Haaretz - Israel News - True size of Pool of Siloam = discovered due to sewer blockage

Last = update - 09:54=20 23/12/2005

True size of = Pool of=20 Siloam discovered due to sewer blockage

By Nadav = Shragai,=20 Haaretz Correspondent

If the central sewage = line for=20 Jerusalem's Old City, which runs down the slope of the = village=20 of Silwan, had not gotten blocked a year ago, it would = probably have been many years before we would have = discovered=20 the real dimensions of the historic Pool of Siloam = from the=20 Second Temple Period.

The pool, whose present = small=20 dimensions date from Byzantine times, is the outlet = for the=20 spring water coursing through the ancient Hezekiah's = tunnel.=20 It was once huge - three to four dunams.

And if = the=20 huge dimensions of the pool had not been discovered, = it is=20 doubtful that the Israel Antiquities Authority and the = Elad=20 association, which is working for the development of = the area=20 also known as the City of David, would not have come = across=20 the dramatic discovery now underway: the far end of a = street=20 dating from the Herodian period, which begins at the = outer=20 southwestern corner of the Temple Mount and is = familiar to=20 visitors to the Western = Wall.

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When the = sewage main first=20 backed up during the winter of 2004, the Israel Nature = and=20 Parks Protection Authority, responsible for the = archaeological=20 sites around the Old City's walls, called for a halt = to the=20 repair work and took advantage of the opportunity to = dig a=20 heretofore unexcavated part of the City of=20 David.

Archaeologists Ronny Reich and Eli = Shukron, who=20 are directing the dig for the IAA and Elad, say that = for the=20 first time they are now able to trace the street that=20 connected the Temple Mount in Second Temple times with = the=20 Pool of Siloam. Other portions of the road were = revealed by=20 the 19th-century Jerusalem explorers Bliss and Dickey = and in=20 1963 by archaeologist Kathleen Kenyon. Now, the last = piece of=20 the puzzle has come to light near the pool. =

Among the=20 finds near the street are coins from the Great Revolt = of the=20 Jews against the Romans, from the years 67,68 and 69 = C.E.=20

Dozens of workers are involved in the project = - all=20 are residents of Silwan who have been working on it = for years.=20

The finds near the Pool of Siloam, which is = mentioned=20 in both ancient Jewish sources and the New Testament, = have=20 meant a major development push for the City of David=20 neighborhood: the city is building and repairing = sewage lines,=20 water lines and streets, garbage is being collected on = a=20 regular basis and souvenir stores and snack bars are = enjoying=20 new business.

The Herodian street is not the = only=20 piece of ancient history in the area. In the = excavations near=20 Warren's Shaft, long believed to be part of = Jerusalem's=20 ancient water system and named after its 19th-century=20 discoverer, Charles Warren, the first archaeological = evidence=20 of Jerusalem as an administrative center during the = period of=20 the Kingdom of Judah (the ninth century BCE) is now = coming to=20 light. A group of over 40 clay cylinder seals and = stamps were=20 recently unearthed by the IAA. Some of them bear = human, animal=20 and bird images, and one even shows the fingerprint of = the=20 person who used it in signing a letter written at the = time. A=20 number of ivory plaques also found are believed to = have been=20 used as calendars.

Reich and Shukron say this = is the=20 first time such a large assemblage of cylinder seals = from the=20 early period of the kings of Judah have been unearthed = in one=20 place in the city of David, attesting to its = importance during=20 the reigns of kings Jehoshaphat and Yehoram. According = to=20 Shukron, it shows the city was "an administrative = center that=20 conducted correspondence during the period between = David and=20 Solomon and the period of Hezekiah" and those who = reigned=20 around his time. "Until now, Shukron says, "all the = cylinder=20 seals found in Jerusalem are from the end of the First = Temple=20 period. This is the first time we find seals that can = be dated=20 earlier, to the beginning of the Kingdom of Judah."=20

Another interesting find is 1,700 bones of=20 Mediterranean fish (so far), attesting to trade with = the=20 coastal area; the bones are being studied by Prof. = Omri=20 Lernau.

A number of finds in the IAA-Elad = excavation=20 have shed light on the study of Jerusalem over the = past 140=20 years. For example, Charles Warren believed the shaft = he=20 discovered had been used by ancient Jerusalemites to = draw=20 water, an opinion that was widespread until recently. = However=20 the discovery of a pool and surrounding = fortifications, now in=20 the Elad's Spring House visitor center, have changed = this=20 idea. A ritual bath and water cistern from the Second = Temple=20 period were discovered in the excavation in the Givati = parking=20 lot across from the entrance to the City of David = below the=20 Dung Gate. Dr. Eilat Mazar of the Shalem Center has = uncovered=20 a palace or fortress covering an area of 300 meters = and dated=20 to the 10th century BCE. Next to this structure, the = regal=20 capital of a pillar was discovered, dating from the = ninth=20 century BCE (the period of David and Solomon). =

Reich=20 says the area of the City of David has become the most = excavated area in the country. "We are the 12th = expedition to=20 work here, and in no small way it is thanks to the=20 contributions that flow in to the project from the = Elad=20 association. They may be disagreed with politically, = but=20 without them we would not have been able to make the = dramatic=20 discoveries of recent years here, in the place where = Jerusalem=20 began, where the story began of the Jewish people in = this=20 land."


Left to=20 die
The=20 State Comptroller's report shows how the homeless are = being=20 ignored.


More=20 than marketing
Branding=20 of countries has become quite common, and Israel is = lagging=20 behind.