Warren's Shaft
The vertical shaft above the Gihon once thought to be David's way into Jerusalem
Found 1867 — Captain Charles Warren (Palestine Exploration Fund), with Sergeant Henry Birtles
Where City of David, above the Gihon Spring, Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) (Israel)
Dates from Tunnel system c. 18th century BCE; shaft exposed c. 8th century BCE · Middle Bronze–Iron Age II · Jebusite Jerusalem and the kingdom of Judah
Now at In situ, City of David archaeological park (open to visitors)
How Warren's Shaft was found
Exploring the cave of the Gihon Spring, Warren noticed a vertical shaft rising from the tunnel and climbed it, finding a sloping passage that led up into the city. Reich and Shukron's excavations in the 1990s–2000s showed the shaft was a natural fissure that the original tunnel-cutters bypassed.
What it is
A natural karstic shaft about 13 m deep connecting a stepped, rock-cut tunnel from inside the city with the level of the spring. The tunnel let people walk down under the wall toward the spring and its pool without going outside.
Why it matters for the Bible
For a century Warren's Shaft was the favorite explanation of the 'tsinnor' through which Yoav (Joab) supposedly entered Jerusalem when David captured it. The modern excavations showed the shaft's bottom was not even open in David's time, so that neat identification no longer works. The tunnel system itself, however, is real and old, and proves the Jebusite city had a protected way to its water, the kind of feature the Bible's story assumes. It remains the first and most famous piece of Jerusalem's water engineering to be found by modern exploration.
The Hebrew word: tzee-NOHR
צִנּוֹר
צִנּוֹר is pronounced tzee-NOHR and means water channel, shaft (2 Samuel 5:8) — a rare word whose meaning is debated (Strong's H6794).
People this discovery connects to
- David — דָּוִד (Dah-VEED) — beloved
- Joab — יוֹאָב (Yo-AHV) — YHVH is father
Places
- Jebus — יְבוּס (Yeh-VOOS) — trodden down
Events
David's capture of Jerusalem from the Jebusites
Warren's Shaft in Scripture
2 Samuel 5:8 David says whoever strikes the Jebusites must reach them through the 'tsinnor'; Warren's Shaft was long identified with it.
Questions people ask
What is Warren's Shaft?
A natural karstic shaft about 13 m deep connecting a stepped, rock-cut tunnel from inside the city with the level of the spring. The tunnel let people walk down under the wall toward the spring and its pool without going outside.
When was Warren's Shaft discovered?
It was found in 1867 by Captain Charles Warren (Palestine Exploration Fund), with Sergeant Henry Birtles, at City of David, above the Gihon Spring, Yerushalayim (Jerusalem).
Where is Warren's Shaft today?
In situ, City of David archaeological park (open to visitors).
Which Bible verses does Warren's Shaft relate to?
2 Samuel 5:8.
Is Warren's Shaft authentic?
The shaft is real; its link to David's capture of the city is now rejected by most archaeologists, since the shaft was not accessible in the tenth century.
Related discoveries
- מִלּוֹאStepped Stone StructureA giant stone rampart on the slope of the City of David, perhaps the biblical Millo
- מְצוּדָהLarge Stone Structure ('David's Palace')Massive walls in the City of David that one excavator called David's palace
- מִלּוֹאThe Millo: Where Was It?The Stepped Stone Structure and the Gihon Spring fortifications as rival candidates for the biblical Millo
- בֵּית לֶחֶםBethlehem BullaThe earliest mention of Bethlehem outside the Bible, on a tax-shipment seal
- חוֹתָםGedaliah son of Pashhur BullaSeal of a second official from Jeremiah 38, found beside the Jehucal bulla
- עָלָהPilgrimage Road (Stepped Street)The 600-meter stepped street from the Pool of Siloam up to the Temple Mount, built under Pilate
Sources
- Warren, Underground Jerusalem (1876)
- Reich & Shukron, 'Light at the End of the Tunnel: Warren's Shaft Theory of David's Conquest Shattered', BAR 25:1 (1999)