THE WATER SUPPLY OF JERUSALEM. 17 



the land." Lastly, probably during the reign of Hezekiah, 

 the winding vock-liewn tiumel, which still connects the 

 ■spring Avith the pool of 8iloam, was made, and the water 

 was collected in the two pools of Siloani (see Hastings' Diet, 

 ■of the Bible, art. " Siloam "). 



It is possible that other springs may have existed in the 

 Tyropoeon and St. Anne's ravines, but they are not mentioned 

 in the Bible or Josephus, and cannot have been of any 

 importance. 



The only Well of importance, Bir Eyub, or " Job's well," 

 which has claims to be considered Enrogel, is situated below 

 the junction of the Kidron and Hinnom valleys. It is 125 

 ■ feet deep and is rarely dry. After four or five days' con- 

 tinuous rain it becomes filled with flood-water and a stream 

 runs for a short distance dowm the valley. There are also 

 in several parts of the city retort-shaped excavations at the 

 bottom of deep shafts for the collection of such water as 

 filters through the beds of limestone. The well that 

 ■supplies the baths, Hammam esh-Shefa, is merely a shaft 

 in the rubbish which gives access to a small basin in which 

 water running down the Tyropoeon valley collects. It is 

 not certain whether the well known "well of spirits" in the 

 Haram esh-Sherif is a well or not. 



Cisterns for the collection and storage of water, coated 

 Avith hard durable cement, are found in all quarters of the 

 city and its environs. The oldest are those with natural 

 rock roofs which have been excavated in the meleke bed. 

 They are of all sizes, from the small rectangular tank with 

 its single draw-hole to the great storage reservoirs in the 

 Temple area "which have their roofs supported by pillars of 

 rock. The finest of these, called " The Great Sea/' holds 

 ■3,000,000 gallons, and is supposed to be the cistern wdiich 

 Simon covered Avith plates of brass (Sir. 1, 3). Next in 

 date are the rock-hewn tanks with vaulted roofs of masonry : 

 a few of these may date from the second century B.C. 

 Cisterns partly rock-hewn and partly of masonry, and those 

 Luilt in the debris of the old city are of later date. 



Cisterns are mentioned by Jeremiah (ii, 13), and, under 

 the monarchy, every house appears to have been supplied 

 with one (2 Kings xviii, 31 ; c/. Prov. v, 15; Isaiah xxxvi, 

 IG), for the collection of rain water, which w^as conveyed 

 from the roof and courtyard by pipes and surface gutters. 

 The water was drawn from the cistern by means of a wheel 

 {Eccles. xii, 6). Water collected, as described above, naturally 



c 



