Jerusalem Explored, Volume 1—Text: Being a Description of the Ancient and Modern City, with Numerous Illustrations Consisting of Views, Ground Plans and SectionsPierotti, Ermete
History
Jerusalem Explored, Volume 1—Text: Being a Description of the Ancient and Modern City, with Numerous Illustrations Consisting of Views, Ground Plans and Sections
Pierotti, Ermete
Jerusalem -- Antiquities; Jerusalem -- Description and travel
the only result of my labours was to ascertain the true level of ancient
Jerusalem at this spot. I made enquiries of all, who in former years had
built in this neighbourhood, but could not hear that any Jewish ruins
had ever been found, and therefore think that the wall must have turned
sharp to the east at the _judgement-gate_ (formerly the gate of
Ephraim), and so, facing the north, gone on to the tower Antonia. The
occurrence of very large stones, evidently of Jewish work, in the walls
of the houses (especially in the lower parts) in this direction confirms
this idea. These were found when the Effendi Kadduti repaired and partly
rebuilt the house in the Via Dolorosa, at the _Station of Veronica_. A
similar discovery was made by the Mufti, in strengthening his house, at
the _Station of Simon of Cyrene_; and by the Effendi Soliman Giari,
opposite to the Mufti's house on the north. The Armenian Catholic Monk
requested me to examine and level a piece of land, at the _Station of
the first fall of Christ_, which, as representative of his nation, he
had just bought. In the lower part of the wall enclosing it on the north
very large stones and an ancient gate were found.
In the foundations of the Austrian hospice, laid in 1857, to the north
of the Armenian property, large stones were discovered, and also,
farther to the east, in the new convent of the Daughters of Sion. From
all these facts, I infer that the line of the second wall passed along
this side. I may also remark that the Greek text of Josephus states that
the wall "went up to the Antonia[131];" and we can still see, from the
conformation of the ground in this direction, that, after crossing the
Tyropoeon valley, it would _go up_ to the tower. The assertion that
the second wall "only encompassed the northern quarter of the city," is
true, because, at the time of Josephus, Hezekiah's wall must have been
standing, and therefore considered to form part of the second line. I
once supposed that the gate Gennath was near the tower Hippicus on the
east, and that consequently the second wall went in a zigzag course
until it joined the Antonia: but, as mentioned above, I did not find any
traces of it very near the tower Hippicus, and I think that if the gate
of Gennath had been close to this, the historian would have mentioned
it. I have already said that I attribute this wall to Solomon, because
it is mentioned in the Bible in connection with events after his time.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account