The most ancient masonry visible, the lowest, is formed of the largest blocks; the courses are from a yard to two yards high; the length of the blocks varies between 7½ yds. and 2½ ft. One block is to be observed at the south-eastern angle which is 13 yards long. Each layer recedes 2 in. from that beneath it; the stones, carefully trimmed, are laid without mortar. These large blocks are marginal-drafted--that is to say, each stone is, as it were, bounded by a groove which marks the courses and the joints. Besides the groove, each block is framed in a chiselled band smooth but not deep, which forms a second frame, carved within the groove round the surface of the hewn block. The lower masonry of the temple is, then, drafted and chiselled at the edge; besides, at intervals, the surface of the blocks is provided with projecting tenons, no doubt contrived to facilitate the placing of them. The best preserved portion of this masonry is the Heit el Maghreby, “the western wall,” where the Jews come every Friday to weep over the destruction of Jerusalem and to await the Messiah; it is the Wailing-place. Recent English excavations, carried 107 ft. below the present surface of the ground, have proved that this masonry is to be found all round the enclosure of the Haram. [Illustration: Fig 170.--The Jews’ Wailing-place (after M. de Vogüé).] The system of construction immediately above the drafted blocks is characterised by Roman masonry formed of smooth stones without grooves, their outer surface being carefully fluted by means of a chisel with very fine teeth. The blocks, about a yard square, are laid with sharp-edged joints. This system is especially remarked on the western and southern sides. The following systems, in the order of their position one above the other, do not deserve to be described; they are relatively modern and belong to all epochs, but chiefly to the Saracenic period.