The Topeka state journal., 1921-06-29
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
Information Bureau
FREDERIC j. HAsKIN, Director.
Washington, D, O.
DIGGING UP JERUSALEM.

excavation beneath the ceIeDrateO
Dome of the Rock, one of the mystery
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 been re-
| garded as a tantalizing treasure troye.
! Here, Solomon's temple undoubtedly
stood until its ruined walls were
| buried beneath mass OF debris over
! this other temples were built and de-
| stroyed and the present Dome or the
Rock was erected, so that the walls
hof Solomon's famous temple must be
sought hundred feet below the sur
| face.
| Farther down still, where the treas
ure vaults and secret places of the old
temple were, science hopes perhaps 10
| find some Of the gold and jewels OF
| the temple, or even the Ark OF tne
Covenant. 1t is certain that uneX, x,
| plored subterranean passages exist IN
| this area, and what is more likely than
| that the priests carried down the
treasures to safety when the temple
was threatened with destruction?
| Until now. there has been no chance
their theories. The Turks guarded
| the temple area with fierce strictness'
| holding it only a little less sacred than
| the sacred mosque at Mecca.
| The reason for this extreme Mosleni ii
devotion was a great brown rock,
| 6ox45 feet long and over four feet
| high, which figures prominently IN
Mohammedan history. From TINS
rock, Mohamned is said to nave
mounted his horse, AL Burak. the
| Iightning, and to have ridden off to
heaven. The footprint of the prophet
| left a dent in the rock which any one
may see to this day. The rock as
pired to follow the prophet and start
| ed up a few inches, but the Angel
Gabriel put a finger on the surface
and saved it to the children OF earth.
Hence another dent in the rock, also
plainly visible.
This rock is further to be vener-
ated. the guides say, because it is the
center of the earth, and eighteen
miles nearer to heaven than any other
place Here Noah's Ark rested after
the flood, and here Abraham prepared
to offer up his son as "A sacriflce
Lest this is not sufficient local color.
the guide adds that here, too, Jacob
had his angelic vision.
Where Mohammed Prayed.
1t is, moreover, a desirable place
| in which to pray. There is a record
| that Mohammed prayed here in a cav
ern beneath the rock, after which he
decreed that prayers here were one
thousand times as efficacious as those
from less holy places.
| All these associations and many
more make every inch OF the rock
| sacred to the Moslems. Back in the
| seventh century when the last OF the
Jewish temples had been destroyed
and the place lay deserted and COW
| cred with refuse, the Turks cleared
off the rock and built over it beau
tiful building, with blue tiled dome,
| colored marble pillars, stained glass
In this dim, octagon-shaped hall, the
rock has reposed ever since, guarded
| by screens of iron and wood.
| Less than a hundred years ago, it
would have meant death to Christian
or a Jew even to venture inside the
Dome of the Rock, as the building was
called. And when feeling became less
1 intense, so long as the Turks held
Jerusalem, an unbeliever was per-
mitted in the building only when ac-
companied by native guides.
| With all precautions, the most de-
vout of the Mohammedans protested
against foreign interest in the holy
rock. Two American women were
shot at one day by a fanatic who re-
sented their intrusion in the hollow
beneath the rock where Mohammed
prayed. Archaeologists were regarded
with special suspicion.
Scientists interested in excavations
in Jerusalem, tried every possible
means to get permission to explore
the ground beneath the huge rock, but
with scant success. The Turks op-
posed any digging because 1t was pro-
hibited for anyone to touch the rock.
Once a year. at a special ceremony, a
high functionary dared to dust off the
surface and collect the dust, which
was sold as a potent cure for sore
eyes.
The regions below the rock, too,
the Turks wished kept free from con-
Examination. They did not agree ex-
actly what was beneath the surface.
Some believed that the rock must rest
on the branches of a palm tree at the
roots of which all the rivers of the
world had their source. Others held
that the rock was just over Paradise,
and still others thought 1t led down to
Hades. In any case, it was unani-
mously agreed among the Moslems
that the rock was no place for a NOR
tai to go poking around.
A Secret Exploration.
|. One bold attempt to solve some of
the fascinating mysteries was made by
several Englishmen some ten years
ago. They found curator who saw
no harm in their digging around the
place, provided the arrangements
were satisfactory to him and no dam
age was done. The scientists were al
lowed to dig and explore when the
building was empty. 1t was a hazard
GUS business, because all day long
Moslems came to regard the precious
rock. After a few hours work at
night all traces of disturbed ground
and all tools must be carefully con-
cealed. With these disadvantages, the
Englishmen made little progress be-
fore they were discovered. They fled
the city ut once, even while the irate
Mohammedans were crying to the au-
therities for their Imprisonment or
death.
Another excavator received permis-
sion from the civil authorities to ex-
ploFe beneath the rock in the cavern
where Mohammed prayed. But he
got only a little way with his digging
when antagonism became so intense
that permission had to be withdrawn.
Now the restrictions of Turkish
scrupulousness are removed T h e
temple area has as many historic and
religious associations for the Christian
and the Jew as it had for the Turk.
but both of the former would like the
temple mysteries solved The Ark of