work of the Antiquities Authority, added that it was tremendously exciting to see history being repeatedly uncovered in the area.

Source: Jerusalem Post

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