Israel. An unusual find by archaeologists. Mysterious channels carved into the rock

Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) Report on the extraordinary find in City of David Archaeological Park in the old area Jerusalem. It is about two interconnected groups of channels carved into the rock. It is not known, but archaeologists have been able to estimate the approximate time of the canals ix

The first installation is located at the northeastern end of the excavation Givati ​​parking lot. consists at least Nine channels are paved. The second set of channels was discovered nine meters away, up a cliff surrounding the first building.

This is where archaeologists have come to Five channels and seven drainage tubeswhich were likely used to transport fluids from the top of the cliff to the first set of channels.

According to a senior researcher Levta Shaliva Archaeologists were surprised by this discovery. – We looked at the installation and realized we’d come across something unique, however Since we had never seen such a temple in Israel before, we did not know how she would interpret itć – said the researcher, quoting a post he made on the social networking sites of the Antiquities Protection Office.

At first, officials had difficulty determining the age of the canal structures. This was only achieved when examining the second group of channels:

“Despite some differences in the way the ducts are cut and designed, it is clear that the second installation is very similar to the first,” he said. Yuval Gadot z Department of Antiquities and Ancient Civilizations in the Middle East, Tel Aviv University. He stated that the channels had ceased to be used 2800 years agoThat is, “in the time of the biblical kings of Judah – Joash and Amaziah.” According to the archaeologist, the two groups of channels were formed Several decades ago.

However, it remains unclear why the ancient inhabitants of Jerusalem used these canals, and even forensic methods have not helped determine the purpose of the buildings.

Yiftach Shalev suspects that the canals were not used to drain fluids, however to soak things in, such as fabrics. The direction of the fluid flow in the channels was variable, It did not lead to any larger reservoir. According to the researcher, it can be used to expose fabrics to the sun and dry them.