377 Urban Water Reservoirs in the Land of the Bible

ARAM, 13-14 (2001-2002), 377-401 Ts. TSUK 377

URBAN WATER RESERVOIRS IN THE LAND OF THE BIBLE DURING THE BRONZE AND IRON AGES (3000 BC - 586 BC)

TSVIKA TSUK

“And he brought the water to the town” (Kings II.20:20).

At the beginning of the third millenium BC the first cities were founded in the land of the Bible. Urban planning is evident in these cities, which included residential quarters, commercial zones, public houses, palaces, temples, walls and fortifications, gates etc. The fortifications, which were made to protect the cities against enemy attacks and from prolonged siege, included constructions on an unprecedented scale. Lack of perennial drinking water within the city walls would have enabled the enemy to subjugate the city in a long siege due to lack of water. Optimal defense of a city under siege could not be accom- plished without an urban water system. Therefore, each fortified city that was constructed during the Bronze and Iron Ages had a water supply system, which was part and parcel of the planning and execution during construction of the city. It can be said that a fortified city could not exist for long without such a perennial water supply system within its walls. During the periods under discussion, two types of urban water systems are recognized: 1. Water systems fed by a spring or ground water within the city walls. 2. Water systems with reservoirs fed by drainage water or a spring. In this article I will survey the urban water reservoirs systems by their epochs, their types and their typology.

THE EARLY BRONZE AGE

In the Early Bronze age (the first half of the third millenium B.C.), we note two cities, Ai and Arad, which had collection systems for draining water into open reservoirs (see Fig. 1) within the city walls. Ai1 is located about 15 km north of Jerusalem. The city is surrounded by thick walls, which enclose an area of 27.5 acres (110 dunams) (see Fig. 2). In

1 J.A. Callaway, “The 1968-1969 Ai (et-Tell) Excavations, BASOR 198 (1970), p. 29; J.A. Callaway, The Early Bronze Age Sanctuary at Ai (et-Tell), (London, 1972), p. 16; J.A. Callaway, “Ai”. The New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land, Vol. 1, (Jerusalem, 1993), pp. 39-45. 378 URBAN WATER RESERVOIRS IN THE LAND OF THE BIBLE area K a large open reservoir (see Fig. 3) was exposed which was intended to collect drainage water, drawn from the upper part of the city. It is about 25 metres wide and 2.5 metres deep, and its volume is more than 1800 cubic meters. The floor is made of stones laid on clay rich soil, which becomes im- pervious on contact with water. Also, large stones were laid in the thick dam wall and coated with clay. According to Callaway the reservoir and the small spring, which is found in the adjacent wash, supplied about 2000 cubic metres to about a thousand people. Arad2 was the southernmost city in Israel surrounded by a wall during the Early Bronze Age (see Fig. 4), and was laid out in a surface area of about 25 acres (a 100 dunams). The city was built on several hills surrounding a depression into which rainwater was drained through the radial streets, so that an open reservoir was created. The reservoir was about 1/4 acres (one dunam) in surface area, surrounded by a ring of structures that were used to manage and control the water. During times of heavy rain drainage water flowed through the streets into the reservoir. The water was hauled in small vessels, which were used to fill large jars with a volume of 30-50 litres. Different scholars had varying ideas regarding the management of the water system at Arad. It was possible to store from 915 to 2000 cubic metres.3 Each person consumed from 1 to 1.5 cubic metre per year. The population num- bered from 720 to 2000 inhabitants.4 Some scholars even suggested that the amount of water was not sufficient and that during the summer season the city was deserted, and its inhabitants migrated to Mount Hebron area.5 The amount of drainage water that could be collected was 5.5% to 11% of the total precipitation.6 When water was collected from the roofs of the houses and from yards, it was possible to collect about 58% of the total amount of precipitation. There are three other options: (a) the climate was more humid; (b) the per- centage of the drainage water was larger; (c) there was another water source.

2 R. Amiran et. al. “The Early Canaanite City of Arad”. QADMONIOT 13 (1980), pp. 10-11 (Hebrew); R. Amiran et. al. “The Water-Systems at Arad”. QADMONIOT 18 (1985), pp. 15-17 (Hebrew). 3 N. Rosenan,. “A Note on the Water Storage and Size of Population”, in R. Amiran (ed.), Early Arad -The Chalcolithic Settlement and Early Bronze City vol. I: First-Fifth Seasons of Ex- cavations 1962-1966, (Jerusalem 1978), p. 14; Y. Morin, G. Avigad, Rain Runoff and Irrigation, Arad Vally. (Jerusalem, 1984) (Hebrew). 4 N. Rosenan,. “A Note on the Water Storage and Size of Population”, in R. Amiran (ed.), Early Arad -The Chalcolithic Settlement and Early Bronze City vol. I: First-Fifth Seasons of Ex- cavations 1962-1966, (Jerusalem 1978), p. 14; Z. Herzog, Archaeology of the City. Urban Plan- ning in Ancient Israel and its Social Implications. (Tel Aviv, 1997), pp. 52-53. 5 S.W. Helms, 1982, “Paleo-Beduin and Transmigrant Urbanis”, in A. Hadidi (ed.), Studies in the History and Archaeology of Jordan I, (Amman, 1982), pp. 97-113. 6 A. Yair, & R. Garti, “Water Supply to Ancient City of Arad”, in R. Amiran & O. Ilan (eds.), Early Arad – The Chalcolithic and Early Bronze II City: Architecture and Town Plan- ning, vol. II: Sixth to Eighteenth Seasons of Excavations 1971-1978, 1980-1984. (Jerusalem, 1996), pp. 127-138. Ts. TSUK 379

In my opinion, we should calculate about 1.5 cubic metres per person per year. In this way, the average amount of precipitation, even using our present day data, which is 1450 cubic metres, would be sufficient for about 1000 people and the maximum amount to about 2250 inhabitants. In my opinion, the climate in that period was different than that of today. The drainage was more plentiful and it seems likely that they had more reservoirs outside the city, which served the caravans, the passers-by and the animals. If the climate was more humid, summer precipitation and a cooler climate were likely.

THE MIDDLE BRONZE AGE

From the Middle Bronze Age one can point to one reservoir in Jerusalem (see Fig. 5), which was discovered in the excavations of Reich and Shukron in the Gihon spring:7 the rock-cut pool above “the round chamber”. This issue is still being investigated and it is premature to talk about it.

THE LATE BRONZE AGE

From the Late Bronze Age, only one subterranean reservoir was discovered so far, in the upper city of Hazor8 (see Fig. 6) within the area of the palace. The entrance to the reservoir was through a corridor built from large stones and roofed with large plates, which create a false arch. In the lower part of the corridor there are stone steps, which lead inwards at a moderate incline, enabling water haulage from every place in the reservoir according to varia- tions in the water level. In the southern wall, about 3 metres from the entrance and about 2 metres above the floor, there is a basalt spout, fed by a channel covered with stone plates. At the depth of 3 metres the tunnel reaches bedrock, and from then on it is cut out of the rock for 30 metres in a steep angle to a depth of 8.5 metres with an average width of about 2 metres. The end is shaped like a large clover-like cross, which creates 3 cells. The whole reservoir was covered with plaster and its volume is about 150 cubic metres. As the reservoir was underneath the palace floor, it is possible that it was used only by the king and the palace servants for everyday use, as well as times of du- ress. Theoretical calculations show that the surface area needed to fill the reservoir, was about 1200 square metres.

7 R. Reich & E. Shukrun, “Jerusalem, the Gihon Spring” HADASHOT ARKHEOLOGIYOT, 109 (1999) pp. 77*-78*, fig. 178 p. 117. 8 A. Ben-Tor, (ed.). Hazor III-IV. An Account of the Third and Forth Seasons of Excavations 1957-8, (Jerusalem, 1989), pp. 18-22. 380 URBAN WATER RESERVOIRS IN THE LAND OF THE BIBLE

IRON AGE 2

From Iron Age 2 we know of 9 cities (see Fig. 7) whose water reservoirs were filled by a spring, or used drainage or flood water. Jerusalem grew during the Iron Age 2 and became a huge city with a total number of 25,000 inhabitants. This population consumed about 125,000 cubic metres per year, while the amount of the outflow of the spring, which is more than 500,000 cubic metres per year, surpassed the needs of the population. Therefore, the Gihon spring was the most important water source of the city. The Hezkiyahu tunnel was cut at the end of the 8th century BC. Three pools9 (see Fig. 8) were located at the lower end of the tunnel. They are: the lower pool, the original remnants of which were found by Guthe,10 who determined that it measured about 26x6 metres and about 1.5 metre deep; from the other end of this pool the water kept flowing in a channel, which leads in various angles due east. On its way to the Kidron valley, 2 channels branched out towards Birkat-el-Hamra. A third pool, which was found between the walls by Bliss and Dickie,11 has a volume of about 14,000 cubic metres. These pools could have served the population of Jerusalem at the end of the Iron Age. At Gezer, Macalister12 excavated north of what is called today “the Gate of Solomon” and found what he considered to be the main water reservoir (see Fig. 9) of the city. It is cut in a soft chalky, porous rock. The upper entrance measures 17 x 14 metres and is 9 metres deep. At the bottom of this reservoir another one was excavated to an additional depth of 9 metres. It measures 8.2 x 7.5 metres in the upper part and tapers downwards. Two layers of plaster coat the walls, each about 1 cm thick. Descent into the pool was through a staircase, which is partially cut into the rock and partially built. Macalister cal- culated the volume of the reservoir at about 2400 cubic metres, but did not ex- plain how it was filled with water. In my opinion, the only way to fill it was with drainage water. One would have had to accumulate water from a surface area of about 5 acres (19.2 dunams). At first Macalister thought that the reservoir belonged to the last stage of the site, but later on he noticed that it was surrounded by a wall built directly on the bedrock. He suggested that the reservoir was actually earlier and belonged to the first stage of habitation in Gezer. In my opinion, this water work is from the Iron Age 2. At Beit Shemesh, in area C, a water reservoir (see Figs. 10-12) was found in the summer of 1993 during the excavation of Bunimovitz and Lederman.13

9 M. Heker, “The Water Supply of Jerusalem in Antiquity” in M. Avi-Yona, (ed.), Jerusalem Volume I, (Jerusalem, 1957), p. 200. (Hebrew). 10 H. Guthe,. Ausgrabungen bei Jerusalem, ZDPV 5 (1882), p. 55. 11 F.J. Bliss, & A.C. Dickie, Excavations at Jerusalem 1894-1897, (London, 1898). 12 R.A.S. Macalister, The Excavations of Gezer I, (London, 1912), p. 256. 13 S. Bunimovitz, & Z. Lederman, “Beth-Shemesh: Culture Conflict on Judah’s Frontier”, BAR 23 (1997), pp. 42-49, 75-77. Ts. TSUK 381

It has the shape of an asymmetrical cross which is composed of a square center from which 4 non-identical cells branch out. The dimensions of the reservoir from the end of the branches are 24 x 23.5 metres, and the maximum depth is about 6 metres. The roof of the reservoir is of nari, a crust-like rock formed over soft chalk, due to possible bacterial activity, whereas the reservoir itself was cut in soft chalky rock. The reservoir has one entrance, plastered steps and a vertical constructed shaft, as well as 4 water channels. The walls are usually plastered all the way to the ceiling, and in some places there is plaster even on the ceiling. The plaster has 4 layers with total thickness of 14 cm. The earliest one is gray, the second, which is the main one, is about 8-10 cm thick and is yellow, and the third and fourth layers are gray. On inspection of the plaster, it seems that during the stage of layer one there was an ancient cistern that possible relates to the wide diagonal entrance, and only during the stage of layer two was the reservoir cut all the way to its present shape. On the plaster of layer 3 there are signs of smoothing done by brushes made of weeds. The volume of the reservoir was about 700 cubic metres, and the amount of yearly precipitation in the area is 500 mm of rain, from which one could collect 50% of drainage from 50% of the area. In order to fill the reservoir a total surface area of 1.4 acres (5.6 dunams) was needed, which constitute only about 20% of total area of the city of Beit Shemesh, which is about 7.5 acres (30 dunams). The number of inhabitants during the apogee of the city was about 1000. The amount of water that was needed per year was about 5000 cubic metres. Only 14% of this amount can be stored in the reservoir and that is why I think the city must have had more reservoirs. In the western opening a monumental entrance was discovered, which in- cludes a staircase plastered in the lower part, and an impressive passage roofed with 3 huge stones in the shape of cigars, which weigh about half a ton each. The huge stone walls, which are meticulously built, constrain the descent into the reservoir. These steps were constantly used by the city inhabitants, in order to draw water into their houses. In the right side of the entrance there is a niche in which one could place a water jar. The reservoir construction is dated to the 10th century BC, based on excavation of the foundations of the structure outside the reservoir. It was damaged by the Assyrians, but was reused in the 7th century BC, before it was covered. Khirbet-el-Huh (Etam) is situated 2 km south of Beit Lehem, and is identified with the Biblical Etam. The identification relies on the geographical loca- tion, the archeological findings and the preservation of the name in the adjacent spring, called Ein Atan. According to the archeological survey the site was populated as of Iron Age 1 until the Byzantine period. The site is found on a low hill, and on its western side there is a saddle, which overlooks the Atan spring. On the northwestern part of the site, a bit east of the saddle there is a 382 URBAN WATER RESERVOIRS IN THE LAND OF THE BIBLE water system (see Fig. 13) cut into the rock, which was first investigated by Donner and Kutsch,14 who determined that it was meant to supply water to the inhabitants of the city, even during times of siege. They describe 2 tunnels about 10 metres long, which meet in a passageway, through which one enters an inner cell, which evidently leads to the water source. Research conducted by the writer in 1985 with the participation of the Israel Cave Research Center,15 clearly showed that the reservoir (see Fig. 14) is natural and was not cut into the rock, as Donner and Kutsch suggested. The reservoir was composed of a succession of cavities with an average height of 2 metres. The maximum length is 42 metres, the average width is about 4 metres and the estimated volume is about 300 cubic meters. The smooth, rounded ceiling and walls indicate its formation as a natural cave at ground water level. The plaster which coats the walls is composed of 2 layers: the lower one is gray and the upper one is yellow in its external part and white in its internal part. Comparison to the plaster layers from Beit Shemesh enables us to determine that both layers are from the Iron Age 2 period. In the northeastern end the ceiling of the reservoir rises for a few metres, and forms a space, which ex- tends upwards and is blocked by a rock avalanche. This avalanche must have occurred recently, since in Donner and Kutsch's plan this place still has an opening, which leads to the city. As we can learn from the remains of the impressive wall surrounded the site, the opening was used by the inhabitants to descend into the reservoir to draw water. The other entrance was used to enable water flow into the reservoir, either drainage water or water from Atan spring, which is located 600 meters to the west. It could be that in the past this opening was camouflaged, except for a narrow passageway to enable water flow. The water reservoir of Amman (see Fig. 15) is found to the north and underneath the acropolis of the city. It was excavated by Bartoccini16 in the 30's. The reservoir is cut in the rock in the shape of a Lorraine cross.17 Based on the statue of Yerachezer, the son of the Ammonite ruling dynasty at the end of the 8th century BC, which was found at the entrance to the reservoir, the excavators attributed the construction of the reservoir to Iron Age 2 at the latest. The reservoir continued to function even during the Hellenistic period, and was known during the siege that Antiochus III made on the city in 218 BC, when the attacking army intruded into the city through the reservoir.

14 H. Donner, & E. Kutsch, “Archäologische Bemerkugen zu Etam”, ZDPV 79 (1963), pp. 113-126. 15 Ts. Tsuk, Y. Miron & A. Frumkin, “The Water Reservoir Cave at Etam”, in A. Frumkin (ed.), NIQROT ZURIM 13 (1986), pp. 132-137. (Hebrew, English summary). 16 R. Bartoccini, Scavi ad Amman della Missione Archeologica Italia IV, 1933-4 nums. 4-5, (Roma, 1933), pp.10-15. 17 A. Almagro, “The Survey of Roman Monuments of Amman by the Italian Mission in 1930”, ADAJ 27 (1983), pp. 608, 618-9. Ts. TSUK 383

The plan of the reservoir is similar to the ones in Beit Shemesh and Beer Sheba. Its shape was intended to create a maximum volume with the smallest possible opening. The reservoir has an external opening through which water entered and it has a tunnel with steps for drawing water. Assuming that the level of accumulation was at 7 metres, the volume of the reservoir was 1264 cubic metres. Twenty two steps led from the entrance of the reservoir to the bottom. To the right of the entrance there is a channel through which water flowed in. To the left of the entrance there is a passageway 28 metres long, which led into the city, and is now plugged. The first section is horizontal and it is continued with 20 regular steps and 2 especially high steps, each about a metre high. It is possible that they were meant to make it difficult for an enemy to enter. The elevation difference from the top of the hill to the bottom of the reservoir is 15 metres. Heshbon which is identified with Tel Hisban,18 is located about 20 km southwest of Amman. The surface area of the Tel is 50 acres (200 dunams). On its western side, at layer 17, which dated to the 9th-8th centuries BC, a water pool, was found partially cut into the rock, and measuring 17 x 17 metres, about 7 metres deep. Its volume is about 2000 cubic metres. A number of channels cut into the rock drained water into the pool. According to the excavators, its volume is larger than that supplied by drainage water. They suggested therefore, that water was added from the bottom of the Tel. Assuming that the amount of precipitation in the area was 400 mm per year, and that one could accumulate only 50% of this amount from only 50% of the area, one would need a draining area of only 5 acres (20 dunams) to fill this pool. This surface area is only about 10% of the surface of the Tel, and that is why I think the excavators miscalculated, and the pool could be filled with rain water which descended on part of the city. It could be that this pool is the one mentioned in the Bible: “Your eyes are like pools in Heshbon” (Song of Songs 7:5). The reservoir at Beer Sheba (see Figs. 16-17) was fully excavated by Herzog19 and Ginaton in 1994 in the northeastern part of the Tel. This is a water work which was made for peaceful times as well as war times. It is composed of 3 parts: (a) the entrance shaft; (b) the water reservoir; (c) the tunnel and the feeding channel. (a) The entrance shaft is 15.5 metres deep, it is shaped as an inverted pyra- mid, and its upper measurements are 11 x 10.5 metres. The shaft is covered with regular rounded rocks, lying excellently fitted one on top of the other in an excellent state of preservation. Five staircases attached to the

18 L.T. Geraty, “Heshbon”, The New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land, Vol. 2, (Jerusalem, 1993), pp. 626-630. 19 Z. Herzog, “The Water-System at Tel Beer Sheba”, Twenty-First Archaeological Confer- ence in Israel, (Jerusalem 18-19 May 1995), p. 18. (Hebrew). 384 URBAN WATER RESERVOIRS IN THE LAND OF THE BIBLE

walls of the shaft descend to its bottom. The lowermost staircase leads through a “gate” into the diagonal tunnel and these steps lead to the reservoir. On the lower steps artifacts from the 2nd and 1st centuries BC were found in the excavations, which support the assumption that the reservoir was in operation until that period. (b) The reservoir has the shape of a double cross, and is composed of a succession of 5 rectangular cells surrounding a constructed column, which was meant to support the ceiling. It is covered with 4 layers of plaster with a total thickness of 8-10 cm. The second layer is yellow, and its main component is brown silt. The color and possibly the composition are similar to those of the layer of plaster in the reservoirs at Beit Shemesh and Etam. Immediately near the entrance, there is a wide step which could have probably been used to lay water jars. A wall built of ashlar stones at the end of the first cell was probably built during the Hellenistic period. A big column was built in the center of the reservoir, probably during the cutting work, to prevent the collapse of the ceiling. The cells are rectangular shaped and in the center of the northern wall there is a slide through which water entered into the reservoir. (c) The tunnel and feeding channel. The slide is steep in its lower part and moderate in its upper part. It is the end of a tunnel with a ceiling cut in the shape of a barrel arch with a channel in the center. Further on there is a diagonal shaft with stairs, which was used during the construction of the water works. When work was finished, it was blocked in order to prevent its discovery by a potential enemy. After a short curve the tunnel carries on in the shape of a barrel arch towards the north. The tunnel ends, and further on the excavation exposed a water channel, built and roofed with large flint stones. It was exposed for about 10 metres, its depth is about 45 cm and it is about 25 cm wide. The volume of accumulation, is about 480 cubic metres. The average precipitation in Beer Sheba today is about 200 mm per year. From this amount we can collect about 50% and from only 50% of the area. In order to fill the reservoir, we would need a collection area of close to 5 acres (20 dunams) while the area of the city is only half of that size. It seems that, by using a diversion dam further up along the Hebron wash, it was possible to direct with the moderately angled channel, part of the flood water that flowed through the wash into the reservoir. In Tel Beer Sheba there were about 300 inhabitants. Therefore, the amount of water, which was 480 cubic metres, could supply 1.6 cubic metres per person per year or about 5 litres per day, which is a small barely sufficient amount. Three additional reservoirs were identified in Megiddo, Lachish and Aroer, but those have not yet been excavated. Ts. TSUK 385

In Megiddo Yadin20 found the opening of a plastered reservoir (see Fig. 18) with a monumental staircase leading to it. Water arrived from a channel from the nearby spring of Ein Kobi or from drainage water. In the southeastern part of the city of Lachish, there is a huge quarry, which measures 25 x 22 metres and is 22.5 metres deep. 12,375 cubic metres of rock were taken out of it, and the excavators nicknamed it “the large shaft”.21 One of the possibilities, according to Dr. Yanai, is that this is the water system from the Iron Age 2, similar to the other water systems of this period, as found in Hazor and Megiddo, or a reservoir for drainage water, similar to the one in Beit Shemesh. Tel Aroer,22 located 22 kmoutheast of Beer Sheba. On the northern side there is a bowl shaped depression with a diameter of 40 metres (see Fig. 19). It can be assumed that here was an underground water reservoir similar to the one in Beer Sheba, which was fed by a feeding channel from flood water in the Aroer wash.

CONCLUSION

In the Early Bronze Age water reservoirs were fed by drainage water within the city limits, and they are open reservoirs, being waterproofed by their clay rich soil and walls. In the Middle Bronze Age there was one open reservoir in Jerusalem, whose source is the Gihon spring. In the Late Bronze Age, in Hazor, there is for the first time an underground reservoir that collected drainage water and is all plastered by limy plaster, which is impermeable. In the Iron Age 2, there are both open reservoirs and subterranean ones fed by drainage water or a spring, and they are fully plastered. The majority of these reservoirs are found in the southern part of Israel, starting at the Amman-Jerusalem line and southwards. In the northern part of Israel, besides the reservoir of Megiddo, whose nature is not yet fully understood, people used mainly water reservoirs of the first type, that is water systems cut all the way to ground water level, and therefore did not necessitate reservoirs. Should we connect this phenomenon to the difference between the Kingdom of Israel and the King- dom of Judea? In my opinion, this phenomenon is related to the regional char- acters of the different parts of Israel. It is the result of the fact that in the southern part of the country there are very few springs and ground water level is far from the surface. This explains the reliance on drainage water and its accumu-

20 Y.Yadin, “The Megiddo of the Kings of Israel”, QADMONIOT 3 (1970), pp. 54-55. (Hebrew). 21 O. Tufnell, Lachish III (Tell Ed-Duweir), The Iron Age – Text, (London, 1953), pp. 158- 163. 22 A. Biran, “Aroer”, The New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land, Vol. 1, (Jerusalem, 1993), pp. 89-92. 386 URBAN WATER RESERVOIRS IN THE LAND OF THE BIBLE lation in subterranean reservoirs. Each fortified city built during the Bronze and Iron Ages had its own urban water supply system, which was an insepara- ble part of planning and execution during building of the city. It can be said, therefore, that a fortified city could not survive for long without a dependable water supply system within its walls. Even through our information about reservoirs in the Bronze Age is very limited, it is possible to imagine the development from open reservoirs in the Early Bronze Age, covered with clay and fed by rain water, to fully plastered underground reservoirs in Iron Age 2.

ABBREVIATIONS

ADAJ: Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan. BAR: Biblical Archaeology Review, Washington. BASOR: Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research. HADASHOT ARKHEOLOGIYOT: Excavations and Surveys in Israel, Israel Antiqui- ties Authority, Jerusalem. NIQROT ZURIM: Journal of the Israel Cave Research Center, Ofra. QADMONIOT: Quarterly for the Antiquities of Eretz-Israel and Bible Lands, Jerusa- lem. ZDPV: Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins.

THANKS

I would like to thank Mrs. Ruth Miller and Mr. Yehudah Dinner, who heped me to translate this article into English. Ts. TSUK 387

Fig. 1. Water Systems in Eretz-Israel from Early Bronze Age. 388 URBAN WATER RESERVOIRS IN THE LAND OF THE BIBLE

Fig. 2. Plan of Ai. The reservoir is in area K (Callaway 1993).

Fig. 3. The reservoir at Ai (Callaway 1970). Ts. TSUK 389

Fig. 4. Isometric reconstruction of Arad by Ritmayer (Amiran et. al.1997, fig. 22).

Fig. 5. The Rock-cut Pool at Jerusalem (Reich & Shukrun 1999:117). 390 URBAN WATER RESERVOIRS IN THE LAND OF THE BIBLE

Fig. 6. The reservoir at Tel Hazor: plan and sections (Ben-Tor 1989: Plan V). Ts. TSUK 391

Fig. 7. Water Systems in Eretz-Israel from Iron Age 2. 392 URBAN WATER RESERVOIRS IN THE LAND OF THE BIBLE

Fig. 8. The 3 Pools at Jerusalem (Heker 1957 fig. 5). Ts. TSUK 393

Fig. 9. Gezer, the Central Water System (Macalister 1912: fig. 137).

Fig. 10. Beit Shemesh, general plan, the reservoir is in area C (Bunimovitz & Lederman 1997:44). 394 URBAN WATER RESERVOIRS IN THE LAND OF THE BIBLE

Fig. 11. Beit Shemesh, plan and sections of the reservoir. Ts. TSUK 395

Fig. 12. Isometric reconstruction of the reservoir at Beit Shemesh by Ritmayer (Bunimovitz & Lederman 1997:46).

Fig. 13. Etam, plan of the reservoir (Donner & Kutsch 1963). 396 URBAN WATER RESERVOIRS IN THE LAND OF THE BIBLE

Fig. 14. Etam, plan and sections of the reservoir (Tsuk, Miron & Frumkin 1986:135). Ts. TSUK 397

Fig. 15. Amman, plan and sections of the reservoir (Almagro 1983, fig. 10). 398 URBAN WATER RESERVOIRS IN THE LAND OF THE BIBLE

Fig. 16. Beer Sheba, plan of the reservoir (Herzog, Institute of Archaeology, Tel-Aviv University). Ts. TSUK 399

Fig. 17. Beer Sheba, isometric section of the reservoir (Herzog, Institute of Archaeology, Tel-Aviv University). 400 URBAN WATER RESERVOIRS IN THE LAND OF THE BIBLE

Fig. 18. Megiddo, the reservoir at the end of the steps (Yadin 1970). Ts. TSUK 401

Fig. 19. Aroer, the plan shows the depression at the north side (Biran 1993).