Posted on 08/23/2006 2:29:21 AM PDT by Marius3188
RAMAT RACHEL, Israel (Reuters) - Archaeologists in Israel have unearthed an ancient water system which was modified by the conquering Persians to turn the desert into a paradise.
The network of reservoirs, drain pipes and underground tunnels served one of the grandest palaces in the biblical kingdom of Judea.
Archaeologists first discovered the palace in 1954, a structure built on a six-acre (2.4 hectare) site where the communal Ramat Rachel farm now stands.
Recent excavations unearthed nearly 70 square metres (750 square feet) of a unique water system.
"They had found a huge palace ... even nicer than the palaces in Jerusalem, (dating) from the late Iron Age to the end of the biblical period in the 7th century," Oded Lipschits, a Tel Aviv University archaeologist, said.
The infrastructure of the palace was remodelled throughout the centuries to fit the needs of the Babylonians, Persians, Romans and Hasmoneans who ruled the Holy Land, said Lipschits, who heads the dig with an academic from Germany's University of Heidelberg.
But it was the Persians, who took control of the region around 539 BC from the Babylonians, who renovated the water system and turned it into a thing of beauty.
Lipschits said they added small waterfalls to try to turn a desert into a paradise.
"Imagine on this land plants and water rushing and streaming here," Lipschits said. "This was important to someone who finds aesthetics important, for someone who wanted to feel as though they are not just in some remote corner in the desert."
Yuval Gadot, a biblical archaeology expert from Tel Aviv University who is taking part in the excavation, said it was unclear exactly how the water system worked.
"Probably rainwater came down on the roof of the houses (in the palace complex)," he said. "From there, it was collected by drains into pools or to the underground reservoir and taken to nearby fields for crops or nice gardens."
For centuries water supplies have been one of the most sensitive issues in the Middle East, where most of the region is desert.
ggg ping
Persians weren't Islamic back then. We need an unIslamic Persia.
Hot tubbing in the dessert.
Holy waterworks, Batman!
Warning! This is a high-volume ping list.
Please find me Scripture that backs up your use of the word Jews.
Jews and Israel are two extremely different people groups.
Jews and Judahites are two different people groups.
Wake up!
Irrelevant.
High volume. Articles on Israel can also be found by clicking on the Topic or Keyword Israel. also
2006israelwar or WOT
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Elaborate please. Based on your post it is difficult to determine from what direction you are coming.
The Jews and Israel are two different groups if you are referring to the kingdom split which resulted in the house of Judah and the house of Israel. However, the Jews are part of all Israel, being of the tribe of Judah et al.
And explain your use of the term Judahites and how they differ from Jews.
What in the world are you talking about?
What are you talking about? The Jews throughout the then known world were one people and continued as one people.
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Neat !!
It appears that we've got another "Jews aren't really the Jews" character in our midst -- perhaps an advocate of British Israelism. Jews are indeed different people than the people of Judah, in the same way that I'm a different person than, say, my grandfather, even though I grew up on the same piece of land. :')
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