Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1888-11-11

from Judah and Edom, ravaged Moab,
and blockaded Mesha in his capital OF
Kirkha. Then followed the sacrifice by
Mesha OF his eldest son on the wall OF
Kirkha so that "there was great indigna-
ton against Israel, and the allied forces
retreated back "to their own land"
ANOTHER INSCRIPTION.
A more recent, and in many respects
more valuable discovery, is that OF the
Sloan inscription found in Jerusalem,
dating back to the time of lsiah. The
modern pool OF Sloan encloses another
pool of a much more ancient date. 1t WAS
supplied with water by means of atunnel,
]. 70S feet in length, excayated IN the
rock. and communicating with the So
called spring of the Virgin, below tho
walls o the city. in 1850 lad, while
playfully wading up this rocky channel,
slipped and fell into the water. On rising
he noticed on the southern wall OF the
channel some STRENGTHENING marks,
largely concealed by the water Mr..
Shick, tutor of the boy. on hearing OF
it visited the place and found IN these
peculiar signs an ancient inscription.
lie determined to make a copy Of 1t, but
being compelled to SIT IN the mud and
WAFER and work by the dim hight OF
candle, while the indentations were filled
with a deposit OF lime, his copy was In
perfect and almost unintelligible. In
1851 Or. Guthe, by means OF al acid,
removed the calcareous deposit and re-
vealed the original inscription. rendering
many letters perfectly visible, which
hitherto had been concealed. Several
squeezes OF the inscription were taken
and put into the hands Of scholars. ho
translation of the inscription IS as fol-
lows:
"Behold) the excavation Now this
ia the history Of the excavation While
the excavators were still lifting up the
pick. each towards his neighDor, and
while there was vet three cublis to (exca-
vate, there was heard the voice Of one
man calling to his neighbor, for there
was an excess in the rock on the night
hand land on the left. And after that,
on the day of excavating, the eXcayators
had struck pick against pick one against
the other, the waters flowed from the
spring to the pool for distance OF 200
cubits and part of a cublt was the
height Of the rock oSer the head OF the
exclvators.
The inscription gives us on interesting
account OF the construction OF the tun-
mel We learn that it was excavated IN
n manner similar TO that of the Mt. Gems
tunnel, by commencing simultaneously
at both ends, and that in spite OF the
circuitous route the workmen had almost
met in the middle. Two cW ~ sue
have been found near the centre OF the
tunnel. representing the furihest points
reached by the two forces OF wOrkmen
when they discovered that they were
passing each other.
In reading the inscription ono can
scarcely rid himself Of the impression
that be is reading selection from the
Hebrew Scriptures. It's value consists
mainly in the fact that it exactly repre-
scnts the form Of the letters used by
the Israelites before the time of Nebu
chadnezzar. They differ entirely from
the Hebrew writing of the present DAY,
aud 10 the modern Hebrew student are
unintelligblc. As to the date OF the
inscription there il some controversy.
The Inscription itself is silent upon this
point, except in the forms Of It's letters,
and even here the indications are vague
and conflicting. Scholars generally re-
fer the date Of the execution OF the tun-
mel. and consequently of the inscription
to the period Of Hezekiahs reign. Fa-
vOring tins view are the passages III
II. Chronicles, xxxii., 30, in which lleze-
kiah is said to have stopped
the upper water-course OF Gihon
aud brought it straight down t. tho
City of David %; and IL. Kings xx.. %, IN
which "he made pool aud conduit
and brought water into the city" 1t IS
thought that these statements must refer
to the Sloan pool and tunnel PROBES
sor Sayce, however, seems inclined TO q
more ancient date. In view Of state
ment of Isaiah viii, q. The prophet
during the reign OF Ahaz, the father Of
Hezekiah. refers to "the waters Of Shi-
loah that 60 softly" lie thinks that
this could hardly refer 10 anything else
than the gently-howing stream running
through the tunnel at Sloan TN when
case the conduit, of course, must have
existed before the time Of HeZekiahl
and that since We know OF no earlier
period capable Of producing a great en-
gineering work OF the kind until we
reach tho reign Of David and Solomon,
he thinks that it may be OF this ancient
date. His inference Is supported by
several considerations. The name Shl-
loah probably means 1.-the tunnel" 1t
is unlikely that when architects we're
employed in fortifying and improving
Jerusalem that David and Solomon
would have allowed the city to depend
entirely upon rain cisterns for It's water
supply. Since the inscription calls the
Pool of Sloan ."the Pool, the in
ference is natural that no other reservoir
OF the kind Was then in existence.
OTHER POOLS.
Several other pools have been
recently discovered, but they bear I'M
mistakable evidence of q much later
construction. The question of date is
involved in uncertainty, and yet to this
,-rit.r a a.ar,a that tha 1roDou1pra