THE WATER SUPPLY OF JUEUSALEM. 15 



locally known as misse) which have a south-easterly dip. 

 These strata overlie a thick bed of soft, easily Avorked stone 

 (Lower Hippurite limestone, locally known as meleke), 

 l)eneath which are beds of pink and white indurated chalk. 

 This formation greatly facilitated the construction of under- 

 ground cisterns, conduits, and drains, since the soft melehe 

 cuuld be quarried away, and the harder misse left as a 

 natural roof to protect the water from evaporation and 

 pollution. 



The only true spring, at the present day, is the "Fountain 

 (if the Virgin" in the Kidron Valley, at the base of the 

 eastern spur. The people principally depend upon wells, 

 upon the rainfall collected in cisterns and tanks, upon flood 

 water impounded in reservoirs and allowed to flow down 

 to the city by gravitation, and upon Avater brought from a 

 distance by aqueducts. The position of Jerusalem is con- 

 venient for the construction of Avorks connected Avith these 

 artificial sources of Avater supply. 



Rainfall. — This varies greatly. The aA'erage for the rainy 

 seasons of the forty years 1860-1900 is 25*7 inches, the 

 minimum 12-5 inches, and the maximum 35'6 inches. 



There is no reason to suppose that the laAvs Avhich 

 gOA'erned the groAvth of Jerusalem differed from those that 

 preA-ailed at other places. The first settlement Avould 

 naturally be on the eastern spur in close proximity to the 

 spring ; and many of the best authorities believe that the 

 toAvn had not spread beyond the limits of that spur before 

 its capture by David. Possibly the pre-Israelite occupants 

 constructed conduits to carry off the surplus Avater of the 

 spring to imgate gardens in the Kidron Valley, and made 

 the rock-hcAvn shaft, Avhich Avas discovered by Sir Charles 

 Warren, to reach the Avater in times of Avar and siege. 



The improvement of the water supply must haA^e kept 

 pace with the growth of the city and the increased require- 

 ments of the people. For instance, the rapid extension of 

 the city during the prosperous reigns of David and Solomon, 

 and the institution of the Temple services, must have 

 necessitated the construction of AvaterAvorks on a large 

 scale. So also the revival of the ser\'ices by Hezekiah and 

 his preparations to resist the Assyrian army Avere ac- 

 companied by additions to the Avorks connected Avith the 

 supply of water. After the fall of the Monarchy, the only 

 pre-Christian building periods of importance Avere those 

 connected Avitli the names of Nehemiah and Herod the 



