The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1871-12-22
THE HOLY CITY.
Resume eofDiseoveriesThusFarM Made.

]
/ Excavations have now been in pro-
gress for nearly three years. In spite
( of obstacles thrown in the way by the
/ ignorance, stupidity and cunning oi
| the Orientals; in spite OF perlls from
falling stones and poisonous air, freeZ-
! ing waters and suffOcating heat; in
spite of the superstitiOns Of Turkish
/ dignitaries, the results thus far reach
/ ed are most satisfactory, In fact,
/ typographical controversies centuries
| old have been settled by positive dis
! cOveries. AS an example of the Mos
! lem stupidity which the explorers
| had to encounter, take the objections
/ of the Pacha of Jerusalem, well-edu-
/ Gated military man, not wanting in
/ brains. He assured Captain Warren
/ that it was unnecessary to dig about
| the Holy City TO settle archaeological
| doubts. MOhammedan traditions
were aIl-sufficient he said. ISqkhT0
| the sacred rock, lay on the top leaves
! of palm-tree, from the roots OfWhich
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 on 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, well
/ built wall. Five of the city gates are
open; five are closed. All are ancient.
THE TEMPLES or SOLOMON AMI
HEROD.
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 centre of this area rises Sakhra,
the mosque, with its surprisingly
beautiful dome. This mosque Christ
iaEls call the Holy Sanctuary"
Within the same area once stood the
temple of Solomon and that erected
by HerOd. All traces of both dis
appeared ages ago, and the exact po-
sitiOns occupied by them have for
| years been fiercely-cOntested points
! in regard to the topography of Jerusa-
! lem. Was SolomOn's Temple cock
| tensive with the Sanctuary? Was ii
confined to a square of six hundred
feet in the southwest corner? Or wae
it placed elsewhere in what is now
the great open space? These question:
excavations only can answer. 1t is
certain that the HOG BdsUicG, built
by HerOd, stood on the southern wall.
More than this we do not yet know.
e Within the sanctuary enclosure and
under it's solid floors it has hitherto
been supposed that there were water
springs. Such is found not to be the
fact, but, on the contrary, the whole
mount is hOneycombed with a series
of remarkable rOck-heWn cisterns, in
which the water, brought by an aque-
duct from SOlOmOn's Pools, near
Bethlehem, was stored. These cisterns
are connected by n system of channels
cut out of the rock, so that when one
was full the surplus water, ran into
the next, until the final overflow was
carried off to the KedrOn. One of the
cisterns had a capacity of two million
gallons, and the total number of gal
! Ions that could be stored in all the
cisterns exceeded ten millions. And
| yet, with these gigantic means Ofsup-
plying the city with water, which, at
no extravagant expense, might at any
; time have been made available, the
/ dependence of the inhabitants for q
I Thousand years has been upon cisteTns
! which receive the rainfall from the
roofs of houses and the cutters OF
streets.
THE CHURCH OF TIE HOLY SEPUL-
CHRE.
Next to the Sanctuary, in peint OF
! Interest, is the Church of the Holy
/ sepulchre, said to contain within its
walls tine tomb of our Lord. 1t is sit
! uated in what is called the Christian
! quarter of the town, at considerable
/ distance from the Sanctuary. The
! authenticity of the Holy Sepulchre
! has been the subject of fierce dispute
for many ages. This dispute is not
settled, though much progress has
been made toward it's solution by the
| excavations. At the time of the Cru
/ Cifixion, it is agreed by all parties, the
! place of our Lords burial was outside
| of the walls. The place now pointed
! out is within them. This has always
been explained by the alleged fact
! that after Constantine built his
| "Church of the Resurrection, :" the
| town was spread out and surrounded
! it. Others are certain that the pre-
sent site must have been always with
in the limits of the ancient city, and
that the sepulchre must be looked for
I elsewhere. The solution of this diff
cult question depends upOn-hrst, the
| existence of an earlier wall surrounds
! ing the city; and, second, upon its
course; if it existed and ran to the east
of the alleged place of the sepulchre
the position claimed is doubtless cor.
/ l
! is certainly wrong. II is significant
that up to the present time, in spite
of every effort. no portion of this wal
has been discovered. The point al
which il ended are alike unknown.
ROBINsON's ARCH.
/ More than thirty years ago Profes
sOr Edward Robinson. believed tha
I he had discoveHsgi in Jerusalem traces
of the arch of a bridge which led from
the temple to Zion. IF this was true
il would furnish key to unlock sew
t, eral archaeological difficulties. Blu
, the great antiquity of the arch wa
doubted by travellers as erudite as thu
Professor himself. He nevertheless
. supported his theory stOutly. 1t he
= came finally one of the many ''mOOteC
: ouestiOns.D and "RObinsOn's arch
I was one of the curiosities of the HOl!
n City. Whether belonging TO the tim
= of Solomon or Justinian; whether th'
support of vast viaduct or the en-
| trance to royal clOisteFs; this juttint
+ out of few large stones, as II burs
} /, from the wall by some heavy shock
! tho fragment Of the aFchn is nOthin;
t more than this in apDearance-th
: place has been sought eagerly of lat
e years by American and EuTopeal
q tourists, in spite OF the discussions O
: guides and the dangers of marrow
/ streets. At the convent, where tour
: lists from the west generally stop, tn
/ inquiry of newcomers for "Robin
I SON arch, - became d subject of con
Q staDt merriment. and the demand [
= be taken there, always followed b
q oriental shrugs and gestculation'
Z. was the bette lloir of muleteers an
= cgmel-driVers.
ni The dispute on this subject has {
/ last been Settled. At no iRconsidel
:, able cost, in the face OF strong 0pTsok
J. ton from the Pacha, and with gre;
% perseverance, Captain Warren sun