The Pool of Siloam

1. Location

1.1. Jerusalem

1.2. City of David, the core of Ancient Jerusalem

2. Purpose

2.1. Water supply for the city

2.2. place of ritual cleansing

3. Features

3.1. Large Rectangular water reservoir

3.2. Made from stone

3.3. Steps going into the pool

4. Biblical Significance

4.1. Where Jesus cured a man's blindness

4.2. John Chapter 9: Jesus and his disciples see a man blind from birth on the side of a road. Jesus rubs mud in the mans face, and tells him to wash it of in the Pool of Siloam. The man returns, being able to see

4.3. Considered a holy site and a place of safety for believers

5. Siloam Channel

5.1. Connected the Pool of Siloam to various bodies of water within the city

5.2. Underground

6. Historical Context

6.1. Second Temple Period

6.2. 597 BC - 70 AD

6.3. Rise of monotheistic religions

6.4. Rise of the Roman Empire

7. Altitude

7.1. Lowest place in altitude within historical Jerusalem

7.2. 625 meters (2,051 ft) above sea level

7.3. Also known as the lower pool

8. Construction

8.1. Built under King Hezekiah

8.2. Wanted to prepare Jerusalem from potential sieges, and secure a water supply within the city

8.3. A significant feat of engineering at the time

9. Excavation

9.1. Uncovered in 2004

9.2. Archaeologists Ronny Reich and Eli Shukron

9.3. Currently open to the public

10. Hezekiah's Tunnel

10.1. Ran water from Gihon Spring into the Pool of Siloam

10.2. Underground