COURTESY EMIL ALADJEM / IAA
Directly south of Jerusalem’s ancient Temple Mount, between the Ophel and the City of David, archaeologists unearthed a new mystery: a series of strange channels with smoothed inner surfaces.
There are two separate installations about 30 feet apart: a northern group of nine channels and a southern group of five channels. Both groups fell out of use in the late ninth century BCE, during the reigns of the Judahite kings Joash and Amaziah.
The function of the channels, however, continues to mystify archaeologists. Yuval Gadot and Yiftah Shalev, co-directors of the Givati Parking Lot excavation where they were found, interpret the installations as related to some kind of industrial process. Since they do not show signs of channeling water, the channels may have been used to soak or process raw materials, perhaps flax used in linen production or dates that were baked in the sun to extract honey. But analysis of the surrounding soil and rock has yet to produce any clear evidence of what the channels once held or how they were used.
Whatever the purpose of the channels, archaeologists believe their location next to the Temple Mount and the city’s royal administrative quarter indicates that the channels were an important part of the city’s industry. “The central location of the channels near the city’s most prominent areas indicates that the product made using them was connected to the economy of the Temple or palace,” said Gadot.
Directly south of Jerusalem’s ancient Temple Mount, between the Ophel and the City of David, archaeologists unearthed a new mystery: a series of strange channels with smoothed inner surfaces. There are two separate installations about 30 feet apart: a northern group of nine channels and a southern group of five channels. Both groups fell out of use in the late ninth century BCE, during the reigns of the Judahite kings Joash and Amaziah. The function of the channels, however, continues to mystify archaeologists. Yuval Gadot and Yiftah Shalev, co-directors of the Givati Parking Lot excavation where they were found, interpret […]
