The aqueduct was the primary source of water supply to Jerusalem consecutively for 2000 years.

A segment of the low-level aqueduct to Jerusalem has been exposed over the last few weeks in the neighborhood of Armon Hanatsiv in a joint project of the Israel Antiquities Authority with the Jerusalem Municipality and the Moriah Jerusalem Development Corporation.

Winding along a 21 km route from Solomon’s Pools, south of Bethlehem, to the Temple Mount, this ingenious water system initiated by the Hasmonean kings to increase the water supply to Jerusalem astounds us to this very day. The aqueducts were used until approximately 100 years ago, during the British Mandate 100 years ago, when the invention of electric pumps replaced them.

According to Ya’akov Billig of the Israel Antiquities Authority, “two aqueducts—the low-level and high-level aqueducts—brought water from Solomon’s Pools, located between Bethlehem and Efrat, to Jerusalem. It amazes us to think how they managed in antiquity to make the accurate measurements of elevation along with such a long distance, choosing the route along the mountainous terrain and calculating the necessary gradient, all without the modern, sophisticated instruments we have today.”

Presently, segments of the low-level aqueduct are being uncovered under Alkachi street in the Armon Hanatsiv, in an excavation directed by Alexander Wiegmann of the Israel Antiquities Authority. Conservation experts will preserve the aqueduct and other archaeological finds for future public exhibitions following the excavations.