In 2008, during excavations on the Stepped Stone Structure in the City of David, Dr. Mazar and her team discovered an opening into an ancient water tunnel. The tunnel walls, which follow a natural cavity in the bedrock, run along the upper part of the eastern slope of the City of David. Dr. Mazar believed the tunnel was eventually integrated into the construction of the Stepped Stone Structure during the 10th century b.c.e. and was probably used to channel water to a man-made pool built on the southeast side of the palace, referred to in Nehemiah 3:16. (This pool is described as being near to a large “stepped” structure—see verse 15 and Nehemiah 12:37. This is almost certainly a reference to the Stepped Stone Structure.)
After stumbling upon the opening, Dr. Mazar investigated the narrow tunnel. Buried at the entrance were layers of debris that dated to the end of the First Temple Period (sixth century b.c.e.). The passage ran from north to south and was wide enough for one person at a time to pass through.
The Bible records that Joab, one of King David’s leading military officers, initiated Israel’s capture of Jerusalem from the Jebusites by infiltrating the city via a water shaft (2 Samuel 5:8; 1 Chronicles 11:6). According to Dr. Mazar, “The tunnel’s characteristics, date and location testify with high probability that the water tunnel is the one called tsinnor in the story of King David’s conquest of Jerusalem.”
While this is an interesting and dramatic suggestion by Dr. Mazar, the tunnel remains elusive and requires further excavation. As Mazar recognized, “We have a general knowledge of the tunnel, but we are far from having a complete picture.”
