TODD BOLEN: Royal Water System Excavated in Judean Hills. This post sums up nicely the current status of that Iron Age II proto-Aeolic capital found in a tunnel between Bethlehem and Jerusalem, a discovery first noted by the media last year. As Todd observes, the really interesting thing is the tunnel itself, which is comparable in some ways to Hezekiah's Tunnel (minus, alas, a parallel to the Siloam Tunnel Inscription). This is not entirely new information, but it's worth underlining it in contrast to some sensational reports about the site, and Todd has a very helpful discussion of the discovery and its implications.
HT Joseph Lauer.
Background here and links.
