Page:History of Art in Sardinia, Judæa, Syria and Asia Minor Vol 1.djvu/179

 Materials used in the Wall of the Enclosure. 161 posed to view have assumed a hoary appearance, brought about by extreme diversity of temperature, which in Jerusalem alternates between tropical heat and almost Siberian cold. On the other hand, stones equally old would appear as if laid but yesterday, had not time lent them a subdued tint which the rays of the setting sun transform into the richest gold. It would be most misleading, therefore, to try and fix the age of the blocks from the state of preservation in which their outer face is found. The first visible courses contain the largest and oldest blocks. The dimensions of these stones are everywhere far greater than Fig. mi. — Ancient Quarries near Jerusalem. De Vogué, Le Temple, those generally seen in our quarries ; but it should be noticed that not two are exactly alike. Numbers were placed against the stratum ; but as the bed from which they were extracted was very deep, their horizontal tables were found too far apart to be used in coursed work. Hence the stones were cut in vertical sections equidistant from each other, and of the height required for the Quarterly Statements, Palestine Exploration Fund, pp. 375-79, 1869. Some of the details are curious, as, for instance, where he states that diminutive hollows were scooped out of the rock by the quarrymen, and filled with oil to dip their wicks, which are still visible. These wicks were drawn out so as to light up the gallery, enabling the men to see the perpendicular splits made in the blocks to be quarried. The trail made by the smoke on the wall is very distinct. A great ditch cut in the rock near Damascus gate, was clearly intended as the beginning of a road for the transport of stones.