# Popular Mechanics/Volume 49/Issue 1/Digging Up the Bible Lands

Shepherds in Flowing Robes Still Guard Their Flocks by Night in Palestine, Just as They 1,900 Years Ago When They Saw the Star over Bethlehem
Workmen Who Are Reviving the Famous Faience Works in Jerusalem; They Shape Their Jars on the Potter's Wheel, One of the Oldest Pieces of Machinery in Existence
By HAROLD J. SHEPSTONE, F.R.G.S.
Palestine is at present the scene of an intense campaign of excavation. There are no fewer than eleven different expeditions in the field, representing seven different nations. Great Britain, America, France, Italy, Denmark, Germany and Austria.
Under the Turks, excavation work in Palestine was not only costly, but the restrictions imposed were very irritating. Today, under the British, every encouragement is being given to a scientific exploration of the mounds and sites which are known to mark places of historic interest. Furthermore, valuable work is being undertaken in preserving the existing ruins. One feature of this work is the reconstruction of an ancient synagogue at Capernaum, believed to be the very one in which Christ taught.
Jerusalem itself has been the scene of much activity during the past few months. On the site of Ophel, to the south of the present walls of the city, excavations have been made to the ancient level, and a part of the wall that inclosed the ancient Jebusite city has been discovered. It is built in the slanting manner, each course of stones being farther in than the one below it. This is the same kind of Canaanitish fortification as has been found at ancient Jericho. The Canaanitish wall continues southward, but just next to the bastion is seen a corner tower of a very different type, built of larger stones and better masonry. This is Davidic work, and, as it intervenes in the gap in the Canaanitish wall, is thought to be the "breach," which David is recorded to have built up, and may be the "Millo" which is often mentioned in the Old Testament, and which actually means a "filling up." To the east of this, there is a wall of a later period, which lies outside of the ​Canaanitish rampart. It is virtually the finest of all and is attributed to Hezekiah. It has been suggested that it was between these two walls that Zedekiah and his men escaped when the city was besieged by Nebuchadnezzar.
Steps That Were Carefully Matched from Natural Rock, In Biblical Time, Still Render Good Service in Palestine
Interesting also is the work which has been carried out by the Jewish Palestine exploration society in uncovering the foundations of the third, or northern-most wall of Jerusalem, built by Agrippa I, grandson of Herod. The next task will be to discover a connection between the third wall and the line of the second wall, which inclosed the city in the days of Christ. If the course of the latter wall could be ascertained, it would at once settle the vexed question as to whether the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which marks the alleged site of the Crucifixion and Burial, lay outside the city or not.
Mention should also be made of the recent find in Solomon's Quarries, those huge subterranean caverns close to the Damascus gate, from which it is thought Solomon obtained his stone for the erection of the Temple. Here has been found a wall which experts believe was a hiding place used by the Jews during the siege of the city by Titus in 70 A.D. There are signs of places for self-defense, as if the refugees who were hiding had fortified themselves against the besiegers.
In actual field work the American universities are taking a leading part and are carrying out valuable excavations at Kirjath Sepher and Mizpeh, as well as at Bethshan.
Ever since the discoveries in Babylon and the Hittite country of clay tablets, hopes have been entertained that in Palestine similar finds may come to light. The site that especially attracted attention was Kirjath Sepher, for the name implies the "town of books," or library. It is referred to in Joshua in connection with the story of Caleb, one of the two spies who brought a good report of the land. But no one knew for certain where the ancient city stood. Dr. W. F. Albright, of the American school of archæology in Jerusalem, was successful in locating it some fifteen miles to the southwest of Hebron.
Above Is the Monastery of Ste. Catherine at the Foot of Mt. Sinai; It Dates from the Year 530 and Includes Churches, Chapels, Belfry, Living Quarters and Other Buildings, All Protected from Raiders by a Stout Wall: Below Is Herod's Gate in the City Walls, Now the Sheep Gate, as It Is Used by the Shepherds for Their Flocks; under the Post-War Regime and the Back-to-Palestine Movement, the Ancient City Is Awakening Again
​back to the Canaanite period, but resemble those found at Jerusalem and Jericho. The buildings were evidently made of white, compact, sun-dried bricks, such as have not been met before. A couple of hundred pottery vessels of various shapes and sizes were found, as well as weavers' weights of clay, dyeing vessels, pestles, mortars and sling stones. A shaft sunk on the site, reaching down to the level of the base of the wall where it was laid bare, seems to indicate that there were five periods of occupation, each followed by the burning of the city. The third, fourth and fifth destructions were probably the work of Othniel, Caleb's nephew: Shishak, king of Egypt, in the time of Solomon; and Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. So far, however, the search has failed to reveal the existence of any clay tablets. Some seven miles to the north of Jerusalem, not far from Ramallah, Dr. W. F. Bade, of the University of California, has been digging over the site of ancient Mizpeh. It is known from the sacred narrative that Mizpeh was a strongly fortified position, and it was here that Samuel judged Israel for twenty years. Quite early in the work a city wall was struck, so massive as to alter all preconceived notions of the strength of ancient fortified cities in Palestine. The wall averaged sixteen feet in thickness and this width is considerably increased at points where towers and citadels formed part of the ramparts. This defensive structure is undoubtedly of the Bronze Age and was erected long before the Hebrew occupation of Palestine. A number of silos, or grain bins, were also discovered as well as ancient cave tombs, from which many pieces of pottery were taken.
Rebuilding the Pillars of the Synagogue at Capernaum in Which Christ Preached
Excavations are to be resumed at Bethshan, or Beisan, in Galilee. In 1925, an American expedition dug over the site when the two temples of the Philistines mentioned in the First Book of Chronicles, in one of which the armor of Saul was placed and in the other his head, were found. The finds then made have now been examined and the report makes most interesting reading. Beisan and the surrounding districts are replete with Biblical associations. On one side of the fertile and picturesque valley in which the city reposed, rise the mountains of Gilboa, on which Saul took his life, and on the other side the lower slopes of Little Hermon. Near by is Jezreel, where Jezebel lived, and also Endor, where Saul consulted the witch. Along the roadway through the valley here the Philistines brought the headless body of Saul and his two sons, and here came the bloody chariot of Ahab bearing his lifeless body to Samaria. All that remains of Beisan today is a large mound, 200 feet in height, which covers the ruins of several cities.
Mother-of-Pearl Workers in Bethlehem, Above, and Workmen Removing the Tombstone of the Crusader Knight, Sir Philip d'Aulngny, near the Church of the Holy Sepulcher
Armenian Girls Decorating Faience Vases in a Factory on the Reputed Site of Pontius Pilate's House, Above, and, at Left, Carving of a Quaint Structure on Wheels, Believed to Represent the Ark of the Covenant, Found in the Ruins of Capernaum
MILLIONS SPENT ON CURVES THAT FOOL THE EYE
Straight Dotted Lines, Above. Show the Amount of Curve in Two Walls of the Philadelphia Art Museum; Below Is a View of the Vast Building as It Appears from a Distance
A vast stone building, to be used as an art museum, costing $11,000,000 and spreading over a hilltop in Philadelphia, is nearing completion—without a single straight line in it. Every wall bows in or bulges out, the roof has an artful hump, and the massive columns of the porticoes lean at the top toward each other and also toward the building. Yet so carefully out of the straight and plumb has each piece of stone been cut and fitted that, to the eye, the building is perfect, whereas if it really were as straight as it seems, the eye would be convinced that the columns were too thin in the middle, that the roof sagged and the walls were bent. There are forty great stone columns, each eighty feet high, in the porticoes. Each column ​leans about four inches, so that straight lines drawn upward through their centers would all meet about two and a half miles in the air. Walls 125 feet in length, vary as much as five inches at the point of greatest curvature, and even the terracotta roof is built concave to register on the eye as a straight line against the horizon. The late Prof. W. H. Goodyear, of Brooklyn institute, worked out the corrections to the building, and from his figures a scale model was first built. The separate parts were so crooked, it seemed impossible they could be hidden, but when they were all assembled the curves could only be detected by one who knew where to find them.
LATHER BULB REPLACES BRUSH TO SIMPLIFY SHAVING
Instead of a brush, a rubber bulb and spout that produce lather for shaving, have been introduced for greater convenience and cleanliness. The lather may be applied directly from the spout to the face or squeezed into the hand and rubbed in with the fingers. Dangers of infection from unclean brushes are practically eliminated with this outfit, which is also said to save time and do away with the need of carrying an extra package of soap.
Close View of the Lather-Bulb Outfit, and, Below, the Bulb in Use
SPINNING WHEEL FOR BATHERS ADDS TO BEACH SPORT
Riding the Inclined "Ducking Wheel"; Many Persons Can Enjoy It at One Time, and Contests May Be Staged upon It
Amusement and healthful exercise are afforded bathers in a targetlike wheel, set at an angle on a platform near the shore. By crowding one side of the wheel, the other one is spun upward, throwing persons clinging there into the water. As the outfit is adaptable to shallow beaches. it is safe and easily rigged. The wheel itself is about twenty feet in diameter and is strongly constructed.
To keep airplanes on an even keel and help prevent accidents, a German inventor has introduced an automatic steering-gear arrangement which is said to have proved efficient in actual tests. It consists chiefly of a rapidly rotating top to control a vertical rudder, a lead weight and a mercury pendulum of special construction to govern the other controls. The rig is said to be easily fitted to any machine and functions by causing a motor to correct the steering to compensate for any departure from the course decided upon.
¶ Approximately 20,000 kinds of beetles are found in North America.