Besides rock-hewn and plastered cisterns, a regular feature of many homes, the inhabitants of Jerusalem also made use of public storage pools. These included the Pools of Bethesda, north of the Temple Mount, and Hezekiah's Pool, north of the Tower of David. Pools north of the Temple Mount probably served the Temple as well, their water used for washing the altar and courtyard of blood, as well as for watering the livestock used as sacrifice. It is unclear exactly when the pools were constructed, but they were certainly expanded during the Hasmonean period due to Jerusalem's increased need for water.