Worcester daily spy., 1871-09-12
The TompIe at Jerusalem.

Rev. DIR. Buddington writes: The discoveries o.
the palestine exploration fund have been made
at great cost of money and labor, and no LITTLE
danger, by sinking shafts 100 feet deep and run
ning galleries at right angles to these shafts
the explorers feeling their way under ground
burning magnetism wire, and so throwing light
upon stones and pavcments which have been
buried 2000 and 5000 years from human sight
Mt Moriah has been found to be Il sharp crag
or ridge with so little space upon the ton as
scarcely TO afford room for temple of small
dimensions. On all sides it fell off rapidly and
very steeply, except from northwest to south
east, the direction in which the ridge ran. The
area on the summit was enlarged by wall
built along the decliyities, the outside walls
| deep down the valleys, from 100 to 150 feet be-
low the area on which the temple buildings
stood. One hundred feet again below this lay
| the original bed Of the brook kidrOn. The
foundations Of the temple, therefore, were $50
| feet above the deep dGfileS around. This area,
| originally built by Solomon and enlarged by
| Herod, still exists, running on the south along
the valley OF Hinnom 1000 feet, and along the
| kidrOn 1900 feet.
This inclOsure was originally covered with
splendid ediiiceS. First were the porticoes or
| covered walks, built along the outer walls, and
overlooking the Kldron snd Hnnom. They were
| magnificent structures, resembling the nave and
| aisleS of Gothic cathcdras. The middle walk
| or nave was iorty-fve feet broad, and the two
| aiSles thirty feet. The aises were fifty feet high
| and the nave, rising like n clerc-story between
| the two, was more than one hundred feet high
| Add now terrace walls TO the height of the port
| icoes and we have solid and continuous wall
| of masonry $50 feet high. But these were only
| the outer buildings Of the temple area. The
| portcoes opened inwardly upon a court paved
| with marble and open to the sky. Steps led up
| TO n second court Beyond this, again. through
beautiful gateways, was a third, and rising above
them was a fourth, in which stood the temple
proper, ascending story above story, and said to
have been one hundred or even one hundred and
fifty feet high.
These horizontal measurements have been
verified. OF course, we cannot vuuCh for the
correctness of the reputed height of these i'm
mense structures. We have the less reason,
however, to doubt the last, as we have cstab-
lished the first. II one looked upon Mount
Moriah from the Mount OF Olives opposite COM
ing round the brow Of Oiyet on the way from
Bethany, as our Lord did when behOldlng the
city, it must have been a sight which for archi-
tectural beauty and grandeur perhaps has never
been equaled, certainly not surpassed. 1t was
an artificial mountain from the deep ravines be-
low, wall, column, root, pinnacle, eliminating in
the temple within and above ALL and probably
measuring between five hundred and six hun.
dred feet.
The palace of Solomon, too, added to the i'm
pressiveness of the sight. Ii is settled by re-
cent discoveries that this pile Of buildings was
on the southeast corner of the area, joining on
the house of the Lord above, and extending be-
low to the kings gar lens, where the two valleys
met and "the waters of the Sioah 60 softly"
james Ferguson Esq, the distinguished mchi-
tect writes "Ihe triple temple of Jerusalem,
the lower court standing on its magnificent ter
races the inner court raised on its platform in
the centre, and the temple itself rising out of
the group and crowning the whole-must have
formed when combined with the beauty of the
situation, one of the most splendid architectural
combinations of the ancient world"
,IOspDhuS wrote eff anV one looked down
from the top of the battlements, he would be
giddy, while his sight could not reach to such
an immense depth" This passed for foolish ex-
aggeraton, till recent explorations vindicated
the statement
All these buildings, porticoeS, columns, pima
eles, altar and temple have perished. "Not one
stone remains upon another which has not been
thrown down." The area alone remains, and
the massive substructureS that for 5000 years
have been sleeping in their courses. The prcser-
walton has been due TO the ruin. Buildings so
vast have been toppled down the slopes of the
Moriah that the original defiles and valleys
have been almost obliterated. What had been
regarded as the original surface has been found
to be debris from seventy TO ninety feet deep
With pickaxe and shovel British explorers
have been down to the original foundations
Fallen columns have been met with, and avoided
or a way blasted through them. The cnders Of
burnt Jerusalem have been cut through and
turned up TO the light-rich molds deposited by
the treasures of Jewish pride. The seal Of Hae-
gai, in ancient Hebrew characters, was picked
up out of the siltings of this deposit The first
courses OF stones, deposited by Phencian build
erS, have been reached, lying on the living rock.
Quarry marks, put on in vcrmillion have been
copied-knOwn to be quarry marks by the
trickling drops of the paint, still visbe-only
they are above the letters, showing that when
they were written the stones lay with the under
side uppermoSt.
At the southwest corner of the area debris
has accumulated to depth of not less than 125
fcet-the accumulation of ages, made up of the
ruins of successive Jerusalems and here some
of the most interesting discoveries have been
made. Here is the famous arch of Robinson,
shown now to he an arch, as he cOniectured by
the discovery OF the pier upon which the first
span rested. 1t is the remains of bridge which
crossed the valley on arches, and connected
Mount Morah with the mountain opposte-the
modern Zion. 1t is the skewback or abutmeut
that slopes TO receive the end of the arch. Three
courses remain. The stones are 5 or 6 feet
thick, and 90 or % feetlong. The valley here is
$50 feet wide, and this must have been the
length of the bridge, connecting the temple
with the royal palace on the other side. At a
depth of 80 feet a worn pavement was found,
worn by feet that passed over it in our Lords
time Lying on this pavement were the vous-
SoirS, or wedge-ike stones, belonging to the
arch Breaking through this pavement, and
through "a feet of debris beneath, they found
a still more ancient roadway, and resting upon
this the key-stones of a still more ancient bridge.
The explanation is probably reached; Robin
son arch is the remains of the bridge that was
standing at the siege of Jerusalem, upon which,
at the eastern end of it, stood the Roman General
Titus, holding parey with the Jews, occupy
ing the other end of the bridge. The older
bridge, the remains of which were found he
meath the pavement, belonged to the palmy days
Of Solomon, may have been seen standing at the
time of the queen of Sheba's visit; and possibly
Of bn tfosaant'' nv ,ubi
went up into the house of the Lord, which when
the queen saw, there was "nO more spirit lett in
her"
The whole of Mount Moriah has been found
to be fairly honey-cOmbud with Cisterns and
passages. One of the csterns known as the
Great sea, would contain two millions of gallons,
and altogether not less than ten millions. The
wall Of Ophel has been eXposed-at the present
time seventy feet high-though buried in debris
and the remains of towers and houses have been
lighted upon, belonging to the age Of the kings
Of Judah. The pool of Bethesda, has been, in
all probability, identified; an intermtting fouu-
tain, which explains the popular legend of the
troubling of the water by an angel. Under
ground passages, probably OF the age ofHezekiah,
when he stopped the brook that ran through the
land, SAYING, "Why should the king OF Assyria
come and find much water" An iron ring still
remains in the top Of a shaft, from which hung
| the rope of a bucket to draw water with.
| Naulted chambers there are, where evidently the
| besieged took refuge. They have left behind
| them lamps, and fuel, and cooking utensils
| Channels, too, have been opened, down which
the refuse of the altar, water and the blood of
the victim seem TO have passed. The tracing of
these channels will probably lead up to the iden-
! tfcatlon of the exact spot where the altar of
| sacrifice stood. Such are some Of the rewarding
results of the explorations Of Captain Warren
| at Jerusalem.
TIPPERARY, NOT TURK.-During the opera
tions of the allies in the Crimea, it was resolved
to carry the water in from beautiful spring to
the camp. Leather pipe or hose was emnlnyed