A new perspective on the various components of the Siloam water system in Jerusalem
This article presents a new perspective on both the relative and absolute dating of the various components of the Siloam Water System. Siloam Tunnel, part of the Siloam Water System, known as Hezekiah's Tunnel since the 19th cent. C.E., has given rise to a number of unsolved enigmas, for exampl...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Print Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
[2017]
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| In: |
Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins
Year: 2017, Volume: 133, Issue: 2, Pages: 145-175 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Siloam tunnel (Jerusalem)
/ Dating
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| IxTheo Classification: | HB Old Testament HD Early Judaism HH Archaeology TC Pre-Christian history ; Ancient Near East |
| Further subjects: | B
Archaeology
B Water supply B Jerusalem |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | This article presents a new perspective on both the relative and absolute dating of the various components of the Siloam Water System. Siloam Tunnel, part of the Siloam Water System, known as Hezekiah's Tunnel since the 19th cent. C.E., has given rise to a number of unsolved enigmas, for example its scope and the level of technical and engineering capability, as well as the cryptic Siloam Inscription found within the tunnel. The Siloam Tunnel has been generally attributed to Hezekiah, the Judean king who faced a siege from Sennacherib in 701 B.C.E., and it is commonly accepted that Hezekiah built it as a defensive measure in preparation for the impending siege. Recently, Reich and Shukron1 have proposed that the Siloam Tunnel should be dated to the early part of the 8th cent. B.C.E., thus implying that the 'Hezekiah Tunnel' actually predated Hezekiah by approximately one hundred years. However, they do not consider its raison d'être or whether the technological knowhow required for such a complicated project was available during that period. While this paper agrees with the proposal that the Siloam Tunnel cannot be attributed to Hezekiah, I rather date it several hundred years later, based on engineering, archaeological, historic, palaeographic and epigraphic evidence. Nevertheless, it is assumed that Hezekiah did initiate a major water-provision project in anticipation of the siege; hence an identification of his emergency preparatory activity for the siege is hereby proposed. |
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| Item Description: | Neben den Illustrationen im Text gehören Tafel 20-22 im Tafelteil am Ende des Heftes zu diesem Aufsatz |
| Physical Description: | Illustrationen |
| ISSN: | 0012-1169 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Deutscher Verein zur Erforschung Palästinas, Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins
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