Walking underground to Robinson’s Arch
Conference officially opens the ancient historic water channel built during Jerusalem's Second Temple period.
The 12th annual City of David Archaeological conference marked the official opening to the public of Jerusalem’s central drainage channel in the Tyropean valley from the Second Temple period. Thanks to the excavations by [archaeologists] Reich and Shukron it is now possible to begin on the Herodian street beside the Siloam Pool, walk underground up the hill on the western stairs and then go down to the drainage channel and continue, exiting on the Herodian street by the western wall below Robinson’s Arch, a distance of some 550m. This is a new experience or in Hebrew, a havaya. You are walking on 2000-year-old paving stones and in the drainage channel where Josephus writes that Jerusalem residents hid from the Romans until either they succeeded to flee the city or were discovered; you can see paving stones smashed so Roman soldiers could enter the channel.
Above: The ancient channel or tunnel showing the arched ceiling that is featured as one approaches the end near Robinson's Arch. Photo by Shmuel Browns
Right: The same, showing the massive ashlar-cut stones forming the walls, built atop bedrock during the Second Temple period in Jerusalem. Photo by Shmuel Browns
It was Bliss and Dickie who in 1898 first discovered and documented the stepped street with a stone pavement and an underlying large drainage channel when they excavated a line of 9 shafts sunk across the width of the Tyropean 425m to the south of where [Charles] Warren had excavated. In this southern section the channel is built of ashlars (large square cut stones) on bedrock and is covered with heavy stone slabs that are actually the paving stones of the street above. Read More
Shmuel Browns is a licensed tour guide and photographer who lives in Jerusalem. Passionate about Israel, Shmuel takes people throughout the country exposing them to its history, nature and culture. Shmuel blogs about some of his experiences
at http://israeltours.wordpress.com
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