What Israeli archeologists describe as the longest section of the upper aqueduct to Jerusalem was revealed in archaeological excavations at Givat HaMatos in the city.
The length of the aqueduct’s upper section is about 300 meters and it was uncovered in excavations carried out by the Israel Antiquities Authority before work commenced to expand the neighborhood. Among other things, a coin from the second period of the great revolt of the Jews against the Romans was found in the aqueduct’s infrastructure, dating back to a few years before the destruction of the Second Temple.
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“At the end of the Second Temple, the city of Jerusalem grew significantly; The temple was rebuilt and the water that flowed from Gihon and the cisterns was no longer enough for the thousands of pilgrims and residents, and water had to be brought to the city from far away,” said Dr. Ofer Shion and Rotam Cohen, the excavation managers on behalf of the Antiquities Authority.
The Hasmoneans and King Herod built two elaborate aqueducts for Jerusalem, which were among the largest and most complex waterworks in the Land of Israel – and in general, in the ancient world. The aqueducts concentrated spring water in the Bethlehem area, and with the help of huge pools, physical laws (the law of interlocking vessels, the deck, the force of gravity), use of topography and extraordinary ingenuity, they flowed the water for tens of kilometers (!) in aggregate. The aqueduct known as the “Upper Aqueduct” flowed water to the Upper City (today’s Jewish and Armenian Quarter), and the one known as the “Lower Aqueduct”, led water directly to the Temple.
The upper arm, a section of which is now exposed for hundreds of meters, continued to be used even after the destruction of Jerusalem, in 70 AD. The tenth legion, the destroyer of the temple, established itself in the upper city and camped there.
