Given the lack of comparable biblical artifacts or clear connections to an ancient Jewish temple and palace that formerly stood nearby, a nearly three millennia-old network of hewn-rock ducts discovered in Jerusalem has perplexed archaeologists.

Remnants of an ancient channel network of hewn-rock ducts which the Israel Antiquities Authority says were in use around 2,800 years ago have baffled archaeologists who cannot ascertain their purpose given the lack of comparable biblical finds or obvious links to an ancient Jewish temple and palace that once stood nearby, in Jerusalem, August 30, 2023

The 2,800-year-old channels, which are knee-deep, are outside Jerusalem's fortified Old City. They were found in two clusters, each 10 meters (30 feet) apart.

The Israel Antiquities Authority reported that forensic examination of the canals revealed no evidence of blood, ruling out any involvement in the murder of animals for banquets or religious sacrifice.

According to the authority, whose study partner is Tel Aviv University, the ducts also do not appear to have engineered a flow in a single direction or debouched into any basin, indicating they were not used to sluice out sewage or rainfall.

Archaeologist Yiftah Shalev described the discovery as a "mystery" and stated, "We looked at the installation and realized that we had stumbled on something unique."

A item "connected to the economy of the temple or palace" may have been prepared via the conduits, according to archaeologist Yuval Gadot.

"The flax must be softened by soaking it for a lengthy time when making linen, for instance. Another hypothesis, according to Gadot, is that the conduits contained dates that were left out in the sun to generate silan (date honey).

The discovery, which is a part of Israel's City of David National Park, will be displayed to the public the following week, according to the announcement.