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Gushing from the eastern slope of the Hill of Ophel, the Gihon spring flows into this rock chamber from beneath the steps in the background. The water level rises and falls, a characteristic of the spring which is preserved in its Hebrew name Gihon; gicha in Hebrew means “rush or gush forth.” To walk the length of Hezekiah’s Tunnel visitors enter this chamber and from it follow the winding tunnel to its end on the western slope in the Pool of Siloam. Before a blocking wall was built, the spring water also flowed from here into the chamber below Warren’s Shaft. The Warren’s Shaft system permitted residents within the city to walk underground to the top of the vertical shaft and from there to draw water in a lowered bucket without venturing outside the protecting city walls.