Page:History of Art in Sardinia, Judæa, Syria and Asia Minor Vol 1.djvu/326

 296 A History of Art in Sardinia and Jud.f.a. or smeared with blood. 1 Were we required to furnish a proof of our thesis, we should name the dolmen called Hajr-ed-Dumm, the stone of blood, north of the sea of Galilee ; whilst in many places of Percea menhirs have been descried with hollows or cups on the top stone or on the side. 2 The high plateaux east of Jordan have thus preserved the early type of the Canaanite high-place, be it a single menhir, a cubical stone enclosed in a circle, or rough stone altars, such as were still preferred towards the eighth or seventh century b.c. to the brazen altar of Solomon. Menhirs, like trees many centuries old, were also supposed to be capable of curing any person laid on them ; to this day, throughout the East, Moslems and Christians believe that they "lay their disease" on the branch of a tree by hanging a small piece of their dress thereon. 3 Traces of this tree-worship are apparent in many a passage of the Old Testament ; sometimes the fetish was large enough to shelter the whole tribe, as the " monument tree " at Sichem ; or it might be a laurel, tamarind, and the like, whose shape and fine foliage singled it out from among the rank and file of other shrubs. 4 Here and there, as at Hebron, the shrine was connected with a sacred grove, whilst the oak at Mambre shown to visitors is said to be a remnant of the ancient wood (Fig. 201). Then, too, living springs and fountains, fringed with oleanders, around which grew turf in thick abundance, were likewise objects of popular reverence. In order to add to the natural beauty of these religious centres, had they recourse to awnings from tree to tree and carpets for the feet ? It is highly probable ; but no historic — excepting the Mesa stone — nor poetic monument, has been found east of Jordan to enable us to reconstruct the native sanctuaries of which the skeletons alone remain, whilst monuments of this class have fared scarcely better in Judaea and Samaria. In the latter, on Mount Gerizim, are still shown immense uncut stone blocks, which may have formed part of the altar built by the Samaritans (Fig. 202). 5 On the other hand, by comparing the data yielded by Holy Writ with the 1 Gen. xxviii. 18 ; xxxv. 14. 2 Quarterly Statements, p. 72, 1882. 3 Ibid., p. 71. 4 With regard to the persistency of the ancient beliefs still current in Palestine, see Clermont-Ganneau, La Palestine Inconnue, pp. 50-58. Paris, 1876. The author is of opinion that the present rural population chiefly consists of the descendants of the ancient Canaanites ; kubbets have replaced the bamoths of former days, albeit bcetuli are still worshipped in them as of old. s De Saulcy, Hist, de F Art Jud., pp. 52-79 ; and Sir C. Wilson, " Ebal and Gerizim" {Palestine Exploration Fund, Quarterly Statemetits, pp. 66-71, 1873).