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Maze of Tunnels Reveals Remains of Ancient Jerusalem
(National Geographic) Andrew Lawler - A rocky spur of land jutting south from Jerusalem's Old City conceals a subterranean labyrinth of natural caves, Canaanite water channels, Judean tunnels, and Roman quarries. Israeli archaeologist Joe Uziel's mission is to unearth a 2,000-year-old, 2,000-foot-long street that once conveyed pilgrims, merchants, and other visitors to the Jewish Temple. Choked with debris during the fiery destruction of the city by Roman forces in 70CE, this monumental path disappeared from view. Today, an army of engineers and construction workers, toiling 16 hours a day in two shifts, is boring a horizontal shaft under the spine of the ridge. As they move forward, Uziel and his team laboriously dig out earth from the top of each newly exposed section to the bottom, retrieving pottery, coins, and other artifacts. For Jews this is the City of David, the place where King David created the first Israelite capital.