2017/04/03 by David Gurevich · 1 citation
Arts and Humanities · #Archaeology and Historical Studies #Ancient Egypt and Archaeology #Ancient Mediterranean Archaeology and History
paper · doi:10.1080/00310328.2017.1310563
openalex publication_date 2017/04/03 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
A significant number of water pools existed in Jerusalem in the Late Hellenistic and Early Roman periods. The pools constitute an archaeological phenomenon that should be analysed in its own right. No other city in the region had so many stand-alone large pools in its urban landscape. This paper offers an explanation of this phenomenon based on its cultural, historical, and archaeological context. The article discusses the corpus of pools, including the dating, the methods of water collection and their possible use in light of similar water installations that were common in this period. In the analysis of the pools' appearance in Jerusalem, the paper examines the broader context of the phenomenon—water utilisation by Jewish society in the time of the Second Temple before 70 AD. The conclusion drawn is that the pools are a manifestation of the wide-scale pilgrimage movement to Jerusalem that emerged in the Late Second Temple.