November
03
/ 2025
Archaeologists have uncovered a remarkable network of medieval tunnels beneath northern Israel's Gan Ha-Shelosha National Park that once powered the thriving sugar industry of the Mamluk Empire. The sophisticated hydraulic system, carved into soft tufa rock along Nahal 'Amal between the 14th and 15th centuries, reveals how ingenious engineers transformed brackish spring water - unsuitable for drinking or irrigation - into the mechanical force that drove one of the region's most lucrative medieval industries. The discovery, led by Professor Amos Frumkin of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, emerged during modern infrastructure work that exposed five parallel tunnel openings along the northern bank of the stream. Their precise alignment and engineered features immediately distinguished them from natural formations, prompting a detailed
