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Several years ago Lloyd Townsend created this rendition of the City of David in its heyday. Representing the city from the east, he incorporated the latest archaeological discoveries then being made by excavator Yigal Shiloh. A single wall surrounded the city, perched on a hill. At the crest of the hill stood the Jerusalem Temple, facing east. The Gihon Spring, the city’s only natural water source, was located in the dark cave just outside the open city gate. The surrounding fields were irrigated by water pouring through windows in a water channel (called Channel II or the Siloam Channel) running south (left) from the spring.

New finds, however, have forced us, literally, to redraw this picture. See drawing of the latest view of ancient Jerusalem by Leen Ritmeyer.