Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1897-03-19
AIN IMPORTANT DISCOVERY.
Explorations at Jerusalem Result il a
Great Find for Archaeologists,

Explorations at Jerusalem Result il a
ccea, Find for Archaeologsts-
The Palestine exploration fund has
been for some time past carrying on
explorations on the south side Of
Jerusalem, the principal object being
to determine the exact line OF the old
wall on that part Of the town 1t
often chances that in seeking for
some particular thing something else
is found, and such is frequently the
case in archaeological explorations.
This is what has taken place at Je-
rusalem. Nehemiah, in describing
the rebuilding Of the walls Of Jerusa-
lem, says. "But the gate Of the foun-
tain repaired Shallun, the sen Of Col
hozen, the ruler Of part Of AIizaph;
he built it, and covered it, and set up
the doors thereof, the locks thereof,
and the bars thereof and the wall OF
.the pool Of Sloan by the kings
garden, and unto tho stairs that 80
down from the city of David" DR..
Bliss, who is carrying On the explora-
tons, in a report lately received, an
nounces a discovery which scarcely
leaves doubt but he has found the
old stairs mentioned by the Prophet
Nehemiah.
In a former report Or. Bliss de-
scribed an ancient gate he had come
upon near the pool of Sloan, and
which was supposed to date from the
time Of Empress Eudocia, but it, no
doubt, was later construction at or
near to, the same gate which has been
repaired by Shallun The stair which
has been come upon consists Of no less
than "a large, broad steps, and they
descend down exactly to the pool;
they indicate line Of communication
with the Ophel ridge, which is con-
tinuation Of the Temple hill, and is
accepted by most authorities as the
site on which the royal palace of the
kings stood, and, of course, the
"king's garden" would be on the same
ridge. There may be more steps still
to find, as the explorations go on. AS
these steps also lead up to the temple,
they may have formed the ascent"
Il Kings, x, 81 that so astonished the
queen of Sheba when she came to see
Solomon. It's certainly very strik
ing thing to find that this great stair
should have been so long hidden
under ground, and we have no notice
of it from the time of Nehemiah till
the pick and shovel of the modern ar
chaeologist have laid it bare.
But this is not all. In the account
of the pilgrimage Of Antoninus
Martyr, which dates from the sixth
century, this author describes the
descent by ''many steps" to the foun-
tain of Sloan, and adds that there
was a church there. This church has
also been found, along with the stair.
The steps came down at the west end
Of the church, and they seem from
their height above the level of the
church floor to have made it difficult
to have a door in that direction. So
there are stairs on the north leading
down, where there were arches by
which the church was entered, and
it is also supposed that there were
arches on the south side, leading out
to the pool This church, according
to the report, possesses what is al
most, if not wholly, unique feature.
That is that the water coming
through the rock-cut conduit to the
pool passes under the altar. This,
it may be assumed, was done to carry
out the idea Of "a pure river of water
of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out
of the throne" Revelation, xxi, D.
London Daily News