Mount Scopus Tunnel.. A canal that transported water to Jerusalem since the Roman era | Encyclopedia

The Mount Scopus Tunnel is part of the Roman aqueduct that transported water from Solomon’s Pools in Bethlehem to Jerusalem. It is one of the most important tunnels that is considered an architectural feat, and it still arouses interest even after two thousand years of its construction.

History of Jabal Mukaber Tunnel

This tunnel is one of the oldest and most effective channels that transported water to Jerusalem, as it continued to operate until 1948. The water passed through a tunnel carved into the rock, pipes and catacombs, and its journey ended at the Fountain of the Cup in the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The development of the city in ancient times and its increasing growth led to the consumption of rainwater collected in internal wells.

The old spring (Silwan Spring) was no longer sufficient to meet the needs of the population, which prompted decision-makers at that time to think about bringing water from the areas south of Jerusalem, which were rich in springs, through a network of canals that ran in a simple inclined line with the slopes of the mountains and hills, overcoming natural obstacles with underground tunnels.

Three main canals were dug for this purpose, including the Sabil Canal, the Arroub Canal (also called the Lower Canal, whose water reaches the Al-Aqsa Mosque and supplies the Sabil al-Kas with water), and the Upper Canal.

Historians agree that the one who built the canal from Wadi al-Arroub to Jerusalem was Pilate, the Roman governor of Jerusalem in the first century AD.

In the Islamic era, the project to transport water to Jerusalem was called the “Sabil Canal,” and is sometimes referred to as the “Dunya Canal” due to its great importance and its length, which reaches about 70 kilometers, from Al-Arroub in Hebron to Al-Barak in Bethlehem and on to Jerusalem.

Mount Mukaber Tunnel Location

The Jabal Mukaber Tunnel is located near the British High Commissioner’s Palace, which the Israelis called the “High Commissioner’s Palace Tunnel.”

This tunnel is about 420 metres long and was dug to shorten the length of the canal by 4 kilometres, which had to go around the mountains.

The tunnel contains 6 vertical openings that were used for ventilation and extraction of excavation products. At the High Commissioner’s Palace, the Israelis uncovered one of these openings, 43 metres deep, highlighting the effort that went into digging it.

Al-Sabil Channel route

The Roman aqueducts that brought water to Jerusalem used to take it to three pools south of Jerusalem in Wadi al-Arroub, where the water springs were 810 meters above sea level, and in Wadi al-Biyar, which has a spring at its southern end at an altitude of 870 meters above sea level, as well as the Solomon’s Pools area, which has a spring at an altitude of 800 meters above sea level, and two others at an altitude of 765 meters.

The last place the waters of the lowest canals reach above sea level is the Al-Aqsa Mosque, which is 735 metres above sea level.

These slight differences in elevation and the many topographical obstacles required a long, winding route along which these canals ran with a slight gradient.

In the design of the canal, types of exposed stones were used, as well as earthenware, rock and metal pipes. The low canals were also mixed with the high portable canals, whether covered or exposed.

The aim of these canals was to maintain the water security of the city of Jerusalem, and to ensure that water reached it at all times.