The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1871-10-13
EXCAVATIONS At JERUSALEM.

EXCAVATIONS AT JERUSALEM.
Discoveries Made and Quextions Set
tled-The Two Temples-Robinson,
Arch. a
From the New York Evening Post.
Letters recently received at tn,
State Department, giving account O
discoveries made in Jerusalem by tn
English party working under the di
rection of those who control the "Pal
estine Exploration Fund.-" are o
much interest. Excavations hav
now been in progress for nearly thre
years. In spite OF obstacles throws
in the way by the ignorance, stupid
ty and cunning of the Orientals; il
spite ofperils from falling stones AM
poisonous air, freezing waters and SUI
locating heat; in spite of the supersti
tions OF Turkish dignitaries, the re
suits thus far reached are most salts
factory. In fact, Typographical con
troversles centuries old have been set
tied by positive discoveries. AS al
example of the Moslem stupidit,
which the explorers had to encounter
take the objections of the Pasha O
Jerusalem, q well educated militar,
man, not wanting in brains. He as
sured Captain Warren that it was un
necessary TO dig about the Holy Cit,
| to settle archaeological doubts. No
hammedan traditions were all-sufli.
cient, he said. Sakhra, the sacred
rock, lay on the top leaves of the
palm-tree, from the roots OF which
sprang all rivers. To pry into such
matters, he thought, was sure pre-.
cursor of dire calamity. The excava-
tiOns proceeded nevertheless.
Jerusalem is built or a ridge of rock
which is the backbone of Palestine.
1t is approached only by rough noun
tain roads. The position has great
natural strength. 1t is at the present
time surrounded by massive, we'll
built wall. Five of the city gates are
are open; five are closed. All are an
cient.
THE TEMPLES OF SOLOMON AND
IIEROD.
Upon Mount Moriah there is a large
open space, studded with cypress and
olive trees, and surrounded with, per-
haps, the finest masonry in the world.
In the center of this area rises Sakhra,
the mosque, with its surprisingly
beautiful dome. This mosque Chris
tians call the "Holy Sanctuary"
Within the same area once stood
both the Temple of Solomon and that
erected by HerOd. All traces of both
disappeared ages ago, and the position
occupied by them have for years been
fiercely-cOntested points in regard to
the topography of Jerusalem. Was
Temple coextensive with
the Sanctuary? Was it confined to a
square of six hundred feet in the
corner? Or was it placed
in what is now the great
open space? These questions excava-
ton only can answer. Ii is certain
that the SfOG R4sihc0, built by Herod
stood on the Southern wall. More
than this we do not vet know.
Within the Sanctuary inclOsura
and under its solid floors it has hither-
to been supposed that there were wa
Such is found not to he
the fact, but on the contrary the whole
mount is hOneycOmed with q series of
rOck-hewn cisterns, in
which the water, brought by an aque-
llIct from SOlOmOn's Pools, near |
was stored. These els
terns are connected by a system OF !
cut out of the rock, so that |
when one was full the surplus water |
ran into the next, until the final over |
low was carried off to the Kedron.
One ofthe cistcrns had capacity of |
TWO million gallons, and the total |
number of gallons that could be stored |
in all the ciStcrns exceeded ten mil
lions. And yet, with these gigantic
means of supplying the city water,
which ut no extravagant enpense
might at any time have been made |
AVAILABLE, the dependence of the in
habitants for a thousand years has
been upon cisterns which has received |
The rainfall from the roofs of houses |
and cutters of streets.
THE CHURCH OF THE HOLY sEPUL-
CHER.
Next to the Sanctuary, in point of |
is the Church of the Holy |
said to contain within its |
walls the tomb of our Lord. 1t is sit |
lated in what is called the Christian !
quarter of the town, at a considerable
distance from the Sanctuary. The
of the Holy Sepulcher
las been the subject of fierce dispute |
or many ages, This dispute is not
'ettled, though much progress has
Jeen made toward its solution by the
At the time of the cru
1t is agreed by all parties,
he place of our Lords burial was out
'ide of the walls. The place now
pointed out is within them. This
has always been explained by the
alleged fact that after Constantine |
quilt his "Chufch of the Resurrec-
,iOn," the town was spread out and
it. Others are certain
hat the present elite must have been
Always within the limits of the an
.ient city, and that the sepulchcr
must be looked for elsewhere. The So
ion of this difficult question depends |
IpOn-iirst, the esist6nee of an earlier |
wall surrounding the city; and, see
md, upon its course; if it existed and |
ran to the east of the alleged place of |
he sepulcher, the position claimed il |
doubtless correct; if it ran 10 the west,
The Position L. certainly wrong. 1t is |
significant that up 20 the present |
lime, i'm spite of every effort, no por-
ton of this wall has been discovered. |
The point at which it started and
that at which it ended are alike un-
known.
R0BINSON'S ARCH.
More than thirty years ago Profes-
sOr Edward Robinson believed that
he had discovered in Jerusalem traces
Of the arch Of bridge which led
from tho Temple to Zion. If this was
true il would furnish a key to unlock
several archaeological difficulties.
But the great antiquity of the arch
was doubted by travellers rs erudite
as the Professor himself. He never
theless supported his theory stoutly
1t became finally one of the many
neutrality-suspicious." and "Robinson's
arch" was one Of the curiosities of the
Holy City. Whether belonging to
the time Of Solomon or Justinian;
whether the support of vast viaduct
or the entrance II royal clnistcrs; this
juttiIg cut ef q 6w large stones, as if
hurst from the wall by some heavy
"fragmcnt of the arch'