Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1877-12-15
a CRUsADERs. cHURcH.
Ruins of an Ancient Chapel Dis
covered near Jerusnlem-In-
terestfng Relics.

The London Athenaum saws tina
Lieut.. Kitchener has sent hom,
an account, with plans, of a newly
discovered crusaders church neal
the Mount of Olives. The follow
ing is an extract from a report re
ceived from Jerusalem on these anC
other points:
Theroad from the Mount of Olives
to Bethany crosses a narrow neck oi
land which joins the Mount of Olives
to the hill above Bethany; ON this
narrow strip the remains of an
ancient chapel have been uncover.
ed, dating probably from the twelfth
or thirteenth century. Tradition
has long pointed out this spot as the
place where our Lord mounted the
ass for his triumphai entry into
Jerusalem. In the chapel there Is
an almost square block of masonry
or rock, covered with paintings; IL
measures four feet three inches by
three feet five inches high, and its
position in the chapel is curious, be-
ing on the north side, probably be-
tween two columns OF the nave.
This square block is supposed to be
either an altar, a shrine or a Dor
tion of the rock cut out and orna-
mented, being the exact place where
our Lord mounted the ass. The
paintings, of which pen-and-ink
sketches have been sent home, are
well done though much disfgured.
On the south side Is the raising Of
Lazarus; on the north side are the
disciples fetching the ass; on the east
there are number of persOnsstand-
ing in row, but it is too much dis
figured to be recognizable. On the
west is niche covered by an arch
which was probably supported by
two small columns; below the
niche is a portion of an inscription
still remaining; several lines have
been destroyed. On the top there
was also some design and the traces
of an inscription. M. lie Capitaine
Guillemot was the first to witness
these remains, and he has made
elaborate driwings and copies of the
paintings and inscriptions when
everything was almost perfect.
These he is about to publish. He
was able to read the different parts
OF the inscription: "7ic est'' (Beth-
phagus) and "HierusaEeDa." The
walls of the small chamber to the
south were also painted with de-
sign of squares containing circles,
and the walls of the church were
painted in common pattern. The |
shield of Hansen has been taken |
down from the Mosque by the Pacha,
and is now in the Serial. 1t was
said that brass plate was found in
the Haram bearing the arms of the
twelve tribes of Israel, and there |
was some excitement among the
Jews. However, it was only the
shield of Hansen. 1t appears to
have been the cover Of a baptismaI
font of some vessel, and is made of |
bronze, containing great deal of |
silver; the work appearstO be italian
Of the twelfth century, and is very
The shield was cast. The
Pacha has promised to allow pho
tograph to be taken of il. An in-
discovery has been made
lately by the French monks at Je-
rusalem. While digging for the
a new school on the site
Of the Kalat Julud or GOliath's cas-
tie, they came upon four massive
piers of ancient drafted masonry.
A number of ruined vaults and a
mass Ofrubbish have been removed,
and now the ancient work is uncov-
cred almost down to the rock. Two
Of these were seen by Major Wilson,
r. E., and were, in his opinion, of
date, but the lower por-
ton now discovered seems to be
earlier. The French monks are
quite coufident that they have here
the foundations of the
tower of Psephinus.