The excavation of the shaft’s upper part to a depth of c. 6 m below surface, revealed fill that consisted of soil and different sized stones. Mixed ceramics from the Iron Age and the Early and Late Roman, Byzantine, Early Islamic, Mamluk and Ottoman periods were recovered from this fill, as well as modern roof tiles, coins and an iron stake. A similar fill of soil and stones was found in the bottom part of the shaft, down to bedrock (depth 3.5 m), mixed with potsherds from the Middle Bronze Age (scant), Iron II, Hellenistic period (scant) and Early Roman period (most). While excavating the shaft a brown vertical strip of wood was discovered in the southern part above bedrock. It is noteworthy that M. Parker excavated several shafts and underground galleries in this area within his work in the City of David (Vincent L. H. 1911. Jerusalem sous terre: les recentes fouilles d'Ophel. Pl. VI). This find was probably the end bottom part of one of the shafts that Parker excavated. It seems that the origin of the fill in the shaft was intentional spill deposited either during the construction of ‘Bet Ha-Tira’ or the blocking of the shafts and galleries that Parker dug.

 

A rectangular water cistern (3.5 × 9.0 m, depth 9 m; Fig. 4) was documented 7 m north of the excavation area and lower than it. The cistern’s opening (0.6 × 1.2 m) was installed in the northern part of the eastern wall. The lower part of the cistern was bedrock hewn (depth of southern wall 4.3 m, depth of the northern wall 5.4 m), whereas the upper part was built of partially dressed medium-sized stones. The ceiling of the cistern was a barrel vault, coated with modern plaster, which also lined its bottom. The eastern side of the cistern’s floor was at least 1.2 m lower than its western slanting side. Based on the construction and the plaster, as well as the location of ‘Bet Ha-Tira’ above it, it seems that the cistern was installed at the time ‘Bet Ha-Tira’ was built, during the latter part of the nineteenth century CE or the beginning of the twentieth century CE.