Footnote 6 – How Water Tunnels Worked

Sometime after the 9th century B.C. shaft/tunnel system was cut, the tunnel was deepened and graded so that the water then flowed from the spring to the base of the shaft inside the city. This saved steps for the water carriers who no longer had to walk through the tunnel, but the arrangement apparently proved unsatisfactory. Perhaps the water became fouled at the shaft end since it had no place to flow off. So the tunnel floor was again recut and regraded so the spring water no longer flowed to the base of the shaft.