The newly discovered watering system near Rosh Ha’ayin brings us etchings of human figures, crosses, and illustrations of vegetation from ancient times thanks to an excavation by Land of Israel and Archaeology studies program.
With the help of high school students participating in the Education Ministry’s new Land of Israel and Archaeology studies program, ahead of the construction of a new neighborhood in the area the Israel Antiquities Authority recently exposed a massive water system…
According to the IAA it is “highly likely” that the structure and reservoir were built at the end of the Iron Age (late eighth or early seventh century BCE), placing it during the Neo-Assyrian conquest of the war-torn region, where the kingdoms of Judah and Israel were constantly at war. There is evidence that the reservoir was used until modernity.
According to archaeologist Gilad Itach, director of the excavation for the IAA, “It is difficult not to be impressed by the sight of the immense underground reservoir quarried out so many years ago. In antiquity, rainwater collection and storage was a fundamental necessity. With an annual rainfall of 500 mm, the region’s winter rains would easily have filled the huge reservoir.”