Water in the Shadow of the Temple: Collecting Surface Runoff in the Walls of the Temple Mount

Various horizontal channels have been hewn on the southern and western walls of the Temple Mount, which, despite their prominent appearance, have so far received little attention in the study of the Temple Mount. It has been suggested in the past, and this view is accepted by most scholars, that these are channels from the Byzantine or early Muslim period that fed water systems that existed at the foot of the Temple Mount complex.

In this lecture we will discuss the archaeological finds and the chronological and stratigraphic data related to these channels. In light of this, we propose to date them to the days of the Second Temple, and more precisely to the first century CE. This water collection system illuminates another aspect of the water management in Jerusalem during the Second Temple period, which is directly related to the Herodian Temple Mount complex.