The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1878-08-28
soIomoRs Temple and ITS KuIn.

sOIom,oRs Temple and ITS Ruin
We know from Josephus, that in
the time Of our lore, Jerusalem was
honeycombed with secret galleries
and canals; not ike the sewers Of
modern Paris, for drainage not like
the catscombs of ancient Rome, for
refuge and euterment, but for the
purpose of war Every fortress had
a secret passage fer escape Not
once, but many times. the Romans
were astonished By the ghosts which
seemed to rise from the ground C.
John Of Gisehula rose, wan in aspect,
on the startled Roman sentinel. At
ter Titus had fought bis way from
Moriah TO Zion, killing and capturing
his foes in the open field, be bad to
turn up the city $50 to speak in
search of fugitives. His soldiers laid
down sword and spear, and seiziag
pick and spade, began 70 bGrrow in
the ground. A hundred fights tjok
place in the very bowels Of the earth.
Two thousand dead bodies were
found by legionaries of ese tunnels,
sewers and secret chan J-rs. sil of
whom had fallen either By thei own
hands, the poniards of their conpan-
ions, or from want Of fool "A peis-
onous stencil cams from geT, trap
or vent, 80 that .the air bove the
city was unfit 10 breathe. The open
streets were bad enough, but under
ground Jerusalem was perfect char
mel house.
To stay the progress Of disease, the
traps and vents were stopped. Shafts
leading into tanks were closed aId
openings into secret passages walled
up. Old cisterns were IN time for
gotten, and the gallery leading ua-
der ground from the citadel TO Zion
to the Temple on Moriah was partly
lost. | say partly lost, because a le-
gend long survived among the na-
tives that David street, above ground,
was so called from the fact that it
ran over and along subterranean
passage which DaEid had caused to
be made from his grea. tower on
Zion to that part Of the Temple
which is now entered by the Gate Of
the Chains. This legend is preserv-
ed by the Arab writer, Mejr ed
Din.
Our picks aad spades have happily
revealed this secret thoroughfare-a
main point-perhaps the main point
for scientific reconstruction Of
Jerusalem in the days of our Lord.
Msjor Wilson hit on the first import
ant facts Tobler has seen q large
pool, called by the Arabs El Burak,
from the neighboring Mosque. 1t
lies near the gate Of the Moors,
little North Of the Jews Wailing
place. Going down into this pool
and lighting magnesium wire, VIII
son found himself under an arched
roof formed by stones of great size,
fixed in their places without mortar,
Ike the blocks of David,s Tower
The span was more than forty feet.
Little more was done, except to
give this arched roof or chamber the
name Of Wilson, just as the lower
arch (row gone, as we have seen,)
was called R0binson's Arch. When
Captain Warren afLerward sank a
shaft outside the piers, he.f0und that
the whole structure was Of the same
age as the Temple wall. On getting
down to the lower courses CT that
wall, be found water flowing from
North TO South, much as be had
found water flowing down the cor
responding valley. In ancient times,
as we know from the bible, the sides
Of Noriah were washed by two liv-
ing brooks These waters have long
been lost to sight, but under the ac-
cumulated heaps Of centuries we
have now bappily found these living
brooks.
1t soon became apparent that the
great arch had been bviIt as COW
ering for the pool now called FL
Burak, from the Mosque close by.
Further excavation proved that VIII
sons Arch had been connected with
a roadway from Zion to the Temple.
Piers sne vonissoirs showed the di-
rec,i0n Of the ancient road The
great spau was not repeated, but a
series Of shorter spans carry the road
to point on the opposite bill.
Along he whole line Of this caIse-
way Warren found remains of iaaks
and conduits here dug in the live
rock there built Of solid masonry.
In many places be found halls and
chambers, some Of which had clearly
been used as reservoirs Leading
to the South, under the ffth arch Of
the great viaduct Warren passed un-
der small gate with q Intel, TO End
himself in passage lying under Da-
vid street Here then, we had found
the secret passage from Zion TO Mo-
riah, which Mohammadan legends
as5eribed TO David.
The Tunnel was twelve feos wide.
the zach a semi-circle about the size
and with something of the shape Of
the military galleries at Dover and
Gibraltar. Much flth and dust had
gathered in the bed, but the vault
above was clean and white. Here
and there Warren found entrance TO
the chambers under the viaduet.
Twenty yards from the Temple walls
the passage was built up. and on
breaking through the wall he found
the level drop about six feet and then