City of David - Jerusalem

Pilgrim’s Way to the Temple Mount and the impressive Tunnel

The ancient City of David was located just south of the Old City of today and borders the Kidron Valley in the East.  In the 19th century archaeological exploration began and continues right up to the present time.

Only a few years ago the Ancient Shiloah Pool was discovered where the Kidron and Ben Hinnom Valleys meet. Excavations began and discoveries included a staircase that further excavations revealed were part of  an ancient road leading from the Shiloah Pool to the Temple Mount about 2300 feet to the north.

During the days of King Herod, 2000 years ago the construction of this magnificent pool took place and served as a central meeting place for pilgrims arriving in Jerusalem when they came to visit the Temple Mount for Passover,  Shavuot (The Festival of Weeks) and Sukkoth (The feast of the Tabernacles.  At that time there was an imposing road (The Herodian Road) connecting the Shiloah Pool to the Temple Mount. This road was lined with factories and shops  connected to Dairy manufacturing during the Hellenistic period and then during the Herodian period in Jerusalem the road was paved and the Shiloah pool formed which stored water for drinking and for visiting pilgrims to bathe.

The importance of the road increased due to the growth of the pilgrimage trend and the Shiloah played a crucial role in the ritual ceremony of libation, when water from the pool was carried to the Temple Mount as an offering.  In the Christian world the pool of  Siloam (Shiloah) plays a very important part because this is the place where Jesus healed the blind men.

Even though the Herodian road excavations only began a few years ago, the road has now been revealed in all its splendour. Adjoining the Herodian Road there has also been the discovery of an important drainage channel from the days of Herod. The man made tunnel  is more than 700 meters long and runs from the Western Wall in the North to the Pool of Shiloah in the South and was constructed with the intention of protecting flooding on the road.

The excavations and cleaning of the Tunnel has made it possible to walk through it from the pool itself to the Western Wall. There are sections of the Herodian Road that have also been excavated and distinctive steps have been revealed along its length.

During excavations some notable and rare artifacts were discovered which have a remarkable similarity to Josephus’s descriptions in his book “Wars of the Jews”.

 Visitors can begin touring the site in the Pool of Siloam, and continue up through the Herodian ancient road walking through the tunnel all the way to the Western Wall