Page:History of Art in Sardinia, Judæa, Syria and Asia Minor Vol 1.djvu/171

 Description of Mount Moriah. 153 Mount Moriah and the temple ; which, together with the ancient remains still extant above or underground, will necessitate to be minutely described so as to justify the restoration which we venture to present to the reader. For a long time past it had been generally known that con- structions had been effected here at various epochs, and that the aspect of the ground had thereby undergone great alteration. It was reserved for Messrs. Warren and Wilson, however, to determine the exact nature and importance of these works, and to find the relief and lie of the rock, not only on Moriah but about Jerusalem. Their excavations were extended over three years, 1867, 1868, 1869, amidst difficulties of all kinds heroically overcome. 1 Moriah is the extreme spur of a long counterfort, with a general direction from north to south. Its culminating point is outside the city near the old quarries known as "Jeremiah's Grotto," whence it deviates to the north-west angle of the Haram-esh-Sherif. Here it bends to the right, passing by Kubbet-es-Sakhra, the beautiful dome of the rock, and finally sinks in the valley of Siloam (Fig. 109). 2 A glance at the map of the English explorers will show the direction of the rock, covered here as everywhere about Jerusalem with rich black mould, varying in places from two to four feet deep. It will convey, moreover, a fair idea of the mount as it was when David and Solomon laid the foundations of their edifices. The centre of the present haram is occupied by an open space, of about one hundred metres long by thirty or forty broad, which albeit not strictly level, could be made so at little cost. Here stood the threshing-floor of Araunah, the rich Jebusite 1 To have some idea of the manner and the difficulties in which these labours were prosecuted, consult Warren's Recovery of Jerusalem, wherein these are recorded from day to day. It is to be regretted that the indefatigable explorers, so well acquainted with above Moriah and underground, were prevented by the duties of their military profession to alter their method of exposition. The work, of which our Fig. no is but a sample, and which we borrowed from the Recovery of Jerusalem, was not con- fined to Moriah. Captain Conder, basing his knowledge upon over two hundred and fifty soundings, drew a map of underground Jerusalem, entitled Rock Contours of Jerusalem, Plates II. and III. of the Atlas (plans, elevations, sections, etc., showing the results of the Exploration Fund, by Captain C. Warren, R.E., 1884, etc.). This valuable map enables us to understand the description found in Josephus of the Jerusalem of his own time, and to follow the undulation of the ground as no surface exploration could have done. A reduced copy of this map was given in the Quarterly Statement, 1873, p. 151, of the same society. 2 Fig. no : 1. Sacred Rock ; 2. Cut Rock ;. Ditch cut in rock.