The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1871-10-27
EXCAVATIONS At JERUSALEM.
Discoveries Made aGSi Questions Set
tIed-The Two TempIes-RObinsOn
Arch
From the New York Evening Post.

1eN-AHe HO Ee1t1 t1sSleS-AtODaElsOm :
Arch.
/ From the New York Evening Post.
! Letters recently received at the
State Department, giving account of
! discoveries made in Jerusalem by the
English party working under the di-
rectiOn of those who control the opal
estine Exploration Fund" are of
much interest. Excavations have
now been in progress for nearly three
/ years. In spite of obstacles thrown
in the way by the ignorance, stupidi-
/ ty and cunning of the Orientals; in
| spite ofperils from falling stones and
! poisonous air, freezing waters and suf-
| locating heat; in spite of the supeTsti-
| tiOns Of Turkish dignitaries, the re-
suits thus far reached are most salts
! factory. In fact, Typographical con-
| troveTsies centuries old have been set
! tied by positive discoveries. As an
{ example of the Moslem stupidity
| which the explorers had to encounter,
take the objections of the Pasha of
Jerusalem, a well educated military
man, not wanting in brains. He as
sured Captain Warren that it was un-
necessary to dig about the Holy City
/ TO settle archaeological doubts. Mo
hammedan traditions were all-suffi-
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 pTy into such
matters, he thought, was a sure pre-
cursor of dire calamity. The excava-
tiOns proceeded nevertheless.
Jerusalem Is built on 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 a massive, we'll
built wall. Five Ofthe city gates are
are open; five are closed. All are an
cient.
THE TEMPLES OF SOLOMON AND
IIEROD.
Upon Mount MOriah there is n large |
open space, studded with cypress and !
olive trees, and surrounded with, per !
hRps, the finest masonry in the world. !
In the center of this area rises Sakhra,
the mosque, with its sHrpassingly |
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 |
SolOmOn's Temple cOeXtensivc with |
the Sanctuary? Was it confined to a |
square of six hundred feet in the 1
sOuth-W est corner? Or was it placed /
elsewhere in what is now the great |
open space? These questions excava-
tion only can answer. It is certain
that the StOd BGsilicG, built by HerOd /
stood on the Southern wall. More
than this we do not vet know.
Within the Sanctuary. inclOSure |
and under its solid floors il has hither-
TO been supposed that there were Wa
teT-SprinGs. Such Is found not to he /
the fact, but on the contrary the whole
mount is honeycomed with a series of
remarkable rock-hewn cisterHs, i'm
which the water, brought by an aque-
duct from SOlOmOn's Pools, near
Bethlehem, was stored. These els
terms are connected by system of
channels cut out of the rock, so that
when one was full the surplus water
ran into the next, until the final over
flow was carried off 70 the KedFon.
One fthe cisterns had a capacity of
two million gallons, and the total
of gallons that could be stored
in all the cisteTns exceeded ten mil
lions. And yet, with these gigantic /
means Of supplying the city water,
which at no extravagant enpcnse
might at any time have been made
the dependence of the in
habitants for z thousand years has
been upon cistcrns 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, i'm point of
is the Church of the Holy
said TO contain within its
walls the tomb of our Lord. II is sit
Iated in what is called the Christian
quarter of the town, at q considerable
distance from the Sanctuary. The
Of the Holy Sepulcher |
has been the subject of fierce dispute
or many ages. This dispute is not
settled, though much progress has |
Jeen made toward its solution by the
excavations. At the time of the cru I
it is agreed by all parties,
he place of our Lords burial was out
iide of the walls. The place now
pointed out is within them. This | :
las always been explained by the {
alleged fact that after Constantine {
)uilt his "Church of the Resurrec- [
ion" the town was spread out and !
il. Others are certain I
hat the present site must have been
Ilways within the limits of the an z
,ient city, and that the sepulcher
must be looked for elsewhere The so
ion of this difficult question depends :
lpOn-first, the existence of an earlier
vail surrounding the city; and, sec
md, upon its course; if ii existed and
an TO the east of the alleged place Of {
he scpulcher, the position claimed is {
doubtless correct; ii it ran to the west, {
he position is certainly wrong. It is ]
fcrnfnaavRf fhnf - | =
ime, in spite of every effort, no por- ;
ion of this wall has been discovered.
The point at which it started and
hat at which 1t ended are alike un-
Known.
ROEINsON's ARCH.
More than thirty years ago Profess \
or Edward Robinson believed that (
lc had discovered in Jerusalem traces @
# the arch Of bridge which led +
rom the temple to Zion. II this was i
rue il would furnish key to unlock Il
everaI archaeological difficulties. 4
But the great antiquity of the arch
vas doubted kby travellers rs erudite
IS the Professor himself He never q
hcIcss supported his theory stOutly d
{ became finally one Of the maut e
'mOotcd questiCns,n and "Rohinson's I
IFchn was one of the curiOSities Of the I 4
Holy CITY. Whether belonging TO / :
he time of Solomon or Justiniau: I
whether the support Of vast viaduct !
n the entrance to royal cloisters: this a
utting out of few large stones, as il q
,uTst from the wall by some heavy c
hOck-the fragment Of the archn ,
S nothing more than this i'll appear- 2
nce-the place has been sought Gag q
.rly Of late years hy American and
European tourists in spite OF the dis {
slasiOns of guides and the dangers Of ,
narrow streets. At the convent. | /