Chapter III (4)

It comes down by the dyke or bridge crossing the Tyropoeon, and at the present time empties itself into a small basin opposite to the entrance of the _Mekhemeh_; but formerly it flowed into a large reservoir, still existing in the lower part of that building, whence it went on into the Temple. This chamber is now disused, and filled with rubbish. Thus by their carelessness the Mohammedans lose the benefit of all the works of antiquity in Jerusalem. From the above-named basin two conduits branch out; the smaller and newer supplies water to the fountain in the middle of the _Mekhemeh_, and then rejoins the larger and older one (2-3/4 feet wide and 2-1/4 high), which, after passing under the _Bâb es-Salsala_, enters the _Haram_, and then, after running some little distance southward, turns off at an angle and goes to the fountain opposite the mosque _el-Aksa_, whence it proceeds to the great cistern called _Birket es-Sultan_. During the course of the work I observed that the quantity of water which entered the latter reservoir was less than that which arrived at the _Mekhemeh_; and on examination I found that the conduit had formerly kept on to the south, instead of turning to the east, and that its old channel still existed at that point, by which, although very much dilapidated and full of earth, a large part of the water was diverted into an ancient cistern, 29 feet deep, to the north of the mosque of the Mogarabins. Into this I descended, and found 6 feet of mud at the bottom; and after hard work ascertained that the water entering it from the conduit went out by another made nearly on a level with the floor, which was too much choked up to be passable, but which ran in the direction of the cistern of 'God's grace,' at the south-west corner of the _Haram_, so profitable to my friend the farmer. On the east side of the cistern of the Mogarabin mosque is the mouth of a conduit, walled up to a height of 3 feet from the vaulting. I saw some traces of it on the surface of the ground, but was unable to excavate; however, it was evident that it went into the _Birket es-Sultan_. We repaired the above-named corner of the conduit at present used, so that all the water might flow into the fountain of the Aksa, where it would have again been diminished before reaching the _Birket es-Sultan_, if we had not completely closed up the mouth of a very ancient conduit (3 feet in width and height), running northward and communicating with the lower chamber of the cistern below the _Kubbet es-Sakharah_, which was entirely cut in the rock, and covered with large slabs as far as the south staircase of the upper platform. The above remarks on the works in connexion with the conduit from Etham are sufficient for my present purpose, and I will now pass on to relate my discoveries in the different cisterns and conduits into which I descended.

The water in the _Birket es-Sultan_ (Prince's Pool) was, at the time of my visit, a foot deep; the sides and vaulting, with the piers supporting it, have been hewn with great pains out of the rock. It is 32 feet in height. In the wall near the opening from the fountain are notches cut in the rock, obviously to be used as steps. There are two apertures in its west side, the one already mentioned as coming from the fountain, which almost touches the vaulting; the other, 4 feet lower down and blocked up, which is the end of the conduit coming from the cistern near the mosque of the Mogarabins. There is another opening on the north which I could not examine; it is under the vaulting. On the south-east, 4 feet below the vaulting, is an opening walled up, corresponding with the great chamber at the south-east angle of the enclosure, as I was able to ascertain by examining the north-west corner of that place, after removing a quantity of earth. On the south is another opening (now closed with Arab masonry), 3 feet above the floor, 3-1/4 feet wide and 3-3/4 high; the beginning of a conduit mainly excavated and vaulted in the rock, but for a short distance built with stones and roofed with large slabs[368], which I have traced with difficulty and labour along its whole course quite close to the Fountain of the Virgin. At certain points it is 5 feet wide and 3-3/4 high. It bears the marks of a very remote antiquity, and is, in my opinion, contemporaneous with the building of the first Temple. After discovering this, I found out the Bedouin peasant, who had on a former occasion told me of its existence, and he now did not refuse to be my guide along it, and, to tell the truth, I should not have been able to get on without him at some places, either from the accumulation of rubbish, or the earth, which every moment threatened to fall in, besides the great number of rats, reptiles, insects, and a thousand other nuisances which I encountered. I have traversed this passage three times and carefully examined it, and regret to say that from its age and tottering condition parts of it will soon fall into ruins. It is a great misfortune that a country possessing so much that deserves to be studied and preserved should be governed by a nation so unwilling to partake of European civilization.

We will now examine the cisterns to the north of the mosque _es-Sakharah_[369]. On entering the northern one (29-1/2 feet deep) I found the floor covered with wet mud to a depth of about 1-1/2 feet. At the first glance I saw an opening on the south side, 3 feet wide and 4-1/2 high, half built up with Arab masonry, and after clearing away some of the stones, earth, and mud that blocked it up, I passed through it into another cistern in the same direction, 32 feet deep. These are both very ancient, and are wholly excavated in the rock; and I have no doubt that they belonged to the threshing-floor of Araunah the Jebusite. On the south and on the east of the deeper cistern are the openings to two passages; the first leads to a conduit (3 feet wide and 3-1/2 high), descending from the west; but after going a few feet along the passage we find another conduit of the same size as the above, coming from the south, and leading upwards into a double cistern, as I had always expected. The form of the lower chamber is an irregular sphere, about 22 or 23 feet in diameter, its floor is covered deep with dry mud with a few stones, (but rather too many for me to remove). On a careful examination I saw, at a height of 12-1/2 feet, the mouth of the hole leading to the upper chamber, about 6-1/2 feet in diameter and 4 feet long, and the marble slab, which we have already mentioned as covering it. This it was that the Santon struck with his foot or stick to prove the existence of the 'Well of the Souls' below! There is a conduit on the south, into which I entered through an aperture (now walled up), and by a very gradual ascent reached the other extremity at the fountain opposite to the mosque _el-Aksa_. The whole depth of the double cistern is 28-1/2 feet below the top of the rock, and 23-1/2 below the pavement of the mosque. The reader may imagine my joy at this result of my labours, so long desired and so anxiously sought, and the gratitude I felt to God for granting me this boon of ascertaining the position of the altar of burnt-offerings, and the cisterns and conduits for blood belonging to the ancient Temple; an ample recompense for all my toil. It is true indeed that after a most careful search I have not been able to find any opening on the south-west, in accordance with the statement of the Rabbinical writers; but for this time I trust my own eyes, and that suffices me.

Returning to the nearer of the two cisterns on the north of the mosque, I went along the conduit, rising to the west, for a distance of 12 feet, beyond which I could not advance because of the soil in it. It runs exactly in the direction of the cistern, which is situated very near to the north-west corner of the net-work on the Plan[370]: this I afterwards endeavoured to enter, but found it filled with earth. The other opening, on the east side of the first-named cistern, is that of a descending conduit (about 3 feet wide and high), which I traversed for some distance, until I was eventually stopped by a number of obstacles; however, I ascertained clearly that it went towards the east.

The above observations are the results of three visits, in which the short time I was allowed to stay, the frequent summons to depart, coupled with not a few threats when I resisted, prevented me from making farther investigations; but there is nothing more to be found there of greater importance than the things I have mentioned.

On entering the cistern, excavated in the rock on the west of the Golden Gate, I found that it was 20 feet deep, and that on the west side was the mouth of the conduit, which I partially examined from the cistern north of the mosque _es-Sakharah_. I was able to pass along it for some distance on this side also, and found it to be 3-1/4 feet wide and 3 high. The only thing that now remained to be done was to find the conduit leading out of the cistern towards the east: and after a long search I had begun to despair, when a labourer, who was working at the south side of the chamber, told me that there were signs of an opening there; in a few minutes it was uncovered, and through it I entered into another cistern, whose floor was 4 feet below the level of the former; and on the east side of this was a conduit, 3-1/2 feet wide and 3 high, running towards the _Haram_ wall, which must have communicated with that the ruins of which I had found outside the east wall. I had thus completed a chain of evidence, which established the course of the conduit for blood, as laid down by me, at every point.

Marks of another opening appeared above the soil on the south side of the same chamber, but I had not time to uncover it, being recalled into the first cistern by the discovery of another passage on its north side; through this I entered a series of cisterns, on a level of 3-1/4 feet above the central. In the last of these, at the north end, was the entrance to a conduit (2-1/2 feet wide and high), which sloped upwards in the direction of the Pool of Bethesda. It was impossible to follow it up, but from its direction, level, and design (as I will presently shew), it must have corresponded with the opening (walled up) to which I called attention at the south-east corner of the above Pool.

Before proceeding to draw my final conclusions from the above observations, I must remark that it is untrue that the water flowing down the street of the Tyropoeon valley, at the time of rain, supplies the cistern (on the lowest level) at the south-west corner of the platform of the mosque. This (24 feet deep and wholly excavated in the rock) receives the water that has been used by the Mohammedans for their purifications, which is carried off from it into the great sewer in the Tyropoeon by a conduit on the west side. I shall discuss the springs of the _Hammam es-Shefa_ more fully in another place; at present I will only observe that the depth of the source is about 96 feet below the surface, consequently it is impossible that its waters could flow into the cistern of the _Sakharah_, and to the Fountain of the Virgin.

The cistern in front of the east gate of the bazaar (excavated in the rock and 26 feet deep) has a conduit on the south, supplying the fountain for ablutions, near the Chapel of Moses. This is filled by the droppings from the terrace-roofs of the buildings on the east and west of it, as well as from the ground around it. On the platform of the mosque, near its south-east corner, is a cistern in the rock, whose depth I was unable to measure, as it is nearly filled up: from it two small conduits (of no antiquity) run in opposite directions, their openings being above the vaulting; that on the north-west catches the water dropping from the mosque, that on the east is intended to drain a part of the platform, but it is now useless; both are visible on the surface of the pavement. Lastly, the conduit parallel to the west and north walls of _el-Aksa_, was made to receive the water from that mosque, and carry it into the _Birket es-Sultan_. The remaining cisterns, plentifully scattered over the _Haram_, are for the most part useless. We see then that, while the Mohammedans pay no regard to the works of antiquity, they are equally careless about those which are of the highest importance to themselves.

Having thus narrated the investigations I have made and the information I have collected, I will now state my conclusions on the connexions and purposes of these underground works.

They are as follows: (1) That from the time of the building of the Temple the conduit from Etham has emptied itself into the cistern beneath the _Mekhemeh_, whence the water was conveyed into the Temple by a branching system of conduits, the chief of which I have traced. (2) That the cistern north of the Mosque of the Mogarabins was used as a reservoir to supply Ophel, where at the present time but few traces of these works are found. (3) The conduit leading from this into the _Birket es-Sultan_ must have been intended to carry away any excess of water, and also by this means to relieve that which now goes to the fountain, especially when it might be out of order. It is obvious that these filled the _Birket es-Sultan_, and consequently the great reservoir at the south-east corner of the _Haram_. (4) It is probable that the numerous cisterns on the west side may also have been fed by different conduits, but I had not sufficient time to ascertain this. If not, they might have been supplied by the drainings from the courts, the terrace-roofs of the cloisters, and the Temple itself[371]. (5) The fountain opposite to _el-Aksa_ is Saracenic, but not the basin in which it stands. This supplied water to the cistern under the altar of burnt-offerings, to cleanse it from the blood that flowed down from above. Hence the stream ran into the cisterns on the north, and thence into the 'place of the ashes' on the east, which I believe to have been the southernmost of the underground chambers; and from this it went outside the wall, and after passing along parallel to it, finally emptied itself into the pool near the Fountain of the Virgin. (6) In the 'place of the ashes,' in which they cast the crops of the birds, the entrails of the victims, and other refuse, a larger quantity of water would be needful, especially at times when the sacrifices were numerous; and I suppose that the conduit from the Pool of Bethesda was constructed to augment the supply; also I fully believe that if I had found time to uncover the apertures on the south of the 'place of the ashes,' and on the north of the _Birket es-Sultan_, and to examine the cistern on the south-east of the _Sakharah_, I should have discovered that this cistern (where I place the 'bronze sea') was supplied from the _Birket_, and discharged its waters into the 'place of the ashes.' Was there then also a conduit on the north of the great reservoir at the south-east corner communicating with the opening on the south of the 'place of the ashes'? I sought for it without success owing to the accumulation of earth, the want of time, and the continual interference of the Mohammedan guardians of the _Haram_, who believed, as I suppose, that I was seeking for treasures, when, on the contrary, I was spending my savings.

If, after the sewage had reached the pool by the Fountain of the Virgin, there was still need of a further supply of water to sweep it away, that could be brought by the long conduit from the south side of the _Birket es-Sultan_, by the conduit at the east end of the Pool of Bethesda, and especially by a conduit, which, starting from the west extremity of the Bridge, runs down the Tyropoeon to the Fountain of the Virgin, along which the whole stream from Etham might be diverted, if necessary. I have not mentioned this before, but will give a fuller description of it in another place. The conduit on the west slope of the Kidron valley, nearly opposite to the Tomb of Absalom, which I saw discharging so much water in 1857, may possibly have been another means of augmenting the supply, and may very probably (although I have not been able to prove it) communicate with the great reservoir at the south-east corner of the _Haram_, and have occasionally been used to lay it dry.

I have now arrived at the end of my researches on Mount Moriah, and leave the subject, trusting that some other explorer may find more frequent opportunities and more favourable circumstances for examining this venerable spot; and thus carry further my discoveries, and correct any errors into which I may have fallen.

FOOTNOTES:

[171] Note I.

[172] Note II.

[173] Plates XI., XII.

[174] Gen. xxii. 2-14.

[175] Note III.; Gen. xxviii. 10-12.

[176] Gen. xxxv. 1-15.

[177] 2 Sam. xxiv; 1 Chron. xxi.

[178] 1 Chron. xxii. 1.

[179] Ant. VII. 13, § 4.

[180] 2 Sam. xvii. 18; Jer. xli. 8.

[181] Plate XXVII.

[182] 1 Maccab. vi. 32, 33.

[183] Note IV.

[184] 1 Kings v. 18.

[185] 2 Chron. ii. 13, 14.

[186] 1 Kings v. 10, 11.

[187] 2 Chron. ii. 16.

[188] 1 Kings vii. 10, 11.

[189] 1 Kings vi. 7.

[190] Jewish War, V. 5, § 1.

[191] Ant. VIII. 3, § 9; Jewish War, V. 5, §§ 1, 2.

[192] 1 Kings vi. 1, 38.

[193] Note V.

[194] Ant. VIII. 3.

[195] Palestine, pp. 289-292.

[196] 1 Kings vi. 2, 3.

[197] 1 Kings vi. 17-20; viii. 9.

[198] 2 Chron. iv. 9.

[199] 2 Chron. iv. 9; Ezek. xl. 17.

[200] 2 Chron. iv. 1; Ezek. xliii. 13, 18.

[201] Note VI.

[202] 2 Chron. iv. 2, 5, 6.

[203] 1 Kings vii. 38.

[204] 1 Kings vii. 38; 2 Chron. iv. 6; Lev. i. 9.

[205] 1 Kings vi. 5; Ezek. xlii. 13.

[206] Lev. i. 5, 11, 16; xiv. 11, 12.

[207] Ezek. xl. 40, 41, 42, 46.

[208] 1 Kings xiv. 25, 26.

[209] 2 Kings xiv. 13.

[210] 2 Kings xii. 4-14; 2 Chron. xxiv. 4-14.

[211] 2 Kings xxv. 9.

[212] 2 Kings xxv. 11, 12, 22, 23; Jer. xl. 6.

[213] Jer. xl. 12.

[214] 2 Kings xxv. 25.

[215] 2 Kings xxv. 26; Jer. xliii. 7.

[216] 2 Chron. xxxvi. 22, 23; Ezra i. 1; v. 13.

[217] Note VII.

[218] Ezra vii. 8, 9.

[219] Ezra iii. 8, 12, 13; Haggai ii. 3.

[220] Ezra iv. 1-24.

[221] Ezra iv. 24; v. 1, 2.

[222] Ezra vi. 15-17.

[223] Ezra vi. 3.

[224] Haggai ii. 3; Ezra iii. 12.

[225] Ant. XV. 11, § 1; Note VIII.

[226] 1 Maccab. i. 20-23, 35, 36, 41; Ant. XII. 5, §§ 3, 4.

[227] 1 Maccab. iv. 41-59; Jewish War, I. 1, § 1.

[228] 1 Maccab. xii. 35-37.

[229] 1 Maccab. xiii. 50-53.

[230] Ant. XIII. 6, § 7; Jewish War, I. 3, § 3.

[231] Ant. XIII. 11, § 2; Jewish War, I. 3, §§ 3-5.

[232] Ant. XIV. 4, § 2; Jewish War, I. 7, §§ 1-3.

[233] Ant. XIV. 16, § 2.

[234] Ant. XV. 11, § 2.

[235] S. John ii. 20.

[236] S. Mark xiii. 1, 2.

[237] Ant. XV. 11, §§ 3-7; Jewish War, V. 5 (the more minute account); Note IX.

[238] Palestine, p. 551.

[239] Ant. XV. 11, § 3.

[240] Ant. XIII. 6, § 7; Jewish War, V. 4, § 1.

[241] Middoth, I. 3.

[242] Ant. XV. 11, § 5.

[243] Ant. XV. 11, § 3.

[244] S. Matt. xxi. 12.

[245] Note X.

[246] Mischna, 2, § 6.

[247] Mischna, 2nd part, Treatise _Yoma_, c. III., § 10; Babylonian Talmud, same treatise, fol. 37.

[248] Exod. xx. 25; Deut. xxvii. 5, 6.

[249] Mischna, Treatise _Yoma_, c. III., § 1.

[250] Ezek. xl. 39, 40.

[251] 2 Maccab. ii. 4-7.

[252] Mischna, Treatise _Yoma_, c. V., § 2, and the Rabbinical traditions in the Babylonian Talmud, same treatise, fol. 54.

[253] Jewish War, V. 5, § 1.

[254] Note XI.

[255] Jewish War, V. 5, § 2.

[256] Ibid. V. 5, § 8.

[257] Ant. XV. 11, § 7.

[258] S. John ii. 20.

[259] Jewish War, V. 5, § 8.

[260] Jewish War, V. 11; VI. 1.

[261] Note XII.

[262] Jewish War, VI. 6, § 2.

[263] Ibid. VI. 9, § 1; VII. 1, § 1.

[264] Note XIII.

[265] S. Matt. xxiv. 2.

[266] Note XIV.

[267] Note XV.

[268] Note XVI.

[269] Note XVII.

[270] Note XVIII.

[271] Note XIX.

[272] Note XX.

[273] Adamn. de Locis Sanctis, Lib. I. c. 1, ap. Acta SS. Ord. Bened. Tom. III. Part 2, p. 304: "Cæterum in illo famoso loco, ubi quondam Templum magnifice constructum fuerat, in vicinia muri ab oriente locatum; nunc Sarraceni quadrangulam orationis domum, quam subrectis tabulis et magnis trabibus super quasdam ruinarum reliquias construentes vili fabricati sunt opere, ipsi frequentant; quæ utique domus tria hominum millia simul (ut fertur) capere potest."

[274] Note XXI.

[275] William of Tyre, Book I. c. 12.

[276] Note XXII.

[277] Note XXIII.

[278] Note XXIV.

[279] Note XXV.

[280] Note XXVI.

[281] Plate XI.

[282] S. John v. 2.

[283] Plate XII.

[284] Plate XIII.

[285] Ant. XIII. 11, § 2; Jewish War, I. 3, § 3.

[286] Note XXVII.

[287] Page 20.

[288] Plate XIV.

[289] Jewish War, V. 4, § 2; 5, § 8.

[290] Ibid. V. 11, § 4.

[291] Ibid. V. 5, § 2.

[292] Ibid. V. 5, § 8.

[293] Ant. XV. 11, § 7.

[294] Plate XV.

[295] Plate XVI.

[296] See Ch. I. p. 15.

[297] S. John v. 2-9.

[298] Plates X., XVIII.

[299] Plate XVII.

[300] Note XXVIII.

[301] Plate X.

[302] Plate XVIII.

[303] Note XXIX; Page 7.

[304] Plate XXIX. See the details of the Golden Gate.

[305] Plate XXVII.

[306] Plate XIX.

[307] Note XXX.

[308] Plate XX.

[309] 2 Kings xxii. 14.

[310] Note XXXI.

[311] Plate XXI.

[312] Ant. XV. 8, § 1.

[313] Ant. XIV. 4, § 2; Jewish War, I. 7, § 2.

[314] Jewish War, VI. 6, § 2; 8, § 1.

[315] Page 23.

[316] Guide d'Orient. Description des Environs du _Haram-es-Sherîf_.

[317] Ant. XV. 11, § 5.

[318] In my opinion, of the date of Herod.

[319] Narrative of a Journey round the Dead Sea, Vol. II. pp. 100, 101, (edited by Count E. de Warren).

[320] Note XIII.

[321] Plate LVIII.

[322] Holy City, Vol. II. pp. 43, 392. Second Edit.

[323] Note XXXII.

[324] Plate XI.

[325] Plate XIV.

[326] Plate XIX.

[327] Ant. XV. 11, § 5.

[328] Ant. XV. 11, § 5.

[329] Mejir-ed-din, Mines d'Orient, Vol. II. p. 95.

[330] Plate XXIV.

[331] De Edific. Justin., Lib. IV. c. 6.

[332] Note XXXIV.

[333] Eutychius, Annales, II. 246. Dielal-ed-din. Kemal-ed-din. Mejir-ed-din.

[334] The Holy City, Vol. I. p. 318. Second edition.

[335] Note XXXV.

[336] Plates XXIII., XXIV.

[337] See M. de Vogüé's work, Les Églises de la Terre Sainte.

[338] Plate XI. (Plan).

[339] A variety of marble, generally of a dark brown colour, full of fossil shells, exhibiting beautiful iridescent colours, due to the nacreous matter of the shells; sometimes deep red or orange, when it is called fire-marble.

[340] Plate XXIV.

[341] Plate XXV.

[342] See details, Plate XXIX.

[343] Ant. XV. 11, § 5.

[344] De Ædificiis Justiniani, Lib. V. cap. vi. (Translated in Rev. G. Williams' Holy City, Vol. II. p. 369).

[345] Les Églises de la Terre Sainte, par le Comte Melchior de Vogüé, p. 272. He also quotes the Rev. G. Williams in confirmation of his opinion.

[346] Jewish War, V. 3, § 1.

[347] Jewish War, VII. 2, § 1.

[348] Plate XI.

[349] Plate XXVI.

[350] Note XXXVI.

[351] Note XXXVII.

[352] Plate XXVII.

[353] Les Églises de la Terre Sainte.

[354] Plate XXIX.

[355] Note XXXVIII.

[356] Note XXXIX.

[357] Note XL.

[358] Note IV.

[359] Notes XXXIX., XL.

[360] Note XLI.

[361] Pages 48, 49, 53, 54.

[362] Levit. i. 11; Ezek. xl. 35-38.

[363] See the enclosed space, covered with cross lines, about the Mosque of Omar, Plate XI.

[364] Mischna, 2nd part, Treatise _Yoma_, c. 3, § 1.

[365] Ezek. xl. 39-41.

[366] Levit. i. 16.

[367] Jewish War, V. 11, §§ 4, 5.

[368] See the Conduits, Plate X.

[369] See the sections, Plate XII.

[370] Plate XI.

[371] Note XLII.