therefrom during a period of perhaps three thousand years; and in an outer circle round the well are ranged nine large stone troughs for cattle to drink out of. These are supported in position by little piles of stones.[1]
We arrived at Beersheba early in the afternoon of Saturday, and pitched in the vicinity of “Abraham’s Wells”, which, like those of Tel-el-Milh, are sunk a few yards from the river’s brink. The reason for this
Fig. 18. — Abraham's Well, Beersheba.
is obvious. The well-sinker knew that the chances of a constant supply were greatest in the low ground which borders a river’s bank, and that the water from the river itself would find its way by percolation into the well. Yet are the wells themselves at a sufficient elevation to prevent
- ↑ For a picture and account of these wells, see “The Land of Israel,” p. 374.
