Jerusalem, September 2, 2025
stvolodymyr.ca
Archaeologists excavating in Jerusalem’s City of David have uncovered a monumental ancient dam that formed the foundation for the Biblical Pool of Siloam, the site where Jesus healed a blind man according to the Gospel of John.
The discovery pushes back the origins of the pool by approximately 200 years, revealing it was initially constructed around 805-795 BC during the reigns of Kings Joash or Amaziah of Judah, rather than by King Hezekiah as previously believed, reports the Daily Mail.
The massive dam wall measures over 36 feet high, more than 26 feet wide, and extends at least 69 feet in length. The structure was found at the southern end of the City of David, Jerusalem’s lowest point where rainwater naturally collected.
“If until today we could only read in the Biblical text about the existence of the Pool of Siloam, now we can see its tangible remnants and its beginning from 2,800 years ago,” said Itamar Berko, excavation director at the Israel Antiquities Authority.
Scientists from the Weizmann Institute achieved extraordinary precision in dating the structure. Using advanced carbon-14 dating combined with other methods, researchers narrowed the construction period to just a 10-year window between 805-795 BC. Short-lived twigs and branches embedded in the dam’s mortar enabled this rare level of accuracy in dating ancient finds.
dailymail.co.uk
The archaeological team’s research also revealed the dam was built in response to ancient climate conditions featuring low rainfall interspersed with intense storms causing flash floods. The structure captured both regular water flow from the Gihon Spring and sudden flood waters.
The Pool of Siloam holds special significance as the location where Jesus performed a miracle described in the Gospel of John. According to scripture, Christ mixed saliva with dirt, applied it to a blind man’s eyes, and instructed him to wash in the pool. He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing, Jn. 9:7 states.
The pool’s actual location was only confirmed in 2003 when archaeologist Eli Shukrun discovered wide ritual bath steps during salvage excavations. The current excavations have revealed much more of the ancient water system.
The discovery challenges previous understanding of Jerusalem’s water infrastructure. While King Hezekiah’s tunnel has long been credited with creating the Pool of Siloam system around 700 BC, the new findings reveal an earlier phase. Archaeologist Danny Herman suggests King Joash, known in the Bible for renovating the Temple, likely extended his building projects to include this water infrastructure. Later, King Hezekiah would have connected and secured the existing system when facing the Assyrian threat.
Eli Escusido, IAA director, described the dam as “one of the most impressive and significant First Temple-period remains in Jerusalem.” Without this dam, water from the Gihon Spring would have simply flowed into the Kidron Valley toward the Dead Sea, making the Pool of Siloam impossible.
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