The Templars’ Tunnel is an underground tunnel located under the streets of Old Acre. The tunnel led from the Templar Palace, which was destroyed in 1291 and sank in the sea in the west, to the port of Acre in the east. The tunnel was built towards the end of the 12th century as a strategic underground route by members of the Templar Order who were stationed in Acre during this period after the conquest of Jerusalem by Saladin.
Some More The Templars’ Tunnel
The Templars’ Tunnelis c. 350 m long and extends below most of the city’s historic Pisan district. The tunnel is hewn in the lower part of the natural rock and in the upper part is built as a long barrel vault made of ashlars. The tunnel was discovered only in 1994 at random after occupants of a house above it complained about a blocked sewer and in examining the problem the tunnel was discovered by the inspectors.
After archeological excavations, the western part of The Templars’ Tunnel was opened to the public in August 1999, and a short section was added to its western side. A wooden floor and lighting were installed along the tunnel and a system of pumps that regularly divert groundwater that floods it. The height of the tunnel is about two meters and in some sections of it, together with the raised floor, its height is less than a meter and a half, which requires the passers-by to bend.
The two entrances to The Templars’ Tunnel are not the original entrances and steps have been erected leading to it. In addition, the entrance is for a fee. One entrance is near the western parking lot near the Ancient Port and the other near Khan al-Umdan in the south-center of the old city. The tunnel is c. 350 m long and extends below most of the city’s historic Pisan district. The tunnel is hewn in the lower part of the natural rock and in the upper part is built as a long barrel vault made of ashlars.
