Pueblo chieftain., 1921-06-20
BY FREDERIC j. HAsKIN

Washington. d. c.. June l.-With
Jerusalem ou. OF Turkish power, an
excavation beneath the celebrated
places of the world. is being planned
To scientists who read history in old
foundations and bits of pottery. this
Dome of the Rock has long nefn re-
garded as tantalizing treasureStrove.
Here, Solomon's temple undoubtedly
stood until is ruined walls were buried
beneath a mass of debris over this
other templcs were built and destroyed
and the present Dome of the Rock was
erected. so that the walls OF .So!omon's S
famous temple must be sought a hum
dred feet below the surface
Farther down still. where the treas
ure vaults and secret places of the
old temple were. science hopes perhaps
to find some OF the gold ard jewels
of the temple. or even the Ark of the
Covenant. II is certain that uncx-
plored subterrancan passages exist In
that the priests carried down their
treasures to safety when the temple
was threatened with Destruction
Until now. there has been no chance
for excavators to prove or dlsprove
their theories. The Turks guarded the
temple area with fierce Strictness.
holding IL only little less sacred than
the sacred mosque at Mecca.
The reason for this extreme Moslem
devotion WAS a great brown rock. soN
IS feet long and over four feet high.
which figure. prominently IL. Moham-
hammcd is said to have mvun;cd his
horse. Al Burak. the lightnlrs. and to
have riddes off to heaven. The foot
print Of the prophet left a dent in the
rock which anyone may see TO this
day. Tho rcck aspircd to- f,,icw the
nv .lx<s
but the Angel Gabriel nut n finger on
the surface and saved 1t to tho children
of Earth. Hence another dc.,t In the
rock, also plainly visible.
This rock is further to be vencrated.
the guides say. because II is the center
of the earth. and is miles nearer to
heaven than any other place. Here
Noah's Ark rested after the flood. and
here Abraham prepared to Offer up hts
son as sacrifice Lest This 10 ,iot sui.
ficicnt local color. the guide adds that
here too Jacob had his angelic vision.
Wherc Mohammcd Prayed
II is, moreover. a desirable place ir
which TO pray. There Is record that
Mohsmmed prayed here in a cavern
beneath the rock. after which he de-
creed that prayers here were ono
thousand times AS cfficacious rs those
from iess holy places.
All these associations and many more
mako every inch OF the rock sacred TO
| tho Moslems. Back in the seventh
century when the last OF the Jewish
temples had tccn dcstroyc, and tho
place lay deserted and covered with
refuse. the Turks cleared off tho rock
and bull, over 1t n bcautIfui ,,uildinr.
with blue tiled dome. colored t,arbic
pillars. stained glass windows and sof,
rugs on the floor. In this dim. octaSor
shaped hall. the rock has rcp,rcd ever
since. guarded by screens OF IRON and
wood.
Less tha, hundred years EGO. 4,
would have meant death to a Christian
or Jcw even to venture iusidc the
Dome OF tho Rock. as the building war
called. And when feeling became les.
intense. so long as the Turks held
Jerusalem. an unbelieVer was i.ermit,
ted In the building only when accom-.
panied by native guides.
| With all precautions. Sjss Tost devoui
Of tho Mohanmcdsns protested nEairs,
foreign Interest in tho holy ru.k. Two
American women were shot at ono DAY
by a fanatic who resented their in,ru.
tion in the hollow beneath tho rock
where Mohammed prayed. hrcha aeolo.
sists were rcgsrded with special sus.
picion.
| Scientists interested In excavation,
in Jerusalem tried every possible
means to x. permission to explore the
l
with scant success. Tho Turk, opposed
any diESinE because II was prohibited
Tor anyone IN touch tho rock Once n
year. at a special ceremony. a hlSh
functionary dared To dust oft me sur
face and coilec, the dust. which wa,
sold as a potent cure for sore e,~.
Tho regions below the rock, too. tho
Turks wished kept free from ,ontami-
| nation. Thoy did not agree exactly
wha. was beneath the surface. some
believed that tho rock must rest on the
branches Of palm tr~c at TIC roo, =
OF which all the rivers of the wot Id had
| their source. Others held tha, .hc rock
was Just over Paradise and sun others
though; II ied down 70 Hade4 In any
| case. !, Was unanimously agreed
among the Nosiems tina, the rock va.
no place for mortal to so pokins
around
\ ScrTct Exploration
Ono bold attempt to solve Home NJ
the fascinating mysteries was made by
several Englishmen some 10 years ago
They eounl curator wto saw no
harm m their digging around .ne place
provided the arrangements were s,,i.
| factory to linn and no damaE. MAS
DOM The bciortists were ailoYed 10
dig and explore when tho building was
empty. N was a hazardous business
because III day long Moslcns came TO
regard The precious rock. After y few
hours work At night all traces of di.
turbed ground and all tools must hr
carefully concealed. with these dis
advantages. tho rnrlishmen made
little rro-r.ss before they vere III.