A monumental dam wall dated to about 2,800 years ago has been uncovered in the ancient heart of Jerusalem, marking the former location of the Pool of Siloam. The structure is dated to the First Temple Period, during the reigns of Kings Joash and Amaziah of Judah. The wall measures roughly 11–12 metres high, over eight metres wide, and at least 21 metres long. The dam retained rainwater and runoff into a central drainage basin that formed the basis for the Siloam Pool, preventing water from draining into the Kidron Valley toward the Dead Sea. Archaeologists link the site to the biblical account of a blind man sent to wash in the Pool of Siloam.
'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. 'Behind us is a monumental dam wall, enormous in size, over 11 metres high, dated to 2,800 years ago during the First Temple Period, in the time of Kings Joash and Amaziah.'
Without it, there would have been no Pool of Siloam. Dr Szanton said: 'It is the lowest point in ancient Jerusalem. 'All the water, all the runoff from the rain that falls essentially flows here to this central large drainage basin of the city. 'If it wasn't for this dam wall, the water flowing in this channel would simply flow into the Kidron Valley straight to the Dead Sea.'
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