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<< Other Photo Pages >> Hezekiah's Tunnel - Ancient Mine, Quarry or other Industry in Israel

Submitted by Andy B on Saturday, 12 September 2009  Page Views: 12778

Multi-periodSite Name: Hezekiah's Tunnel Alternative Name: Siloam Tunnel, City of David Visitor Centre
Country: Israel
NOTE: This site is 0.67 km away from the location you searched for.

Type: Ancient Mine, Quarry or other Industry
Nearest Town: Jerusalem  Nearest Village: Ophel
Latitude: 31.772358N  Longitude: 35.235673E
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
4 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
4 Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
4 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
4

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Hezekiah's Tunnel
Hezekiah's Tunnel submitted by Flickr : City of David008 Site in Israel Hezekiah's Tunnel Image copyright: stevenconger@sbcglobal.net (Steve Conger), hosted on Flickr and displayed under the terms of their API. (Vote or comment on this photo)
Ancient water tunnel in Israel. Hezekiah's Tunnel, or the Siloam Tunnel is a tunnel that was dug underneath the Ophel in Jerusalem about 701 BC during the reign of Hezekiah. It was probably a widening of a pre-existing cave and is mentioned in the Bible.

The tunnel, leading from the Gihon Spring to the Pool of Siloam, was designed to act as an aqueduct to provide Jerusalem with water during an impending siege by the Assyrians, led by Sennacherib. The curving tunnel is 533m long, and by using a 30 cm (0.6%) gradient altitude difference between each end, conveyed water along its length from the spring to the pool.

According to an inscription (the Siloam inscription) found within it, the tunnel was excavated by two teams, one starting at each end of the tunnel and then meeting in the middle. The inscription is partly unreadable at present, and may originally have conveyed more information than this. It is clear from the tunnel itself that several directional errors were made during its construction. Recent discoveries concerning a related tunnel - Warren's shaft - have suggested that the tunnel may have been formed by substantially widening a pre-existing natural karst.

More details at Wikipedia and see also the City of David Visitor Centre:

"The story of the City of David began over 3,000 years ago, when King David left the city of Hebron for a small hilltop city known as Jerusalem, establishing it as the unified capital of the tribes of Israel. Years later, David's son, King Solomon, built the First Temple next to the City of David on top of Mount Moriah, the site of the binding of Isaac, and with it, this hilltop became one of the most important sites in the world."

"Today, the story of the City of David continues. Deep underground, the City of David is revealing some of the most exciting archeological finds of the ancient world. While above ground, the city is a vibrant center of activity with a visitor's center that welcomes visitors for an exciting tour to the site where much of the Bible was written."

Note: Exploring Hezekiah's Tunnel, see comment
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Hezekiah's Tunnel
Hezekiah's Tunnel submitted by Flickr : Hezekiah's Tunnel Image copyright: Golda Och Academy, hosted on Flickr and displayed under the terms of their API. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Hezekiah's Tunnel
Hezekiah's Tunnel submitted by Flickr : Shiloah Inscription Site in Israel ... or rather, a facsimile. The original was chiseled out of the wall in Ottoman times, in pieces, and carried off to a museum in Istanbul (we saw it there on a later trip). This is about a third of the total -- it wouldn't fit in one frame (but I got most of the rest, if anyone wants to try to decipher it!). The inscription records the meeting of ... (Vote or comment on this photo)

Hezekiah's Tunnel
Hezekiah's Tunnel submitted by Flickr : Shiloah inscription. This was after we had exited the tunnels. Image copyright: frothymilk, hosted on Flickr and displayed under the terms of their API. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Hezekiah's Tunnel
Hezekiah's Tunnel submitted by durhamnature : Lower pool of Siloam, from "Picyuresque Palestine..." via archive.org Site in Israel (Vote or comment on this photo)

Hezekiah's Tunnel
Hezekiah's Tunnel submitted by durhamnature : Upper pool of Siloam, from "Picyuresque Palestine..." via archive.org Site in Israel

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Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
 185m N 10° City of David* Ancient Village or Settlement
 584m N 358° Temple Mount* Ancient Temple
 1.3km N 1° 2000 year old stone fragment in Jerusalem* Marker Stone
 3.1km SW 216° Talpiot Tomb Rock Cut Tomb
 4.1km N 7° Shuafat road Chalcolithic period site* Ancient Village or Settlement
 6.5km WNW 288° Tel Motza* Ancient Village or Settlement
 6.6km SSW 209° Rachel's Tomb Ancient Temple
 9.1km WNW 288° Motza Neolithic City* Ancient Village or Settlement
 11.9km S 177° Herodion* Ancient Palace
 20.8km ENE 65° Jericho* Ancient Village or Settlement
 21.4km E 99° Qumran* Ancient Village or Settlement
 22.9km W 262° Tel Beth-Shemesh* Artificial Mound
 24.1km WSW 247° 2,000-year-old ‘Emperor’s Road’ near Beit Shemesh* Ancient Trackway
 24.3km WNW 288° Emmaus Ancient Village or Settlement
 24.5km WSW 250° Ramat Beit Shemesh ritual baths* Ancient Village or Settlement
 25.1km ENE 60° The Gilgal associated peacefully with Joshua Stone Circle
 27.6km WSW 252° Khirbet Qeiyafa* Ancient Village or Settlement
 28.4km N 357° The Gilgal associated with Elijah and Elisha Stone Circle
 28.4km WSW 241° Khirbat Ethri* Ancient Village or Settlement
 29.4km WSW 239° Tel Burgin* Ancient Village or Settlement
 29.5km WSW 254° Tel Azeqa Ancient Village or Settlement
 30.0km SSW 203° Cave of the Patriarchs Rock Cut Tomb
 31.5km WNW 288° Tel Gezer* Ancient Village or Settlement
 32.0km N 9° Tel Shiloh Ancient Village or Settlement
 33.9km WSW 243° Tel Goded Ancient Village or Settlement
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"Hezekiah's Tunnel" | Login/Create an Account | 7 News and Comments
  
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Concealing the Past, London Review of Books by Anonymous on Thursday, 13 October 2011
Concealing the Past, London Review of Books
by Neve Gordon 11 October 2011

Elie Wiesel is not known for his sympathy towards the Palestinian cause for self-determination. He was recently made the chairman of the board of the Elad Association, also known as the Ir David Foundation, an organisation that has been actively erasing the Palestinians’ cultural heritage and facilitating the confinement of Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem. In 2002, the Israel Nature and Parks Authority hired Elad to run the City of David national park, in the densely populated Palestinian neighbourhood of Silwan. Elad has spent millions of dollars trying (unsuccessfully) to demonstrate King David’s presence in that area.

By concentrating on unearthing the remains of the Judean kingdom, while ignoring the subsequent 3000 years, the archaeologists digging in these sites seem to have overlooked the World Archaeological Congress’s codes of ethics:

Members agree that they have obligations to indigenous peoples and that they shall abide by the following principles:

1. To acknowledge the importance of indigenous cultural heritage, including sites, places, objects, artefacts, human remains, to the survival of indigenous cultures.

2. To acknowledge the importance of protecting indigenous cultural heritage to the well-being of indigenous peoples.

According to Yoni Mizrahi, an archaeologist with the NGO Emek Shaveh, Elad is using archaeology more as a mechanism for concealing the past than as a tool for revealing it. Not a single Muslim structure has been preserved in the national park. Archaeology, Mizrahi says, is also a weapon of dispossession. Over the years almost all the green areas in Silwan have been transformed into well-guarded new archaeological sites. They are, in effect, Jewish outposts deployed to circumscribe Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem.

http://www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2011/10/11/neve-gordon/concealing-the-past/
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Biblical City of David Tour by Andy B on Thursday, 13 October 2011
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Biblical City of David Tour- A Journey through Time to the Place Where it all Began…
Tour the heart of ancient Jerusalem, the city of kings and prophets, where many of the books of the Bible were written. Pass through the underground tunnels through which the city was conquered, going down to the hidden spring where kings were coronated. Walk through the water of Hezekiah’s Tunnel, illuminated by your flashlight. Join the mysterious, magical journey between ancient shafts, walls and fortresses at the City of David, the place where Jerusalem was born.

Duration of tour: approximately three hours.
The tour does not include the 3D movie

Tour Times
Tours given Sunday through Tuesday between 10:00AM and 4:00PM (On Friday and before holidays: 9:00AM-11:00AM)
Tours in English: Sunday through Tuesday at 11:40AM, 1:40PM, 3:40PM (On Friday and before holidays: 9:40AM)
Tour in French: Sunday through Tuesday at 12:40PM (without the 3D show)

Isru Chag, Friday, October 21st – 23rd of Tishrei
- Tours are given every hour at 9:00AM, 10:00AM and 11:00AM.
- English tour given at 10:00.

Admission charge, more details

http://www.cityofdavid.org.il/ArticleDetails_eng.asp?id=216
[ Reply to This ]

Ancient wall found in Jerusalem 'probably from Solomon era' by Andy B on Thursday, 25 February 2010
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A section of city wall that enclosed ancient Jerusalem and was probably built by King Solomon in the 10th century BC was found during recent digs, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem said on Monday. Skip related content

The unearthed wall is six metres high (20 feet) and 70 metres (230 feet) long, a statement said.

"We can estimate, with a high degree of certainty, that this was built by King Solomon toward the end of the 10th century BC," archaeologist Eilat Mazar, who excavated for three months, said in the statement.

According to the Bible, Solomon built the first Jewish temple of Jerusalem, which was destroyed by the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BC.

The latest discovery "could corroborate written descriptions which recount construction projects carried out by King Solomon in Jerusalem," the statement said.

The section of wall was discovered in the Ophel area, between the City of David and the southern part of another wall that surrounds the Temple Mount.

Also found were structures built at the same time as the section of wall, including a gatehouse accessing the royal district and a tower overlooking the Kidron Valley at the foot of the Mount of Olives, the statement said.

Pottery shards and the remains of two earthenware jars measuring 1.15 metres (3.8 feet) tall were also found, the statement said. One jar handle bore the inscription "For the King."

All that remains of the Temple Mount, Judaism's most sacred site, is the temple's Western or Wailing Wall, the principal Jewish place of pilgrimage.

The holy site in east Jerusalem, which Israel annexed unilaterally after capturing the Arab sector of the city in 1967, houses the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock, and is the third holiest site in the Islamic world.

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/18/20100222/twl-ancient-wall-found-in-jerusalem-prob-3cd7efd.html
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How did fish reach Jerusalem? by Andy B on Saturday, 12 September 2009
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How did fish reach Jerusalem?

http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=2146413066
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Photos and links for Hezekiah's Tunnel by Andy B on Saturday, 12 September 2009
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Photos and links for Hezekiah's Tunnel at

http://www.bibleplaces.com/heztunnel.htm
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Exploring Hezekiah's Tunnel by Andy B on Saturday, 12 September 2009
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Located in what is now called Ir David, the Old City of Jerusalem was the last bastion of King Hezekiah in a country that had been destroyed all around him by the Assyrians circa 701 BCE. To fortify Jerusalem, King Hezekiah built a protective wall but was then faced with the challenge of bringing water into the city for the residents.

Bring plastic sandals and a flashlight for the 30-minute walk through Hezekiah's Tunnel.

There was a spring that ran beyond the wall, but the king wanted to make the water inaccessible to the enemy, yet available to the Jewish residents within the walled city. To accomplish the former, he had workers clog and camouflage the water source. For the latter challenge, his workforce dug a tunnel from the camouflaged water source to a pool inside the walls, thus having the water flow freely into it.

To ensure the flow of water, they had to build the reservoir in the deepest part of the city and carve, at an angle, a 533-meter long tunnel underneath the City of David mountain. To hasten the work, two teams of tunnelers dug toward each other from opposite ends of the tunnel. The fact that they succeeded and met at the exact midpoint is regarded as one of the greatest engineering feats of ancient times.

Various theories exist as to how this was actually accomplished. One premise is that there was a crack through which water was already seeping, and the workers enlarged it. Such an opening would also have provided oxygen for the tunnelers to breathe.

Getting your feet wet

To explore this pool on your own, walk through Hezekiah's Tunnel and continue down the steps into the water. The whole experience takes about half an hour of wading through knee-deep spring water. It is recommended to wear plastic sandals and to bring a flashlight.

When you emerge from the tunnel, you will find yourself in the Byzantine Pool of Siloam (Shiloah). Climb the steps out of the pool and descend more steps, which will lead you into the Second Temple Shiloah Pool and the Herodian Road.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1249418659103&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull
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    Re: Exploring Hezekiah's Tunnel by Andy B on Saturday, 12 September 2009
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    Excerpted from the book Jerusalem: Footsteps through Time by Ahron Horovitz.
    [ Reply to This ]

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