From Jerusalem Arculf went to Bethlehem, which is situated on a narrow ridge, surrounded on all sides by valleys. The ridge is about a mile long, from west to east; and a low wall, without towers, surrounds the brow of the hill, and overlooks the valley. The houses of the inhabitants are scattered here and there over the space within the wall. At the extreme eastern angle there is a sort of natural half cave, the outer part of which is said to have been the place of our Lord's birth; the inside is called our Lord's Manger. The whole of this cave is covered within with precious marble. Over the place where more especially our Lord is said to have been born, stands the great church of St. Mary. Near the wall is a hollow stone, which received back from the wall the water in which our Lord's body was washed, and has ever since been full of the purest water, without any diminution. If by any accident or service it has been emptied, it quickly becomes as full as before. In the valley to the north of Bethlehem, Arculf saw the tomb of David, in the middle of a church, covered with a low pyramidal stone, unadorned, with a lamp placed above it. In another church, on the slope of the hill to the south, is the tomb of St. Jerome, equally without ornament. About a mile to the east of Bethlehem, by the tower of Ader, that is, of the Flock, is a church containing monuments of the three Shepherds, to whom, on this spot, the angel announced the birth of our Lord. There is a highway, according to Arculf, leading southward from Jerusalem to Hebron, to the east of which Bethlehem is situated, six miles from Jerusalem. At the extremity of this road, on the west side, is the tomb of Rachel, rudely built of stones, without any ornament, presenting externally the form of a pyramid. Her name, placed there by her husband Jacob, is still shown upon it.