Ancient Israeli Tunnel Found

Israeli archaeologists uncover tunnel Jews used to escape ancient Romans

By Wesley Oliver, Newser Staff

Posted Sep 11, 2007 2:37 PM CDT

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Ancient Israeli Tunnel Found — An Israeli archeologist walks along a drainage channel recently discovered in the City of David next to Jerusalem's Old City, Sunday Sept. 9, 2007. Israeli archeologists have stumbled upon one of the great dramatic props of the Roman sacking of Jerusalem 2,000 years ago (Associated Press)

While searching for the ancient main road of Jerusalem, Israeli archaeologists stumbled upon a 2,000-year-old tunnel that residents used to escape Roman invaders destroying the Second Temple. The tunnel was originally used to drain rain water and prevent flooding, and its discovery is doubly significant, the AP reports, because it also shows how the ancient city’s rulers cared for their citizens during a pivotal moment in history.

“We were looking for the road and suddenly we discovered it,” the project’s director said. “The first thing we said was, ‘Wow.’” Jews took shelter and used the tunnel to flee the Roman conquests ravaging the center of worship in 70 AD. “It was a place where people hid and fled to from burning, destroyed Jerusalem,” the director said. (More Second Temple stories.)

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