Gihon Spring

Gihon Spring
Fountain of the Virgin
Illustration of Gihon Spring ("Fountain of Siloam") by David Roberts
Location	Jerusalem
Eruption height	636m

The Gihon Spring (Hebrew: מעיין הגיחון‎‎) or Fountain of the Virgin in the Kidron Valley was the main source of water for the Pool of Siloam in the City of David, the original site of Jerusalem. One of the world's major intermittent springs—and a reliable water source that made human settlement possible in ancient Jerusalem—the spring was not only used for drinking water, but also initially for irrigation of gardens in the adjacent Kidron Valley which provided a food source for the ancient settlement.

The spring rises in a cave 20 feet by 7. Being intermittent, it required the excavation of the Pool of Siloam which stored the large amount of water needed for the town when the spring was not flowing. The spring has the singular characteristic of being intermittent, flowing from three to five times daily in winter, twice daily in summer, and only once daily in autumn. This peculiarity is accounted for by the supposition that the outlet from the reservoir is by a passage in the form of a siphon.

The spring is under the control of the Israeli settler organization Ir David Foundation ("El'ad"); it is sometimes used by Jewish men as a sort of mikvah.

The name Gihon is thought to derive from the Hebrew Giha which means "gushing forth".

The name Fountain of the Virgin derives from legend that here Mary washed the swaddling clothes of Jesus.

Three main water systems allowed water to be brought from the spring to the city under cover:

In 1997, while a visitor centre was being constructed, the spring was discovered to have been heavily fortified since the Middle Bronze Age, when archaeologists unexpectedly uncovered two monumental towers, one protecting the base of Warren's Shaft, and the other protecting the spring itself. Since the area around the site still was inhabited, and hence could not be excavated, it is unknown whether any further fortifications exist (though a further tower to the south of that protecting Warren's Shaft is thought likely).