Israeli Archaeologists Unearth 2,700-Year-Old Water System

A team of Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) archaeologists and students has discovered an Assyrian-period water system near Rosh Ha-Ayin, a city in the Central District of Israel.

Aerial view of the excavation area, with Rosh Ha-Ayin in the background. Image credit: Yitzhak Marmelstein.

“It is difficult not to be impressed by the sight of the immense underground reservoir quarried out so many years ago,” said Dr. Gilad Itach, director of excavations from IAA.

“With an annual rainfall of 500 mm, the region’s winter rains would easily have filled the reservoir.”

The reservoir is nearly 20 m (65 feet) long, over 4 m (13 feet) deep, and was built at the end of the Iron Age (late 8th or early 7th century BC).

“On its walls, near the entrance, we identified engravings of human figures, crosses, and a vegetal motif that were probably carved by passersby in a later period,” Dr. Itach said.

“Overall, we identified seven figures measuring 15-30 cm (6-12 inches). Most have outstretched arms and a few appear to be holding some kind of object.”

“Some of the potsherds found on the floors of the rooms probably belonged to vessels used to draw water from the reservoir.”

Left: view from inside the reservoir. Image credit: Assaf Peretz, Israel Antiquities Authority. Right: human figures and crosses engraved on the walls. Image credit: Gilad Itach, Israel Antiquities Authority.

In recent years, IAA archaeologists have discovered several First-Temple period farmsteads near Rosh Ha-Ayin.

“They were probably erected after the destruction of the Kingdom of Israel in 720 BC, when the Assyrian empire dominated the region,” Dr. Itach said.

“The establishment of farmhouses in this area is interesting, given the fact that many regions within the decimated Kingdom of Israel remained desolate.”

“Some scholars believe that the establishment of the farmsteads was motivated by the empire’s wish to settle the area, which lay on an international route and near the western border of the Assyrian empire.”

“The structure exposed in this excavation is different from most of the previously discovered farmsteads,” he said.

“Its orderly plan, vast area, strong walls, and the impressive water reservoir hewn beneath it suggest that the site was administrative in nature and it may well have controlled the surrounding farmsteads.”