In the Crusader period, as in other periods, the water supply was entirely based on the storage of rainwater. Evidence from this period indicates that the water did not taste good, and it was polluted.
There were three reservoirs within the city walls - the first was the "Hamam el-Batrak," in the Patriach,s quarter. Near the Jehosaphat Gate (the modern Lion's or St. Stephen's Gate) was the "ancient pool", known as Birket Yisrael (the Pool of Israel) by the Muslims, and to its north was the "Sheep Pool". There were two more pools outside the walls: one near the medieval St. Stephen's Gate (the modern Damascus Gate) and the other known as the "German's Pool", after its builders. An anonymous traveler who visited Jerusalem in 1220 describes it thus: "When you go down from the mountain you reach a pool in the valley which is called the German's pool, because here a German collected the waters which descend from the hillsides all around when it rains." |
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