The Irish standard., 1906-06-02
A SACRED SPOT
Question as to Where the Tomb
ofChrist Was.
Evidence For Ancient Cave in
aLittle Garden


which the hearts of Christians cling
With much assurance and comfort. II
is the beautiful little hill called Col
.gntha or Gordons Calvary. so named
the first to express his opinion that
it was the true site of the crucitiAion.
Walking outside the Damascus gate
one is struck by the strange reScm-
blncc of the knoll to Il skull and I at
once brings To ones mind the words
of the gospel And they bring Him UNI
to the place Ciolgotllt. which is. be-
ing interpreted. the place of the skull.
There is no other elevation or mound
like it anywhere outside the walls of
Jerusalem. or inside either. II belongs
to the MohammeG;ls but they wnuld
not have Intentionally transformed ii
into the resemblance of Il human skull
1t must have assumed that shape II ms
before the Turk was heard OF.
\ remarkable fact about this CAL
vary is that the Hebrews call it to
this very day the place of stoning,"
nr of execution of criminals. Then.
too one realizes, as he stands on the
top of the hill. that anything taking
;.iace there would be visible from the
streets and houses ON the declivites of
the Tyropeon valley. inhabited by the
MASSES: from the roofs of all the
houses and from the rampartS of the
temple area. ANA would serve as
warning and terror To malcfactors and
rebels against the authority of proud
priests and corrupt Pharisces.
Another important point in this hills
favor is that it is close to the Damas-
t.liS gate which in the time of Christ
Gas now led to the gentle or pro
fame" world-Samart and Ph"enicia.
Not far off are the sacriticiHl ashes dis
covered Il fcW years ago which SHOW
That this neighborllood WAS considered
unclcan. When the ashes We're first
found by the builders it WAS supposed
that they We're full of small charred
bones. showing clearly that they were
from the sacrifices in the temple, ac-
ror,ling to Ieviticus, vi 1O-1l: The
priests +" +" :" shall carry forth the
ashes without the camp Their loca-
ton corresponds with that mentioned
in Jeremiah XXI: 40.
The hill of l;olgntha is situated 800
yards north Of the Damascus gate. not
.ar from the pretorilln. Pilates judge
nent seat.
\ place chosen by the Jews for pub
lie execution would be selected for its
prominence. visibility ana easy &C
cess and on the deliled and polluted
par, outside of the city walls. All these
characteristics point to this hill as the
yer. Gulgutha mentioned in the sacred
narrative. From a Protestant mission
house window in Jerusalem this hill
could be seen. and it appeared more
and more as the true site by reason of
its striking contour. with those strange,
cycless sockets. giving the rocky
mound Il perfect resemblance to Il hui
man skull. and seeming to have cried
nut through these two thousand years
that this WAS the place of II skull
t;uigotha"
Dn one occasion the writer had the
privilege of visiting this hill With !,
woman who had travelled i'm II party
with Petric. the great arcllacnl"gist.
She WAS much impressed with the site.
and pointed out certain signs which she
recognized to be the ancient PebuSitc
place of execution. She remarked that
such places IN ancient days We're uSu-
ally used for the same purpose from
age to age. though passing through diff
fcrent hands. She also first painted out
some interesting features which had
not been noticed before. and which
gave the hill u deeper significance than
ever.
On the western side ON a PERCEPTIONS
dcclivity overlooking the garden be-
low. are three slots. each Enthusiastically
an aperture in which the foot OF !,
cross was placed $" as to facilitate the
raising of il after the body had been
fastened onto il. The three crosses
ihus faced west in easy sight of the
two principal roads outside Jerusalem
the Damascus tn the north. going out
t" the heather world, and the other
skrting the city leading around to the
gate. which is NOW called the .Ilfta
gate and which is the principal en-
trance to Jerusalem. on this cventful
hill can also be clearly seen the rents
in the rocks caused by earthquake. one
huge boulder still hanging over the
precipice on the hillside. apparently
having been cleft from the larger half
standing on the hilltop.
Across a narrow road to the west OF
Golgotha is Il large garden owned by
the DOminicanS and surrounded by
solid walls inside which are seen the
ruined foundations of Il church built
in the middle of the fifteenth century
on the traditional site of ST. Stephens
martyrdom. This further seems to YER
ify that this was the stoning place. but
the Infatuated mob killed him before
he arrived there.
r,f