The record-union., 1897-11-19
next is OF excellent quality, and
amounts to four-fifths OF an average
DAvID's TOMB.
Scientists Look With Disfavor on
the One Assigned to Him.

Biblical scholars have long been anx-
ious to find the exact location Of the
tombs of King David and his success
about to be satisfied. At any rate such
is the opinion of those who have heard
NJ Clermont Ganneau's views on the
subject and who know how well quail
fed he is to speak thereon
Hitherto it has been considered most
probable that the metropolis of the
Kings of Judah was located in the Ko-
bour-el-M MonlOnk, TO the north of Jer-
uSalem. M. de Sauley was a strenu-
Gus advocate of this view, and he GER
tainly brought forward some appar-
emily conclusive arguments in it's ia
vor. Recent Investigations, however,
seem to show clearly that this famous
sepulcher is the last resting place, not
OF David and his successors, but of
Queen Helen. The Sepulcher is Sculp-
tured in Greco Roman fashion, which
alone is pretty convincing proof that
no Kings of Judah are buried there.
The French Government is now the
owner of this pompous monument, hav-
ing acquired it from the Pereira fam
lily. and French scholars are naturally
anxious that the truth about it shall
be known. They would be delighted
to have France own the sepulcher of
the Kings of Judah, but they do not
want France to claim the ownership
of such a sepulcher when the Kings of
Judah are really buried somewhere
else.
M. Clermont- -Ganneau insists that
es1,L ar
estly in the matter, and should at once
abandon it's intention of placing over
the vestibule of the sepulcher the fol-
lowing inscription: Tomb of the Kings
of Judah He says positively that it
is not the kings tomb. History and
tradition, he claims, teach otherwise.
His most convincing proof, however, ne
has obtained from a minute study OF
a Subterranean aqueduct, more than
800 yards in length, which was cut
through the hill of Ophel in the time of
King Hezekiah, as is clearly proved by
Hebraic inscription which is engraved
in Phoenician characters at the mouth
of the aqueduct. A genuine tunnel is
this aqueduct, and the remarkable fact
about it is that at one part of it's course
it describes an abrupt and very large
right angle, of which hitherto no eX-
plantations has been forthcoming. Now
M Clermont- -Ganneau claims that this
abrupt detour was caused by the ne
cessity of avoiding the royal tomb,
which was excavated in the heart of
the hill and lay directly in the path
of the proposed aqueduct.
If this assumption is correct it ought
TO be easy to locate the exact spot in
the hill at which it would be necessary
to eXcavate in order to reach the last
resting place of David, Solomon and
most of their successors. Many searches
have been made for the entrance to this
tomb, but hitherto without success, ap-
parently for the reason that those
searching have expected to find at the
entrance a monumental gate or other
barrier. Now, however, the opinion
prevails that there is simple opening
or mouth at the entrance, and that
through this access to the tomb can
easily be gained. 1t is certain that
most of the old tombs in Phoenicia and
Egypt had a simple opening of this
kind at the entrance. The great his
torian JoSephus refers to this fact, but
his exact meaning was not understood
until NJ. Clermont- Ganneau began to
study the subject.-New York Herald.