_Haram_, a conduit had existed, connecting the cistern beneath the rock _Sakharah_ with that on the west of the Golden Gate, and had gone from this point outside the wall, in a course agreeing with the traces I had already discovered. Accordingly I hired some of the peasants of Siloam, and made an excavation in the valley, to the east of the mouth of the Fountain, and ascertained that its lowest point was about 5-3/4 feet higher than the present bed of the torrent; which has been much raised by the rubbish accumulated during so many centuries, that is not only brought down by the stream itself from the north, but also falls in from the sides of the valley during the rainy season. This determined, I made a second excavation near the steps leading down to the Fountain, and at a depth of 16 feet found part of the bottom of the original pool, and a fragment of the side wall; and thus saw that the conduit might have emptied itself directly into this pool, into which the water flowed from the Fountain (situated 5 feet above it): whence the refuse descended into the Kidron 4-1/2 feet below, and so was carried away by the torrent. As the quantity of water supplied by the spring could never have been very large, it occurred to me that on special occasions, when a great number of victims was sacrificed, there would be some method of increasing the torrent to enable it to sweep away the refuse quickly; and at first I supposed that the water of the Pool of Bethesda was used for that purpose, but afterwards I found that it was not the only means employed. Had I been able, I should at once have followed up the subject, by investigations in the interior of the _Haram_; but all my attempts at that time proved ineffectual, and I was obliged to wait for a more favourable opportunity.