Gihon Spring

A perennial spring on Jerusalem’s eastern slope that supplied water to the ancient city and fed the Pool of Siloam through channels and tunnels.

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Warren’s Shaft: A vertical shaft and natural fissure in Jerusalem’s bedrock near the Gihon Spring, once proposed as part of an early water-access system. It lies beside the spring and was long thought to let residents draw water from within the city walls.
Jerusalem: A historic city in the southern Levant and the capital of Israel. The Gihon Spring supplied water to the ancient settlement that grew into this city.
Spring Tower: A massive ancient tower built beside the Gihon Spring in Jerusalem’s City of David. Its position protected access to the spring, though its precise date and function remain debated.
Warren’s Shaft Dating: The archaeological debate over when Warren’s Shaft was used and whether it served as a water-access route. Its relationship to the spring’s early water supply remains disputed.
Siloam Channel: An ancient channel that carried water from the Gihon Spring toward the southern end of the City of David. It represents an early attempt to route the spring’s water toward the city’s lower areas.
Bronze Age Jerusalem: The fortified settlement on Jerusalem’s southeastern ridge during the Bronze Age. Its inhabitants depended on the spring and built access routes to reach its water.
Siloam Pool: A large Second Temple-period pool in Jerusalem, fed by water from the Gihon Spring. It illustrates the spring’s role in the city’s water supply during a later period.
Warren’s Shaft System: A proposed interpretation in which Warren’s Shaft formed part of a Canaanite system for reaching the Gihon Spring. This influential model is challenged by evidence that the shaft may not have served as a practical water route.
Hezekiah’s Tunnel: A rock-cut tunnel that carries water from the Gihon Spring to the Pool of Siloam. It redirected the spring’s flow inside the city, reducing exposure to attackers.
Canaanite Jerusalem Water System: A network of channels, pools, and rock-cut features built to collect and manage water near ancient Jerusalem’s Gihon Spring. Its remains show that water engineering around the spring began before Israelite rule.