CHAPTER VII.
EXCURSIONS IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF THE CITY ON THE NORTH AND WEST--THE MONUMENT OF HELENA OF ADIABENE, AND THE CHURCH DEDICATED TO S. STEPHEN--ROYAL CAVERNS--GROTTO OF JEREMIAH--HOUSE OF THE VINE--TOMBS OF THE KINGS--SHEIKH JERRAH--ANCIENT SYNAGOGUE--TOMB OF SIMON THE JUST--TOMBS AT THE HEAD OF THE KIDRON VALLEY--KIDRON POOL--VARIOUS TOMBS ON THE NORTH-WEST--TOMBS OF THE JUDGES--SHEIKH AYMAR--RUSSIAN BUILDINGS--VALLEY OF GIHON--BIRKET MAMILLAH--MONUMENT OF HEROD, AND RUINS OF THE CHURCH OF S.
BABYLAS--GREEK CONVENT OF THE HOLY CROSS--PROPERTY OF THE ARCHIMANDRITE NICOFERUS.
Let us return to the picturesque Damascus Gate[794], and begin our examination from this point. In the first chapter[795] I mentioned that there was a Cufic inscription under the archway on the west side; this contains the Mohammedan confession of faith, namely, "There is no G.o.d but G.o.d, and Mohammed is his Prophet." Outside the gate, on either hand, is a mound, formed by the continual acc.u.mulation of rubbish and soil which have been brought and cast down here for many centuries; the last addition being on the building of the Austrian hospice in 1857. These render it impossible to see the full extent of the ditch, which was made in the reign of Agrippa to defend the city-walls[796]. Following the road northward, some chiselled rocks are seen on the left hand, which I have already[797] stated to be, in my opinion, the remains of the monument of Helena of Adiabene. We must now consider the claims of this place to be the scene of S. Stephen"s martyrdom; since we saw[798] that the present site, near S. Mary"s church, was inadmissible. The Bible[799] tells us no more than that the Saint was "cast out of the city;" and as S. Paul witnessed the martyr"s death, he may not improbably have pointed out the place to the Christians. In the fourth century this was said by tradition to be on the north of the city, as we gather from a letter of the Priest Lucian, preserved by Quaresmius[800]: "He was stoned outside the north gate, which leads to Kedar." In the fifth century a magnificent church was erected here by the Empress Eudoxia, in honour of S. Stephen. This must have been built between the years A.D. 450 and A.D. 461, as she resided at Jerusalem during that period, having retired there on the death of her husband, Theodosius II., and died in 461; that is, in the fourth year of the reign of Leo I., Emperor of the East[801]. She was buried in this church[802]. From Evagrius[803] we also learn that "she built a church in memory of S. Stephen, Proto-deacon and Proto-martyr, of remarkable magnificence and beauty, which is not a stadium distant from Jerusalem."
This place is about a stadium from the Damascus Gate. Nicephorus Callistus[804] also informs us that the church was the above distance from the city, and was of great size and beauty. This church is also celebrated for the synod which a.s.sembled there, A.D. 518, at the instigation of S. Saba, to maintain the decisions of the Council of Chalcedon, at which a great number of monks was present; and we learn incidentally from the author of S. Saba"s life[805], that the church was "able to hold a very large mult.i.tude." Antoninus of Piacenza, in the sixth century, calls the present Damascus gate the Gate of S. Stephen, and expressly states that through it was the way to Caesarea and Diospolis, so that there can be no doubt of his meaning. This name was retained until the walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt by Solyman I., A.D.
1536, when it was changed, for what reason history does not tell us; but we may conjecture that the church had by this time disappeared, and the tradition was misinterpreted by the Christians. The church built by Eudoxia can scarcely have escaped destruction during the persecutions of Chosroes II. in 614, and Hakem in 1010; but it was probably rebuilt on a smaller scale, for we learn from Robert the Monk[806], an author of the time of the first Crusade, who describes the details of the siege, that "the Counts of Normandy and Flanders encamped on the north of the city, near the church of S. Stephen the Proto-martyr, on the spot where he was stoned by the Jews." Again, Saewulf[807] informs us that "the stoning of S. Stephen took place about two or three arbalist-shots without the wall, to the north, where a very handsome church was built, which was entirely destroyed by the Pagans." Again, we find the following allusion in Albert of Aix[808]: "But Robert, Prince of the Normans, and the British Count, pitched their tents near the walls, where is the oratory of the Proto-martyr Stephen." Hence it is evident that up to the eleventh century, the traditional site of the Saint"s martyrdom was always on the north of the city; and that the ruined church of Eudoxia was replaced by an oratory, which was also destroyed by the Mohammedans on the approach of the first Crusaders. The church was rebuilt in the earlier part of the twelfth century under the Latin kingdom, for it is marked on the Plan of the Brussels ma.n.u.script with this t.i.tle, "Monasterium S. Stephani[809]," and is by the side of the north gate, there called "Porta S. Stephani Septentrionalis." It was served by the monks of a convent, which, however, is not mentioned in any history; but its seal has been published by Sebastian Pauli. Before its doors ran the Royal road[810], along which all the pilgrims from beyond the sea travelled to Jerusalem. On the other side of the road, on the left hand going to the city, "was a great house in front of this church, which was called the _asnerie_; there they were wont to keep the a.s.ses and beasts of burden of the house of the Hospital, whence its name _asnerie_. The Christians of Jerusalem destroyed this church of S. Stephen before they were besieged, because it was near the walls. The _asnerie_ however was not demolished, as it was used by the pilgrims who came to Jerusalem in time of truce[811]." Indeed, on the east of the road leading to Jerusalem, opposite to the rocks marking the site of the church of Eudoxia, are some cisterns; and traces of walls are found when the labourers are digging in the fields, the sole remains of the buildings that once stood here. The Church of S. Stephen was, as we have said, destroyed by the Crusaders, A.D. 1187, to prevent its covering the advance of Saladin"s troops towards the walls. Willibrand of Oldenburg[812] saw its ruins in 1211, and must have occupied the _asnerie_, for he speaks of "a certain house situated near the walls. At this place S. Stephen was martyred, in whose honour our faithful, as still appears, founded a church and archiepiscopate, where now the Sultan"s a.s.ses are kept ... with the materials of the church a dunghill has been formed." The ruins of this church and _asnerie_ have disappeared in the course of time; the tradition itself has been transplanted to another locality, as we have seen, and would now pa.s.s for correct, were it not for the historic doc.u.ments which have preserved for us the probable position of S. Stephen"s martyrdom.
Between the Church of S. Stephen and the north-west corner of the city, near the bastions of the walls, was the men"s lazaretto, with a church dedicated to S. Lazarus. By the side of it was the small gate of S.
Ladro, where the Royal road from the north came to an end by joining that which went from S. Stephen"s Gate[813].
Going back from the place of S. Stephen"s martyrdom towards the Damascus Gate, we find on the left a road leading eastward; and on the right of this is an aperture, under the city-walls, which stand on a high rock; and close to the aperture a deep excavation. These are the Royal Caverns, and opposite to them, on the north, is the so-called Grotto of Jeremiah[814]. I have already mentioned[815], in speaking of the third line of walls, that I consider these two spots, now separated, to have been formerly united; and now, in giving a more minute account of them, I trust to shew that I am right in my opinion, and that the first-named place has been properly identified with the Royal Caverns of Josephus.
It is not unfrequently stated in Jerusalem, that Dr Barclay discovered these great caves, which I call the Royal Caverns: and perhaps he was the first European in this century to describe them, but they were not unknown to the inhabitants of the country. They are called by the Arabs _Megharet el-Kotton_ (the Cotton Grotto), and were known to Mejir-ed-Din, who thus writes of them: "Opposite to and to the south of the _Zahara_" (a Mohammedan cemetery situated above the Grotto of Jeremiah), "and below the northern gate of the city, is a great oblong excavation, called the Cotton Grotto, and some say that it even extends below the _Sakharah_." The notion, indeed, was common in the country, that from these caverns it was possible to penetrate into the _Haram es-Sherif_: so that the adherents of the government would not allow any one to enter them. The Bedouins, however, and the Arabs of the country, took possession of them during the insurrection, and threatened to blow them up if their demands were not satisfied. I claim the merit of having rendered the pa.s.sage practicable, and contributed to prove that there is no communication between them and the _Haram_. I have also made a correct plan of them, and conducted many persons thither, acting as their guide; among others, His Excellency Surraya Pasha, M. de Barrere, Consul of France and M. Gerardy Saintine, who in his book "Trois ans en Judee" has entirely availed himself of my discoveries, which I shewed him, without acknowledging his obligation to me for them, and for the two Plans of ancient and modern Jerusalem annexed to his book, which were furnished by me.
Nothing can be more surprising than these caverns, which seem to have been excavated by the generations of old, as a challenge to posterity.
Immense halls, with their roofs supported by piers of natural rock, exhibit in their sides openings leading into long dark galleries, terminating in other chambers of large dimensions. On the left hand is a disordered heap of acc.u.mulated fragments of rock, a pile of enormous limestone blocks, lying in confusion one on the other; the s.p.a.ces between which have been filled up by the soil falling down from above, so that on one side it rises like a rugged hill, on another presents a gentle slope; but any one who incautiously attempts to traverse it has reason to repent of his undertaking. At the south end of the first excavation is a kind of fountain, surrounded by stalact.i.tes of the strangest shape, which have arranged themselves so as to form a sort of lengthened dome. The water, which falls in drops from above into the little basin, is not good to drink. It is brackish, and from my investigations I have come to the conclusion that it is not supplied by a spring, but filters through from the cisterns excavated in the rock above: in fact, in the rainy season there is an abundant supply, but in summer it is dried up. It becomes brackish in pa.s.sing through the rock, which contains many saline and ferruginous particles. Going eastward from this fountain, we pa.s.s along a cliff on the right hand, while on the left high white walls of rock shew the cavities from which the large stones have been extracted. At last we arrive at the deepest part, where is a chamber about 260 feet long, where we can examine in detail the manner in which the ancients quarried the monolithic columns, the great building stones, and large paving slabs. I think that the monolith in the vaults of _el-Aksa_, in the inner chamber of the Gate of Huldah, was taken from these caves; for here we find a place where a column of stone still hangs down from the roof, like a great stalact.i.te. On comparing with this the measurements of the monolith, they were found to correspond in width and height; and the conjecture is still further confirmed by the colour and character of the stone. The process by which the blocks were extracted can be examined in the side walls. The ma.s.ses were separated from the rock by vertical grooves nearly four inches wide, the inner boundary of which is a quadrant of a circle. These I believe to have been cut with a circular disk, worked with a handle, which moved it backwards and forwards through a half-revolution. At the present time the Arab masons use an instrument of the same kind in making a groove in a wall. When the groove was made of a sufficient depth to give a stone of the required thickness, they detached it with a pick, or raised the hinder face which adhered to the rock; this explains the great width of the vertical groove: consequently in the process of quarrying the stone was cut smooth on three faces. I have frequently measured the cavities from which blocks have been removed, and also the stones themselves which have been left partially attached to the rock, or which are lying on the ground, and found them correspond perfectly with many large blocks built into the east side of the _Haram_ wall, more especially in its lower parts. Moreover, the mineral character of the stones is the same; so that I am fully persuaded that these caverns were made by Solomon, when he built the Temple, and were afterward enlarged by Herod for the same purpose, and by Agrippa for the new or third lines of walls, which he was obliged to leave unfinished. The stones quarried here well deserve the term applied to them by Josephus[816], that they were "exceeding white." Before leaving these caverns I should warn the traveller that he ought not to visit them alone, relying simply on his own powers and his map for finding his way out again, but should take a guide, or at least a companion, and leave another trusty friend at the entrance. Of late years the place has become a haunt of ill-disposed persons, who retire here, not to lie in wait for travellers, but to celebrate their orgies; and therefore the stranger may, if alone, be pelted, without knowing where his a.s.sailant is. Besides, the road is not very safe in parts, and not easy to find by the light of a single candle. In winter, during the rainy season, let no one risk a journey in them; the falls of stone which happen at that time are sometimes not only alarming, but even fatal. In 1857 a large rock detached itself, and fell with a loud crash, while I was measuring at the eastern end of the cavern. I felt far from comfortable until I found that the way back was still open, and I speedily availed myself of it, carrying out, with the help of my European servant, an Arab youth, whom the noise had frightened out of his senses. The pure air outside is refreshing, for the small opening which forms the entrance is insufficient for proper ventilation, and the close dense atmosphere within often causes faintness. This opening is only the upper part of the ancient one; formerly the caverns were entered through a large gap, which is now built up, and in a great measure buried in the soil. From this place the blocks of stone were transported into the city through the ancient North Gate, as I have already mentioned[817].
Let us now visit the Grotto of Jeremiah, where, according to tradition, the Prophet composed the Book of Lamentations. At the first glance we recognize it as the continuation of the caverns we have just quitted; and noticing the horizontal strata of limestone, from which the great blocks in the city-wall have been extracted, can readily conceive that those huge ma.s.ses, mentioned by Josephus[818], may have been quarried here, although we cannot now find any traces of them. To enter this grotto we must obtain permission of a dervish, the keeper of the place; who, however, never refuses, as he not only hopes to receive a present, which he applies to adorn his retreat, but also is a man of a kind and courteous nature.
On pa.s.sing the entrance we find, on the right hand, a large rectangular chamber, the walls of which at first sight appear to be entirely Arab masonry; but a careful examination detects large blocks of Roman workmanship, especially in the lower parts, and a piece of wall of the date of S. Helena. I am confirmed in my opinion on this point by the words of Nicephorus Callistus[819], who informs us that this Empress built a church near the grotto; therefore it is not improbable that these may be the remains of that edifice. To the east of the above chamber is a little irregular court, on the north of which is a very deep cistern excavated in the rock; and on the south is a cavern of great size, which has been converted into a cistern. This is perhaps the origin of the tradition that here was the dungeon in which the prophet was placed[820]. The tradition is inadmissible, whatever system be adopted for the line of the third wall; for in any case this place would be outside the second wall, and therefore a palace and a prison[821]
would not occupy this position. Beneath the vaulting formed by the rock is the tomb of a Mohammedan santon, and a court enclosed by a low wall, in which the followers of the Prophet come to pray; where also the good-natured dervish has sometimes allowed the parties of distinguished travellers to lunch after a long excursion round the city-walls. The interior of the grotto in every part affords unquestionable signs of its having been a stone-quarry; for the cavities left by the blocks are still visible, and the holes on which the workmen have been engaged. I think therefore that this place was separated from the Royal Caverns[822] in quarrying stone, and may, strictly speaking, be called a part of them. Dr Schultz[823] has endeavoured to identify the grotto with the monument of Alexander Jannaeus, because of the statement in Josephus[824], "that John and his party defended the tower Antonia, and the northern cloister of the Temple, and fought the Romans before the monuments of King Alexander." As these posts were held by John, after t.i.tus had taken the outer line of walls, this position is of course inadmissible according to my theory; but putting that out of the question, it seems to me very improbable that Alexander, whom we know to have been honoured with a magnificent funeral[825], would have been buried in a place like this; and after the most careful examination of the interior, I have not been able to discover the slightest trace of sepulchral chambers; nothing beyond the chiselled faces of the limestone rock and heaps of rubbish.
Quitting the grotto we mount above it to the Mohammedan cemetery, called by the Arabs _Turbet ez-Zahara_, whence a view of the city is obtained; which, though limited, will, I think, shew the correctness of the position I a.s.sign to Bezetha.
Proceeding hence towards the north-east corner of the city, we find the Pilgrims" Pool, _Birket el-Hijah_, close to the Gate of Herod on the east, as I have already remarked[826]. This reservoir was unquestionably at first constructed to receive the waters of the narrow valley above, which I call the North Valley; whence they were conducted by a subterranean conduit across the city to the Pool of Bethesda. Its walls are formed of ancient blocks, perhaps of the date of Herod, or even of an earlier period; but have been greatly modified afterwards in the construction of a vault (now in ruins) which covers the greater part of it. The Christian tradition concerning this pool differs so much from the Mohammedan, that I transcribe it, without however in any way a.s.serting its truth. It says that, when the Empress Helena arrived at Jerusalem, she chose to enter it with all humility; and so without pomp, clad in a mean dress and barefoot, she entered the Gate of Herod; and that this circ.u.mstance gave the pool its name. From this point to the north-east corner the city-wall rises but slightly above the general level of the ground; consequently this is the weakest part of the defences, although it is strengthened by a ditch. Here it was that G.o.dfrey of Bouillon scaled the wall and captured the city.
North of the pool is a plateau, on which stands an ancient Arab house, overshadowed by an old pine-tree, and surrounded by an olive-grove. This is called _Kerm es-Sheikh_ (the farm or vineyard of the chief). The Mohammedan authorities of the highest rank who come to the Holy City, either as its governors or as pilgrims, are accustomed to pa.s.s the night here before their entry, and prepare themselves (as they say) by prayer to visit Jerusalem. There is a curious Mohammedan tradition attached to the place which may interest the reader; it is as follows: "When the potent and valorous Nebuchadnezzar, Sultan of Babylon, came to Jerusalem by the Divine command to punish the Jews who had abandoned the laws given them by G.o.d, he despoiled the Temple of all its valuables; reserving for himself the throne of Solomon, with its two golden lions which spoke by the power of magic, and distributing the rest of the booty to the other Kings who had joined him in the expedition. The King of Roum had the coat of Adam and the rod of Moses; the King of Antioch received the throne of Belkis and the miraculous peac.o.c.k, whose tail, all studded with gems, formed a rich back to the throne; the King of Andalusia had the Prophet"s golden table. A smaller coffer of common stone, containing the Law (_Torat_), lay in the middle of all these rich prizes, and no one heeded it; though it was the most precious of all treasures. It was consequently abandoned, and disappeared in the confusion that reigned during the sack of the city. Forty years afterwards G.o.d determined to re-establish the children of Israel in their old fatherland, and raised up the Prophet Euzer (Ezra); who, destined by Heaven for a glorious mission, had spent his youth in prayers and meditation, despising human knowledge in order to devote himself to the contemplation of the Eternal. He had lived in one of the grottoes that surround the Holy City[827]; but now came forth from his retreat, and went among the children of Israel to shew them how they ought to rebuild the Temple, and again worship G.o.d befittingly, according to the ancient rites. But the people, having little faith in the Prophet"s mission, declared that they would not submit to the laws, but would rather leave off rebuilding the Temple and emigrate to another country, if the book were not produced in which Moses had written the Law given to him by G.o.d on Mount Sinai. This book, as we have seen, had disappeared, and all endeavours to discover it were vain. In this difficulty Euzer with earnest prayers entreated G.o.d to interfere, and hinder the people from persisting in their blindness. He was seated in a vineyard, on the spot where the pine-tree now stands, regarding with sorrow the ruins of the Temple, around which the tumultuous populace was a.s.sembled. Suddenly a voice from heaven commanded him to write; and though he had never before taken a pen in his hand, he obeyed at once: From the hour of mid-day prayer to the same time on the morrow, without eating or washing, he wrote down all that the heavenly voice dictated; and stopped not for the darkness of night, for a supernatural light illumined his spirit, and an Angel guided his hand. All the Jews beheld with amazement this manifestation of the Divine Power; but when the Prophet had finished his miraculous writing, the Priests, jealous of the special favour shewn to him, a.s.serted that the new book was an invention of the devil, and did not in any respect resemble the former one. Euzer again betook himself to prayer, and, yielding to a sudden inspiration, directed his steps to the fountain of Siloam, followed by all the people. When he arrived before it he raised his hands to heaven, and offered up a prayer to the Almighty, while the mult.i.tude knelt around.
Suddenly a square stone rose above the surface of the water, and glided along as if supported by an invisible hand; in which the Priests recognized with terror the long-missing sacred coffer. Euzer received it reverently, and opened it with his own hands: the _Torat_ of Moses sprang out as though endowed with life; and the new copy, quitting the Prophet"s bosom, took its place. All doubt was now at an end; nevertheless the holy man bade the Priests compare the two copies. They, despite of their confusion, did so; and, after a long examination, lifted up their voices and proclaimed that the two books did not differ by so much as a word or an accent. After they had rendered this homage to truth, they were struck with a life-long blindness, as a punishment for their former crimes." Though the whole of this story is but an Oriental fantasy, it is curious for its mention of the Law, and the circ.u.mstances and persons it records.
On the north, a few yards from the _Kerm es-Sheikh_, is an old Mohammedan cemetery, in which are some tombstones with ancient dates; none, however, earlier than the time of Saladin.
Going on northward over cultivated land planted with olives, we arrive at the Tombs of the Kings. I may observe, that during all this walk nothing is seen but a reddish clayey soil with a rich vegetation, or bare rocks without any marks of chiselling; nor are there traces of walls nor any dressed stones; all which proves, in my opinion, that this ground never formed part of the city; which must in that case, have had its houses and walls built of shapeless fragments and clay, of which there is no lack.
To visit the Tombs of the Kings[828], called by the Arabs _Kubur el-Maluk_, we descend a slope, from west to east, which originally was a staircase with wide steps hewn in the rock; but its form has been completely hidden by the quant.i.ty of soil mixed with fragments of stone, which have been acc.u.mulated by the rain, the wind, and the hand of man.
However, I ascertained that it once existed by an excavation at the top of the slope on the west, where I discovered three steps. At the lower end is an aperture of irregular shape, formed in the rock, through which I entered into a cave, after much trouble in clearing away the rubbish that blocked it up, and was able to determine, notwithstanding the acc.u.mulation of earth within, that it had never contained sepulchral chambers, but had been a cistern, large though not deep. Towards the eastern end of the wall, on the left hand as we descend, is a round-headed doorway hewn out of the rock, and ornamented with a small incised fillet. It is buried up to the spring of the arch, so that it is necessary to stoop in order to enter it. I began to make an excavation to examine its full height, but the large stones which I found below the surface would have rendered the completion of the undertaking so expensive that I abandoned it. However, I uncovered the door to a height of 8-1/2 feet including the arch. It leads into a rectangular court, open to the air, and surrounded by vertical walls hewn in the rock, as is the floor, which is buried under rubbish formed of the earth brought down by the rains from the fields above, and broken stones thrown in by the Arabs; who, barbarians as they are, exhibit the most provoking indifference to the preservation of ancient monuments, and view with a jealous eye everything that interests visitors, often mutilating what they cannot entirely destroy.
In the west wall of this court a vestibule is excavated with remarkable skill, the roof of which was formerly supported by two columns, also hewn out of the rock: these have now disappeared, owing to the effects of individual Vandalism, and the injuries of the earthquake in 1837. M.
de Saulcy[829] has given the following excellent description of this monument: "Above the porch, on the face of the rock itself, runs a long frieze, carved with exquisite taste and delicacy. The centre of the frieze is occupied by a bunch of grapes, an emblem of the promised land, and the habitual type of the Asmonaean coinage. To the right and left of this bunch are placed symmetrically a triple palm, carved with the greatest elegance, a crown and triglyphs, alternating with paterae, or round shields, three times repeated[830]. Below this runs a rich garland of foliage and fruit, falling down at right angles on each side of the opening of the porch. The left-hand portion of this garland has been much more injured by time than that on the right. Above the line of the triglyphs a fine cornice begins, formed of elegant mouldings, unfortunately much damaged, and rising up to the top of the rock, that is to say, nearly to the level of the surrounding country." The left-hand portion of this cornice is almost destroyed, not only by the Arabs, but also by the Americans; among whom a certain Mr Jones has especially distinguished himself by breaking off all the ornaments that could be carried away. Beyrout and Jaffa have been the chief centres of his destructive industry, so that he has destroyed the few monuments of Phoenicia and of Palestine that remained in their original positions.
Hammer in hand, and dead to every sense of artistic beauty, he chops off fragments from the inscriptions of Sesostris, from the columns of Baalbek, and from the monuments of Jerusalem. The Tombs of the Kings have suffered more at his hands than from all the hostile invasions that have devastated Palestine.
On descending into the vestibule, we see in its south wall a small low door, which can only be pa.s.sed by creeping on the ground. Here, though the result of my observations[831] will be found to differ from those of M. de Saulcy, I take this opportunity of expressing my respect for him, as one of the first persons to investigate with technical precision the monuments of Palestine. We come, then, to the entrance of the sepulchral chambers, by descending six steps hewn in the rock, which start from a circular hollow about two feet deeper than the general level of the floor of the vestibule, in which, no doubt, the funeral ceremonies were completed. I removed all the stones from this place in order to be able to give an exact account of it. On the left-hand side of the door in a kind of narrow gutter, which joins the steps again by a course of three sides of an oblong, is a large stone of an ellipsoidal form, the outline near the extremities of the shorter axis being flat instead of curved.
On the right hand is a hollow in the wall, into which one of the apses of this stone was inserted. This arrangement enables us to form an accurate idea of the manner in which the Tomb of Christ was closed. The stone now rests with one of its apses on the ground, so that its longer axis is perpendicular to the level of the floor. The upper segment of the stone corresponds with the cavity in the rock on the right hand; and the square, formed by the flattened edges of the stone and two lines joining their extremities, is larger than the doorway by rather more than an inch each way. It is therefore evident that it was not necessary to roll this stone, but simply to lower it from left to right, so as to turn the axes through a right angle and bring the shorter axis perpendicular to the ground; when the apse fitted into the above-mentioned cavity, and the stone, resting upon the lowest step, effectually closed the doorway. The means employed to raise and lower this stone was no doubt a chain, pa.s.sing over two pulleys, with vertical axes, which a person drew towards himself to raise the stone from its place. The two right-angled elbows in the above-mentioned channel were to apply the force to the chain more conveniently. The channel in which the stone lies was covered by a long slab, and we can still see the points on which this rested.
This is not the only way in which the aperture was closed, for, after pa.s.sing this, we see the jambs which must have supported another stone door, moving on two pivots, the holes for which still remain above and below. When it was hung it must have yielded to the slightest push from without. Through this we enter a square antechamber, in which are three doors, one in the middle of the western wall, and the other two in the southern, one near each corner. Entering the western door, we come to a room with three smaller chambers opening out of the middle of each wall, each of which contains three sepulchral niches[832], consisting of a stone bier or slab under an arch; these three chambers are flanked on each side by casemate vaults, each having a channel cut in the rock in the middle of the floor; to each of which, with one exception, a small recess is attached to receive articles which had been valued by the deceased. Out of the central room a narrow sloping gallery in the north wall leads into a lower chamber, with a sepulchral niche in the west wall, and two steps against the north, the lower of which is larger than the upper. On one of these lay the sarcophagus[833], which M. de Saulcy has deposited in the Museum of the Louvre at Paris; a similar one, broken in pieces, was found near. He considers the former to be the sarcophagus of David; but with this opinion I am unable to agree. Here there are places for three corpses. Returning into the antechamber we enter the door on the south-east, and find ourselves in a room with the openings of three casemate vaults in the south wall, and three in the east; two of these are provided with channels, and one with the recess in its wall; the other four are narrower than the rest; which have been completely finished off by their excavators, as is proved by their correspondence one with another in length, breadth, and height, by the regularity of their angles, and by the jambs supporting the doors which closed them. M. de Saulcy thinks that the latter were never finished, perhaps because they are not so wide as the others, and have no channel in the floor; but, in my opinion, this was only made to catch the moisture that dripped from the corpse during putrefaction, and by draining it off to allow the body to become dry more rapidly. Therefore I consider that in the narrower vaults bodies which had been previously dried up were placed. Let us now return again into the antechamber and visit the room on the west of that just described. In the south wall of this are three finished casemate vaults, and the same number in the west, five of which have the channel, while the sixth belongs to the narrower cla.s.s already mentioned. Two of the five have also the attached recess. In the north wall is a small door leading by a narrow descending pa.s.sage into a small chamber containing three sepulchral niches. Thus there are altogether thirty-three biers, including among these the two steps on which the sarcophagi were found. Round each of the three rooms communicating with the vaults runs a small foot-path, raised above the general level of the floor, so that a kind of basin is formed at the bottom of the chamber. Into this I suppose the moisture escaping from the bodies during putrefaction flowed; perhaps there were holes in the sides to admit water, or allow of the escape of fluids; but this I could not ascertain, as the floor was covered with rubbish. Each chamber was closed by a stone door, which worked on pivots fixed in two holes. At the present time the doors lie on the ground broken to pieces, and though every one must admire their workmanship, no one has attempted to preserve them from total ruin by conveying them away to some European museum. Many authors have endeavoured to explain how they were made[834]; but I think they were brought from some other place, when completed, and then set up. I am led to this conclusion by observing that they are of a different kind of stone to that seen in the walls of the chambers; that is, of a more compact limestone without veins. All the workmanship in the excavation is admirable, and the angles are formed with the greatest accuracy. Chisels, hooks, and the revolving cutters, appear to have been the instruments used. There have been many controversies about the origin and use of these tombs: some consider them to have been the monument of Helena of Adiabene; but in that case it would be difficult to explain for what purpose the thirty-three receptacles were made, as Josephus says that she and her son alone were buried there. M. de Saulcy endeavours to prove them to be the Tombs of the Kings; but I have already shewn[835] that this is contrary to the Bible, Josephus, and tradition. From the Books of Maccabees and Josephus, we are enabled to determine the Tombs of many Asmonaean princes. With regard to the family of Herod, we know that Herod the Ascalonite was buried in Herodium; his sons, Alexander, Aristobulus, and others, in Alexandrium near to Shiloh; Agrippa in the valley of Gihon; Antipas died in Gaul; consequently none of these can lie here. We know that when Aristobulus was poisoned by the partizans of Pompeius, his body was preserved in honey, and sent to Jerusalem by Antonius[836]. He may therefore be one of those who were buried in these tombs, in which other members of the royal family, especially women and children, may have been interred. The monument being of the Doric order does not allow us to a.s.sign it to an earlier period. The Jews visit these tombs with reverence, and the Arabs exact from them a payment on entrance, to which they patiently submit. They do not, however, consider these to be the burial-places of their first Kings, but of the last; so that here tradition agrees with the architectural evidence furnished by the monument.
About a hundred yards from the Tombs of the Kings, to the south-west, in a field planted with olives, is a sepulchre, excavated vertically in the rock[837]. It is almost the only example of its kind in the open country in Palestine, and is the more remarkable because the Tombs of the Patriarchs in the cave of Machpelah at Hebron, that of Rachel near Bethlehem Ephrata, and of Samuel at Ramah (_Neby-Samwil_) are of the same kind. Round the edge of the oblong grave runs a step, into which a stone is fitted so as to close the hole firmly, and on this was placed a sarcophagus. This I have ascertained by a careful examination of those at Ephrata and Ramah.
Hence we return to the road running to the north, and, after pa.s.sing the Tombs of the Kings, find on the left an Arab building called _Sheikh Jerrah_; a place in much veneration among the Mohammedans, especially those of the country; since it contains the tomb of a santon, who, as they believe, has the power of granting them prosperous expeditions, abundant harvests, and good luck, especially with their fowls and eggs; of which articles a small tribute is paid to a live dervish, who acts as go-between for them in their pet.i.tions to the dead santon.
Keeping along the road to the right leading to the open country on the north-east, we come to a spot on the southern bank of the Kidron Valley, where there are signs of excavations, if not of tombs. One of these is remarkable for its large dimensions; it is entirely excavated with the chisel, and shews some trace of a gallery hewn out of the solid rock in its upper part. This is _Jadagat el-Ahel_, which I have already mentioned[838]. All the Jews a.s.sert that during the persecutions their race underwent, in the times of Hadrian and of the Byzantine emperors, this place was used as a synagogue by those, who, despising the perils of the journey, came from far that they might behold their ancient capital, if only from a distance. I have already mentioned the explanation of the name; but another tradition is current among the more ignorant and prejudiced Jews, which is given by Saintine[839]: "When t.i.tus was besieging Jerusalem, and had completely blockaded the town with his legions, in the month _Bl_ (November) provisions began to fail the inhabitants. Then universal misery prevailed in the city, and the famine slew more than the Romans. In this extremity, even the women and children were killed to nourish the combatants; but these sufferings, terrible as they were, did not appease the wrath of Heaven, and the city was taken and sacked with every atrocity of war. At this time there lived at Jerusalem a very wealthy Jew, who had been educated at Rome, and for this reason was allowed to retain his riches. But what good were they now to him? His wife and boys had been sacrificed to the horrible cravings of hunger. This fearful scene was ever present to his mind, and banished repose. He could only find one solace: he determined to give a portion of his property to his wretched fellow-citizens; and further, he made a vow to distribute corn, meat, and wine, among them at this place, every year at the feast of Purim; so that they might be able to share in the general joy, and celebrate the festival in a proper manner. So sped the years; the evils of the war were beginning to be less felt, when the new generation, seduced by a false Messiah named Cosiba, again endeavoured to shake off the Roman yoke. The aged man still remembered too well the miseries of the former siege; he implored his brethren to abandon their fatal determination, relating to them what he had seen and suffered; but his efforts were fruitless. At length it was revealed to him from heaven that soon the city would again be destroyed by the armies of Hadrian. For the last time he tried to induce the rebels to submit, but in vain; then, preferring to die rather than witness the misfortunes of his country, he prayed to G.o.d to remove him from the earth; the roof of the cavern fell in, and buried him in its ruins under the heap which still lies before its mouth. Still however, every year, at the feast of Purim, the dead man takes a piece of money from his hidden treasures, and places it on the rock in order to continue the "alms of food" to the poor." Before 1857 there was an isolated ma.s.s of rock in the middle of this monument, to which the Rabbins and a great number of people came on their feast of Pentecost to pray and read the Pentateuch, but it has now disappeared, because, in building the Austrian hospice, this place was used as a stone quarry, and greatly mutilated. It is to be hoped that what remains will not be destroyed by a repet.i.tion of this vandalism, when another work of charity is executed for a European nation.
On ascending the Kidron Valley we find, on its northern bank, a place, commonly called the Tomb of Simon the Just. A few years ago a Mohammedan, seeing that it was frequented by the Jews, affixed a door to it, expecting that he would be able to extract money from those who wished to visit it. He has not been disappointed in his hopes, and reaps large gains. Whether the name is rightly given, I do not know; but it is not contrary to any tradition. The interior is not remarkable; only there is a small cistern, well constructed, on the side of the casemate vault. The Jews visit this spot for prayer at all seasons, but especially when rain is needed for the country, after it has been parched during nine months by a blazing sun.
Further up the valley, after crossing the road to Samaria, we find, still on the northern side, an ancient tomb[840], the exterior of which is completely mutilated. In the front court is a fragment of the western end of a wall, hewn out of the solid rock; all the rest of it has been destroyed. In the piece which remains we find a conduit and small basin; these clearly prove that water must have been supplied from some higher ground on the north; but I have not been able to discover whence it came. Against the north wall is a heap of soil, nearly covering up an aperture; through the part still open, though overgrown with creepers, it is possible to crawl into the interior[841]. Here we find a rectangular vestibule which evidently has been converted into a cistern, as its walls have been covered with strong cement, and a hole made in the roof, through which soil and broken stones are brought down from the hill-side above, in the rainy season. A small door in the middle of the north wall leads into an antechamber in good preservation, in the east wall of which is the pa.s.sage into a chamber with eight biers, one of them being a sepulchral niche, and the rest casemate vaults, without channels, but sloping slightly downwards towards the floor of the chamber, round which runs a kind of footpath, above the general level of the floor, as in the Tombs of the Kings. At the end of one of these vaults is the small recess. As the dimensions and finish of these correspond with those of the small vaults in the above-named tombs, they would be considered unfinished by M. de Saulcy. Returning into the antechamber, we find in its western wall a small door leading into a single casemate vault, which is much larger than any other of its kind in the neighbourhood of Jerusalem. This monument does not bear any special name, but must have belonged to a wealthy family, because, although it is not so large as the other great tombs, its execution is not inferior to theirs.
Descending from this point to the bed of the Kidron Valley, we find a nearly square pool. Though this is now almost filled with earth, yet in the rainy season the waters flow into it from the slopes above, and form a sort of little lake, which is then the source, so to say, of the Kidron. I have investigated carefully the ground above, endeavouring to discover some proof of the existence of a spring, but in vain. By excavating I found that the depth of the Pool was fifteen feet.
From this position we ascend in a north-westerly direction, and then turn southward towards an ash-coloured mound. All along our course we observe numbers of ruined and broken tombs, and can readily comprehend the account given by Josephus[842] of the levelling executed by t.i.tus"
army, between Scopus and the city. The small mound mentioned above has been examined by Liebig, who considers it to be composed of the ashes of bones and animal remains. This might be true of the specimen submitted to him, but I am of opinion that it chiefly consists of ashes from the soap-works of Jerusalem, mingled with soil and broken stones, with bones of dogs and other carrion, that have been cast out there. I have arrived at this conclusion, after making large excavations in the heap, and availing myself of its materials to mix with lime in making a strong cement, which I used in building and repairing terrace-roofs, and in conduits and cisterns. The inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the proprietors of the soap-works themselves, have a.s.sured me that the greater part of this deposit was formed during the time of Ibrahim Pasha, by whose orders the refuse of their manufactories was conveyed outside the city.
By following the road, which leads in a north-westerly direction to Gibeon, we find on the left-hand side, at a distance of about two hundred yards from the above mound, a tomb which differs in form from all those already described. It has an antechamber, and from it three doors lead into three small chambers, in which there are no biers. At the first glance I was inclined to consider it as an incomplete work, but from the perfect execution of its interior and its frontispiece[843], I came to a different conclusion after I had had many opportunities of examining both finished and unfinished sepulchres.
Keeping along the road, we see before reaching the Tombs of the Judges, numbers of tombs dispersed about the ground on our right hand, some partly destroyed, some converted into cisterns, and others still uninjured. All this land was a large field of the dead, where the ancient Jews excavated sepulchres suitable to their wealth and station.
One among them is remarkable as giving us a correct idea of that in which our Lord was laid; for it consists of an antechamber, and a burial chamber, in which is a single niche to receive a corpse, on the right hand of the entrance[844]. A few yards further on, we come, after turning to the right, to the Tombs of the Judges[845], called by the Arabs _Kubur el-G.o.dka_. There does not appear to be any reason for the name. Eight of the fifteen Judges who ruled the people between the death of Joshua and the accession of Saul were certainly buried elsewhere: and it is far more likely that the rest would sleep with their fathers among their own tribes, after the usual custom of the Israelites. It seems to me much more probable that certain members of the Sanhedrim were buried here, according to the traditional belief of the Jews now in Jerusalem, who visit this spot from no other motive than curiosity. The exterior of the vestibule is decorated with a frontispiece resembling that in the Tomb of Jehoshaphat, consisting of a cornice and pediment, the tympanum of which is richly carved with palm-leaves and foliage, with three acroteria, perhaps intended for funeral emblems (torches), one on the summit (effaced), and the other two at each end. Under the cornice is a row of small modillons. Beneath the cornice, and on each side of the opening, runs an ornamental group of mouldings. A low narrow door similarly decorated is placed in the middle of the vestibule, and gives admission to the sepulchral chambers, six in number, and containing altogether sixty-three biers. Sixty of these are narrow casemate vaults, of the cla.s.s which M. de Saulcy considers as incomplete receptacles, and three are sepulchral niches. The execution displayed in these tombs is not inferior to that at the Tombs of the Kings, nor do they yield to them in elegance or arrangement, especially in the interior. At the south-west corner of the first chamber is a narrow staircase, which I found blocked up with enormous stones, fitted together in order to close the entrance. After removing them with no small trouble I understood the reason why they were so placed. In the entrance below lay a corpse, not yet reduced to a skeleton; the head and right hand of which had been severed from the body; signs of a cruel vengeance, of which I discovered other instances in my researches in the country. This unfinished sepulchral chamber fully supplies us with the means of studying the construction of these receptacles of the dead. In it are the beginnings of nine casemate vaults, and the instruments used have evidently been the chisel and the revolving cutter which I have already described[846].
The limestone from which the whole of the monument is hewn resembles in quality that at the Tombs of the Kings; but it is of a yellowish colour veined with red, and takes a polish like marble. It is easily quarried at first, but becomes hard when exposed to the atmosphere.
Returning from the Tombs of the Judges, by the field-path southward, we reach the road to the village of Lifta, which we follow westward, in order to visit the little Mohammedan mosque, wherein repose the ashes of a santon called Sheikh Aymar, who fell in battle against the Christians.
The place is not worth a visit for the sake of its architecture, but there is a curious legend connected with it. Over the entrance-gate is a large architrave of finely polished red granite. The story is, that an Arab devoted to the saint found this block in some distant country, and was enabled to bear it on his back to ornament the tomb of his patron, although from its natural weight eight men at least would have been required to move it. They say also that Ibrahim Pasha, struck with the beauty of the stone, tried to take it away, but the invisible hand of the saint kept it fixed in the wall; so that the Pasha himself became his devotee. Returning towards the city, we can visit the buildings which Russia has erected at great cost in a short time, for the use of the mission of its Church at Jerusalem, and to receive pilgrims who visit the Holy Places. I have already spoken of them[847], and the description of the Plan[848] will explain their arrangements. Though Russia began her work the last, she will in a short time surpa.s.s all the other religious communities. It was also upon this spot, and as far as up to the convent of S. Saviour, that Sennacherib encamped his troops.
t.i.tus at a later period fixed his head-quarters here, when he was preparing to attack the third line of walls; here also he reviewed his army, in the hope that the sight of his power and resources might terrify the Jews into submission. As the troops would extend from the north-west angle of the present wall towards the east, the citizens would be able to see them very well[849]. The Crusaders also occupied the ground belonging to Russia, and all their positions may be seen at a glance from here. G.o.dfrey of Bouillon attacked the north-east corner of the wall; Robert Duke of Normandy the part by the Grotto of Jeremiah; Robert Count of Flanders, that opposite to the rock where I place the tomb of Helena of Adiabene; Tancred from this position stormed the castle of Goliath (_Kasr Jald_), the tower Psephinus in my opinion; Raymond Count of Toulouse pitched his camp on the west, where the small Greek convent of S. George now stands, and directed part of his troops, commanded by the Count of S. Gilles, against Sion: these, after many valiant deeds, gained the south wall, above the present Christian cemetery.
We now descend into the Valley of Gihon, to visit the Pool of Mamillah and the surrounding Mohammedan cemetery; but before reaching it we observe a large and level boulevard leading to the city. I proposed to Surraya Pasha to make this in order to give a promenade to the inhabitants; and though the plan was not carried out as I desired, still I think that I have done a service to the citizens in giving them one good road for walking, instead of stony paths or rugged tracks on the hill-sides. Entering the cemetery, from the western end of this promenade, we come to the Pool of Mamillah, which I identify with the "Upper Pool[850]." From this started the deep ca.n.a.l by which Hezekiah brought the waters of Gihon within the western part of the city, when he closed up the fountains on the approach of Sennacherib"s army. The subterranean conduit still exists, though it is now exposed and devastated in places, and is used to convey the rain-water from the Upper Pool to that of Amygdalon within the city; for which reason the latter is still called the Pool of Hezekiah. Josephus[851] gives to the Upper Pool the name of "The Serpent"s Pool," and the Arabs call it _Birket Mamillah_. The derivation of the name I have already explained[852]. S. Jerome[853] calls it the "Fuller"s Pool;" perhaps founding the name on the pa.s.sages in the Bible[854], which shew that the Fuller"s field was in its neighbourhood. In the middle ages it was called "The Patriarch"s Pool." The pa.s.sage in which it is mentioned is as follows[855]: "Outside the David Gate was a pool towards the setting sun, called the Patriarch"s Pool, where the waters of the surrounding country were collected for watering the horses. Near this pool was a charnel-house, called the Lion"s Charnel-house. Now I will tell you why it is called the Lion"s Charnel-house. One day, as they say, there was a battle between the Christians and the Saracens, betwixt this charnel-house and Jerusalem, in which many Christians were slain, and the Saracens were intending next day to defile the bodies. So it happened that a lion came by night, and carried them all into this ditch, as they said. Above this charnel-house was a church, where people sang services every day." Perhaps this church was dedicated to S.
Babylas, of which now only a ma.s.s of ruins remains, also covering sepulchral caves. Here I place the monument of Herod, mentioned in the account of t.i.tus" wall of circ.u.mvallation[856]. The Mohammedan cemetery surrounding the pool dates from the age of Saladin; for here are found some ancient sarcophagi, and epitaphs bearing the names of certain of his generals. All this spot is highly esteemed by the Mohammedans, and their chief men are usually buried here.
We will now take the road to the west, leading to S. John in the Mountains (_Ain Karim_), and visit the Greek convent of S. Cross, called by the Arabs _Deir el-Mar-sullabi_, which we reach in about twenty minutes. Its name is derived from the tradition that the tree grew here from which the Cross of Christ was made. Quaresmius[857] informs us that the Empress Helena built a church here to mark the spot. Dositheus, Greek Patriarch of Jerusalem towards the close of the seventeenth century, who wrote the history of his predecessors in that office, is of opinion that the monastery of S. Cross was built by Justinian I. at the prayer of S. Saba, who had gone to Constantinople to refute some calumnies which had been promulgated by the Samaritan, a.r.s.enius, in order to bring the people of Palestine into bad repute with the Emperor.
He supposes also that the Georgians, who occupied it for a long time, were the builders. The Persian invaders under Chosroes II. utterly destroyed the monastery, but spared a part of the church; murdering, nevertheless, all the monks who had fled there for refuge, so that the tesselated pavement, of great antiquity, still preserves the stains of their blood. The Reverend Dionysius Cleopas, a most courteous and learned man, the director of the school of S. Cross, pointed out these stains to me, informing me of the tradition concerning them. Though I am far from yielding a blind a.s.sent to it, I cannot but remember how long the stain of blood remains upon marble or stone, if it has lain and dried up there. In this case the blood of more than a hundred victims must have been shed and left there. At the same time it must be remarked that the stains, which extend below the surface of the tesserae in the pavement, are not red but of a blackish colour.
When the Greeks purchased the convent from the Georgians it was wholly in ruins; now, however, it is one of the finest establishments in Palestine. Though rather an irregular building, it stands in a great measure on the ancient site. In it are the schools where poor youths of the Greek faith are maintained without charge, together with a library, and a fine apartment for the use of the Patriarch when he visits the place. The church[858] deserves a visit. Four large piers, from which spring pointed arches, divide it into a nave with two side aisles. It is also adorned with a pointed dome. The walls are decorated with ancient frescoes, and on these are Georgian inscriptions shewing that the church and convent were restored two hundred years ago. In the apses are curious pictures representing the whole history of the sacred tree; the hole, in which it is said to have grown, is exhibited behind the great altar. Michael Glycas reports in his annals[859] the tradition from which the name of the church is derived. Though it is a thorough Arab story, I relate it, as it explains the pictures. "When Abraham became aware of the sin which Lot had committed when overcome by wine, he ordered him to go to the banks of the river Nile in Egypt, and bring thence three boughs of different trees, in the expectation that he would be devoured on the journey by the wild beasts, and would thus expiate his crime. Lot, guided by heaven, accomplished the dangerous task, and returned unhurt with the three boughs, one of cypress, another of pine, and the third of cedar. Abraham not being contented with this, ascended this hill and planted the three boughs in the form of a triangle, ordering Lot to fetch water for them every day from the Jordan, a distance of twenty-four miles." (This is the distance of the river from the convent.) "Lot obeyed this command also, and after three months the boughs united and budded, but their roots were always separated one from the other. Therefore Abraham prophesied that by means of their wood sinful men were one day to be redeemed. In the days of Solomon the tree had grown to a great size, and was cut down by that King to be used in building the Temple. But by the decree of Heaven its trunk remained forgotten till the Saviour"s Pa.s.sion, when the Jews used it to make the Cross. The hill, on which Abraham is said to have planted the three boughs, is to the south-west of the convent, and is still called by the Arabs "The place of the boughs."" Heraclius is said to have stayed in this convent on his return from his expedition against the Persians to recover the Holy Cross.
On our return to Jerusalem from the monastery by the road to the east of that by which we came, we see the quarries from which perhaps were extracted the columns of red breccia which adorn the mosque _el-Aksa_, and many churches in Palestine. On reaching the summit of the hill we regain our former road, and enter Jerusalem by the Jaffa Gate. During our return we notice with admiration the efforts made by the Archimandrite Nicoforus for the improvement of the country, and the energy and intelligence displayed in all his agricultural undertakings, especially in planting trees. It is to be hoped that his attempts will be crowned with success, and that the Arabs will avail themselves of the opportunity, and join in a work so calculated to advance the prosperity of the country.
FOOTNOTES:
[794] Plate VII.
[795] Page 6.
[796] Page 35.
[797] Page 37.
[798] Pages 168, 169.
[799] Acts vii. 58.
[800] Elucidatio Terrae Sanctae, Lib. IV. pereg. 8, c. 2, Tom. II. p. 295, col. 2. See also, c. 3, p. 297, col. 1, ed. 1639.
[801] Nicephorus, Hist. Eccl. Lib. XIV. c. 50.