The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1901-07-29
rs THIS THE TRUE CALVARY?

The Remarkable Skull-Like Hill North
Of the Damascus Road.
Just north of the Damascus road, and
about equally distant from the Damas-
Gus Gate and the Gate Of Herod, rises
hill about fifty feet above the road.
The side facing the city walls is abrupt
and resembles in a remarkable degree
the upper part of a skull. The hill Is
fiat on top, and for three thousand
YEARS has been a burying ground.
Thus, in two particulars the term "a
place of a skull will apply. Down to
A. D. 500 a slaughter house was located
on the northern slope of this hill. This
spot exactly fulfills every requirement
of the sacred narrative.
The procession on the day of crucif1x-
ion came out OF the Damascus Gate.
Here the hill is steep, causing the Mas
ter's strength to fail, and Simon. COM
ing down the road from the country,
was made to bear the cross for Him.
Then they bring Him to a place called
Golgotha and He was brought as
lamb to the Slaughter house." as the
original word means. This hiss is full
in view from all quarters. and on
road that has always been the most
travelled of and leading into the city;
just the place where the Romans would
be most likely to expose their victims
to view, for the Romans crucitied
Christ, and not the Jews. The Talmud
calls this the Hill of Execution, and
says that those who were condemned
to death by stoning were thrown over
the cliff Here st, Stephen very likely
met his DEATH the fall would be about
forty feet.
Now, If this be Calvary the new
tomb must be near by, for "in the place
where He was crucif1ed there was
garden, and in the garden new sepul-
chre wherein was never man yet laid"
For this tomb we have not far to look.
for not three hundred feet away, down
the western slope of the hill is a gar
den, and in this garden a rock hewn
tomb, constructed after the fashion of
the Jews of that time-hewn out of the
rock-and being of large size and made
with such care that 1t must have be-
longed to a rich man. OF the three
places for the reception of bodies, but
one has ever been finished. This fin
ished niche is close to the wall and i'm
mediately opposite the front entrance,
where a body could lie undisturbed,
and yet in view from the outside. At
the right of the entrance is another re-
ceptacle fenced off from the first room
by stone slab, once white. but now
gray and dimmed by age and exposure.
The groove for the rolling stone is just
opposite the door; the door and the
evidence that it was new tomb
wherein was never yet man laid. This
very remarkable spot has been for I'M
known centuries entirely covered with
debris.
AS I stood reverently before this
grave my imagination, aided by my
memory, reviewed the past. There was
the city. still flle2y with ignorant big
OTIS, that would not hesitate for a mo-
ment to commit the same crime to-day
under the same circumstances. Here
were the hill, the place of skulls, the
slaughter house (for this is the mean
ing of the Greek world, the garden and
the new grave. All we lacked were the
angels to tedl us that this was the
place where the Lord was laid, and that
here was the spot where that great sal
walton was purchased for us at such a
price. thank God that this most sa-
cred place is in the possession Of Chris
Christian Advocate.