Image Details

Israel Antiquities Authority

Cutting across the plain, this paved aqueduct was constructed to guide rainwater from the fault scarp and Nahal Qumran to the site of Khirbet Qumran. Magen argues that Qumran’s sophisticated water system was built mainly to provide the site with the fine clay for pottery production that was carried along in the floodwaters. It was not meant primarily for ritual bathing.