21 October 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Archaeologists Find Mysterious 2,800-year-old Channels in Jerusalem

Archaeologists excavating in Jerusalem have uncovered a network of mysterious channels dating back to the days of King Joash and Amaziah, some 2,800 years old.

The installations are the first of their kind ever discovered in Israel, the IAA said in an announcement Wednesday. The national park in which the structures were found contains the City of David archaeological site—considered by most scholars to be the location of the original settlement at Jerusalem.

The grooves, cut into the bedrock, were likely used to soak some kind of product, though it is unclear what exactly the ancient Jerusalemites were making there, the Israel Antiquities Authority and Tel Aviv University said in a statement Wednesday.

Forensic testing of the ducts found no blood, suggesting that they were not used for animal slaughter. The ducts also do not appear to have been designed to carry a large volume of water.

The ancient structures are the first of their kind ever discovered in Israel, according to the country’s antiquity’s authority. Image Credit: IAA

There is no known parallel for such a structure in Israel, so the researchers say they can only speculate on its purpose. Their central location indicates that the product was connected to the Palace or Temple economy.



📣 Our WhatsApp channel is now LIVE! Stay up-to-date with the latest news and updates, just click here to follow us on WhatsApp and never miss a thing!!



The structures were in use when the city’s First Temple was thought to have existed, researchers said.

Excavations conducted by the IAA and Tel Aviv University in the City of David National Park have so far uncovered two installations just over 30 feet (10 meters)apart, which may have been part of one large installation.

Despite some differences in the way the two channels were hewn and designed, it is clear that both are quite similar, the IAA said.

Archaeologists excavating the channel installations found in Jerusalem. Image credit: IAA

Channels are knee-deep and stand in two clusters, 10 meters apart. They are made of hewn rock and are about 30 centimeters wide and 50 centimeters high. They are not connected to any other water sources, and they do not appear to have been used for drainage or sewage disposal.

“The mystery only grew deeper when we found the second installation to the south,” Yuval Gadot of Tel Aviv University’s Archeology and Ancient Near Eastern Civilizations Department said in a statement.

“We looked at the installation and realized that we had stumbled on something unique, but since we had never seen a structure like this in Israel, we didn’t know how to interpret it,” Yiftah Shalev, a senior researcher at the IAA, said in a statement. “Even its date was unclear.”

Image credit: IAA

Researchers have managed to date when the installations fell out of use—at the end of the 9th century B.C. during the days of the biblical Judean kings Joash and Amaziah.

The area where the ducts are located was formerly occupied by a sizable industrial and residential complex. As a result, it is possible that the ducts were used for a variety of activities, such as the manufacture of textiles, the production of food, and religious rituals.

The discovery of the ducts is a mystery, but it is an important one. It provides new insights into the ancient city of Jerusalem and its people. The ducts are an unusual discovery that is assisting archaeologists in better understanding Jerusalem’s history.

IAA

Cover Photo: IAA/Facebook

Related Articles

A Decorated Block with Decapitated Gaul Found for the First Time in Toul, France

22 July 2024

22 July 2024

A Corinthian-style carved block that was once part of the entablature of a monumental Gallo-Roman public building has been discovered...

Archaeologists unearth hidden tunnels under the 3,000-year-old temple complex

6 June 2022

6 June 2022

Archaeologists have discovered a system of hidden tunnels beneath the 3,000-year-old Chavín de Huántar temple complex in the Ancash Region...

Newly Discovered Tiwanaku Temple in Bolivia Sheds Light on Mysterious Ancient Civilization

25 June 2025

25 June 2025

Tiwanaku Temple Ruins in the Andes Reveal Vital Clues About a Powerful Pre-Incan Society’s Religious and Trade Networks Archaeologists have...

The enigma behind King Tut’s’space dagger,’ according to archaeologists, has finally been solved

24 February 2022

24 February 2022

Archaeologists have finally solved the enigma of King Tutankhamun’s dagger, which was discovered 3,400 years ago. A new examination of...

A 7,500-year-old settlement has been discovered in Turkey’s Domuztepe Mound

11 September 2021

11 September 2021

During the most recent excavations at Domuztepe Mound in the Türkoğlu district of southern Turkey’s Kahramanmaraş province, a settlement and...

Archaeologists find rare treasure in Suzdal of Russia

15 August 2021

15 August 2021

The twentieth season of fieldwork brought an unexpected discovery to the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences....

1,800 years old Sewer system found in ancient city of Mastaura

17 May 2022

17 May 2022

Archaeologists found an 1800-year-old sewer system during excavations in the ancient city of Mastaura, in the Nazilli district of Aydın...

Ancient helmets, temple ruins found at a dig in Velia southern Italy

1 February 2022

1 February 2022

A discovery that “sheds new light on the history of the mighty Greek colony” by Velia. Archaeologists in southern Italy...

Uncovering a Rare Enamelled Roman Brooch in Scotland

6 March 2025

6 March 2025

Recent research by GUARD Archaeology highlights a rare enamelled Roman brooch, suggesting its potential use in a “foundation offerings ritual”...

New Study reveals how England’s ‘White Queen’ worshipped a disembowelled saint at the Chapel of St Erasmus

5 December 2022

5 December 2022

A new study reveals the story of how England’s “White Queen”, Elizabeth Woodville, wife of Edward IV, once worshipped at...

Recent excavations reveal the complete water conservancy system of the nearly 5000-year-old Liangzhu Ruins

26 November 2024

26 November 2024

In recent excavations around the Liangzhu Ruins in east China’s Zhejiang Province, researchers have discovered about 20 ancient dams. Seven...

The Kyrgyz epic ‘Manas’ manuscripts were included in the UNESCO Memory of the World

10 June 2023

10 June 2023

Manuscripts of the Kyrgyz epic “Manas” by narrator Sagymbay Orozbakov have been inscribed on the UNESCO Memory of the World...

Roman road network spanning the South West of England identified in new research

7 August 2023

7 August 2023

A Roman road network spanning across Devon and Cornwall has been discovered by the University of Exeter archaeologists. A Roman...

Human Relief Found at Million Stone Excavation Site in İstanbul

18 July 2021

18 July 2021

The Milion Stone (also known as the Million Stone) from the Eastern Roman period is one of important the historical...

Drought accelerated Hittite Empire’s collapse

9 February 2023

9 February 2023

Researchers have offered new insight into the abrupt collapse of the  Hittite Empire in the Late Bronze Age, with an...