Solomon’s Pools

I made my works great, I built myself houses, and planted myself vineyards. I made myself gardens and orchards, and I planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. I made myself water pools from which to water the growing trees of the grove (Ecclesiastes 2:4-6).

Roughly six miles from Jerusalem lay a series of three ancient reservoirs that are commonly known as Solomon’s pools. This first image below was taken in 1890 after centuries of deforestation and ruin.

These three reservoirs provided consistent fresh water to both Bethlehem and Jerusalem. The pools are directly fed by four springs. The most prominent spring is the Wadi Artas that feeds the upper pool through a large subterranean passage. Combined, these reservoirs hold more than 656 million cubic feet of water. It is likely that this is the same area Josephus spoke of when describing an area 50 furlongs (6.25 miles) from Jerusalem that Solomon enjoyed visiting because of its “fine gardens abounding in rivulets of water” (Antiquities of the Jews, book VIII, ch. 7 v. 3). Today water from the pools reaches only Bethlehem. The aqueduct beyond that point has been destroyed.

Upper Reservoir

Middle Reservoir

Lower Reservoir