Article August 8, 1903 Issue

Modernizing Jerusalem

Manchester City (Eng.) News

As usual in Oriental countries, the admirable works constructed in ancient times for the water-supply of Jerusalem were long ago allowed to fall into a lamentable state of disrepair. The aqueducts no longer served their original purpose, or only did so when they happened to be in repair, and quite recently a serious water famine was only averted by the timely assistance of the railway company. Since then, a water system upon modern lines has been established, and water is now brought to the city from the so-called "Pools of Solomon," situated at a distance of about seven miles. A portion of the old stone aqueduct, says the Builder, has been utilized in parts where it could be repaired without unnecessary expense, but for the greater part of the distance four-inch iron pipes have been laid. Two public fountains have been erected for the use of the inhabitants, one within the enclosure of the Great Mosque, and the other inside the walls. The supply is still far from adequate, but the risk of water famine is much reduced. In connection with this subject it is interesting to recall the inscription at Siloam referring to the rock-cut tunnel leading from the Ophel ridge to the Pool of Siloam. The most recent translation thus describes the construction of this ancient engineering work: "(Behold) the excavation! Now this is the story of the tunnel: While the miners were still lifting up the pick towards each other, and while there were three cubits (to be broken), the voice of one called to his neighbor, for there was an excess in the rock on the right. They rose up—they struck on the west of the tunnel—the miners each to meet the other pick to pick. And there flowed the waters from their outlet to the pool for twelve hundred cubits, and (three-quarters) of a cubit was the height of the rocks over the heads of the miners." From this account it appears to be clear that the tunnel was excavated by two gangs working in opposite directions, a method requiring a considerable amount of skill and accuracy. — Manchester City (Eng.) News.

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