Keywords
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
The Near East is located on the edge of the desert. Part of the region is arid/semiarid, and as droughts are a frequent phenomenon, water is a scarce resource even in the Mediterranean climate zone. Water was therefore an important factor determining the situation of settlements in antiquity. Initially, many settlements were located near water sources, mainly springs (rivers are a rare phenomenon in Israel). However, since security was also a major consideration, larger settlements gradually tended to be situated on top of hills. In this conflict of interests, security had, in most cases, the upper hand, and alternative means of obtaining drinking water had to be secured.
Wells
A well is an artificial shaft sunk into the ground all the way to the water table. One of the earliest known wells was uncovered at the submerged Neolithic village of “Atlit Yam.” Later wells are known from Beersheba, Lachish, and Tel Zeror, and it seems as if the practice became widespread from the Iron Age onward (and mainly from the Classical periods). Notably, however, wells are typical of lower regions and plains. It is more difficult to dig wells in mountainous areas because of both the depth of the water table and the hardness of the rocks. Wells were, therefore, only a partial solution, and in most cases, people used different methods (see below).
Cisterns
Cisterns were cut out of rock in order to collect and store rainwater. The first known cisterns were apparently dug into the soft limestone of the coastal plain in the late Chalcolithic or Early Bronze Age at Mesar. The earliest cisterns were not plastered, but due to the softness of the stone could still hold the water. The first plastered cisterns were discovered in several Middle Bronze Age sites (e.g., Hazor and Gezer) (see section “Extra 1: The Open Cisterns of the Negev in the Tenth Century BCE”). Their use, however, was still sporadic. Plastered cisterns became widespread only during Iron Age I and mainly in Iron Age II. The use of cisterns became even more widespread in later periods. While cisterns became common and at times dozens of cisterns were unearthed in a single site, it appears that they were still dug at the family level. Communities, let alone cities/states, had to develop a better solution to the danger posed by the scarcity of water.
Large-Scale Waterworks
Large settlements, if not located on a large spring or a river, needed a guaranteed water source for the summer, and all the more so for periods of siege. After all, the fate of a conquered city in the ancient Near East was horrific, and any effort was done to secure the city and to enable it to withstand siege.
The earliest large-scale waterworks, evidently beyond the scope of the household, are dated to the Early Bronze Age – the time period when the first cities emerged in the southern Levant. These early water systems are basically large pools, usually located in the lowest part of the settlements, into which rainwater was collected. Such systems were found at “Arad,” Ai, and probably also at Tel Qashish. “Arad, located on the edge of the desert, is a unique example. The city was built not on top of a hill, but rather on a basin, probably in order to ease the collection of water. A slightly different type of water system was located outside the city of Jawa, in Transjordan. Here, dams were built on a dry wadi, absorbing floods, and securing water for the dry season. Such large-scale works were able to support a large population.
Still, in the climatic conditions of the land of Israel, in which droughts are frequent and evaporation is high, rains and pools cannot be regarded as a secure source of water. In cases of failing rain, people would have to go to the nearest spring (usually just below the city). In times of siege, however, which began to become a major consideration as time progressed, such an enterprise was not feasible. Cities had to rely on a more permanent and secure source of water. They developed more sophisticated methods to guarantee access to permanent sources of water, i.e., to springs (which were usually located in the valleys below the cities).
Waterworks technology seems to have advanced substantially in the first half of the second millennium BCE. The notable water system of this period (Middle Bronze Age) is that of Jerusalem (see section “Extra 2: Jerusalem’s Water Systems During the Iron Age”). Here, an attempt was made not only to collect rainwater but also to secure access to the water of the nearest spring – the Gihon – which was located below the city at the Kidron Valley. From within the city, a large tunnel was dug in the hard limestone. The tunnel went outside the city wall until it reached a fortified pool that was built on the spring and stored its water. An additional water system which is probably dated to this period was exposed at Gezer. Here, a tunnel was dug within the city’s confines, reaching the water table (similar to type 3, below, but much earlier).
The real “breakthrough” in water systems, however, was accomplished during the Iron Age and mainly during Iron Age II. A relatively large number of Iron Age water systems were unearthed over the years, and these can be divided into the following types:
-
1.
Covered stairways (galleries). This is the simplest form of Iron Age waterwork. A shallow tunnel was dug on the tell’s slope, from beneath the city wall, all the way down to the spring. (A tell is an artificial mound formed by the accumulated remains of ancient settlements.) The tunnel was then covered. Thus, in times of siege, city inhabitants could sneak from the city to the spring through the covered stairway without being seen by the enemy. Such systems were discovered in Megiddo and Tell es-Saiyidyeh. Obviously, these systems had their limitations. The spring was known to the enemy, and the gallery could easily be discovered. Once discovered, it could not have been used anymore.
-
2a.
Tunnels. Many Iron Age water systems were dug under the ground, from within the city to the spring. Initially, a large shaft was dug through the earlier layers of the tell. Since these were pretty loose, the shaft was supported by massive retainer walls that prevented their collapse. After reaching bedrock, a smaller tunnel was dug in the rock, at an angle that lowered it toward the spring. Such systems were discovered, for example, in Gibeon and Megiddo (early phase of the tunnel).
-
2b.
A modification of this type of water system is also known. In some cases, a tunnel brought the water from the spring toward the bottom of the shaft (i.e., toward the city). Such systems are known, for example, at Megiddo (a later phase), the Warren Shaft system in Jerusalem (see note: Jerusalem water system during the Iron Age) is a variation of this type.
While in many cases the enemy who besieged the city could still enjoy the water supplied by the spring, such systems provided (1) a secure approach to the water by the defenders and (2) a better chance of concealing the system from the enemy. Such systems were still susceptible to discovery, and the enemy could harm the water source itself (e.g., poison it). Furthermore, the enemy could even use the tunnels as a mean to approach the city in surprise.
-
3.
“Tunnels” dug to the water table. This type is very similar in its form to the previous one. A wide vertical shaft was dug through the tell’s layers to bedrock, and this was followed by a narrow diagonal tunnel that was dug in the rock. This diagonal tunnel, however, did not reach the spring; it descended until it reached the water table (in a sense, this waterwork was like a complex well). While very similar in form to type b, this is simply a large and complex well. Such systems were not only concealed from the enemy, but were also completely secured. Some were discovered, for example, at Hazor and Gibeon (the pool).
-
4.
The last type of large-scale Iron Age waterworks is that of large underground reservoirs, dug into bedrock (inside the cities). Rainwater was collected through an extensive system of plastered tunnels (e.g., at Beth Shemesh) or from floodwaters in nearby wadies (Beersheba). (A wadi is a valley, ravine, or channel that is dry except in the rainy season.) Smaller reservoirs are also known in this period, e.g., in the fort at “Arad.” While not as reliable as permanent water sources, it appears as if such large reservoirs could absorb enough water underground to overcome the limitations discussed above (regarding the dependence on rainwater).
The galleries (type 1) were the simplest type, and indeed, they were used earlier in the Iron Age. It appears as if type 2 was developed to overcome the limitation of the galleries. Type 3 was seemingly the most advanced system. We do not know if these systems were developed on the basis of the knowledge that there was a water table “down there” (the people of the time had to have had this knowledge, as they were familiar with wells) or whether hewers of a type 2 system accidentally reached the water table, and this discovery gave rise to the development of this type (structurally, type 3 is very similar to type 2). This reconstruction is of course speculative, and we need more detailed chronological information in order to confirm or refute it. We also need to remember that some complex water systems were already constructed in the Bronze Age, as mentioned above.
Various water systems are also mentioned briefly in the period’s written sources, e.g., the Bible (e.g., II Kings 20: 20; Isaiah 22: 9–11; II Chr. 32: 30), and ancient inscriptions (e.g., the Mesha inscription).
The most sophisticated Iron Age water system is Hezekiah’s tunnel, which was dug in Jerusalem during the late eighth century BCE. A 533 m long underground tunnel brought the water from the Gihon spring to a lower point that was located in the other side of the city, in order to collect the water in a pool in a secure place.
In later periods, and especially from the Hasmonean and Roman period onward, larger water systems, e.g., 10 km of aqueducts, were built, but this is beyond the scope of this entry.
Extra 1: The Open Cisterns of the Negev in the Tenth Century BCE
During the tenth century BCE, the period of the biblical United Monarchy, dozens of settlements were built in the Negev desert of southern Israel. The exact nature of these sites is debated: some view them as royal forts and others believe that only the initiative was royal, while some consider that the entire phenomenon resulted from the settlement of the desert’s nomads. Notably, these sites were located away from the few springs that exist in the Negev, and their main source of water was large open cisterns that were discovered at practically every site. These large cisterns were probably covered with skins in order to minimize evaporation. It is also likely that when the rains failed, the inhabitants of many of the sites could go back to the springs, located several kilometers away, and bring drinking water from them.
Extra 2: Jerusalem’s Water Systems During the Iron Age
The Gihon spring of Jerusalem is one of the major springs in the central hill country. It is likely that it was one of the causes for the establishment of the city on the low hill, later known as the City of David. The inhabitants of the city used the spring from earliest times. The most ancient water systems are two tunnels, probably dated to the Early or Middle Bronze Age. During the Middle Bronze Age, an impressive water system was dug in Jerusalem (above in the text). It is during the Iron Age, however, that the most famous waterworks were constructed. As many issues are still debated, the following is only a brief summary that is intended to give a succinct overview, and it cannot deal with all the debated details. The earlier Iron Age system, known as the Warren Shaft (after Captain C. Warren who rediscovered it in the nineteenth century), enabled free access to water through a system of underground tunnels and a shaft. In the past, many scholars believed that it is through this shaft that David conquered Jerusalem (II Samuel 5: 6–9). It appears, however, that this system was constructed only in the eighth century BCE. At this time, improvements were made in the existing system of tunnels (that were cut in the Middle Bronze Age). The works included lowering the bottom of an existing tunnel that led from within the city wall, outward (henceforth, the upper tunnel), thus, exposing a natural karstic shaft that was probably not known before (although some dispute this). Once the shaft was discovered, and its significance was apparently observed, previous works ceased, and it became the central part of a new system. A lower tunnel, connecting the spring and the bottom of the shaft, was dug, enabling the water to flow from the former to the latter. Thus, people could walk in the upper tunnel, from within the city walls to the top of the shaft, and draw water. The level of the water at the bottom of the shaft was increased through the use of dams, making water drawing easier. Notably, this system was not very convenient and was probably intended to be used only at times of siege. The Warren Shaft system, however, was not in use for long, and it went out of use in the late eighth century BCE, when Hezekiah’s tunnel was constructed. Hezekiah’s tunnel involved the digging of an underground tunnel that led from the spring to a pool at the other side of the City of David ridge, within the city walls. Hence, all the water from the spring was secured. The last stage of the enterprise involved the meeting of two groups of hewers who worked from both sides of the tunnel simultaneously; this is commemorated in the famous Siloam inscription. (The inscription was discovered in 1880 by a boy who was bathing in the waters of the Gihon Spring and was studied by Conrad Schick, one of the first explorers of Jerusalem. Engraved in the rock, the inscription describes the meeting of the two groups of hewers who had begun digging from opposite ends of the tunnel. “The tunneling was completed…While the hewers wielded the ax, each man toward his fellow…there was heard a man’s voice calling to his fellow… the hewers hacked each toward the other, ax against ax, and the water flowed from the spring to the pool, a distance of 1,200 cubits….” The inscription is now in the Istanbul Museum.) Hezekiah’s tunnel is an impressive engineering enterprise. Even today, some of the accomplishments still raise questions as to how they were achieved. Among the intriguing questions are, for example, how the workers had enough air during the work, how the two groups were able to meet, and how they were able to maintain such a shallow sloping angle.
References
Aharoni, Y. (1978). The archaeology of the land of Israel. Jerusalem: Shiqmona.
Amiran, R. (1978). Early Arad I. Jerusalem: IES.
Amit, D., Patrich, J., & Hirschfeld, Y. (2002). The aqueducts of Israel. Portsmouth: David Brown Book Company.
Bagg, A. M. (2002). Dealing with water rights in the ancient near east. In C. Ohlig, Y. Peleg, & T. Tsuk (Eds.), Cura aquarum in Israel (pp. 223–232). Siegburg: DWhG.
Barkai, G. (1992). The Iron Age II–III. In A. Ben-Tor (Ed.), The archaeology of ancient Israel (pp. 302–373). New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
Baumgarten, Y. Y. (2002). The use of the water-pulley in Iron Age II water systems. In C. Ohlig, Y. Peleg, & T. Tsuk (Eds.), Cura aquarum in Israel (pp. 233–238). Siegburg: DWhG.
Ben Tor, A. (1992). The archaeology of ancient Israel. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
Bunimovitz, S., & Lederman, Z. (1997). Beth Shemesh: Culture conflict on Judah’s border. Biblical Archaeology Review, 23(1), 42–49.
Cole, D. (1980). How water tunnel worked. Biblical Archaeology Review, 6\2, 8–29.
Eph’al, I. (1996). Siege and its ancient near eastern manifestation. Jerusalem: Magnes Press (Hebrew).
Faust, A. (2000). A note on Hezekiah’s tunnel and the Siloam inscription. Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 90, 3–11.
Faust, A. A. (2003a). Warren shaft, yes it was used to draw water. Biblical Archaeology Review, 29/5, 70–76.
Faust, A. A. (2003b). The Warren shaft system in light of the new discoveries. In E. Baruch, U. Leibner, & A. Faust (Eds.), New studies on Jerusalem: The ninth volume (pp. 7–19). Ramat Gan: Bar-Ilan University (Hebrew), 26* (English Abstract).
Faust, A. A. (2005a). The Israelite society in the period of the monarchy: An archaeological perspective. Jerusalem: Yad Ben Zvi (Hebrew).
Faust, A. A. (2005b). The Israelite village: Cultural conservatism and technological innovation. Tel Aviv, 32, 204–219.
Frumkin, A. (2002). The hydrogeology of Israel and the problem of water supply in antiquity. The aqueducts of Israel. In D. Amit, J. Patrich, & Y. Hirschfeld (Eds.), Journal of Roman Archaeology Supplementary Series number forty-six (pp. 21–24). Portsmouth: The Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies.
Frumkin, A., Shimron, A., & Rosenbaum, J. (2003). Radiometric dating of the Siloam tunnel, Jerusalem. Nature, 425, 169–171.
Gibson, S. (2001). Agricultural terraces and settlement expansion in the highlands of early Iron Age Palestine: Is there any correlation between the two. In A. Mazar (Ed.), Studies in the archaeology of the Iron Age in Israel and Jordan (pp. 113–146). Sheffield: Sheffield Academic.
Gill, D. (1991). Subterranean waterworks of biblical Jerusalem: Adaptation of a karst system. Science, 254, 1467–1471.
Gill, D. (1994). How they met? Biblical Archaeology Review, 20\4, 21–33.
Gill, D., & Burg, A. (2013). Corrobortion of the Kars infrastructure of the water supply systems in the biblical City David by similar Karst features in Israel. In E. Baruch & A. Faust (Eds.), New studies on Jerusalem: volume 19 (pp. 103–152). Ramat Gan: Ingeborg Rennert Center for Jerusalem Studies, Bar-Ilan University (Hebrew).
Gvirtzman, H. (2002). Israel water resources: Chapters in hydrology and environmental sciences. Jerusalem: Yad Ben Zvi (Hebrew).
Haiman, M. (2002). Water sources and the Iron Age II settlement pattern in the Negev desert. In C. Ohlig, Y. Peleg, & T. Tsuk (Eds.), Cura aquarum in Israel (pp. 23–31). Siegburg: DWhG.
Helms, S. W., & Jawa. (1981). Lost city of the black desert. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
Herr, L. G. (1997). The Iron Age II period: Emerging nations. Biblical Archaeologist, 60(3), 114–183.
Herzog, Z. (1997). The archaeology of the city: Urban planning in ancient Israel and its social implication. Tel-Aviv: Tel Aviv University.
Herzog, Z. (2002). Water supply at Tel Beersheba in the 1st millennium BCE. In C. Ohlig, Y. Peleg, & T. Tsuk (Eds.), Cura aquarum in Israel (pp. 15–22). Siegburg: DWhG.
Kempinski, A., & Reich, R. (Eds.). (1992). The architecture of ancient Israel. Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society.
Kern, P. B. (1999). Ancient siege warfare. Bloomington, IL: Indiana University Press.
King, P., & Stager, L. W. (2001). Life in biblical Israel. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.
Lamon, R. S. (1935). The Megiddo water system. Chicago: Chicago University.
Mazar, A. (1990). The archaeology of the land of the bible, 10,000–586 BCE (pp. 478–485). New York: Doubleday.
Mazar, A. (2000). Jerusalem’s water supply in the first temple period. In S. Ahituv & A. Mazar (Eds.), The history of Jerusalem: The biblical period (pp. 195–232). Jerusalem: Yad Ben Zvi (Hebrew).
Meiron, E. (2002). A new look at Jerusalem’s water system during the middle bronze 2 period. In C. Ohlig, Y. Peleg, & T. Tsuk (Eds.), Cura aquarum in Israel (pp. 7–13). Siegburg: DWhG.
Ohlig, C., Peleg, Y., & Tsuk, T. (2002). Cura aquarum in Israel. Siegburg: DWhG.
Olsen, J. P. (1993). Water works. In Anchor bible dictionary (Vol. 6, pp. 883–893). New York: Doubleday.
Porat, Y. (2002). Hydraulic plaster in aqueducts as a chronological indicator. In D. Amit, J. Patrich, & Y. Hirschfeld (Eds.), The aqueducts of Israel (pp. 25–36). Portsmouth: David Brown Book Company.
Pritchard, J. B. (1961). The water system of Gibeon. Philadelphia: Pennsylvania University Press.
Reich, R., & Shukrun, E. (1999). Light at the end of the tunnel. Biblical Archaeology Review, 25/1, 22–33, 72.
Reich, R., & Shukrun, E. (2000). System of rock-cut tunnels near Gihon in Jerusalem reconsidered. Revue Biblique, 107, 5–17, 72.
Reich, R., & Shukrun, E. (2002a). Channel II in the city of David, Jerusalem: Some of its technical features and their chronology. In C. Ohlig, Y. Peleg, & T. Tsuk (Eds.), Cura aquarum in Israel (p. 1). Siegburg: DWhG.
Reich, R., & Shukrun, E. (2002b). Reconsidering the Karstic theory as an explanation for the cutting of Hezekiah’s tunnel in Jerusalem. Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, 325, 75–80.
Reich, R., & Shukrun, E. (2005). Notes on the Gezer water system. Palestine Exploration Quarterly, 135, 22–29.
Rosen, B., & Greenberg, Z. (2002). Water sanitation in pre-modern Jerusalem. In C. Ohlig, Y. Peleg, & T. Tsuk (Eds.), Cura aquarum in Israel (pp. 285–293). Siegburg: DWhG.
Seger, J. D. (1997). Water tunnels. In E. Meyers (Ed.), Oxford encyclopedia of archaeology in the near east (Vol. 5, pp. 331–333). New York: Oxford University Press.
Shanks, H. (1999). I climbed the Warrens Shaft (but Joab never Did). Biblical Archaeology Review, 25(6), 33–34.
Shemesh, A. O. (2004). Water sources in the bible propertorship, drawing rights and allotment – part 1. Beit Mikra, 50/1, 55–73 (Hebrew), 93 (English abstract).
Shemesh, A. O. (2005). Water sources in the bible propertorship, drawing rights and allotment – Part 2. Beit Mikra, 50/2, 99–108 (Hebrew), 200 (English abstract).
Shiloh, Y. (1981). Jerusalem water supply under siege: The rediscovery of Warrens shaft. Biblical Archaeology Review, 7\4, 24–39.
Shiloh, Y. (1992). Underground water systems in the land of Israel in the Iron Age. In A. Kempinski & R. Reich (Eds.), The architecture of ancient Israel (pp. 275–293). Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society.
Shimron, A. E., Frumkin, A., Rosenbaum, J., & Porath, Y. (1998). The City of David waterworks: A geological and engineering overview. In E. Baruch (Ed.), New studies on Jerusalem: Proceedings of the fourth conference (pp. III–XVI). Ramat Gan: Bar Ilan University.
Sneh, A., Weinbergr, R., & Shalev, E. (2010). The why, how and when of the Siloam tunnel reevaluated. Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, 359, 57–65.
Stern, E. (Ed.). (1993). The new encyclopedia of archaeological excavations in the holy land. Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society.
The Land of the Bible. (1979). Historical geography. Philadelphia: Westminster Press.
Tsuk, T. (1997a). Pools. In E. Meyers (Ed.), Oxford encyclopedia of archaeology in the near east (Vol. 4, pp. 350–351). New York: Oxford University Press.
Tsuk, T. (1997b). Cisterns. In E. Meyers (Ed.), Oxford encyclopedia of archaeology in the near east (Vol. 2, pp. 12–13). New York: Oxford University Press.
Vincent, L. H. (1911). Underground Jerusalem. London: Horace Cox.
Wilkinson, J. (1974). Ancient Jerusalem: Its water supply and population. Palestine Exploration Quarterly, 106, 33–51.
Wilson, W., & Warren, C. (1872). The recovery of Jerusalem. London: R. Bentley.
Zorn, J. R. (1993). Tell en-Nasbeh: A re-evaluation of the architecture and stratigraphy of the early bronze age; Iron Age and later periods. Ph.D. dissertation, University of California, Berkeley.
Zorn, J. R. (1994). Estimating the population size of ancient settlements: Methods, problems, solutions, and a case study. Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, 295, 31–48.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this entry
Cite this entry
Lynch, A., Selin, H. (2014). Water Systems in Bronze and Iron Age Israel. In: Selin, H. (eds) Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-3934-5_9473-2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-3934-5_9473-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Online ISBN: 978-94-007-3934-5
eBook Packages: Springer Reference Religion and PhilosophyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Humanities