The Site - Section L

In Section L the water supply system of Hazor was brought to light - a technological achievement dating from the reign of Ahab (ninth century B.C.) which is no less astonishing than the tunnel at Megiddo. A shaft, measuring 19m/62ft by 25m/82ft at the top, was driven through earlier occupation levels and then through the native rock to a depth of 30m/100ft. A flight of steps 3m/10ft wide runs round its four sides and is continued by a fifth flight which occupies the whole width of the shaft. This leads into a tunnel 25m/80ft long which ends in a 5m/16ft wide cistern 10m/33ft lower down, at the level of the natural water table. Hazor's water supply was thus assured even when the spring outside the town was cut off during a siege. A modern staircase of 150 steps laid over the original stone steps enables visitors to reach the cistern.