Hezekiah's Tunnel (c. 701 BCE) stretches 533 meters through solid limestone beneath Jerusalem. Two teams started from opposite ends and met within centimeters vertically and horizontally. The Siloam Inscription describes this moment. Still functions today. ⛲
Hezekiah's Tunnel: 533-Meter Ancient Water Channel
IsraelGeneral
Site mentioned
Key facts
- Carved nearly 3,000 years ago beneath Jerusalem, about 533 meters long through solid limestone
- Built to secure water supply during King Hezekiah's reign around 701 BCE in preparation for Assyrian invasion
- Linked Gihon Spring with Pool of Siloam inside city walls
- Two teams of workers began cutting from opposite ends and met precisely in the middle
- Teams met only a few centimeters apart vertically and horizontally
- Modern engineers debate how builders achieved this without modern surveying tools or light
- Siloam Inscription discovered in 1880 describes the moment teams met in ancient Hebrew letters
- Total fall in elevation is less than one meter, a slope precise that would be difficult with modern instruments
- Tunnel is one of the oldest intact water systems still functioning today
Sources
Hezekiah's Tunnel | ArmstrongInstitute.orgarmstronginstitute.org
Even by today's standards, the construction of this 533-meter-long (1,750 feet) subterranean passageway is an extraordinary feat of engineering.
King Hezekiah's Ingenious Sluice Gate? | ArmstrongInstitute.orgarmstronginstitute.org
The article reveals new evidence showing that Hezekiah's tunnel contained an ingenious sluice gate that allowed the water level to be controlled.
Jerusalem Archaeological Sites: Hezekiah's Tunneljewishvirtuallibrary.org
The waters of the Gihon were diverted into the Gai wadi by means of a tunnel 533 meters (581 yards) long, which was hewed from both ends simultaneously, ...
Hezekiah's Tunnel Reexamined - Biblical Archaeology Societybiblicalarchaeology.org
Hezekiah's Tunnel was dug by two teams, who worked in opposite directions and met in the middle, to prepare for the invasion of Sennacherib.
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