Text
and photos by Todd Bolen,
Associate Professor of Biblical Studies
The Master's College, Israel Bible Extension
Judean Hills, Israel
Last Updated: August 12, 2005
-Unlike
the rest of the photos on BiblePlaces.com, some of the photos on this
page are recent and not included in the current edition of the
Pictorial Library-
See here for an analysis of the latest news reports
Click the photo for a close-up view
City
of David
Archaeologists working
in the City of David have uncovered the edge of what they believe is
the Pool of Siloam from the time of Jesus (cf. John 9). The
photo at left shows the city of Jerusalem with the Temple Mount and the
City of David. The excavations are on the west side of the
City of David. Letter "A" is located where the traditional
"Pool of Siloam" is and Letter "B" shows the area of the present
excavations.
Early
1900s
The photograph at
right was taken in the early 1900s and shows the Pool of Siloam before
later Muslim construction above it. An early description of
the pool reads, "There is nothing picturesque about it, certainly. The
crumbling walls, and fallen columns in and around it, give it an air of
neglect." It is a parallelogram about fifty-three feet long and
eighteen feet wide. . . . Dr. Thomson says he has seen this pool nearly
full, but that now the water merely passes through it. "The
intermittent flow is supposed to be due to a natural syphon, but the
natives' explanation is that a dragon lives below and swallows the
water when he is awake, but that when he sleeps it wells up freely.
"--Major Conder.
This is the pool that
you'll see today whether you walk through Hezekiah's Tunnel and emerge
here or walk above through the City of David. There are clear
remains around this pool from the Byzantine church built by Empress
Eudocia. This is the pool that has long been visited as the
pool of Jesus' miracle.
Initial
Discovery
In
the summer of 2004, work along a drainage pipe revealed some large
stone steps. Archaeologists Eli Shukrun and Ronny Reich
quickly revealed a series of steps leading down into the adjacent
garden. In this photo you can see the grates of the drainage
channel which will prove to be an obstacle for future excavation.
Photo taken on June 24, 2004.
Photo taken November 7, 2004
The
Steps Revealed
After some months of work, a large section of these steps were
revealed, but work was hindered on one side by the drainage channel
(visible as the concrete section on the left side of the photo) and on
the other by property owned by the Greek Orthodox Church. At
the far end, the corner of the steps is visible, but at this point, no
other corners had been revealed.
Going
Backward
Visitors to the site in the winter of 2005 were disappointed to see
that the pool had been covered over. This was necessitated by
the removal of the remaining street and drainage channel. In
the meantime, excavations proceeded elsewhere, including in the section
of the Siloam Channel visible on the right side of the photo.
Photo taken March 13, 2005
Photo taken May 19, 2005
Re-Revealed
But by Passover the drainage channel had been moved (now visible as the
black pipe at top) and the earth re-excavated from the steps.
At this point, more of the pool has been revealed than ever before,
including the northern corner of the steps at the far end of the
photo. Pottery indicates that this pool was in use in the 1st
century. The blind man washed the mud off of his eyes in this
pool and received his sight (see John 9).
Where
Does It Go?
This view is from across the valley (looking east) and shows the steps
that have been excavated (as above). It also gives a
perspective of how the rest of the pool is buried underneath the
garden. Hopes are high that an agreement will be reached to
allow the excavation of the rest of the pool.
Photo taken July 3, 2005
Latest
Excavations
Excavations continue to reveal more sections of the pool on the
northern and southern ends. Several shafts at the northern
end of the pool have revealed large paving stones. On the
southern end, excavations have uncovered a large wall and a section of
the pool from the Old Testament period. These are in the pit
below the wall in the foreground of the photo. Altogether
about 20 steps (4 sets of 5 each) have been excavated leading from
street level into the pool.
Putting
It Together
This drawing, by Father Vincent in the early 1900s, shows the
relationship of the two pools (west is at the top). The pool
marked with a yellow arrow is the modern pool at the end of Hezekiah's
Tunnel. It is narrow and shallow. The new
excavations are in the area labeled as "Birket el-Hamra" and marked
with the red arrow. Scholars have long believed that this was
the area of an ancient pool, but without excavations they have not
understood its date, size, or other important details. A wild
prediction: this will be the archaeological discovery of the decade for
biblical studies. At least there is no chance of it being
declared a forgery.
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Biblical
Pool of Siloam uncovered in Jerusalem (LA Times - now
available only by purchase) Primary article from the August 2005 press
conference which was duplicated throughout the press. There
is a partial copy in the DrudgeReport
archive.
Biblical Pool of Siloam
Discovered (Biblical Archaeology Society) Full pdf version of
the article by Hershel Shanks is available. More accurate
than the LA Times article.
Report in Dec.
2004
Archaeologists
identify traces of ‘miracle’ pool (MSNBC) News article from
Dec. 2004 about the discovery of the Pool of Siloam, including an
artist's reconstruction of what the (newly-discovered) pool liked like
in the time of Jesus.
General Articles
Bible History Online - Pool of Siloam (Bible History Online)
Brief description of pool with relevant Bible verses.
Includes an artist's depiction of the (Byzantine-era) pool.
Siloam, Pool of (WebBible Encyclopedia -
ChristianAnswers.Net) Basic article on the pool that covers the main
facts as known before the current excavations. With links to
related subjects.
Pool of
Siloam (Wikipedia) Brief article that gives the well-known
facts and New Testament connection. In need of updating.
Pool
of Siloam (Personal Page, Jerusalem in 19th Century Art)Features a drawing by W. D. Bartlett,
published in 1847, of Siloam Pool. Compares this
view to a photograph taken in 1995.
