Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1902-10-18
PLACE OF THE CROSS
Site Has Been lin Dispute for
Sixteen Centuries.
A jerusalem Correspondent Sums Up
the Evidence.
The Church Of the sepuIeher q Ruin
Though Often Rebuilt.

S~9" ~ssSH 0v0NsuNs a.
cannot engage in the controversy
as to the site of 1.-THE .sepulchre ; ii
Christ. writes WilliaW =. Curtis from
Jerusalem. although # seems to me. as
it does toniany others, that the gener-
ally accepted location does Tot cor
respond i'm any respect with the am
biguous descriptions contained in the
gospel accounts of the crucifxion; but
that question has been argued for six
teen centuries and is no nearer a SET
Element than when the discussion be-
gan. There are distinguished authcri-
ties on both sides. The evidence is
T1eager and contradictory, and the
topography of the country has prob
ably been more or less altered.
| We are informed by the eyangalists
that Colsotha lay outside the city walls
and was a sm7ll rocky eminence. so
called on account of its resemblance to
a Skull The Church of the Holy
| Serulchre is in the center of modern
Jerusalem and upon the slope of Mount
Moriah The remainder of the city,
north and west of it, is considerably
higher In fact. you descend quite a
steep hill to reach it. 1t is possible, of
course. that the configuration of the
land may have been considerably diff
ferent twenty centuries ago and that
the present location may have beer
outside the walls, but if that is true the
ancient city Of Jerusalem was a very
insignificant place and could not have
contained small fraction of the
population generally attributed to it
Even the area encircled by the present
walls is much smaller than one woulc
expect to find after reading the des.
II criptions of early writer's.
| What is known as "Gordon's Tomb,
a little hillock just outside the Gate o
Damascus. seems to answer the des
cription OF Golgotha admirably in sew.
eral respects, and SO eminent an au
thority as DR.. Merrill, the United
States consul. who has devoted his lif,
to the study of this and kindred cues
| tons. is inclined to believe that it i.
the actual site OF the crucifixion. II.
has made several excavations there, t,
/ which are due several important dis
coveries which confirm his opinion. II.
believes that the Saviour carried Hi.
cross from the Hall of Judgment
whose site is now occupied by a mill
tary barracks, not by the narrow AM
crooked lane known as Via Doloroso t,
the site of the Church of the Holy
SeDulchre, but along the broad mill
/. tary road which runs through the Da
mascus Gate to what is now known a:
the Gordon Tomb
Il On the other hand, the most dis
tinguished writers and theologians Of
the Greek, Roman, Armenian anc
Protestant churches adhere to tn,
authenticity of the present location.
General Charles Gordon, the hero O
kbartum. a brave soldier and Christian
gentleman, was so impressed with thu
site outside the walls when he wa:
! taken there many years ago by DR.
Merrill that he wrote several magazin,
articles to prove it's claims. Hence hi
name became attached to the site, anC
it is called "Gordon's Tomb in tn,
guide books. 1t is an abrupt, rock,
cliff about sixty feet above the roadwa,
and apparently of solid rock. One sid,
is almost perpendicular and looks as il
it had been blasted off like a quarry
The other side is a gradual slope from
the pastures beyond the city. Upon
the rocky side it is easy to trace the
likeness OF a skull, a bold forehead and
a large Jaw. two regular cavities in the
rock for the eyes, two more for the
mouth and the nose. and after you
have looked a little while the picture
| fascinates you. There is no evidence or
reason to believe that this rough surface
has been changed in the slightest de-
gree since the date Of the crucifixion.
| At the foot of the cliff DR.. Merrill dis
| covered some years ago several graves
| chiseled out of the living rock. One of
them is a chamber of considerable size,
evidently intended as a family tomb.
with inches for three bodies carved in
| the walls. one at the end and two one
| over the other, at right angles. The
other tombs are not So large. but are Of
similar construction. 1t is believed that
the larger one belonged to Joseph of
Arimathea and that one of the inches
was the place where the Lord lay"
The opinion of General Gordon at
tracted so much attention in England
that Miss Louise Hope was attracted
to Jerusalem and afterwards to Con-
stantinople. where. through the inter-
vention of the British ambassador, she
and placed it in the hands of a board of
trustees consisting of herself, the Duke
of Argyle. the Marquis of Northampton
the Earl of Aberdeen and the Rev.
lranon Tristan. She also contributed
| sum of money which has been used in
clearing up the place. building wall
| around it. 10 wing out a garden. erecting
keepers lodge and putting it in ex-
cellent order. tt>is now in the charge
of Scotch caretake1~ who explains to
visitors tn, evidences IN favor of that
hill as the site of the crucihxion.
According to Bishop Eusehius of
Caesarea, who lived from the year 264
to $40 A. D. and is the earliest reliable
historian of the church. the tomb OF
the Saviour was discovered by the En-
press, Helena. mother Of the Emperor
Constantine, who made a pilgrimage to
Jerusalem in the year 1886. Prompted by
vision she and Bishop Macarius, by
the aid of a miracle. also discovered the
true cross which was buried in a cave
adjoining the tomb Of Joseph of Arima-
thea. st. Helena built a sumptuouS