A 2,000-year-old aqueduct was recently uncovered near Jerusalem — and it likely supplied water used by Jesus and his disciples, according to a biblical scholar.Archaeologists unearthed a roughly 984-foot section of the ancient waterway south of Kibbutz Ramat Rachel — which once carried water from Solomon's Pools near Bethlehem to Jerusalem's Temple Mount.The discovery was announced by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) on Oct.11, following excavations ahead of a planned residential development.MASSIVE 2,000-YEAR-OLD DISCOVERY FROM TIME OF JESUS EMERGES REMARKABLY INTACTOriginally constructed during the Hasmonean period, the aqueduct remained in intermittent use until about a century ago, the IAA said.The waterway relied on gravity to transport water to the Second Temple complex, the center of Jewish religious life at the time, where it was used for ritual purification and cleaning up after sacrifices.Archaeologists in Israel uncovered a 2,000-year-old aqueduct near Jerusalem that once carried water to the Second Temple complex, shown above right. (Israel Antiquities Authority; Heritage Art/Heritage Images via Getty Images)The Second Temple complex was also the setting of the biblical account of Jesus cleansing the Temple, during which he overturned the tables of money changers and drove out merchants.The Lower Aqueduct was "probably built in the time of the Hasmonean kings to supply water to Jerusalem," according to excavation directors Benyamin Storchan, Gil Freid and Rotem Cohen of the Israel Antiquities Authority.ARCHAEOLOGISTS UNCOVER 'MYSTERIOUS' ANCIENT TUNNEL NEAR BIBLICAL KINGDOM OF JUDAH SITE IN JERUSALEM"The aqueduct runs about 21 km [13 miles] from Solomon's Pools, south of Bethlehem, to Jerusalem," the directors said in a statement."Along most of the route, the water flowed along a very gentle gradient, dropping just one meter [3.3 feet] in elevation per kilometer [0.6 miles]."The Israel Antiquities Authority announced the discovery of the anc...