Summary: Archaeologists are baffled about the purpose of recently discovered channels unearthed in Jerusalem that date back to the Biblical kings.
He cuts out channels in the rocks, and his eye sees every precious thing.
– Job 28:10 (ESV)
Unprecedented Discovery
An unprecedented find in Jerusalem’s City of David National Park is baffling archaeologists. The discovery of a large-scale network of ancient channels carved knee-deep into rock is both unique and mysterious. Nothing like it has ever been found anywhere in Israel, leaving researchers scratching their heads as to its purpose.
“We even recruited the help of the police forensic unit and its research colleagues around the world, but so far – to no avail,” said Dr. Yiftah Shalev, a senior researcher at the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA).
The channels or ducts date back to the First Temple Period, 2,800 years ago, during the time of the biblical kings. There is more research that still needs to be done, but archaeologists agree that the find adds to accumulating evidence for the expansion of Jerusalem and the surrounding Kingdom of Judah around the year 800 BC.
Two Separate Groups of Channels
The channel systems were found just outside of Jerusalem’s walled Old City in two separate groups located about 30 feet apart. Researchers speculate that the two groups may have once comprised one large installment. The channel grooves, cut into the bedrock, measure about a foot wide and over 1.5 feet deep.
The northern group consists of a series of nine grooves that flow in opposite directions. Interestingly, a set of seven drain pipes were discovered on top of the rock cliff that surrounds the area to the south. The pipes are positioned to drain into the channels below.
“The mystery only grew deeper when we found the second installation to the south,” said Prof. Yuval Gadot of Tel Aviv University’s Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Civilizations Department. “This installation consists of at least five channels that transport liquids.” These channels all flow in the same direction unlike the northern group.
“Despite some differences in the way the channels were hewn and designed, it is evident that the second installation is very similar to the first,” Gadot continued. “This time, we also managed to date when the facility fell out of use – at the end of the 9th century BCE, during the days of the biblical kings of Judah – Joash and Amaziah. We assume that the two installations, which, as mentioned, may have been used in unison, were constructed several decades earlier.”
Speculating Possible Purposes
Researchers have speculated a variety of possibilities as to what the channels were used for. They don’t appear to have been for drainage or sewage disposal because they are not connected to any other water sources. Other ideas proposed included use with food production, religious rituals or the textile manufacturing. Their location near the Temple and palace suggest they could have had a specific purpose related to worship or administration.
“We looked at the installation and realized that we had stumbled on something unique,” said Shalev, “but since we had never seen a structure like this in Israel, we didn’t know how to interpret it. Even its date was unclear. We brought a number of experts to the site to see if there were any residues in the soil or rock that are not visible with the naked eye, and to help us understand what flowed or stood in the channels.”
“We wanted to check whether there were any organic remains or traces of blood, so we even recruited the help of the police forensic unit,” explained Shalev. However, forensic testing of the channels found no evidence of blood, potentially ruling out a role in animal slaughter for banquets or religious sacrifice.
Used as Jerusalem Grew
Dating for the structure was eventually accomplished by finding 9th century BC pottery under a layer of plaster that covered the southern channels. The plaster was put in place after the installation went out of use, Shalev told Haaretz. This date would place the channels around the time of King Jehoash, during a period of prosperity and urban development for Jerusalem in the Iron Age, the First Temple Period. These finds also add to the debate of when Jerusalem developed as a major Israelite site, with scholars taking a range of different views.
“It’s clear that Jerusalem starts to grow already at this time, and maybe this [the channel system] is part of it,” Shalev said. “This structure is in the heart of the city, close to the Temple and the palace. It’s some kind of economic activity connected to the city’s elites.”
“This is an era when we know that Jerusalem covered an area that included the City of David and the Temple Mount. The central location of the channels near the city’s most prominent areas indicates that the product made using them was connected to the economy of the Temple or palace. One should note that ritual activity includes bringing agricultural, animal and plant produce to the Temple. Many times, Temple visitors would bring back products that carried the sanctity of the place,” Gadot further explained.
“Since the channels don’t lead to a large drainage basin and the direction of their flow varies, it is possible that the channels, at least in the northern installation, were used to soak products – and not to drain liquids,” added Dr. Shalev.
“The production of linen, for example, requires soaking the flax for a long time to soften it. Another possibility is that the channels held dates that were left out to be heated by the sun to produce silan (date honey), like similarly shaped installations discovered in distant places such as Oman, Bahrain and Iran,” he explained.
Plans are being made for further research and testing to solve the mysterious purpose of the channels. Dr. Shalev noted that “in the near future, we will take additional soil samples from the installations, and try – once again – to identify components that can help us solve the mystery: what was the product that was important for the economy of the city, Temple or palace?”
In contrast to sections of the wilderness the Isreralites had passed through on their journey out of Egypt, Canaan was a land very rich in agricultural promise.
But I have said to you, ‘You shall inherit their land, and I will give it to you to possess, a land flowing with milk and honey.’ I am the LORD your God, who has separated you from the peoples. – Leviticus 20:24
Controversy
The ancient channels were unearthed in excavations funded by the Elad Foundation and conducted by the IAA and Tel Aviv University in what had been the Givati parking lot, a part of the City of David National Park that has yielded archaeological treasures dating from the Iron Age to the Roman and Islamic periods.
Much controversy, both academic and political, surrounds this area because the archaeological site is located in the midst of the mostly Palestinian neighborhood of Silwan. When it comes to Israel, every reality inevitably becomes entangled in politics and religion, with the question of who controls the land as a fundamental issue. Both sides have a list of grievances.
Israelis have long tied their claim to control of the Holy Land to their ancient historical connections there. At the focal point of Jerusalem, the pressure of these issues is amplified even more.
There are Palestinians who have a history of trying to erase any Jewish connection to ancient Jerusalem. In some circles, they have even denied that there ever was a Jewish Temple atop the Temple Mount; an idea that would seem to be ridiculous in the face of all the historical and archaeological evidence, but an idea that has gained traction within the United Nations recently.
With continued strife, all sides of the debate have seemed to grow farther apart. Many see archaeological endeavors as part of the continuing effort to “Judaize” Jerusalem at the expense of the Palestinians. Archaeologists are also caught up on the different sides of this debate.
From an archaeological point of view, the area of Jerusalem is at the center of the debate about the historicity of the Bible, particularly the existence of the United Monarchy of King David and Solomon. The City of David National Park is where King David established his capital and where many important biblical events took place.
The excavated remains of houses, cisterns, fortifications and now these channels have been and will be open to the public for those who want to get a glimpse into Jerusalem’s ancient history. The park is best known for Hezekiah’s Tunnel, which was constructed by King Hezekiah to provide water to the city in lieu of an Assyrian siege led by Sennacherib.
See video of the excavations from the IAA.
Conclusion
For now, the purpose of the enigmatic channel system remains elusive, but its uniqueness and location near the Temple and the palace suggest that the products they were used to make were specifically part of these prominent institutions.
According to Eli Escusido, director of the IAA, “the ancient channel installations we have before us are fascinating and stimulate the imagination. The excavations in the City of David, which cover vast areas compared to densely populated Jerusalem, are revealing to us more and more fascinating details from the time of the Judahite kings, of which there are relatively few finds in the Old City due to modern disturbances.”
“From time to time we come across surprising, enigmatic finds that challenge us and spark research interest. With the help of collaboration with other institutions, we crack these mysteries and advance our knowledge of past societies; I congratulate all institutions for this successful collaboration,” Escusido concluded.
Exciting and mysterious discoveries like this inspire us to Keep Thinking!
TOP PHOTO: A top-down view of the northern channels. (credit: Eliyahu Yanai, city of David)
