The Water-Supply System to Ramla in the Early Islamic Period

For many years, several reservoirs for storing drinking water were known in Ramla, some of which were described by nineteenth- and twentieth-century travelers and scholars. The best-known examples are three reservoirs under the White Mosque courtyard: Birket Bint al-Kāfir, Birket al-Jammūs and the most famous of all, Pool of the Arches. Until about a decade ago, these were the only reservoirs identified in Ramla, and it was assumed—based on excavations in the White Mosque and in the Pool of the Arches—that all except Birket al-Jammūs, were supplied by the aqueduct. Since then, three additional subterranean reservoirs have been uncovered: a large reservoir north of the White Mosque; another large reservoir at the northwestern edge of the city; and a smaller reservoir on Ha-Rav Maimon Street. This article presents these newly discovered installations, which together with the previously known reservoirs, enable a reconstruction of the water supply system of Ramla during the Abbasid period.