A long-hidden spring has been discovered under a building in central Jerusalem.
The spring appeared during excavations on the basement floor of the building, which was undergoing renovations for a new Knesset Museum – a project enshrined in special legislation by Israeli lawmakers.
The Frumin building on King George Street in the center of the capital, was once the structure that housed Israel’s Knesset.
According to a Hebrew-language report by MyNet Jerusalem, it was first assumed that the water was coming from a leak in the municipal water system, or that a pipe had burst. But no pipe was found nearby, and it turned out that the water was emerging from beneath the skeleton of the building, so likely was coming from the bedrock itself.
Those investigating the find also discovered an old water pump that may have been used during the first days of the Israeli parliament in the 1950s – a find that further strengthened the theory that the water was coming from a spring.
Information about the water source has not been found thus far in any of the Knesset archives, and it is not clear why the matter was allegedly kept secret.
It is described as a “massive amount of water” that requires the installation of a pumping system to prevent the foundations of the building from being undermined, and the building itself from being flooded.
Work was stalled on the building some time ago due to the need to find a new contractor.
Nor has a decision been made thus far on how to deal with the hidden spring.
It may be possible to leave the water source open to the public, or to drain the water into Jerusalem’s municipal system.
“On that day, fresh water shall flow from Jerusalem, part of it to the Eastern Sea and part to the Western Sea, throughout the summer and winter.” – Zechariah 14:8
