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© Erich Lessing

The Gihon Spring, located on the east side of the City of David, was ancient Jerusalem’s only source of fresh water. Since at least the Middle Bronze Age II (1750–1650 B.C.E.), there has been a system in place to direct and protect the Gihon’s gushing waters for Jerusalem’s inhabitants. The greatest advancement was made in the late eighth century, when King Hezekiah of Judah ordered the digging of a tunnel that would channel water safely inside the city to the southwestern end of the City of David in preparation for an Assyrian siege. Long celebrated for this amazing engineering feat, Hezekiah’s reputation is now under attack by scholars who say the tunnel was not constructed during Hezekiah’s reign.