City of David

The City of David

Jerusalem's beginnings are tied to water

The City of David is the narrow ridge south of the Temple Mount where the earliest settlement of Jerusalem stood, and according to the Bible King David made it his capital about 3,000 years ago. Excavations since the 19th century have uncovered Bronze and Iron Age walls, a stepped stone structure, and a royal-era building. Hezekiah's Tunnel, a water channel dug around 700 BCE ahead of an Assyrian siege, leads visitors through knee-deep water to the Pool of Siloam. The site lies in the Palestinian neighborhood of Silwan, and the excavations and their management are disputed.

Glossary: The City of David