Gihon Spring Tower and Pool Tower
Giant fortifications guarding Jerusalem's only spring
Found 1995 — Ronny Reich (University of Haifa) and Eli Shukron (Israel Antiquities Authority), excavations 1995–2011; radiocarbon restudy by Johanna Regev, Elisabetta Boaretto and colleagues (Weizmann Institute), published 2017
Where Gihon Spring, Kidron Valley, City of David, Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) (Israel)
Dates from c. 1800 BCE (excavators) or c. 900 BCE (radiocarbon) · Middle Bronze II or Iron Age IIA (disputed) · Jebusite Jerusalem to the early kings of Judah
Now at In situ, City of David archaeological park
How Gihon Spring Tower and Pool Tower was found
Work for a visitor center in 1997 hit walls of enormous boulders around the spring. Reich and Shukron traced two towers and a rock-cut pool and dated them to the Middle Bronze Age by pottery. In 2017 radiocarbon dates from beneath the Spring Tower's stones came out in the ninth century BCE.
What it is
The Spring Tower is a massive structure of boulders, some over a meter long, built around the cave of the Gihon Spring. A second Pool Tower stood beside a rock-cut pool, and a fortified passage connected the water to the city. These are the largest fortification blocks known from pre-Herodian Jerusalem.
Why it matters for the Bible
The towers were long presented as proof that Bronze Age Jerusalem was a strong Canaanite city, the fortress David captured. The 2017 radiocarbon dates suggest instead that the Spring Tower was built (or rebuilt) in the ninth century BCE, in the days of the early kings of Judah. That would make it a royal project protecting the spring where Shlomo (Solomon) was anointed. Reich has replied that the dated material may be later fill and that the original tower is still Bronze Age, so the question remains open.
The Hebrew word: Gee-CHOHN
גִּיחוֹן
גִּיחוֹן is pronounced Gee-CHOHN and means Gihon — the spring of Jerusalem (Strong's H1521).
People this discovery connects to
- Solomon — שְׁלֹמֹה (Shlo-MOH) — his peace
- David — דָּוִד (Dah-VEED) — beloved
Places
- Gihon — גִּיחוֹן (Gee-CHOHN) — gushing
Events
Solomon anointed at Gihon · David's capture of the Jebusite city
Gihon Spring Tower and Pool Tower in Scripture
2 Samuel 5:8 David's men enter the city by the 'tsinnor' (water channel); the fortified spring system is the setting.
1 Kings 1:33 First mention of Gihon in Scripture.
1 Kings 1:38-39 Solomon is brought down to Gihon and anointed king; the towers guarded this very spring.
Questions people ask
What is Gihon Spring Tower and Pool Tower?
The Spring Tower is a massive structure of boulders, some over a meter long, built around the cave of the Gihon Spring. A second Pool Tower stood beside a rock-cut pool, and a fortified passage connected the water to the city. These are the largest fortification blocks known from pre-Herodian Jerusalem.
When was Gihon Spring Tower and Pool Tower discovered?
It was found in 1995 by Ronny Reich (University of Haifa) and Eli Shukron (Israel Antiquities Authority), excavations 1995–2011; radiocarbon restudy by Johanna Regev, Elisabetta Boaretto and colleagues (Weizmann Institute), published 2017, at Gihon Spring, Kidron Valley, City of David, Yerushalayim (Jerusalem).
Where is Gihon Spring Tower and Pool Tower today?
In situ, City of David archaeological park.
Which Bible verses does Gihon Spring Tower and Pool Tower relate to?
2 Samuel 5:8, 1 Kings 1:33, 1 Kings 1:38-39.
Is Gihon Spring Tower and Pool Tower authentic?
Structures are undisputed; their date (Middle Bronze vs. Iron IIA) is contested between the excavators and the radiocarbon team.
Related discoveries
- מִלּוֹאThe Millo: Where Was It?The Stepped Stone Structure and the Gihon Spring fortifications as rival candidates for the biblical Millo
- צְלָעוֹתKhirbet Qeiyafa Model ShrinesTwo miniature shrines with architecture echoing Solomon's Temple
- אַרְגָּמָןTimna Valley Copper Mines and 'Slaves' Hill'Tenth-century smelting camps and a scrap of royal purple cloth
- מִלּוֹאStepped Stone StructureA giant stone rampart on the slope of the City of David, perhaps the biblical Millo
- גָּזִיתTel 'Eton Governor's ResidencyA tenth-century ashlar building in the Judean lowlands
- דְּבַשׁTel Rehov ApiaryThe oldest industrial beehives ever found, in a 'land of honey'
Sources
- Regev, Uziel, Szanton & Boaretto, 'Absolute Dating of the Gihon Spring Fortifications, Jerusalem', Radiocarbon 59 (2017)
- Reich & Shukron, 'The Date of the Siloam Tunnel Reconsidered', Tel Aviv 38 (2011)
- Wikipedia: Gihon Spring