Orleans independent standard. [volume] (Irasburgh, Vt.) 1856-1871, 1863-06-12
The Buried Cities of the East.

lhree hils--Zion, Moriah and Acra.-
The last having been cut down, only the
two former appear now as bills. 1t oc-
cupied the whole of Zion, the site Of
AGRA, and the whole of Moriah that
could be called hill, for Moriah was
rather promontory from the tabele-land
on the north than an isolated hill. Zion
was almost entirely surrounded by deep
and p'ecipitate valleys. The valley Oh
the north side, and a part of the east
side, made the southwest side of the rest
of the city-about two thirds of the city
being on Zion, and one-third across this
The Iyropean yalley-boih parts descend
ing towards this valley At the destruc-
tion by Nebuchadnezzar, all of the wall
and probably most of the lonses were
to greater or less extent thrown down.
Nehemiah, wLel he rebuilt the walls,
spake of the great amount of ruins and
rubbish that he had to contend with much
of which probably was left undiscovered.
The houses had, previous to this, been
as many as needed, repaired as well as
the means Of the returned captives would
allow. Pompey, the Roman general, GO
years before the Christian era threw
down the walls again. But the greatest
destruction was about 1870 years after
wards, by Titus, when everything except
few strong places was thrown into one
heap of ruins. These places, left by
Titus, shall refer to again. Since this
time it has gone through several partial
overlhrows, in every one Of which more
or less OF the houses would be buried
wholly or in part. Nehemiah, when he
built the walls, built them where they
were before. But since then, (if we ex-
cept the building after their destruction
by Pompey) they have been built where
the builder fancied, and not all on their
old site. The result is that the present
city occupies only part of Mt. Zion,
and about the same ground on the north
side of the Tyropean valley as it occu-
pied in the days of Maccabees. More
than half of Zion now lies without the
walls on the south side of the city, and
on the north side, all that part of the city
called Bezetha, is also without The walls
The walls around the courts of the tenn
pie were built Of very heavy stones-12,
Is, "a feet long, 6 feet wide, and feet
thick, are the dimensions of the most OF
them. One | measured that was more
than 80 feet long, and the same width !
and thickness of be others. 1t was
rather bard work to tumble those stones
down; and for this reason, portions of
this wall all of the way around, have
remained just as Solomon or Herod LETT
them. So much is still ia Situ that the
whole circuit is as readily trace d as
though all remained. These pieces and
another piece at the Damascus gate on
the north side Of the city, and the lower
part of the old tower of Hippacus at the
Jeha gate, built by Herod on the Milo
of David's time, is all that remains OF
the old city that was left by Titus
The walls that enclosed Zion, and also
the eastern wall of the temple and some
parts Of the south and west wall, stood
directly on the brink Of the valley bank,
and whenever they were thrown down
the stones Of course would be thrown
down the precipice, and as the bottom OF
these valleys were very sharp and mar
row, they would be filled up very easily.
! n the Kedron valley ran the brook
X dron, which gave the name to
the valley. But there is 10 brook there
now, nor has there been for long time. #
Dig down 20, so or 40 or more feet 4.
through the stones and rubbish that
have been for many centuries rolling c
down from the city some hundred feet
or more obove, and you will come to the 5
same old Kedron that run there in Da- 5
yid's day. A brook can't be made to 2
run on a pile of stones. 1t will 60 down 1
i'll it finds an impervious strata. The c
Fountain of the Virgin, as it is called, a
sell opposite the temple ground, is dug a
lown TO running water. The well OF I
En-Rogel, farther down the valley, is a
mother well $50 feet deep, that is sup a
,led by this brook. But this we'll is in t
oose porus ground, and not in rubbish c
rom the city. !
Probably the Tyropean valley has q
,een filed more than any other part OF Il
be city, as it was very narrow, the sides
very steep, and was built on both sides. e
As no excavations made Of late years
have reached through the accumulated
ruin, we can only conjecture as to its
depth here or anywhere else. Solomon
a. = a,.,,s ,.,o 20 ocraes fbia vollav from |