HEZEKIAH’S DAM AND HIS HIGHWAY OF THE FULLER’S FIELD
By Arthur Bud Chrysler © 2025 Arthur Chrysler
For more than ten years I have held my peace, but the recent sensational headlines stating that the “Monumental Siloam Dam was built in 800 BCE to face a climate crisis” and “Melchizedek's Temple has been found in the City of David” are simply too much for me to bear. It is in the name of simple truth, that I share the following information.
PART I - THE HIGHWAY OF THE FULLER’S FIELD
Isaiah 7:3 – Then said the Lord unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou, and Shearjashub thy son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller's field.
The Bible informs us of a second meeting by the conduit of the upper pool, which is in the highway of the fuller's field. This time the king involved was Hezekiah; around the year 701 B.C.:
II Kings 18:17-18 – And the king of Assyria sent Tartan and Rabsaris and Rabshakeh from Lachish to king Hezekiah with a great host against Jerusalem. And they went up and came to Jerusalem. And when they were come up, they came and stood by the conduit of the upper pool, which is in the highway of the fuller's field. And when they had called to the king, there came out to them Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, which was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder.
Notice the close proximity between the conduit of the upper pool, the highway of the fuller’s field, and the house of the king. The description, “by the conduit of the upper pool,” gives reference to the area surrounding the Gihon Spring which would include both the northern end of the ancient Siloam Channel and/or the northern end of Hezekiah’s newly completed Tunnel. The “highway of the fuller’s field” was located in the same vicinity, perhaps incorporating the extant smooth limestone floors and the Warren’s Shaft Installation, both of which would have been necessary for the fulling process. The fact that the Assyrians called to the king from this site indicates that the house of the king was within shouting distance.
PART I - THE HIGHWAY OF THE FULLER’S FIELD
Isaiah 7:3 – Then said the Lord unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou, and Shearjashub thy son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller's field.
- highway; Strong’s #4546. mecillah; …terrace.
The Bible informs us of a second meeting by the conduit of the upper pool, which is in the highway of the fuller's field. This time the king involved was Hezekiah; around the year 701 B.C.:
II Kings 18:17-18 – And the king of Assyria sent Tartan and Rabsaris and Rabshakeh from Lachish to king Hezekiah with a great host against Jerusalem. And they went up and came to Jerusalem. And when they were come up, they came and stood by the conduit of the upper pool, which is in the highway of the fuller's field. And when they had called to the king, there came out to them Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, which was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder.
Notice the close proximity between the conduit of the upper pool, the highway of the fuller’s field, and the house of the king. The description, “by the conduit of the upper pool,” gives reference to the area surrounding the Gihon Spring which would include both the northern end of the ancient Siloam Channel and/or the northern end of Hezekiah’s newly completed Tunnel. The “highway of the fuller’s field” was located in the same vicinity, perhaps incorporating the extant smooth limestone floors and the Warren’s Shaft Installation, both of which would have been necessary for the fulling process. The fact that the Assyrians called to the king from this site indicates that the house of the king was within shouting distance.
The Stepped-Stone Structure (photo by the author, 1984).
The Stepped-Stone Structure is located near the top of the slope, above the Gihon Spring. So massive an edifice, it is generally agreed, must have supported an imposing structure above it – possibly the Jebusite fortress captured by King David – later the king’s house. The king’s house was situated on top of the slope, above the Stepped-Stone Structure. The “end of the conduit of the upper pool,” and source of the Gihon Spring, is located at the bottom of the slope, below the Stepped-Stone Structure. The Assyrians probably called to the king from the mid-point between the king’s house and the end of the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller’s field. According to II Kings 18:26-27, people were situated on top of a wall near enough to overhear the Assyrians as they spoke to Eliakim. Archaeologists have discovered a wall (Kenyon's Wall NA) and an enigmatic structure at this very location. The structure, unearthed under the direction of archaeologist Eli Shukron, covers an area of approximately 220 square meters and contains eight smoothed-limestone chambers, each with different installations.
Qumran (1970-71). Fr. Roland de Vaux demonstrating how clothing was laundered at Qumran, where items were washed and patted dry on flat stone, as it was done in rural France during his childhood. He is kneeling in Locus 52. (Identifier: Davies_Slide_16; © Philip R. Davies estate, re-use permitted with citation: From the collection of Professor Philip Davies, Emeritus Professor at the University of Sheffield).
Whether it be Qumran in the first century, or the City of David in the Iron Age, areas of smooth limestone may have been utilized for the "fulling," or whitening of clothes.
On December 7, 2011, an article titled, “Strange Markings Puzzle City of David Archaeologists” appeared in the Bible History Daily, of the Biblical Archaeology Society. The article focused on "strange markings" on an otherwise smooth limestone floor:
“Excavations near the Gihon Spring in Jerusalem’s City of David have uncovered three strange V-shaped markings that have archaeologists completely stumped. “The markings are very strange, and very intriguing. I’ve never seen anything like them,” said Eli Shukron, of the two directors of the ongoing excavation. Shukron speculates the markings may have helped support some kind of wooden structure within the room, although its equally possible they could have had some either ritual or purely mundane function” (Biblical Archaeology Society Staff, Bible and archaeology news, December 7, 2011).
On December 7, 2011, an article titled, “Strange Markings Puzzle City of David Archaeologists” appeared in the Bible History Daily, of the Biblical Archaeology Society. The article focused on "strange markings" on an otherwise smooth limestone floor:
“Excavations near the Gihon Spring in Jerusalem’s City of David have uncovered three strange V-shaped markings that have archaeologists completely stumped. “The markings are very strange, and very intriguing. I’ve never seen anything like them,” said Eli Shukron, of the two directors of the ongoing excavation. Shukron speculates the markings may have helped support some kind of wooden structure within the room, although its equally possible they could have had some either ritual or purely mundane function” (Biblical Archaeology Society Staff, Bible and archaeology news, December 7, 2011).
“The markings are very strange, and very intriguing. I’ve never seen anything like them,” said archaeologist Eli Shukron.
The next day, archaeologist Ronnie Reich was interviewed by the Jerusalem Post, where he stated, "There is a pointer to what the writing on the floor is all about in the form of a dozen or so weights used to hold down threads from a loom, which were discovered in an adjacent room. It’s possible that these Vs were used to hold upright vertical looms,’ Reich said, admitting that that would be a disappointingly prosaic solution to the mystery. ‘You always have to look for the simple explanation and not rush into something dramatic" (David Rosenberg, THE JERUSALEM POST, Faced with enigmatic ‘V’s, archaeologists turn to Facebook, December 8, 2011).
"The exposed rooms were cut into bedrock on the eastern slope of the City of David; the western side of the complex is higher than the eastern one, following the natural slope of the bedrock. Rooms 1−7 were cut into the same north–south rock step and were entered from the east" (Shukron, Eli; Freud, Liora; Roth, Helena; Avisar, Reli; and Bocher, Efrat (2024) "Evidence of Worship in the Rock-Cut Rooms on the Eastern Slope of the City of David, Jerusalem," 'Atiqot: Vol. 116, Article 5).
One room included a carved installation with a drainage channel. Another room’s smooth limestone floor displayed mysterious V-shaped carving marks, the purpose of which remains unclear. In lieu of Melchizedek's Temple, may I offer a 'disappointingly prosaic solution to the mystery' and suggest a 'purely mundane function'?
"The exposed rooms were cut into bedrock on the eastern slope of the City of David; the western side of the complex is higher than the eastern one, following the natural slope of the bedrock. Rooms 1−7 were cut into the same north–south rock step and were entered from the east" (Shukron, Eli; Freud, Liora; Roth, Helena; Avisar, Reli; and Bocher, Efrat (2024) "Evidence of Worship in the Rock-Cut Rooms on the Eastern Slope of the City of David, Jerusalem," 'Atiqot: Vol. 116, Article 5).
One room included a carved installation with a drainage channel. Another room’s smooth limestone floor displayed mysterious V-shaped carving marks, the purpose of which remains unclear. In lieu of Melchizedek's Temple, may I offer a 'disappointingly prosaic solution to the mystery' and suggest a 'purely mundane function'?
Ancient fullers washing cloth at Beni Hassan; Tomb art taken from Popular Account of The Ancient Egyptians, 1854, p. 106.
PART II - THE “SILOAM DAM”
“The two valleys which border the biblical city on the east and west join together just below the southern tip of the City of David. The Central Valley (or Tyropoean Valley) separating the City of David from Mt. Zion on the west meets the eastern Kidron Valley. The southern end of the city was one of its more important and vulnerable areas. In 1897, Bliss and Dickie discovered a thick “buttress wall” that defended the entrance to the Central Valley from the Kidron Valley. This buttress wall also served as a dam, creating a rich agricultural area behind it to the northwest. This wall is still preserved below the surface to a height of over 35 feet! (Yigal Shiloh and Mendel Kaplan, Digging in the City of David, Biblical Archaeology Review, July/August 1979, Vol. V No. 4).
- “For efficient utilization of the Gihon’s waters the ancient inhabitants constructed at various times three water supply systems, today known as the Warren’s Shaft Installation, the Siloam Channel and Hezekiah’s Tunnel. The Siloam Channel carried artificially raised spring water southward alongside the right bank of the Kidron Valley; the other two systems are entirely subterranean. …II Chronicles 32:4 describes the sealing of the Gihon’s inlet into the Siloam Channel and the channel’s outlets onto the right slope of the Kidron Valley” (Dan Gill, Qedem 35, Excavations at the City of David 1978-1985, Vol. IV, 1996, pp. 1, 25).
- “One of the objectives of the designers of Hezekiah’s Tunnel was presumably to conceal the source of the Gihon Spring. Channel II was put out of use because its continued functioning would have given away the location of the spring” (Alon De Groot, Qedem 33, Excavations at the City of David 1978-1985, Vol. III, 1992, pp. 20-21). II Kings 20:20 – And the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and his might, and how he made a pool, and a conduit, and brought water into the city, are they not written in the Chronicles of the kings of Judah?
“The two valleys which border the biblical city on the east and west join together just below the southern tip of the City of David. The Central Valley (or Tyropoean Valley) separating the City of David from Mt. Zion on the west meets the eastern Kidron Valley. The southern end of the city was one of its more important and vulnerable areas. In 1897, Bliss and Dickie discovered a thick “buttress wall” that defended the entrance to the Central Valley from the Kidron Valley. This buttress wall also served as a dam, creating a rich agricultural area behind it to the northwest. This wall is still preserved below the surface to a height of over 35 feet! (Yigal Shiloh and Mendel Kaplan, Digging in the City of David, Biblical Archaeology Review, July/August 1979, Vol. V No. 4).
Illustration of the Buttressed wall uncovered by Bliss and Dickie.
An extension of Bliss and Dickie’s wall was uncovered (seen here being measured by Excavation Director Yigal Shiloh).
Broad Wall at the Tyropoeon Valley Outlet -
“At some stage after the beginning of the quarrying activity, a massive wall was built (W40; exposed length 1.6 m, exposed width 5 m, height c. 1.5 m; Fig. 6). Another segment of a massive wall was uncovered to its north (W51; exposed length 4.2 m, exposed width 6.7 m) and the two wall segments evidently belong to a single broad wall (total length at least 7.5 m, total width at least 7 m), which abuts a rock wall left over from the quarry at its southwestern end. The southeastern face of W40 was previously documented at the Tyropoeon Valley outlet (R2; Bliss and Dickie 1898: Plan 2). The wall was built of courses of large, partially dressed boulders (0.4–0.5 × 0.5 × 0.7–0.8 m) with medium-sized fieldstones between them to level the courses. The stones and boulders were bonded with gray mortar mixed with small charcoal lumps. The bonding material was also visible on the top of each course, and the construction method apparently involved laying a course of stones and casting a layer of bonding material above it (thickness 0.20–0.25 m) to level the course. The excavation uncovered the top of the upper course of W40, and its southeastern face, which had three courses (height 1.5 m). The excavation dug down to slightly beneath the base of the lowest course, but no additional courses, nor bedrock, were found. Due to the limited excavation area, it is unclear there were additional, hitherto undiscovered, courses. Four courses of W51 were revealed, and beneath them lay alluvial soil. The bedrock probably lies slightly beneath this alluvium layer, but the excavation did not reach the bedrock. Based on the wall’s location, alignment and construction, it would appear to be the southernmost part of a broad wall that was built across the outlet of the Tyropoeon Valley and probably served as a dam.” (Hadashot Arkheologiyot, Volume 134 Year 2022, Jerusalem, Silwan, Shlomit Weksler-Bdolah and Moran Hagbi, 19/12/2022, Preliminary Report).
“At some stage after the beginning of the quarrying activity, a massive wall was built (W40; exposed length 1.6 m, exposed width 5 m, height c. 1.5 m; Fig. 6). Another segment of a massive wall was uncovered to its north (W51; exposed length 4.2 m, exposed width 6.7 m) and the two wall segments evidently belong to a single broad wall (total length at least 7.5 m, total width at least 7 m), which abuts a rock wall left over from the quarry at its southwestern end. The southeastern face of W40 was previously documented at the Tyropoeon Valley outlet (R2; Bliss and Dickie 1898: Plan 2). The wall was built of courses of large, partially dressed boulders (0.4–0.5 × 0.5 × 0.7–0.8 m) with medium-sized fieldstones between them to level the courses. The stones and boulders were bonded with gray mortar mixed with small charcoal lumps. The bonding material was also visible on the top of each course, and the construction method apparently involved laying a course of stones and casting a layer of bonding material above it (thickness 0.20–0.25 m) to level the course. The excavation uncovered the top of the upper course of W40, and its southeastern face, which had three courses (height 1.5 m). The excavation dug down to slightly beneath the base of the lowest course, but no additional courses, nor bedrock, were found. Due to the limited excavation area, it is unclear there were additional, hitherto undiscovered, courses. Four courses of W51 were revealed, and beneath them lay alluvial soil. The bedrock probably lies slightly beneath this alluvium layer, but the excavation did not reach the bedrock. Based on the wall’s location, alignment and construction, it would appear to be the southernmost part of a broad wall that was built across the outlet of the Tyropoeon Valley and probably served as a dam.” (Hadashot Arkheologiyot, Volume 134 Year 2022, Jerusalem, Silwan, Shlomit Weksler-Bdolah and Moran Hagbi, 19/12/2022, Preliminary Report).
(Hadashot Arkheologiyot, Volume 134 Year 2022, Jerusalem, Silwan, Shlomit Weksler-Bdolah and Moran Hagbi, 19/12/2022, Preliminary Report).
Monumental Dam from Time of Biblical Kings Uncovered
Discovery reshapes understandings of ancient Jerusalem
Biblical Archaeology Society - Nathan Steinmeyer, August 29, 2025
Discovery reshapes understandings of ancient Jerusalem
Biblical Archaeology Society - Nathan Steinmeyer, August 29, 2025
Close up of the dam wall. Courtesy Emil Aladjem, IAA.
“Archaeologists in Jerusalem have uncovered the largest dam ever constructed in ancient Israel. Dated to the reigns of kings Joash and Amaziah of Judah (late ninth century BCE), the dam would have drastically reshaped the city’s water system and topography, creating what is today known as the Pool of Siloam.” … since the Siloam Pool was used well into the Roman period, the dam’s initial date of construction remained a mystery. Using high-precision radiocarbon dating techniques, a team of scientists from the Weizmann Institute reached a surprising conclusion: The dam’s construction dates to the late ninth century BCE, during the reigns of kings Joash and Amaziah of Judah.
This dam formed just one part of Jerusalem’s multilayered water system during the Iron Age II (c. 1000–586 BCE), joining the Spring Tower (which some identify with the biblical Millo), Hezekiah’s Tunnel, and the Siloam Channel. According to the researchers, who published their findings in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the dating of the dam may challenge existing views about the dating of these other structures. While both the Spring Tower and the Siloam Channel have often been attributed to the Middle Bronze Age (2000–1550 BCE), some scholars have instead placed their construction in the tenth or ninth centuries BCE. If the latter dating is accepted, that could mean that the dam, Spring Tower, and Siloam Channel were all part of a single monumental construction project aimed at drastically altering the city’s water system.
But not all scholars are convinced by this hypothesis. As Chris McKinny, Associate Professor of biblical archaeology at Lipscomb University, told Bible History Daily, “I still think that it makes the most sense that the Spring Tower and the Siloam Channel were initially built in the Middle Bronze Age and continued to be in use until the late eighth century BCE.” (Nathan Steinmeyer, Biblical Archaeology Society – August 29, 2025).
This dam formed just one part of Jerusalem’s multilayered water system during the Iron Age II (c. 1000–586 BCE), joining the Spring Tower (which some identify with the biblical Millo), Hezekiah’s Tunnel, and the Siloam Channel. According to the researchers, who published their findings in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the dating of the dam may challenge existing views about the dating of these other structures. While both the Spring Tower and the Siloam Channel have often been attributed to the Middle Bronze Age (2000–1550 BCE), some scholars have instead placed their construction in the tenth or ninth centuries BCE. If the latter dating is accepted, that could mean that the dam, Spring Tower, and Siloam Channel were all part of a single monumental construction project aimed at drastically altering the city’s water system.
But not all scholars are convinced by this hypothesis. As Chris McKinny, Associate Professor of biblical archaeology at Lipscomb University, told Bible History Daily, “I still think that it makes the most sense that the Spring Tower and the Siloam Channel were initially built in the Middle Bronze Age and continued to be in use until the late eighth century BCE.” (Nathan Steinmeyer, Biblical Archaeology Society – August 29, 2025).
FINE RESOLUTION RADIO CARBON DATING -
“The use of fine resolution radio carbon dating helps determine the age of the Siloam Dam in relation to the Gihon Spring in biblical Jerusalem during the Iron Age, when the city served as the capital of the Judean Kingdom. The new dating of construction , placing it in the second half of the 9th century BCE, not only enhances our understanding of the city’s demography, urban development, and landscape design but also reflects how Jerusalemites responded to times of unpredictable weather and water shortages.” (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS), a peer-reviewed multidisciplinary scientific journal, 2025).
We are encouraged by Guy Bar-Oz and Gideon Avni to exercise caution when calibrating measurements for the time period of 730 to 710 B.C. because of a “higher influx of radiocarbon than predicted by the calibration curve.”
“The use of fine resolution radio carbon dating helps determine the age of the Siloam Dam in relation to the Gihon Spring in biblical Jerusalem during the Iron Age, when the city served as the capital of the Judean Kingdom. The new dating of construction , placing it in the second half of the 9th century BCE, not only enhances our understanding of the city’s demography, urban development, and landscape design but also reflects how Jerusalemites responded to times of unpredictable weather and water shortages.” (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS), a peer-reviewed multidisciplinary scientific journal, 2025).
We are encouraged by Guy Bar-Oz and Gideon Avni to exercise caution when calibrating measurements for the time period of 730 to 710 B.C. because of a “higher influx of radiocarbon than predicted by the calibration curve.”
- “These results suggest a higher influx of radiocarbon around 730 to 710 BC than predicted by the calibration curve. A similar effect was identified at around 2830 BC at the tell sites of Megiddo and Bet Yerah (SI Appendix, S4 and Fig. S48).
- It is noteworthy that these results are consistent with some of the IntCal20 raw data for this time period (specifically those reported by Fahrni et al., 10), which also lie below the curve during the time interval in question. The fact that this offset and the one at 2830 BC occur below sharp minimum peaks of the calibration curve indicates that caution should be exercised when calibrating measurements that fall within such zones” (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS), 2025).
II Chronicles 32:30 – This same Hezekiah also stopped the upper watercourse of Gihon, and brought it straight down to the west side of the city of David.
Isaiah 22:9-11 – Ye have seen also the breaches of the city of David, that they are many: and ye gathered together the waters of the lower pool. And ye have numbered the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses have ye broken down to fortify the wall. Ye made also a ditch between the two walls for the water of the old pool: but ye have not looked unto the maker thereof, neither had respect unto him that fashioned it long ago.
Isaiah 22:9-11 – Ye have seen also the breaches of the city of David, that they are many: and ye gathered together the waters of the lower pool. And ye have numbered the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses have ye broken down to fortify the wall. Ye made also a ditch between the two walls for the water of the old pool: but ye have not looked unto the maker thereof, neither had respect unto him that fashioned it long ago.
- ditch; Strong’s #4724, miqvah a collection, i.e. (of water) a reservoir.
