Jerusalem, with its location at the desert edge, afflicted as it was by limited rainfall, needed to draw its water supply from the only natural perennial source of water in the vicinity - the Gihon Spring, flowing in the bed of the Kidron Valley. This spring still discharges around 1200 cubic meters of water per day. During the First Temple period two water supply systems exploited this spring, Warren's Shaft System and Hezekiah's Tunnel. However, the expansion of Jerusalem in the Second Temple period, and especially the large numbers of people present in the city during the three annual pilgrimages, placed new pressure on Jerusalem's water supply. The water from the Gihon Spring was no longer sufficient, and the supply had to be replenished with water brought from a distance. During the first century BCE � first century CE, a system of aqueducts and tunnels was maintained, providing water from springs in the Hebron Hills, some 20 km south of Jerusalem. This water system consisted of four aqueducts, two leading water to three huge reservoirs � Solomon's Pools - located in the Bethlehem Valley, and two leading the water from these reservoirs to Jerusalem.

The importance of these aqueducts was such that they continued to be maintained until the days of the British Mandate, through some 2000 years. The aqueduct of the Second Temple period marks one of the major achievements of those times.