OCTOBER 30, 2008

The Jerusalem Post has published an article by Etgar Lefkovits about the discovery of a tunnel which has been dated as 3,000 years old, with speculations that it belonged to a water tunnel network that served the city of Jerusalem and is possibly a particular tunnel referenced in scripture.

"A water tunnel dating back to the First Temple era - but that might have been used even earlier, during King David's conquest of Jerusalem - has been uncovered in the ancient City of David, a prominent Israeli archeologist said Wednesday.

 

The opening of the 3,000-year-old tunnel, which was found earlier this year during the ongoing excavations at the site, is just wide enough to allow one person to pass through, but only the first 50 meters are accessible since it is filled with debris and fallen stones, said Dr. Eilat Mazar, who is leading the dig at the site.

 

...The tunnel was discovered under an immense stone structure built in the 10th century BCE that has previously been identified by Mazar as the palace of King David.

 

...Near the end of the First Temple period, the tunnel was converted to an escape passage, perhaps used in a manner similar to King Zedekiah's escape during the Babylonian Siege, as related in 2 Kings 25:4, she said"

 

The complete article is at the Jerusalem Post.