The Enigma of the High-Level Aqueduct to Jerusalem and the Mamilla Water System

In the Early Roman period the High-Level Aqueduct conveyed water to Jerusalem. The widely accepted view has been that before reaching the city, the aqueduct made a detour to the Mamilla Pool and then merged with the Mamilla Street Aqueduct on its way to the city. The article argues that this route is implausible. It presents data from excavations that set a consistent dating of the Mamilla water system to the Byzantine period. The Mamilla Pool and the Mamilla Street Aqueduct constituted a stand-alone water supply system that merely collected run-off water outside the urban area. The final stretch of the High-Level Aqueduct remains unknown.