Jerusalem: Warren's Shaft

This cross-section drawing shows the shaft by which inhabitants of Jerusalem obtained water from the Gihon Spring. In the drawing, 7 is the Gihon Spring, 8 is the city wall, and 1 is the entrance into the tunnel system from inside the city. Water carriers would enter at 1, descend down some steps (2), walk down a sloping tunnel (3) to the main shaft (9), where they could drop buckets approximately 50 feet down to the water, which had flowed from the spring (7) through a tunnel (6). It is important to note that the Warren's Shaft tunnel complex predates the cutting of the Siloam Tunnel (also known as Hezekiah's Tunnel) in 701 BCE.