The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1897-04-03
THE OLD STAIRS OF NEHEMIAH
An Important Discovery Reported
in Palestine.

I'm Palestine.
The Palestine Exploration Fund has
been for some time past carrying on ex-
plorations 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, says the London Daily
News. 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 Jerusalem. Ne
hemiah, in describing the rebuilding of
the walls of Jerusalem, says: But the
gate OF the fountain repaired Shallun,
the son Of ColhoZeh, the ruler of part of
Mlzpah; he built it, and covered 1t, and
set up the doors thereof, the locks there
of, and the bars thereof, and the wall of
the Pool of Sloan by the Kings gar
den, and unto the stairs that go down
from the City of David" Dr. Bliss, who
Is carrying on the explorations, in a re-
port lately received, announces a discov-
cry which scarcely leaves a doubt but he
has found the old stairs mentioned by
the prophet Nehemiah.
In a former report DR.. Bliss described
an"ancient gate he had come upon near
the Pool of Sloan, and which was sup
posed to date from the time of the EN-
press Eudocia, but it, no doubt, was
later construction at, or near to, the same
gate which had been repaired by Shall
lun. The stair which has been come up
on consists of no less than "a large, broad
steps, and they descend down exactly to
the pool; they indicate a. line of commu-
nication with the Ophel ridge, which is
a continuation 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 "Klng's gar
den" would be on the same ridge. There
may be more steps still to find, as the eX-
ploratinns 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. 1t is certainly
a very striking thing to find that this
great stair should have been so long hid
den under ground, and we have no notice
of 1t from the time of Nehemiah till he
pick and shovel of the modern archaeol-
ogist have laid 1t bare. 1t is decidedly a
feather in the cap of the Palestine En-
ploration Fund, and it also rebounds to
the credit of DR.. Bliss, including his CO.
adjutor, Mr.. Dickie, who have so sue
cessfully brought out such valuable re-
suits by their work.
But this is not all. In the account of
the pilgrimage of Antonnus Martyr
published by the Palestine Pilgrims
Texts Society, which dates from the
sixth century, this author describes the
descent by "many steps" to the fountain
of Sloan, and adds that there was
church there. This church has also been
found, along with the stair. The steps
same down at the west end of the church
and they seem from their height above
the level of the church floor to have
made 1t 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 almost, if not
wholly, a unique feature. That is that
the water coming through the rock con-
duit to the pool passes under the altar
This, 1t 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, xii d.