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^WMM/'m.
THE J. PAUL GETTY MUSEUM LIBRARY
J J » 11 .
11)-'*
PALESTINE
EXPLORATION FUND
Patron— THE QUEEN.
iluarterly Statement
FOR 1877.
LONDON :
PUBLISHED AT THE SOCIETY'S OFFICE, 9, PALL MALL EAST,
AND BY
RICHARD BENTLEY & SON, 8, NEW BURLINGTON STREET.
• • • '
THE J. PAUL GETTY CENTER
LIBRARY
INDEX.
Abrikha, 171
Ailom, 26
'Aiu el Mudauvvereh, 122
'Ain el Melahah, 167
'Ain et Tlneh, 122
'Ain es Serar, 122
Ai, Rock at, 27
Alma, 174
Aloth, 22
American Explorers, 150
Anath, 29
Aphecos, 140
Ard el Sauwad, 167
Ascension of our Lord, Traditiouiil Site
Ashnah, 22 [of, 22
Asocliis, 140
Ataroth Adar, 139
'Athlit, 180
Avim, The, 133
Baalath, 139
Barak and Sisera, 190
Bekiiu, 29
Belat, 166
Belfort, 170
Berea, 24
Bethabara, 183
Bethany beyond Jordan, 184
Beth Dagon, 22
Bethel of Judah, 29
Bether, 28
BeitRiiua, 26, 140
Bethsaida, 13
Bileam, 182
Bint umm Jebeil, 167
Biri, 181
Birket 'aly edh Dhaher, 123
Boundaries of Epliraim, Manasseli, and
Issacliar, 41
British Association, Grant of, 7
Burjmus, 27
Bussa, 174
Byzantine and Crusading Sites, 141
Capernaum, 123
Capharnaum, 123
Caphrath, 140
Carmel, 180
Chasbi, 87
Cherethites, The, 138
Chilzon, 187
Christian and Jewish Traditions, 30
Christian Sites, 97
Cities of the Midbar, 23.
Cities of the Negeb, 23
Cities of the Plain, 23
Cleruiout-Ganneau, M. : Cliurch of Holy
Sepulchre, 76; Deir Eban, 154
Conder's, Lieut., Notes from Memoir,
20, 85, 137, 178
Crusading Castles : Banias,173; Chateau
de Moutfort, 1 76 ; Chateau du Koi, 177;
Keratiya, 138; Chateau Pelerin, 182
Cruisading Forts: Huniu, 169; Kalat
ed Dubbah, 168; Kasr 'Atrn, 167;
Taiyebeli, 169; Kal'at esh Shukif,
170; Tibnin, 169
Cydoes.sa, 3U
Uan, 171
Daphne, 171
Deidebeh, 181
Deir Eban, 154
Dibl, 165
Dolmens, 121
Early Christian Churches, 165
Abrikha, 171
Early Cliristian Sites, 29
Eder, 139
Elijah's Fountain, 180
El Jish, 125
El Kheit, 167
El Khudr, 172
El Maudaseh, 27
ElMejdel, 121
En Kushi, 26
Er Rameh, 167
Feast of Shiloh, 180
Ferka, 29
Furn, 181
Geba, 87
General Committee, Meeting of, 192
Gibbethon, 139
Gibeah of Saul, 104
Giloh, 24
Giscala, 125
Gitta, 30
Habakkuk, Tomb of, 86
Hachilah, 86
Hagar's Spring, 28
Hajr ed Ddm, 124
Hamthau, 29
Harosheth, Site of, 167
Haruph, 28
Hasbany, 171
Hawa, 87
Hazor, Site of, 167
Hepha, 187
Hiram, Tomb of, 174
Hirieh, 140
Herodium, 27
Hittites, The, 13S
Hormah, 24
Hot Springs, 121
Hunin, 169
Ibleam, 182
Irbid, 118
Issachar, 87
Itineraries of our Lord, 8
Jabueel, 139
Jacob's Well, 72
Janoah, 24
JemrHrah, 85
Jerusalem, 21
Age of the Temple Wall,
75, 131
,, Discovery at, 160, 205
,, Excavations at, 9
,, The Asnerie, 143
,, The Holy Sepulchre, 76, 128
Jeshanah, 182, 206
Site of, 206
Jeshua, 24
Jewish Owners of Land, 177
Jisr Benat Yakub, 167
Jordan, Sources of, 171
Jo.shua's Tomb, 182
^^•^.s'^S^
iv
IXDEX.
Juilfeo- Greek Epitapli from Jalih, 106
Judges iv., Topography of, 190
Journal of the Survey, 113, 162
Kabr Hebrun, 28
Kades, 167
Kalamon, 71
Kalaat Jiddiii, 17S
Kalat ed Dubbah, 168
„ el Fenish, 138
,, el Kurein, 176
,, esh Shukif, 170
,, es Subeibeh, 173
„ Ibn Ma'an, 118
,, Jalud, 205
„ Marfln, 173
,, Shem'a, 175
Kasr 'Atru, 167
Kefr Likitia, 29
Keisun, 168
Kerak, 120
Keruthim, 29
Khurbet Abu Sliusheh, 122
„ Difnah, 171
,, Hamsin, 175
Kerazeh, 124
Minyeh, 122_^
,, Shelabun, 167
„ Ureidat, 122
Kings of Judah, 195
Kitchener's Reports, Lieut., 70, 116,
Kunin, 169 [165
Kurn Hattin, 117
Kustul, 181
Laish, 27
Literary Remains of C. F. Tyrwhitt
Lobnah, 28 [Drake, 126
Magdiel, 181
Makaz, 24
Mahrakah, 173
M'alia, 177
Mamre, 28
Manln, 166
Megiddo, 13
Meiron, 125
Melloth, 139
Meronoth, 28, 139
Milla, 21
Mizpeb, 21
Moslem Mukams, 89
Mount Heres, 139
,, Tabor, 119
Mujir ed Din, 170
Mukams, The Moslem, 89
Naorath, 26
Nahr Hasbany, 171
„ LeddCln, 171
Nakurah, 174
Kebartein, 124
Neby Lawih, 180
Nob, 51, 204
Notes and News, 1, 67, 109, 159
Nomenclature, 183
,, of the Survey, 144
Osheli, 86
Palestine, State of the Country, 1, 163,
Patras, 29 [164, 165, 176
Pirathon, 139
Porphyreon, 187
Rabbith, 24
Ras el Abiad, Inscription at, 175
Representatives and Lecturers to the
Robbers' Caves, 118 [Fund, 161
Roche Taille, 181
Saab, 140
Safed, 124
Sahyftn, 21
Samaria, 180
Sarid, 25
Saul's Journey to Zuph, 37
Scariotli, 183
Sea of Galilee, 120
Sefsaf, 121
Sepulchres of David and Kings of Ju-
Sellem, 86 [dah, 195
Shakra, 168
Shalisha, 139
Sinjil, 88
Sirah, 28
Subeibeh, 172
Sun Dial in the Haram, 88
Surar, 181
Survey, Fieldwork continued, 71
Survey completed, 159
Sycaminon, 187
Sychar and Sycheni, 149
Synagogues, 179
Synagogue of Irbid, 118
,, Nebartein, 124
Sifsaf, 126
Tabighah, 123
Taiyebeh, 169
Talmudic Sites, 29
Tarichffia, 10, 181
Tel Hum, 123
TellelKady, 171
Tell Hara, 167
Temple at Belat, 166
,, Kades, 167
,, Keisun, 168
Tiberias, 121
Tibnin, 169
Tirzah, 25
Tomb of Habakkuk, 86
„ of Jacob's Daughters, 124
Tombs at Kedesh, 168
,, of Shamai and Hill el, 125
Tora'n, 181
Torou, Castle of, 169
Tyre, 173
Tyrwhitt-Drake, C. F., Literary Re-
Umm el 'Amftd, 175 [mains of, 126
Wady Amud, 122
,, el Hajeir, 173
,, Hamam, 118
,, Mesa'adet Aisa, 22
,, llabadijeh, 122
,, Selftkiah, 168
,, Wukkas, 167
Yaniieh, 176
Yarun, 165
Yassab, 29
Zaanaim, 25
Zanuah, 26
Zemaraim, 26
Zereda, 26
Zion, 21, 178
THE
PALESTINE EXPLORATION FUND:
SOCIETY FOR THE ACCURATE AND SYSTEMATIC INVESTIGATION OF
THE ARCHEOLOGY, THE TOPOGRAPHY, THE GEOLOGY AND PHYSICAL
GEOGRAPHY, THE MANNERS AND CUSTOMS, OF THE HOLY LAND,
FOR BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATION.
PATRON :
HEE MAJESTY THE QUEEN.
GENERAL COMMITTEE:
ARCHBISHOP OF YORK, Fresident.
Dk. H. W. Acland, F.E.S.
Rev. W. Lindsay Alexander, D.D.
Rev. Henry Allon, D.D.
The President of the American Asso-
ciation
Amhurst Tyssen Amhurst, Esq.
Capt. Anderson, R.E.
Rev. Joseph Angus, D.D.
Duke of Argyll
T. Farmer Baily, Esq.
Rev. Joseph Barclay, LL.D.
James Bateman, Esq., F.R.S.
Rev. Canon Birch
Samuel Biech, Esq., LL.D.
Rev. W. F. Birch
Rev. H. M. Butler, D.D.
Marquis of Bute
AucHBisHOP of Canterbury
Earl of Carnarvon
T. Chaplin, Esq., M.D., IFon. Sec. for
Jerusalem
Bishop of Chester
Dean of Chester
Dean of Christchurch
Lord Alfred Churchill
Lord Clermont
J. D. Crace, Esq.
John Cunliffe, Esq.
Duke of Devonshire
Earl Ducie
W. Hepworth Dixon, Esq.
Professor Don.vldson
Lord Dufferin
F, A. Eaton, Esq.
S. Jackson Eldridge, Esq., Beyrotd
Bishop of Exeter
Rev. F. W. Farrar, D.D.
James Fergusson, Esq., F.R.S.
A. Lloyd Fox
H. W. Freeland, Esq.
M. Clermont-Ganneau
F. Waymouth Gibes, Esq., C.B.
Rev. C. D. Ginsburg, LL.D.
Cyril C. Graham, Esq.
James Glaisher, Esq., F.R.S.
Samuel Gurney, Esq.
H. A. Harper, Esq.
Rev. J. C. Harrison
A. J. Bbresford Hope, Esq., M.P.
•Joseph D. Hooker, Esq., Pres. R.S.
Holman Hunt, Esq.
Gen. Sir Henry James, R.E.
Lord Lawrence
E. H. Lawrence, Esq.
Eight Hon. A. H. Layard
F. Leiguton, Esq., R.A.
General Lefroy
Lord Henry Lennox
Professor Hayter Lewis
Dean of Lichfield
Ambrose L. P. De Lisle, E»q.
Bishop of LLANDArr.
Samuel Lloyd^ Esq.
Bishop of London
William Longman, Esq.
John MacGregor, Esq.
Duke of ilARLiiOitouoH.
Dr. Samuel MANNixfr
Master of University College, Oxford
R. B. Martin, Esq.
Rev. Samuel Martin
Henry Maudslay", Esq-
Edward Miall, Esq., M.P.
Rev. Dr. Moffatt,
Sir Moses Montefiore, Bart.
Noel Temple Moore, Esq., IL.B.M. Con-
sul, Jerusalem
Samuel Morley, Esq., M.P.
Rev. J. Mullens, D.D.
John Murray, Esq.
Sir Charles Nicholson, Bart.
Duke of NORTUITMREItLAXU
Admiral Ojimaxney
Professor Owen, F.R.S,
B
General Committee (contmued) —
Sir S. Morton Peto, Bt.
Professor E. H. Palmer
Bishop of Peterborovoh
Herr Petermakn
Eev. E. H. Plumptre
Rev. J. L. Porter, LL.D.
Rev. PiioyEssoK Pritchard, F.R.B.
Rev. Prof. Pusey, D.D.
Sir Henry Rawlinson, K.C.B., F.R.S.
Rev. Professor Ra^linsox
Henry Reeve, Esq.
Marquis of Ripon
Bishop of Ripon
Earl Russell
Dr. Sandreczky
Viscount Sandon
M. De Saulcy
Lord Henry J. M. D. Scott, M.P.
Earl of Shaftesbury
"William Simpson, Esq.
"William Smith, Esq., LL.D.
Sir G. Gilbert Scott, R.A.
"W. Spottiswoode, Esq., F.R.S.
Captain R. "W. Stewart, R.E,
Rev. John Stoughton, D.D.
Viscount Stratford de Redcliffh
Duke of Sutherland
Rev. Canon Thorold
William Tipping, Esq., M.P.
Rev. Canon Tristram, LL.D., F.R.S.
W. S. W. Vaux, Esq., F.R.S.
The Count de Voguk
Captain Warren, R.E.
Dean of "Westminster, F.R.S.
Duke of "Westminster.
Rev. George Williams, B.D.
Major "Wilson, R.E., F.R.S.
George "Wood, Esq.
Bishop of "Winchester
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE:
AV. IIEPWORTH DIXON, Esq., Chairman.
H. A. Harper, Esq,
"V\'illtam Longman, E.sq.
Walter Morrison, Esq.
Rev. Canon Tristram.
"W. S. ^V. Vaux, Esq., F.R.S.
Captain "Warren, R.E.
Major "Wilson, R.E., F.R.S.
Captain Anderson, R.E.
Samuel Birch, Esq., LL.D.
J. D. Grace, Esq.
F. A. Eaton, Esq.
James Glaisheh, Esq., F.R.S.
George Grove, Esq., D.C.L,
Samuel Gueney, Esq.
Rev. F, W. Holland.
BanJcers—M-ESS-RS. Coutts and Co., 59, Strand. The "Union Bank of London, Charing
Cross Branch, 66, Charing Cross.
Treasurer — "Walter ^Morrison, Esq.
Hon. Secretaries— Rev. F. "W. Holland, and George Grove, Esq., D.C.L.
Acting Secretary— ^ xJ.t'B.R Besant, Esq. OJice, 9, Pall Mall East.
NOTE.— The Price of the "Quarterly Statement" is Half-a-Crown, It is
sent free to Sulascribers.
Quarterly Statement, January, 1877.]
THE
PALESTINE EXPLORATION FUND,
NOTES AND NEWS.
The Survey party are at this moment actively engaged in preparing for
their departure. It ha.s been decided to dispatch Lieutenant Kitchener, who
assumes the command, to Damascu.s, -n-here he will buy horses and provide for
the starting of the party. Everything ready, he will repair to Haifa vm Beyrout
and the coast road, there to await the arrival of his staff, who will probably
reach Palestine early in February, and will consist of Sergeant Armstrong, Avho
has been in the Survey from the commencement ; Sergeant Malings, who was
Avith Major Wilson on the Survey of Sinai ; Coi-poral Brophy, who was with
Lieut. Condor in 1873—1875 ; and one other non-commissioned officer of Royal
Engineers.
Meantime, Lieut. Conder remains in England engaged in the preparation of the
memoirs to accompany the sheets of the map. A great deal of work has already
been done towards the reduction to order of his voluminous notes ; but a great
deal remains. The map will be safely locked up until the Survey is comideted,
and the difficulties which have arisen in the laying down of the work have been
settled bv a revision on the field.
Consul-Cleneral Eldridge reports from Beyrout that the country is quiet. Two
of the men engaged in the Safed attack were still in prison when he wrote (Nov.
30). The siun of £270 has been forwarded to England out of the £340 granted
for fines and damages levied on the Safed people, and there can be no doubt that
the moral eftect of this firmness will be excellent. The £200 claimed for com-
pensation has not yet been allowed.
4 NOTES AND NEAVS.
The. Surv^-oJ" (iaililef, >udiHliug the lovelling for the depth of the Lake below
the surface cf the sea, for wh'ch a grant of £100 was made by the British Asso-
ciation-two yearp ago, is calcDlated to take until the middle of August. Lieute-
nant Kitchener jiroposes then to finish oif the two hundred and fifty square miles
at the south-west of Palestine yet remaining to be surveyed ; and, this done, will
then ride through the country to clear up various points of difficulty which have
arisen during the execution of the map from the notes.
Such is the programme for the year 1877. If it is carried out successfully, the
Committee will be, at its close, in possession of a complete map of Western
Palestine, on the scale of one inch to a mile, with every town, village, ruin, tell,
wady, hill, and plantation marked iipon it, and every name which our officers
have been able to collect.
The cost of this expedition, including the office expenses, printing, postage,
&c., will amount to over £320 a month. The income of the Fund, which was,
roughly, £4,200 iu 1875, fell to £3,800 in 1876, in consequence of no special effort
having been made beyond the ordinary machinery of reminding subscribers and
holding occasional lectures. The latter amount, which may fairly be assumed as
an average income, seems to promise to the Committee a sufficient guarantee that
means will be found to carry on their work even on this large scale of expenditure.
It is, however, very earnestly requested that suhscrij)tions niay this year he paid as
early as is convenient, so that the Committee may be free to act.
The financial position on Jan. 4, 1877, was as follows. Income, Sept. 28, 1876,
to Jan. 4, 1877, £1,146 2s. 9d., and the balance in the bank on the latter day was
£538 Os. lOd. Opportunity has been taken of the lessened expenditure during the
year to pay off nearly all the debts, as \\i\\ be shown in April by the balance-
s'heet of the year.
We have to announce with great pleasure that the offer made by Dr. Nathaniel
Kogers, of Exeter, to subscribe £50 towards the complete clearing out of Jacob's
AVell, has been seconded by a i)romiso from Miss Peache, of Wimbledon, to give
the remaining £50 required for the work. Miss Peache also offers to give £50
more for the purpose of surrounding and protecting the well with proper stone-
work. The Committee have accepted this proposal of Miss Peache, and desire to
NOTES AND NEWS. 5
record here their grateful sense of this munificence. A design fur tlie stone-work
■will be contributed by Mr. J. D. Grace.
At least three cases have conic to the knowledge of the Secretary during the
year of letters containing stamps being purloined or lost on their way to the
office. It is extremely difficult, even next to impossible, to trace the theft home
in such a case, and the only way to avoid its recuiTcnce is to send subscriptions
by cheqiie or P.O.O., in every case payable to the or J.cr of Walter Besant, and
crossed to Contts and Co. or the Union Bank of London.
The ninth thousand of " Our Work in Palestine " is now in the press, and will
be ready by the end of the month. It contains a full account of the work done,
the results obtained, and the reasons for undertaking the work, down to the
commencement of the Survey. It does not contain any of M. Ganneau's
archajological work, or any account, except a few brief notes, of the Survey.
A special work will probably be issued eventually, containing popular narratives
of these explorations.
The literary remains of the late Mr. C. F. T}Twhitt Drake will be published
early in the year by Messrs. R. Bentley and Son, 8, New Burlington Street. They
will be edited, with a memoir, by Mr. Walter Besant, and will contain, among
other papers, his pamphlet on Modern Jerusalem, his Eeport on the Natural
History of the Desert of the Exodus, materials towards a new Historical and
Archaeological Guide to Palestine, Natural History Notes, Notes on Travel, &c.,
chiefly unpublished. His letters and reports which have appeared iu the
Quarterly Statements of the Fund will not be reproduced in the volume.
The Bishop of Adelaide has informed the Committee that he has established a
Local Committee for the furtherance of ^the Society's objects in his diocese.
Among the members are at present —
The Hon. J. J. Way, Chief Justice ;
The Hon. G. W. Guy, Surveyor-General ;
C. Todd, Esq., Telegraph and Postmaster-General;
Lieutenant-Colonel Barber ;
J. C. Muir, Esq., Engineer-in-Cliief ;
and J. Hyndraan, Esq., Hon. Secretary.
6 XOTES AyiB XEWS.
The following are at present the Diocesan Representatives of the Society : —
Ai'chdeaconry of Hereford : liev. J. S. Stooke-Yaughan, Wellington Heath
Vicarage, Ledbury.
City and neighbourliood of Manchester : Rev. W. F. Birch, St. Saviour's
Rectory.
London : Rev. Henry Geary, 16, Somerset Street, Portman Square.
Norwich : Rev. F. C. Long, Stowupland, Stowmarket.
Peterborough : Rev. A. F. Foster, Farndish Rectory, Wellingborough.
Worcester : Rev. F. W, Holland, Evesham (Member of General and Executive
Committee, and one of the Hon. Secretaries to the Fund).
Dioceses of Canterbury, Rochester, and Winchester : Rev. R. J. Griffiths, 10,
Trafalgar Road, Old Kent Road, S.E.
Diocese of Ripon : Rev. T. C. Henley, Kirkby Malham Vicarage.
Ireland.
Rev. G. J. Stokes, Blackrock, Dublin.
While desiring to give every publicity to proposed identifications by officers
of the Fund, the Committee beg it to be distinctly understood that they leave
such proposals to be discussed on their own merits^ and that by publishing them
in the Qicarterhj Statement tlie Committee do not sanction or adopt them.
Annual subscribers are earnestly requested to forward their subscriptions for
the current year when due, at their earliest conV'Cnie'iice, and without waiting for
application. It is best to cross aU cheques and post-office orders to Coutts
and Co.
The Committee are always glad to receive old niunbers of the Quarterly State-
'iiient, especially those which are advertised as out of print. That for January,
1872, is especially wanted.
Ladies desirous of joining the Ladies' Associations are requested to communi-
cate with Mrs. Finn, The Elms, Brook Green, London, W. The full report of
meetings held by Jklrs. Finn during the last ijuarter will be found in the
business sheet.
GRANT OF THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION. /
<;a.se.s for binding the QuarUrhj Statement are now ready, and can be liad on
application to Messrs. 1?. Bentlcy and Son, 8, New Burlington Street. They are
ill green or brown cloth, with the stamp of the Society, uniform in appearance
with " Our Work in Palestine," and are sold at the price of one shilling.
Lieut. Kitchener's Guinea Book of Biblical Photographs is now ready, and can
be bought at ilr. Stanford's establishment, 55, Charing Cross. It contains
twelve] views, with a short account of each. They are mounted on tinted boards,
and handsomely bound.
GRANT OF THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION.
The following is the Report of the Committee, consisting of Major AMlson,
K.E., and Mr. Kavenstein, appointed for the pui-pose of furthering the Palestine
Explorations : —
The sum of £100, granted at the last meeting of the British Association for the
inirpose of furthering the Palestine explorations, was paid over by Major Wilson
to the Palestine Exploration Fund, with a request that the wishes of the General
Committee of the Association, as expressed in their resolution, might be carried
out.
No complete account of the work of the last twelve months has yet been
received from Lieutenant Conder, R.E., the officer in charge of the Survey ; but
from his monthly reports to the Committee of the Fund, it would appear that,
since the grant of £100 was made, the triangulation of Palestine has been carried
southwards as far as Beersheba, and that a large tract of interesting country, in-
cluding the plain of Philistia and the southern slopes of the mountains of Judah,
has been surveyed and plotted on a scale of one inch to a mile.
Amongst other results have been the recovery of several ancient sites, and
the corrections of many errors in the topography of Southern Palestine.
Lieutenants Conder and Kitchener, E.E., were recently engaged in running
a line of levels from the Mediterranean to the Sea of Galilee ; but this work
was unfortunately stopped by the attack made upon Lieutenant Conder and his
party by the people of Safed.
Lieutenant Conder, who was badly wounded, has been unable to send a full
report on the levelling ; but in a letter written shortly before the afiray he
mentioned that more than ten miles, or about one third of the levelling, had been
completed, and gave some details of the manner in which the work was being
carried out. The line of levels was being run by two independent oba?rvers
(non-commissioned officers from the Ordnance Survey) ; bench-marks were being
cut at frequent intervals, and their position fixed by a line of traverse survey
8 ITIXERAEIES OF OVR LORD.
from the Mediterranean to the Sea of Galilee, which will be laid down on tho-
one-iuch sixrvey.
Lieiitenant-General Sir Henry James, the Director-General of the Ordnance
Survey, was kind enough to lend instruments for the work, and he lias taken
much interest in its progress.
In consefiuence of the attack on the Survey party and the spread of cholera,
it has been decided to withdraw Lieutenant Conder and his staff from Talestine
for the present ; but as soon as the Survey is recommenced the levelling will bfr
completed.
ITINEEAEIES OF OUE LOED.
In the history of our Lord's life and labours no subject is of deeper-
interest (apart "from tbe purely sacred aspect of His work) than the
itineraries. Yet no special and continuous study has been given to this
important subj^-ct. Every one who writes about the Sacred Story has,
of course, to mention His various journeys, and to mention that Ho
went up to Jerusalem for the great feasts and returned to His home in
Galilee. Certain points in these journeys are, of course, fixed points.
Our Lord is at Bethlehem, at Nazareth, at Jerusalem, at Jericho, at
Sychar, at Cana, at Capernaum, at Bethany, and so forth. But the
roads by which He travelled from place to place have not been scien-
tifically laid down. We are not certain, as yet, by which road He came
up from the Jordan valley to Jerusalem. There was a great military-
highway from Jericho to Jerusalem by way of Bethany. This was
probably the road usually followed by the Teacher and His disciples.
But there was another road by way of Wady Farah— a less frequented
road. It is probable that road passed by iEnon, the place where John
baptized. If it can be proved, as I think it can, that JEnon lay on
or near this second road from Jeiicho to Jerusalem, we shall have a
fixed point in this part of our Lord's journeyings.
The whole subject invites evidence and discussion, and the attention
of special students of New Testament archaeology cannot be too seriously
called to it. I shall be glad to see the matter taken up and elucidated
by our subscribers and correspondents in the next and following-
Quarterly Statements.
^y. Hepworth Dixon.
• • • c c *
.fl « « « • •
.. • ■;
« « c c <
9
DECENT EXCAVATIONS AT JERUSALEM, r.Y IIEER
C. SCHICK, K. K. BAURATII.
I HAVE, on more than one occasion, drawn attention to tlie good
work Avhicli my friend Mr. Schick is doing in a quiet way at Jerusalem,
by ascertaining the actual level of the original rock surface whenever it
is exposed, and I have now much pleasure in communicating a short
note on an excavation recently made by him which will be of interest to
those who make a study of Jerusalem topography.
It appears that some time last year, the ground, at a point a little-
east of the bazaars, suddenly gave way, carrying with it a fig-tree and
several bushes of cactus, and leaving a large crater or depression in thfr
surface. For some months occasional earth-slips took place, and it
became evident that the debris was finding its way into one or more
subterranean chambers ; the ground was at the time considered too
dangerous for examination, but last summer Mr. Schick was requested
by the Pacha to investigate the whole matter. It soon appeared that
the earth had been riuming away into a great chamber over 100ft. long
and 17ft. 6iQ. wide, and that the cause of the slip had been the sudden
fall of a portion of the covering arch. The interesting point is,
that in the floor of the chamber, which is entirely of rock, we have
presented to view a larger area of the original surface of the ground on
which Jerusalem stands than has hitherto been exposed within the city
walls. We have, too, not only the depth of rubbish at a point near
which there were few previous rock levels, but the actual fall of the
rock over a distance of 100ft. in a north and south direction, or com-
biaed with the known level of the rock in the street to the north, a.
section over more than 200ft.
I was hardly prepared for the great accumulation of rubbish, 80ft., at
this particular place, or for the rapid fall in the rock, 1 in 4, towards
the south, Avhich seems to indicate that the valley running eastward
from near the Jaffa Gate is deeper than has generally been supposed,
and that it may perhaps partake of the ravine nature of the valley
examined by Captain Warren under Eobinson's Arch. The section from
east to west, though only ITft. 6in. long, is of value as showing a steady
fall of the rock towards the east, and thus indicating that the axis of
the spur between the valleys from the Jaffa and Damascus Gates has
been passed.
Mr. Schick's investigation has also proved that the bazaar called on
the Ordnance Map of Jerusalem, ^^^^^ scale, Suk-al-Khowajat, formerly
extended as far north as the other two bazaars, and has brought more
prominently to notice the great depth of rubbish on which all the bazaars
stand.
The long cistern or chamber is parallel to the bazaars, and as it was
evidently not originally intended to be used as a cistern, we may perhaps
have in it the line of one of the streets of ancient Jerusalem. The-
10 TAEICHE.T; AND BETHSAIDA.
cliamber, at any rate, offers a favourable base of operations for an ex-
ploration of this part of tlae city, as galleries could be driven in several
directions to examine the gi'ound.
I take this opportunity of pointing out the great importance of collecting
and registering in a methodical manner the levels of the rock exposed from
time to time at Jerusalem, as it is only by obtaining a correct idea of the
topographical features of the ancient city that we can hope to under-
stand Josephus. Mr. Schick has published amongst Zimmermann's maps
of ancient Jerusalem a map showing the original features of the ground,
and coming from such an authority it is of considerable interest ; but
we have, unfortunately, none of the data used in its construction. There
Axe still places at Jerusalem where it is impossible to say what the
rubbish conceals, and any map showing, by contours, the natural features
•of the ground, must for the present be considered premature, or at most
suggestive. How much is still left to the imagination of the draughts-
man may be inferred from the fact that on a line joining the Church of
the Holy Sepulchre with the Dome of the Rock, a most important part
of the city, there is not a single rock level. It is to be hoped that some
day Mr. Schick may find time to prepare a table of rock levels for pub-
lication, for since Cajit. Warren left the city our knowledge of under-
ground Jerusalem is almost entirely due to him, the excavations of
M. Ganneau and Mr. Maudslay being, I think, the only exceptions.
December 5th, 1876. C. W. W.
THE SITES OF TAEICHEiE AND BETHSAIDA. .
A COXVERSATIOX with M. Ganneau some time ago relative to the
positions of Taricheie and Bethsaida, two important places On the
shores of the Sea of Galilee, led me again to examine the question of
.their respective sites, and to modify considerably the opinion expressed
in the "Recovery of Jerusalem" with regard to that of the former
place. Lieut. Conder's approaching return to Palestine offers a favour-
able opportunity for examining these questions on the ground, and the
following notes may draw his attention to certain points which might
otherwise escape notice.
Taricheoe. — In 1866 I too hastily assumed that Dr. Robinson and other
distinguished travellers were right in identifying Taricheaj with Kerak,
the mound covered with shapeless ruins which occupies such an im-
portant strategical position at the point where the Jordan leaves the
lake, but a careful perusal of Josephus leaves no doubt in my mind that
Taricheaj was north and not south of Tiberias. Tarichea3 appears to
have been a place of considerable importance, and to have played a con-
spicuous part in the Roman campaign against the Jews in Galilee, as
well as in the troubled times which preceded it ; the description of its
capture by the Romans, and of the great naval engagement on the Lake
TARIOnE.E AXD BETHSAIDA. 11
Avhicli followed, is amongst the most graphic and interesting passages
of Josephus, and to this I must refer the reader for fuller detail than
space will now allow. The description is contained in B. J. iii. 0. 7,
8, and 10. 1, and there are other passages in the Life.
To summarise briefly, Vespasian, whilst enjoying the hospitality of
Agrippa at Csesarea Philippi (Banias), determines to make an expedition
against the two cities Tiberias and Taricheaj, and sends Titus to bring
up troops from the maritime Csesareato Scythopolis (Beisan), the largest
city of Decapolis, situated in the Jordan Valley a few miles south of
the Sea of GaUlee. Vespasian proceeds to Scythopolis and, on the
arrival of Titus, marches against Tiberias with three legions, and pitches
his camp at a place called Sennabris* in full view of the city and thirty
stadia (three and three-quarter miles) from it. A decurion, Valerian,
with fifty horsemen is sent forward to hold a parley with the peace
party in the city, but being treacherously attacked whilst on foot, he is
obliged to retire ; upon this the chief men of the city, fearing Vespasian's
wrath, fly to the Roman camp and ofier their submission, whilst the
members of the war party who had attacked Valerian deem it prudent
to run away to Tarichesc. The next day Trajan is sent forward to secure
the citadel, and the gates are thrown oi:)cn to the Eoman army, but as it
"was a great while in getting in at the gates, they were so narrow,
Vespasian commanded the south wall to be broken do\vn, and so made a
broad passage for their entrance."
After the capture of Tiberias, Vespasian pitches his camp between
that city and Tarichese, and fortifies it strongly, "suspecting that he
should be obliged to stay there and have a long war ; " the soldiers were,
* M. Ganueau, in his paper on Hippos, adds an interesting note on the
subject of .^nnabris, from which it ajipears that during a skirmish between Bald-
win and the Saracens the latter were camped near a place called El-fakkharin in the
Jordan Valley, whilst the former were at Sinnabra, near the Jordan, opposite the
ascent of Fik, and three miles from Tiberias ; there was also a bridge of Sinnabra
which played an important part in the fight. Josephus, B. J. iv, 8. 2, says
<;ennabrin (Sennabris) was a village at the commencement of the Ghor or Great
Plain ; Schwarz mentions a ruin called Sinabri, and in Baedeker's Guide I find
•Sennabris (Es Sinnabra) identified with Kerak. There is no difficulty in identify-
inst the ruins of the old bridge which connected Kerak with the eastern bank of
Jordan with the bridge of Sinnabi-a of the fight ; but Kerak itself does not answer to
the Sennabris of Josephus, as it is too far from Tiberias, and is not visible from that
place. There are, however, some inconsiderable ruins, such as would be left by
a ^ illage, situated on the slope of the hills which run down to the lake south
of Tiberias, within full view of the ruins of the old town, and exactly at the
required distance, 3| miles, from them. Here, where there is space for Ves-
pasian's camp, and where the level ground in the Jordan Valley commences,
was probably Sennabris, and it is not unlikely that the name, after lingering to
the middle ages, may still be known to the fellahin of Semakh or the Ard el
Huma. Whether the form Gennabrin given by Josephus, like Gennesareth,
may retain traces of the old name Chinnereth, is a question for consideration.
12 TAEICHE.E AND BETHSAIDA.
however, attacked whilst forming the camp, and it appears never to
have been completed.
We here have Vespasian advancing northwards from Scythopolis to
Tiberias, entering the latter city over its south wall, and passing on to
camp between Tiberias and Tarichete ; this cannot be reconciled with
any theory placing Taricheae south of Tiberias, or with the position
assigned in the note, with some probability, to Sennabris ; we are there-
fore led to the conclusion that Taricheae was north of Tiberias.
The actual position of Taricheae must be determined by the topo-
graphical indications given by Josephus. They arc briefly as follows.
The city was " situated like Tiberias, at the bottom of a mountain ; and
on those sides which are not washed by the sea, had been strongly
fortified by Josephus, though not so strongly as Tiberias." A great
many ships fitted for sea-fights were possessed by the people. There
was a plain "before the city," on which a number of Jewish soldiers,
sufficient to make Titus and 60Q horsemen hesitate before attacking
them, were assembled. Vespasian sends 2,000 archers " to seize upon
the mountain that was over against the city, and repel those that were
upon the wall, which archers did as they were commanded, and pre-
vented those that attempted to assist them that way." Titus extends
his horse, and charging across the plain, cuts his way through the Jews :
but their numbers were so great they were able to force their way
into the city; a tumult ensues between the peace and war parties, and
taking advantage of this, Titus rides down to the lake, and marching
along its shore enters the city. This manoeuvre appears to have discon-
certed the Jews, and a great slaughter followed, many being " slain as
they were getting into their ships." In his Life, par. 32, Josephus
states that Tarichcie was thirty stadia (three and three-quarter miles)
from Tiberias ; and the size of the place may be inferred from the
numbers, 45,000, said to have been killed, sold as slaves, or otherwise
disposed of at the time of the capture. The numbers are evidently much
exaggerated, but they still indicate a large place.
Now, just three and three-quarter miles from the ruins of old Tiberias
(south of the modern town), towards the north, is Mejdel (Magdala),
and here it seems to me must have been Taricheae. I find from my note-
book that a considerable extent of ground at Mejdel is covered with
remains of foundations, apparently those of houses, and that these ruins
can be traced to the shore of the lake, where there is the tomb of a
sheikh shaded by a large tree. Behind the village itself the cliif rises
abruptly, about 1,000 feet, to the plateau on which Irbid lies. We have
at Mejdel all the requirements of Josephus's narrative ; it lies at the foot
of a hill like Tiberias ; it appears at one time to have extended to the
lake ; the beach is admirably suited for drawing up war galleys ; there
is some level ground to the south on which the fight may have taken
place; the cliff overhanging the landward face of the town would
enable the archers "to repel those that were ujion the wall," and the
shallowness of the lake at this point would be favourable to the form of
attack adopted by Titus.
MEGIDDO. 13
The position of Mejdel is of some importance, commanding tiie north,
end of the road passing by Tiberias along the western shore of the lake to
the Jordan Valley, and I would suggest that there was originally nothing
more than a small fortified position, the IMigdol, Magadan, or Magdala of
the Bible ; that afterwards the town spread down to the shores of the
lake, receiving the name of Tarichese ; that this new to\vn was fortified
by Josephus, the old Migdol becoming the citadel; and that on the
captui-e and destruction of the town by Vespasian the place sank into
insignificance. As in many other cases, the later name may have faUen
into disuse, and the original name, under the form Mejdel, may have
survived to the present daj'. The camping-place of A^espasian, half-way
between Tiberias and Tarichea?, would be the plain of Ain Barideh, on
which, according to a very early Christian tradition, the o,000 were fed.
There are other minor points connected with the question which need
not be entered upon at present.
Betlisaida. — In the " Eecovery of Jerusalem," p. 375 — 3ST, I gave my
reasons for believing that there was only one Bethsaida, afterwards
called Juhas, at the point at which the Jordan enters the lake. At the
time of the visit of Captain Anderson and myself the Jordan was in
flood, and the state of the country very unfavourable for examination.
We were, however, stopped in our progress over the plain by a deep
arm or backwater of the lake, which is shown on the map of the 8ea of
Galilee, and it has struck me that this may have been either an old bed
of the Jordan, or an artificial cutting made to isolate the site of Beth-
saida-Julias in the same way as Kerak is isolated at the point where the
Jordan leaves the lake. It would almost seem from the map that this
backwater was the former outlet of the Jordan, and that the river now
follows the course of an old artificial ditch; and if this were the case, it
is easy to see how Bethsaida may have been sometimes considered as
belonging to Galilen. Lieut. Conder will probably have an ojiportunity
of visiting the ground when the water is lower and the country not
flooded, and I think the question of the original course of the Jordan at
this point one well worthy of examination. A few small excavations
amongst the ruins between the Jordan and the backwater might also
serve to throw light on the question.
Novemler 11, 1876. C. W. W.
MEGIDDO.
I.
There are few places in Palestine which possess more general interest
for students of the Bible than does the ancient Cauaanite city of Megiddo.
It was here that the death of Josiah, King of Judah and ruler, apparently,
of the greater part of Palestine, closed the history of the Jewish monarchy,
being immediately followed by the defeat, at Carchemish, of the victo-
rious Necho, the siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar (2 Chron. xxxv.,
14 MEGIDPO.
xxxvi.), and the captivity of the children of Judah. To the student
of prophecy, again, it is of importance as identical with the "place
called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon " (hill of Megiddo) (Eev. xvi.
16). It is curious to find that so important a site has been identified by
Dr. Robinson on such ajiparently insufficient evidence.
Megiddo will be found on the map placed about four miles north of
Taanul-, the ancient Taanach, at the large ruin of Lejjfni, on the western
edge of the great plain of Esdraelon. Lejjun is undoubtedly the ancient
Legio, a place well known in the fourth century, and mentioned by
Jerome as being four miles north of Taanach. There is, however, nothing
to connect Legio with the Biblical Megiddo.
The arguments in favour of the site are three.
1st. That Megiddo is mentioned in many passages in connection with
Taanach, and was therefore probably near it.
2nd. That we find, in Judges v. 19, the expression, " then fought the
kings of Canaan in Taanach, by [Heb. Al, "over"] the waters of
Megiddo," pointing to the same connection.
3rd. In Zechariah xii. 11 we read " the mourning of Hadadrimmon in
the valley of Megiddon." This word is taken by Jerome to be the name
of a town, and he identifies it as being the place called in his time
Maximianopolis, " in Campo Magiddo." The distances given by the
Bordeau Pilgrim serve to fix Maximianopolis at or near the present
village 0^ Itiimmaneh, near Taanach, as discoveredbyVandevelde, whence
the identification made by Jerome ; and hence Jerome's supposition that
the " plain of Legio " (the modern MerJ Ihn 'Amir) is equivalent to the
" valley of Megiddon " comes to \)Q accepted.
It will be noticed that none of these arguments fix Megiddo at Lejjun,
which is only adopted as the most important site near both Taanach and
the Hadadrimmon of Jerome, in a place well supplied with water, and
which in the fourth century gave its name to the great plain. Insuffi-
cient as these arguments evidently are, they have been pretty generally
accepted, in default of any better proposition, and in consequence of the
very scanty information as to the position of Megiddo which can be
gleaned from the historical books of the Bible.
There are, however, at the outset, objections even to these arguments
which may be stated as follows : —
1st. Megiddo is often mentioned in connection with places farther
east in the Jordan valley.
2nd. The battle in which Sisera was defeated was not fought at
Taanach or Megiddo, but near Mount Tabor. This is to be gathered
from the Biblical account (Judges iv.), and it is clearly stated by
Josephus that Barak camped " at Mount Tabor. . . . Sisera met them ,
and pitched not far from the enemy " (Antiq. v. 5. 3) ; an account in
strict accordance with the expression, " And I will draw unto thee to the
river Kishon Sisera" (Judges iv. 7), for the sources of the Kishon are at
the place called d ]\fiijahri/('h, or " the springhead," where is to be found
an extensive chain of pools and springs, "about three miles west of the
foot of Mount Tabor.
MEGIDDO. ^ 1;>
Thus the site of this famous battle is almost identical with that of
Napoleon's battle of Mount Tabor, and the advantage obtained by Barak
in his impetuous descent from the mountain on the enemy in the
plain is evident. Had the battle taken place at Taanach, he would have
had to come the whole width of the great plain, and would have attacked
from low ground the enemy on the spurs of the hills far away from the
main bed of the Kishon. The words " in Taanach," therefore, mentioned
in connection with the " waters of Megiddo," over which the kings
fought, must either be taken to be a district name applying to all the
plain, of which Taanach was the capital, or it must be translated to its
meaning, " sandy soil." This term is evidently derived, in the case of
the town of Taanach, from the loose, basaltic soil in its neighbourhood ;
and the same soil is found all over the great plain and in the immediate
neighbourhood of Tabor.
3rd. As regards Hadadrimmon, it is sufficient to remark that Jerome's
identifications are often extremely misleading, that Megiddo wass-
evidently unknown at his time, that it is doubtful whether Hadadrim-
mon was the name of a town or of a pagan deity, and that the
Hebrew word Bilcah, rendered "valley," is not properly applicable
(judging by other instances) to a broad plain like that of Esdraelon, but
rather to a great valley such as that leading down to the Jordan at
Beisan.
The discovery that there is an important ruin in the neighbourhood
of Beisan, called MejedcVa, led me to re-examine the question with the
view of seeing whether the site would fit the various requisites of the
case, and the arguments appear to me sufficiently favourable to bear
discussion.
II.
Megiddo occurs in connection with other towns in the following
passages : —
Josh. xii. 20, 21.
Shimron Meron (in Upper Galilee).
Achshaph (near Accho).
Taanach (west of the great plain).
Megiddo.
Kedesh.
Jokneam (west of the great plain).
Again: Josh. xvii. 11.
Bethshean (in the Jordan valley).
Ibleam (probably in the same direction).
Dor.
Endor (near the Jordan valley).
Taanach (west of the great plain).
Megiddo.
Again ; Judges i. 27. '
Bethshean.
IG , MEGIDDO.
Taanach.
Dor.
Ibleam.
Megiddo.
Again : 1 Cliron. vii. 29.
Betbsliean.
Taanacli.
Megiddo.
Dor.
Lastly : 1 Kings iv. 12, Solomon's 5th district included.
Taanach.
Megiddo.
Bethsliean.
Zartanah (below Jezreel).
It is evident that a position near Beisan is not at variance with the
Tarious notices of Megiddo in these j)assages.
Placing Megiddo in this position, the " valley of Megiddon " becomes
the great A^alley leading down from Jezreel to Bethshean, and the
" waters of Megiddo " the strong stream of the Nahr Jalud, which
receives a considerable supply from numerous large springs round the
site, called MejedcCa. We are thus brought much closer to the neigh-
bourhood of Tabor, where the battle was fought by the "kings of
Canaan " against Barak ; nor is the distance from Taanach itself very
great, as it is situate 14i English miles west of the proposed site at
MejediVa.
Two other passages remain in which Megiddo is mentioned : 1st, the
account of Amariah's flight from Jehu ; and, 2nd, the battle of Megiddo,
in which Josiah lost his life.
Amariah flying from Jehu " by the way of the garden house" [Betli-
hacj-Genn) was slain "by Ibleam. And he fled to Megiddo, and died
there " (2 Kings ix. 27). The town of Jema is generally supposed to
represent the garden house, but the explanation of the topography on
this supposition is extremely confused, as it obliges us to trace the
flight southwards from Jezreel, and afterwards back northwards (that
is to say, aioay from Jerusalem) to the supposed site of Megiddo at
Lejjun.
If, however, we suppose the Beth-hag -Genu, or " garden house," to be
the modern Beit Jenn, the flight of Amariah was directed northwards ;
and there exists in a position intermediate between Jezreel and Beit
■Jenn a site called BeVamth, which may very probably represent Ibleam.
In this case the King of Judah by a detour would have reached Megiddo,
lying on his route towards Jerusalem along the Jordan valley, and it is
worthy of notice that all the district thus supposed to have been
traversed is suitable for the passage of a wheeled vehicle.
As regards the battle of Megiddo there is but little to be said. The
Egyptian records make it pretty clear that the route across Pales-
tine, usually followed by the Egyptian armies, was the same as that by
MEQIDDO. 17
which the Midianltes descended into Egypt with Joseph, Following
the great plain northwards until the high Judean watershed and the great
Samaritan chains were passed, it struck across the lower hills and
emerged into the plains near Dothan. Thence along the great plain
of Esdraelon it led towards the valley of Jezreel, and descended by
Bethshan to the fords of Jordan at the Makhddet 'Abdra. Here the road
crossed into the plain below the plateau of Mount Gilead, and so con-
tinued eastwards towards the empire of Assyria.
There can be but little doubt that this was the route pursued by
Necho, being the shortest and easiest which he could choose in crossing;
Palestine; and on this route we find the ruin of Mejedd'a, whilst Lejjiia
lies some mUes to the north of the line. Still further, there is no point
at which the King of Judah would be more likely to intercept the ad-
vance of the Egyptians. To toil over the mountains of Judea, to pass--
the hostile district of Samaria, to camp at a spot north of the enemy's
line of march, and thus to cut himself from his own base of opera-
tions, would have been a dangerous and difficult, and yet further, an
extremely improbable course for Hezekiah to pursue ; but an advance
along the highway of the Jordan valley into a strong position on the
flank of the enemy, threatening them in their attempt to cross the-
river, would have been an easy and, sti*ategically, a probable proceeding.
Any reader who wiU take the trouble to look for a moment at the map ■
will see that Mejedd'a, near Bethshan, is a natural place of meeting for
the Egyptian and Jewish armies.
As far, then, as the scanty indications obtainable from Biblical ac-
counts are concerned, there is fair reasons for identifying Megiddo
with the present Mejedd'a,
III.
In three ancient Egyptian documents, Megiddo is mentioned in con— ■
nection with other towns, namely : — 1st, in the history of Thothmes
III., especially in the document called the *' Battle of Megiddo ;" 2nd.
in the "Travels of a Mohar;" and, 3rd, in the "Geographical List
of Shishak."
With regard to the last, it is sufficient to remark, that though ■
Taanach occurs in the same list it is separated by ten other names ■
from Makedau, which is supposed to represent Megiddo. In the same
way, in the lists of Thothmes III., Megiddo stands first, as being the
objective of the campaign; but Taanach, in company with other places
in the great plain, is to be found in the third group as No. 42 on the
list.
It remains to see how the other documents fit with the new site, for
the difficulties which arise in endeavouring to reconcile these with the
generally accepted position at Lejjfm are very considerable.
The Egyptian advance is described with considerable niinutenesp.
from the "fortress of the land of Sharuana," where the troops as-
C
18 MEGIDDO.
sembled. The advice of the allied chiefs, with regard to the line of
march, is given as follows (see " Eecords of the Past," vol. i., p. 39) : —
I.INE.
26. " They say in reply to his Majesty what is it like going on this
road
'11. which leads along so narrow . . .
31. The enemy were standing at the main roads
32. of Aaaruna they will not fight. Now as to the course of the main
roads.
33. One of the roads it leads . . . us . . .
34. of the land Aanaka the other leads to
-35. the north road of G-euta. Let us proceed to the north of
Maketa.
36. How will our mighty Lord march on (the way in triumph there)
Let his Majesty make
37. us to go on that secret road."
This advice was, however, rejected by the king with contempt. "I
^vill go on this road of Aaaruna," said Thothmes, " if there be any
going on it," and a march over difficult country followed, the third
fragment commencing as follows : —
LINE.
1. " Aaruna the powerful troops of his Majesty followed to
2. Aaruna the van coming forth to the valley.
3. They filled the gap of that valley.
12. (It was the time of) noon when his Majesty reached the south
of Maketa on the shore of the waters of Kaina it being the
seventh hour from noon his Majesty pitched . . .
14. The south horn of the army of his Majesty was at the shore of
Kaina the northern horn to the north-west of Maketa."
In j)reviously discussing the question of this march, I found consider-
able difficulty in reconciling these details with the position of Megiddo
at Lejjun. As I had then occasion to explain, the site of Arrdneh
would fit well with the Aaruna of the list of Shishak, but could not be
reconciled with the present account, supposing Megiddo to be cor-
rectly identified. (See Quarterly Statement, April, 1876, pp. 90, 91.)
In the same way we are obliged to seek for Kaina south of Megiddo,
and this identification is easily made with the important ruin of Ka\m
in the Jordan valley, supposing Megiddo to be at the newly proposed
site.
The route may probably be traced as follows : —
The main road from Jerdn towards Egypt passes, as I have had
occasion to explain pi-eviously, along the plain north of Dothan ; the
easiest route then follows one of the spurs to the north of '-dlr?'a6e/i,^nd
descends by the villages of Kefr Ba'i, 'EUar, and ^Attil, to the plain of
MEGIDBO. 19
Sharon. A little to tlie north is the strong site called Jett, -which
wovild seem to be the Geuta or Gethuna of Thothmes.
A second road passing through Jett leads across more open country
to the neighbourhood of Lejjun, and thence descends by Jezreel into
the Jordan valley, north of Mejedd'a. This is probably the route which
the allied chiefs proposed to follow, and though longer it is undoubtedly
easier than the former.
The valley of Aaruna, first reached by the troops of Thothmes, is
probably the plain of Esdraelon, in which 'Ardiieh now stands. It does
not appear clearly whether they attacked a town of that name, but we
understand that they advanced to Kaina, south of Maketa, and conse-
quently we must suppose the main body at least to follow the line of
the Eoman road eastwai'ds from Jenin to the site of Ka'ilii, in the
Jordan valley, four Eoman miles south of Mejedd'a. The northern
horn, which was on the next day to the north-west of Maketa, may very
possibly have taken a more direct route by the old road through
'Arraneh across Mount Gilboa.
As regards the time required for these operations. From the plain
of Shai'on to Jenin is a distance of fifteen Roman miles, which might
probably be traversed in five hours, aud from Jenin to Mejedd'a, or to
Ka'un, is some ten miles farther, or three hours. Thus, leaving the
neighbourhood of Geuta at 4 a.m., Thothmes might easily have ai'rived
by noon at the " shores" or border of Kaina.
This explanation of the topography is not only consistent in itself,
but the new position of Megiddo serves to confirm the identifications
proposed by me for several places in the Geographical List. (See
Quarterly Statement, July, 1876, p. 146.) Thus Nos. 9 and 10, Eaba and
Tutina {Baha and U?nm et Tut), are now on the line of march, and Nos.
14, 15, Atara and Abara {et Tireh and el Bireh), in the Jordan valley,
are a little to the north of the new site for Megiddo.
Turning to the journey of the Mohar, we find the new site for
Megiddo also presents less difficulty than the old. (See Quarterly State-
ment, April, 1876, p. 81.) In this document Megiddo appears in com-
pany with Beithsheal {JBeisdn), Bohob {Sheikh Arehdh), and the fords of
Jelden {Wady Jalud), and it would seem to be close to the latter, if we
accept the most simple rendei-ing of the words :
" The fords of Jelden, how does one cross them ? let me know the
passage to enter Mageddo."
The difficult country of which the Mohar is wax'ned lay apparently
west of Mageddo, and to avoid it he makes a detour. This is easily
explained if we accept the new site for Megiddo at the foot of Gilboa,
and suppose the Mohar to follow that same north road along the valley
of Jezreel, which was recommended by the allied chiefs to Thothmes,
and which necessitates a considerable detour before joining the direct
road to Egypt.
As far, then, as this document is concei*ned, the site is possible, and,
indeed, fits in a remarkable manner. Thus not only do the lists of the
20 NOTES FROM THE MEMOIR.
Old Testament and those of Thothmes and of Shishak all allow of the
proposed identification, but the site allows us to trace in a satisfactory
manner the routes pursued by successive expeditions in various direc-
tions, namely, that of Thothmes advancing from the south-west, that
of the Mohar reaching Megiddo from the north, and that of Pharaoh
Necho in his direct advance on Carchemish.
IV.
It only remains to investigate the relations between the Hebrew and
Arabic words, and to describe the site.
The Hebrew word Megiddo is apparently derived from the root
Jeded (to cut down). It is certain that the translators who rendered
Zech. xii. 1 1 regarded it in that light, for the Greek reading in this
passage has eKKoirrofj.evos, where the English has Megiddon. This root,
Jeded, is synonymous in its meanings with another Hebrew root, Jed'a,
with the guttural Ain, also meaning " to cut down." In Arabic, how-
ever, the root Jed'a only has this meaning, " to cut down ;" thus the
Arabic dei'ivative, Mejedi'a, is the equivalent in meaning of the Hebrew
Megiddo ; and the fact that the Ai-abic root, Jedd, has no connection
with the Hebrew Jeded, but means " to be large or great," explains in
a satisfactory manner the existence of the guttural in the Arabic which
is not found in the Hebrew.
Mejedd'a means *' the grazing place," or place cut down by sheep. It
is not improbable that this may be the original meaning of the name
Megiddo, as the site is situate in a part of the country where a plentiful
supply of water produces a large crop of hei'bage during the greater
part of the year.
As regards the site itself, it resembles most of the more ancient cities
of Palestine in presenting nothing beyond huge mounds of debris, with
traces of ruins rendered indistinguishable by age. It has every appear-
ance of having been at one time a place of importance, and no less than
four springs exist close to it, the water being clear and good, and a con-
siderable stream flowing north-east from the ruins to join the NuJn-
Jalud. The distance from Jenin is ten Roman miles, and from Beiadn
about four.
These notes may perhaps serve to show that a place of great im-
portance, previously identified on very insufficient grounds, has been
recovered by the Survey pai-ty. The name Mejedd'a will, howevei", be
found on Murray's new map.
C. R. C.
NOTES FEOM THE MEMOIR.
The following points have been noticed in preparing the nomen-
clature of the southern sheets of the map since the publication of the
last Quarterly State/aent.
NOTES FKOM THE MEMOIR- 21
Jerusalem Sheet. — During the three months in which the non-com-
missioned officers were left at Jerusalem in the summer of 1874, they
were employed in the revision of Major Wilson's Survey of Jerusalem,
to bring it up to date. Following our usual plan, they were instructed
to endeavour to obtain every native name in the environs, and in this
they received most valuable assistance from Dr. Chaplin and other
residents. The result is the addition of nearly eighty Arabic names
within the boundaries of the six-inch Survey, but outside the walls of
the city, the nomenclature within which had already been most carefully
studied, as is evident to all who consult the larger scale-map of
Jerusalem.
One of the most curious discoveries resulting from this work relates to
Zion.
(1.) Zio7i has been placed by diiferent authorities in very different
positions, and generally has been thought by modern writers, as by the
early Christians, to refer to the higher hUl on which the upper city of
Josephus stood. The name, however, has never been recovered. Ac-
cording to Gesenius it means " sunny," and the proper equivalent iu
Arabic or in Syriac, according to this same authority, is Sahyun. It is a
remarkable fact that about one and three-quarter mUes west of the
Jaffa Gate there exists a valley having exactly this name, Wddy Sahyiln.
It runs southwards towards the Convent of the Cross, and debouches on
the plain near Beit Sufafa ; duriag part of its course it is called Wddy
'Ammdr, apparently meaniag " the cultivated valley." This discovery
may perhaps lead students to consider the name Zion as a district name
rather than that of a particular mountain.*
(2.) Another curious point seems to bear on the question of Millo, the
name of a part of Jerusalem which is rendered Ala-a by the LXX., and
is thus very probably identical with the Acra of Josephus. The root
from which the word is derived has the meaning " to fill up," and hence
it is doubtful whether " a mound " or " a trench filled with water " is to
to be understood. It has apparently escaped notice that the pool west
of Jerusalem, commonly called the Upper Pool of Gihon, has a similar
name. It is called Birket MamUla by Eobinson, and he derives the
name from the Church of St. Mamilla, which is mentioned by Bernhard
the Wise, 780 A.D., as existing near, traces of which still remain. By
the native scribes, however, the word is written Ma Milla, which may
be rendered Water of Millo. The Arabic root Mela means " to fill," and
Ma Meld 11 would mean "full of water," but Milla must come from
another root, Mell, " to hasten," unless it be derived from the Hebrew.
As regards the mediseval St. Mamilla it is important to know if such
a saint existed, as the Crusaders were often in the habit of creating
saints to suit localities, as in the famous instance of St. Architriclinus, at
Cana of Galilee.
(3.) A third point of interest relates to the name Mizpeh. Many
* It is remarkable that in 1334 a.d. Isaac Chelo speaks of Zion as being not
at but near Jerusalem.
22 NOTES FROM THE MEMOIR.
students, including Dean Stanley, are of opinion that a town of this
name stood on the range now identified with Scopus, north of Jeru-
salem. The main objection to this view is that no ruins have been
found in this direction. It will, however, be of interest to scholars to
hear that the name Sufa, which almost exactly represents the Hebrew
Mizpeh, refers, according to oiu- nomenclature, to part of the ridge in
question, which is called 'Arkuh es Suffa, or the " ridge of the view." In
former notes I have spoken of the probable position of the Mizpeh of
Samuel and of the later Mizpeh of Jeremiah.
(4.) Another very curious name occurs in the Jordan valley on
Sheet 18 of the Sui-vey— viz., Wady Mesaadet 'Aisa, "the valley of the
ascension of Jesus." It applies to a large valley leading from the ridge
of the ^Osh el Ohiirdb, a prominent peak north of Jericho, which I have
proposed as identical with the Eock Oreb. This is not far removed
from the traditional scene of the temptation of Christ at the Quarantania
mountain, and it is possible that the name retains some reminiscence of
a monkish tradition making the ^Osh el Ohiirdb the " high mountain "
of the temptation. The question, however, requires further investiga-
tion, for it may also refer to some tradition of Joshua.
The following are scattered over the southern sheets in various direc-
tions : —
(5.) Ashnah. — This town belongs to the Shephelah group (Josh. xv.
33), occurring between Eshtaol {Eshu'a, according to Vandevelde) and
Zanoah {ZanWa, Eobinson). M. Ganneau has proposed 'Aslin, which
supposes the sm to represent the Hebrew shin, the L to take the place
of N, the 'ain for aleph, and a final N not in the Hebrew. It must be
remarked that some of these towns, as well as some of those in the next
group, were certainly north of the boundary of Judah, as given in
Joshua XV. 1 to 12. Mr. Grove points to the probable identity of
Ashnah with the £. Asan of the Onomasticon. This is probably, as I
have already endeavoured to show {Quarterly Statement, July, 1876,
p. 151), the present Beit Shenna, two and a half miles north of 'Amwas.
The only objection to the identification of this spot with Ashnah is that
the place is north of the boundary line of Judah, but the same objection
applies to the sites of Zoreah, Eshtaol, Naameh, Beth Dagon, Adithaim,
and Gederah, which are nevertheless fixed with tolerable certainty,
(6.) Aloth (1 Kings iv. 16), in the tribe of Asher, means " higher
places." It does not appear to have been suggested that this is the
present 'Alia (i.e., " higher place") in a position which seems to fit the
account of the division into districts.
(7.) Beth Dagon. — This is one of the points on the boundary of
Zebulon (Josh. xix. 27). Other points on this line — Zebulon, Neiel, and
Shihor Libnath — I have already noticed, as all leading to the suppo-
sition that the Eiver Belus formed the northern boundary of Zebulon.
Beth Dagon was apparently on this same line, near the western end of
the boundary. This leads to the identification with the large site called
Tell Dauk, which will be found on the Survey sheet close to the banks
NOTES FROM THE MEMOIR. 23
of the Belus. The'cliange is similar to that of the name Dagon, applying-
to a place near Jericho, called afterwards Doch, and now Duk.
(8.) Cities of the Plain. — Our information as to these cities is so slight
that any notes will be of interest. The Eev. W. F. Birch, of Manchester,
suggests to me the identity of Admah with the " City Adam " of Joshua
iii. 16, the modern Damieh probably representing the name at the point
where the plain of Jordan contracts into a narrow valhy. Of Ghomorrah
I have already spoken. Zoar we seem to owe to Dr. Tristram. Sodom
and Zeboim alone remain entirely without a suggestion.
(9.) The Cities of the Midhar (Josh. xv. 61).— This group of six towns
includes Engedi, and they have been sought accordingly in the desert
west of the Dead Sea. The entire absence of ruins or of water in this
district is very much against the supposition that it was ever inhabited.
It would seem more probable that the cities stood on the hills skirting
the desert. The first of these cities has been supposed identical with the
Beth Arabah of Josh. xv. 6 ; but it is worthy of notice that according
to the Talmud there was a place called Beth Arabah near Bethlehem
(see Quarterly Statement, April, 1876, p. 98). Secacah, the third of the-
to-wns in question, may perhaps be the present ruin called Khurlet e$
Sikheh, and also ed Dikkeh east of Jerusalem. Engedi is already well
kno-wn, and it is very tempting to suppose the " city Maleh," or "of
Salt " to be Tell el Milh east of Beersheba. The identification of this
last site with Moladah of the Negeb does not rest on a very secure
basis, and the latter site may prove to be farther west, perhaps at the
present Tell Melciha. Two of the six cities, Nibshan and Middin, remain
-without any suggested site.
(10.) Another question of considerable interest regards the Cities of the
Negeb, some of which belong to Judah, some to Simeon. The total
number of this group is given as twenty-nine in the Hebrew ; but the
number of names as translated in the Authorised Version is no less thaa
thirty-seven. Many of these towns are far south of the limits of the
Survey, such for instance as Kedesh and Hezron, and probably Eder
and Heshmon; but others have been identified as some fifteen miles
north of Beersheba ; and the Negeb included, as we know, the neighbour-
hood of Debir, even farther north. The word Negeb, "dry land," so
evidently refers to the waterless chalky district in the south of Palestine,,
that the limits of the Negeb may very naturally be considered to exist
at the line where the formation changes, giving place to the harder
limestone. In this case the country west of Debir and north of Beer-
sheba must be included in the Negeb, as we know it was included in the
Christian district of Daroma, which is synonymous in meaning.
In this country are a large number of ruins, and their names immedi-
ately recall many of the group of Negeb towns, as will be seen from the
following list of possible identifications : —
1. Hormah (Zephath). Sulifat.
2. Sharuhen. T. esh Sheri'ah.
3. Shilhim. Kh. Shelkhah (?)
24 NOTES FKOM THE MEMOIR.
4. Aslian.
'Aseileh.
5. Etam.
'Aitun.
6. Hazar Susim.
Beit Susin.
HormaJu — The meaning in Hebrew is " destniction," and it is tvnce
nsed (Numb. xxi. 3 ; Judges i. 17) to denote places where a destruction
Tiad been made. There is no reason, however, to conclude that the site
is the same in the two cases, and indeed the fact that the historical
origin is different in each case, seems clearly to point to two sites.
The town in question was called Sephath, and only named Hormah after
its destruction; some of the towns in its neighbourhood may be
identified as being north-west of Beersheba, hence geographically the
site of Sulifdt would be suitable, whilst it represents the Hebrew
Zephath more closely than any formerly proposed name. Close to
Sulifat is a large mound called Tell Hora, in which name possibly we
liave a trace of the second name Hormah.
(11.) Berea. — The account of the advance of Bacchides on Jerusalem
(1 Mace. ix. 4 ; Ant. xii. 11), contains some points of topography little
understood. The town of Berea where he encamped is called apparently
Beth Zetho by Josephus. Judas Maccabeus encamped at Eleasa, or,
.according to another reading, at Adasa. Bethzetho is thought to be
a corrupt reading for Berzetha. Eleasa was apparently farther from
Jerusalem than Berea. The defeated troops were pursued to Mount
Azotus (or Aza, according to Josephus) (1 Mace. ix. 4). Bacchides was
. advancing from Arbela in Galilee, and the mention of Adasa shows that
the place of the battle is north of Jerusalem.
The Survey clears up the whole of this question in a remarkable
.manner, by the following identifications : —
1. Berea. el Bireh.
2. Adasa. Khurbet 'Adaseh.
Bir ez Zeit.
3. Berzetho. )
4. Mount Azotus. j
5. Eleasa. Khurbet H'asa.
(12.) Janoah, a town of Naphtali, probably the modern Yamikh, near
the western limits of the territory of this tribe (2 Kings xv. 29). This
is, I believe, a new identification.
(13.) Oiloh (Josh. XV. 51) is possibly the present Khurbet Jala.
(14.) Jeshua (Neh. xi. 2G), a town near Beersheba, is very probably
'the important ruin of S'nwi in this direction ; the letters being the
same with a slight introversion.
(15.) Makaz (1 Kings iv. 9).— Possibly the modem Kh. Makkus, written
with the Had.
(16.) Rahhith, a town of Issachar (Josh. xix. 20). The two next towns
on the list are unknown, though Abez might perhaps be the modem
Yahid ; but Rabbith seems very probably towards the southern limits of
the tribe. In this direction we find the modem Raba, a place of import-
NOTES FROM THE MEMOIR. 25
ance, situate soutli-east of Jenin, and due east of Bdnwlc, supposed to
be the Eemeth of Issachar.
(17.) Sarid. — This place is one of the unknown points on the southern
boundary of Zebulon (Josh. xix. 10-12). It is to be sought near the
north boundary of the great plain, and between Chisloth {Iksal) and
Jokmeam {Tell Keimun). This is the position of the large ruin Tell Shad-
dud. It is possible that we should read Shadid instead of Sharid, and
this supposition is strengthened by the LXX. reading SeSSook. The
confusion of D and E, in Hebrew and Aramaic is Avell known to be of
constant occurrence.
(18.) Tirzah. — This important town, once the capital of Israel, has
been identified (though not with great confidence) by Eobinson as being
the modern Tullvza.
The argument in favour of the site cannot be taken from similarity of
name, because the Arabic ta does not properly represent the teth, nor
does the 7.ain ever take the place of tzadi as far as yet proved. The
double L also remains to be accounted for. Brocardus speaks of Thersa
as " on a high mountain, three leagues from Samaria to the east."
Tiilluza is only six English miles from Samaria, and is not on a high
mountain. At the distance of twelve English miles is an important and
ancient site, standing in well-wooded country, on the main road from
Nablus to Beisan, and called Teiasir. The word is spelt with the sad,
and the identification supposes only the introversion of the last two
letters, as the first letter is a te (or tetJi). The site seems well fitted to
represent an ancient and important town, and there are numerous
ancient sepulchres and caves north of the village, which may perhaps
include the tombs of the first four kings of Israel buried at Tirzah
(1 Kings xvi. 6). Full notes of the antiquities of this site have been
made during the course of the Survey.
(19.) Zaanaim (Elon Bezaanaim) may be rendered "the plain
of Bezanaim," and is rendered by the Targum " plain of swamps," i.e.,
BiTZAH, in modern Arabic BassaJi. In the Talmud also (Tal. Jer. Megilla
70a) the B is evidently considered an integral part of the name from the
translation Atjina Kedesh, Agina being the rendering of Bitzah, "a
swamp" (Josh. xix. 33). It has been supposed identical with the place
called Plain of Zaanaim (Elon Bezaanaim), near Kedesh (Judges iv. 11),
but the towns mentioned in connection with this plain, namely Adami,
Nekeb, &c., are easily identified with places east of Tabor, ed DameTi,
Naldh, &c.
It is remarkable that Barak called together the children of Israel in
Kedesh, and then took up a position on Mount Tabor. It seems highly
probable that this is another Kedesh, not Kadesh Naphtali, which is
thirty English miles from Tabor, and separated by some of the most
difi&cult country in Palestine. In this case we may very probably sup-
pose Bezanaim to have been east of Tabor, and may identify it with the
modern Bessiim. This is a discovery of no little importance as bearing
on the whole account of the battle of Tabor, and on the position of
26
NOTES FEO^t THE MEMOIR.
Harosheth of the Gentiles, wkich may very probably be placed at el
HaratMyeh. The site of this Kedesh has still to be recovered, and there
are independent reasons for supposing a town of this name to have
existed in the same direction, probably at the place now called Kadis
on the shore of the Sea of Galilee.
(20.) Zanoah (Josh. xv. 56) was identified by Eobinson as the present
Zanuta, but there are philological and topographical objections to this
view. The name Zendkh, applying to a valley beneath the important
ruin of Beit 'Amrah, represents the Hebrew far more closely, and the
ruin is apparently in the required position, though it would seem to
have lost its original name, the modem one meaning only "the in-
habited building."
(21.) Zereda, the birthplace of Jeroboam (1 Kings x. 26), is possibly
the modem Surdeh, one and a quarter miles south of Jufna, and therefore
within the limits of Mount Ephraim, as we gather Zereda to have been
from the LXX. interpolation (1 Kings xii. 24.)
(22.) Zemaraim, a town of Benjamin (Josh, xviii. 22), has long been
identified as the present Khuriet Sumra in the Jordan valley, but the
reason why the name is in the plural is explained by the Survey, for two
ruins of the name Sumra will be found close to one another. The name of
Mount Zemaraim (2 Chron, xiii. 4) also possibly survives in the modern
Tal'at es Sumra.
(23.) Out of about 400 places in Western Palestine known to the
authors of the Onomasticon, only some twenty remain now to be fixed.
The early Christian topography is indeed far more completely recovered
than could have been foreseen. Among the places not fixed are the
following : —
Ailom, or Aialon, is also mentioned as a place three miles east of Bethel.
This would seem to be the modern 'Alia. Jerome identifies it with
Ajalon, but states that the Jews in his time considered Alus {Yalo), near
NicopoHs ('Amwas), to be the true site, as it is now held to be.
(24.) Two Talmudic sites have also fallen into place, namely: 1st.
Beth Eima (Mishna Menachoth, viii. 6), a place in the Judean hiUs,
whence good wine was brought. It is no doubt the modern Beit Rima
in the hill country north of Jerusalem. 2nd. En Kuslii is mentioned
(Tal. Jer. Abodah Zarah, v. 4) as near Kefr Shalem, apparently in
Samaria ; this would seem to be the spring below Kh. Kefr Ki/s, one and
a half miles north-west of Salim, near Nablus.
(2o.) Another site, Naarath, which is noticed more than once as on the
boundary of Ephraim (Josh. xvi. 7), may possibly be fixed by the
following evidence : —
1. Naorath is mentioned in the Onomasticon as being five miles from
Jericho, which is the position of a ruin called Khiirhet el Aujeh (a com-
mon Arabic name meaning "crooked," taken from the valley near the
ruin).
2. Josephus (Ant. xvii. 1.3, 1) mentions that Herod " diverted half the
water with which the village of Neara used to be watered, and drew off
NOTES FEOM THE MEMOIR.
27
that water into the plain to water those palm-trees which he had planted."
An ancient aqueduct leads to the ruin noted above from 'Aia Diik, and
several channels lead out of it at right angles, evidently for purposes of
irrigation. This, coupled with the distance given in the Onomasticon,
seems to point clearly to the identity of Naarath with Khurhet el Atljeh.*
(2G.) Laish, near Anathoth (Isaiah x. 30), is possibly el Ismoiyeh, in
the required direction.
(27.) Another discovery of no little interest is the name of one of the
Jordan fords, el Mandeseh, which means "the place struck." It is
situate north-east of Jericho, and we are immediately reminded of the
verse 2 Kings ii. 8 : — .
" And Elijah took his mantle and wrapped it together and smote the
waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went
over on dry ground."!
(28.) The present name of Herodium, where Herod was buried, is
Jehel Fureidis, or " little paradise mountain." The word is a diminutive
of Ferdua, " a paradise." We have over and over again had occasion to
remark i'ka.i foreigmvords—lj&iva., Greek, or Frankish— undergo strange
metamorphoses in the Fellah language. It is not impossible that Ferdiis
is a corruption of Herodus, and this supposition is strengthened by a
discovery which I made personally in the middle of the country of a
sepulchre to which the title Kahr el Meleh Ferdiis applied. This can
scarcely be supposed to mean, " tomb of King Paradise," but may mean
"tomb of King Herod," being probably one of the many Idumean
princes who bore the name. This explanation would account for the
modem name of Herodium, and serve to still more certainly identify the
site.
(29.) Another very curious name applies to a remarkable rock feature
near Et TeU, Major Wilson's Ai. It is called Burjmus> and the word
having five radicals, cannot be Arabic or Hebrew. It is, however,
exactly the pronunciation which would be given by the natives to the
Greek wepyafMos, which means originally " a high rock." We have here
a Greek word preserved, a fact of very rare occurrence in Palestine-!
Farther north we find a Latin word, also corrupted in a cui-ious manner,
for the fortress which is called District (Petra Incisa) by William of
Tyre, is now known as Dustrey.
(30.) A sacred place called Jami'a AbuNejeim, " Mosque of the Son of
* Naarath, or Naaran, is also mentioned in the Talmud (Medrash Ekha i. 17)
in connection with Jericho.
t It must, however, be remarked that there is on Sheet 9 a marsh called el
Mondesi, so that the word would appear to apply to the character of the ground
near the ford. The other name of the marsh is el Maskeniijeh, or ' ' place of
sinking." Freytag in his Lexicon gives "to be prostrate," and " to exude" (of
water from the sides of a well) as other meanings of the root Nedcs, the primary
meaning being "to strike" — with a spear, or club, &c.
X In the same way the Arabic Burj is the Greek irvpyos, " a tower," though
perhaps not immediately derived from it.
28 NOTES FROM THE MEMOIR.
the Star," exists about two miles soutli-west of Jebel Fureidis, not far
from the Pool of Solomon.
The neighbourhood of Bether {Bitter) suggests a possible connection
with Bar Chozeba (perhaps named from the town Chozeba, now Kueiziba,
about seven miles farther south), called by his followers Bar Chochebas,
^'Son of the Star."
(31.) The name Kahr Hebrun, "grave of Hebron," applies to an
ancient Jewish sepulchre outside Hebron on the west. The origin and
ajitiquity of the name I am not able to vouch for, but the fact is well
worthy of notice.
(32.) On Sheet 21 (Hebron Hills) there are several points of con-
siderable interest to be noted.
The present site of Mamre is shown at the BaUutet Sehta, or "oak
of rest," a fine old tree, almost entirely withered, near the Russian
Hosjace, north-west of Hebron. Close to this site is a spring called 'Ain
Khcir ed Din, "spring of the choice of faith." This is probably due to
a tradition of Abraham's choice of faith. "And I will make my
covenant between me and thee " (Gen. xvii. 2).
It is often impossible to obtain from the peasantry the traditions
attaching to such names, and when obtained it is uncertain what may
be their antiquity, but the present name is interesting in connection
with the Kabr Hebrun, and the passage speaking of "the field of
Machpelah before Mamre, the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan "
(Gen. xxiii. 19), and it is further remarkable that the name of Canaan
is still applied to a ruined site close to Hebron on the south {Khurhet
Kan' an).
(33.) The origin of the name Sirah, the well where Abner was
killed (2 Sam. iii. 26), is also of interest. It means "withdrawn," and
the present name, 'Ain Sareh, has the same meaning. It is probably so
called from its position being reached by a little alley leading out of the
main road. The modern name might be thought to be connected with
Sarah, Abraham's wife, but Sirah is spelt with SamecJi, which is pro-
perly represented by the Arabic sin,
(34.) Hagar's Spring. — On the same sheet. No. 21, south-west of
Hebron and east of Dura, is a fountain called 'Ain el Ilejeri, " spring
of the fugitive," or, as it might also be rendered, "of Hagar." This
cannot really represent the Beer Lahai Roi (Gen. xvi. 7-14) which is to
be sought south of Beersheba, but may be connected with a traditional
site of the occiirrences mentioned in this chapter, being situate on the
high road from Hebron to the desert of Shur.
(35.) Three other indications of places mentioned in Scripture may
be added : —
1. Meronoth, a town mentioned Neh. iii. 7, possibly the present
Hferrina.
2. Haruph, the home of one of David's heroes, probably the present
Khurhet Kharuf.
3. Lohnah, noticed by the Onomasticon as identical with Libnah, and
NOTES TROM THE MEMOIR. 29
situate in the district of Eleutheropolis, is not improbably the large
ruin called Beit el Ban in the required direction.
(36.) Talmudic Sites. — About 350 places in Western Palestine are
noticed in the Talmudic writings, the large majority being incidentally
referred to in the Gemara. Nearly 230 of these are easily identified,
and the following new proposals may be added : —
1. Ferha (Mish. KeHm, xvii. 5; Orlah, iii. 7) is generally identified
mth Ferhha, but the name is more properly represented by Beit Furik.
Its nuts are mentioned in the Mishna, and walnuts still flourish in the
neighbourhood of the modem B. Furik.
2. Bekiin or Pekiin, in or near the maritime plain (Tal. Jer. Chagiga,
3a ; Tal. Bab. Sanhed. 32b) is not impossibly the present Wady Fukin.
3. Anath, a town built by the giant Ahiman (Tal. Bab. Yoma, 10a) is
not improbably the early Christian Anna, " a city above Jericho," and
very probably the modem Xefr 'Ana, north of Bethel.
4. Kefr Likitia, (o) Hamthau, (6) and Bethel of Judali were places
where Hadrian placed posts to stop the Jews flying from Bether
(Midrash Ekha, ii. 3). They are, therefore, to be sought on the main
roads leading from Bether, and may very well be identified with the
places called El Kalt on the southern main road, Khamasa (Emmaus) on
the western road, and Beit Aula (Elath or Ailaof the Talmud and LXX.)
on the south-western.
7. Kcruthim, a word in the plural, referring, therefore, apparently to
more than one place, is noticed (Mish. Menachoth, ix. 7) as a place
whence the best wine was obtained. There are, in the Shephelah,
within the boundaries of Samaria, two villages called Kerdwa near each
other, and at one of these, Kerdwa Ihn Hasan, are unusually numerous
remains of ancient cultivation, wine-presses, and vineyard towers.
8. Yassilh, a place which has never been correctly fixed. Neubauer
identifies it Avith the Yassuf of the Samaritan book of Joshua, which I
have proposed to identify with the modern Yassuf. It is noticed with
the next.
9. Patris, noticed in connection with Antipatris (Tosiphta Demoi,
ch. i.) is probably the village of Bxidrus, not far from Rds el 'Ain
(Antipatris).
(37.) Early Christian Sites.— A very curious remnant of a Greek name
has just presented itself. Nearly all the long titles given by the Greeks
to places in Palestine, e.g., Nicopolis, Maximianopolis, Diocletianopolis,
have entirely disappeared or have left but a fragmentary reminiscence,
as el 'Atr for Eleutheropolis, esh Shok for Scythopolis. In the latter
category we may now rank Aristohulias, a city near the wilderness of
Ziph, mentioned in the life of St. Euthymias (see Reland, p. 685), and
noticed with Kephar Barucha, the present Beni Na'im. Close to Tell
Zif, which is near the last-mentioned place, is the large ruin of Isiabfd,
which, having four radicals, cannot be referred to any known Arabic
or Hebrew root. We can scarcely hesitate in recognising in this name
the remains of the Greek title Aristohulias.
30 CHEISTIAN AND JEWISH TRADITIONS.
Cydoessa, a town noticed by Josephus as near Paneas, is evidently
the modem Kadeisa.
Oitta, the native place of Simon Magus (Justin Martyi", Apolog. ii.)
is generally supposed to be the modern Kurict Jit, but it may much
more properly be placed at J eft, the Gath of the lists of Thothmes HI.
All that is known of Gitta is that it was a Samaritan town, which would
fit with the proposed site.
The following is a rough conspectus of our present information of
topography in Palestine : —
Biblical sites 420 known . . 160 unknown . . 580 total.
Talmudic sites 240 ,, ..110 ,, .. 350 ,,
Early Christian sites . . 370 ,, ..30 ,, . . 400 ,,
Many of the imknown sites lie beyond the bounds at present sur-
veyed.
C Iv. C.
CHEISTIAN AND JEWISH TEADITIONS.
The question of the value to be attached to traditions concerning
Biblical sites is one of so great imj^ortance that many readers will be
interested in knowing what bearing the Survey of Palestine has upon it.
The following remarks are intended to illustrate the value in various
cases of the early and mediaeval writings, both Christian and Jewish, in
instances which have not been touched by general controversy, but from
which we may draw deductions to guide us in the more important
questions, especially as regards Jerusalem topography.
Whatever may be the history of the early Christian Church in Pales-
tine, and the continuity of its traditions, it cannot be denied that from a
literary point of view there is a break between the New Testament
writings and the earliest pilgrimages of nearly 200 years. We find,
indeed, in the writings of Justin Martyr (circ. 150 a.d.) a reference to
the grotto of Bethlehem, but the earliest account of the sacred places of
Palestine is the Jerusalem Itinerary (a.d. 333), composed by the anony-
mous pilgrim of Bordeau, who visited the city just at the time of the
building of Constantino's Basilica.
That the Christians were in the fourth, fifth, and sixth centuries spread
tnrough the whole country the Survey abundantly testifies : from the
deserts of Beersheba to the slopes of Hermon we have come across
innumerable convents and churches which cannot be dated later than
this period. The nomenclature of the country bears witness to the
existence of flourishing communities, charitable convents, and holy
Christian sites, in every part, and the titles given to many ruins show
the fate they finally underwent in perishing by fire.
It was during this time (a.d. 420) that St. Jerome came to Palestine
and commenced in the dark grotto at Bethlehem his translation of the
CHKI3TIAN AND JEWISU TiiADITIONS. 31
Bible. He was, as is well known, one of the few fathers of that period
who were acquainted with Hebrew ; and it would appear also that he
understood the Aramaic, which was, as ho informs us, in his day the lan-
guage of the natives. To him we owe the first attempt at a Bible dic-
tionary, in his enlarged translation of the Onomasticon of Eusebius.
The work contains some 400 places in Western Palestine, defined with
sufficient exactitude to allow of their being still recognised. The study
of this work leads, as I have often had occasion to remark in former
papers, to two very clear conclusions.
1st. That St. Jerome's knowledge of the country was most intimate
and accurate. That he had traversed almost the whole of Palestine, and
had been able to note the direction and distances of places so exactly
that they measure sometimes to a few hundred yards on the map. This,
probably, was because the milestones on the great Roman roads were
stiU in use.
2nd. That similarity of name was considered sufficient reason for
identifying a Scriptural with a then existing site without any very
careful examination into the question whether the position was geo-
graphically satisfactory. It follows that although the identification is
often correct, Jerome's opinion cannot of itself be considered authorita-
tive, unless supported by other considerations.
In order to clearly establish this statement it wiU. be well to give the
most striking instances in which accui'ate information has been com-
bined with inaccurate conclusions ; but in justice to the memory of the
great man whose work we are now able thus to criticise, it must be
i-emembered that the number of instances in which he has enabled us to
preserve undoubted traces of the Scriptural nomenclature equals, if it
does not surpass, these instances of error.
In the Onomasticon we find AduUam fixed as ten Eoman miles east of
Eleutheropolis, or about the position of the new site at 'J idelmd, but this
is coupled with the extraordinary statement, " which also is Eglon " (a
city known to exist at 'Ajldn, eighteen miles south-west, at a site which
is mentioned by Jerome under the name Agla, and actually suggested as
identical with Beth Hogla, now known to be 'Ain Hajleh, in the Jordan
vaUey, or quite on the opposite side of Palestine). The origin of this
mistake as to Eglon has been explained by M. Granneau in his paper on
Adullam.
Another striking instance is Jerome's identification of Ajalou as being
three miles east of Bethel, evidently the modern 'Alia ; for he admits
that the Jews in his time considered Ajalon to be situate at a village
called Alus, "not far from Nicopolis " — evidently the modern Yalo, now
generally accepted as representing Ajalon. This error is also remark-
able because Jerome knew of the position of the upper and nether
Bethhoron, which renders his site for Ajalon qitite inadmissible.
The ideas formed of the position of the tribe boundaries must have
been very vague, for Jerome places Gibeah of Benjamin, or of Saul,
which he confuses with Gibeah Phineas (now Awertah), between Beth-
32 CHRISTIAN AND JEWISH TRADITIONS.
lehem and Eleutheropolis, evidently at the modem i/ei'ct, whereas the
proximity of Michmash and Eamah, both of which he identifies cor-
rectly, should have suggested quite a different direction.
Again, in speaking of Neiel (now Ya'nui), on the boundary of Asher
and Zebulon, he suggests Betocenea, which, as I have shown previously,
must be the modern 'Aiiin, in the territory of Manasseh. And again,
he makes the same place to be Bethanoth of Naphtali, speaking with
even greater certainty.
Anob, a city close to Debir, in the extreme south of the hills of Judah,
is transported by the Onomasticon to the neighbourhood of the low hills
at Heit Nuba. Jerome hesitates between this site and that of 'AnndbeJi,
a little farther north. Anab was fixed by the Survey at 'Andb, close to
edh Dhdheriyeh (proposed by me as identical with Debir).
Beth Arbel was the farthest northern limit of Palestine, and is to be
sought north of Tyre and Sidon ; yet Jerome would place it in the great
plain, nine miles from Legio, evidently the modern 'Ariiboneh, on the
boundary between Galilee and Samaria. Anim, a town in the Negeb, is
supposed by Jerome to be situate at " the terebinth," now called
"Abraham's house," north of Hebron. Yet the site now accepted as
that of Anim, the modern cl GMweln, is fixed with considerable precision
in the Onomasticon, and the fact that there were two sites, " the upper "
and " the lower," which are both still in existence, is noted, but one of
these he supposes to be Anob, which he had already fixed in another
position ; whilst he would seem to place a second Anim at the vipper
site, which he notices as entirely Christian in its population, Ain, the
city of Simeon, also supposed to be Bethemin, two miles from "the tere-
binth," evidently the modern Beit ' Ainun, far away from the territory of
Simeon.
It is clear from the account given in Joshua xv. that the Valley of
Achor, where Achan was stoned, lay south of Jericho, probably being
the present Wddy Kelt, but Jerome notes the existence of the name north
of Jericho. His identification of Ebal and Gerizim as being in the same
neighbourhood has been enlarged upon in a former paper {Quarterly
Statement, October, 1876).
A few other important errors may still be added, including the sup-
position that Emmav;s Nicopolis was the Emmaus of the Gospel, and
that Makkedah was eight miles east of Eleutheropolis, or in the hills of
Judea. It is also inexplicable how .Ferome can suppose Engannim of
Judah to have been close to Bethel, yet he places it there evidently at
the modern ^Ain Kduia. Gedor, again, a town in the hills near Hebron,
he supposes to be Gedrus, which from the distances given is evidently the
present Jedireh, not far from Gezer and Ekron in the plains, and pro-
bably identical with the ancient Gederah of Judah.
From this weight of testimony there is no escape. It shows clearly
that the Christian writers of the fifth century were treating of a country
strange to them, and of a topography which had been at least partially
lost. Though the greatest scholar, and perhaps one of the ablest men
CHEI3TIAN AND JEWISH TRADITIONS. 33
of his time, St. Jerome was evidently puzzled in regard to the whole
question of the ancient topography, and unable to settle many impor-
tant points in spite of a complete acquaintance with the country as then
existing.
In the Onomasticon we see tradition not made, but in the process of
making. The method by which the early fathers endeavoured to arrive
at an understanding of Scripture geography was apparently not far
■different from that employed by modern writers ; the miraculous dis-
covery of sacred sites dates later, and has no place in the writings of
Jerome, and the main difference which we detect is that when a father
of the church jumped at a conclusion not strictly warranted by his
facts, his opinion was generally adopted without being subject to the
very strict criticism of our day.
It is scarcely to be expected that the reliability of tradition would in-
crease with the lapse of time. The period between the early centuries of
church history and the Crusades was one of trouble in Palestine. From
the era of the Hegira down to 1100 a.d., the opportunities of studying
the geography of the country were few and small. The early travellers,
Arculphus and WillibaJd in the eighth, and St. Bernhard in the ninth
century, followed nearly the same route, and treat principally of the
more important sites which it is not proposed now to touch on. One
thing only is very remarkable, namely, the gradual increase in the
number of sacred places ; Arculphus only notices about half a dozen
sites in Jerusalem, but St. Bernhard, little more than a century later,
mentions nearly twenty, and Scewulf in 1102 adds many more. In
crusading times there were upwards of twenty churches in Jerusalem,
all supposed to mark sacred spots ; but the only one which can claim an
antiquity at all equal to that of the church of the Anastasis, appears to
be that of the Tomb of the Virgin, in the Valley of Jehoshaphat.
With the advent of the Crusaders we enter upon a new era, and upon
a traditional topography of a new and entirely different character. There
is now no doubt that we deal with men entirely strange to the country,
and very ill acquainted with the contents of the Bible.
It is here for the first time that we meet with undoubted instances of
transference of tradition, and as this question has an important bearing
on many disputed points, some instances may be of value.
The best known instance of such transference relates to the site of the
martyrdom of St. Stephen. A very early tradition fixed this on the
north side of Jerusalem, outside the Damascus Gate, and near the spot
where the ruins of the crusading Asnerie have lately been recovered ; as
late as the time of Scewulf (1102 a.d.) the site was unchanged, and
WiUiam of Tyre still places it north of the city ; but St. Stephen's Gate
is now shown on the east of Jerusalem.
More important places were in the same way transferred to new sites,
and the most remarkable case is that of Capernaum. To Jerome
Arculphus, Willibald, and other early travellers, Capernaum was
known as situated on the shores of the Sea of Galilee , but in 1160 a.d.,
D
34 CHEISTIAK Airo JEWISH TRADITIONS.
Benjamin of Tudela places it at a site whicli lie calls Kefr Thancum
between Haifa and Caesarea. I have already sliown [Quarterly Statement,
Jan. 1876) that the distances given by him fix this site at the modem Kefr
Lam, which is probably thus a corruption of Refer Nam or Capernaum.
Kefr Thancum is probably the Kefar Tanhum of the Talmud, a name
somewhat resembling the Talmudic Kefar Nahum, which seems undoubt-
edly to be identical with Capernaum. As early, however, as the time of
Jerome the H had been changed to \iin in this word, for he translates
Capernaum " villa pulcherrima " (NArM), instead of " town of consola-
tion " (Nahtjm).
We find the same site for Capernaum again noticed in the Itinerary of
Hichard I. with circumstances which still further serve to fix it as situate
at Kefr Lam, for the king, after halting there, proceeds to the "house
of narrow ways," evidently situate at the point south of the Tillage,
where a rocky passage has been cut through to give a communication
between the plain and the shore separated by a sandstone ridge. Farther
on in the same narrative we find Maon mentioned among the castles in
the maritime plain destroyed in 1191 a.d. by Saladin, and Eabbi Ben-
jamin of Tudela informs us that Maon was the same place as Capernaum.
The remains of a fine crusading fortress are still visible in the modern
village of Kefr Lam.
This site thus furnishes us with a double instance of ti'ansference.
Maon was known to be close to Carmel, the city of Judah, where Nabal
lived, the true site [Mahi] was well known to Jerome, who carefully
distinguishes between the town of Nabal (now Kurmid) soiith of Hebron
and Mount Carmel, where Elijah oifered his sacrifice. This distinction
was unknown to the Crusaders who, being only acquainted with the
mountain, were forced to transfer the site of Maoa a distance of nearly
one hundred miles, to a place in the vicinity of Mount Carmel.
Tyre and Sarepta, in like manner, were transferred southwards to the
very same neighbourhood. Sarepta is correctly placed in the Ouomas-
ticon in the neighbourhood of Sidon " by the public road," evidently at
the real site of the modern Stirfend, and Tyre was known to William of
Tyre, who was bishop there for many years. Yet this author, in'com-
pany with other medijBval writers, speaks of " ancient Tyre " as a site
south of Caipha and seemingly the modern 'Athlit, the cmsading
Castellum Perigrinorum. This curious mistake necessitated two others.
Porphyrion was a town near Tyre, and is accordingly placed by William
of Tyre at Caipha, which was supposed by the Crusaders to have taken
its name from Caiaphas the high priest, or from Cephas, the second
name of St. Peter. Sarepta also was to be sought near Tyre, and we
still find a second village called Surf end immediately north of Kefr
Lam,
Thus Maon, from the extreme south of Palestine, Capernaum from
the east, and Tyre and Sarepta from the north, wei-e all brought within
a few miles of one another ; and as the Cast ■Hum Perigrinorum was the
principal landing-place for pilgrims, one is tempted to suppose that
CHRISTIAN A:^iD JEWISH TKADITIOXS. 35
motives of expediency had sometliiug to do in the matter, as neither
Capernaum nor Maon lay in country then held by the Crusaders, and
as the pilgrims would naturally be anxious to visit sites of so much
interest.
Instances of such confusions may be multiplied indefinitely. Thus
the crusading maritime fortress of Arsuf, the ancient Apollonia, was
supposed to represent Ashero Antipatris, and even Ashdod, the true sites
of which were all known to Eusebius and Jerome, all at considerable
distances apart.
Benjamin of Tudela places Keilah of Judah, a city west of Hebron, at
Caco (now Eakun), some sixty miles from the real site, now A'i7a/^, which
seems to have been known to Jerome.
Nob, the city of the priests, was apparently unknown to Jerome, who
confuses it with Nobah (Judg. viii. 11), but to the Crusaders it was
pointed out as identical with Betenoble {Beit Nuha), in a situation quite
iiTeconcileable with the requirements of the Scripture narratives.
Two still more glaring errors are to be found in William of Tyre,,
who places Gath at Ibelin, now Yehaah, the ancient Jabneel, whilst he
identifies Beit Jihriti with Beersheba, explaining its modern name to
mean "house of Gabriel." There is still in Beit Jibrin a sacred place
called Mukdm en Neby JihrV, "station of the Prophet Gabriel," close
to the remains of a crusading church, but this interpretation and the
consequent connection with Gabriel are evidently late, for the older
form of "the name found in the Talmud is Beto-Gabra. Both Beer-
sheba and Gath were known and fixed at their true sites in the time
of Jerome.
In conclusion, we find at this period the site of Adullam transferred
to its present position {MUgJidret M'asa) from the true situation known,
to Eusebius.
It is evident, therefore, that a broad distinction must be made between
the statements of the early Christian writers and the wild guesses of the
mediaeval chroniclers.
The question of Jewish mediaeval writings is one entirely apart from
that as yet treated, and as we have already seen, the Jews in the
time of Jerome knew the real site of Ajalon, though their hatred of
the Samaritans induced them to transfer those of Ebal and Gerizim
to the neighbourhood of Jericho. It must be remembered that we
have in their case to deal vsdth an indigenous population which never
entirely lost its hold on the country, and with a traitition in which
there is no break. In the Talmud we get not a traditional but an
actual topography ; and in the travels of Jewish pilgrims we find a
thorough acquaintance with Talmudic characters and topography,
which gives to their statements a reality and value not possessed by
Christian chronicles.
Immediately after the fall of Bether (120 A.D.) the Sanhedrim fixed
its seat at Jamina, and afterwards successively at Ausha {IJusheh, C. E. C.)
Shafaram {She/a 'Amcr), Beth Shearim, Sepphoris, and Tiberiaa. By
36
CHRISTIAN AKD JEWISH TBADITI0N3.
200 A.D. Eabbi Judali, the saint, had committed the Mishna to writing,
closing the list of the doctors called Tanaim ; by 300 A.D. the Jerusalem
Talmud was complete, and by 500 A.D. the Talmud of Babylon was
finished by the last of the Amoraim. Thus we have an unbroken series
of writers till after the date of Jerome, and their casual references to
places and natural features are of the highest value because only inci-
dentally introduced.
The Talmudic topography is that of Palestine as actually then exist-
ing, but instances of identifications do occur, notably in commenting on
the list of the towns of Naphteli and Zebulon which are identified as
follows : —
XIX,
33.
Josh,
Heleph . .
AUon •) ..
Bezaanaim i {Bessilm, C.
Adami {ed Ddmeh)
Nekeb [Nahih, C. E. C.)
Jabneel . .
Lakum . .
Josh. xix. 15.
Kattath
Nehallal
Shimron
Idalah {ed Dalieh, C. E.
Bethlehem (5. Lahia)
Josh. xix. 35.
Ziddim . .
Zer
Hammath {el Hiimmdm)
Eakkath {Tuhenyeh) . .
•Chinnereth {Beit Jenn)
E. C.)
C.)
Tal. Jer. Megilla, 70a.
= Heleph.
=: Aialin.
= Agnia Kadesh.
= Damim {Danmn).
=■ Zedatha.
= Kaphar Jamah.
= Lekim.
= Katunith {Kateineh).
= Mahlul {M'aird).
= Simunieh {Sammilnieh).
= Hiriah.
= Bethlehem Zeriah.
= Kaphar Hitia {Hattin).
(near) Desmikah Lah.
= Hamatha.
= Tiberias {Tuhenyeh).
= Genezar.
This comparison is of value as showing that many sites had been lost
even to the Jews as early as 300 A.D., and that tlie nomenclature had
xuidergone a change, for many of the identifications here enumerated are
to all appearance correct, though others are seemingly wrong.
Passing on to the Jewish mediajval travellers we find statements fully
in accordance with those of the Talmud. Thus, E. Samuel Bar Simson
states that the synagogue of Arbela was built by R. Nitai, and in the
Mishna we find Arbela noticed as the native place of E. Nitai, who lived
about 200 B.C.
The Jews of the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth centuries visited
Palestine chiefly on account of the tombs of their ancestors. Hence, in
their writings we find constant notice of the tombs of many worthies
both of Biblical and also of later times, and most of these sites remain
.to the present day. They also give the names of the builders of various
^synagogues, and there seems no reason to doubt the accuracy of their
Saul's journey to zuph. 37
statements. Thus we learn that no less than twenty- four synagogues,
mostly in GaHlee, were built by E. Simeon bar Jochai about 120 A.D.,
among which were those at Kefr Birim, at el Jish, and at Meirun, pro-
bably the ones visited by Major "Wilson, as this date agrees with the
opinion formed by architects as to the character of the work. Two
others are noticed at Sasa and Tiria which have still to be discovered,
and it is not impossible that others of the known synagogues are to be
attributed to the same founder.
As regards the tomjbs the Jewish information appears also to be-
reliable. Thus at Gath-Hepher, which he identifies correctly, Isaac
Chelo mentions the tomb of Jonas now visible in the centre of the
village. It is remarkable, however, that Rabbi Benjamin of Tudela, a
little earlier, places Gath Hepher at Caipha.
The tombs of Joseph at Balata, near Shechem, and of Hillel and
Shammai at Meirun, are still shown as described by these mediaeval
Jewish pilgrims ; the sepulchre of Samson at Zoreah, is no doubt the
present Mukdm of Sheikh Samit, and it will in all probability prove
equally easy to recover the numerous sepulchres in Upper and Lower
Galilee mentioned in these itineraries, many of which are of considerable
interest.
The deductions which it appears to me may safely bo drawn from the
facts detailed in the foregoing pages, are simple : —
1st. As regards early Christian topography, and especially that of the
Onomasticon, the authority of the writers is not sufficient when unsup-
ported by other evidences to establish the identity of a Scriptural site.
2nd. Crusading topography subsequent to 1100 A.D., is so hopelessly
obscured by the ignorance of priests and pilgrims alike, and by the
continual transference of sites from their true place known by the
early Christians into new positions, quite irreconcileable with the-
requirements of the original narrative, that it must be considered
entirely valueless in fixing the real sites.
3rd. The mediaeval Jewish pilgrims appear, as a rule, to have had
a much more accurate knowledge both of i!he country and of the
Bible, their assertions are borne out by existing remains, and are inr
accordance with the Scriptural narrative, and the indications contained
in their writings frequently appear to be of the greatest value.
Claude R. Conder, Lieut. E.E.
21th October, 1876.
SAUL'S JOUENEY TO ZUPH.
1 Sam. ix. and x.
The wanderings of the hero "who, seeking asses, found a kingdom,"
form one of the most curious pix;5zles in Scriptural topography, for the
starting-point is unknown, the point to which he returned doubtful, and
9% saul's journey to zuph.
the intermediate places, though noted with much apparent exactitude,
have not been recognised as identical with any well-known or important
sites. The following notes derived from the Survey may, however, prove
interesting to those who have given attention to the subject : —
1. The starting-point was Saul's home. Kish, his father, was a
Benjamite, and it seems almost certain that he must have inhabited
Zelah, a Benjamite city (Josh, xviii. 28), for here we find later the
** sepulchre of Kish," in which the bones of his descendants were interred
(2 Sam. xxi. 14).
We find, however, immediately afterwards, a town or a district known
as Gibeah of Saul as being the home of the king. It may be, therefore,
that this place, called Gabaoth Saule by Josephus, is the starting-point.
The question is too long to enter upon at present, but as it appears that
Saul first passed through Mount Ephraim, the starting-point may be
generally stated as towards the northern limits of the temtory of
Benjamin. The consecutive order of the list in the book of Joshua
•would seem perhaps to place Zelah (more properly translated Tzd'a) in
the northern part of the land of Benjamin, and it may perhaps be
identified with a large ruin called Khurhet Sh'ab Saldh, " ruin of the
ridge of Zelah," the last word being a natural equivalent of the
Hebrew Tzel'a. This place is only four miles north-west of Jeb'a (Geba
of Benjamin), and there are strong arguments in favour of identifying
-Jeb'a with Gabaoth Saule, which need not, however, be discussed here.
2. On leaving his home at Zelah, or Gibeah, Saul first passed through
Mount Ephraim (ix. 4). According to Josephus (Antiq. vi. 4, 1), having
first sought over the territory of his own tribe, he went over that of
other tribes. This would seem to make his first direction northwards.
3. Leaving Mount Ephraim, Saul passes through the laud of Shalisha
(ix. 4). It is only natui'al to connect this name with that of Baal
Shalisha or Beth Shalisha (2 Kings iv. 42), and this place may be fixed
as at the present Sirisia, thirteen miles north of Lydda, from entii'ely
independent considerations. (See Quarterly Statement, April, 1876, p. 69.)
4. Leaving this district, Saul comes to the land of Shalim (or " foxes ").
This might be identical with the "land of Shual" (of the fox), near
Ophrah (1 Sam. xiii. 17); but this seems irreconcileable with the last
indication, and the land of Shalim was not in the land of Benjamin
(comp. verse 4, lower down), which the land of Shual evidently was.
Gesenius, in giving the meaning of the word (S.V. Shalim), suggests a
more probable identification, utimely, that the territoiy of Shaalabim
("foxes "), a city of Dan (Josh. xix. 42), is here intended. This place
has been fixed at Selhit, south of Lydda, which gives a direct journey
.southwards of about a day's duration.
5. Saul next enters the land of Yemeni ("Benjamites," A.V.), and
passes through it. Selhit, it may be remai-ked, is not far from the
western border of Benjamin, which would be crossed in journeying to
Zuph if identified as below.
6. Saul arrives at the land of Zuph, the farthest point of his journey,
saul's journey to zuph. 39
and here encounters Samuel at a certain city, the name of which, is not
given (ix. 5, 6).
The meaning of the woi-d Zuph has not been determined with certainty,
the Targum on the passage, however, connects the name with the root
Zephah, meaning " to shine," and hence "to be conspicuous," whence
come the words Zephathah, Zophim, Zephu, and Mizpeh. In other
targums the words Zophim and Mizpeh are used indiscriminately in
speaking of one place, both words being applicable to a " watch-tower,"
or city in an elevated situation. Zuph was, however, the name of a
man, and it is not impossible that the land of Zuph may have been
named after him (1 Sam. i. 1). In the first case the city in the land of
Zuph would possibly be Mizpeh, in the second it would be Bethlehem
the home of Zuph. The former identification appears to me the more
probable for the following reasons,
1st. That the Targum derives the word from the root Zephah.
2nd. That on the departure of Saul, Samuel immediately gathers
Israel together in Mizpeh (x. 17).
3rd. That the city is evidently one of those visited by Samuel (see
ix. 12), and cannot be Bethel or Gilgal (see 1 Sam. vii. 16).
4th. That placing Mizpeh near to Kirjath Jearim, the land of Zuph
would be reached immediately on leaving the land of Benjamin.
Mizpeh may be fixed as in this station on entirely different
grounds. (See Quarterly Statement, July, 1876, p. 149.)
Zuph has ah'eady been fixed as in this neighbourhood (see Murray's
new map) ; but the identification with SOba is open to the objection that
there is no good authority for supposing the letters F and B ever to be
confused.
The root Zephah is represented by two Arabic roots, Safa (whence
Mesuffa, " a place of view "), meaning " bright, shining, conspicuous,"
and Shdf (whence the exclamation Shfif, "look"), having also the mean-
ing, " shining, looking out, viewing." Thus the modern Khurbet Shufa
represents the Hebrew Zophim or Mizpeh, with which I have proposed
to identify it on account of its position near Ebenezer and Kirjath
Jearim. The name Shitfa probably still denotes a district, for there is
a hill called Rds Shu/a about two miles north of Khurbet Shufa. This
district, I would suggest, may be the land of Zuph. There is, however,
another site which might also claim to be identified as Zuph, viz., the
village of Sufa, ten miles west of Bethlehem; and this position, indeed,
fits in yet better with the subsequent part of the journey.
Thei'e is only one valid objection to these views. Josephus gives the
name of the city as Eamah. Hence it has been supposed to be
Eamathaim Zophim, which is here intended. Eamathaim Zophim was,
however, in Mount Ephraim, and so not far from Zelah, in which case
it seems impossible that Saul on his return journey should ever arrive
at Rachel's sepulchre.
There is no space here to discuss the value of this statement by
Josephus. The whole of his account (Antiq. vi. 4) is shorter and less
40 satjl'b jourjtey to zuph.
detailed tlian that in the Old Testament, and the order of the events
differs. It -will be generally allowed that the history of contemporary
events given in the Wars and later books of the Antiquities, gives indica-
tions to be placed in quite a different category to those of the earlier
books. The Survey gives many opportunities of forming a judgment as
to the value of Josephus's descriptions in such cases as the sites of
Herodium, Masada, and Jotopata. In some cases it seems impossi-
ble to reconcile Josephus with the Mishnic doctors, and in these cases
the Talmud is often the better guide.
7. Leaving Samuel, Saul first arrives at " Rachel's sepulchre, in the
border of Benjamin at Zelzah" (x. 2). Supposing this to be the
modem Kuhbet Rahil, near Bethlehem, which Saul might have reached
in journeying to the main road along the watershed, two questions
arise.
1st. How can this monument be called " in the border of Benjamin,"
being four miles south of that boundary in the territory of Judah ?
2nd. Where was Zelzah ? supposing it to be the name of a town, foi*
no such name has been found anywhere near Bethlehem.
It is possible that the reading of the Vulgate, which renders Zelzah
by the words " in meridie" (towards the south), gives the best explana-
tion, and that we should read Eachel's sepulchre towards the south,
either of Zuph, or of Saul's route, or of the border of Benjamin.
8. Supposing Saul to be returning to his own home, it is natural to
suppose the plain of Tabor (x. 3) which follows to be the plain south of
Jerusalem and north of Eachel's sepulchre, now called the Meiddn.
9. The end of Saul's wanderings appears to be reached at a place
called " the hill of God," where is the garrison of the Philistines (x. 5).
This place, Giheah-ha-EIohim in the Hebrew, appears to have been so
called because it contained a "high place" (see verse 13).
In another verse it is called simply Gabatha (" the hill," A.V,, verse
10), and Josephus also calls it Gabatha. It would seem that Saul's
uncle lived here (verse 14), which would lead us to identify it with
Gibeah of Saul. It was not improbably on the road to Gilgal where
Saul next went, which would seem to place it at Geba of Benjamin, and
it was a Philistine garrison, which points in the same direction, for im-
mediately after we find Jonathan smiting " the garrison of the Philis-
tines," which was in Geba (1 Sam. xiii. 3). After the great meeting at
Mizpeh, we find that Saul " went home to Gibeah " (x. 26).
The outcome of these various expressions seems to point to Saul's
return to Gibeah of Saul, and to the identity of this town with Geba of
Benjamin. There are many independent arguments which lead to the
identification of these two places as the modern Jeb'a, which may, how-
ever, be reserved for the present.
C. R. C.
41
ATTEMPT TO TEACE THE BOUNDAEIES OF EPHEAIM,
MANASSEH, AND ISSACHAE.
The boundaries of the tribes of Epbraim and Manasseb bave not, so
far as I know, been yet laid down in accordance witb the outline given
of them in the sixteenth and seventeenth chapters of Joshua. In every
Biblical atlas that I have seen they are always drawn from side to side— -
i.e., from the sea to the Jordan, in a sort of parallel lines, whereas it
does not appear to me that any of them touched the Jordan at all,
except, it may be, in a single point. Having given this subject con-
siderable attention, I have obtained results, in singular conformity with
the description of Joshua that traces out the entire outline of these
tribes, and have discovered some curious aspects of the case that have
hitherto escaped observation. Of course I have not been able to deter-
mine the borders with perfect geographical certainty at every point, as the
topography of the country has undei-gone such changes in the course of
between three and four thousand years, and the names of places have either
disappeared or been so altered that they cannot now be easily identified.
The great natural features of the country, however, remain, along witli
a few of the more permanent ancient names, by which we are enabled
to some extent to grope our way. With the aid of these, and a more
accui-ate reading of the book of Joshua, I hope to be able to give such
an account of these two tribes as to clear up this part of the map, throw
some new light upon the lot of Issachar, and meet a difficulty that
has so long been felt in the geography of Palestine.
(1.) Joseph.
The southern border of Joseph is laid down in Joshua (xvi. 1) with
considerable clearness, so that it is not difficult to follow the descrip-
tion, even though several of the landmarks are lost. It is as follows : —
"And the lot of the children of Joseph fell from Jordan by Jericho, unto the
waters of Jericho on the east, to the wilderness that goeth up from Jericho
throughout Mount Bethel. And it goeth out from Bethel to Luz, and passeth
along unto the borders of Archi-Ataroth, and goeth down westward to the coast
of Japhleti, unto the coast of Bethhoron the Nether, and to Gezer ; and the out-
goings thereof are at the sea."
Starting from a point on the Jordan nearly opposite to Jericho, this
line passes to the north of that place, ascends the ravine on the north
of Jebel Kuruntil, passing the fountain of 'Ain Doch, the ancient
"Dagon" of the Maccabees, and pursues its course through the mountain
passes till it comes out near to Bethel and Luz, >vhich it reaches on the
south of them. Luz and Bethel may indeed be regarded as the same,
seeing they either lay contiguous to each other, or were actually united.
IVom Bethel the border proceeds westward by Archi-Ataroth to the
coast of Japhleti (places now unknown, but lying somewhere on the
ridge that runs between the Wadies Budrus and Suleiman) till it reaches
42 BOUNDARIES OF EPHRAIM, MANAS3EH, AND ISSACHAE.
tlie end of that ridge on a very prominent hill lying to the south of the
Nether Bethhoron. From this place, which commands one of the finest
views of the great western plain, the border line descended into the
course of the Merj-lbn-Omeir, touching Gezer on the Wady Suleiman,
which it followed on to the sea.
This tracing is corroborated by the sketch which Joshua has given of
the northern border of Benjamin, which is almost exactly the same as
far as it goes (Josh, xviii. 11).
"And the lot of the tribe of the children of Benjamin came up according to
their families : and the coast of their lot came forth between the children of
Judah and the children of Joseph. And the border on the north side was from
Jordan ; and the border went up to the side of Jericho on the north side, and
went up through the mountains westward ; and the goings out thereof were at the
wilderness of Bethaven. And the border went over from thence toward Luz, to
the side of Luz, which is Bethel, southward. And the border descended to
Ataroth-adar, near the hill that (lietli on) the south side of the Nether Beth-
horon. And the border was drawn (thence) and turned southward," &c.
With a little variety of description, this line is identical with the
former so far, and the variation only helps to fix the track laid down
above with the greater precision. Commencing at Jordan, as before,
the border passes Jericho on the north, and runs iip the deep defile
before described, till it comes out upon the high plateau of " the wilder-
ness of Bethaven." Here it proceeds to Luz, and passes it on the south
side, descending westward to Ataroth-adar, which is clearly the same
with Archi-ataroth. "Without referring to Japhleti, the description
carries the line at once " to the hill that lieth on the south side of the
Nether Bethhoron ; " or rather, Ataroth-adar is so near this hill that it is
connected with it. But here the boundary of Benjamin takes a sweep
to the south, to form the western limit of that tribe. It is fortunate that
the two Bethhorons have been preserved to this day, and help us easily
and at once to decide where we are. The hill that lieth to the south of
Beit Ur et-Tahta was ascended by Dr. Robinson, who has given us a very
satisfactory account of its commanding position. It abuts upon the
great western plain like a promontory, and takes in an extensive view of
Eamleh, Lydda, Ajalon, and other places of less note, while it stands
between the two Bethhorons, at the head of the famous pass, the descent
or ascent of Bethhoron, so famous in Biblical story. Dr. Robinson in his
ascent of it found, on one of its ridges, the remains of what he supposed
to be an ancient castle, that seemed to have guarded the pass, and still
crowned the brow of the hill. This is probably the " Ataroth," the crown,
or Ataroth-adar, the "glorious crown," looking forth so beautifully over
the western lowlands, and forming a conspicuous ornament to the hills
of Ephraim.
(2.) Ephraim.
So far, then, these two lines are the same, and so far we have a well-
defined base laid down for our future investigations. "We therefore take
BOUNDARIES OF EPHRAIM, MANASSEH, AND ISSACHAR. 43
up next the description of the lot of Ephraim, which lies to the north of
this base, and which has not been so clearly defined.
Josh. xvi. 5 : " And the border of the cliildren of Ephraim according to thoir
families was tlms : even the border of their inheritance on the east side (was)
Ataroth-adar unto the Upper Bethhoron. And the border went out toward the
sea (west) to Michmethah on the north side ; and the border turned about east-
ward unto Taanath-shiloh, and passed by it on the east to Janohah ; and it went
down from Janohah to Ataroth, and to Naarath, and came to Jericho, and went
out at Jordan.
" From Tappuah the border went out westward unto the river Kanah, and the
goings out thereof were at the sea. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the
children of Ephraim by their families.
" And tlie separate cities for the children of Ephraim were among the inheritance
of the children of Manasseh, all the cities with their villages. And they drave
not out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezcr ; but the Canaanites dwell among the
Ephraimites unto this day, and serve under tribute."
The commencement of this survey seems to be a fragment of a fuller
description of the southern border of Ephi'aim, containing only two
references, and these to places about the centre of the line,* Ataroth-
addar and Upper Bethhoron. The LXX. seem to have felt this, and they
fill up the account by saying that the boundary went on to Gezer, and
then to the sea. We can thus make nothing of it but to congratulate
ourselves that it is of no importance, as we have a double description of
the line already laid down. The survey properly begins in the next
verse, which says, " And the border on the north side went out on the
ivest t to Michmethah." Michmethah, we are told, in the account of
Manasseh's border, " lieth before X Shechem," so that we must take this
for our starting-point ; and as this place has not yet been identified,
we mnst fix it as we can from the language of the text, and the
tribal position of Shechem. First, then, it is near to Shechem,
and lieth before it, that is, in sight of it. If V.?''?J^ meant always
"on the east of," Michmethah would have lain on that side of
Shechem ; but as it has this meaning only at times, we are not obliged
to identify Michmethah with el-Miikhna. From the fact that
Shechem was within the ti'ibe of Ephraim, and was its chief Levitical
city, we must place Michmethah on the west of it, and perhaps
this is the meaning of the phrase " the border went out on the west,"
as if it had originally been " the west§ of Shechem." If we place this
starting-point on any other side, it will throw Shechem, as we shall
soon see, out of its own tribe. Take, then, for Michmethah, the site of any
one of the many small towns to the luest or north-west of Nablus, say
Zawata, and from it carry the border round to the east along the back
* The original description, which seems also to have run from west to east,
t nS'n seaward or westward.
+ ''?.^~''? before, in view of, in front of.
^ Or rather that Michmetha was at the west end of this east-going line.
44 BOUNDARIES OF EPHRAIM, MANASSEH, AND 18SACHAR.
of Mount Ebal, and then south-east in the direction of Yanun, which
represents Janohah ; for " the border ivent about from Michmethah east-
ward unto Ta'anath-shiloh, and passed by it on the east to Janohah."
The site of Ta'anath-shiloh may have been about where the modern
Salim stands, and as Shiloh in the one case and Salem in the other are
closely cognate and almost identical, we cannot say but that they are
the same. From Janohah, the border touches next at Ataroth, an emin-
ence somewhere probably on the Wady Fusail, near to its head : and
then it passes Na'arath and comes to Jericho. Na'arath seems to be
the same place that is called Naaran in 1 Chron. vii. 28, on the east of
Bethel, as Gezer was on the west, in the tribe of Ephraim. Jerome
mentions Naaratha as a town five miles north of Jericho, just about the
place whei*e we should expect to find it ; but Josephus is still more
decided, for he mentions once and again a town called Neara, to the
north of Jericho, supplied Avith abundance of water, the half of which
Archelaus diverted from that village into the plain to irrigate the palm-
trees that he had planted at the palace he had rebuilt with great mag-
nificence at Jericho. These notices leave us in little doubt that this
place was somewhere about " Ras el-Ain," which is just about five miles
to the north of Jericho, and pours a considerable stream into the Wadi/
Naivayimeh.
From Na'arath the boundary "came to Jericho;" but I'JS here trans-
lated " came," has a much more definite meaning. It means that this
boundary line touched, met, and struck into the line that came from
Jordan and formed the southern base line of the tribe, running out
hence with it to the Jordan.
We have thus traced the eastern half of the north border of Ephraim,
and must now return to where we started near to Shechem, and take
up the remaining western half. This is pretty distinctly laid down
by Joshua with only a single difficulty, and that at the outset. Instead
of commencing from Michmetha he begins with Ea-Tappuah, but
this place he tells us, in the description of Manasseh's border, was a
little way to the south of Michmethah, as we shall by-and-by see.
We must therefore seek a site in this direction that will answer to
the character of En-Tappuah which has disappeared from this part
of the map. It will not, however, be difficult to find such a fountain
as we require, for there are several hereabout, almost any of which
will answer. There is, four miles south of Shechem, the fountain of
el-Mukhna, pouring its waters into the plain so called. A mile and
a half, or thereabouts, farther south, is the fountain 'Ain Abuz, and
beyond it a little way Jem-'ain, but that of Abuz appears to be the
more pi'obable site of Tappuah, besides the seeming etymological
reference to the name.
From Tappuah the boundary of Ephraim ran south-west into the
brook Kanah, which is not above two miles from it. This brook has
been well identified by the retention of its ancient name, so that here
we are again certain of our course out to the sea, which formed
the terminus of this border
boundaries of ephraim, manasseh, and issachar. 45
(3.) Manasseu.
Having now followed the outline of the tribe of Ephraim, so clearly
defined by Joshua, we must next trace that of its confrere Manasseh.
This tribe lay to the north of Ephraim, but instead of crossing the
country from east to west, as it is usually made to do, it occupied only
the half of that space, and lay along the sea to the west, bounded on
the east by the range of Mount Cartnel. The description is as
follows :—
Josh. xvii. 7 : "And the coast of Manasseh was from Asher to Michmethah,
that lieth before Shecliem ; and the border went along on the riglit hand unto
the inhabitants of En-tappuah. [Now Manasseh had tlie land of Tappuah :
but Tappuah on the border of Manasseh belonged to the children of Ephraim.]
And the coast descended unto the river Kanah, southward of the river ; these
cities of Ephraim are among the cities of Manasseh : the coast of Manasseh
also was on the north side of the river, and the outgoings of it were at the
sea : southward it was Ephraim's, and northward it was Manasseh's, and the
sea is his border ; and they met together in Asher in the north, and in Issa-
char in the east."
The boundary of Manasseh is here described as commencing from
Asher, which is not a toivn, as has so often been supposed, but the
lot of Asher with which that of Manasseh bordered in the north, as
the concluding words of Joshua above indicate. The tribe of Asher
would seem to have embraced a portion of the coast south of Carmel
as far as the royal city of Dor, for Dor was given out of Asher to
Manasseh. The border of Asher on the south was probably the Nahr
Zurka, if not a lesser stream nearer to Dor, and passed up over
Carmel, crossing the highest ridge about the famed site of el-Maharaka.
It was from about this spot we think the border of Manasseh commenced;
and from this it ran along the ridges of the range west-south-west, in
a dii'ect line for Michmethah, that famous landmark on the west of She-
chem, a distance of at least thirty-fiye miles. The line of division now
went, we are told, " along on the right hand," this is, to the south,
"unto the inhabitants of En-tappuah." This, as we said above, clearly
defines the position of En-tappuah, and may yet serve to identify it.
Joshua here inserts an explanatory note with great precision, which may
be also useful, that the district of Tappuah lay within the lot of
Manasseh, but the town of Tappuah itself lay within that of Ephraim.
That city and its territory were thus divided by the boundary line, but
the fact is carefully noted that there might be no division between the
tribes in regard to its possession. If the town of TefFuh is ever discovered,
this singular precision of Joshua will show by it the line of demarcation.
We have already indicated ^Ain Abuz as the probable site of Tappuah ;
but if another fountain, and one nearer in name to that of Tappuah,
should turn up, the point wiU be determined. From this place the border
line bends down west to the brook Kanah, as we have shown above in
Ephraim's northern border, and then it follows th3 course of that tor-
46 BOUNDARIES OF EPHRAIM, MANASSEH, AJ^D ISSACHAR.
rent to the sea. From Michmetha westward the border of the two
tribes is the same, and yet there is a curious legal-like reiteration of
terms, as if there was some risk of misunderstanding this part of the
line which nature itself has drawn, for it seems that this brook is deep
and rugged in its banks, so as to form a very marked boundary.
" The coast," says Joshua, " descended unto the river Kanah, south-
ward of the river ; these cities of Ephraim are among the cities of
Manasseh." The punctuation here is not very certain, and the descent of
Manasseh's border to the south of the stream is as little so ; for it seems
to be contradicted by what follows ; while the expression, " these cities,"
would seem to imply that they had been named, but have been somehow
lost fi-om the account, so that the words stand meaningless and uncon-
Hected. The passage that follows is clear and decisive as to the natural
boundary here between the two tribes, " the coast of Manasseh also was
on the north side of the river, and the outgoings of it were at the sea :
southward it was Ephraim's, and northward it was Manasseh's, and the
sea is his border." This of course does not imply that there were drawn
two border lines, but merely that the lot of Manasseh lay north of the
river, and that of Ephraim south. The river was the border.
A passage in the account of Ephraim's border line, to which we did
not advert when that tribe was under discussion, appropriately comes in
here. It is —
" And the separate cities for the children of Ephraim were among the inherit-
ance of the children of Manasseh, all the cities with their villages. And they
drave not out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer ; hut the Canaanites dwell
among the Ephrainiites unto this day, and serve under tribute."
The statement in the description of Manasseh's border is rather indefinite,
"these cities of Ephraim are among the cities of Manasseh "—it not
being clear on which side the cities lay, and to whom they belonged ;
but in the passage quoted above it is perfectly plain. They were cities
and their suburbs within the lot of Manasseh that belonged to Ephi-aim ;
but, not being named, we are left in utter ignorance about them still.
"We know that in the lot of Issachar and Asher there were four cities
and their surroundings that were assigned to Manasseh which exceedingly
" increased the territory and importance of the Litter tribe, viz., Beth-
shan, Ta'anach, Megiddo, and Dor, with their towns. The three former
were taken from the tribe of Issachar, and Dor, the latter, from that of
Afiher. By the addition of Dor to the lot of Manasseh, it is probable
that the most, if not the whole, of that portion of Asher which lay to
the south of Carmel was given to Manasseh bo as to run their boundary
line along the entire ridge of that range.
There remains only one sentence of the description of Manasseh's
border to be considered, but it is one of some importance, and which has
never before been attended to.
•' And they met together in Asher in tlie north and in Issachar in the east."
BOUNDARIES OF EPHRAIM, MANASSEH, AND I6SACHAR. 47
The border of Manasseli marclied in the north with that of Asher,
and in the east with that of Issachar. "They met together" [nyssn
is the very same word that we found before, describing the coincidence
of Ephraim's north border in the south border line at Jericho, where
they formed one ; so here it singularly occurs again to describe one of
the most striking and conclusive features of the sketch we have given
of these tribes.
(4.) Issachar.
The outline of the above two tribes marks out to some extent the
lot of the tribe of Issachar. It lay to the east of them, along the entire
line of the Jordan, from the sea of Chineroth on the north to nearly the
Salt Sea on the south, where the border of Benjamin had a small part of
it, from the Wady Kelt to the north bay of the sea. Issachar, as a
tribe, is not described by Joshua, who only mentions the names of towns
contained in it. It did not require description, as the containing boundaries
of Ephraim and Manasseh on the west, with the River Jordan on the
east, sufficiently defined it. It was of a triangular form, having its apex
at Jericho and its base to the north of the plain of Jezreel, where it was
met by the border of Zabulon, and where its chief cities lay. It contained
thus a long tract of territory, but as this was for the most paii wilder-
ness, its dimensions were much greater than its worth, while three great
and fertile districts were taken from it and given to Manasseh.
Such is the account we have drawn from the simple reading of Joshua,
and we have followed that reading closely, without bending, as we think,
a single word to serve a private purpose. The outline, if correct, gives
an entirely new configuration to these three tribes, relieves a very intri-
cate and important part of Scripture of the cloud that rested on it, and
may, we hope, help to open up the way to a better delineation of the
other northern tribes that still remain so confused and undetermined.
DuNSE, 1st November, 1876. Daniel Kerr.
NOTES ON THE ABOVE.
There can be no doubt that the general direction of the boundaiies
is correctly understood by the author of the above paper, and that the
arrangement will be new to the general public. The Survey allows of
our throwing further light on the details. The following seem to me
the most important points to notice.
1. Archi Ataroth. The first word is considered by most scholars to be
separate from the second, and to be the name of a tribe (the Archites,
2 Sam. XV. 32, &c.) derived from a place called Arich. I have already
pointed out [Quarterly Statement, 1876, p. 184) that this is probably the
modem ^Arik, between Bethel and Bethhoron.
2. Bethel and Luz. The Hebrew has Bethel Luzah where the English
has " Bethel to Luz." The Vulgate reads Bethel Luza, and the LXX.
BoueijX Aou^a. As we have also the direct assertion (Gen. xxxviii. 19)
48 BOTJNDAEIES OF EPHRAIM, MANASSEH, AND I3SACHAR.
tliat Bethel was " called Luz at the first," we cannot hesitate in coup-
ling the two names together as referring to the modem Beltin.
3. Gezer. The author places this town on "Wady Suleiman, apparently-
forgetting M. Ganneau's identification of Gezer at Tell Jezer, much farther
south. It is possible that there was more than one Gezer ; and, again,
that the word Gezer in this passage may be a corruption. On the other
hand, a position for Gezer near Jimzu, on Wady Suleiman, would fit
well with the description of its position given in the Onomasticon ; and
it is impossible to bring the boundary of Ephraim farther south than
Wady Suleiman, because the sites of Aijalon, Beth Hanan, Beneberak,
Jehud, and El Tekeh, all towns of Dan, are pretty certainly fixed imme-
diately south of this line. The Gezer, however, of this passage has not
as yet been recovered. The proposed line agrees also well with Josh.
xvii. 10.
4. Ataroth Adar. The author has not apparently noticed my pro-
posed identification of this site with the modem et Tireh {Quarterly
Statement, 1875, p. 168) though agreeing with his view of the subject.
5. Asher 1iam. Michmethah. It is the opinion of Eeland and others
that the two names refer to one site, the second being a qualify-
in" term. This considerably simplifies the understanding of Josh. xvii.
7 "Asher to Michmethah that lieth before Shechem." The site has
been identified in various places as Teiasir, or as ^Asireh (Asher of the
early Christians), north-east of Shechem, or as 'Asireh, south of She-
chem ; but the last two names are spelt with the Ai)i and the Sad, and
represent properly an ancient Ozor or Hazor. The word Michmethah is
of uncertain meaning, but is thought by some to mean " rocky" (Arabic
MaTchammeh ; compare Michmash and Mukhmds, the Kite for the Hebrew
Caf). There is immediately west of, and in sight of Shechem, a remark-
able precipice crowned by a sacred building called Sheikh es Sireh (spelt
with the Sin). This seems to me the most probable site of this important
point, and there are two indications which tend the same way : 1. The
head of the " Brook Kanah" leads up towards this point as now laid
doAvn by us. 2. Ophrah of Abiezer (in the territory of Manasseh) is not
improbably the modem Fer'ata immediately north of the same line (see
Quarterly Statement, 1876, p. 197, Ophrah). We have not, however, any
very definite idea of the north boundary of Ephraim, though it very
probably ran close to Shechem, and so towards Salhn, to the head of
Wady Far' ah (the waters of Mnon), which formed, there is good reason
to suppose, the north-east division between Ephraim and Manasseh.
6. Ataroth, in the Jordan Valley, is very possibly Tell et Truni, not far
north of the next site.
7. Naarath. The question of the identification of this site will be
found discussed in the "Notes from the Memoir," No. '2o, of the
present number of the Quarterly.
8. En Tappuah. The author does not notice Eobinson's identification of
this site with the present 'Atuf, to which there is no valid objection, and
the " Land of Tappuah," lying north of the large and important valley
BOUXBABIES OF EPIIHAIM, MANASSEII, AND ISSACIIAR. 49
called Wddij Far'ah, would naturally belong to Manas.seh, though the
town was given to Ephraim. The word used to specify the position of
this town does not strictly mean on, but rather near the boundary line,
being near the north bank of the valley; the words, "on the right
hand vinto the inhabitants of En Tappuah," may be better rendered
" south of the dwellers in En Tappuah ;" it cannot properly be rendered
"southwards to," nor is there any indication that the place was south
of Shechem instead of east, as generally placed. The author appears
to have had a difficulty in tracing the boundary line from Shechem to
Wddy Kunah, which is due solely to the latter having always been
incorrectly laid down on the maps. It rises not far from Shechem.
Its suggestion that Jtruaui may be En Tappuah is unfortunate; the
word has nothing to do with the word En, " a spring," but appears to
be the dual of Jan a, " a people," and it is very curious that the greater
part of Mount Ephraim is called by the native peasantry Beldd el
Jein'aln, " land of the two tribes."
9. Taanath Shiloh is not identified by Mr. Kerr; there are, how-
ever, two sites which may be proposed, viz., 1. T'ana, a ruined site
north of Y\inun (Janohah). 2. Tliala, east of 'Atuf, which appears to
have been the Thena of the Onomasticon, being exactly the distance
from Shechem noticed by Jerome.
None of these notes, though considerably strengthening the general
correctness of the conclusions made in the above paper, at all interfere
with the statement made by me in the paper on Samaritan Topography,
that "we have no description of the boundaries of the two great
Samaritan tribes similar to those for the northern and southern tribes."
Mr. Kerr, as well as Mr. Grove (Bible Diet. s.v. Michmethah), agrees
Avith me in the conclusion that the Book of Joshua " is incomplete in
the portion referring to Samaria.^'
10. Issachar. It is probable that all the tribe boundaries were natural,
and Issachar appears to have had plains and no hills. Thus, though the
north and north-east boundaries of Manasseh are undescribed, the
identifications of Eemeth {Rarneh), Tirzah [Teiasir), Eabbith [Rdba),
Aner {'AUar), allow us to divide the two territories along a natural
watershed.
11. Asher. The paper here noted does not remove the great difficulty
of the passage, " and they met together in Asher on the north " (Josh,
xvii. 10), though it does explain how the tribes met "in Issachar on the
east." The enumeration of separate towns of Manasseh, "in Issachar
and in Asher," is followed by a list of places all in the lot of Issachar,
except Dor, which belonged, according to Josephus, to Dan. It is
usual to suppose that a strip of coast between Carmel and the sea
belonged to Asher, which thus touched upon Manasseh, but the follow-
ing are the objections to such a supposition.
1st. The following identifications may be proposed for places on the
northern boundary of Zebulon, the southern of Asher.
1. B. Dagon Tell Daul; C. R. C.
2. Zebulon Sh'ab, C. E. C.
50 BOUKDAEIES OF ErHKAlil, M.V^'ASSEU, AND ISSACHAE.
3. Han. Neiel Y'anin, C. E. C.
4. Cabiil . . . . . . . . Kabul.
0. Shilwr Lihnath . . . . . . Wddy Shaghur, C. E. C.
These all point to tlie Belus as forming the boundary of Asher on the
south.
L'nd. Josephus states Asher to be bounded by Actippus (ez Zib) nortk
of Acre.
3rd. Josephus states Carmel to have belonged to Zebulon.
■ith. The town Idalah of Zebulon may be identified with ed Ddlieh on
Carmel.
tjth. The places on the south boundary of Zebulon, between the sea and
the " river that is before Jokneam " (Josh. xix. 10-12), may be identified,
as existing between the sea and Tdl Keimun along the south boundary
of Carmel as follows : —
1. Maralah = the crusading Mcrla . . = el Mezr'ah, C. E. C.
2. Dabbasheth (the hump) . . . . . . = ed Duweiheh, C. E. C.
3. Jokneam . . . . . . . . . . = TeJl Keimun.
If this view be correct, Ashor was separated from Manasseh by the
land of Zebulon.
It appears, therefore, more probable that the Asher intended in the
present sentence (Josh. xvii. 10) is Asher-ham-Michmethah, which Avas
situate at the north-west comer of the tribe of Ephraim.
The following is the complete list of places identified on the boundaries
of Ephraim and Manasseh. It is very scanty as compared with the
detailed account in the case of Judah, and it follows that the question
of the boundaries between Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulon
(or Asher) is the most difficult topographical question in the Book of
Joshua.
1. "Waters of Jericho
. . ^Ain ed Duk.
2. Wilderness of Bethavcn
, ,
3. Mount Bethel
. ,
4. Bethel Lu/ah . .
. . Beitin.
■J. Archites . .
. . 'Am 'Arik, C. E. C.
0. JaphUtes . .
7. Bethhoron the upper . .
. . B. I'r el FCka.
8. Ataroth Adar
. . et TireJi, C. E. C.
9. Bethhoron the lower . .
. . B. Ur et Tahtu.
10. Gezer
■ •
11. Asher-ham-Michmethah
. . Sh. es Sireh, C. E. C.
12. EnTappuah
.. Ahtf.
13. Taanath Shiloh
. . Tfxila, C. E. C.
14. Janohah . .
T'aitun.
15. Ataz-oth
.. Tellet Tnan;C.li.C.
16. Naarath . .
.. Kh.eJ'Aurh,C.Il.C.
IT. Brook Kanah
. . IWidy Kdiiali.
C. E. C.
2)ith Noveniler, INTG.
51
NOP..
Jekome says that the ruins of Nob wore visible from Diospoli^ of
Lydda. A better acquaintance with the Holy Land in recent years has
shown that the statement must be incorrect.
Nob is mentioned in three passages in the Bible — 1 Sam. xxi., &c. ;
Neh. xi. 32 ; Isa. x. 32. From the last place it is evident that it was
on the way fi'oni Geba to Jerusalem — i.e., in the land of Benjamin.
It is called (1 Sam. xxii. 19) "the city of the priests." This would
seem to mean "the city of the priests who were slain," and further,
since Nob was entirely desolated by Saul, and burnt, as Josephus adds,
a city specially appropriated to them.
So far no difference of opinion seems to exist.
In Joshua xxi. 4 it is said that thirteen cities were allotted to the
children of Aaron — i.e., to the priests. In case, then, of Nob being one
of these, the question of its position is brought within a very narrow
limit, if not virtually settled.
Josephus, himself a priest, seems to assert without hesitation that
Nob was one of the cities set apart by divine command (under Joshua)
for the priests, since, in moralising about Saul, he speaks of his " over-
throwing the city which Grod had chosen for the property and for the
support of the priests." (Whiston. Far the remainder of the pas.sago
see below, Addenda o.)
This language is apparently as plain and precise as could be desired,
but it is not stronger than is warranted by fact so far as concerns Levitical
cities, for their number was fixed at forty-eight by divine commanif
(Numb. XXXV. 7), and the particular cities were given by ht at Shilch
(.Joshua xxi. 2 ; but see also Jos. Ant. v. 1. 24). This language, how--
ever, is utterly without meaning if Nob was neither one of the forty-
eight cities originally selected nor situated within the confined limits
of their suburbs.
Admit the testimony of Josephus, and the question is at once settled
in favour of Nob being one of the thirteen priestly cities (Josh. xxi.).
No hesitation should be felt in accepting this conclusion merely
because the name of Nob is not given to any of these cities, for it was
no uncommon thing for a city to have more than one name {e.g., Hebron
and Kirjath-jearim).
It has been suggested, however, that Nob was either added to the
forty-eight Levitical cities or substituted in the place of one of them.
This view mu.st be examined, for if one instance of such addition or
substitution can be clearly proved, then the expression, "the city of
the priests," certainly, and the words of Josephus perhaps just possibly,
cannot be used as an argument that Nob was one of the thirteen priestly
cities so assigned under Joshua.
I have failed to find any evidence adduced in favour of either of these
euggestions.
52 xoB.
On the other hand, it "would seem absurd to expect to be able to demon-
sti'ate that no addition or substitution was ever made in regard to the
original forty-eight Levitical cities.
Certain evidence, however, on the point at issue is forthcoming.
There is a second list of Levitical cities in 1 Chronicles vi. dating after
the captivity. There is much that points to its being a parallel list to
that in Joshua.
That the total number of cities is given at forty-eight seems to me at
once to dispose of the question of any addition having been made to the
original forty-eight cities.
But though the totals of the two lists agree, the list of names in
Chronicles is defective.
A comparison of the lists shows this result (see Paper A below) : —
Joshua, CJironidcs.
Names of cities given 43 Xames of cities wanting 6
, , same as iu Joshua, or with
difference admitting of
explanation 38
,, entirely different (appa-
rently) 4
48 48
It is remarkable that the only difference in the order of the names in
the two lists exists in regard to the cities in Benjamin — viz., in Joshua
Anathoth precedes, and in Chronicles follows, Almon or Alemeth,
When it is borne in mind that the text of the Chronicles is very cor-
rupt, that certain knowncities had actually two names, that the four excep-
tions (Kishon, Helkath, Kartah, Dimnah) were in Galilee, where there
was a great mixture of nationalities, four unexplained discrepancies
will hardly be taken as sufiRcient to disturb the probable identity of the
two lists. Further, while I;evites and even priests seem to have been
settlers in other tribas than those among which their respective cities
were situated, we have, I believe, conclusive evidence —
1st. That to the priests there never were assigned special cities within
what became the limits of the kingdom of Israel. For on the division
the kingdom (2 Chron. xi. 13, 14) "the priests and the Levites that
were in all Israel resorted to him (Rehoboam) out of all their coasts.
For the Levites left their suburbs and their possessions and came to
Judah and Jerusalem ; for Jeroboam and his sons had cast them off
from executing the priest's office unto the Lord."
The priests are not here said to have left their suburbs, and with
reason, since they had not any to leave in Jeroboam's kingdom, accord-
ing to the original institution.
But a passage in Joshua (xxiv. 33, &c., LXX.) seems at first sight to
NOB. 53
assert an instance of a perpetual possession being assigned to a priest
in the tribe of Ephraim outside the limits of the special inheritances :
" They buried Eleazar in a hill that pertained to Phiaehas his son,
■which was given him in Mount Ephraim."
But if this had been an inheritance appertiining to a priestly family,
why is no mention of it made in the above passage in 2 Chronicles
xi. 13, 14 ?
What thus antecedently woiild seem to be an exception to is rather a
confirmation of the above (the 1st) proposition.
2nd. That to the Levites there never were assigned special cities
■within the tribes in which the thirteen original priestly cities •were
situated (2 Chron. xxxi. 19, Auth. Vers.; also \b verse).
" Also of the sons of Aaron the priests, which were in the fields of
the suburbs of their cities, in every several city, the men that were ex-
pressed by name, to give portions to all the males among the priests, and
to all that were reckoned by genealogies among the Levites."
Here nothing is said about the cities of the Levites. But if there had
been any precedent for giving additional cities to the tribe of Levi,
sui'ely the time for thus acting would have been when the Levites for-
sook their possessions and flocked in a body to support Rehoboam ;
and some trace of such an assignment ought to appear in this passage.
Nehemiah xi. 3 and 20 perhaps, at first sight, seem to tell the other
way, but I think not really, for while Lev. xxv. 32-34 preserved the
original possessions of the Levites, there was no regulation laid down
to prevent their acquiring and holding as an inhei'itance houses in a
walled city, as Samuel apparently did.
So also 1 Chron. ix. 2 is to be explained. Clearly Neh. xii. 28, 29,
and 1 Chron. ix. 16, prove only residence on the part of the Levites,
and not specially assigned dwelling-places allotted to them, and
this, too, at a date after the return from the captivity (i Chron. ix. 3).
May not a wide dispersion of the Levites be contemplated in the
repeated expressions in Deuteronomy, ' ' The Levite that is within thy
gates" ? just as it seems to be confix-med by Judges xvii. 7 ; xix. 1 ; I
Sam. i. 1 ; vii. 1, Abinadab being a Levite, according to Josephus,
and much later, 2 Chron. xxiii. 2.
Even ShUoh does not seem to have been specially allotted to the tribe
of Levi, and when David brought the ai'k to Jerusalem there is no
indication that he assigned lands to Abiathar and the Levites (1 Chi'ou.
xvi. o, 6, 37).
The case then may be summed up thus : —
1. Josephus regarded Nob as one of the thirteen priestly cities.
2. The difference between the two lists of Levitical cities in Joshua
and Chronicles is such (of so slight and uncertain a charactei") that no
argument for the diversity of the cities can be based upon it.
3. We find the original regulations in regai-d to the forty-eight
Levitical cities strictly observed in these two respects : —
54 XOB.
1. Xo special cities in the ten tribes were, up to the time of Eeho-
boam, ever allotted to the jn'ksts as their peculiar property, although
the ark was for a long time at Shiloli in the tribe of Ephraim,
2. No special cities (so far as we know) were ever peculiarly allotted
to the Levitcs in the kingdom of Judah, although there were special
circumstances favourable to such an allotment_ being made, if allow-
able.
It seems, then, reasonable and fair to conclude that the rest of the
regulations in regard to the Levitical cities were strictly observed — i.e.,
that the tribe of Levi never had any city appropriated to itself other
than the forty-eight originally given, and that, therefore. Nob was one
of the thirteen priestly cities named in Joshua, just as Josephus dis-
tinctly states.
From Isaiah x. 32, Nob was evidently in Benjamin, and so one of
the four priestly cities — Gibeon, Geba, Anathoth, Almon.
As the second and third are also mentioned in the above passage,
the final choice lies between Gibeon and Almon.
The argument (attempted above) must now prove a hopeless dilemma
if the conditions under which Nob is mentioned in the Bible are not
satisfied by the situation of one of these two places.
Major Wilson {Quarterly Statement, 1875, p. 95) gives reasons for
rejecting Gibeon. It remans therefore that Almon or (Chronicles)
^ilemeth is the city Nob under another name.
The name Almon or Alemeth, as obviously applied to a place, is only
found in the two lists of Levitical cities, and happily there seems to be
no question about its identification.
One mile north-east from Anathoth (Anata) is a ruin marked
Almit on Yan de Velde's map.
Dr. Porter says, " Descending from Anathoth into a bleak valley, we
see on a hill on the right a ruin called Almit, the ancient Alemeth or
Almon, a city of Benjamin."
It remains now to submit this site to the ordeal supplied by the
requirements of the three passages in which Nob is mentioned.
1st. It is mentioned in the flight of David (1 Sam. xxi., &c.). Almit
is not much more than two miles east of Tuleil el Ful (generally taken
to be Gibeah) ; but since David manifestly went to Nob to consult the
pi-iest, as the story shows, the question is not one of a few miles in
any direction.
A curious coincidence may be mentioned here, even though there be
nothing in it. David, to quiet Ahimelech's alarm at not seeing any
attendants with him, replies that Saul had commanded him saying,
" Let no man know anything of the business . . . and I have ap-
pointed my servants to such and such a place."
LXX. tV TO) t6-KUI T^ XfyOfifUO! 6(0V TTlffTlS (piXoCfl 'AX.jUWVI.
It is odd that the word "AXfiwi, Almon (however explained), should
NOB. 55
turn up in this place, when it is sought to show that Nob itself was
Almou. From the New Testament we learn that David actually had
attendants with him, though they kept out of the priest's sight. (Per-
haps there was not so much of falsehood in what David said as is
generally supposed.)
The command of Solomon to Abiathar (1 Kings ii. 26, and Josephus),
■" Get thee to Anathoth, unto thine own fields," would seem to show
that the inheritance of Abiathar was in that priestly city. Could the
contiguity of the two places (Anathoth and Almon — /.<., Nob) in any
way explain the circumstance that on a Sabbath day the only food
Ahimelech had within reach was the shew-bread just removed from the
table ?
Indeed the two places were so close to one another that their
Levitical boundaries must have almost touched, if not intersected, so
that after the destruction of Nob its lands might have been said to
be at Anathoth.
'2nd. It is named in the march of Sennacherib (Isaiah x. 28-32) in
■a passage on which the present Survey will probably throw much
light.
He conies to Ai, passes through Migron,
At Michmach deposits his baggage;
They cross the pass, Geba is our night station ;
Terrified is Eamah, Gibeah of Saul flees.
Shriek with thy voice, daughter of Gallim ;
Listen, 0 Laish ! Ah ! poor Anathoth !
Madmenah escapes, dwellers in Gebim take flight.
Tot this day he halts at Nob :
He shakes his hand against the mount, Daughter of Sion,
The hill of Jerusalem.
{Dictionary of the Bible, Art. Nob.)
The great king, instead of advancing to Jerusalem by the easier
voad past Beeroth (Bireh), here first is found or comes into sight at Ai,
and passes on (through or) to Migron, or the precipice (no place would
seem so well to answer this description as the broken clitf on the
north side of the passage of Michmash, and then the south cliff might
well be the Migron of 1 Sam. xiv. 2, the two making the rocks Bozez
and Seneh. See Lieutenant Kitchener's photograph), to secure for
himself as a base for operations Michmash, a position of advantage, as
being the centre of a fruitful district {Quarterly Statement, 1876, p. 125,
and I Sam. xiii. IT), and of great strength (held by Saul, 1 Sam. xiii.
2; by the Philistines, id. 5; and the residence of Jonathan, Jos.
Antiq. xiii. 1, 6, and 1 Maccab. ix. 7.3). Here then he lays up his bag-
gage, crosses the great ravine by a short march to Geba, where he
■encamps for the night. The next day he continues his advance upon
56 NOB.
Jerusalem by the road past Anathoth, but abruptly, after a very sliort
stage, turns aside a little out of the way to Almon — i.e., Nob.
This slow advance may have been due to the pestilential distemper
from which (Josephus says) Sennacherib found his army suffering.
Isaiah's description seems to be worked up to set forth in the
strongest light the greatness of the catastrophe, being equivalent to
He has occupied the strongest position,
Crossed the most difficult ravine.
Seized the fortress of the northern frontier,
Penetrated to a very secluded spot in the country,
Threatens to destroy Jerusalem ;
And then himself is suddenly overthrown.
Note 1. Perhaps the mention of Nob, recalling the memory of its
former total destruction, is meant to be ominous of Sennacherib's ap-
proaching overthrow, and to encourage confidence in the fulfilment of
the second terrible prophecy by the recollection of the first.
Note 2. It seems possible (see below, Addenda 4?*) that Nob was near
the road to Jericho, and so commanded the road eastward as well as
northward.
The words in Isaiah xiv. 25, " Upon my mountains tread him under
foot," would seem to indicate that Sennacherib's disaster took place
in the mountainous district of Judaea.
Josephus says, " On the very first day of the siege" {i.e., of Jeru-
salem), but it is a question how far this statement is consistent with
2 Kings xix. 32 :
" Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning the King of Assyria,
He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come
before it with shield, nor cast a bank against it. By the way that ho
came, by the same shall he return."
Is it necesary, however, to understand that Sennacherib's army was
destroyed at Nob, or that even from that place he was to shake his
hand against the mount of the daughter of Sion.*
A further examination of the passage (Isa. x. 28-32) will perhaps
hoAv that it is not less worthy of an accurate topographer than of aa
inspired prophet.
It is highly probable, if not certain, that the places are named in
consecutive order as they would be thought of by, if not rather actually
visible to, an observer on the look-out from Geba.
First, looking north, he sees the invader rushing down from the
heights of Ai, marching through (or on to) Migron, occupying Mich-
mash, crossing the ravine and ascending to Geba.
The next morning (as has been said) dawns upon a terror-stricken
neighbourhood. The spectator faces southwards towards Jerusalem,
and, beginning from the right (as in the view of Moses from Pisgali),
he sees in thought, or in reality, and probably in the very order
NOB. 57
specified, all the cities named — viz., Ramali, Gibeah, Gallim, Laish,
Anathoth, Madmenali, and Gebim. Nob also is probably in^ sight
(and, perhaps, just possibly Jerusalem itself).
The accompanying tracing from Van de Velde's map shows the
relative position of the above places, so far as they are known for certain,
and always supposing that map to be correct. The new map of the
Fund will settle the positions conclusively.
[noktu.]
O Ai
Gibeah O
O Jlkhma-ih
O Geba
O I'vamah
O Goba(? = Gebim)
O Azmavcth (.' = Madnieuah)
O Ahuou
oSAnathoth
Sumah (.'= Gallim) O
O Laish
O JERUSALEM
-58 >^0B.
Places mentioned Isaiali x. 28—32, and seen in tlie panorama from Geba:
Modem
Situated
name.
on
.\i
Et Tel
Is vi.sible from Geba . . .
Hill.
Migiou ...
—
Not identilied, but if a district,
near tlie passage of ]Micbmash
)> »»
^ficlinia.sli..
Jlukhmas
—
J J J)
Hill.
•CJeba
Jeba
. — .
Hill.
liamah
Er It am
Xot visible from Geba accord-
ing to ^Murray' s f^uide book, but
Xot visible.
Hill.
Oiheah
TuleilelFul
—
Is visible from Geba ...
Hill.
<;allini
? Sum all
Named in Captain Warren's
f Is probably visible
or
letters, page 19.
Kbirbet el
Soma
Lt. C. R. Condcr. Possibly
the .same place
I from Geba
Hill.
)
T,ai.sli
L'Isawiyeh
Lt. C. 11. C, in a valley (per-
haps ruins also on a bill) in
1 Jlav be visible from
r Geba
Auata
either case
Is visible from Geba ...
Auatbotli
(I believe)
HiU.
jiadraenali
Xot identified f=Hizmeh, i.e.
>
Azmaveth — ■which, as re-
quired, is to the left of
Anathoth, or some other ruin
Is probably visible
1 from (Icba
Hill.
1
thereabouts
J
"Cubim
Not identilied (in this locality),
but almost so by Capt. "War-
ren (Letters, p. 29), who men-
tions "a high hill S.E. of
ilust be visible from
Geba (in the position re-
quired), which may have been
{ Geba
Hill.
I
one of tlie ancient Gibcahs
j
or Gibeons "
J
Xub...
Almit
—
Mu.st also, I believe, be
visible from Geba.
HilL
1
Ihit Jerusalem (?) r-aii hardly be visible from Geba.
If all tlie places named Ramah-Gibeali .... Gebim were visible
from Geba, it might seem that Nob also might consistently be expected
to be visible.
It is said that nine mined towns are visible from Geba. A careful
examination of the prospect from the spot would probably, according
to the above theory, settle the doubtful or unknown sites here men-
tioned.
I hardly think that any part of Jerusalem can be visible from Almit
(though this point can only be finally settled by a careful observer), so
that the condition that " Siou should be visible from Nob," can scarcely,
I imagine, be fulfilled by the proposed identification.
This condition, however, though very desirable, is not (so fai* as I
can see) absolutely required, or necessarily involved in the words,
'' he shall shake his hand against the daughter of Siou," which may be
only a very significant expression for threatening Jerusalem with,
destruction.
,xoi5. 59
It is stated that the Rabhius assert that Jerusalem might be seen
from Nob ; but, on the other hand, D. Kimchi says his father took it
for Jerusalem (on 1 8am. xxi. 1).
.■3rd. Nob is mentioned in Neh. xi. 32 next to Anathoth, agreeably
to what is stated above, that Almit is in close proximity to Anata. (See
Paper B.)
Addenda.
In conclusion, a few points of doubtful value may be briefly touched
\ipon : —
1. Among David's warriors were men from several cities in Benja-
min— ^viz., Gibeon, Gibeah, Azmaveth, Anathoth, Rama, Beeroth, and
Bahurim, but none are mentioned from Almon, which was likely to be
the case if Almon was Nob, all of wlnise inhabitants, except Abiathar,
were slain by Doeg the Edomite ; though, of course, it is not necessary
that every native of Nob should have been in Nob at the time so as to
be slain. (See below, § 4.)
2. Can the remarkable tombs or peculiar constructions {Quarterly
Statement, 1874, p. 78) a mile north of Almit, called generally Kabuv
Beni Israil or Kabur el Amalikeh. mark the spot where the massacred
priests or people were buried, and by these interchanging names pre-
serve the memory of the victims and instrument of Saul's frenzy, for
Tioeg the Edomite might perhaps be an Amalekite. The number of
priests slain (A. Y. 8 j ; LXX. 305 ; Josephus, 385) shows that with all
the inhabitants of Nob included, a great multitude of persons must
have been slain, and that Nob itself was therefore a considerable
place.
3. I think from Paper A it will be seen that we might fairly expect
to find the Levitical cities among the tribal cities. Can the city of
Benjamin called (Josh, xviii. 2-1) Cephar-Aammonai represent the city
Almon? Cephar = Kefr or village, just as we have Beth-azmaveth,
■or simply Azmaveth.
4. Tlie Targvim says Bahurim (2 Sam. xvi. 5) was the same as Almon.
Bahurim still defies identification, and the question is too wide to be
discussed here, but it may be mentioned that —
a. David went past the top of the hill [i.e., Mount of Olives), and one
road to Anathoth still crosses the same ridge.
b. '• There are two Roman roads to Jericho, one near El Isawiyeh
and one by Bethany" (Lt. C. R. Conder) ; perhaps the former, farther
on, passes near Almit.
c. The same road to Anathoth would probably bring David nearer to
Saul's estates, so that Ziba would more easily lucet him.
d. The above road by Anathoth (if continued, as siipposed) would
also bring Phalti to Bahurim (= Almon) on the direct way to his home
at Laish (2 Sam. iii. 16).
e. The words (2 Sam. xvii. 20), " They be gone over the brook of
water," are of doubtful meaning, but possibly might apply to Wady
Farah or W. Suweinit.
0. This point is suggested by the remainder of the passage quoted
from Josephus, Ant. vi. 12. 7, which pei-haps ought not to be kept out of
sight, lest it should seem to have been purposely suppressed, because by
the novelty of its statement it might appear to throw discredit on the
previous part of the sentence. The words quoted already are, " over-
60 NOB,
throwing the city whlcli God had chosen for the property and for the
support of the priests" (the remaining words are) "and prophets.
which were there, and had ordained as the only city allotted for tht>
education of such men."
The instant objection is obvious — viz., that we do not know of ai-y
particular cities being allotted to the prophets.
But, then, what is meant by " prophets " '1
We learn this from a comparison of 1 Sam. x. o,
"Thou shalt meet a company oi pro'plids coming down from the high,
places with a jJsaUery , and a tahret, and a X)ipe, and a harp, before them ;.
and they shall prophesy,"
with 1 Chron. xxv. 1, 2, 3, 6, '
" David separated to the service of the sons of Asaph, and of Heman,.
and of Jeduthun, who should prophesy with harps, and p)salteries, and
cymhaUr
"■ The sons of Asaph which prophesied according to the order of tho
king."
"The sons of Jeduthun who prophesied with a Jiarp).^'
All these were of the tribe of Levi receiving their appropriate work.
Why should the prophets mentioned by Josephus bo different Y Why
should musical instruments not be used in the service of the taber-
nacle before the time of David ?
It seems, then, that there is no reason for thinking that Josephus.
makes his assertion without any Avarrant.
But if one had to show that Nob was famous for the education
of such men {i.e., men skilled in sacred music), something might per-
haps be built upon the baffling expressions, "With psalteries on
AJamoih" ( = Alemeth = Almon), 1 Chron xv. 20; "A song upon
Alamoih" (Title, Psalm xlvi,). W. F. Birch.
NOTE ON THE ABOVE.
The country in question consists of a series of parallel ridges of about
equal height. The view from Tell el Ful is very extensive, including
Jerusalem, Anathoth, Hizmeh, Jeb'a (Gibeah of Saul, C. R. C.). Michmash
is hidden, and the neighbourhood of Ai and Rimmon is seen. From
Anathoth also a good view is obtained of the villages lying north,
Hizmeh (Azuiaveth) being very conspicuous. Almit is visible from near
Anathoth, but Jeb'a is hidden by the Hizmeh ridge. As regards the
remainder, Ai (et Tell) is not visible from Jeb'a, nor is Rameh and Laish
(L'IsaAviyeh), which is hidden behuid Anathoth ; Almit being directly in
line, i.s hidden from Jeb'a by Hizmeh. The view from Jeb'a is not so^
good as might be expected, and is especially veiy contiued on the north
and north-west. It is certainly impossible to see Jeru.salem from ' Almit
or from any x^lace north-east of the Olivet ridge.
The peculiar position of Jerusalem makes it impossible to place Nob
near Anathoth, or indeed in any position except near Tell el Ful, and
the only objection to its identification with Sh'afat (a word having a
similar meaning) lies in the identifying of Tell el Ful with Gibeah of
Haul, for which no adequate reason has ever been adduced. Placing the
latter at Jeb'a the Avhole question is simi)lified. See my note, Quarterhj.
Btatement, 187a, p. 183. C. E. C.
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64
NOB.
Papeb B.
The only object of this note is to show that Nob (in Neh. xi. 31-35)
is not out of its place in being named after Anathoth instead of before
it. The consecutive order of the places must only be looked for within
certain limits.
p<
Relative Situation
Direction in which
2
Name.
Modern Xame.
represented
(roughly). 1
mentioned.
Bethel
(
1. Michmasli...
Mukhmas
Ai
1
2. Aija = Ai...
Et Tel
•
From S.E. to N.W.
(
3. Bethel
Beitin
^Michmasli
^1
1. Anathoth ...
2. Nob
Anata
Aim it
Beit Hanina
• Almit
• Anathoth
From S.W. to N.E.
(
1. Ananiah =
^1
2. Hazor =
0. 1!. C.
Khirbet Ilazur
C. R. C. (Q. S.
1875, p. 183.)
Hazor Ananijih
? E. to W.
Perhaps points to Gittaim
being near Ramah.
^1
1. Eamah
Er It am
? Northward — ? near
2. Gittaiiu
? Liiknowu
Beeroth. Inhabitants
of Beeroth Hed to Git-
taim, 2 Sam. iv. 3.
•^!
1. Hadid
?=E1 Haditheh
Neballat
2. Zeboim
? Unknown
•
S.W. towards N.E.
(
9j. Neballat ...
Beit Nebala
1
• Hadid
•1
1. Led
Ludd
•Ono
2. Ono
.3, Valley of the
Kefr Anna
S. to N. with some W.
Craftsmen
? Unknown
• Eod
From the above, with one exception (in which case no map has been
consulted, No. 3), it would seem that the universal direction of the cities
of each gr'oup is S. to N., sometimes inclining to W., occasionally to
theE.
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QUARTEKLY STATEMENT, ApRIL, 1877.]
THE
PALESTINE EXPLORATION FUND.
NOTES AND NEWS.
The Survey Expedition is once more in the fieKl. Lieut. Kitchener's letters,
■dated the 29t]i of January, the 6th, 14th, and the 20th of February, announce in
succession a dehiy of eight days at J^ort Said, his arrival at Beyrout and at
Damascus, and his dej>arture for Haifa. He received the greatest assistance at
Beyrout from Consul-General Eldridge. Tlie new Wali of Syria arrived while lie
was at Beyrout, and lie liad an opportunity of showing him a portion of the
map-work. Horses, which are veiy dear, in consequence of an epidemic in
Egypt and extensive purchases by the Government, were bought at Damascus,
Here, too, Lieut. Kitchener saw Abd el Kader, who expressed his deep regret
that the Safed outrage had been perpetrated by his followers, and gave him
letters which should secure the party from a rejx'tition of the attack. The
country is report xl quite quiet, and apparently safe for surveying pur|X)ses.
The noncommissioned officers were to have landed at Haifa, but were eavried on
to Beyrout in consequence of bad vveather. The heavy luggage was sent back to
Haifa by sea under charge of Corporal Brophy ; and Lieut. Kitchener, with
Sergeant Malings and Corporal Sunderland, rode down tlie coast from Beja-out.
Work was started on the 27th. The work already completed consists in tlie
filling-in of the detail of the Akka jilain, and running the line of levels from
Mejdel to the Mediterranean.
Lieutenant Conder, as his papers in this number of tlie Quartcrhj Stat^nncnt
prove, is occupied entirely in the preparation of his notes for the Memoir to
accompany the Map. All the sheets drawn during the last year are consigned to
the charge of the Union Bank of London for greater safety. "When Lieut.
Kitchener has been able to clear up certain points of difficulty which require
investigation on the ground, there will be nothing to prevent the publication of
these sheets.
The programme for 1877, announced in Januaiy, has thas been fairly com-
menced. The cost of the whole is, as then stated, upwards of £300 a montli.
The supporters of the undertaking will remember that the Committee arc
always in want of money, and that the earlier subscriptions are paid, the better
it i§ for the Society. '
. 8 NOTES AND XKWS.
We publish a paper by M. Clermont-Ganneau on the "Tombs of Joseph and
Nicodemus" in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Tlie discovery there
announced and described is of great importance from an archaeological point
of view. If his conclusion be correct, then the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
would seem to be built over— not one tomb only, but a collection of undoubted
Jewish tombs.
Local Societies have been formed since last January in Norwich, where the
Dean has consented to join the General Committee ; in Derby ; and at Melbourne.
The particulars of the formation of the latter are given iu a letter below.
Captain Anderson gives an account of Jacob's Well and its surroundings as he
saw it on his visit ten years ago. AVe are able to promise for the next number
a drawing from a sketch made on the spot two years ago, by Mr. H. W. Harper.
Meantime Lieut. Kitchener will report to the Committee, as soon as he has time
to visit the place, what can be done there. Until this report is received, no
further action will be taken in the matter.
An offer has been made by Mr. F. Locock of £50 towards a special fund for the
examination and preservation of IJachel's Tomb. The Committee have ordered
this ofter to be recorded. As in the case of Jacob's Well, no action can be taken
until a report has been received from Lieut. Kitchener.
A letter has been received from the Eev. Selah ilerrill, of the American
Palestine Association. He has presented the Committee with a sketch of his
route map east of Jordan. He was to start for Moab on the (3th of March, with
the design of visiting Kerak, the south end of the Dead Sea, Lezer, Kamoth-
Gilead, Penuel, and many other places.
The following is the finajicial position of the Fund (March 29th). Eeceipts
from Jan. 1 to March 29th, £1,201 15s. 3d. Expenditure for the same period :
Exploration, £856 Is. Id. ; office and management, £206 16s. 6d. ; unpaid
bills, £100. The balance in the banks on the 2Dtli was £362 19s. 3d. This "is
only equal to the expenditure for the month of April. The sum of £2,000 is
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once instead of waiting till the end of the year. The balance-sheet and Treasurer's
statement will be found in their usual places.
Several cases were discovered in 1876 of postage stamps being lost on their way
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NOTES AND NEWS. fi!)
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London : Rev. Henry Oearj^ 1(3, Somerset Street, Portman Square.
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Diocese of Ripon : Rev. T. C. Henlej', Kirkby Malham Yicarage.
Ireland.
Rev. G. J. Stokes, RIackroek, Dublin.
While desiring to give every publicity to proposed identifications by officers
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Cases for binding the Quarterly Statement are now read}', and can be had on
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FORMATION OF A NEW LOCAL ASSOCIATION AT MELBOURNE.
The following Report, dated Dec. 21st, 187C, has been received from Mr. H.
W. Fry, authorised to act on behalf of the Soidety during his visit to Australia
and New Zealand : —
"I have much pleasure in now sending a risiimc of the work I have done in
this town. When 1 arrived I presented your letter to Mr. ^\., but found that the
interest he takes in the subject is only very general, and he has not the time to
70 LIEUT, kitchener's REPORTS.
assist us. I therefore wrote to the leading paper liere on the subject, but before
I got au answer I was introdueed to the Kev. W. Poole, of Dorcas Street,
Emerald Hill, Melbourne ; and I determined to accept his offer to undertake
the post of secretary. He knows almost everj' one, is very energetic, and takes
great interest in the work. He promised to get up a committee, but after I left
him I thought there would be nothing like doing what could be done at once,
so I arranged to hold a meeting at the earliest date convenient, and did all 1
could to get a fair attendance. The meeting was held on "Wednesday afternoon^
an account of which you will find in the papers which I send you. It was there
resolved to appoint a in-ovisional committee, and Mr. Poole secretary ^)ro <«)?.,
and to hold another public meeting this afternoon, which was advertised and
done. The committee were then made permanent, and one or two names added^
and thcv all pledged themselves to support the Society. The committee consist
of the "following gentlemen : the Very Rev. Dean Macartney ; Revs. S. L.
Chase, A. Gosrean, A. Davidson, C. JI. Yelland, AV. Wood, G. P. Lush, and
Mr. E. :M. Gibbs ; also the treasurer. Dr. Iffla. There already exists a,
good deal of interest in the matter amongst the general public. Mr. Poole
would like two calico maps similar t j those 1 have, and he and the other clergy
on the committee will give lectures on the subject. I asked the Governor, Sir
Geo. Bowen, to let his name appear as patron, and I think he will do so. I am
not able to write more fully now as 1 am just leaving for Tasmania. I think
we may congratulate ourselves on having started very well here, and I quite
believe it will prove a very valuable branch. " H. W. Fuy."
LIEUTENANT KITCHENER'S EEPOETS.
I.
Palestlxe Survey Camis Haiefa,
6th March, 1877.
After seven days' delay at Port Said, owing to the non-arrival of
the Russian steamer, I reached Beyrout on the Gth February, and found
that the newly-appointed Governor-General of Spia, Zia Pacha, had
not arrived. He was, however, daily expected, and on the 8th Februai-y
he landed. On the 9th I went with Mr. Eldridge, who was making his
official visit, and saw him. The "WaU appeared to take considerable
interest in our work, and wished me every success. I was informed
that he probably would not be able to give me the letters I required until
he reached the seat of his government at Damascus. On the 11th, there-
fore, I went to Damascus to await him there, as also to collect our
scattered servants and to buy horses. Mr. Jago, the EngHsh Consul at
Damascus, kindly asked me to stay with him.
After calling upon the acting Govenior-General, I saw the Emir
Abd el Kadcr, who received me very well, and expressed great regret for
the conduct of his people in the late aflfaii- at Safed. On his returning
my visit ho gave me letters to his chiefs at Tiberias and Safed, which I
hope will prove of great use to me.
While at Damascus I heard of the arrival of my noncommissioned
officers at Beyrout, having been driven past Haiffa by stress of weather,
and as the Wall did not seem likely to attempt the crossing of the
mountains, I went back to Beyrout, hoping to get my letters there.
After three days, by the kind efforts of our Consul-General, Mr. Eldridge,
LIEUT- kitchener's reforts. 71
I received the required letters, and as my party was now complete, men
and animals, I started the same day for Haiffa, where I arrived with my
noncommissioned officers on Saturday, the 24th.
Some time was lost in getting our things out of store, in repairing
•damages, and in cleaning instruments. On "Wednesday, the 28th, I am
glad to report that work was fairly started. The day before I saw the
Pacha of Acca, who received me very well and gave me a letter to all his
kaimacams; also, after a short correspondence,.! have received from him a
special letter for the kaimacam of Safed and two zabtiehs to be per-
manently attached to the expedition. The country seems to be very
quiet and orderly, the Government having determined to put down all
fanaticism, and the calling out of the rodifs has drained the country of
young men. I have, therefore, no apprehension of any difficulty oc-
curring to delay our work or to interfere with the manner of its pro-
gress.
The work that had to be done from this camp was : 1st. The
detail of the Acca Plain had to be worked in ; 2nd, the line of levels
running from the Mediterranean to the Sea of Galilee had to be com-
pleted from Mejdel to the sea. I am glad to be able to report that both
these works have been satisfactorily finished. The detail of forty-
five square miles has been worked in, and two bench-marks have been
cut at Haiffa on the rocks, and one at Jiden, thus finishing the levelling
on this side.
Owing to the lateness of the rainy season this year the country is
still in a very swampy condition, and even had we not been unavoid-
ably delayed, work could hardly have been begun before. The Kishon
has to be crossed in a boat, the horses and mules swimming, and as we
have had to cross it twice every day it has caused great loss of time.
The first day we found considerable difficulty in crossing the Plain of
Acca owing to the marshy nature of the ground after the late rains, and
could only get to our work by making a long detour alter some of us
had experienced the pleasures of a mud bath. We were also delayed
one day by wet weather.
I have also made a strict inquiry after the name of ''Kulmon" or
" Kalamon," mentioLcd in Quurtcrhj Statement, January, 1S"6, p. 20, as
to be found on the maps of Eobiuson, Eitter, and Jacotin, but not on
those of M. Guerin andVandevelde, and which also occurs on Murray's
map. The German colony here have purchased nearly all the land
north of Tirch, and by the kind permission of Mr. Sennaker, I have
been allowed to carefully examine their title-deeds ; though they have
land all round Khurbet Kefr es Samir, no such name occurs.
I have also ridden to Tireh with the sole olyect of finding this name.
I asked every one I met on the road there and back, about twenty
people, first for all the names of the country round, and as a last re-
source, if they had ever heard of " Kulmon," " Kulamon," or anything
like it. At Kh. Kefr es Samir I found an old man who inhabited a cavo
close by, and put the same questions. At Tireh I saw the sheikh and about
72 Jacob's well. .
two dozen men ; none had ever heard of such a name. Since then the
superior of the convent of Mount Carmel, who knows the district most
thoroughly, has assured me that no such name occurs. I can therefore
only assume that the name does not exist, and that our map is there-
fore right in not putting it on. How other maps have procured the
name seems difficult to understand ; but, as in some other case, it may
have been supplied by some too enthusiastic traveller, who looked more
for what ought to be in the country than what is.
Lieutenant Conder appears to have got over the difficulty of the want
of the name in the case of the identification of Kalamon, vide Quarterly
Statement, January, 1876, p. 20.
I hope to-morrow to move my camp to Hattin, and from thence, and
the camp after, to survey the shores of the Sea of Galilee.
H. H. KiTCHEXER, Lieut. E.E.,
Commanding Survey of Palestine.
JACOB'S WELL.
A PAEAGKAPn in the last Quarterly Statement informed subscribers
that Dr. Nathaniel Eogers, of Exeter, had contributed £50, and Miss
Peache, of Wimbledon, £100, for the purpose of clearing oiit Jacob's
Well, and for surrounding and protecting the well with stonework.
Before this can be done it is necessary that a cSreful examination should
be made of the site, and this will be carried out at the earliest oppor-
tunity by Lieutenant Kitchener, who is now in Palestine. Pending
the receipt of Lieutenant Kitchener's report, it may be interesting to
the subscribers to have before them an account of the well and the
adjacent site from notes taJren on the spot by our explorer, Captain
Anderson, in 186G.
''March Zlst, 1877.
" Jacob's Well is situated at the spot where the Vale of Shechem
merges into the Plain of El Mukna, and the ^ite is acknowledged by
Jews, Moslems, and Christians. The existence of a well sunk to a
gi-eat depth in a place where waterspriugs on the surface are abundant
is sufficiently remarkable to give this well a peculiar history. It is
remarkably characteristic of the j)rudence and forethought of the great
Patriarch, who, having purchased a parcel of ground at the entrance of
the vale, secured on his own property, by dint of great toil, a perennial
supply of water at a time when the adjacent watersprings wei'c in the
hands of unfriendly, if not actually hostile neighbours.
"In the midst of a mass of ruined stones, among which are two or
three columns still standing, is a vaulted chamber about fifteen feet
square, and in the floor of the chamber are two opejiings four feet apart,
one of which is the proper mouth of the well. The other opening is
either an accidental breach, or has been designedly made in a rough and
ready way for the convenience of having two mouths, by which pitchers
74 JACOlj's -SVELL.
could be lowered into the well simultaneously. The true mouth of the
well has a narrow opening just wide enough to allow the body of a man
to pass through with arms uplifted, and this narrow neck, which is
about four feet long, opens out into the well itself, which is cyUndri-
cally shaped aud about seven feet six inches in diameter. The mouth
and upper part of the well is built of masonry, and the well appears
to have been sunk through a mixture of alluvial soil and limestone
fragments till a compact bed of mountain limestone was reached, having
horizontal strata which could be easily worked, and the interior of the
well presents the appearance of being lined throughout with rough
masonry.
" The well, when examined in 1866, Avas only seventy-five feet deep, but
there can be no doubt that the original depth was much greater, as
quantities of rubbish have fallen into the well from the ruins of the
buildings that formerly covered it, and passers-by for many centuries
have probably thrown stones into it. Eobinson states that the well in
1838 was 105 feet deep, and if his measurement is correct, debris to a
depth of thirty feet has accumulated in thirty-eight years. In 1875
the depth was found by Lieutenant Condor to be seventy-five feet, the
same as in 18G6. The well was undoubtedly sunk to a great depth for
the purpose of securing, even in exceptionally dry seasons, a supply of
water, which at great depths would always be filtering through the
sides of the well and would collect at the bottom. When examined
in April, 1866, the well was dry, but an earthenware pitcher was found
at the bottom of the well and not broken, which would indicate that
water still collects in the avcII at some seasons, as the pitcher would
have been broken had it fallen upon the stones.
"The vaulted chamber over the well might possibly be the crypt of
the church built over the well about the fourth century.* Arculphus,
one of the early travellers in Palestine, describes the church in the form
of a cross and the well in the middle ; but by the time of the Cru-
saders the church was destroyed, and subsequent travellers who visited
the well mention only the ruins around it.
" It would be a matter of the greatest interest if the Committee
Aveio enabled, through the liberality of Dr. Rogers and Miss Peache,
not only to clear out the well, but to excavate and disclose to view
the foundations of one of the earliest cruciform churches. It would
then be for consideration how to give cfTect to the proposal to surround
and protect the well Avith stonework.
" The accompanying woodcut illustrates the state of the vault as it
appeared nine years ago, but since then many of the stones compos-
ing it, and probably all the well- cut .stones in the adjacent ruins,
* 111 (luarlcrhj Statement, Jau. 1874, page 6, reference is made to the church
at Abu Ghosl), named after St. Jerome, where excavations have disclosed a
crypt, forming a coini)lete subtenanean church, which contains a cave or cistern
filled with water.
AGE OF THK TEMPLE W.S.LL.
75
have becu removed to supply materials for the new Turkish barrack,
situated half a mile distant iu the direction of Nablus.
"S. A."
Mr. H. A. Ilarper, another member of the Executive Committee, has
kindly consented to contribute to the next Quarterhj SLatement a sketch,.
taken in iSTo, of Jacob's Well and the adjacent slope of Mount
Gerizlm.
AGE OF THE TEMPLE WALL.
A QUESTION having arisen as to the possible date of the small jar of
Phoenician pottery found by Captain "Warren iu a hole scooped in the
rock, three feet east of the corner foundation-stone of the south-east
angle of the Temple wall, the Committee have referred the jar itself
to theii' colleague, Dr. Birch, probably the highest living authority
in relation to such matters. Dr. Birch's report is as follows : —
"My dear Sie,
"Jaiwari/ lOth, 1877.
-The little vase -which you left accompanies the-
present letter. It is of rather rude shape and course terru-cotta, and
closely resembles some in the British Museum, said to have been
found in Eachel's tomb at Bethlehem. As there -was also found at
the same site a shell engraved -with figures, and partly carved, -which
might be as old as the fourth or fifth century B.C., it is just possible
that the vase, -which resembles Egyptian -svare in shape, might be as
old as that period, but there are no data to my knowledge from
inscriptions on this class of pottery to determine its actual age.
" Believe me,
" Yours very truly,
"Walter Besant, Esq." "Samuel Biech.
76
THE HOLY SEPULCHRE.
I. — Tomb op Joseph of Arijiath.ea.
About twenty yards west of the Holy Sepulchre, in the church itself,
is a little crypt traditionally known as the Tomb of Joseph of Ari-
luathsea, or the Tombs of Joseph and Nicodemus. The question
v/hether this crypt is ancient or not has long been recognised as one
of the essential elements in the great controversy over the authenti-
city of the Sepulchre.
The ascertained existence in this place of remains belonging without
doubt to a Jewish burial-place, Avould at once remove one of the
principal objections to the authenticity of the site.
The question may, in fact, be resolved into two propositions, the
latter subordinate to the former — ^viz., (1) Can the traditional Sepul-
i;hre, which is within the walls of the modern city, really be a Jewisli
tomb ? and (2) If so, can it be the Tomb of our Lord ?
The presence round the Sepulchre of a group of ancient tombs would
solve the first difficulty, which many desire to see removed before pro-
ceeding to the second. They do not see their way to admit that there
were, in the time of our Lord, tombs existing on the spot which now
is shown as His. It is, therefore, most important to establish, if pos-
sible, the fact that the shrine now adored has, or may have, within it, if
not the very tomb in which Jesus was laid, at least a real Jewish tomb.
Both adversaries and partisans of the Sepidchre have appreciated
the value of this preliminary difficulty, and have from the first made
it the starting-jioint of theii- argument. But neither have, in my
opinion, produced an exhaustive examination of the place in dispute.
I have been enabled, by a careful study of this crypt, to ascertain
sundry points which I believe have not been noticed by my predecessors,
and which appear to me decisive in this question.
Mr. AV. Hepworth Dixon has recently, in a remarkable article on the
Holy Sepulchre,* called attention to this aspect of an archteological
problem which, in spite of its erudite character, has had the rare privi-
lege of exciting general interest and raising the most passionate dis-
cussions, and he has shown the value of the new facts ascertained by
my own researches on this point. I will endeavour to explain very
briefly the nature of these results, and to bring before the readers of the
Qaarterhj statement a few observations on their natin-e and extent.
A few yards west of the Holy Sepulchre, which rises isolated in the
midst of the rotunda of the chui-ch, we enter, after passing through
two of the columns on which the cuj^ola rests, a little chapel belonging
to the Syrians. At the end of the chapel is an apse looking west. A
passage on the left, at the commencement of the apse, gives access
obliquely to a narrow and dark retreat partly formed by walls cut in
the rock, and partly by the wall belonging to the church itself.
* Gentlanan's Magazine, Ifarch, 187".
THE UOLY IjEPULCnKE.
■7
There is a step cut in the rock. Mounting this, we see at our feet, by
the uncertain Hght of a smoky hunp, a Uack and angular hole in the
rocky soil. A few inches beyond we have before us the wall cut verti-
cally in the rock. In the middle of this wall is an arcade semicircular
and sunk in the wall, about 4 feet in height by 2i feet in breadth.
It covers two smaller arched openings, two black and gaping jaws—
l-oHm (K J, Fig. 2), which are sunk horizontally into the rocky founda-
tion to a depth which we shall presently learn.
On the right is another wall of rock, making, with that of the end,
an obtuse angle. Two other openings (I H) are pierced in it, but
these are walled up. Between the second mouth and the entrance of
the vault the wall is constructed ; in it is a door (E) shut with a key.
i'is
The wall on the left is made up of a thick wall (Fig. 1) which traverees
diagonally the ditch cut in the ground,°and forms, 's\-ith the two other
walls, two very acute angles. The lamp is suspended to this wall.
This singular retreat is therefore triangular. Two only of the sides
are of rock, the third being a part of the wall belonging to the church,
which appears to have been thus built across'a pre-e?:isting cave. The
greater part of the roof is also cut in the rock.
At the left extremity of the wall, at the back, beside the opening of
the hole K, we may recognise the existence of a third opening similar to
the others, but walled up and partly hidden by the thick oblique wall.
■8
THE HOLY SEPULCnKE.
The stopping of this opening is not so perfect but that we can insert a
thin stick and prove that here is a third place, L, parallel to the
other two, and lying, like those, horizontally in the rock.
On the wall to right we make a similar observation. There was once
following the two openings I H (Fig. 2), in the place occupied by the little
closed gate E, a third opening parallel to the preceding. It is easy to
ascertain, towards the point O, the commencement of the lateral wall of
the opening now destroyed.
'/'.
•',/,// ■/"///■
Already in this disposition of rock-cut openings had been recognised
the general form of Jewish tombs, which consists of a small square cave,
with a certain number (generally 3+3 + 3) of loculi in three of the four
faces. But even those who admitted this resemblance were unable to
give a satisfactory account of the primitive form which belonged to this
cave, and could offer no reply to the grave objections which their ad-
versaries made on certain strange peculiarities.
TTIB HOLY SErULClIRE.
79
Before proceeding further, let us consider a point wliicli has contri-
buted largely to the controversy ; it is the kind oi hole cut in the
rocky floor of the chamber in front of the loculus K, which I have
already mentioned. It consists of a triangular opening, Z G, the angle
of which is opposed to the oblique wall on the left. The two sides of
this angle show on the edge a small groove or rebate, probably intended
to receive a horizontal slab. Along the wall the edges of the trench are
irregularly cut away.
On descending (at G) into this hollow, which is 3ft. Tin. deep, we
find ourselves in a kind of long cave, marked in dots on the plan (Fig. 2),
wliich runs partly (especially on the right between S S) under the rock ;
thus we can see at G, on Fig. 2, how it penetrates beneath the loculi
K J. This hole is less than 5ft. long by 1ft. Sin. in breadth. Certainly
no adult body could have been placed in it. Still less, again, in the
Fig. 3.
hole Z, which is close to G, and separated from it only by a thin j)artition
cut in the rock. This is rectangular, and 2ft. in length by 1ft. Tin. in
breadth ; it is partly covered over by a fragment of flat rock. Its
height is 2ft. Tin. Between the edge of the rock forming the ceiling and
the upper edge of the partition, which separates the two trenches Z H,
there is only lOin. of breadth.
The smallness of these dimensions renders the examination of these
holes extremely di&cult. That is probably the reason why no one
before me ever ascertained a fact of capital importance, so much so as to
profoundly modify all received ideas vp to the present on one side and the
other.
But before stating what I may without any exaggeration call a dis-
covery, let me return to a few details which are not without interest.
80 THE HOLY SEPTJLCnEE.
Tliose who maintain the apocryphal character of the Holy Sepulchre,
relying on the dimensions of the two latter holes (to which tradition
attaches the names of Joseph of Arimathcoa and Nicodemus) deny them
any sepulchral character, because they are not large enough to contain
the bodies of adults. The objection is specious, and it has been even
pushed to an extreme by the supposition that we have here a pseudo-
sepulchre hollowed out at the period of the Crusaders on a Jewish
model, in order to furnish a material justification of the legend- I need
not point out how inadmissible this supposition is, and how little in
accordance with popular habits, Avhich generally imagine the legend
in order to explain the monument.
It might be replied that we have simply two hollow places excavated
as ossuaries, and intended to receive the bones accumulated in the
sepulchre either dii-ectly or by means of those little fmierary chests or
coffins of which I collected so many and such curious specimens during
my mission.
The same objection has been ui-ged against the loculi K J placed
in the higher level. In fact, these two loculi hardly measure more
at the present moment than oft. in depth, which is insufficient for a
body of ordinary propoi'tions.
The loculi have in general a depth of 6ft. Gin. ; and it must be
owned that this time the objection is more embarrassing than before,
and that those who think these are fictitious or artificial sepulchres may
find an occasion for triumph over this argument. The leply, how-
ever, although it has never to my knowledge been made, is easy.
We saw above that the mouths of the two loculi are ^Wthin a sunken
arcade ; hollowed out, that is, of the flat vertical wall. Suppose for a
moment that the arcade was made after the loculi. What follows ?
The loculi would be increased in length by the space which they lost in
sinking the arcade, as the arcade would have simply shortened the
loculi by cutting away the front jiart. Well, that is exactly what has
happened. ThQ loculi originally extended as far as S S in the draw-
ing; we have the material proof. The removal of the rock has not
been so skilftdly effected as not to leave behind the visible traces of
this original extension. These traces are easily to be recognised in
the engraving of the cave.
We must also observe that this unmistakable mark, which goes con-
siderably beyond the end of the arcade, is slightly in advance of the
perpendicular face of the wall, which wovild tend to prove that the wall
itself had experienced a slight setting back.
If we proceed to restore the loculi to their original dimensions by
measiiring them from the end to the line S S, we shall find ample room
for our regulation two metres.
But, it Avill be asked, for what purpose was this arcade hollowed out
and the two loculi thus disfigured P For what purpose ? Here we may
introduce our legend. Popular belief attached to this place the names
of Joseph and Nicodemus. The double site has been localised in the
THE HOLY SEPULCHRE.
81
two loculi, visible at onco to pilgrims, to tliis crypt half destroyed by
the construction of the church. Then, in order to fix this association
indissolubly to the spot, and to give the sanctuary in course of forma-
tion a religious consecration, they constructed this kind of niche, con-
venient for the purposes of Avorship, and lending to these openings thus
<3onnected the aspect of a little chapel. I am convinced, for my own
part, that in the middle ages the two tombs revered were the two
Joctili, and not, as is generally admitted, the two little subterranean
hollows to the consideration of which I must now come.
If we descend into hole G and contrive to introduce a head into the
narrow opening of Z (lOin.) to examine its walls, we shall be amply
i-ewarded for this disagreeable kind of tour de force, which makes the
archaeologist, so to speak, stand on his head. The same results can, to
be sure, be arrived at by lying flat on the ground and then sliding into
the hole head first : a position quite as uncomfortable as the first. We
perceive, then, that the rectangular hollow, Z, is not in reality en-
Fiij. 4.
tirely formed by the rock, but that one of its sides, that of the end,
parallel to the partition of rock, consists of a vertical slab about 2ft. Siti.
in height.
This slab covers the entrance of a long passage apparently cut in the
rock ; it seems to be placed against a little rebate, also well cut and
jutting out behind it. I was able to introduce between the interstices
of the slab and the rock in which it rests a long stick, which penetrated
to more than 6ft. 6in. ; after that I could get no farther, and I thought
I was stopped by earth and rubbish. I repeated my experiment
several times, and touched with the stick the side walls and roof of
this kind of corridor. M. Lecomte relieved me in this fatiguing work
and it is thus that we were able to get the elements of the figures
marked F in Figs. 2 and 3. After a good many failures I managed
to light up the passage by arming the extremity of my stick
G
82
THE nOLY SEPULCHRE.
■with a bit of lighted candle, and so verify by sight what I had discovered
by touch.
A single glance at the dramngs will show all those who are at all
conversant with the question the considerable value of this fact, which,
I think, I was the first to discover, and by which the field of a discussion
already large is remarkably enlarged. I need hardly speak of the
ardent curiosity Avhich impelled me to find out, if possible, -whither the
passage blocked by this mysterious slab leads. There is the chance of
finding oneself in some new sepulchral chamber totally unknown before ;
perhaps inviolate, perhaps pillaged, but so as to leave behind some
relics precious to an archeeologist — fiuierary objects, worthless in them ■
selves, but fui-nishing valuable evidence of synchronisms ; ossuaries,
fragments of ossuaries, with Hebrew inscriptions such as I found in
other places round Jerusalem. Cannot we picture to ourselves the con-
clusions which might be drawn, on the points at issue, from an epigraphic
document of this kind ? I indulged in all these dreams of an antiquary,
and I may go on indulging in them, because the authorisation to remove
the slab could not be procured. The possession of this sanctuary is, like
so many others, the object of dispute among the various clergies, so that
Fig-- 5.
one does not knoAV where to apply. Besides, at the moment I was in a-
very delicate situation towards the administrative and religious authori-
ties of Jerusalem, in consequence of the quarrel aboiit the " Moabite ""
potteries and the Gezer case. I had raised up against myself so many
animosities that even my personal credit was beginning to suffer.
Everybody knows, besides, what grave political complications may be
caused in that singular city of Jerusalem by the least attempt to touch,
not only a stone, but even a rag, or a naU, in these disputed sacred
places.
Is it possible, from what we already know, to form any idea of what
this unknown passage may be ?
The first idea which presents itself is that, as in many other sepulchral
chambers, a corridor gives access to a second chamber situated at a lower
level (Fig. o). But, on reflection, that seems difficult to suppose. The
dimensions of this corridor, although narrow, are indeed broad enough to
admit of passage, and the different cemeteries of Jerusalem furnish us ex-
amples of corridors as narrow and as low ; but the dimensions of the
mouth of the passage, between the edge of the flooring and the partition,
are certainly too small. A living man might with difficulty thrust him-
THE HOLY SEPULCHUE. 83
self through this kind of cleft ; but it appears to mo almost impossible
to force a body through. The rigidity of death would prevent the
bending of the limbs necessary to get through this cleft into the passage
itself.
The same objection may be raised against those who may be tempted
to consider this space (F, Fig. o) as belonging simply to a supplementary
locidus, the slab closing the original opening, and the loculus coming to
an end in the rock close to the point A, where I ascertained the presence
of the debris. Passage or loculus, this hole offers equal difficulties to the
introduction of a corpse. Besides, in the latter assumption, we are
open to new considerations.
1 . The mouth, nearly impracticable, of this opening, would be in advance,
in the middle of the sepulchral chamber ; we should expect it to be, as
usual in such cases, below the loculi in the left wall, and in the vertical
level of this wall.
2. The height of this loculus, about 2it. Tin., would be greater than
that of the loculi (L K J) of the same sepulchre.*
.3. The length of this pretended loculus, measured from the partition
which separates G and Z to the point A reached by my rod, is 9ft. lin. ;
that is, it would exceed by 2ft. Tin. the regular length of the loculi. If
we oidy measured from the slab D — i.e., from the rebate, we should
obtain the normal length of 6ft. Gin. ; but what are we to make, in that
case, of the trench Z, which would then be situated in front of the
loculus, and would be a useless and unintelligible prolongation ?
4. The accumulation of rubbish in A (Figs. 2 and 3), at the end of the
passage, seems to show that there is a large space beyond from which
the rubbish comes ; the angle of this accumulation _\ leads us to believe
that the debris has fallen in a direction from A to D, and not from D to
A, in which case the angle would be Z, just the reverse. Noav, the end
of the loculus being exactly marked by this point A, whence come tho
debris which we find where we looked for rock ?
This place, therefore, is not a blind passage.
The right wall (E O, Fig. 2) is not the original wall, although it is cut
in the rock. It would form, with the rocky wall at the end (in which aro
the loculi K J), nearly a right, and not, as in fact it does form, an acute
angle. It is probable that it lay originally along the line R T, and
that it was afterwards cut again to enlarge the chamber, and especially
to form a passage between the wall on the left and the point O. Naturally
the loculi I H E have been shortened by the operation, so that we can
now predicate of them that when it is possible to explore them, they
will not be found of the normal length of 6ft. Gin.
The original point de depart of this wall thus altered is perhaps marked
in the rock by a small notch at the point R, although this lies a little
behind the marks at S S, the mouths of the loculi K J.
* The same remark applies to the niche G, which is nearly of the same height,
and which we cannot, for reasons given above, consider as a loculus, but as
a receptacle for ossuaries.
84 THE HOLY SEPULCHRE.
We may observe besides, that in adopting this, so to speak, forced
reetoration of the wall on the right, we note that one of the walls of
the locuH N and E (in O) is manifestly perpendicular to this imaginary
line. If we suppose that the side walls of the three other loculi have
been slightly altered or re-cut transversely to a depth at which they
were originally irregular, we can establish between the wall on the
right and the loculi which were pierced there, the perpendicularity
which is de. rigueur, and which the present state of the jdace is far from
Bhowing.
The loculus J of the wall at the end, and the loculus I on the right
wall (Fig. 2), considered by themselves, are very nearly at right angles
at E, as is the custom in the tombs of Palestine ; but the irregularity
commences at the second side wall of the loculus I, which is not parallel
to the first.
Taking all these observations into consideration, we had better suppose
the corridor to be nothing else than a loculus belonging to a neighbour-
ing chamber (Figs. 4 and 5), and that the end of it was perforated and
prolonged at the time when the trenches G and Z were cut. It is an
accident which not infrequently happens in the tombs of Palestine:
often two sepulchral caves are so close, that the koktms of the one pene-
trate to the interior of the other. This penetration may be accidental,
the result of inaccurate measurements, or ignorance of the existence of a
neighbouring chamber, or intentienal to establish a communication be-
tween the two caves and make them one and the same tomb. Here the
commiinication would seem to have been due to accident, otherwise
they would have had to make access to the "corridor" easier and less
painful. Nevertheless I cannot be certain on this last point ; it is most
prudent to wait for a complete exploration.
However that may be, loculus or corridor, it is moi'e than probable
that this passage, imknown up to the present day, leads to a second
sepulchral chamber situated on a slightly lower level than that of the
first, and completely covered over with the building of the church.
II. — The Fkieze over the South Door.
In one of my Reports published in the Quarterly Statement of the
Palestine Exploratio7i Fund (1874, p. 140) I gave an account of a remark-
able bas-relief in marble, found in an Arab's house in Jerusalem, and
representing the triumphal entry of our Lord on the Day of Palms. I
ascertained the presence in this fragment of the mediaeval dressing,
which I have proved to be the infallible sign of Crusaders' work in
Palestine ; and I drew the conclusion that the monument, despite its
Byzantine air, was really Western work. I also observed a general
inclination of the figures forward, which seemed to show that the sculp-
ture was intended for some door-lintel or decorative frieze, and meant to
be seen from below, like that which surmounts the entrance to the
Chuicti of the Holy Sepulchre {not the Church of St. John, as by some
typographic error I am made to say in the Quarterly Statement).
NOTES IROM THE MEMOIR. 8'>
I believe I have found the exact origin of this interesting fragment ;
and if so, this origin fully confirms all the observations and conclusions
I then drew from the appearance of the fragment.
It is nothing else than a piece of the frieze of the Church of the Holy
Sepulchre which represents different scenes in the life of our Lord. On
examining recently a drawing of the frieze, I find that there is a great
gap in the scene of the triumphal entry, which this fragment just fills
up. I have a photograph of the fragment, but, unfortunately, none of
the frieze, else I might be able to show at once that the edges of the
fragment correspond with the border of the frieze.
It is to be desired that the fragment might be restored to its original
place, which would be an exceedingly simple operation. They told me
that it belonged to the foundation of an Arab house ; very likely the
truth, because the mutilation may be old enough to allow of the piec*"
broken off being used over again in new buildings. We have on this
point evidence as far back as 1480, that of the German monk, F. Faber,
otherwise Friar Schmidt, who has left us a minute account of the church.
After saying that the lintel over the entrance of the church is of white
marble {de candidissimo rnarmore), and that it is sculptured on the out-
side to represent the entry into Jerusalem of the Lord mounted on an
ass {scv.lptuin imaginihus de ingressu Domini super asinam in Jeru-
salem), the scene of those who bought and sold in the Temple, and the
resurrection of Lazarus, he adds that these sculptures have been broken
and mutilated {violenttr destrucUe et mutilatce memhris). The mutila-
tion is thus at least as old as the loth century. Baedeker's Guide says : —
" Then follows the entry into Jerusalem : here, unfortunately, the prin-
cipal figure is destroyed, with the exception of the head. . . . The
execution of the whole work is remarkably lifelike."
C. Clermont-Ganneatt.
NOTES FEOM THE MEMOIE.
The memoir of Sheet 7 is now complete, and contains many
points of interest. Among others the notes on Coesarea will be of great
value, as giving dated specimens of the Crusading work. It is possible
to distinguish the work of Gautier D'Avesne (1218 a.d.) in the walls,
from that of the time of St. Louis (1251 A.D.), and thus to give indica-
tions as to the date of many buildings in Palestine as yet undetermined
and not heard of in history. The use of " male "' and " female " arches
in the cathedral and other buildings, also, is of importance, as disproving
the idea that one kind was Saracenic, the other Gothic.
The mediicval history of Palestine is of the greatest importance. If
ignorant of the towns and castles built by the Crusaders, we shall always
be in danger of imputing too great antiquity to existing ruins, and
unable to disentangle the threads of native and foreiga tradition. I
86 NOTES FKOM THE MEMOIR.
have now prepared an index of more than 300 mediaeval sites ; but many
will be added by study of the Chrcnicles before this can be considered
at all complete.
One or two out-of-the-way identifications may be noted.
Stllem was a casale, or village, which was given to the Teutonic
knights, about 1200 a.d. It was in Galileo, and mentioned with Mogar
[el MiioJidr), Zekkauin {SaL-Juiui), Arabia i^Arrabeh), and Eomano
{Rummanch). It is evidently, therefore, the modern Kltirrhet SeUumfU,
the Salamis of Josephus ; bat the identification seems to have been missed
by M. Key, who identifies the other places. It was a Druse village, but
was reduced to ruins in 1110 a.h.
r Jemrurah. — This curious name exists in the south, oa Sheet 21, applied
to a ruin. It is no doubt the Gammarnris mentioned by the geographer
Ptolemy [cirai 140 A.D.) as in Iduma;a (a term applied to all the
Hebron hills by Josephus) on the west of Jordan.
Osheh, in Galilee, was one of the seats of the Sanhedrim, the only one
as yet unknown. It was saparated from Shafram {Slw/a-Amr) by a
sabbath day's journey. Tliis serv^es to identify it with the little ruiu
called Hushi'h, S.AV. of the latter town, and which, if we allow each town
to have had a limit of a sabbath daj's journej', is separated from Bhc-fa
'Ainr by the required distance.
Toiiib of HahaM-uh. — This was shown according to St. Jerome at
Eccela, seven miles from Eleutheropolis, which he supposes to be the
site of the hill Hachilah (Onom. s.v. Erhda). Again he spaaks of the
same place as being Keilah (s.v. Ctila), and eight miles from Eleuthero-
polis towards Hebron. Again, speaking of Gabatha, twelve miles from
Eleirtheropolis (s.v. Gahaath), he states that the tomb of Habakkuk was
to ba seen there. The remains of Habakkuk and Micah are said to have
been found at Keilah in the time of Zebanus, Bishop of Eleutheropolis.
according to Xicephorus (h.e. xii. 48) and Sozomcn (h.e. vii. 28). The
two accounts of Jerome do not seem to agree; the first place, Keilah or
Hachilah, is evidently the modern Kilali, Avhich is about seven Roman
miles from Eleutheropolis, where old tombs occar. Tlie Gabatha
mentioned is evidently JehC, further north, eleven Roman miles from
Beit Jibrin, near which is a rain called Ilaheik, which it struck me
might have seme connection with the name of Habakkuk, as it comes
from an equivalent root. The Miikdias here do not preserve the name
required.
Ilar.hilah. — As regards Hachilah, Jerome is evidently wrong. The hill
Hachilah (ExeAa) was on the right, or south of the Jeshimon (1 Sam.
>:xiii. 19), and is also noticed as " facing " it (1 Sam. xxvi. o). The
Jeshimon is generally supposed to be the desert between the Dead Sea
and the Hebron hills. It seems to me most probable that the name of
this famous hill is preserved in the Dhnhrei el Kohih, or " hilly ridge,"
which runs down fiom the plateau on which /// stands, towards the
desert of Engedi. The identification supposes a softening of the first
guttural, of which there are accepted examples. The Hebrew caf is
NOTES FROM THE MEMOIR. 87
properly represented by its equivalent ia Arabic, and tlie sliglit cliange
'.vould b9 accounted for by the meaning tlius given to the -word in
Arabic*
Geha. — Another place of tliis name is note! in the Onomasticon as
five miles from Gophna, in the direction of Neapolis. This is evidently
the modern Jibla, a village in the required direction. Jerome makes
it the Gebim of Isaiah x. 13, but the position seems rather far north
for this to be correct. Out of 211 places known to Jerome, and noted
in the Onomasticon, the following only have escaped identification : —
1. -4(Zasa, near Gophna.
2. Addara, near Thamnitica and Diospolis.
3. Adia, near Gaza.
4. Jrath, west of Jerusalem.
5. Aser, between Ascalon and Azotus.
C. AzeJcah, on road from Eieutheropolis to Jerusalem.
7. Gittha, between Antipatris and Jamnia.
8. Eriiaithtliu, in Daroma.
9. Ea Nadab, ten miles from Eieutheropolis, on the way to Jerusalem.
10. Carncea, nine miles from Jerusalem.
11. Lochis, seven miles south of Eieutheropolis.
12. Morasthi, east of Eieutheropolis.
13. Salaba, a large village in the country of Sebaste.
14. /SctJif/n, east of Neapolis.
15. fJapldis, in Judea.
Tins will give an idea of the completeness with which the topography
has been worked out. Sites without the present boundary of the work
(about six in all) are not in this list.
Chasbi. — This place, which Jerome makes to be Chezib, he notices as
deserted, and near AduUam. The name is probably preserved in the
modern ^iiii Kezbeh, near Beit Nettif. Jei'ome's identification seems in
this case not improbably correct. (Compare Joshua xv. 44.)
IJawa. — This word entei's into the names of many places in Palestine,
and has, I tliink, been generally mistranslated. Thus Eobinson renders
Kaulcab el Ilawa " Meteor of the air," and Dsir el Hawa " Convent of
the wind." Bat the original meaning of the root in Arabic is "to fall
down," and in Hebrew the same word means " ruin.'' It would seem a
considerable improvement to render these names " Kaukab the fallen,"
and " the tumbled-down convent," titles which apply -well to the heaps
of fallen masonry. Kauhab means, among other things, " a prison," and
is the name of several places in Palestine.
Issachar. — The cities of this tribe are important, because its limits
* la a former report I proposed the hill of Yakui as Haahilah, but there are
several objectious to this : first, it is west, not soidh of the Jeshimou ; secondly,
tlie letter K is a Kopli, not a Kaf, as rer[uired ; thirdly, the place lias been
identified as the site of the town of Cain.
88 NOTES FROM THE MEMOIR.
are not otherwise mai-ked. Those identified as yet are given in the list
below : —
1. Jezreel . . . . . . . . . . = Zerin,
2. Chesulloth .. .... .. = Iksal.
3. Shunem . . . . . . = Sulem.
4. HaphraiDi(AfFarea, Onom.). . .. = elFarrii/eh, CR.G.
5. Shihon (Seon, Onom.)
6. Anaharath = enN'aurah, CR.G.
7. Rabbith = i?<7ia, C.E.C.
^. Kishion
9'. Abez . . = el Khuzneh ? C.R.a
10. Eemeth . . . . . . . . = Rdmeh.
11. En Gannim . . . . . . . . = Jenin.
12. En Haddah
13. Beth Pazzez
Abez means white (Arabic, Abeid) ; the town from position would
perhaps be near Taanach (as Kishion is near Kedesh = T. Abu Kudeis).
There is here an important rain called el Khuzneh (" the treasure"),
and a spring called 'Aiii el AheUl (" white spring"), perhaps a trace of
Abez. The last two sites may perhaps be recovered in the Jordan
valley or the hills just above it.
:^'un Dial in the Haram. — This is a curious piece of solid masonry,
shown on the Ordnance Plan south-west of the Kubbet es Sakhrah, on the
platform. Its use was explained to me by the sheikh of the mosque.
The dial is, however, gone.
In the anonymous description of Palestine [circa 1151-57 a b.), pub-
lished by De Yogue (Eglises de la Terre Sainte, p. 426), is a passage
"which may be translated from the Latin as follows : — ■
"Between the temple and the altar was Barachias the son of
Zacharias slain, which altar, afterwards converted by the Saracens into
a sun-dial (horologium), may still be seen in the court."
The Temple (Templum Domini) in the middle ages was identified with
the Kubbet es Sakhrah. In the rock the chronicles suppose the ark to-
be hidden under the Holy of Holies ; in this they follow Jewish tradition ,.
which supposes the ark iu the Temple of Herod to have been in a
cave under the Eben Shatiyeh, or stone of foundation.
Sinjil. — This curious name, applying to a village just Avest of the
Nablus road, and about twenty miles from Jerusalem and twelve from
Nablus, has always been a puzzle to me. In the itinerary above men-
tioned we probably see the explanation, for the name, containing four
radicals, is apparently not Arabic.
" Ten miles from Sychem is the Casale of Saint Gilles (Sancti Egidii),
taking its name from the Count of Saint Gilles (Raymond, the fourth
Count of Toulouse, called of Saint Gilles — first Crusade, according to Du
Vogue's note), who here camped with the Frank army the day before
they came to Jerusalem. Fourteen miles from this Casale is Jerusalem."
THE MOSLEM MT7KAM3. 8^
The proportionate distances agree, though the mile used seems to haye
been longer than the English mile. This is almost the only case I have
met of a town retaining a Crusading name ; there were many others
to which the Crusaders gave new names, as Casal Blanc {Kueikdt),
Casale Lambert, Casal Beroard {Mind d KuVah), Casale Eoyal, whick
have lost their mediaeval names. C. E. C.
THE MOSLEM MUKAMS.
I.
Next to the study of the language of the peasantry in Palestine there
is probably nothing which -svill throw more light on the question of tho
origin of their race than that of the vulgar faith as exemplified in the
local sanctuaries scattered over the country, a study which is also of no
little importance in relation to the ancient topography of Palestine, as
is shown by the various sites which have been recovered by means of
the tradition of sacred tombs preserved after the name of the site itself
had been lost.
In his interesting paper on the Peasantry {Qaarterhj Statement, Oct.,
1875) M. Ganneau remarks: "A methodical search for these Mnkams is
of the greatest importance." This search has been made during the
coul-se of the Survey, so that the names of no fewer than 300 sacred places
are now marked on the map, many of which are of the greatest value.
It is proposed here to give a sketch of the character of these sites,
abstracted from the notes which are to form part of the memoir.
It must be stated first that there is a marked difference between the-
Bedouin and the Fellahin in regard to the Mtikdms. In the country
occupied by the nomads no such buildings exist, with exception of one
or two fallen into ruins. The Arabs, or Bedouin, are by profession
Moslems, by practice (at all events cast of Jordan) heathen and moon-
worshippers, as in the time of Mohammed. Their sacred x>laces are the
tombs of their ancestors, and tho ancient history of Palestine forms
no part of the religion of a race which only entered and conquered
the country a thousand years after Christ.
With the Fellaldn it is far different. In their religious observances
and sanctuaries we find, as in their langiiage, the true history of the-
country. On a basis of polytheistic faith which most probably dates
back to pro-Israelite times, we find a growth of the most heterogeneous
description ; Christian tradition, Moslem history, and foreign worship
are mingled so as often to be entirely indistinguishable, and the so-called
Moslem is found worshipping at shrines consecrated to Jewish, Samari-
tan, Christian, and often Pagan memories.
It is in worship at these shrines that the religion of the peasantry
consists. Moslem by profession, they often spend their lives without
entering a mosque, and attach more importance to the favour and jiro-
90 XnS MOSLEM JirKAMS.
tection of tlie village Muled ni than to Allah himself, or to Mohammed
his prophet.
The word Muhdm (the Hebrew J/'fAom) means simply "a ijlace " or
" station," but the use as meaning a " sacred place " dates back to the
Bible times, and it is found in Deuteronomy (chap. xii. v. 2) applied to
the places of false worship existing throughout Palestine at the time of
Joshua's conquest.'' Other titles are applied to the sacred sites. Ilaram
("sanctuary"), Kahheli ("dome"), JZ/'w/'a ("meeting-house" or
"mosque"), Mazdr ("shrine"), Jlcsh-hcl ("monument"). The latter
is used also for the little i)iles of stones {Mesha-hcd) raised by pilgrims
at the various high points {McsMrif), Avhence the sanctuaries first
become visible.
The divinities are also known by various titles : Nehy (Hebrew Nehij),
" the prophet," only aj)plied to tlie more important and generally the
most ancient; Sidna, "our Lord," applied to the patriarchs and to
Moslem saints of the first order; li'e/.;/, "favourite," or saint, a term
often ai^plied by a very simple ellipsis to the building itself; SheihJt,
" chief" or " elder," by far the commonest term; and TldJ, "liilgrim,"
ax^plied very rarely.
The MuMms are not always supposed to stand over the tombs of the
saints to whom they are dedicated. A cenotaph is indeed almost
always to be found thei'c, but often they are regarded merely as
"stations," like those in Eoman Catholic countries, not necessarily
connected \vitli the history of the saint, though very often erected on
spots where it is considered probable that he once stood.
The white dome of the MiiLdm is the most conspicuous object in a
Syrian village. The sacred chapel on the hill-top, or the sacred tree by
the road-side, is of constant occurrence, and brings forcibly to mind the
words of Scripture denouncing the idol altars on mountain-tops and
" under eveiy green tree." Few who have visited Palestine will doubt
that in the Mukdms we see the survival of the Canaanitc false worship ;
and in one case {Slieihh Aha 'Amr) I found beside the chapel a huge j)lat-
form of unsquared stone and a pit cut in rock, which seemed not impos-
sibly to be the remains of the ancient altar of this divinity, whose present
title means simply " the father of worship."
The Muhdms differ very materially in their importance. Mr. Drake,
writing on the subject {(Jnarterli/ State/ mud, October, 1872, p. 179)
remarks that whilst in one instance the M'ulMin is a mosque, in another
it is merely a rude circle of stones. In some cases nothing is to be seen
at all, in others (as at Tihneh) the name is attached to a sacred tree, to
the branches of which rags are attached as votive offermgs.
The reverence shown for these sacred spots is imbounded. Everj'
* Tlie word is also used iu Exod. xx. 24, as follows: "Ju all places {Ham-
Makom) where I record my name 1 will coine unto thee, and I-will bless thee."
The passage iu Deuteronomy is as follows: "Ye shall utterly destroy all the
places [Ham-Mukmolh) wherein the nations which ye sludl possess served their
^ods upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every green tree."
THE MOSLEM MUKAMS. 91
fallen stone from the building, every withered branch of the tree, is
carefully preserved. The chapels are sanctuaries in which property can
be left with perfect safety. Thus a jilough is often to be found put
away inside, and one of the sheikhs receives the title " the trustee,"
from the fact that articles of value to the peasantry are left under his
<^are. The ordinary Mnkdm is a little square building, some 10 feet
side and 8 feet high, surmounted by a dome, generally having a rude
stone crescent in the centre. The building is generally modern, of rude
masonry, whitewashed, and therefore very conspicuous. In the south
wall, in the interior, is a Miliruh, or " prayer niche," and very generally
there is a rude grave in the corner— a cenotaph resembling a modern
Moslem tomb. A few mats cover the floor, the door is often ornamented
with henna, and a pitcher of water is left for the pilgrims. A large
•tree, also held sacred, very generally grows close by, a carob, or oak, or
terebinth being the most common.
There is frequently a custodian to the site— a religious shcil'li, a
dtrwhli, or perhaps the elder of the neighbouring village.
The sanctuary is never entered except with bare feet, and the expres-
sion destur ("permission") or destdr ya mubarnl'eh ("your leave, O
blessed one ") is used on crossing the threshold.
It is stated that sacrifices ai-e offered at these places, but this I have
never witnessed ; votive offerings are given, and when a person is sick
a little earthenwai-e lamp is lighted at the Mtil-rhn. Processions round
the chapel are also often made, csj)ecially at the feast of Beirdm.*
The fear of the anger of the local divinity is deep-rooted in the hearts
-of the people. To forswear oneself by the sacred tomb is thought sure
to bring disaster and death on the offender. Many j)ersons state that
they have received blows from invisible fists, supposed to proceed from
an enraged Xebi/. The intluenco of a powerful sheilch is thought to
extend ten or twenty miles round his Mi'iluim.
The Miihuins may be divided into seven categories, though the dis-
tinction is not observed by the natives, and saints or Wchjs are now
living who will at death be honouved with Muh'ams. The separate
species are as follow: — 1st. Biblical characters. These arc, no doubt,
generally the oldest, and can often be traced back to Jewish tradition,
lind. Christian sites venerated by the Moslem i^easantry, and not always
distinguishable from the first class, but often traceable to the teaching
of the monasteries or to monkish sites. 3rd. Native heroes or deities
not to be_identified as belonging to either of the other class, and per-
haps sometimes the most ancient sites of all. 4th. Later and kno'wn
historic characters, oth. Saints named from the place where they
occur, or having appellations connected with traditions concerning
them. 6th. Sacred sites not connected with personal names. Some
of these are of the greatest value. 7tli. Ordinary Moslem names which
may be of any date and are often modern. These classes Avill be con-
* The Jews do perform sacrifices of small objects at Josejth's tomb and that
of Bar Jochai the Cabalist.
92 THE MOSLEM MUKAM3.
sidered in order, and tlie deductions whicli naturally may be drawn will
prove to be — 1st. That however modern the bmlding, the site is often
of great antiquity. 2nd. That in the mixture of so many separate
classes of sacred sites we find proof of the mixed character of the peasant
popvdation, and the influence of successive races and religions on the
original stock.
II.
Biblical Characters. — The patriarchs, from Adam downwards, and
Scripture characters, including Our Lord himself, being venerated by
the Moslems as by Christians, it is not always easy to make certain
whether a tradition concerning them is of native or of imported Chris-
tian origin. Many Scripture stories are, indeed, found more or less
garbled among the peasantry ; but these, by internal evidence, can often
be shown to come from monkish teaching, and very often are modem
and due to the inhabitants of neighbouring convents. Many examples
of this corruption of true tradition might be adduced to prove the point.
Thus, for instance, the Druse inhabitants of Mount Carmel visit and
revere the grotto of Elijah which is now in the centre of the chapel of
the convent, and the ceremony of devoting a child to the prophet I
have myself witnessed in this church.
If, however, the tradition be traceable to Jewish origin, it is, of
course, of greater value ; and instances of this kind are not wanting, as
in the case of the sacred rock in the temple of Jerusalem, to which tra-
ditions now attach which reproduce exactly those to be found in the
Mishnah concerning the Ebeii Sliatii/eh, or foundation of the Holy of
Holies.
It is among the Nehys principally that the Scripture worthies are to
be recognised, and of these shrines no less than fifty have been found as
yet, including most of the patriarchs and greater prophets.
Adam and Eve are traditionally supposed to have been buried at
Mecca, and have no Mtikdms in Palestine. On expulsion from Para-
dise, however, they are supposed to have hidden themselves in or near a
spring at Hebron, which is now called Aia el Judeideh, or the " ex-
cavated fountain," being cut in rock with an arch above. Here also
the red earth, from which Adam was said by the Jews to have been
formed, is shown by the Moslems. *
Cain and Abel also are not, properly speaking, represented in Pales-
tine. The tomb of Abel is shown at Abila above Dauiascus, and is
thought by modern explorers to be only a huge reservoir. A curious
tradition of the wanderings of Cain with the body of Abel bound to his
back here exists. Cain, however, appears among the prophets as A'e%
Yiihin, but this is evidently a case of the saint being named from the
* The tradition is mentioned by several writers in tlie time of the Crusades,
and may be ot" Christian origin.
THE MOSLEM MDKAM8. 93
place, as the ruin of Yukta has been identified with the town of Cain.
(Josh. XV.)*
Nimrod again, though having no sacred place, is an important
character in the native mythology. He is supposed to be the author
of many ancient forts, notably the Kusr Nimricd below Hermon at
Karat el Jindl, where no dew ever fall8,''according to the natives,
because his body lies buried there. Another tradition concerning him
attaches to Khurhet Mird (Mons Mardes) in the Desert of Judah, as
mentioned by M. Ganneau.
Noah, again, is a favourite divinity, and has several sanctuaries ; one
at the ancient Adoraim {Dura) in the south of Judah, and another at
Khurhet Nuh farther west, where there is a tradition of Noah's daughter
and of a spring whence the flood originated. Of his sons. Ham alone
has a Mukdm in the Gaza district, and farther north we find at Besh-
shit (the House of Seth) the tomb of Neby Shit, who has also another
sanctuary — Haram en Neby Shit, in Samaria, and another in Lebanon.
First of all the Bible heroes, however, Abraham, " the friend," stands
out in the estimation of the native peasantry, and his tomb, in the
sanctuary of Hebron, is now the most sacred spot in Palestine. The
monuments of the patriarchs are mentioned by Josephus and by all
subsequent travellers, and the tradition is thus, no doubt, older than
Christian times. With Abraham lie the bodies of Isaac, Jacob, and
the three wives — Sarah, Rebecca, and Leah.
Isaac enjoys a peculiar reputation as being the most easily offended
of all, and the Moslems are more afraid of his wrath than of that of
uny other prophet or chief. There is another Mukdm of Isaac [Neby
Ts-Jidk) in Galilee, the origin of which is not known, but as the name
is of common occurrence among the Jews it may possibly represent the
tomb of a later historic character, for, as we shall see clearly in pro-
ceeding, historical names are often wrongly applied in the confused
mythology of the peasantry.
Jacob also has a second Milkdm, the mosque of the Hizn T'akilb, or
" mourning of Jacob," connected Avith the tradition that here (at
Shechem) he mourned the loss of his son Joseph. It may perhaps
represent a tradition of Samaritan origin.
At Hebron also the tomb of Joseph is shown outside the Haram
wall, but this tradition of the transportation of his bones from Shechem
to Hebron is apparently of later origin, and Jews, Samaritans, and
Moslems unite in venerating the Kabr Yusef, or " tomb of Joseph,"
outside Nablus, a tradition of great antiquity, and traceable, through
Josephus, to Jewish origin. By Christian and Jewish writers alike,
from the fourth century downwards, this tradition is handed on un-
changed.
Hebron contains other sanctuaries of less note, the tombs of Esau,
Abner, and Jesse being shown by the Moslems in and around the town.
* The Crusaders considered Keimihi (ancient Camon) to mean " Mount Cain,"
and showed at this site the place where Lamech killed Cain with an arrow.
94 THE MOSLEM MUKAMS.
Alone and separated from the family sepulchre, the little " dome of
Eachel " stands between Jerusalem and Bethlehem. The Kitbbeh itself
is modern, and has been repaired of late years. In 700 A.D. Arculphus
saw only a pyramid, Avhich was also visited by Benjamin of Tudela ir^
1160 A.D., and perhaps by Sanuto in 1:322 A.D. The site has been disputed
on account of the expression (1 Sam. x. 2) " in the border of Benjamin,"
and there can be no doubt that the Ktihlet Sahil never was on or very
near this border. The Vulgate translation, however, seems perhaps to
do away with this difficidty, and as Eachcl's tomb was only ' ' a little
way" from Ephrath, "which is Bethlehem" (Gen. xxxv. 16—19),
and the tradition is of great antiquity, there is no very good reason for
rejecting it.
Farther up the country, near Sharon, is another sacred place dedi-
cated to SheiJck 'Oheid Rahil, or " Eachel's servant."
Next in order come the children of Jacob. At Shechem, outside the
town wall, is iho MtiMm Oidad Y'uJalh el 'Asherah, "the ten sons of
Jacob," a tradition dating no doubt after the division between Judah
and Israel.* In Galilee is the sanctuary of the Benat Y'akub, or
" daughters of Jacob," and abridge over Jordan also bears their names.
Of the twelve patriarchs, we find the MiiMms of seven, not including
the northern tribes, in the part as yet unsurv-eyed. Joseph has two
sanctuaries as above noted. Benjamin may perhaps be represented by
Ncbi/ Yemni, whose Mukrhn is towards the centre of Samaria. Reuben
{Ncbij Pa'thhi) lies near the shore south of Jaffa, Simeon {Nchj Shein'on)
in the plain of Sharon. Levi is possibly Nebt/ Laivin. Judah has a
Muhim {Ncby JTudah) in the Sharon plain, near which, in the territory
of Dan, is the Mi'ihnm eii Xchj Dan. Issachar, Zebulon, Asher, Naphtali,
Gad, Manasseh, and Ephraim,t we have not as yet found in themimbcr
of the sanctuaries.
Proceeding to the period of the Conquest, we find south-west of
Jericho the reputed tomb of Moses, much revered by the Moslems. But
this tradition appears to be of Christian origin, and will be subsequently
noticed. The tombs of Eloazar and Phineas are, however, more pro-
bably authentic, and have been already described in my paper on
Samaritan Topography. Aaron was buried on Mount Hor, where his
tomb is now sho\vn. Joshua requires a more particular notice.
The foregoing characters are all known by the peasantry in their
proper relations. No special legends seem attached to the tombs, but if
one inquires who Nebij Iliulah was, the answer of an intelligent native
will be, "The son of our Lord Jacob." There is one curious instance
of confusion, however : Neby Tarud Ibn Y'ahiih, who probably repre-
sents Jared, the ancestor, not the son of Jacob (Gen. v. 15). "When,
however, we seek for the memory of Joshua we find the name to have
entirely disappeared. At Jericho he is confused with the Imam 'Aly Ibn
* This tradition is noticed by Josephus.
t The Mukums of Ephniim and Gad and Manasseh might be expected east
of Jordan.
THE ISrOSLEi: MUKAMS. 95-
Abu Tdleh, brother-in-law of the prophet, in a tradition which seems
most probably of Christian origin, being located to a sacred spot stand-
ing apparently on the site of the mediajval Chapel of the Apparition of
St. Michael to Joshua ; but Joshua also seems to appear under the name
of Xcby KrJlJ, " the apportioner," whose iT/«Av/>« is shoA\'n in Ke/r Ildris,
•where mediLoval Jewish tradition fixes the site of Timnath Heres. Neby
Kifil has two other sanctuaries in the centre of the country. At Tibneh,
Avhich is now generally held to be the true Timnath Heres, there is a.
large oak called Sheikh et Ttim, " the chief the servant of God," and in
this perhaps some memory of Joshua is still retained, but it is remark-
able that the name of so great a hero should so completely have dis-
appeared from the native mythologj*.
Proceeding to the later period of the prophets, kings, and judges^
succeeding the Conquest, the mythology becomes more confused. Barak
may perhaps be recognised in Sheikh Ihreilc, a Miikdm standing over
the Kishon, in which the host of Sisera -was engulphed ; but Gideon Is
forgotten, unless he be recognised as Nehy Diihy, " the general," whose
sanctuary stands above the site of Gideon's battle on the summit of
what is supposed by many to be the " HUl of Moreh."
Samson, however, plays a more conspicuous part. The tomb of
Sheikh Samat I discovered, and described in October, LSTS, at Sur'ah
(Zoreah). It is mentioned in 1334 apparently in the same position by
E^bbi Isaac Chelo, so that the tradition is apparently not of Christian
origin. M. Ganneau has given the legends which arc connected with
Shamshun el Jebbar (" the hero "), the brother of Sheikli Samat, which
are, however, of doubtful origin. At Gaza, Samson has also two Mulcf/ms,
that of ^Aly Mirntdr, on the hill south of the town, traditionally that
to which the gates of Gaza were carried, where an annual festival takes
place,* and that of 'Ahj Miriuda (" Aly the enslaved"), now supposed to
be the tomb of Samson. The origin of these legends is as yet undis-
covered. It is remarkable that on the hills east of Gaza is another
chapel dedicated to 'Ahj {at Daiueimeh), near which is a ruined convent
called Deir Samat, which raises a suspicion that Christian teaching as-
to Samson has been confused by the peasantry as referring to 'Aly, the
famous Imam, who has many sanctuaiies all over the country.
Samuel, the next hero, has but one sanctuary, Nehy Sumw'il, but this
tradition seems of Christian origin, and is not recognised as genuine by
Rabbi Benjamin of Tudela, who accuses the Christians of pretending
to have transported the body from Eamleh, which he considers to have
been Eamathaim Zophim. If the latter place is to be identified with
Saffa, then perhaps the real tomb of Samuel may be represented by the
sanctuary of Shehdb-ed-Dvi, "the hero of the faith." There was,
however, as will be seen later, a historic character of this name.
The tombs of David and Solomon at Jerusalem ai-e sanctuaries of no
mean order, and the praying-places of Abraham, David, and Solomon
are shown in the cave of the Sahhrah, but the origin here again is-
* This tradition dates from the middle ages.
KG THE MOSLEM MUKAMS.
doubtful, and cannot easily be traced to indigenous tradition.* There
are many sanctuaries of Sheikh Baud in the country, but whether con-
nected with the king it is impossible to detei-mine. There is also a
•curious tradition of the Bint SHltan el Fenish, " the daughter of the
Phoenician Sultan," not far from Tell Jezer, which may perhaps be
attached to Solomon's wife, whose dowry was Gezer.
We have finally to deal with the names of the later prophets, of
whom the most famous is Elijah. In the native mythology he is called
H Khudr ; but as the same title is also applied to St. George, it is
impossible to distinguish the two in many cases. There is, however, in
Samaria a Muhdm dedicated to Neby Elyds, in which we recognise the
name of the prophet unchanged.
^ Daniel {Neby Bdnidn) has five sanctuaries, and is perhaps to be re-
cognised also as Neha Kunda, "the Chaldean," whose sanctuary exists
near Yebna.
Ezekiel also is represented ia Nehy HazMn, on a high hill over the
Jordan valley, and perhaps Isaiah in Neby S^ain above Nazareth, a
name which is of otherwise unknown origin.
Jonah has no fewer than four Mukdms : that at el Mesh-hed (Gath
Hepher), where his tomb was shown at an early period, the ti-adition
being apparently of Jewish and not of Christian origin ; secondly, Neby
Tunis, south of Jaffa, on the coast, representing probably a tradition of
the spot where he was left by the whale ; thirdly, Neby Tunis, at Halhul,
which seems at one time to have been considered to be the tomb of the
prophet Gad ; fourthly, the tomb near Sarepta, a tradition which dates
from the middle ages, and appears to be of Christian origin.
Of smaller prophets Haggaiis perhaps NebyUuj, near Gaza; Zechariah,
Neby Zekariya,\ near el Medyeh ; and Baruch possibly Neby BurTc, at
Burha, though this may be a case where the tradition originates from,
the name of the town.
One important name remains still to be collected — the Miihdm of
Nahum the Elkoshite. It was shown to Isaac Chelo in 1334, on the
road from Tiberias to Kefr 'Anan, and may prove to be the Kubbeh in
Abu Shusheh, situate above the 'Ain el Madaiverah, which Dr. Tristram
identifies with the Fountain of Caphamaum. Could this be settled, we
should have entirely new materials for settling the position of Caper-
naum, which is still so much disputed, for the tradition in this case is of
Jewish and probably indigenous, and not of Christian or foreign
origin.
It may bo thought that the above is a mere list of names to which
traditions should have been attached. The natives, however, as a rule,
* Trofessor Palmer informs us that the tradition of the site of David's tomb
is of jmrely Moslem origin, and (hitcsback only to 1447 a.d. (Jerusalem, Besant
.and Palmer, p. 436. See also the account of the discovery of the tomb given by
Henjaniin of Tiidcla.)
+ This, however, is also perhaps Christian in origin, as the site is noticed by
Marino Sanuto as being the birthi)iac'e of John tlie Baptist.
THE MOSLEM. MUKA.MS. 97
are either ignorant, or affect ignorance of the history of the saints.
This is no doubt partly due to suspicion and fear of consequences in
telling sacred names to infidels ; but it seems to me certain that in many
cases the ignorance is real, and that the name has long survived any
memory of the circumstance which first consecrated the sacred station.
III.
Christian Sites. — The sites treated of as yet are, as far as can be judged,
mostly of pure native origin, and often traceable to Jewish and therefore
indigenous sources. Nothing is more important in studying Palestine
than to draw a broad line of distinction between all that is of native
origin on the one hand, and foreign traditions principally Christian on
the other.
The second class of Mukdms includes those sites which, though now
venerated by the peasantry, are undoubtedly of Christian origin. A
few examples will show clearly that such sites exist undistingtdshed
from those belonging to a more reliable tradition. Thus on the hill east
of Hebron, near Beni Nairn, stands the Minaret and Sanctuary of Nehy
Lut, and a tradition existed in the fourth century that it was from this
point that Lot and Abraham surveyed the Promised Land. From this
origin doubtless the modern site has arisen. Again, in the Jordan
valley we are surprised to find the reputed tomb of Moses {Nehy Musa)
near Jericho. Many traditions connected with the prophet exist ; a
valley, a pool, and an aqueduct are called by his name. Yet there is
evidence which points to the Christian origin of all this mythology, for
in the Itinerary of Antoninus Martyr we find the "thermae Moysi "
mentioned in connection apparently with Wddy Kelt, and the Quaran-
tania mountain, near Jericho, in which we may probably recognise the
present Birhet Musa.
There are also two Mukdms sacred to our Lord, one in a village near
Hebron, where a church once existed, the other at Nein, connected with
the site of the raising of the widow's son, and no doubt standing on the
site of a mediaeval chapel. In the centre of the country also there is a
MuJcdm of Sitti Miriam, the Virgin Mary, whose memory is kept alive
at Jerusalem in the Birket Sitti Miriam, which is not, however, a sacred
place.
Several of the apostles also have Mukdms, notably Neby Metta, the
" prophet Matthew," whose sanctuary, in the village of Beit Ummer, is
no doubt the St. Matthew mentioned by Willibald of Oldenburg,
724 A.D., as between the Fountain of the Eunuch {'Ain Dhirweh) and St.
Zacharias {Beit Iskdria), south of Jerusalem, or in the very position of
the village above mentioned.
St. John has a very curious Mtikdm, called Nehy Yahyah, in the plain
of Sharon, which, though it is now a Moslem sanctuary with Cenotaph
and Mihrab, is yet sometimes called Mar Hannah, " St. John," as well
as Neby Yahyah, the native name of the Baptist,
98 THE MOSLEM MUKAMS.
St. Paul again is recognisable in Nehy Bulus, wliose sanctuary lies
near SHr'ah, in the Shephelali, and a little farther south Ave find at
Beit Jibrin the Mfihdm en Nehy Jihrin. The town was called Gibelin by
the Crusaders ; but William of Tyre translates the original name to
mean " House of Gabriel ;" and two churches, one to St. John {Sanda-
Jiannah) and one to St. Gabriel, seem to have existed here. The last is
almost entirely destroyed, but Nehij Jihrin is worshipped on a plot of
open ground just south of one of the aisles, in a part which probably
was once in the middle of the church of St. Gabriel.
St. George, el Khtidr, was considered by the Saracens to be the patron
of the Crusaders, and his sanctuaries, though now Moslem, seem to be
almost always on the site of chapels or churches. Thus at Deir Belah
(the Fort of Darum of the Crusaders), the Miikdm of el Khtidr is full of
fragments of Christian work, and the second name of the village is Deir
Mar Jirius, monastery of St. George. At Ascalon and at Blanchegarde
the same saint is worshipped, and the name attaches to many Christian
ruins, and to one Christian village. "WTierever, in fact, el Khtidr appears,
we may suspect Christian origin to attach to the ruins.
St. Anne {Sitti Hanniyeh) has also a Moslem sanctuary, but the most
curious confusion is in the large Kubbeh, on the edge of the Sharon
plain, now called Sheikh Saiidahdivi, in which -we recognise at once an
original St. Eve or St. Eva, now changed in sex as in creed, to become
a Moslem chief.
The adoption of so many Christian worthies appears to me to show
that at some time, probably the peaceful era of the fifth century preced-
ing the invasion by Omar, the peasantry were considerably under the
influence of the monastic establishments which then covered the whole
country, and of which an almost affectionate memory seems retained in
such titles as " the charitable convent," &c.
It is to this period that the class of legends which treat of Scripture
history may be referred with great proljability ; with the invasion the
names were changed, and hence to the companions of the Prophet we
find the deeds of Joshua and Samson now ascribed. In some cases
Scripture traditions may be of even later origin, and due to direct
monastic teaching at the present time.
IV.
NaUve Traditions. — There is a third class of sacred characters which I
have not succeeded in identifying with certainty, but which are occasion-
ally of great iiaterest, and which form a large proportion of the whole
number.
Thus, for instance, Haj 'Aleiydn is a much-respected saint, whose
history I have told in a former report {Quarterly Statement, Jan., 1874,
p. 23), and several prophets may be enumerated. Nehy Sdleh, "the
good prophet," has four Mtthdms, one of which is shown as the place of
his martyrdom. The red streaks in the limestone are supposed to be
THE MOSLEM MUKAMS. 99
due to his blood ; and the cave in which his son hid is also shown near
the place. Who was Neby Saleh ? is a question still to be answered.
Neby Beldn and Nehy Balidii belong to this class. Nehy Heiyis (possibly
Ahijah), Nehy Mdniin, Nehy 'Anin (or Ananiah), Neby N'amdn (Naanian),
Nehy Kdmil (" perfect prophet "), and Nehy Nurdn.
Two others have a curious bearing on Scripture — viz., Nehy Turf mi,
which maybe rendered " the Tarpelite," one of the races which were
brought by Asnapper (Ezra iv. 9, 10) to colonise Samaria, and secondly,
Nehy Leivaun, near Jerusalem, whose name recalls that of the unknown
King Lemuel (Prov. xxi. 4). Equally obscure are Nehy Kundah (the
Chaldean), Nehy Tdri (the Stranger), and Nehy Serdkah, perhaps named
after Sunk, " the valley of Sorek."
Amongst the Sheikhs also curious names occasionally occur, as Ahya
(Ahijah), 'Awed (Uz), Iskander (who appears to be Alexander the Great).
In the Jordan valley, not far from the sites which I suggested as repre-
senting the Eock Oreb and "hole " of Zeeb, we have Sheikh edh Dhidh,
"chief of the wolves," or possibly a tradition of Zeeb. At Beit Jibrin
is Sheikh Sh'ath, the native name of Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses.
At Adullam is Sheikh MadhkUr, " the famous chieftain," perhaps David
himself.
Then there are Sheikh Nedhir, " the Nazarite," Sheikh Kanwdsh, " the
Ethiopian," and Sheikh Kdmir, a name apparently of Syriac origin,
meaning " priest," and found applied (2 Kings xxiii. 5) to the idolatrous
priests "put down" by Josiah.
There are also female Saints among the native divinities, and it is
instructive to find couples in which a sister or mother is revered with
the Sheikh, or in a neighbouring sanctuary. Thus, close to Sheikh Ahu
Leimun, we have the Umm esh Sheikh, "mother of the chief," who was
the daughter of Ahmed ed Dujdni (the man of Beth Dagon). At Yebnah
Sheikh Waheh, "the devoted," has a sister, Sheikhah S'adeh, " the for-
tunate." And many other instances occur of this purely pagan mytho-
logy. With these we may class the many "ladies "—Sitt el Kdmeh, and
Sitt Nefisah, apparently representatives of Lucina ; Sitt Eslamiyeh,
■who gives her name to Mount Ebal ; Sitt Nekiyeh, "the pure lady,"
and Sitt Men' a, "the recluse." From these titles we gain no small
insight into the native religion, and the fifth category still further
enlightens us; but before proceeding to it it is necessary to separate
out the sacred characters of later historical times.
Historical Characters. —The early companions of the Prophet have
gradually become mythical characters of importance. Not only is this
the case with the Nuseiriyeh, Druses, and other heretical sects, but in
Palestine they have developed into saints of the first order, and
have grouped round themselves the history, tradition, and mythology
of other races and creeds. We have seen that the Imam 'Aly Ihn Abu
100 THE MOSLEM MUKAMS.
T'aleb, son-in-law to the prophet husband of Fatimah, and "lion of
God," with Belial Ihn Rubdh, the Muezzin of the Prophet, have been
converted at Jericho into Joshua and his servant. 'Aly also, on the other
side of the country, represents Samson, and he has many other sanc-
tuaries in the centre and north of Palestine.
At Hebron we have ^Aly Bukha, who died in 670 ; and west of this
Sheikh es Sehab, "the companion" (of the Prophet). There are also
some half-dozen sanctuaries dedicated to the Arh'atn Ghazdwy, "the
forty champions," companions of the Prophet, the most important being
the White Mosque at Eamleh, where their memory has been confused
with the Forty Martyrs of Cappadocia.* We have also two Miikdms of
Sheikh Khalif, " the Caliph," or " Successor," of the Prophet, and thus
we gradually descend to more modem times.
South of Jerusalem is the Deir Abu Tor, where is the monument of Ahu
Tor, or Sheikh Ahmed et Tori, " the father of the bull." This worthy,
whose name was Sheikh Shehdb ed Din el Kudesy, " the sacred hero of
the faith," was a follower of Saladin, who in 1187 gave him the
monastery of St. Mark, now called Deir Abu Tor.t Professor Palmer
tells us that he derived his name from riding on a tame bull. At St.
Mark's he lived, died, and was buried, and has now become a saint.
Then, near the great plain, we have on a high hill Sheikh Shibleh,
who was a powerful Emir about 1700 A.D. Though now a saint, he
was, when alive, no better than a common robber. Maundrell, the
traveller, had the satisfaction of seeing him in the flesh, and was
" courteously relieved " by him of his great-coat as baksheesh.
At 'Arsiif (the Crusading Arsur) is the Haram 'Ahj Ibn Aleim, who
lived in the time of Sultan Bibars, 1270 A.D., and defended the town
against that monarch. His mosque is said to have been built by Bibars
himself.
South of Jerusalem is a real "Mosque of Omar," Jami'a 'Amr Ibn
Khuttdb, close to the village of Beit T'dmir, dating perhaps from 636
A.D. West of Jerusalem is Sheikh Abu Ohosh, a bandit whilst in the
flesh, about 1813 A.D., now a respected saint. It is curious to find in
Galilee Jewish rabbis in the same category, as, for instance, at 'Arrdbeh,
where is the Kabr Y'akub es Seddik, " tomb of Jacob (or James) the
Just," probably representing that of Eabbi Chanina, shown here as far
back as 1564, the Rabbi himself (if Chanina ben Dosa) having lived
about 70 A.D.
* Sidna Hdshem, the prophet's father, is buried at Gaza.
t Abu Tor might be thought to be St. Mark himself, whose emblem is the
bull. The place is also called Deir el Kaddts Modestus, "Monastery of St.
Modestus," probably the monk who restored th« Church of the Holy Sepulchre,
about 620 a.d.
THE MOSLEM MUKAMS. 101
VI.
Appellations. — The fifth category includes no less than eighty names,
nearly a third of the whole, the saints being principally of the second
order, Sheikhs, or "chiefs," known by titles either showing their origin
or their attributes. The peasantry appear to believe that the saint
sometimes gave his name to the town where his Mukdm exists ; but
there is often historic evidence to prove that the process has really been
the reverse, and the saint has been created from the town. Thus at
Tdnun we have Nehy Nun (apparently the father of Joshua), but the
name of the town is probably a corruption of the ancient Janoah.
Nehy Tuba, again (perhaps Tobiah), has his sanctuary at Tdhds, the
ancient Thebez. Nehy Yiikin derives his name from the town called
Cain, and Nehy Hushdn, at Hdsheh, from the place which is apparently
Osheh, the seat of the Sanhedrim.
Another curious case is that of Sheikh Selmdn el Farsi, companion of
the prophet, whose sanctuary stands on Mount Salmon, whence it pro-
bably derived its name originally. At Tell Jezer, again, we have
Muhammed el Jezdri (the Moor), who seems to derive his name from
Gezer. Nehy Btirk is found in Burka, Sheikh er Rdfdti at Eafat, Sheikh el
Huhdni at Hubin, Sheikh Arehdb at the ancient Rehob, and Sheikh
Mukhnah in the plain of the same name, the word meaning " camping-
ground."
The second class of appellations is of more value, and examples taken
at random will serve to show clearly the attributes and characters of
these revered saints. Thus we find in Philistia " the father of the lion,"
and "the father of curls" (names, perhaps, for Samson), also "father
of the crescent," "of the mail coat," " of the olive," "of the carob,"
"servant of the almighty," and "servant of the prophet." "The
Stranger," "the Median," "the man of Aleppo," "the rain-giver,"
"the idiot," "the madman," "the goodly," "the pleasant," "the
Bhining," "the healer," "the place of sickness," "the high place,"
"the place of prayer," "the place of steps," "the dwarf," "the sun
of the faith," "the honour of the faith," "the trustee," "the
pilgrioi," "the soldier," "the full moon," "the propitious," "the
place of protection," "the place of flight," "the conqueror," "the
champion," "the inspired," " the just," " the fortunate," " the wise,"
" the snow-white," " the beautiful."
In this category of adjectives we see the character of the mythology.
The personal names in these cases are often common Moslem names, but
in some cases the title very probably conceals an important name. The
peasantry shrink from pronouncing the true name, especially before
Christians, and prefer a circumlocution, just as the English and Scotch
peasantry might speak of "the good people" and the "canny folk."
The titles are, however, of no small value. They show that the
mythology is extremely mixed, and that many strangers are admitted
into the pantheon. They show also that the Sheikh is the protector of
102
THE ISrOSLEM MUKAMS.
property, the giver of rain, the healer of sickness ; that the olive, the
carob, the oak, are sacred to him; that -warriors, madmen, idiots,
pilgrims, are alike canonised after death, and that prayer is offered and
assistance begged in all the calamities of life from the genius loci of
each village or town.
YII.
Sacred Sites. — A few MiiMms not to be classed under either of the
foregoing titles appear to refer to traditions now forgotten. Thus we
have the Hizn Y'aMb, "mourning of Jacob," the Jamfa el 'Amud
(Pillar of Shechem), and the 'Am&d ed Din, marking, as I have proposed
to identify it, the monument erected on Ebal by Joshua. At Shiloh,
also, there is the Jamia el Yetaim, "mosque of the servants of God,"
retaining probably a memory of the tabernacle. Such sites are, how-
ever, few, and the traditional connection appears to be lost.
VIII.
Last of all come the common Moslem names applied to some fifty less-
important Miikdms ; Abdallah, Omar, AH, Abraham, Kasim Mohammed,
Hasan, Moses, Othman, Joseph, Masud, David, and Solomon are
among these.
In some cases it is possible these names may be falsely given, in others
they are distinguished by adjectives, "the long," " the tall," &o., and
appear certainly genuine. In one or two instances the peasantry differ
as to the name, but this is never the case where a Neby is concerned.
Such is a brief review of the worship and origin of the Mukams.
The subject is well worth further study by competent Arabic scholars.
Traditions may probably remain to be collected, and other names may
be added ; but the greatest caution is necessary, and the subject could
scarcely have been further pursued during the course of the Survey
without raising the fanatical suspicions of the peasantry, from whose
zeal and superstition the Survey party has always been in continual
danger.
Claude R. Conder, Lt. R.E.
Feb. IT, 1877.
List
OF THE Neby Mukams.
1.
Mukam on Neby 'Aisa
Jesus.
2.
,, 'Anin
Ananiah ?
3.
,, Balian
4.
Belan
5.
,, Bulus
Patd.
6.
Burk
"Blessed.
7.
,, Danian
Daniel.
8.
,, Baud
David.
THE MOSLEM MUKAMS.
103
9.
Miakam
on Neby
Dan
Dan
10.
1 1
))
Duhy
" Leader."
11.
) )
))
Elyas
Elias.
12.
>'
)>
Ham
Ham.
13.
))
) J
Heiyis
14.
)>
))
Hudah
Judah.
15.
)>
) )
Huj
Haggai?
16.
))
))
Hushan
Osbanite.
17.
) J
))
Is-bak
Isaac.
18.
))
>>
Jibrin
Gabriel.
19.
) J
) )
Kamil
" Perfect."
20.
>)
>)
Kifil
Joshua, " divider
21.
>)
>)
Kunda
Chaldean.
22.
) )
)»
Lawin
23.
) )
)>
Leimun
Lemuel ?
24.
)>
>)
Lut
Lot.
25.
))
J >
Mamin
26.
)>
>>
Metta
Matthew.
27.
J y
>)
Musa
Moses.
28.
t )
)>
N'aman
Naaman.
29.
)>
I)
Nuh
Noah.
30.
))
))
Nun
Nun.
31.
>)
>>
Nuran
32.
>)
>)
Rabi
33.
> J
) )
Rubin
Reuben.
34.
J >
) >
S'ain
35.
J J
))
Saleb
" Good."
36.
) J
>)
Samwil
Samuel.
37.
J)
))
Serakah
Sirach ?
38.
) )
3>
Sbem'on
Simeon.
39.
))
>>
Shit
Seth.
40.
>>
>1
Tari
" Stranger."
41.
)>
>)
Toba
42.
))
))
Turfini
43.
) >
))
Tabyali
St. John.
44.
) )
Y'arud Ibn T'akub
45.
) )
) )
Yemin
Benjamin ?
46.
J )
))
Tukln
Cain.
47.
)>
)>
Tunis
Jonah.
48.
)>
)!
Zakariya
Zechariah.
104
aiBEAH OF SAUL.
The site in question is one important to fix, as a good deal of topo-
graphy depends upon it. Thus, though no new discovery can be claimed
in this case, I may perhaps be allowed to state the arguments which
appear to me sufficient to determine the situation of this town.
In the first place I would again insist on the importance in all such
cases of having the name identical. No site can be considered aa
identified unless two conditions are fulfilled : 1st, that the name be
recovered ; 2nd, that the position be suitable. It will, I think, be
found that in almost every instance where a site has been fixed without
connection between the native existing name aud the ancient title, the
site has proved, sooner or later, unsatisfactory. I may point to Megiddo
placed at Lejjun, to Mizpeh at Nehy Samwll, to Tirzah at Talluza, aa
instances in which the sites can only be considered conjectural, and
against which there are important objections. The same applies to
Gibeah of Saul placed at Tell el Fill. Gibeah was about 30 stadia from
Jerusalem according to Josephus. Tell el Fill is little over 22 stadia.
If it represent an ancient Hebrew name it is a former Ophel that has
become transformed into the modern Arabic " bean hill," and it is more
probably the site of Ophni of Benjamin, as far as the derivation of the
name is concerned.
Robinson, in visiting Palestine for the first time, was inclined to
place Gibeah of Saul near Geba of Benjamin (the present Jeb'a), a con-
clusioQ which he afterwards rejected, choosing the site of Tell el Ful.
The word Gibeah is the feminine, according to Gesenius, of Geba,
" a hill," but a further difficulty has been raised in this case by the fact
that the authorised version has occasionally Gibeah where the Hebrew
reads Geba. In the list of the towns of Benjamin (Josh, xviii. 24, 28)
we have two names — Gaba, which is generally supposed to be JeVa
nea.r Mukhmds, and Gibeah, which is noticed as near Kirjath {Kuriet).
This second town is, however, probably JiWa, a ruin north-west of
Jerusalem near Kuheibeh, and a place distinct from Gibeah of Saul,
for it occurs in a difi'erent category among towns far from the site in
question. If this conclusion be correct, Gibeah of Saul is not noticed
in the enumeration of the cities of Benjamin, unless indeed it be identi-
cal with Gaba.
Another connection between Geba, or Gaba, and Gibeah exists in the
history of the Levite whose wrongs brought punishment on the Benja-
mites. Travelling along the north road from Jerusalem towards Mount
Ephraim, he " turns aside" towards Gibeah and Ramah (Judg. xix. 13),
arriving at Gibeah, whose inhabitants were Benjamites.
In this chapter, and the one succeeding, the place is invariably called
Gibeah except in two verses (Judg. xx. 10, 33), where it appears in the
Hebrew as Geba of Benjamin, and again "the cave of Geba" (A. Y.,
" Meadows").
GIBEAH OF SAUL. 105
A third connectiou between Gibeah and Geba lias been noticed in tho
paper on Saul's journey to Zupli, where he returns to Gabatha, "thi^
hill," whore was a gai-rison of the Philistines. Such a garrison wc find
to exist in Geba of Benjamin shortly after (1 Sam. xiii. 3).
Thus we find, apparently, places close together, or identical, known
under the names of Geba, Gaba, Gabatha, Gibeah of Benjamin, and
Gibeah of Saul. The natural conclusion would be that they are on<'
and the same j)lace. It seems probable, however, that the feminine^
form Gibeah was used for the country in which the city Geba stood.
This idea will be found to be supported by the passages in the book o!'
Judges above referred to, and also by the various notices of Gibeahs
near Geba. Thus we have " Gibeah in the fields " {Guhathah hi Badeh),
Judg. XX. 31, and in the later history of Saul we find the king " in the
uttermost part of Gibeah under a pomegranate tree which is in
Migrou " (1 Sam. xiv. 2). And, again, " Saul abode in Gibeah under a
tree in Ramah" (1 Sam. xxii. 6). It may also be remarked that many
of the Hebrew words signifying "land" or "country" are of tho
feminine gender.
But beyond the evidence of name it would appear from the facts of the
case that there was only one town of the name in this direction. The
Levite turns aside to Gibeah of Benjamin, an expression which certainly
applies well to Jeh'a but not to Tell el Ffd on the main road. The town
where he was insulted was, as we have seen above, Geba of Benjamin,
the same town afterwards taken by Jonathan, and here, at the passage,
was the rock of Senneh, which is translated " thorn."
Now in speaking of Gabaoth Saule (B. J. v. 2. 1) Josephus places it
near the Valley of Thorns, and at the present day the valley below Jeh'a
is called Wddy SuweinU, " the valley of the little thorn tree." Josephus
is not absolute as to the distance of this place from Jerusalem, but.
states it at " about 30 stadia"— the distance being nearer to 40 to Jeh'a —
but this fits the text as well as the 22 stadia to Tell el Ffd.
In addition, it may be urged that the watchmen of Saul, in Gibeah of
Benjamin, were able to see the conflict which was going on at Michmash,
and to hear the sound of the battle. Tell el Ffd, though Jeh'a be visible,
does not command a view of Michmash, and the distance is no less than
five miles between the scene of the battle and Saul's supposed position.
Finally, in Gibeah of Benjamin there was a cave large enough to con-
tain the ambush (Judg. xx. 33). No cave exists near Tell el Ffd, but a
large cave exists at Jeh'a.
The conclusion appears to me to be that Saul's city was Geba of Ben-
jamin, and that the district round was called first Gibeah of Beajamin,
afterwards Gibeah of Saul.
If we accept this view, the question of the position of Nob is greatlj'
simplified, and tlio position of Gabatha, to which Saul returned after his
journey to Zuph. is also confirmed. G. R. 0.
1
106
JUDJEO-GEEEK EPITAPH EEOM JAFFA.
The little inscription of which you send me a sketch is very much like
those of which I found a great number of specimens in the ancient
cemetery of Jaffa. In my earliest reports {Qv.arterJij Statement, 1874)
I determined the site of this cemetery, and called attention to the
importance of fuller examination on a spot so interesting to Hebrew
archeeology.
This new text is engraved on marble. I may add, without fear of
being wrong, guided as I am by analogy, that it must be, probably, a
very thin slab — that is, a tituhis. The symbol below the fourth line is
the seven-branched candlestick of the Temple. I have already found it
on similar epitaphs of Jaffa, notably on one very much mutilated, on
which only the ends of the words could be made out.
The new inscription is somewhat difiicult to decipher from the pencil
sketch, you ought to obtain a squeeze. It begins with the word AAZAPOT,
genitive of Lazarus ; the word fj-vrtfia, expressed in some of the Jaffa
stones, is understood here. Then comes the word KM, followed by a
proper name also in the genitive, but difficult to x-estore on account of
the doubtful characters in the middle of the line. Perhaps it is CHAA
for CIAA, genitive of CIAAC, a name common among the Judseo-
Greeks ; for example, a friend of Agrippa (Joseph. Aatiq. xviii, 6. 7 ;
xix. 8. 3) ; a Babylonian (Joseph. Bell. Jud. ii. 19. 2 ; in, 2. 1) ; a
tj'rant of Lysias (Joseph. Antiq. xiv. 3. 2) ; a governor of Tiberias
(Joseph. Lip. xvii.) ; a companion of St. Paul, chief of the church of
Jerusalem (Acts ©f Apostles, xv. 22), &c. We see also the name of Silas
borne by an Egyptian priest (Zoeg. Cat. Codd. 546. 2) ; many Jews,
whose epitaphs I found at Jaffa, were of Egyptian origin, as is stated in
the inscriptions.
The inscription ends by the name, also in the genitive, of Simon,
written CTMnNC for ciMnNO, an interesting form which occupies
a middle place between '2,v/xieivos, Symeou, and 'Si/j.ui'os, Simon. It
is probable that we must read immediately before the name KAI,
instead of KA, the I having crept in accidentallj'. As for the letters
which follow as far as the CHAA, they are too indistinct to permit a
restoration. We may have to add them to CHAA in order to form a
proper name, and we may look for the name TiriN among them. The
frequent inaccuracies in these little texts make it imperative in every
case to have a careful squeeze. C. CLERMO^'T-GANNEAU.
THE
PALESTINE EXPLORATION FUND:
A SOCIETY FOi; THE ACCUEATE AXD SYSTEJIATIC INVESTIGATION OF
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FOR BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATION.
PATRON :
HEE MAJESTY THE QUEEN,
GENERAL COMMITTEE:
ARCHBISHOP OF YORK, Prendent.
I )«. n. W. AcLAND, r.R.s.
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Tjie President or the A:sierican Asso-
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John Murray, Esq.
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Duke of Nortuumbehland
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GrENEEAJj Committee {continued) —
-Sill S. MoiiTON Peto, Baht.
Peofessor E. it. Palmeu
BisHor OF Peteeborougii
IIerii Petermax
Pev. E. H. Plimpthe
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Rev. C. Pritcharp, F.R.S.
Rev. Prof. Plsey, D.D.
Sir Hexky Rawlixson, K.C.B., F.R.S.
Rev. Professor Raavlixsox
IIkxry Reeve, Esq.
Maruuis of Ripox
Bishop of Ripox
l-^ARL Russell
lh{. Saxdreczky
X'iscouNT Saxdox
M. De Saflcy
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Earl of Shaftesbfry
AViLLiAM SiMPsox", Esq.
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ViSCOUXT STRATrOUD DE ReDCLIFFE
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Duke of Westmixster
Rev. Canox Williams, B.D.
Major Wilsox, R.E., F.R.S.
George Wood, Esq.
Bishop of Wixch ester
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.
W. HEPWORTH DIXON, Esq., < ■hairmu.t.
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C ( t c f
f cctcc„t ,cec(Cc ccc
. .• c « , . ' ' « ' « « .
(• I ' < ' < t . < € I C «
Quarterly Statemext, July, 1877.]
THE
PALESTINE EXPLORATION FUND,
NOTES AND NEWS.
The following Resolution of the Executive Committee, passed July 3, 1877,
lias been ordered to be communicated b}- means of the Quarterhj Statement of
July to all subscribers : — " That considering the heavy expenses of the Survey
now in progress, -which must be met during the next three mouths, the Com-
mittee beg that every subscriber who has not j'et paid his subscription for the
current year will kindly send it in at once, either to the Head Office or to the
Hon. Sec. of his town, although it may not fall duo till the last quarter ; that
intending donors will bear in mind the urgent importance of finishing the Survey
at once ; and that Honorary Secretaries be asked to forward the subscriptions
paid to them as soon as they may be conveniently collected. "
The progress of the Survey is detailed at fortnightly intervals in the "Journal "
extracted from Lieut. Kitchener's letters. In starting the work he received the
greatest assistance from Consul-General Eldridge ; got letters from the new Wali
of Syria and fi'om Abd-el-Kader ; was welcomed at Safed, the scene of the late
attack; and has proceeded undisturbed with his triangulation. Up to the latest
account the total amount surveyed was 550 square miles, leaving about an equal
amount to complete the Survey of Northern Palestine.
If things remain tranquil, Lieut. Kitchener will have finished Northern Pales-
tine by the middle of August. He will then probably move southAvards, in order
to settle various points of difficulty which have arisen in laying down the
map. This done, there will remain only a small area of 200 nules at the extreme
south, where two tribes have been can-ying on war against each other for the last
three years.
In order to assist in promoting a friendly feeling towards the party, the Com-
mittee have resolved on giving up their claim to the rest of the fine imposed on
the Safed people. They have addressed a letter, which is now under conside ,;-
tion, to the Foreign Office, asking for the re-establishment of the Haifta consulate.
The actual depression of the Sea of Galilee has been ascertained to be 682'554.
This result may be slightly jnodified on rc-oxamination. The papers are in \\\>
110 NOTES AIs^D KEWS.
hands of Major Wilson, and will ho read at the next nicetiug of the British
Association.
From the camp of Tiberias five extinct volcanoes -were observed fiom which the
basalt has hecn thrown out over the surrounding country : the plains being
covered by the ashes and lioulders of basalt ai-e rendered extremely fertile. Two
miles south of the Kurn Ilattin occur two extinct volcanoes, and Liei;t. Kitchener-
is of opinion that the Kurn Ilattin is another.
The di'awing of Jacob's \\\ll as it now appears, which is our frontispiece to
the present number, has been drawn aad presented to the Committee by Mr.
ri. A. Harper from a sketch taken by himself on his last visit to the Holy Land.
The Eev. Selah Merrill, Arclueologist of the American Association, passed
through London last month on his way to New York. He was rooeived by the
Committee, to whom he showed his route map and explained some of his dis-
coveries and theories. These will shortly be published by the American
Committee.
Lieut. Condcr is still occniiied upon the ilemoirs ; part of his woi'k, with his
own conclusions, is published in this Statement.
An othcc lias been taken at tli* Koyal Albert Hall, Avhere the work of map-
drawing can be at once proceeded with. The services of two non-commissioned
officers have been granted by the War Office, who will work under the superin-
tendence of Lieut. Conder.
The Committee have to thank Captain Hamilton, li.E., for the two sketches
which are published to illustrate Lieut. Kitchener's report. They were taken on
the si)ot while Captain Hamilton was with the Survey party.
A complete set of the American photograjihs, one hundred in number, has.
been presented to the London Committee. They are large and handsomely
mounted. About fifty of them arc views of places never before taken. Among
them arc photogiaphs of Um el Jenieil, Lake Phiala, Bozrah, Salchad, &c. Thero-
arc also views of Canon Tristram's discovery, the Kuins of Mashita. These
photographs are lying at the office in 0, Pall ]\rall East, where they may be seen
by any visitor.
The new Statement (the fourth) of the American Society is also ready.
Extracts from this will be given In the October Quarkrhj Statement.
NOTES AND NEWS.
Ill
The ibllowin- is the iluaiicial iioaitiou of the luiud (June 30th). llcccipts,
^larch 29th to°Junc 30th, £930 3s. Sd, Expenditure : Exploration, £673 Is.
ya.;omceandrnaiiagement, £185 5s. lid. Tlie balance in the hanks on the
latter day was £398 Os. Id. We aslced in April for £2,000 between then and
.September 30th. At present we have moeivcd less than £1000. We now ask
for £1000 in the present quarter, or ratlier in tlie present month, brfore the
summer holidaj's begin.
Attention is railed to the statement advertised .m the cover, that subscribers
to the Fund are privileged by the publisher to receive Ijoth the "Literary
lleraains of the late Mr. C. F. Tyrwhitt Drake," and the " Undergi-ound
-lerusalem " of Captain Warren, at reduced rates. The former book will be sent
for ten shillings, the latter for sixteen shillings, postage paid. But letters asking
for thcmmust^e sent to the oflice at 9, Pall .^lall East only.
Oxford subscribers will make a note i!.at an account
<Jld Bank by Canon Ridgway for the receipt oi subscriptions and donations.
An Association for the Exploration of Palestine has been formed in Germany.
The prospectus is signed l)y Dr. Zimmermann, and Professors Socin, of Tubingen,
and Kautzscli, of Basel. Among the committee are Count von Moltke, Karl
Baedeker, Dr. Kiepert, the German Consul of Jerusalem, Dr. Sandreczki, and
rierr Schick. A long list of those who have promised support includes the
names of Professors Ebers, Schlottinann, Sepp, and Spreiiger, Herr Weser, and
other well-known men. The society will publish a "Quarterly Journal of
Palestine llesearch," wliich, like our Quaricrl >/ Statrmcnt, wiil be issued free to
all its subscribers. It will contain papers on Topography, Xatural History,
Ethnology, including Folk-lore, Statistics, Political History, Coins and Inscrip-
tions, and General Literary News. The yearly subscriptions will in the first
instance be devoted to this magazine, and if the revenue of the society exceed the
cost of the periodical, a fund will be formed for the issue of scientific works on
the subject.
Several cases were discovered in 1876 of postage stamps being lost oh their way
to the oflice. The only way to avoid such loss is to send money by P.0.0. or
by cliecpie, in every case x'ccyahla to the order of Walter Iksant, and crossed
to Coutts and Co., or the Union BanJc, Charino Cross Branch.
The ninth thousand of " Our Work in Palestine " is now ready (price Ss. 6d.),
and may lie ordered of booksellers. Tliis book carries the work down to the
■commencement of the Survey, but does not embrace ^L Ganneau's discoveries
nor the results of the Survev itself.
112 NOTES AND NEWS.
The followiug arc at pie^eut Representatives and Lecturers of tire Society, in
addition to tlie Hon. Sees. : —
ArcMeacourj- of Hereford : Kev. J. S. Stooke-A''augliaa, "Wellington Heath
Yiearage, Lcdburj-.
City and neigliboiirliood of Manchester : Kev. ^V. F. Birch, St. Saviour's
Kectory.
London : Eev. Henry Geary, 16, Somerset Street, Portman Square.
Norwich : Eev. F. C. Long, Stow-npland, Stowmarket,
Peterborough : Eev. A. F. Foster, Farndish Kectory, Wellingborough.
Worcester : Kev. F. ^V. Holland, Evesham (Member of General and Executive
Committee, and one of the Hon. Secretaries to the Fund).
Diocese of Ripon : Kev. T. C. Henley, Kirkby Malham A'icarage.
Ireland.— Diocese of Armagh : Kev. J. H. Townsend.
Kev. G. J. Stokes, Blackrock, Dublin.
Scotland. — Kev. K. -J. (.'raig, Dalgetty, Burntisland.
While desiring to give every publicity .^ ^.roposed identitications by officers
of the Fund, the Committee beg it to be distinctly understood that they leave
such proposals to be discussed on their own merits, and that by publishing them
in the Quarferbj Statement the Committee do not sanction or adojit them.
Annual subscribers are earnestly rerpiested ta forward their suljscriptions for
the current j'car when due, at their earliest convenience, and without waiting for
application.
The Committee are always glad to receive old numbers of the Quarterly State-
ment, especially those which are advertised as out of print.
Ladies desirous of joining the Ladies' Associations are requested to communi-
cate with Mrs. Finn, The Elms, Brook Green, London, W. The full report of
meetings held by Mrs. Finn during the last quarter Avill be found in the
business sheet.
Cases for binding the Quarterhj Statement are now ready, and can be liad on
application to Messrs. R. Bentley and Son, 8, New Burlington Street. They are
in green or brown cloth, with the stamp of the Society, uniform in appearance
with " Our Work in Palestine," and are sold at the price of eighteen pence.
Lieut. Kitchener's Guinea Book of Biblical Photographs can be bought at j\lr.
Stanford's establishment, 55, Charing Cross. It contains twelve views, with a
short account of each. Thf^y are mounted on tinted boards, and handsomely
bound.
113
JOURNAL OF THE SUEVEY.
The following extracts from Lieut. Kitchener's letters give a rough
current history of the progress of the party from Lieut. Kitchener's
arrival in Palestine : —
" Bci/joui, Feb. (!, liSTT. — You will be glad to find that the country is
not in so bad a condition as you think. I have seen Consul Eldridge
to-day, and he thinks there is no reason against my taking the field.
The Moslems are quiet, and the Government has a strong wish to put
down any rising or disturbance, and is keeping the people in capital
order."
"Damascus, Feb. 14, 1877. — ThenewWali of Syria arrived at Beyrout
on the 8th, and next day Eldridge very kindly took me with him when
he was making his oflScial visit. Of course no business could be done.
Next day the Wali returned Eldridge's call, and I saw him again and
showed him some of our work. Both times Eldridge spoke very highly
of it, and the Wali agreed that it was of gi'eat importance. I cam" here
the next day Avith Jago in order to collect the servants and horses.
Eldridge said if possible he would get the letters I want from the
Wali. He has written to say that I had better wait for him here, as he
(;annot do business out of his government. . . . Since I have been here
I have seen Abd-el-Kader, who was very civil indeed. We spoke of the
Safed affair, and he expressed his deep sorrow that his followers should
have behaved so badly. I asked him for a letter to his people in the
country, which he promised me."
"Beyrout, Feb. 29, 1877. — The men have arrived here safely. They
were not able to land at Haiffa owing to bad weather. All the luggage
is safe. The new Wali has not yet gone to Damascus, and Eldridge has
written officially asking for an answer about my letters. I have no
doubt I shall receive them in a day or two. I got letters from Abd-el-
Kader to his people at Tiberias and Safed, so that I shall have no
difficulty in that part of the country from our old assailants. The
delays of this country are most annoying. Eldridge recommends my
waiting still for the Wall's letters. . . . My time has been fully taken
up bargaining for horses and getting the party together. I intend
sending Corporal Brophy with the heavy luggage down to Haiffa on
Friday morning, the 23rd, by steamer. I dare not risk being carried on
to Port Said myself, so with Sergeant Malings, Corporal Sutherland, nnd
all the necessaries for finishing the levelling, I mean to ride down the
coast, starting from here on Saturday morning. I think this is the best
way, though it is rather difficult, owing to all our loose things being at
Haiffa. I hope to be at Haiffa on Monday, and to start work on Tues-
day, the 27th. The rains are very late this year, so it is perhaps as
well that we have not been in tents up to now. On last Saturday there
was a tremendous storm all along the coast. The authorities have all
been very polite, and I have on every occasion found the scientific p<isi-
114 JOURXAL OF THE SURVEY.
tion of tlie Society mucli thouglit of. I liave seeu a great many Paslias
and officials. Nothing could be kindcv than Mr. Eldridge and Mr.
Jago, who have greatly helped me since I have been here. I am sure
you will understand how anxious I am to begin work, and that it is
■only a series of insurraonn table delays that keeps me here. However,
you may be sure that work will be started on the 27th, unless some-
thing new turns up."
"P. E. Fund Camp, Haiffa, March G, 1877.— You will see by my
report how we have been getting on, and I hope yoii will be satisfied.
. . . Next time I shall have a more attractive country to describe. All
is going quietly ; the country is quiet, and I hope to do well. Colonel
.Fremantle, of the Coldstreams, is now with me for a short visit."
'■'Tiberias, March 30, 1877.— We. are getting on all right with the
work, and I hope in another fortnight to have finished the shores of the
Sea of Galilee, and be on the road to Safed again. My servants rather
dread going back, so I shall have to keep a look-out on the rearguard as
well as in front going up the hill. Eldridge has gone to a good deal
of trouble to make things go well. ... If the Fund could get a consul
established at Haiffa it would be a very good thing. If I am well
received at Safed and report satisfactorily, would the Committee give
up their claim to the rest of the fine imposed? It would smooth
matters. . . . The Druses are giving a good deal of trouble, cutting
people's throats on the road to Damascus. Also there is a report of war
between the Druses and Arabs in the Jebel Druse, and Mohammed
Said Pasha is to be sent with a large force to put it down. This is
merely an on dit, and not very reliable. In the south, near Hebron,
the Arab tribes Tarabin and Teyyaha have had a fight. The latter
lost 101 men killed, the former only 12. This U reliable. Consul
Moore has telegraphed and sent out people to stop all travellers from
going that way. It is lucky I am doing the north after all."
"Safed, April 11, 1877.— You will be glad to hear that we have made
a most successful entry into Safed. The Governor, Kadi, and H.B.M.
Consular Agent, with twenty-two followers, came out about an hour
and a half on the road to meet me. Yfe rode into the town in quite a
triumphal pi-ocessiou. I at once went to the Serail and was saluted by
the guard. After coffee with the Governor, I pitched camp, and then
the Governor came and culled. After him the British Agent, and then
the Kadi, with all the m-mbers of the Mejlis. Nothing could be more
civil and obliging than everybody was. To-day I have had the Governor,
the British Consul, and our old enemy Ali Agha Alan, the cause of the
row; the latter expressed deep sorrow for what ho had done, as well he
may, as I hear he and the Mogrcbbins arc all but ruined. I called on
the Consul and tlie Kadi and measured up the castle. . . . On Monday I
shall move to Meiron, where we shall have rather a long camp, working
\\Y> to date and carrying the triangixlation north. Of course without
Sergeant Armstrong I shall not get done so soon as I said in my estimate,
though I do not think we shall be much bohiud time. . . . Captain
JOUEXAL Oi' TUE SURVEY. 11-3
Hamilton, li.E., who has been staying with me, takes this. He will be
in town on May .5th, and will give yuu all the latest news."
"J/eu-oH, April 17, 1877. — Yesterday I left Safed for this place,
having had a most successful camp there. Everybody was very polite.
The Grovernor came here yesterdaj^, and has impressed upon the
psople the necessity of doing all we want. In the evening he dined
with me. H.M.S. Torch has been at Akka. I was informed by a tele-
gram from Eldridge when he Avould come, and was thus able to make
considerable impression on the minds of the natives. I do not know
what to think about war or peace, I get such contradictory telegrams,
but I suppose every one is iu the same case. In case of war breaking
out, 1 hope to fiuish up to Banias before marching to the coast ; but it
is a very difficult thing to see what effect it would have on the countiy.
I might be able to go ou without interruption, or I might have to march
to Beyrout and wait a little."
" Jleiron, April 25, 1877. — I may not be able to send a report per
next post — i.e., the one this will go by — -as I shall be on the move north.
We have been getting on very well, and I have found two new syna-
gogues and four dolmens. They are small, but very distinct, and two
have names. I have been obliged, on account of the triangulation, to
modify my plan of moving direct on Banias, and shall go to Dibl, or
near there, and thence to Kedesh, and so on to Banias. I hear on all
sides that war has been declared, but have not yet received any
telegram to that effect from Eldridge. I shall continue the work until
I see a good cause for shutting up, and then shall probably move to
Beyrout and wait. I see no reason as yet why I should not finish the
north, but of course any day may change this view of the matter.
I am in constant correspondence with Eldridge, who is most kind,
and sends me all the news. I wish you could get the matter of the
consuls in North Palestine looked into by the Foreign Office, as it is
really wanted. An Englishman at Haiffa or Akka, and an advance to
-some of the consular agents, such as at Safed, who have neither seals of
office nor any status in the country, though French, Austrians, and others
have, is much wanted. When we have finished this camp, in four days
we shall have surveyed 400 square miles, judged roughly. It is very
close country just about here, full of names, and takes time.
" I shall send you a report next mail oa the Sea of Galilee.. We have
been kept in camp two days here by wet weather."
" Dihl, May i. — Yesterday I saw our northern boundary and took trigo-
nometrical shots into what will be ourmost northern station. Our triangu-
lation has been very satisfactory, 17ft. diftereuce in check lines of from
10 to 12 miles Health of party has been exceptionally good."
" Dibl, May 13. — Correction for the Tibeiias Report. The aqueduct
above Ain et Tinoh is 52 feet instead of 57, which makes it and the top
of the reservoir nearly on a level. The reservoir was levelled down to
the sea, and the aqueduct computed by the theodolite. ... I have very
little additional news to tell you. Wo have surveyed 130 square miles
11*J LIEUT. KITCHEXEIl'S REPORTS.
and found a good many inscriptions and the remains of one fine early
church. The country is full of villages. I move to Kadesh the day
after to-morrow, and shall probably be at Banias before you get this."
" Taiyeheh, May 25, 1877.— Since the declaration of war I have pushed
on the work as fast as possible, and even before that, for many reasons.
I had no time for any excavations such as at Khan Minyeh and some
other places. We are now at the northern boundary of our work, and
I hope to finish in the estimated time, but this will depend on the nature
of the ground near the coast, which I am afi-aid is rather diflacult. We
may be a week or two later on this account. The total surveyed is now
550 square miles, and the triangulation is already finished from this
camp.
"I find the authorities in the country most active and obliging in
helping the work as far as they can. I have had no serious difficulty
with the natives. The health of the whole expedition has been excel-
lent."
LIEUTENANT KITCHENEir>S EEP0ET8.
II.
Camp at Tiberias, 30f/( March, 1877.
Having completed th(^ Survey of the Akka Plain, and finished the
levelling down to the Mediterranean, it was necessary to carry the
eastern portion of the Survey north, from a line about two miles soxith
of Tabor, and to run the line of levels down to the Sea of Tiberias.
Camp was struck at Haifta on the Sth of March, and after passing
one night at Nazareth we arrived at Hattin, an important village on the
road from Nazareth to Tiberias, seven miles from the latter, and well
situated for the work we had to complete.
The triangulation was started next day by taking a series of observa-
tions from Jebel Toran. Our old trigonometrical stations were satis-
factorily picked up, new cairns being erected at all the stations, and the
triangulation well advanced. This work occupied us nine days. The
detail was then started, and has been worked in for 100 square miles,
reaching as far north as the village of Yakuk. The levelling was also
begun at the same time. The difficulty of running the levels to the Sea
of Galilee was considerable, owing to the steep inclines and the narrow
and precipitous gorge of the Wady Hamam, down which it had to be
carried. The result, however, is very satisfactory. In the 16^- miles
levelled, the difference between the results obtained with the two instru-
ments used is •215 of a foot. Adopting the ten- inch level readings
thi-oughout, and considering the theodolite readings merely as a check
on the more accurate instrument, we arrive at a depression for the Sea
Galilee of 082554 feet. Thirty-five bench marks have been cut on the
line of levels and fixed on our map.
LIEUT. KITCUENEIl's REPORTS. 11
In this portion of the Survey we have mai:>ped five extinct volcanoes
from which the basalt has been thrown out over the surrounding
country ; and the plains, being covered by the ashes and boulders of
basalt, are rendered extremely fertile. Other smaller outbreaks have
also been noted. Two miles south of the Kurn Hattin occur two
extinct volcanoes, one of which is called the Kal'at es Sandii, or " The
Basalt Castle;" in both the black basalt rock is seen thrown up, forming
a crater in the centre. The Kurn itself is, in my opinion, another ;
the basalt does not show itself so much, but the rocks forming the
crater bear signs of the eruptions that took place, and the plains around
are strewed with basalt rocks and d/'bris. North-eastward of the latter
are two more large outbreaks overhanging the Plain of Genesareth, one
of which is called el Waret es Sanda, " The Eocky Plain of Basalt."
Immediately above oiir camp at Hattin was the field of the last great
fight of the Crusaders. The Kurn rises about 100 feet in rocky ridges
above the plain on the south-west, whilst on the north and east there
is a very steep descent of 800 feet to another plain, the Sahel Hattin,
which again terminates abruptly over the Sea of Galilee. The Kurn
Hattin, or "Horns of Hattin," was the last place held by the king
and his brave knights Avhen surrounded by the forces of Saladin.
The rocky top seems a very natural fortress, and well adapted to be
defended against far superior numbers. The Crusaders were, how-
»"•
ever, worn out by their long marches and hard fighting, and after
driving back the stormers three times the place was carried, the king
surrendered with the remnant of his forces, and the Christian king-
dom in Palestine ceased to exist. The name of the plain south-east
of the Kurn is " 'Ard el Burnus.'' Burnus is the Arabic form of
"Prince." In a history of Palestine by el Kadi Mujir ed Din, 1585
A.D., Count Eenaud de Chatillon, Lord of Kerak, who was the cause
of the war, is always called el Burnus Irbat, or el Burnus, Emir of
Kerak. The story is told of the King of Jerusalem when in Saladin's
tent passing water to "el Burnus" after the fight, which the Sultan
does not admit as an act of hospitality to "el Burnus;" afterwards
the Sultan offers him his life if he will change his religion for that
of Islam ; but on the " Emir of Kerak " refusing to do so, he was-
slain by Saladin himself. No one else in the book receives the title
of el Biirnus; we have therefore an historical name remaining attached
to the site of the battle.
On the Southern Horn of the Kurn are the foundations of an
ancient squai-e tower and some small cisterns ; the former was probably
a watch-tower on the great road to Damascus. A copious spring of water
flows out of the north-west base of the Kurn, where a short wady breaks
down from the plain above. In this wtxdy, immediately above the 'aia,
is the Kubbeh of Neby Shu'aeb (Prophet Jethro) still existing. Robin-
son, in Bib. Res. p. 23{>, in a footnote, mentions that, according to
Boha ed Din, the Kubbeh stood upon the Tell in his day — i.e., at
the close of the twelfth century (Vita Salad, p. 69). The same is
1 1 8 LIEUT, kitchener's REPORTS.
lueutioned iu tlie Jewish. Itinerary in Hettinger's Cippi Hebraici, p. 74-,
ed. 2. Uuavesuiiua supposes the remains on the top of the Kiira to
be those of a chapel (ii. p. S.56).
The top of the Kuru is called Medinet el Aikeh, perhaps from the
large number of loose stones which resemble the ruins of an important
place.
At the mouth of the gorge of the Wady Haniam on the southern
side occur the ruins of Irbid, the ancient Arbela, in which there is a
very good specimen of a ruined synagogue, which has been measxired
and described by Major Wilson, E.E. {Quarterly Statement, No. 2, p. 40).
Two columns and one doorpost remain standing m situ : the lower part
of the other doorpost also remains. They arc all monolithic blocks of
limestone. Among the ruins lie several fine capitals of different sizes
and styles ; black basalt and white limestone seem to have been mixed
both inside and out ; some of the capitals being of the latter material.
The ground on which the synagogue stands slopes towards the north,
tlie southern portion being cut away to receive it. In the centre of the
southern wall is a mihrab or apse 6ft. 4in. in diameter and 4ft. 2in.
deep. Among .the ruins are several blocks of cut stone with semi-
attached columns 9in. in diameter with Ionic capitals ; these seem to
have been portions of the exterior decorations. On one block were
two semi-attached Huted columns Gin. in diameter, one with straight
and the other with twisted Hutiugs. Lying to the north of the syna-
gogue there is a cut stone which appears to have been the top of a
niche ; it measures oft. long, 2ft. Sin. high, by 1ft. Sin. thick. In the
centre of the length is a circular niche 2ft. 4in. in diameter, cut lOin.
into the depth, with lines radiating from the centre. A moulding 3iu.
wide and raised 2in. above the face of the stone runs rounds the niche ;
enclosing this is a triangular moulding, its apex being above the centre
of the niche at the top of the stone, and its two ends at tlie lower ex-
tremities of the stone. It is raised 4iu. above the face of the block on
the outside, and is 4in. wide ; three slight mouldin;rs are carried along
it, and on the inside it is flush with the face of the stone; the bottom
line of mouldings end at the moulding round the niche. Special plans
and drawings have been taken of the building and details.
In the precipitous rocks of the Wady Hamam, east of Irbid, are
situated the celebrated caves from whence Herod the Great dislodged the
robbers by attacking thorn from above. Both sides of the wady are
honeycombed by caves, but the principal ones, called Kal'at Ibn
Ma'an, are situated on the southern side, where the cliffs are upwai'ds
of 1,000 feet above the bed of the wady. A steep slope on the debris
fallen into the valley leads up aboutGOO feet to the footof cliffs, which then
rise perpendicularly, and in some cases have crumbled away below till
they are overhanging. The castle is situated opposite where the Wady
Muhammed el Khalaf breaks into the valley, and immediately below is
a Hue spring, 'Ain es Serar. The traces of well-made basalt stairs lead
up to the foot of the castle. The entrance was flanked by small round
LTEUT. kitchener's REPORTS. 119
towers, besides loopholed galleries on tlic face of tlie rock. The castle
consisted of natural and artificial caves in several tiers, walled in on
tlie outside and connected by galleries and staircasee along the face of the
rock. The walls were built with great care and finely dressed ; they axe
of crystalline limestone and black basalt in rows ; they are loopholed.
All the arches are pointed, and the building appears to be very good
Arabic work of probably the fifteenth century, -when also Avell-bnilt
khans were constructed on the road from Damascus, such as Khan
et Jujjar, near Mount Tabor.
Inserted in the lower wall is a large block of limestone bearing two
lions facing each other, one front paw of each being j)laced on some in-
distinguishable object. It appears to me extremely probable that this-
stone, quite distinct from those around it in material and workmanship,
was brought from the ruined spiagogue at Irbid. It also greatly
resembles the stone bearing two lions at the synagogue at Umm el Amud.
Should it have been brought from Irbid, it would appear that both
synagogues had sindlar lintels ornamented Avith lions. The first cave
entered is a large natural cavern, which probably served as a stable for
the horses of the garrison ; from this a staircase leads uj) to smaller caves
opening from a gallery along the face of the rock ; stairs led up from
cither end of this gallery to similar caves in different tiers. Some are now
quite inaccessible from below. The place is inhabited by immense flocks
of pigeons, from which the valley takes its name, and a great number of
vultirres and eagles. Water was brought from Irbid by an aqueduct
running along the face of the cliff above the castle, and then fell verti-
cally into cisterns in the building. At one i)lace the Avater was conducted
through an earthenware pipe.
This fortress, rendered almost impregnable by nature an 1 art, might
afford accommodation for six hundred or seven hundred men, and com-
mands the mam highway from Damascus to "Western Palestine, Avhich
leads up the Wady Hamam.
The ruins on Mount Tabor were also -visited from this camp. Thev
consist of a large cnceinie defended by numerous towers built of drafted
masonry and surrounded by a large rock-cut ditch. These works appear
to date from the time of the Crusaders, and to have been built of the old
materials of previous fortifications. The remains of three chui'ches have
been uncovered in the recent excavations by the Latins, besides numerous
foundations. It is proposed to pay a further visit to this interesting
place, and a fuller description will be given in a subsequent report.
The country is now very lovely, carpeted with flowers and green with
the growing croi^s. The people comj)lain of being short-handed owing
to the large numbers that have been taken away for military service.
The second ban and some of the third ban of redifs have been called
out, and the iieople fear lest the Muharf ez or Landwehr may be required.
Old men and women have to take their places in the fields, and when
the harvest time comes it will bo very difficult to gather in the crops.
Owing to the good offices of Mr. Eldridgc, H.B.M.'s Consul-General
120 LIEUT. KITCHEXEU S REPORTS.
at Beyrout, and the ■willing assistance rendered to lue by the Muttescrif
of Akka, I have not had the slightest difficulty in the prosecution of the
work ; still it would be an immense advantage to this part of the country
if the British Consulate at HaifFa were re-established.
The influence of an Englishman at this port would be of the greatest
benefit to all the Christians of the district, which contains a thriving
English mission and schools at Nazareth, many English subjects among
the Jews of Tiberias and Safed, besides a considerable amount of English
shipping trade from Akka .
III.
Meiron, Ajiril 30, 1877.
The work of this month includes the survey of the shores of the Sea
of Galilee, where a great many points of interest occur.
The scenery of the lake is hardly what woiild be expected of a basin
C)So feet below the sea level. The hills on the eastern side have an
almost perfectly level outline, scarcely broken by any valley of import-
ance, and decidedly monotonous in appearance ; still the bright sunshine
throws a rosy haze over the country, and the contrast with the bright
blue water is very beautiful.
The best views of the lake are from a distance on the many heights
from which it is visible, as thus seen in the evening it is particularly
lovely. Deep blue shadows seem to increase the size of the hills, and
there is alv/ays a rosy flush in the sky and over snow-clad Hermon.
The road at the southern end of the lake passes through Kerak,
which appears to have been a fortified j)lace of considerable strength.
Two castles, one on either side of the road, with a wall joining them,
seem to have guarded this entrance to the shores of the lake. On
the west a spur runs down from the hills ending steeply close to the
road — on this the western castle was placed. On the east there is a large
partially artificial plateau which extends from the road to the exit of the
Jordan; a bi-oad water ditch from the Jordan and the river itself de-
fends two sides, while the third is on the shore of the sea, thus leaving
only a narrow entrance on the west from which it might be attacked.
The remains of both castles are very slight, as the place has been
ploughed up. There are ruins of modern dwellings on tlie north-west
comer of the plateau, where probably the principal citadel stood, and
traces of a wall round the plateau and joining the two castles. The only
remains of the western castle are heaps of stones. The place must have
been of great importance, as it closes the passage of the valley, and also
that of the Jordan at its northern extremity, where it is now crossed by
a ferry. It also must have required a large garrison owing to the great
size of the plateau.
Josephus describes Vespasian as advancing to the attack of Tiberias
from Scythopolis or Beisan: "He then came with three legions and
LIEUT. KITCHEXEr's REPORTS. 121
Ijitched his camp thirty furlongs off Tiberias, at a certain station easily
seen ; it is named Sennabri.s."
Measuring 30 furlongs north from Kerak it brings us well within the
ruins of the ancient town of Tiberias, though not up to the walls of the
present city.
I think it is possible that the large artificially levelled plateau, sur-
rounded by traces of a wall on the east of the road, may be the remains
of that camp of the Roman army here described, and that this was the
station on the road named Sennabris. IJ miles north of Kerak, and
4 of a mile west of the road, is Khurbet Kadesh ; below it runs the
aqueduct which brought water from Wady el Fajjas to Tiberias.
The next place of interest is the hot springs, with theii- baths, much
frequented by the Jews of Tiberias. The three principal springs had a
temperature of 132, 143, and 144 degrees respectively, commencino-
with the southern one. Above the Hammam, or baths, is the tomb of
Rabbi Mair Ramban, the celebrated Maimonides. Two schools are now
built over his tomb, one for the Askenazim and the other for the
Sephardim Jews.
A quarter of a mile farther north commence the ruins of the ancient
town of Tiberias — they have been largely excavated for cut stone for
modern buildings. A gi-eat number of fine granite columns are lyino-
about, in one place as many as nine close together; there are also
remains of the sea-wall, with towers, along the coast. These ruins are
of considerable size, extending a mile south of the present town, and it
seems probable that the latter is entirely or partially on a new site.
Immediately behind the ruins the cliffs rise steeply, with traces of former
fortifications on them.
Two miles north of the southern wall of the jjresent Tiberias (which
may be on the site of the northern wall of the ancient city), a spur runs
down from the hills ending in a rounded hill, the eastern slope of Avhich
descends steeply to the water. On this top are ruins called Khurbet
Kuneitriyeh, consisting of heaps of cut stones, with foundations of
walls. Near the seashore is a spring called 'Ain Fuliyeh ; to the north
is an open space where Wady Abu el 'Amis runs down to the sea, now
occupied by some gardens ; beyond are the high rocky hills called Burj
Neiat, which again run down steeply to the seashore.
This must have been a very strong position on the road, and I think
fulfils the requirements of TarichetB, which was besieged after Tiberias
by Vespasian, his camp being placed between the two towns (B. J. iii. x.).
The road north leads along the slope of the hills to el Mejdel, a small
village with a few ruins, which has been identified with Magdala ; it is
situated on the southern extremity of the plain of Gennesaret or el
Ghueii-. The hills here fall back from the sea, leaving the plain, wliich
extends 3:f miles along the coast, and is IJ miles wide at its greatest
part. Beyond the Wady Hamam the hills are topped with black basalt
as far as Wady Amud, and there are two small outbreaks on the plain
itself. The coast line is nearly straight, broken by small bays.
1-22 LIETJT. KITCHEKEIt S EEPOKTS.
Tlie land is extremely licli, but is now only partially cultivated by a
few Bedawin and tbe ijeople of Mojdel. It is wonderfully well watered,
no less than five streams of water running to the sea througli it, com-
mencing from tlie soutb. First, tbe "VVady Hamam brings down a good
stream tbrougb a narroAV precii^itous gorge. The water is supplied from
two springs, 'Ain es Serar, near wbicb is Klmrbet Ureidat, situated two-
miles from the sea in tbe gorge, and 'Ain Wady Hamam farther up.
The water is used for irrigation purposes directly it reaches the
plain.
The second supply is from 'Ain el Mudaitv\-ereb (the round foimtain),
so named because it rises in a round basin formed by a low masonry
wall 32 yards in diameter. The water in the basin is very clear, and
there were niimbers of coracinus and other fish s-^-imming in it. The
supply of water is rather less than half that of Wady Hamam.
The next stream is Wady Rabadiyeh, the largest of any, descend-
ino- through an oj)on valley, and used to turn a number of mills. On
reaching the plain it is at once diverted for irrigation purposes. The
supply of water is about twice or three times that of Wady Hamam.
Immediately north of Wady Rabadiyeh is Khurbet Abu Shusheh,
situated on the slope of the hills, where there are no remains of import-
ance to be seen ; only a few basalt huts and some scattered stones, round
a white wely called Sheikh Hassan Abu Shusheh.
The fourth supply of water comes from Wady Amud, a winter torrent
which, I was told, dries up in summer; it was probably on this account
that water had to be brought by an aqueduct to fertilise this northern
portion of the plain.
'Ain et Tineh is the most northern running water on the plain ; it
bubbles out by several heads under the rocks which close the north-east
of the plain ; it forms a clear stream of good Avater with many fish ;
slightly warm around it, there is most luxuriant vegetation and papyrus ;
it runs into the sea after forming several pools.
Besides those mins at Mejdel and Abu Shusheh, the only remains
found on the plain were those at Khurbet Minyeh, where there are ex-
tensive ruins, though nothing but remains of walls are now visible. I
was informed ' by two authorities that hewn stones and good walls ex-
isted below the present surface, and are excavated f or buikling jiurposes :
inifortunately, I had no time to test the truth of this assertion. The
Khurbet is situated near the north-east extremity of the plain, and about
100 yards from the shore of the sea.
The Damascus road traverses the ruin, and a little farther on it passes
the now ruined Khan Minyeh, which is still occui)ied by a few Arabs ; it
then passes up on the western slope of the steep hill which here ends the
plain. On the toji of this hill is an artificially levelled square plateau,.
* Pi-asants were ol)served by Ur. Merrill digging at this spot in April, 1876,.
and unmasked a wall, at a depth of five or six feet, of fine squared stones iu
superior workmanship. See Fourth Statrment. |i. 67, American Exiiloratiou
.Societv.
LIEUT. KITCnENElx's REPORTS. 123
with truces of walls and buildings ; there are also traces of steps
leading uj) to it. It is called Khurbet 'Aiireimeh. Round the
southern brow of this hill, where the rock runs steeply down to the lake,
is the rock-cut aqueduct now used as a road, and described by Major
Wilson. It is o2 ft. 4 in. above the sea, which is almost perpen-
dicularly beneath it at one part, and has a fall of 7 feet in the mile ; the
water would not have been carried far on to the plain, but would have
watered the gardens round Khurbet Minyeh. Half a mile farther along
the coast is the pleasant bay of Tabighah, where there are several small and
one very large spring which turns several mills. The water is brackish.
The 'Ain is enclosed by walls of masonry forming an octagon 2G feet
side ; by this means the water was raised to the required height, and
carried by the aqueduct to the plain. Considerable remains of tho
masomy of the aqueduct leading to the rock-cut portion, and a small
piece beyond, -with the watercourse coated Avith thick cement, still
remain.
The height of the top of the reservoir is ol feet above the sea, thus
it would require very little more to carry the water over the rock- cut
portion of the aqueduct. I was informed by the people that this
reservoir Avas built by Dhaher el'Anor, and it is now called Bu-ket 'Aly
edh Dhaher. It was probably repaired by him when building the mills
around it ; the lower portion appears to be older, and is built of better
dressed stone coated with cement. The whole structure is of basalt.
The coast between Tabighah and the Jordan is still indented with
small bays ; the country is entirely basalt, and slopes gradually down to
the sea. The ruins at Tel-Hum, 1 J miles from Tabighah, are along the
Avater's edge, and are of considerable extent, and contain the famous
synagogue excavated and measured by Major Wilson. A little
beyond Tel-Hum are the ruins of a few basalt hovels called Khurbet
'Eyshsheh. At the mouth of the Jordan there is a small plain, in which
are tAvo small collections of huts Avithout any traces of antiquity ; they
are called Khurbet Abu Zeiny and Khurbet esh Shemaliyeh. There is
a small lagoon at the mouth of the Jordan, and the ground in Avet
weather is deep.
The site of Capernaum is the most interesting of all the places around
the lake. I cannot helj) thinking, Avith Dr. Robinson, that it Avas at
Khurbet Minyeh. The guard-house, vvrhere the Centurion resided, was
probably on the great Damascus road at Khurbet el 'Aureimeh, Avhich
seems to be the ruin of such a station.
Joseijhus describes the fountain called Capharnaum as watering the
l)lain, and that some thought it to be a vein of the Nile, OAving to its
containing the fish called coracinus. This description evidently alluded
to the 'Ain et Tabighah, the Avater from which Avas brought in an aque-
duct past Khurbet Minyeh to Avater the i^lain, and was naturally called
after that place. The source is only £ of a mile aAvay, Avhereas it is 1£-
miles from Tel-Hum, and all the Avater Avas carried in exactly the oppo-
L
124 LIEUT, kitchener's reports.
»
site direction, so that it could hardly be called after the latter place had
it been Capharnaum. The coracinus was not observed in the 'Ain.
The reservoir is nearly full of reeds, and the water is not clear, so that
it is impossible to see the bottom where these fish occur ; other fish were
seen, and I was convinced there was no reason why the coracinus should
not be there.
Our next camp was at Khan Jubb Yusuf , where we an-ived on the 4th
of April. The Khan is a large building falling into ruins on the main
road to Damascus. There was no village near, the country being
occupied by Bedawin of the Semakiyeh and Zenghariyeh tribes. To
the east the country was entirely composed of broken basalt, while to
the west all was limestone, much contorted, and forming north-west
the Jebel Kauan range. From the camp we visited Khurbet Kerazeh,
generally allowed to be the remains of Chorazin. The ruins are exten-
sive, and contained a synagogue, measured and described by Major
"Wilson. The highly ornamented niches of this building, entirely cut
in basalt, remain as sharp and clear as when new.
North-east of our camp we found the first perfect dolmen I have seen
in the country; it is called Hajr ed Diim, " the stone of blood." From
the camp at Meiron we fouiid four others. They are small, the covering
stone measuring 11x7x1" '6, and no traces of signs on them were observed.
On the loth, camp was moved to Safed, where previously we had some
difficulty with the natives. By the kind offices of Mr. Eldridge, Consul-
General for Syria, the Governor was warned of our coming, and prepared
to give us a good reception. We were met half way by the Governor,
the Consular Agent, and the Kadi, surrounded by a score of fol-
lowers, and conducted to the town, where I was received with every
civility.
Unfortunately, on the road the standard barometer got broken, and
had to be i-eplaced by our duplicate one from the store at HaiflEa.
From this camp the ruined synagogue at Nebartein was visited.
The principal remains are prostrate columns, and the fine lintel with
Hebrew inscription. A squeeze and photographs were take of the latter.
On the pedestal of a column there is an engraved hare. The occurrence
of animals figured in these synagogues seems to be common. At Umm
fil Amud there are two lions ; at Irbid there were probably the same.
The stone is now in Kal'at Ibn Ma'an. At Nebartein a hare; at Kefr
Bir'im, on two synagogues, lambs. At Sefsaf the remains of a syna-
gogue were found by us ; the lintel bears two sheep's heads. At el
Jish, in a ruined synagogue discovered by us, an eagle resembling the
top of a Homan standard, which seems to show that though the Jews
objected to the Eoman standards in the Holy City, they were put up
in the country synagogues without trouble. I hope in my next month's
report to give a fuller description of these very interesting buildings.
I also visited at Safed the Mukam Benat Yakub, where I was told the
seven daughters of Jacob lay embalmed. The place is only a collection
o*" caves walled up and made into a holy place. There are no mummies.
LIEUT. KITOHENEll's REPORTS. 12-5
On the 18th, camp was moved to Meiron, a Jewish holy place. There
are the I'eraains of a fine synagogue and a great number of rock-cut
tombs. One has sai'cophagi for thirty-seven bodies, covered with stone
lids ; this is said to be the tomb of Rabbi HUlel and his thirty-six com-
panions. The tombs of Eabbis Shamai and Hillel, and several other
great Rabbis, occur here. Over the tomb of Rabbi Simeon Ben Jochai
there is a large modern building, where the Jews come from all j^arts of
Palestine on his fete day, the 30th April, to hold a sort of revel, lasting
two or three days and nights. They dance and pray and light fires over
the tomb. It is very extraordinary to see them in their long dressing-
gowns and large hats dancing round in a circle.
The country to the north of this camp is thickly covered with villages,
Christian, Druse, Mahommedan, and Mettawaleh. Grapes are exten-
sively cultivated, and a number of young trees have been planted, prin-
cipally figs and olives.
El Jish, the ancient Giscala, is situated on the south slope of a hill
three miles north of Meiron. It is a thriving village of approximately
."JOO Christians and 400 Mahommedans. On the top of the hill there is
a small church, which is probably built nearly on the site of an old
synagogue, the remains of which are strewed about and built into the
walls of the church. Several large stone sai'cophagi, with ornamental
garlands and bands, have been turned up round the village. There are
also a large number of cut stones scattered about, which jirobably com-
posed the walls Josephus built round this place. On the western slope
of the descent to Wady el Jish are the remains of another synagogue.
Three pedestals are in situ, and the doorposts, with traces of the walls.
A badly preserved square Hebrew inscription has been found on one of
the pillars, and an eagle, resembling a Roman standard, on a detached
stone. We also discovered the I'emains of a hitherto undescribed syna-
gogue at Sefsaf. The lintel of one of the small doors is built in over the
door of the mosque, and the niche, with ornaraeiital voussoirs belonging
to the principal entrance, are arranged above. A few portions of
columns are all that remain above ground. From the highly ornamental
character of the lintel of the side door, the principal lintel would pro-
bably be very fine if discovered. The two synagogues at Kefr Bir'iui
were also visited and planned from this camp. Close round Meiron, in
the rocky hills, four dolmens have been discovered.
The amount of country survej^ed up to the end of this month is 350
.square miles.
On the 28th I received a telegram to the effect that war had been
declared between Turkey and Russia. I hope this sad news will not
interfere with the successful completion of the survey of Galilee.
II. II. Kitchener, Lieut. R.E.,
Coinmandirig Puleitine Survey.
126
LITEEAEY EEMAINS OF C. F. TYEWHITT DEAKE,
WITH A MEMOIE.-^
The " Journal of the Palestine Exploration Fund " is tlic fittest place
wherein to notice, however briefly, a work which gives an account,
modestly but clearly written, of the comparatively uneventful life of
one, whose various qualities and qualifications fitted him in a remark-
able manner for the excellent work he accomplished during the two
years and a half he was employed on the Survey of Palestine.
Born at Amersham in 1846, and educated at Eugby and "Wellington
College, Mr. Drake went to Cambridge in the hope of being able to
carry out the solid student work for which he had already given good
promise, especially as an accurate observer of subjects of natural
history. But, though tall and otherwise robust iu frame, Mr. Drake
suffered from an incurable chest disease, which compelled him after a
short stay at Cambridge, where he distinguished himself as a rifleman,
to go for the winter (of 1866) to Morocco. Here, however, he was able
to complete most successfully the ornithological studies for which he
had shown so decided a taste while yet a schoolboy, and, in two visits he
paid to this part of Africa (valuable as these were to him personally,
that they gave him a practical insight into the habits and the language of
Arab populations'), to collect and bring home no less than 169 species of
North African birds, many of them of considerable interest and variety.
In 1868, he for the first time visited Egypt, and came to the natural
conclusion that " the sphinx was rather a delusion," and, in 1869, com-
menced his exploration of the Holy Land; first, alone, in Sinai, and
subsequently with Prof. E. H. Palmer in the Desert of the Tih — the
University of Cambridge having given him a small grant to enable him
to prosecute, his researches there in natural history. The scientific
results of this jjedestrian expedition have been published in the
Quarterly Statements of the Palestine Exploration Fund. About the same
■time, or rather on the conclusion of this tour, Mr. Drake had the good
fortune to make the acquaintance of Captain and Mrs. Burton, some ap-
preciative notices by each of whom, incorporated in this memoir, show-
ing how highly he was esteemed by them, and being, at the same time,
among the most interesting communications the editor has been allowed
to embody in his narrative.
In company with Caiitain Burton, Mr. Drake made more than one
journey of exjdoration, most of which are published in their joint
volumes entitled " Unexplored Syria," the most important, probably,
being that to Hamatb, where he was able to obtain paper squeezes and
photographs of the famous hieroglyphical inscriptions still remaining
there. It is now generally admitted that the Rev. W. Wright made the
first suggestion that these inscriptions were of Hittite origin. One
* R. Bentley and Son, 8, New Burlington Street. Price, to subscribers only,
10s., postflge paid.
LITERARY REMAINS OF C. E. TYRWHITT DRAKE. 127
district of Upper Syria, that of El Alah, Mr. Drake examiaed alone,
and found there many ruined cities abounding in Greek inscriptions.
In the autumn of 1871 Mr. Drake "volunteered" his services as
naturalist, draughtsman, and linguist for the " Survey of Palestine,"
•which were gladly accepted, and, going out early in 1872, became for
some time, owing to the sudden illness of Captain Stewart, the head of
the exploring party. Soon after, however, Lievitenant Conder took the
chief command. From that time till his unfortunate death on June 23,
1874 — that is for about two years and a half — ^Mr. Drake was of the greatest
assistance on the "Survey." "What he did has been for the most part ad-
mirably detailed in the letters from him, published from time to time
in the Quarterly Statement ; but in these he did not tell the world, what
it is most important should be recorded — viz., how greatly the expedi-
tion was aided by his remarkable serenity of temper and invariable good
humour, together with his singular skill in dealing with the native
population. Of his letters the editor justly remarks, that the charm
of them lies " in the quiet style, the earnestness, and the occasional
strokes of humour " which chai'acterise them and demonstrate "the
unpretending thoroughness with which he went about his work.
Always, whether he wrote, spoke, or worked, it was as the quiet typical
English gentleman."
It will be readily believed that in a life so busy, as long as he had
the power to make use of his abilities, and yet, withal, so short,
Mr. Drake had but little time for writing either books or brilliant
essays ; besides, however, his letters, he left behind him several papers,
more or less finished, which the editor of this memoir has very properly
made public. They are as follows : —
1. "Modern Jerusalem" (printed separately as a pamphlet), pp.
51-113".
2. " Notes for the History of Jerusalem " (a plan for a larger and
more comprehensive work), pp. 115-147.
3. "Notes for Travellers in Palestine," pp. 149-178.
4. " Morocco and the Moors," pp. 179-211.
5. "Notes on the Birds of Tangier and Eastern Marocco," pp.
213-236.
6. " Reports on the Natural History of the Tih," pp. 237-277.
7. " Extracts from Journal in Egypt," pp. 279-305.
We recommend this record of a life, short, indeed, but rich in work,
to those who followed Charles Tyrwhitt Drake's too brief career in the
Holy Land.
128
THE HOLY SEPULCHRE.
II. — TojiB 01' Joseph of Arimath.'ea.
In an extremely interesting paper in the last Quarterly Statement, M.
Oanneau has drawn attention to the tomb -chamber (Fig. 1) in the Churcli
of the Holy Sepulchre, known as that of Joseph and Nicodemus, and has
given his reasons for believing that there is a second and somewhat simi-
lar tomb-chamber at a lower level. There is nothing improbable in this
suggestion, though I think it rather hazardous, as the facts upon which
M. Ganneau bases his argument might be explained in another way.
My object, however, is not to criticise M. Gannoau's paper, but to give a
I'ig. 1.
f< w additional details which came under my own observation whilst
i'uiployed upon the Ordnance Survey of Jerusalem in 1864-5.
'.The first is that, contrary to the usual custom at Jerusalem, the tomb-
chambor is excavated in the hard {missaj) and not in the soft {malalci)
strata of limestone ; the second is that the beds or floors of the Icohim
slope downward from the mouth, the general rule being to cut them hori-
>:ontal, M. Ganneau mentions a door, E (Fig. 2), on the right of the cham-
ber of which he does not appear to have been able to procure the key.
I was more fortimate, and the following note on the chamber to which
the door gives access may be of interest to the subscribers of the Fund.
The chamber, as will be seen from the plan (Fig. 2a), is irregular in shape ;
THE HOLY SEPULCHRE.
129
the waU on the light-liand side on entering is masonry ; tlie remaining
sides, as well as the roof, are rock. It is evident that the chamber was
formed, probably when the church was bnilt, by cutting away a portion
of the original tomb-chamber in such a manner as to leave a] sort
of cave, and the floor was lowered at the same time for a certain pur-
pose explained below. I think M. Ganneau is quite right in supposing
Fis. 2.
that the door, E, was originally a A-oA-, though its shape is now rectangu-
lar ; this Iwh has entirely disappeared, and so has that marked H, with
the exception of the mouth and a small portion of the sides. The third
holi', I, is of special interest ; the right side and a portion of the roof
have been cut away, but the bed has been left untouched, and the
remaining portion of the roof forms a sort of rock-canopy over it.
130
THE nOLY SEPULCHRE.
The reason (Fig. 3a) for loAvering the floor {<j f) is now apparent ; it Avas.
to convert the bed of the koh {d a) into a raised bench or altar, and I
believe on certain occasions it is still used as an altar by the Syrian com-
munity to whom the chamber belongs. Fig. 3a shows also m elevation
the openings of the JcoMm H, I, and of the door E, in the thm wall of
rock which separates the chamber from the original tomb-chamber
gpll HoiklEkmhon
YvA. 2A.
of " Joseph and Nicodemus." In my notes to the Ordnance Survey of
Jerusalem, I alluded to the light which the A.-/;, I, might possibly
throw on the primitive form of the Holy Sepulchre. My impression is
that if the Holy Sepulchre were originally a /co/.— and I see no reason
why it should not have been— the^mode of proceeding was somewhat
THE HOLY SEPULCnRE.
131
similar to that described above ; that is to say, the floor of the original
tomb-chamber was lowered, the side of the hoh was cut away, and a
canopy of rock left over its bed. As time went on and changes were
made the hoh would probably bo entirely isolated, the canopy of rock
disappear, and the tomb assume its present form. I have endeavoured
Fig. 3.
Floor ofJfP Iff ndn
^^^JiccTt See. Horn
\2^ascvrt/ D"
^^^JByckJElcvnUoii
r
Fis. 3i.
to show this in the sketch (Fig. 4). Felix Fabri, 1480 A.D., mentions
that pilj^rims were iu r.iie habit of knocking off little pieces of the rock
to carry away a< relics, and it is possible that this may partially account
for the disappearance of the roof of the h'oh (<;/). Some of the earlier
pilgrims mention a cave ; this may be explained by reference to the little
132
THE HOLY SEPULCHRE.
Syrian cliamber in whicli a roof of rock has been left, and tlae Holy
)Sepulchre may have undergone similar treatment.
M. Ganneau, in his opening paragrajihs, alludes to the doubt which
at one time existed as to the nature of the so-called tombs of Joseph
iind Nicodemus ; I cannot understand how any one who had ever seen
the rock-hewn tombs near Jerusalem could have any doubts on the sub-
ject. The chamber in which they are situated is unmistakably a Jewish
tomb-chainber, and the tombs themselves are as clearly Jewish kokim.
Whether this tomb-chamber was inside or outside the second wall is
quite another question ; I think myself it was inside, but the question
is one which would require more space for argument than can be given
at present.
I'-if;-. i.
a h. Present floor of chapel of Holy Sepulchre sunk below floor.
/ c. Of the original tomb-chamber.
c (1. Bed of original kok now covered with marble slab,
e /. Roof of kok cut away at some period of alteration.
k k i. Rock cut away at some period of alteration.
<j h. Masonry above level of rock.
There is no rock visible in the chapel of the Holy Sepulchre at the
present day ; it is entirely concealed by the marble casing.
c. w. w.
III. — Note by Lieut. Cunuer.
" And laid it in Lis own new tomb, wliich he liad hewn out iu the rock : and
lie rolled a great stone to the door of the sopulclirc" — Matt, xxvii. CO.
It has long been pointed out tl)at the stone closing the door of our
Jjord's tomb was not a mere shapeless mass of rock, but a carefully-
constructed apparatus peculiax w Jewish tombs. There are one or two
THE HOLY SErULCURE. 133
points ■witli regard to tlie rolling stone which I have not, however, seen
noticed in any account of such tombs.
The rolling stone is not a very common method of securing the
entrances of the rock- cut sepulchres, and it is natural to suppose, from
the great advance in mechanical simplicity, that it is a late contrivance.
The large majority of the rock-eiit sepulchres, some 500 of which have
been examined in the course of the survey, are not fitted with the groove
necessary for the use of the stone. They are closed in some instances by a
sort of portcullis of stone, but most frequently by a stone door on pivol s
fitting into holes bored above and below the eutrance, and closed by alock.
The lock was probably of metal, since in every instance yet examined
it has disappeared. The rolling stone generally measures about 3 feet
diameter, and is 1 foot thick in some instances, resembling a cheese set
on end. It rolls right or left of the doorway, which is some 2 feet wide,
and it is kept up by a ledge of rock having a groove behind it, into which
the stone is pushed back to open the tomb. The bottom of this groove
is slightly sloping in some cases, so that the stone would roll down to
close the door by its own weight. The weight, taking the specific
gravity of the rock at 2' 7, would be about 6 cwt. Thus not only is
it entirely impossible to open the tomb from within, but it is difficult to
do so from without; and a shock of earthquake would not, as has been
lately suggested, cause the stone to roll back up hill, nor would it
remain in that position unless scotched beneath.
The principal point to be noticed is that this kind of door seems to
belong to the later Jewish tombs. This accords exactly with its use in
the new tomb of Joseph of Arimathsea. The only dated example known
is that of the tomb of Helena, Queen of Adiabene, mother of Izates,
who was buried in Jerusalem in the first century (Ant. xx. 4. 3).
In addition to this, it may be remarked that in the country north of
Ca3sarea, where there are many examples of this kind of door, the
tombs are of the loculus description, and not Jcokim tombs. The same
remark aj^plies to the instance of a tomb near Endor, and in other cases
the tombs contain both Jocnli and l-oJiim; but we have collected no
instance of a tomb with JcoJdm only closed by a rolling stone. In a
former paper I have shown reasons for supposing the Lohim tombs to be
the older form used by the Jews, the locuJi to be the later form, also used
by them. (See Quarterly Statement, Jan., 1876, p. 19.) In the Mishna
(Baba Bathra vi. 8) a description of a tomb is given having kokim, but
no account of a rolling door is added, and the form of antechamber
prescribed i^rccludes the possibility of such a method of closing the
entrance, but the description applies exactly to the majority of tlie more
ancient Jewish sepulchres.
The conclusion which may be drawn from the above notes seems to
be that the Holy Sepulclire was in all probability a loculus tomb.
This deduction is in accordance with the description in the fourth
Gospel (xx. 12) — "two angels in Avhito sitting, the one at the head-
wind the other at the feet whore the body of Josus had lain " — a dis-
134 THE HOLY SEPULCHRE.
l^osition wliicli is evidently impossible in the case of a tomb with
a /.o/.a, which is, as has often been explained, a sort of pigeon-hole
running in from the wall of the chamber some o to 7 feet in length,
and 2 feet 6 inches to 2 feet broad, the feet of the corpse being at the
nearer end, the head at the further. The liOlca was closed by a slab
2 feet broad, 2 to 3 feet high. The locidus tomb has a sort of sarco-
phagus under an arched roof, the body lying parallel to the wall of the
chamber.
An argument for the identity of the present site has been drawn by
De Vogiie and by M. Ganueau from the existence of an ancient kok
tomb in the church. This position has been considerably strengthened
by the quotation of the Mishna furnished by Mr. Hepworth Dixon
(Baba Bathra ii. 9), which runs as follows : —
" Corpses and sepulchres and tannei'ies are separated from the city
fifty cubits."
Still there is evidence from the same sources to show that sepulchres
dating from an early period existed within the walls of Jei-usalem, and
I may perhaps be allowed to collect these passages for the use of those
interested in the argument.
Mishna Parah iii. 2: "The buildings {IlazerotJi) of Jerusalem were
founded on the rock, with caves beneath them, because of the jLubr Hat
Taldum " (or " Sepulchre of the Abyss ")•
The passage continues to explain that for the same reason the children
sent to fetch water for the Red Heifer Sacrifice from Siloam wei'e
mounted on bulls, in order to have their feet olf the ground, so as to
escape pollution from the same source.
The explanation of the term " Sepulchre of the Abyss " is given by
Maimonide.s, commenting on another passage (Nezir ix. 2), where he
speaks of it as a hidden tomb, the depth of which was not known to any
man. Thus it would appear from the Mishna that the Jews were aware
of the existence of ancient tombs in and beneath the surface of the
city.
The Toslphtah gives us further information. It is a work of authority
almost equal to that of the Mishoah, being attributed to Rabbi Hijah,
about 120 A.D. Commenting on the same tract (Tosiphtah Baba Bathra,
ch. i.), it states that all the sepulchres within Jerusalem wei-e transferred
outside the Avails except those of the family of David and of the prophetess
Iluldah.
Another passage of the Tosiphtah is given by Neubauer (Edouyoth,
ch. ii.) : " Bones had once been found in a house of wood. The Rabbis
wished therefore to declare the capital unclean, but Rabbi Jehoshua
objected, sayiug, ' It would be shameful if we declare our houses
uuclean.'" C. R C.
135
AGE or THE TE]\irLE WALL.
II. PlLASTEllS OF THE WesT IIaEAJI "W'aLL.
Ix investigating the rock-cut aqueduct wliicli leads froiu the Twin
Pools to the Haram wall just south of the great rock scarp at the north-
west corner, I was able to penetrate into a chamber (sec Fig. 1) whence
the old wall is visible at a higher level than that at which it has been
observed at any other point.
This discovery was briefly referred to in my report written after the
visit which Avas made April, 1873, in company Avith Mr. Shick and a party
of young Englishmen then in the city.
AVe passed along the passage which had been cleared out by Joseph
Effendi on boards, and reached the end of the aqueduct at the point
where the masonry had been previously described by Mr. Shick
{Quarterly Statenienf, April, 1872, p. 50). The most interesting point with
regard to the wall at this place is the fact that each course is set back
about (3 inches, thus giving a batter to the wall. The care taken to
preserve the effect on the eye produced by the sunk draft is remarkable.
The set-back would naturally have the effect of making the hoiizontal
drafts appear narrower than the vertical, which are flush, and for this
reason the former are made 6 inches broad, the latter being only
3 inches ; thus the total breadth of the surface on one plain is equalised.
The level of the rock at this ijoint is 2-109, 29 feet higher than the
base of the great course, the highest left in situ along the greater part
of the south wall. The height of the course visible is greater than the
average given in Captain Warren's table, and less than that of the great
■course, being 4 feet 7 inches.
A batter was seen on the east wall by Captain Warren (" Eecovery of
Jerusalem," p 1G8) at a level 2370 and upwards. The set-back was here
4 J inches.
From the point where the aqueduct begins to turn round towards the
Haram wall, a small passage leads due east beside the south face of the
great corner scarp. We were thus able to ascend through the floor into
a small chamber built against the Haram wall outside (see Fig. 2). A
window in this chamber looks into the Court of the Haram, which has
here the level 2431. We found the masonry of the wall to be similar to
that beneath, and the windo^r to be ancient. Still more interesting was
the fact that the wall is here seen built with pilasters projecting just like
those of the Haram at Hebron. The breadth of the pilaster is more
than double that at Hebron, which is, I believe, 2 feet 6 inches, and the
distance apart o feet, whereas the buttress here visible is 4 feet 9 inches
broad, and the distance from the corner one 8 feet 9 inches. The pro-
jection is 1 foot 6 inches.*
* The rock buttresses found in Souterrain Xo. 29 north of the platform iniglit
also be compnreil ; they are 3 feet 6 inclie-s broad, and from 12 to 10 feet apart.
Their projection is about 8 feet.
136
WEST HARAM WALL.
PLAX SCALF. ^.
Kig. 1.
NOTES FROM THE MEMOIR. 137
The north wall of the chamber is partly of rock, which here rims up in a
scarp to the level 2434 ; in the north-east comer is a buttress of masonry
1 foot 6 inches broad. In the intervening space is the window with a
Hat lintel, the wall being 8 feet thick, the window 4 feet broad.
The projection of the pilasters is due to a bevelled set-back in the wall
at the level of the sill of the window (2429). This measures 2 feet along
the slope and 1 foot horizontally. The course immediately under the
bevelled stones projects G inches, and is thus flush with the pilaster.
This arrangement is similar to that of the tower at the north-east corner
C)f the Haram. (See Plan and Sketch.)
This is, I believe, the only point where the masonry of the Haram has
been observed at a higher level than that of the interior of the court, and
it appears to show that the outer wall was originally decorated with
pilasters. In his restoration of Herod's Temple, M. De Voglie has so
represented the wall.
It is probable that there would have been 70 of these buttresses along
the south wall, but unfortunately the third buttress is south of the soiith
wall of the chamber, so that the space between cannot be checked.
Claude E. Conder, Lieut. R.E.
NOTES FEOM THE MEMOIE.
Since the publication of last Quarterly Statement the Memoir has been
making very steady progress. Four sheets are now arranged, being
resjjectively the Cajsarea sheet (7), the Bethshean sheet (9), the Gezer
sheet (16), the Jericho sheet (18). The Jaffa sheet is also nearly ready
(13). In addition, the translation of the nomenclature (6,000 names) is
completed, and many valuable results have thus been obtained. Some
150 sites have been recovered (according to identifications pro]DOsed by
me), which bear the names of Biblical towns, not to mention the nume-
rous additions to our information as to Egyptian, Samaritan, early
Christian, Talmudic, and Crusading sites furnished by the map.
The principal points of interest in the sheets as yet comj)leted may
thus be briefly summed up.
Sheet 7. — A full description of Eoman and Crusading Ca3sarea, the
hippodrome, temple, theatre, harbour, the Crusading cathedral and
walls, the two great aqueducts, an account of Kcfr Lam (the Crusading
Caijernaum), and of various rock cemeteries along the shores.
Sheet 9. — The description of the Eoman town of Scythopolis, its theatre
and hippodrome, the Crusading citadel. Full account of the fortress of
Belvoir, of the sites of Nain, Endor, Jezreel, and Shunem ; also the pro-
posed sites of the well Harod, of Bethabara ( 'Ahara), and of Megiddo
{MujediVa).
Sheet 16. — An account of Yebnah (Jabneel), its church and mosques,
with their inscriptions, the probable site of Gath at Tell e$ SOfi, and of
138 XOTES FEOir THE MEMOIR.
Gezer at TeJl Jezer, witii its inscriptions. Ekron, Aslidod, and a number
of tte towns of Judah.
Sheet 18.— This is one of unusual interest and importance. The ques-
tion of the three sites of Jericho, the Eoman town at the foot of the
pass, the Crusading at Enha, and the Jericho of Joshua at 'Ain es Sultan,
receives illustration. The early site of Gilgal recovered by the Survey
Party, and the Crusading site found by Captain Warren, are discussed.
The Mountain of the Scapegoat comes also into this sheet.
The numerous Crusading monasteries of the Jericho plains are de-
scribed ; the inscribed frescoes of the Quarantania chapels are shown by
a careful comparison of the characters with those at Bethlehem to belong
to the twelfth century. The mediaeval "high mountain " of the Temp-
tation, shown to be the 'Osli el Qhurab.
The most interesting points in the nomenclature are noticed in a
separate paper. The latest identifications resulting from this study may
be noted as follow : —
The Hittites. — Egj'ptian records show that the Chita, or Hittites, ex-
tended their dominion at one time to the borders of Egypt. It is
possible therefore that the town Hatteh, in PhHistia, may be named from
them, as well as Ke/r Ilatfch in the centre of the country, Ilattin has
been previously fixed as the Kefr Hlttai of the Talmud, another Hittite
town.
The ^r/»i.— This aboriginal people dwelt in " Hazeroth," or walled
towns, as far as Gaza. It is therefore probable i\i&i Beit Ainm is named
after them, as the word represents the Hebrew Aid closely. This ruin
lies on the borders of Philistia, in a district where several Hazors occur
in the Bible, and where remains of great flint walls surrounding the
ruined towns are still standing.
The Cherethites appear to have been a division of the Philistines dwell-
ing in the Maritime Plain, near the Negeb (I Sam. xxx. 14). They
appear in the same connection in Zephaniah ii. 5. The LXX. translate
the word Kp-nrai, whence has arisen the theory that the Philistines came
from Crete. But, as far as their origin is known, this great people were
Caphtorim, or Kahfu, as the word appears in the Egj-ptian records, a
name connected with the modern Kuht, or Copt, and this agrees Avith the
derivation of the Caphtorim from Mizraim or Egypt (Gen. x. 14).
A relic of the name of Cherethi exists, I would suggest, in the
important village of Kerafi/ja, spelt with the Kaf and Te, as in the
Hebrew. It is situate in the very centre of the Philistine country, and
at the edge of the Negeb, or " dry country."
In the town of Keratiya there is an ancient Crusading castle. To
this the natives have given the name KiiVat el FcnisJi, or " Castle of the
Fcnish." The name of the Fenish lingers in the neighbourhood of
Philistia at various points : at Soba, where the Fenish sultan had his
palace in summer, his daughter dwelling at Khurhct Ikhdla below ; at
/yrf<r/?», where were his winter quarters, near which is the " spinning
mound of the Fenish sultan's daughter;-' at Beit Jihriii, where is the
NOTES I'ROM THE MEMOIE. l'"»9
" Cavern of the Fenish," and the " Garden of the Fenish." The tradition
seems, as far as can be ascertained, localised to this part of Palestine.
Hence one is led to conjecture that the peasants have made the usual
change of L into N, and that the Fenish are really Fdisli, or Philistines.
If this be the case, it is curious that we should find both the Cherethites
and the Pelethites (who are supposed to be the Philistines under a
slightly changed form of the word) leaving traces of their name in one
village of Philistia.
Ataroth Adar. — This important point on the boundary of Benjamin
is described (Josh, xviii. 13) as "near the hill that lieth on the south
side of the nether Beth-horon." I have already noted that a village,
et Tireli, here exists which may represent Ataroth. I now find there is
also in the same neighbourhood a ruin called ed Ddrieh, which is very
possibly Adar.
Edei', one of the towns of Simeon, is very possibly Khurhet 'Ader,
south of Gaza (Josh. xv. 21).
GihhetJwii of Dan may perhaps bo the ruin of Oeihilta north of
Jaffa.
Baalath of Dan iias never been fixed in a thoroughly satisfactory
manner. I would suggest Bel'ain as being in the same part of the
country Avith the toAvns next on the list (Josh, xviii. 44).
Jahneel of Najihtali is not impossibly B'ahieJi. an ancient site for which
no identification has yet been offered. The loss of the final L is
supposed.
Mount Herns was a district of Mount Ephraim in which lay Timnath
Heres, where Joshua was buried. Its real signification seems to be
"rugged mountain." Traces of the name perhaps may be recognised
in Batn Harasheh ("rough hilltop"), Ildt-is, Kef r Hdris, and i>erh.a,]^s
Khurhet Hirsha (Charashim), all towards the west of Mount Ephraim.
Shalisha, a district seemingly west of the last in the Shei^helah
(1 Sam. ix. 4). Besides Sirisia, which represents, as I have before shown,
the Baal Shalisha of the Onomasticon, there are in this direction ruins
called Salita, Shilfa, and Kefr Thilth, which are all modifications of the
Hebrew Sh(dsh, "three"
il/croiio^/i, noticed 1 Chron. xxvii. 3, Neh. iii. 7, is probably the present
Jx^hitrhet Marruia.
Pirathon is a city noticed in the book of Judges (xii. 15) as "in the
land of Ephraim in the Mount of the Amalokite." It is commonly
supposed to be the modern Firata, but this is a mediiEval identification,
and if the Samaritan Chronicle is to be received, the ancient name of
Fer'ata was Ophrah. It would seem better to place this site at the im-
portant ancient site of Feraun, supposing only the loss of the weak letter
Teth. The name is known as early as 1322 A.D., being marked as Farona
in an approximately correct position by Marino Sanuto on his map.
To pass on to sites not noticed in the Bible, but all of some interest.
M 7?o//i is noticed by Josephus (B. J. iii. 3. 1) as the western boundary
HO NOTES FKOM THE MEMOIB.
of Upper Galilee. This would seem to fix it at the modern M^alia, the
Castrum Eegium of the Teutonic knights.
Saab, a town in Galilee (B. J. iii.), native place of Eleusar son of
Sameos, is no doubt the modern SJi'al.
Caphrath, a town fortified by Josephus, in Galilee (see Eel. Pal. p. 684),
is probably the modern Kef rah.
Asochis is the name of the great plain north of Nazareth. l\o trace
of this title has as yet been disoorered. The word in Greek is written
Affwx" (Vita 41 and45), and this would be represented probably in Hebrew
by the Cheth. The name of the mountain south of the eastern part of
the plain is Jehel es Sih ("mountain of running v/ at er "), having many
fine springs on it.
One of the valleys running from this hill into the plain is called Wddy
cs SVili, In these, pci-haps, we may see traces of the required name.
Aphecos, a place mentioned in Samaria (B. J. ii. 10. 1) is perliaps the
present Kh. If lias.
Beth Rima. — The importance of the identification of this site vnih. the
modern Heit lihna is great as giving another point near the boundary of
Judaea and Samaria. It is noticed in the Mishnah (Menachoth ix. 7) and
identified by Neubauer (Gcog. Tal. p. S3). From it was brought wine
of a secondary quality, but it must have been in Juda3a, as no wine can
have been allowed in Jerusalem if brought from Samaria. The wine of
various Samaritan places Avas forbidden {Tal. Jer., AbodahZarah, v. 4),
and even that from Eegueb iir Peraja was doubtful because it had to pass
tkrough part of the land of the Cuthim {Tal. Jer., Hagigah, iii. 4).
The modern village is south of the great valley which seems to have
been the boundary, and not far from Bruldn, which I j)ropos3 to bo
Borceos (see Quarterly Statement, April, 1876, p. 67). It would perhaps be
better to identify the Anuath of Josephus, "belonging to Borceos"
(B. J. iii. 3. b), with Ktfr 'Ain, close to Brukut, rather than with the
Anuath of the Onomasticon, Thus we get the following towns on the
boundaries all on the Jewish side.
Antipatris . . . . . . Ras el 'Ain.
Borceos . . . . . . Briikin, C.E.C.
Anuath Kefr 'Ain, C.E.C.
Beth Eimah . . . . . . Beit Eima.
Beth Laban . . . . . . Lubben.
Shibh Seilun.
Corea . . . . . . . . Kuriyut.
Keiuthim . . . . . . Kurawa (?).
These would seem sufiicieut to determine the great valley of Dcir
IJaUiit as the boundar3'.
Tlir'u'h is a p'aco mentioned in the Talmud {Tal. Jcr. Megillah i. 1) as
identical with the Biblical Idalah of Zebulon (ed Diilieh, C.E.C), Josh,
xix. 15. The position suggests that the place meant by the commenta-
tors is the ruin now called Jhncarah, which is an ancient site near Beth-
lehem of Zebulon,
NOTES ITKOM TJIE HEMOIK. 141
In tlie Byzantine and Crusading period several otlicr places of interest
may be noticed.
Bdh Bur is noticed in tlie Onomasticon as a place one mile from Eleu-
theropolis. It is probably therefore the modern Khurlet es Surah in the
required direction.
Mc'jiddo. — It is interesting to know where the Crusaders supposed
Alegiddo to have been, as we can often trace our errors to their ignorance
of the country. Marino Sanuto gives its modern name as Sububa. This
is evidently the ruin called Ezluha, south of el Lejjuu, on the west side of
the great plain.
Gihon. — Another curious instance of Crusading error is found in the
media3val identification of the Upper Gihon and Lower Gihon with the
pools now called Birlvet M((miUa and BirJai cs Sulidn. These identifica-
tions are countenanced by Eobinson, but there is an important passage
in the " La Citez de Gherusalem" : —
" When one had passed over Zion one found a lake in the A^alley
which was called Lac Germain, because the Germans caused it to be
made to gather the waters which descended fi'om the mountain when it
rained."
This Lacus Germanicus is shown on the charts as the Birhet es Sultan.
The description given of the Lacus Patriarchas, or Birl-ei MamiUa, leads
to the suspicion that this also was of the same date, but it is not posi-
tively stated to be of mediaival origin. The Crusaders placed a Mount
Gihon on the hill south of this last lake. Robinson apparently accepts
this identification, which is curious, since Eeland had previously shown
that Gihon was probably Siloam. The word means " springing forth,"
and is therefore only applicable to a fountain, none of which exist west
of Jerusalem. In the Targums Siloam is put instead of Gihon, and
there is no reason to doubt the identificatiou. The question is of great
interest, becavise it would follow that the great water channel from the
'Ain Umm ed Deraj (en Rogel) to Siloam is the work of Hezekiah, and
further light would be thrown on the locality of the City of David.
Tlic Stone of Bolian is placed by Marino Sanuto on Olivet. This is of
course a gross error, but it is interesting to observe that there are heaps
of flints on Olivet, now called Riijfim el BeJumeh, and this word comes
from the same root with Ihhdm, which is the Arabic equivalent of the
Hebrew Bohan, or "thumb."
Sliafat. — This name contains the radicals of the Hebrew Jehosaphat,
and the natives of the place state it to have been named after a king of
Jerusalem. A place of the name Jehosaphat is noticed near Jerusalem
by Marino Sanuto, and Fetellus in his account of the city describes the
Church of St. Stephen as between Jerusalem and Jehosaphat. This
church was outside the Damascus gate, and it would seem that Fetellus
means Slt'afdt by Jehosaphat. The name of this town was perhaps
altered by the Crusaders, or slightly modifiel from the word Sh'af (in
the plural Sh'afdt, spelt with Te), meaning a "mountain top," or any
high place, like the Hebrew Nob.
fc)
42 >'CTES l-ROM THE MEMOIR.
Mountain of the Temptation. — Tt appears to have escaped notice that
there was a second site shown in the middle ages as connected with the.
temptation of our Lord. Quarautania [Jehcl KiirUnti'd) has been shown,
from the twelfth century downwards, as the site of our Lord's fast of
forty days (Matt. iv.). Saewulf (1102), howevei', places the " high moun-
tain " of the Temptation three miles from Jericho (which was then iden-
tified with the modem Enlia), in the direction of Galilee. Fetellus
(1150) places Quarantania two miles from Jericho, and the "high
mountain " two miles from Quarantania. John of Wirtzburg (1100 A.D.)
gives the same measurements. The tradition afterwards underwent
modification. Sir John Maundeville (1322 a.d.) knows of Quarantauia
only, nor does his contemporary Marino Sanuto mention the " high
mountain." John Poloner (1422) speaks of Quai'antania, and adds:
" Others say that it is that high hill towards Galilee, distant two leagues
from the aforesaid mountain, on whose summit was a chapel." This
would be probablj' the site mentioned above.
Measuring on the plan it becomes clear that the place meant is no
other than the remarkable conical peak of the '0*7/ cl 'Ghtirab. It is a
curious instance of the ideas then entertained, that the summit of this
" high mountain," whence the Crusaders believed our Lord to have seen
" all the Idngdoms of the earth," is about 300 feet below the surface of
the Mediterranean.
The question has, however, a farther interest. I have noted before
that one of the valleys leading from the hill in question is called Wady
Mesd'adet 'Aisi (" Yall^y of the Ascent of Jesus "). The reason is now
clear, for the origin, like that of toe name Kurunttd, is evidently Christian.
This is then acase wberi ihe Bedawin have preserved amediseval monkish
tradition. Quarantania is another ; tlie site shown to Captain AVarren as
Gilgal {Tell Jilj'U', or Khiirbct Mifjir) is a third, for the place represents
apparently the Crusading Gilgal. This throws considerable doubt on
the origin of other traditions with regard to Biblical sites found among
the Bedawin.
Tomb of Micali. — This was discovered, according to Sozomen (vii. 29,
Hist. Eccles.), ten stadia from Kilah, at a place called Barath Satia, and
was named iu the native language Nephsa Xeemana, or " Monument
cf the Faithful." In this very neighbourhood, west of Kilah, we found
a f acred place dedicated to Nchy Naavian, the name attaching now to a
sacred tree near the ruin called Khiirbct Hherweh. In my paper on the
Mukcims I have pointed out this name, but was not then able to explain
how Naaman occurs among the prophets. C. R. C.
Note. — Papers on "Archaeology in Palestine," "On the Value of
Josephus'.s Descriptions," and some further notes, are under con-
tideratiou.
143
THE ASNEEIE.
Ix the mediaeval account of the Holy City, dating about 1187 A.D.,
known as "La Citez de Jhcrvisalem," a building called the Asnorie,
or " donkey," is described as outside the gate of St. Stephen,
Avhich is stated to be the northern gate {Bab 'Ainucl el GMrdh). The
Church and Monastery of St. Stei)hen stood towards the right on enter-
ing, and the Asnerie, in front of it, to the loft, or cast of the northern
road. The monastery was destroyed by the Christians before Saladin's
siege, because it was near the walls and might be used in the attack,
but the Asnerie was not dcstroj'cd and was afterwards in use.
The remains of this building were excavated by the ovniev of the
groimd in I8T0, as mentioned in my re^jort {Quarterly Statement, October,
1875, p. 190), but no full description has as yet been published of the
discoveries. The following notes are taken from those made on the spot
during our stay in Jerusalem in May, 1875.
Outside the Damascus Gate {Bah 'A mud el Ghurah) is the hill called el
Ileidhemhjeh, " the cutting," in which is the so-called Grotto of Jeremiah.
A plot of ground at a lower level extends between this hill and the
road, with a house in its south-east corner, as shown on the Ordnance
Sui-vey. On the north and west it is surrounded with a modern wall,
and the garden is entered from the road in the north-west corner. The
plot thus enclosed is about loO feet square, with a scarp of rock on the
north and east. It seems probable that the great inn called the Asnerie,
originally belonging to the Hosiiitallers, occupied the whole of this site.
The scarp on the north was excavated in 1873 (see Quarterhj Statemenf,
October, 1873, p. 153) and traces of arches observed along it. A chamber
is cut in the scarp, which was apparently a Christian double tomb, and
this was found to be full of bones. The eastern half of the chamber
measures 11 feet 7 inches by 7 feet 10 inches, and has three loculi 2 feet
wide, one on either side, one at the east end. On the east wall are two
crosses, rudely painted in red, with the Greek letters A and n either side
of the cross. The other half of the chamber on the west measures 6 feet
2 inches east and west, 10 feet 8 inches north and south, and was full of
bones. This tomb is entered by a double door on the south — the eastern
2 feet wide, the western about 4 feet.
Near the cistern marked on the Ordnance Survey, which appears to be
very extensive and cut in rock, remains of piers of masonry were found,
the stones about 2 to 3 feet long. On one of the stones a masons' mark,
representing the letter E, occurs, sho\\ang the masonry to belong to the
Crusading period. The stone has the diagonal dressing found on the
best specimens of such date. A capital in marble, the base of a small
attached column, and a pillar shaft 1 foot 6 inches thick, were also
discovered.
About forty jjaccs south of the garden gate the excavations laid bare
the remains of a building — a wall of masonry similar to that above
described running in two directions from its south-west corner, which
144 THE XOMEXCLATUKE OF THE SUKVEY.
was laid bare. Xortliwards the wall extended 33 feet 6 inches, where it
ends apparently at a gateway. A cross wall runs east 6 feet (3 inches
south of the north end. Eastvrard the excavations were pushed for
about 36 feet — both walls are 6 feet 6 inches thick.
Inside the southern wall are a rov/ of what Avould appear to be stone
juangers for the beasts here stabled. Each manger is 1 foot 9 inches
broad, and they are separated by pai tltions 4 inches broad — about fifteen
were uncovered. The back of the mangers slopes, so that at the top they
are 2 feet G inches, measuring north andsoutb, and at the bottom 1 foot
10 inches, the depth being S inches. Tlu-ir discover}'' is of great interest
as confirming the opinion which I ventured to express previously as to
the identification of the building.
It is probable that the Church of Saint Stephen, built in the fifth
century by the Empress Eudoxia, may still remain to be discovered
beneath the rubbish on the west side of the road, where tombs woro
discovered in 1876, as reported by Dr. Ch;iplin. [Quarterly Statement,
January, 187G, p. 9}.
C. E. C.
THE NOMENCLATUEE OF THE SUEVEY.
The translation of G,OUO Arabic names on the Survey sheets has just
been completed, and I propose to sum up some of the principal points of
interest noticeable in this mass of nomenclature.
That the task of translation requires special acquaintance with the
peculiarities of the peasant dialect may be easily shoAvn. In the
Quarterly Statement, July, 1872 (pp. 123, loO), Dr. Sandrezcki's pro-
visional translation of the names collected by Captain AVarren, and
written down by the dr.igomau, is given. The true local meaning of
the v.'ord is in a great many cases apparently unknown. A few instances
will be sufiicient to show how materially the translation may bo im-
proved.
Ku, rendered "retreat," or " window," is used by the Bedawin in its
original Hebrev^ signification of a "hollow place." TahakaJi, rendered
"stage," or "story," or "floor," occurs constantly in the Jordari
valley, meaning a "terrace" with precipitous edg.es. Iliseh un-
translated means the "mace tree" {Cvrdia viyxa). Matul es Sirch
is best rendered " the ridge of the sheepfold," not " extension of
the march." Mat/ch means a "height," not a "shepherd's staff," and
Rikheh is constantly used for a "hill-top" (properly Itdldh), not a
"knee." Jit rat cf L'eid nicaiiH " the white hollow," but is transformed
by the dragoman into "ditch of eggs." JIaicdrah is the term used for
a kind of soft white chalk, which fits bettor than the translation " a
new-born camel." 'Ain el 'Ahharah means "sjiring of the mock orange "
{Styrax officinal is), a plant Avhich gives its name to a large wooded
district near Carmel. This cannot but be considered an improvement
THE >"OME\CLATURE OF THE SURVEY. l^)
on " fountain of the fleshy damsel." In addition, Butn is a word often
used in Palestine for a round hill-top, or " belly," as the Avord strictly
originally means. Ilish- also is applied to a confused underwood, and
should not be rendered " tumultuoiis assembly." Many other examples
might be added.
The system according to which the Survey names were collected was as
follows. A guide accompanied the surveyor and gave the name on
the spot. It was repeated in camp in his presence, and written down by
an Arabic scholar. Thus correctness of locality and of pronunciation
was as far as possible secured. This nomenclatui-e I have three times
examined all through — once with a native scribe, once with the official
lists and others furnished to us in the country, lastly with three Arabic
Dictionaries, one Hebrew Lexicon (Gesenius), and one Aramaic (Buxtorf).
Whenever the word was strange and new the meaning was as far as
possible obtained from the guide, and a note made opposite. The late
Mr. Drake had a very unusual acquaintance with the peasant dialect,
and the Survey has the full benefit of his knowledge. In addition, the
meaning of words is often rendered quite clear by the comparison of
various instances of their occurrence in different parts of the country.
In addition to the various precautions to ensure accuracy described
above, it must be understood that unusual or important names were not
accepted on the testimony of one person, that every effort to check the
veracity of the guides was used, incompetent guides dismissed, and
spurious names cancelled. It is our hope, therefore, that what has been
producovd may prove to be accurate as well as sufficient.
Cajjtain Warren* has stated that we have probably collected less than
one ha,lf of the existing names, and this might lead to an impression that
our work is imperfect in this respect. I would therefore call attention
to the character of the native nomenclature, for it appears to me
that the value of many names has been immensely overrated, from the
fact that their origin and meaning have been entirolj' unknown. It is
probable that the sheets might be thickly covered with such titles as
the following given on one man's authority, or very probably im-
promptu inventions : Sliehhdkh et Tor, 'Alitn el Hadn, Maradd Hani.
Abu Selkeh, Hanui el Aleiii, Makarfet el Kattum, Kuniet Sahsul Hameid.
These titles actually occur on the Survey sheets, and might, as they
stand mitranslated, bo considered of importance ; they mean re-
spectively, "the place where the bulls lie down " (beside a spring), " the
directing sign-pos-t," " the twisting zigzag —father of length " (a wind-
ing mountain ascent), " the public booth," " the place smelt by Kattum "'
(an Ai-ab having here fallen on his nose from his horse, as explained by
the guide), "the peak of the fall of Hameid" (a Bedawi boy having
fallen thence and broken his neck).
It is clear, probably, from the above that the map without a transla-
tion of the nomenclature will be a sealed book, that we shouLi be in
danger of falling into the error of the traveller who wrote down Md-
*
"Underground Jcmsaleni," p. 26i
146 THE NOMENCLATURE OF THE SURVEY.
Mruf (" I don't know ") as the name of a village, and that in very many
cases only the explanation obtained on the spot will account for a
curious and uniisual name.
The examination of the nomenclature shows that the answers given
by guides and other natives were generally truthful. No attempt
to work on our ignorance of the language appeal's to have succeeded,
no evidently absurd names can bo detected, and the fact that the most
valuable names are those of ruins and villages gives reason to suppose
that the various titles which might be added would prove of little value,
being simply descriptive and modern: "brown mountain," "bubbling
spring," or " heap of stones," being titles which obscure the map with-
out any advantage.
With regard to the comparative value of names, two important points
must be noticed : first, a great difference between the nomenclature of
the peasantry and that of the Arabs ; secondly, the antiquity of ruin
names as compared Avith the later descriptive titles applied to natural
features. On these points I have touched before, and there is nothing
in them conti-ary to expectation ; but it is important to remember the
last, because if all important ruins are, as we hope, marked, and their
names attached, then probably all that is of value in the nomenclatiu-o
of the Survey has been collected. The number of names in the Bible
relating to Western. Palestine is under 600, and the collection of 7,000
modern names ought in all probability to ensure the recovery of all that
can be recovered. Already all but about 100 are fixed with more or
less accuracj', without including disputed sites or those within Upper
Galilee, and the topography of Bj-zantine and Crusading Palestine can
be worked out in even greater perfection from the Survey documents, as
I 'hoY)Q the Memoir will clearly show.
Another interesting aspect of the nomenclature is the light which it
throws on the language of the peasantry. I have already tabulated
some of these i-esults, but other points of interest have since come under
notice which may be briefly enumerated.
The words used in the nomenclature may be divided into various
classes : first, those exclusively of Hebrew or Aramaic origin not used
in modei-n Arabic ; secondly, words common to Aramaic and Arabic ;
thirdly, foreign words. The question of the change of words from their
original form is part of the same subject.
In the common vulgarisms of the peasant dialect valuable indications
may be detected. Thus the confusion of the gutturals and the hardening
of the AJeph into the gutteral ^Ain, which were a reproach against the
Galileans in the older times of the Talmudic writers, are still remark-
able among the peasantry. The placing of an AJeph at the beginning
of a word, as Ahzik for Bezik, AjdCir for Jedur, and the introduction of
Aleph and Wow in various words giving a broader and longer sounds,
are peculiarities noticeable in Aramaic nomenclature Avheu compared
with Hebrew, and also in the peasant dialect. In addition to this,
various letters are pronounced in a manner which agrees with their
THE NOMENCLATURE 01' THE SURVEY.
14:
proper relation to Hebrew. Dhdl, the Hebrew Zain, is pronounced like
Z. Tha, tlie equivalent of Sin, like the Hebrew Sin. The iST and L are
confused constantly, as also in Aramaic. The pronunciation of the
Bedawin differs from that of the peasantry in many letters, and the pro-
nunciation of townspeople is again different. The words used by the
Arabs are again local, and not used by the peasantry in many cases.
Thus in the Jordan Valley Ttnveil is the title employed for the long
knife ridges, and is derived from the root " T/V," to be long. Suiuud
is used for a cave ; Ilaruhbet for a cistern ; Fulz for a shepherd. The
peasantry commonly use the words Sh\ib, Mwjliamh, Birkeh, and E'ai
instead, these being Hebrew words, and the Bedawin words more strictly
Arabic.
The laws of relation between Hebrew and Arabic letters are well
known. Though the sound may differ as in Aleid, the Arabic of the
Hebrew Aberc, "white," still, in my opinion, no change can properly
be said to have taken place where the Arabic is the proper equivalent of
the Hebrew or Aramaic. It is commonly said that the original nomen-
clature has been much altered, in order to give a significance in modem
dialect to ancient words. The examination of the nomenclature does
not, however, bear this out so fully as may have been expected. It seems
that the word has often remained quite unchanged whr-re the meaning
has been lost, or that the peasantry attach a more archaic meaning to
the word than we suppose ; but scarcely one substantiated case has
been found, as far as I am aware, of any very considerable " intro-
version " or radical change of a name, except in cases njhere the name is
of foreign origin.
Many words commonly used have meanings in Hebrew or Aramaic
which apply well, but have no topographical significance in Arabic.
Thus S/tuaJ is a word applied in several cases to caverns, and has the
significance of the Hebrew root, "to be hollow." In Arabic it would
mean" a firebrand." Fukhteh is used to mean " a quarry " or " cutting,"
as in Hebrew. In Arabic it means " a i)igeon." 'Aiui is used as in
-Aramaic to mean " a flock," in Arabic it means "a she ass." Many
instances of this archaic condition of the language might be adduced,
and, as I have previously noticed, the common words such as Win,
Khurheh, Tell, iS:c., &c., are all Hebrew words unchanged in the modern
nomenclature. These form a very largo proportion of the whole.
The translation of the nomenclature also furnishes us with various
identifications which might otherwise be lost ; thus 'Ain el Jem'atn means
apparently " spring of two troops," and its position suggests it to be the
well Harod, where Gideon divided the men Avho laj)j)ed from the rest.
Wddy Mes'adet 'Aisa means "valley of the ascension of Jesus," and
applies to a point where mediseval tradition supposes our Lord to have
been carried to a lofty mountain-top by the tempter. El Mahrakah
means "place of burning;'' were this unknown we should have no
indication of the possible site of Elijah's sacrifice.
To pass on to the more modern or strictly Arabic nomenclature. This
148 THE NOJIEXCLATURE OF THE SURTEY.
as before observed, belongs princinaily to the nomadic peoxjle. The old
names are forgotten, and modern descriptive titles substituted; in
addition to this, modern events, such as the slaughter of an Arab by
Government, the destruction of a camp by a flood, the fall of an Arab
boy from a cliff, result in well-known titles of formidable appearance,
but of no value for purposes of Biblical research. The majority of the
Jordan Valley names belong to this kind, and the deserts of Judah and
Beersheba repeat the same class of titles. The Bedawin have in addition
to their peculiar dialect a sort of s-lang, which we found ourselves quite
miable to understand, the words being all new to us. This they use
apparently to prevent the peasantry or Government officials from under-
standing their conversation. When in commiinication with them or
with us they used a corrupt Arabic, mth various peculiarities of pro-
nunciation.
The stock of the language is apparently Aramaic, as it was in tho
fourth century, and this gives a clear explanation of the preservation of
the ancient nomenclature. Various foreign Avords have, however, crept
into use. Thus Ddrdifr/an is the Ita,lian Portnijallo, an orange. Burj is
equivalent to Burg, or Try^-yos, " a tov/er." There are also indications of
the earlier importation of foreign words. To the Greeks tho nomenclature
owes no doubt TerLumieh for Tricomias ; Fendehumkh, Pentecomias ;
Burjmus, Pcrgamos ; Bcidus, Pedeios. To the Eomans, Kohniyth
for Colonia, Kiistul for Castellum, and many others. To the Crusades,
finally, many titles are Jbo be traced — Sii^Jil for St. Gilles, Bardaivil
for Baldwin, Dustrey for District, are instances.
It is ia these foreign words that change and corruption is, as might
naturally be expected, most clearly to be traced. The classical titles of
Scythopolis, EleutheroT)olis, and Sycaminos have disappeared entirely,
unless a trace exists in tho words Shoh; "thoi'n;" d 'A(r, "scent;"'
Scmak, " fish ;"' applied to ruins close to their sites. With regard to the
latter, it is curious to observe that the Talraudic writers found just as
great difficulty with the name Sycaminos, which became in their hands
Shikmijiiah. One may remark in tho Talmud the clumsy attempts to
transliterate Greek or Latin words, giving evidence of the difficulty with
which the natives of PalestiuG adaj^t their tongues to an Aryan language.
The native nomenclature does indeed give instance? of change, as in
l^hcfa 'Amr for the Talmudic Shafram, the modern name meaning
" hoalino: of Omar," and connected with a tradition ; but such instances
are few compared with the almost universal corruption of the foreign
words.
Thus translated the nomenclature becomes, I think, of value, tho
ground is cleared, the origin of various names explained, and the really
ancient and valuable titles distinguished from the surrounding cloud of
modern and unimportant names.
Claude li. Condeb, Lieut. R.E.
149
8YCHAE AND SYCHEM.
In the new illustraled edition of Dr. Farrar's " Life of Christ," part 0,
p. 1(34, a view of Nahliis is given with the title Sychar beneath it. There
are, however, good arguments, it would seem to me, in favour of the
view that the Sjchar of the fourth gospel (iv. 5) is a place distinct from
the ancient Shechcm.
The reason for supposing identity between the two sites appears to be
Eobinson's assumption that Sj^char (" drunkard ") was a Jewish, corrup-
tion of Sychem, in contempt of the Samaritans.
By Jerome the two are considered as distinct places. Thus in the
Onomasticon (s.v. Sichar) Jerome and Eusebius agree in placing this
tov>ai "before" {i.e., east of) Shechem, and the Bordeaux pilgrim (Itin.
Hierosol) places Sechar one mile from Sechim by Jacob's Well.
In his time the ancieut site of Shechem was supposed not to be
actually at Neapolis (Nablus), but at ruins farther east nearer to
Joseph's tomb, which accounts for the distance given by the Bordeaux,
pilgrim.
In Crusading times, however, the distinction between Shechem a,nd
Sychar was not observed, thus Jaques de Yitry identifies Neapolis vnth
Sychar (Gesta Dei, p. lOTS).
It is important in this connection to mention another name connected
v/ith this spot. In the Onomasticon we have the name Balanus, "id est
quercus Sicimorum " (Judges ix. G), as close to Joseph's tomb. Of this
title we have a trace in the modern Baluta, which may probably be
connected with Bullilt, " an oak " in Arabic. This place is mentioned in
the Samaritan book of Joshua, and is perhaps the Elonah Tabah or
Shejr el Kheir {i.e., " Holy Oak ") of the Samaritan Chronicle. (See the
paper on Samaritan Topography.)*
It would appear that Sychar was in Jerome's time separated from
Shechem, having near it another village, Balata, supposed to represent
the " oak of the pillar that was in Shechem " (a. v., 'plain).
The reason why Eobinson failed to identify Sychar with the village
of 'Aslar, just above Jacob's Well on the side of Ebal, seems to be that
he did not know the name, which does not appear in his lists or in his
account of Nablus. The identification has been supported by Canon
Williams and Dr. Thomson, and the main ditficulty appears to lie in the
existence of the guttural 'Aiii in the name.
A comparison with tbe Samaritan Chronicle is of interest as removing-
the philological difficulty (see Quartcrlij Statement, October, 1876, p. 197),
for in the list of places inhabited by the high priests after Tobiab wo
* In spite of the fact tbat the Greek reads ^aXavos, and tlie Lathi Balanus in
the Onomasticon, it is probable that the word intended is the Aramaic tOI'^S, nu
oak, eqiiivalent to the Hebrew p^t<. The radicals in the Aramaic word are the
same as in the Arabic Baluta, thongh the word in Arabic moans "pavemeut."
The same place is probably intended by the " Terebinthns iu Sicimis," where
Jacob hid the idols (Gen. xxxv. 4), " juxta Neapolim " (Onomasticou).
150 THE AMEEICAN EXPLOllERS IX TALESTINE.
find "botli Shechem and Iskar ("i^D^). If tins latter be the Sychar of the
gospel it is possible that it has no connection wfth the Hebrew word for
" drunkard," but comes from a Hebrew and Aramaic root meaning " to
be shut up." Sikra (X'^3"'D) is noticed in the Talmud as the name of a
place (Baba Metzia 42a, 83a), and En Sukar (131D ]''V), is also noticed in
the Mishna, Menachoth vi. 2. The Samaritan Chronicle dates back to
1150 A. D. ; the Arabic translation gives \isJiar us a rendering of the
Samaritan Iskar, and as by comparison of other towns we find the
Arabic evidently to intend the same place with the original, we see that
the Samaritans themselves identify the modern 'Askar with an ancient
Ischar or Sichar. The Arabic word means "a collection" (hence an
army).
In vv^riting on this subject (see Smith's Bible Dictionary, art. Sychar)
Mr. Grove has remarked how much more naturally the nai-rative in the
gospel would apply to a comparatively obscure site than to the very
capital of Samaria itself.
" Then cometh he to a city of Samaria (f is ir6\iv r^s ^anapelas), which
is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son
Joseph.
"Now, Jacob's well was there. . . ." (John iv. .5, G.)
This dcscrij)tion is most accurately applicable to 'Asl-ar. The well of
Jacob is situate at the point where the narrow vale of Shechem begins
to broaden into the great plain of the Mukhnah (or Camp). It is about
2,000 yards east of the town of Nablus, which lies hidden from it.
Immediately west lies the little village of BalSta with its fine spring and
gardens. Little more than a third of a mile north-east is the tomb of
Joseph, and from this a path gradually ascending leads to the village of
'AsJcar, which is visible from Jacob's Well. It is merely a modern mud
\'illage with no great indications of antiquity, but there are remains of
ancient tombs near the road beneath it.
As regards the position of Shechem, it may be noticed that the
ancient cemetery occupies the side of Mount Ebal above the modern one,
and extends thence westward, being separated by about 1 i miles from
the site of 'AsJcar.
In confusing Shechem and Sychar Eobinson has, as in other cases,
followed that very monkish tradition of the middle ages which he so
strongly condemns in other instances. C. E. C.
THE AMERICAN EXPLOEERS IN PALESTINE.
(Reprinted from the Athciunun, by permission of the Proprietors.)
Beirut, Syria, May 10, 1877.
Ti]E bettor acquainted I become with the country east of the Jordan,
the more I am amazed at its fertility and natural resources. The
scenery everywhere among the Gilead hills is picturesque and beautiful.
The forests and cultivated fields, the green valleys and grassy slopes,
remind one of the park scenery in England. The hills in many parts
THE AMERICAN EXPLORERS IN TALESTINE. 151
are well wooded, but besides tbis tkere are also dense forests of large fine
old trees, such as are not elsewhere seen in this peeled and povertj'-
stricken laud. The upper portion of AVady Yabis is called " el Akhdar "
—i.e., the green, and its gardens and orchards, as well as its fields of
grass, combine to render it a charming place. But Wady Ajlun sur-
passes the Yabis in respect to cultivation and beauty, because it is
larger, and the fountains which feed its copious stream are at a much
higher level in the mountains. Ain Jenmeh is near the head of tbis
wady, and the fountains and streams flowing among the olive trees and
walnut groves there make this one of the most delightful valleys in
Syria. There are three other flourishing villages, Ajluu, Anjara, and.
Keferenji, all except the latter in the immediate neighbourhood of Ain
Jenmeh, and the valley at that point is full of ancient ruins, which
extend clear up to Kallat er Rabad itself, showing that this locality has
been occupied by towns or cities from remote times.
At one place on this wady I saw an orchard of unusual extent, in which
there were at least eight kinds of fruit trees— the fig, olive, apricot,
quince, plum, lemon, apple, and the pomegranate growing &ide by side.
The valley is full of mills, flour-mills, of which I counted about twenty,
but not all of them were in' working order ; and not only on this but on
many other streams as well the number of ruined mills surprises one.
For instance, on the line of the Zerka, or Jabbok, I counted between
twenty and thirty ruined flour-mills, besides a very few that were in
operation. I learn that in some cases the locality chosen for the site is
not a good one, and the investment proves a failure ; and in the more
dangerous seclions, as has doubtless been the case on the Zerka, the
people have been either driven away or murdered, consequently the
place and the business have been abandoned.
As yet I have only referred to the region of Jebel Ajlun, or the
mountains of Gilead. But the great plateau which stretches eastward
from the lake of Tiberias to the Lejab, and south to Dra (Edrei) and
Gerash, is one vast natural wheat field. Some portions of this plateau
are rocky, but these furnish excellent pasture ; the soil, however, is for
the most part tolerably free from stones, and the ploughman has no
excuse for turning a crooked furrow. Those who are familiar only with
the country west of the Jordan will perhaps hardly believe me when I
state that on the Hauran plains I have seen in the ploughed fields
furrows a mile and a mile and a half in continuous length, and as
straight as one could draw a line.
The region south of Bozrah, towards Um el Jemal,and south-east of
Dra, and east of Gerash, is full of ruined towns, and the soil is fertile
and once supported a large population. For generations, however, this
section has not been occupied, because life and property have been so
insecure. But within a year or two past a good many families ha,ve
gone in there and occupied some of the ruined towns, and are attempt-
ing to cultivate the land. They will succeed if they are not interfered
with ; but they are exposed to danger, and it is to be feared that the
152 TnE AMERICAN EXPLOESKS IX PALESTINE.
Aneizeh Arabs are not yet sufficiently civilised to overcome their
instincts for plunder. The people of El Hosn and of Dra informed us,
however, that thus far these settlers had not been molested. The
Hauran ^vheat is considered one of the very best kinds in Syria, and if
the government would encourage the farmer, instead of oppressing and
robbing him, this section would become a source of wealth to the
country. It is difficult to exaggerate the extent and beauty of the vast
plain about Fik, and along Wady 'Allan, and at Nawa, and those which
stretch southward to Tel Ashtara, Mazarib, and Dra. This would be a
paradise for the wheat-grower, if he could only be protected in his
rights.
In searching for Biblical sites, I have followed up the whole line of
the Zerka from its mouth to its source, and I find the valley pretty
extensively cultivated. It being sixty-five or seventy miles in length
its capacities are great, because the supply of water is abundant, and
«very acre could be reached by irrigating canals. There are already a
multitude of farms in this valley, and the wheat-crop this year is good.
With regard to the canals just referred to, the present cultivators of
the land say that they dig no new ones, and the Arabs say that those
which exist now have always existed there. There are on the hill-sides
many unused canals, a few of which can be traced to a distance of five
or ten miles. These remains show that in ancient times there was a
perfect system of irrigation, by which not only the bottom land was
bi'ou^ht under cultivation, but in some cases even the foot hills them-
selves. When the present farmers want to utilise a new piece of
o-round, all they have to do is to clear out and repair one of these old
canals. Some of these canals exhibit such skilful engineering that I
often wondered how the people of to-day, whether Arabs or fellahin,
■could have built them, until they assured me repeatedly that neither
they nor their fathers had anything to do with their construction.
They must have been built originally at great expcRso, for they lead
under ledges, and around bold rocky cliffs, where oxily skilled woi-k-
men could carry them, and in one case the canal was carried along
far up on the hill-side, keeping its level, and following the irregularities
of the mountain to a great distance. The farmers generally combine
and share the expense of keeping a certain canal in order, and then
each will have specified days when he can use the water for himself.
I have in former letters mentioned the fact that the Jordan valley
between the Zerka and Nimrin was quite barren, because there are no
streams or fountains in the hills to water it ; while north of the Zerka,
where streams are numerous, the valley is clothed with wheat-fields and
vegetation. Just south of the Zerka there are some traces of ancient
canals, showing that a portion of the valley between the Zerka and the
road leading from Nabh'is to Es Salt was formerly under cultivation,
although it is now a desert ; excepting, of course, during the winter
rains. Perhaps more than half of the Jordan valley (I speak always of
the valley east of the river) is now reached by irrigatinir canals ; and in
THE AMERICAN EXPLORERS IN PALESTINE. 153
those sections not occupied Lj^ wlieat-fields tlie thistles aud. weeds tiro
rank, and grow as high as a liorse's back, and often as high as the
shoulders of a man ou liorseback, and form such dense jungles tliat it is
almost iaipogsible for a horse to make his way through them. I have
examined the Jordan valley throughout its whole extent, with special
reference to its beiug irrigated from the Jordan itself; and I am con-
vinced that the project is very feasible. Every square mile not now
■irrigated could be watered from the Jordan, and the expeuse for a dam
and canals would be small compared with the largo number of square
miles of valuable land that would thus be made productive. If we
reckon the valley at sixty miles ia length, and from two or three to six
miles in width, we shall have 180 square miles of land as fertile as any
prairie, and which, at twenty or twenty-five bushels per acre, would
produce between 2,000,000 and 3,000,000 bashels of wheat. If it is
objected that people could not live in the valley, the answer is, that
the people who cultivate the soil there at present live there all the
year round, and besides, the ruins of a dozen important towns along the
line of the foot-hills show that the valley has been inhabited by civilised
people at some time in the i^ast. These reinarks with regard to irriga-
tion apply with equal force to the vast plains of Cojle-Syria, along the
Xieontes, and those of Hums and Hamma and others along the Orontes
to the north. Give these plains and deserts water, and you can trans-
form them into gardens.
If we go south of the Zerka Ave find the Jazer region, which the
children of Eeuben and the children of Gad once coveted as a fine pasture-
ground for their cattle (Numb, xxxii.), still abounding in wheat fields
and covered Avith numerous flocks and herds of the Bedoiiin. At Khui-bot
♦Sar there is a large plateau extending north and east a distance of three
miles perhaps, and in this plateau is the watershed between the Zerka on
the east, and wadys Keferein and Hesban on the west and south. Tho
region is studded with ruins, and among them I think I am able to iden-
tify some of the cities of the tribe of Gad.
In these notes I can only refer to the Bolka or plains of Moab, which
equal in fertility the most favoured sections of the country elsewhere,
and which, Avhen covered with wheat-fields and herds of cattle, as they
are about the 1st of May, is not surpassed in beauty by any plain in
England or America.
Tho wheat-fields at the mouth of wadys Keferein and Hesban, as well
as those in the upper Jordan valley between the Zerka and the Lake of
Tiberias, are as fine as any in the world. In the former locality, i.e. on
the Shittim plain, the harvest began about the middle of April, and
farther north about the 1st of May.
Some of tho tribes in tho Jordan valley, north of the Zerka, cultivate
their own land. But the more aristocratic Bedouin, like the Adwan, the
Beni Sakhr, and tho Beni Hassan, employ fellahin entirely. Along the
upper Zerka, in the Jaazer region, in the fertile sections of the Shittim
plain, and elsewhei'e, fellahin do all the work. Large numbers of Chris-
154 DEIB EBAN, THE GREAT EBEX, AND EBEX HA-EXER.
tians go out from Es Salt to the Zerka every year for the purpose of
cultivating the land on shares. The peasant or farmer is given, at the
beginning of the season, four or five or six dollars, as the case may be,
and a pair of shoes at the outset. He also has seed furnished him ; be-
sides this he receives nothing. He must do all the work, from ploughing
to threshing, furnish cattle and tools and men, and his own food; and
at the end he receives one-fourth of the crop. I Avent one bright moon-
lio-ht night to visit the theatre at Amman, which, by actual measurement,
I had found would seat upwards of 10,000 people ; and in one of the
corridors I aroused a man, v/ho proved to be a " Saltce," as they are called,
a Christian peasant from Es !;alt, who was cultivating land for the
Arabs, and who found here at night a temporary shelter for himself and
his cattle.
A poor ignorant Christian cultivating land for a degraded and
wretched Bedouin, the present nominal owner of the soil, and making
his home in the ruins of a theatre that was once brilHant with ten
thousand eager spectators gathered together from a city of churches
and palaces and temples— the people of intelligence and wealth all gone,
the people and buildings that remain sunk down into moral and physical
ruin — is in human judgment a strange reversal of the law of progress,
which gives rise to serious and painful reflections.
Selaii Merrill.
DEIE EBAN, THE GEEAT EBEN, AND EBEN HA-EZEE.
(Reprinted from the Academy, by permission of the Editor.)
Paris, Odoher 20, 1876.
In my last, very brief, report (Palestine Exploration Fund, Quarterly
Statement, No. XIII., October, 1874, p. 279), I formally proposed the
identification of Deir Ehdii with the great Eben on which the ark was
placed on its arrival at Ekron. I had long before arrived at this result ;
I have repeatedly spoken of it to several persons, especially Messrs.
Drake and Conder, reserving to myself the right of dealing with the
question in detail, and particularly the relation of the great Eben to
Ehen Jia-ezer. Mr. C. R. Conder having in one of the recent Statements of
the Palestine Exploration Fund (July, 1870, p. 49) proposed afresh to
recognise in J>eir Elifni the Hebrew word Eben (stone), and to locate
Eben ha-ezer there, I am happy to see him partially adopt my theory,
and I think 1 ought to seize this opportunity to set forth briefly the
conclusions at Avhich I long ago arrived on this subject.
(1) TJie Oreat Ehen. — The Philistines, bringing back the ark on a
waggon from Ekron to Beth-Shemesh, reach the verge of that city, now
represented by Ain Shems (1 Sam. vi. 12); the waggon stops in the field
of Joshua the Bcth-Shemeshite, where there was a great stone (Eben) ;
the ark is rested on the " great stone," a sacrifice is off'ered in this place.
DEIR EBAN, THE GREAT EBEN, AND EBEX HA-EZER. 155
and the cows which were drawingthe ark are sacrificed (v. 14-15). A little
further on (v. 18), in speaking of the gold offering, the narrator returns to
this " great stone "* on which the ark was rested, and which is pointed
out to this day in the field of Joshua : it seems this time to indicate
clearly the limit of the Philistine territory (to the great stone . . . ),
which, moreover, is confii'med by the fact that the PhiUstines go no
farther, and that, after accompanying the ark to this point, they return
to Ekron. The memory of this event is, if my opinion is correct, pre-
served in the name of Dei)' Ebdn ; as to the extraordinary importance
assigned it by the book of Samuel, this is explained by the following
considerations : f
(2) Eben lia-ezer. — The Israelites on their way to attack the Philistines,
who had advanced to Aphek, encamp — probably on the confines of their
territory — -near the stone of succour (Eben ha-ezer). Beaten the first
time, they bring up the ark of Shiloh, and again try the fortunes of
battle ; they are completely defeated, and the ark, which falls into the
hands of the Philistines, is transported by them from Eben-ezer to
Ashdod. These events occur, be it understood, he/ore those which we
have just related.
Is it not natural that later on the ark should have been carried back to
the same point where it had been captured ? On the very same spot where
the sacrilege had been committed should the expiation be made. Now
this spot bears precisely, as we have seen above, the name of " the great
stone " {Eben).
There is yet another argument. It is only farther on (chapter vii.)
that the narrator tells us the origin of the name of Eben ha-ezer, whence
it results that, at the moment of the return of the ark, the place did
not yet bear this name of Eben ha-ezer, and that the narrator only used
it by anticipation when speaking of the defeat of the Israelites : as the
religious outrage inflicted on the ark had been repaired on the very
same spot where it had taken place, so the national outrage was to be
atoned for under identical conditions. It was at Ebon ha-ezer itself
that the Israelites, beaten at Eben ha-ezer, were to take, under the
leadership of Samuel, a signal revenge. It was then only that the
* Abel must be corrected into chen in the opinion of all the commentators.
+ Between Deir Eban and Ain Shems is a rocky spot called Tantura, and
perhaps also Es-sd fye. This was the scene in ancient times, according to the
legend, of a great massacre of fellahs by the soldiers of the Government {aic).
Since that time clhabat tantHra has been a proverbial expression for a great
massacre. It should be 'noted that the word dhabha (slaying) is precisely the
Hebrew zebah (sacrifice). In the middle of the valley between Sar'a, Artoul',
Ain Shems, and Deir Eban, there is also a low flat-topped hillock, covered witli
small stones, called Khirbet cr-ltoucljouin ; there was there a qal'a like a churcli
(sic). The old name of Deir Eban, according to the fellahs, is Zeicl el-mdl. This
word mal (silver, money) is added to many names of places as a kind of epithet ;
thus we have, between Ranileh and Jaffa, Sarsend el-nidl (in alhision to Sarf cl-
onal, money-changing) ^ zeid el-mid, meaning "increase of silver. "
N
156 DEIR EBAN, THE GREAT EBEN, AND EBEN HA-EZER.
battle-field, determined by the position of Maspha, Bethkar, Sen (and
Aphek), was consecrated by the erection of a stone to which Samuel gave
the name of Eben ha-ezer, "stone of succour."* It marked the point
reached by the pursuit, and the Philistines never again crossed the
borders of Israel.
It results, therefore, from these comparisons, which I can now only
briefly indicate, waiving certain obscure points : —
(1) The place where the Israelites were beaten and where they lost the
ark did not assume till a later date the name of Eben ha-ezer.
(2) It is to this same spot, this time called Eben, that the Philistines
carried back the ark.
(.3) The Israelites having beaten the Philistines in their turn at this
same place called it Eben ha-ezer.
(4) This place must have been on the confines of the Philistines and
the Israelites— may, perhaps, even have been one of the boundary-
marks.
(5) All these data, including that of the Onomastkon, apply remark-
ably well to Deir Eban.t
Ch. Clermont-Ganneau.
* It results from a passage in Josephus that the stone must have borne in
certain Hebrew MSS. the name of Azaz (strength, strong), with a final min in-
stead of a resch, for he translates this name by lax"?^"^ strong.
t The track of tlie loaggon carrying the ark from Ekron to Deir Ebau must
have been by the present Wady Sarar, which is certainly the Valley of Sorek,
as I conclusively proved by the discoVery of KhirheL Soiirtq, in 1874.
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Quarterly Statement, October, 1877.]
THE
PALESTINE EXPLORATION FUND,
NOTES AND NEWS.
We are liappy to announce that tlie survey of the nortli of Palestine is at
length completed. It was commenced by Lieut. Kitchener on the 27th of Feb-
niary, and finished on tlie 10th of July. In the course of the work 1,000 square
miles of country were surveyed ; 2,773 names were collected, and 476 ruins were
visited and described, some with special i>lans. All the villages were also de-
scribed with regard to the number and religion of inhabitants, the remains of
ancient buiklings, and the nature of the country. The water-supply has also in
all cases been specially described. The whole country has been hill-shaded ; the
altitudes of a great number of points have been obtained by aneroid readings
besides the obsei-ved heights : special notes have been taken on the geology,
archffiolog}-, &c., of the country. The line of levels connecting the Mediterranean
and the Sea of Galilee was completed on the 24th March. Photographs have
been taken of the more interesting sites.
The whole of this work, except the photographs, has arrived in England,
having been brought home by Sergeant Malings. It is now placed under the
charge of Lieutenant Conder, at the Koyal Albert Hall.
Among the reports sent home by Lieut. Kitchener were a number of Greek
inscriptions, many in a fragmentary condition. These will all be published
together in Januarj%
With regard to the progress of the j\[emoir, Lieutenant Conder writes that
since the last report two more sheets have been entirely completed. Sheet 13
contains the coast round Jaffa and Piamleh, and these towns and Lydda are
described. The site of Antipatris, as suggested in 1850 by Consul Finn (" Bye-
ways of Palestine," p. 133), and upheld by Major Wilson, is shown to agree with
the distances in the Antonine Itinerary (see Quarterly Statement, January, 1878,
p. 13). The Mlnet Rubin, or harbour of Jamnia, is described, as well as the
White Mosnue at Ramleh and the Church of the Virgin, first planned by the
Survey party, with the inscriptions of the time of Bibars in the mosque. Sheet
5, though not a full sheet, lias a very long memoir. It includes Nazareth,
Carmel, the Kislion, Haifa, Shefa 'Amr, Seffurieh, and other places of import-
160 NOTES AND NEWS.
ance. The towns are all described at length, and the population of every in-
habited place on the sheet given on Consul Rogers's authority. From this an
average population of four hundred and fifty souls is deduced as that of a country
village, which will allow of an estimate of the population of Palestine when the
Memoir is finished.
Di'. Chaplin has forwarded an account, with a plan ^>y Ilerr Schick, of a dis-
covery at Jerusalem about which we liave written for further information. He
says, in a letter dated Aug. 2, 1877 : " There seems little room for doubt that
the lower portions of the tower Pscpliinus has been at last discovered. In the
plan of the so-called " Goliath's Castle " appended to the Ordnance Survey
of Jerusalem, two square masses marked "Old masonry " are shown, and cotres-
ponding to these, on the west, two other similar structures have been recently
exposed bj' the Latins in their excavations for the foundations of a new college.
These four huge piers are connected by an arch of very ancient appearance, and
appear to have formed the foundation of the tower. Mr. Schick has been good
enough to make a plan of the locality in its present state. The angle of a verj-
old wall of rough megalithic masonry which is shown lying to the south of the
piers is very interesting. It is the only relic I know of which seems likely to>
have formed part of the hastily erected Avail of Nehemiah."
At the anmial meeting of the General Committee (see the Report, p. 192), Mr,
John MacGregor, after an absence of three years, again became a member of the
Executive Committee. Tlie death of Mr. "William Longman has deprived the
Committee of a member who took a very deep interest in the welfare of tlie
Society and the progi'ess of its work.
A report on the levelling of the Sea of Galilee was read before the British
Association in August by Major Wilson. AVe shall be probably able to publish
this in the January Quartcrhj Statemrnt.
The following is the financial position of the Fimd (Sept. 19th). Receipts,
June 30th to September 19th, £706 13s. 5d. Expenditure : Exploration,
£650 6s. 2d.; ofiicc and management, £170 4s. lid. Reduction of debt, £55.
The balance in the banks on the latter day was £208 Is. 8d. "We asked in
July for £1,000 between then and September 30th. "VN^'e now ask for £1,500
in the present quarter.
Attention is called to the statement already advertised, that subscribers
to the Fund are privileged by the publishers to receive both the "Literary
Remains of the late Mr. C. F. Tyrwhitt Drake," and the "Underground
Jerusalem " of Captain "Warren, at reduced rates. The former book will be sent
for ten shillings, the latter for sixteen shillings, postage paid. But letters asking
for them must be sent to the office at 9, Pall Mall East only.
NOTES AND NEWS. 161
~ Several cases were discovered in 1876, and one or two tins year, of postage
stamps being lost on their way to the office. The only way to avoid such loss is
to send money by P. 0.0. or by cheque, in evertj case payable to the order of
Walter Besant, and crossed to Coutts and Co., or the Union Bank, Charing
Cross Branch.
The ninth thousand of " Our Work in Palestine " is now ready (price Ss. 6d.),
and may be ordered of booksellers. This book carries the work down to the
•commencement of the Survey, but does not embrace M. Ganneau's discoveries
nor the results of the Survey itself.
The following are at present Representatives and Lecturers of tbe Society, in
addition to the local Hon. Sees. : —
Archdeaconry of Hereford : Rev. J. S. Stooke-Yaughan, Wellington Heath
Vicarage, Ledbur}'.
City and neighbourhood of Mancbester : Rev. W. F, Bircb, St. Saviour's
Eectorj'.
London : Rev. Henry Geary, 16, Somerset Street, Portman Square.
Norwich : Rev. F. C. Long, Stow-upland, Stowmarket.
Peterborough : Rev. A. F. Foster, Farndisb Rectory, Wellingborough.
Worcester : Rev. F. W. Holland, Evesbam (Member of General and Executive
Committee, and one of tbe Hon. Secretaries to the Fund).
Diocese of Ripon : Rev. T. 0. Henley, Kirkby Malham Vicarage.
North Wales : Eev. John Jones, Treborth, Bangor.
Yorkshire and Durham : Rev. James King, 13, Paradise Terrace, Darlington.
Ireland.— Diocese of Armagb": Rev. J. H. Townsend.
Rev. G. J. Stokes, Blackrock, Dublin.
Scotland. — Rev. R. J. Craig, Dalgetty, Burntisland.
The Eev. Horrocks Cocks, 19, Edwardes Square, Kensington, has also kindly
offered his services among the Nonconformist churches.
While desiring to give every publicity to proposed identifications by officers
of the Fund, the Committee beg it to be distinctly understood that they leave
sucli proposals to be discussed on their own meritSj and that by publishing them
in tbe Quarterly Statement tlie Committee do not sanction or adopt them.
Annual subscribers are earnestly requested to forward their subscriptions for
the current year wben due, at their earliest convcniev/:e, and without waiting for
application.
Tbe Committee are always glad to receive old numbers of the Qiiarterly StatC'
vient, especially those which are advertised as out of print.
162 JOUBNAL OF THE SURVEY.
Ladies desirous of joining the Ladies' Associations are requested to communi-
cate with Mrs. Finn, The Elms, Brook Green, London, "VV. The full report of
meetings held by Mrs. Finn during the last quarter will be found in the
business sheet.
Cases for binding the Quarterly Statement are now ready, and can be had on
application to Messrs. E. Bentley and Son, 8, New Burlington Street. They are
in green or brown cloth, with the stamp of the Society, uniform in appearance
with " Our "Work in Palestine," and are sold at the price of eighteen pence.
Lieut. Kitchener's Guinea Book of Biblical Photographs can be bought at Mr.
Stanford's establishment, .^5, Charing Cross. It contains twelve views, with a
short account of each. They are mounted on tinted boards, and handsomely
bound.
JOUENAL OF THE SUEYEY.
Nakura, June 24. — All -well so far. I hope that before you get this you
will have got a telegram, "North finished, all well, Lebanon," which
will mean that I have finished the north and am off to the Lebanon for
three weeks after that Phognicia was the worst country we
have surveyed yet, all up and down, and crowded with ruins and
villages; where Murray has 7 names I had 116; instead of 7 villages
and ruins I had 63 I took the last observations for the
triangulation of the country the other day,
Haifa, July 11. — I have fini>^hed the north under my original esti-
mate and without Armstrong, and there has been no accident, as you
will have been informed by telegram. We ara now off for the Lebanon
for three weeks' rest, which we sadly want A report Avas.
started in the Beyrout paper that I had been attacked and Avounded by
Bedouin near Banias. Eldridge sent soldiers and scoured the country.
I in the meantime had gone peacefully across to Tyre, so there was no
end of alarm at my not being found or heard of.
Aleih, Mount Lehahon, July 24. — We arrived here safely on the 21st,
after a hot march from Haifa. I have now started office work' in^ a
room close to our camp, and I think we shall have a month or more
hard work ; everything has to be made in duplicate, and all observa-
tions, descriptions, &c., have to be copied out. It is charmingly cool
up here compared to what we have been used to in the low country.
Mr. Eldridge and several Europeans are living here for the summer-
JOURNAL 01' THE SUllVKY. 1G3
montlis ; in fact, it is quite a return to civilisation again
I enclose a letter just received from H.E. the Paslia of Acre, which will
show you the good relations existing between us and the Government.
The superior of the convent on Mount Carmel has also presented me
with a copy of the History of the Carmelites.
Aleik, Mount Lebanon, July 31. — We have been hard at work since I
last wrote getting everything into order, writing out notes, and malting
dupHcates of the map-work. I am soiTy to say my sergeant is laid up
Avith fever ; this will delay the work a little, as I should like to get
everything done and put away before starting a fresh piece of work.
I start to-morrow for a short excursion in the Lebanon, leaving the
noncommissioned officers here under Mr. Eldridge's care. I hope to
be in Jerusalem the first week in September, and then, if everything
goes well, four or five weeks will finish the map, and I shall have only
revision to do Don't be nervous about us, we are safer
here than you are in London.
Aleih, Aug. 15. — I have arranged that Sergeant Malings shall return
to England Avith all the original work, leaving here by the Austrian
steamer on the 23rd, and taking an English ship at Port Said. You
may therefore expect him in England about the 8th September. I
found it was impossible to send him by the French to-morrow ; firstly,
because he is in bed very ill, and not able to take over the things and
attend to them properly on the journey; secondly, becavise I could not
finish up work in hand in time, which would make j)art of the work
arrive incomplete in England. I shall start for the south at the same
time he does for England. I had intended starting to-morrow, but
I think it will be mser to wait and see the work safely out of the
country ; also I have my hands full of work now. One of my horses
had a bad accident with Corporal Brophy ; it seems he ran away on
the French road and tumbled over one of the parapets, rolling down
the hill some forty feet. The horse is dreadfully cut about, and will
not be able to move for some time. It is a wonder the corporal was
not killed — a loose seat saved him. I had a very pleasant trip in the
Lebanon I hope not only to finish the southern portion of
the survey, but the revision as well. Don't got a panic like the
Damascus Christians. I shall take every precaution for the safety of
the party.
Camp at Aleili, Aug. 22. — "VVe have been working from G to G to
get done, Sundays included, so that the sergeant may take everything,
at the same time leave all behind in duplicate. Directly I receive
the receipt for the work I will send you the dui;)]icates. I have been
delayed here doing this, otherwise I should be at Jerusalem now ; how-
ever, it is all for the best, as I could not have moved one of my horses.
. . . . The sergeant starts on the 23rd and I on the 24th. Eight
or nine days will take me to Jerusalem, and then for the Desert.
JernsaJem, Sept. 7. — All safely arrived here after a dreadfully hot
journey down the coast. Our first day, from Aleih to Sidon, was the
104 JOURNAL OF THE SURVKY.
hottest day that has been known for seventeen years ; up at Nazareth
the thermometer registered in shade 114 deg., according to Dr. Varton.
I got a slight sunstroke on the plain by the seashoro, and was not able
to get into camp at Sidon till 1.30 a.m. Everybodj^ was very much done
up. Next day we started in the evening and travelled in the night.
We made Tyre, Acre, and then Nazareth. At Acre I saw the Pasha and
settled some little things. At Nazareth I presented the gun to Ab-
dallah Agha, who wishes to express his thanks to the Committee, and
to say that he is entirely at their service for anything that may be
wanted. The gun was very suitable.
On leaving Nazareth I paid a visit to the tents of Fendy el Feis, the
chief of the Beni Sakr. He was encamped at Solam, on my road to
Jenin. The sheikh was very civil, and I spent two hours in his tent ;
he showed me a coat of mail and a Damascus sword ho was very proud
of. The large flocks of camels belonging to the Arabs do some damage
to the country, but otherwise I heard nothing certain of any extortion
•or stealing committed by them. The Government are on good terms
with the Beni Sakr, as F6ndy el Feis can muster 4,500 spears, which
renders him an undesirable enemy. The Arabs show no great patriotism
for their co-religionists at war ; they hate the Turk, and do not much
care v>'hich way the war goes. Fendy el Feis expressed his willingness
to helj) in everything he could do if a survey was made of the east of
Jordan. He is now the most powerful chief in that country.
The sheikhs of the Adouan have been taken prisoners by the Pasha
of Nablus^ ed Diab, Aly ed Diab his son, and about twenty chiefs, have
been sent to Damascus for trial. As I heard the story, it seems that the
Pasha of Nablus sent to the Adouan to come and help him drive out
the Beni .Sakr, witlifwhom the Adouan have a feud. The sheikh came
to consult with the Pasha on how they should attack the Beni Sakr,
when they found themselves surrounded by soldiers, cut off from their
horses, and taken prisoners. I am afraid this will have a bad effect on
the tribe, which has always had a good name from travellers before.
My next threeVlays were Jenin, Nablus, Jerusalem.
Next mail I will send you a full report on the recent discoveries at
Jerusalem. I think the ancient work unearthed by the Franciscans is
the foundation of an Herodian tower or gateway. There are^ several
other discoveries of which you shall have an account next mail ; now
I have no time to do it, as the mail goes to-day.
I am anxious to be off south as soon as possible, but there is lots to
do here. Early next week I shall be off.
IGj
LIEUT. KITCHENEE'S EEPOETS.
lY.
P. E. F. CAiiP, TAlYEBEfi, '30th May, 1877.
This month's work has finished the Survey up to the northern
boundary, the River Leontes. The next camp will be at Banias, and
when that is finished there v/ill only be tlio strip along the seashore to
do to finish the survey of the north. I hope this will be accomplished
before the cud of July.
On the 2nd of May camp was moved from Meiron to Dibl, a Christian
village eleven miles north of Meirun. The inhabitants were extremely
glad to see us, as our presence afforded them some protection. They
were debating whether they should desert their village for some safer
place, but finally decided to remain and see how matters would turn
out. There are several large Christian villages in this part of the
country, and they are naturally in a great state of alarm and panic.
They fear, in case of a Turkish defeat, that the neighbouring Mohammedan
villages will revenge it on them. They are anxious to buy arms and
defend their lives and property in case of attack, but up to the present
time the Mohammedans have given very little cause for alarm. The
Government has always promptly suppressed any fanatical feeling, and
is evidently doing its best to tide over a critical time. The Christian
villages are very superior iu cleanliness to their Moslem neighbours, and
a great deal mors care is taken in the cultivation of the ground. They
are generally surromided by vineyards and fig-trees, and a few mul-
berry-trees are cultivated. The people are simple and devout, looking
up to their priests as their guides in every difficulty ; they are mostly
Maronites, and the priests marr}'. Every village has its little chapel,
and at Dibl they had a service every evening. After sunset a bell was
beaten in the village, and all the male population went to chapel, where
there was a short service in Arabic. After this they often came and
sang and danced in front of our tents till a very late hour. The
country round our camp consisted of low hills, either cultivated or
covered with brushwood. To the west the brushwood increased, and
the wadies ran iu deeper gorges down towards the sea. Villages are
very numerous and seem to be prosperous ; they have generally large
herds of cattle and goats, and are surrounded by well-tilled fields.
There are not so many olive-trees as in the south. The water- supply is
23rincipally from cisterns v/hich keep the rain-water ; besides these, large
birkets or pools of rain-water occur at every village ; springs are rather
scarce.
At the village of Yiirun, south-east of Dibl, are the remains of an
•early Christian church, The ruins occur on a tell immediately east of
the village, and the foundations of the church, Avith three apses, are
clear. It measured eighty-eight feet long by fifty feet Avide, and the
stones are large and Avell- dressed. The capitals are principally Corin-
166 LIEUT, kitchener's REPOllTS.
thian, and tlie cliurch was paved with Mosaic woi-k. A good many
carved stones lie about, and there are cisterns and aa old rock-cut birket,
with a double round arch for supporting the water-wheel. "West of the
church was another round birket of good masonry. In the mosque of
the village I found a Greek inscription— the left-hand side had been cut
away, on the right a palm-tree was very well carved in relief. The stone
measured five feet by two feet four inches. A plan of the church and
drawings of the detail have been made. The village is built round the
east and northern slopes of a slight basalt outbreak, the top of which
has been quarried into large cisterns, and the natives asserted it was once
the site of a castle. Large well-dressed stones are continually dug up,
and there are several sarcophagi and rock-cut tombs round the village.
The inhabitants are half Mutwaly, half Christians. At el Khurbeh and
Tell 'Ara — ruins half a mile south — I found similar cut stones and some
columns ; at the latter place there is a large sarcophagus.
North of Yarun, on the top of high hills, is the village of Marun.
Here there are also some similar carved stones to those at Yarun, mixed
up with large well-dressed stones, apparently the remains of an early
Christian church. There is an inscription on the remains of an archi-
trave. At Dibl, in an ordinary rock-cut tomb with ten square-headed
loculi, there is also an inscription— it occurs immediately above the
loculi ; and another on a stone dug up in the village. There are also
remains of a fine mosaic pavement, in a fair stite of preservation, in the
village.
The most extraordinary ruins of this neighbourhood are those of Belafc
(marble), which have been described by Dr. Eobinson {Later Biblical Re-
searches, page 65). On the top of a high wooded ridge are the ruins of
what must have beeu a noble temple. The remains of sixteen columns
are apparently in situ, and six of them still bear an architrave. If the
building was originally uniform it would have been formed of a double
colonnade of twelve columns, the intercolumnar distance varying from six
to eight feet. The total length of the colonnade is ninety-nine feet seven
inches, and its breadth sixteen feet ; the whole is surrounded by a wall at a
distance of seven feet. The columns and architrave make a total height
of fourteen feet six inches. The entrance was probably in the centre of
the eastern side, where two columns are squared on the outside — it Avas
probably double, with a round column between. The end columns at
both ends of the colonnade were squared on the outside, forming a
double column on the inside, exactly the same as in Jewish synagogues,
such as at Kcfr Ber'am, where the southern columns of the portico were
two double columns corresponding with those at the north end of the
building. Another point of resemblance is the direction of the colonnade,
being within twelve degrees of north and south. The columns are very
much weathered, and some of them are considerably out of the per-
pendicular. There seems to have been no elaborate decoration — the
architrave is not cut, and the capitals are simply rounded blocks of
stone. A plan and photographs were taken of the ruins. Adjoining,
LIEUT. KITCHENEK's REPORTS. 107
on the eastern side, are the foundations of some buildings. Enclosing a
paved court, with a large cistern in the centre, flights of steps led down
the side of the hill.
Er Eameh, the ancient Eamah of Ashur, is a small Mutwaly village
two miles west of Dibl. It is situated on a rocky watershed where two
vaUeys start east and west ; the sides of the hill are terraced, but there
are no other remains of antiquity except a few sarcophagi ; the hills
around are covered with brushwood.
At Kh. Shelabun, about the same distance east of Dibl, there are two
very finely ornamented sarcophagi on a raised platform ; the ornamenta-
tion consists of figures bearing up wreaths and trophies of arms similar
to those at Kades described by Major Wilson.
On the 16th camp was moved to Kades, the ancient Kedesh of
Naphtali. The road led past Bmt Umm Jebeil, a populous Mutwaly
village, whore a market is held every Thursday, which is largely
attended. Kades is situated on a spur overlooking on the east a long
narrow plain, which runs north and south, and is enclosed by low hills
covered with brushwood. On the east these hills fall abruptly to the
Huleh marshes. Tell Hara stands out prominently to the south-east,
and its eastern slopes descend to the northern shore of the Lake Huleh.
Immediately below the steep slope of the hill is a very large spring,
'Aia el Melahah, which at once turns a mill. "West of the lake is the
broad plain of El Kheit, occupied by Arabs and a few Mughrabins ; the
lake is three and a half miles long, and broadest at its northern
extremity, where it ends in an impenetrable jungle of papyrus canes
growing out of a marsh, which extends for five and a half miles north,
and is about two miles broad. One and a half miles south of the lake
is the bridge across the Jordan, Jisr Benat Yakub, over which passes
the main Damascus road. Opposite the bridge are the ruins of an
ancient khan, and south are the remains of a small Crusading fortress
called Kasr 'Atru. The whole district is, by tradition, intimately con-
nected with the life of Jacob. There is only one place in this district
that might have been the site of Hazor ; it is called Ard el Sauwad, and
is immediately west of Khurbet el Wukkas. A square plateau of con-
siderable size appears to be artificially constructed, with traces of walls
upon it. The natives assert that it was not a ruin, and it has more
the appearance of a camp or entrenchment, perhaps to guard the
Damascus road, than the ruins of a large town. There are some large
springs in Wady Wukkas, just below this site. Tell Hara, identified by
Major Wilson with Hazor, appears much more like the site of
an ancient and royal city. The name Hara seems to me to be more
nearly allied to Harosheth of the Gentiles ; perhaps this is the site of
Sisera's head-quarters.
The ruins at Kades are of considerable extent. The village is situated
at the end of the ridge, and below it there is a spring. A few columns
and capitals are found in the village, but the principal remains occur
beyond the spring. The first building is a masonry tomb thirty-
168 LIEUT, kitchener's reports.
five feet square; solid piers at tlie four corners support round arches,
whicb. rise to a height of twenty-one feet; between these arches
are the loculi, three between each, and one on either side of the door,
which takes up the southern side. The arches were walled up on
the outside, and the whole was probably covered with a dome. There
is a niche on the outside, to the right of the doorway ; a little beyond
this there are several sarcophagi on a raised platform ; two double and
two single ones still exist ; they were formerly carved with figures, but
these have been effaced. The next building, about 100 yards east of
the first, is the Temple of the San, which has been examined and
described by Major Wilson. The building forms a rectangle 63 feet
by lo feet, and one of the doorposts still standing is 15 feet high;
themasoniy was large blocks of well-dressed limestone. On either side
of the main entrance are two small doors with ornamented lintels ; and
outside these, on the left, is a niche with traces of a robed figure cut on
it, and on the right a small projection has a hole leading to the interior,
through which money might be passed ; on the inside there was a recess
in the wall opposite the orifice. The highly- ornamented lintel has been
described by Major "Wilson. Plans and photographs of all these build-
ings were taken.
Four miles south of Kades, in the hills descending to the plain, are
the ruins of Keisun, where are the remains of an ancient temple ; three
bases of columns still remain in situ on a wall over a ruined birket
facing north, and one has fallen from its position. To the west there
are pedestals inthe'walls, as if for columns ; both sides, north and west,
seem to have been washed by the water of a large birket, and a cause-
way was found across from the north-west corner to the temple. There
are remains of a highly-ornamented cornice similar to that at the
Temple of the Sun at Kades. On a stone, with a slight draft round it,
I found a Greek inscription, a copy of which is enclosed. There are a
good many rock-cut tombs around the ruins.
North of Kades, on a sjjur running out into Wady Selukiah, occur the
ruins of a small Crusading fortress called Kalat ed Dubbah. The Crusad-
ing remains of large drafted stones with rough jn-ojecting bosses are
slight, and the place was probably totally destroyed when taken ; it has
been rebuilt under the Saracens, and these latter walls are in fair pre-
servation. A rock-cut ditch encloses the castle. There are several
cisterns and a few sarcophagi cut in the rocks near. The castle is now
inhabited by two families ; it measures 100 feet wide by 220 feet in
length, and encloses a courtyard. A jjlan has been made of the build-
ing. The position in the wady is very jucturesque and romantic ; high
hills close it in on both sides, so that it is not visible until quite close.
In the centre, on a very narrow ridgo rising about half as high as the
suiTOunding hills, stands the castle. It is so shut in by hills that I
believe it never has been seen by any travellers before. To the west
of the castle is the village of Shakru, where I obtained a copy of an
inscription.
LIEUT. KITCIIEXEU'S llEPOBTS. 16'J
The sheikh of the village was extremely rude, and threw stones against
the inscription when I attempted to copy it. I therefore left without
doing so, and reported the matter to the governor, who immediately put
the sheikh in prison. The next time I went to the village there was no
opposition to my copying the inscription, I therefore had the sheikh set
at liberty. At the village of Kunin there is a lintel seventeen feet long,
with an inscrijition.
On the 24th camp was moved to Taiyebeh, a village within easy dis-
tance of the Leontes, the northern boundary of the Survey. From this
camp three Crusading castles were photo graj)hed and planned.
The castle of Tibnin stands on a high steep ridge breaking down from
the west ; the north and south slopes descend to the same deep wady,
which makes a curious bend, cutting the ridge about half a mile east
of the castle. Immediately below the castle on the west is the small
village of Tibnin, containing 200 Christians and 450 Mutwaly. A broad
paved way led up from the village to the castle, and the slopes were
faced with dressed stones, at a steep angle ; there were no ditches, as
the ground falls all round. The castle measures 512 feet north and
south, by 440 feet east and west. The principal walls are Saracenic,
only the bases of a few towers on the outside showing Crusading work.
These consist of either large stones roughly squared, or of similar stones
drafted with the bosses left rough. In the interior the Crusading
remains are all of finely- dressed stones. The modern Saracenic work
has now fallen to ruins ; in the north-west corner, however, there are
still large vaulted chambers, and sufficient accommodation for the Modir
or governor of the Blad Besharu, who is an intelligent old gentleman,
exceedingly polite and obliging. The princix^al portion of the interior
of the castle is a shapeless mass of ruins. The view from the castle is
very fine, over undulating and cultivated ground to the sea and Mount
Hermon in the distance.
We know from William of Tyre that the castle was built in 1107 A.D.
by Hugues de St. Omer, Seigneur of Tiberias, and received the name
of Toron. It is expressly stated that it was built because no strong
place existed on the road from Tiberias to Tyre, and the remains may
therefore be taken as a fair example of the Crusading style of masonry.
Hunln is another Crusading castle, eight miles north-east of the
latter; it was on the ancient road from Tyre to Banias, and must have
been a place of considerable strength. It is situated on a slight eleva-
tion in a gap in the hills, where they fall steeply to the Huleh valley.
Adjoining the castle on the east is the small village of Hunin. The
castle measures 740 feet east and west by 340 feet north and south.
On the west a rock-cut ditch, 40 feet broad, surrounded a citadel 240
feet square, separating it from the remainder of the castle. There were
two entrances, one by a causeway which led up to the castle on the
south, similar to the one at Tibnin, and the other was a gateway in the
eastern wall, which still remains, showing Crusading work. The whole
of the interior is a mass of shapeless ruins, and most of the Saracenic
170 LIEUT, kitchener's bepoets.
Avails and buildings are also ruined. There was a mosque on the south
side, but the roof has fallen in. The Crusading remains show similar
work to that at Tibnin in every respect, and there seems to be nothing
which would lead to giving to this castle an earlier date than the
former.
In Ansel Jelil, by El Kady Mujir ed Din, a history of Jerusalem and
Hebron, dated 900 A.H., it is said : After the battle of Hattin, asSaladin
went to Tyre, he detached a chief to invest the castle of Hunin ; the
garrison were reduced by famine and surrendered. Saladin gave the
castle to one of his chiefs, Beder ed Din Widram el Barizny.
Kal'at esh Shukif, the Crusading castle of Belfort, is much the finest
building in this part of the country. Situated on the top of an almost
perpendicular precipice, which descends 1,500 feet to the Eiver Leontes,
it is thus quite impregnable from the east. On the west the ground
falls rapidly, so that the castle is on the top of a narrow ridge running
almost north and south. The castle measures 500 feet long by 200 feet
broad east and west ; the greatest diagonal length to outside of rock-
cut ditches would be 700 feet. A broad rock-cut ditch, with large
reservoirs for water, surrounded the castle on three sides ; the fourth
was defended by the precipice. The rocky escarp of the ditch was faced
with well-dressed stones, and the top crowned by round towers and
ramparts. The base of one round tower at the south-west corner forms
a striking feature, as the circle has been strictly preserved, gradually
increasing in size down to the bottom of the ditch ; the whole was faced
by smooth-dressed stones. The entrance is at the south-cast corner,
and the passage was carried along the eastern front on a terrace over-
hanging the precipice, considerably below the main portion of the
fortress, which was reached by stairs at the north-east corner. There
is a plentiful supply of water ia immense cisterns. On the top of the
castle is a small groined building which may have been the chapel.
The masonry of this building is of the same type as Tibnin and Hunin,
drafted stones with rough bosses on the outside, and smooth-dressed
stones on the inside. Some of the ancient walls were nine feet thick,
and built with wonderful solidity. There seems to have been a later
addition in Crusading times on the east side of the castle, giving probably
increased stable accommodation ; this part is all of smooth-dressed
stones. The principal doorways were formed by lintels cut to represent
drafted voussoirs ; there is also a pointed arch in the drafted masonry
wall, the only difference being that the bosses of the voussoirs were
hammer-dressed. On the top of these magnificent Crusading remains
the Saracenic masonry looks ridiculously small and insignificant. The
castle of Belfort is first mentioned by William of Tyre as the refuge
of the Christian knights after being defeated by Saladin near Banias in
1179 A.D. The Crusaders evidently knew the value of stone walls
against the attack of irregular forces. Small garrisons in Belfort town
and Hunin must have kept the whole of the north secure against raids.
LIEUT. KITCnENER's REPORTS. 171
Belfort is the most northern point of the Survey. The country has now-
been surveyed from Bir Scba to a point north of Dan.
At the village of Abrikha there are the remains of an early Christian
church ; one of the columns is still standing, bearing its capital, and
several pedestals are in situ. Under the altar there was a rock-cut
tomb, with the entrance to the east, outside the church.
The amount surveyed up to the end of May is 640 square miles.
The country is still quiet, though disturbed by numberless rumours,
which are started without the slightest foundation. A good many of
the Christians have loft their villages in this part of the work, but
apparently without cause ; the Government officials are doing all they
can to keep the people from panic.
Camp at Nakurah, 30;/j Jane, 187".
On the 2nd June the survey of the country round Taiyebeh was
completed and camp was moved to Banias.
The road descended steeply to the Iluleh plain, here covered with
basalt rock and debris, and considerably raised above the marsh, which
commences about five miles south. After crossing the bridge over the
Nahr Hasbany, a fine torrent running in a deep gorge it has cut for
itself out of the basalt rocks, the plain appears to be studded with small
springs that bubble up everywhere, the water now running to waste, as
this portion of the plain is uncultivated ; these gradually increase as we
approach the great spring of the Nahr Leddun. Tell el Kady, the site
of Dan, is a round tell, broad and low, on the northern side, rather
steeper to the south ; it is situated a mile south of the slopes of
Hermon, and stands up prominently on the plain, marking the boundary
of the basalt. There are two springs at Tell el Kady ; one of them, the
largest in the country, starts on the west side of the tell, the other from
the centre joining the first stream immediately south of the tell, where
they form the Nahr Leddun. This is the largest source of the Jordan,
being, as far as I could judge, about twice as large as the Nahr Hasbany.
The ruins on the tell are very slight. I saw nothing but the basalt
remains of modern cattle-sheds. Two very large trees by the side of the
centre stream shade the tomb of a dog which has been turned into a
holy place under the name of the Sheikh Merzuk. It must have been
the favourite of some Arab chief.
The river rushes away south through luxuriant vegetation, irrigating
the country round ; it passes Khurbet Difnah on the east, a smaller
mound than Tell el Kady, Avith no ruins of importance, which has been
identified with Daphne. The stream then runs close alongside the Has-
bany and joins the Nahr Banias four miles south of Tell el Kady ; the
two together are then joined half a mile farther south by the Hasbany.
The ancient records always speak of ihe spring at Banias as the source
172 LIEUT, kitchener's repoets.
of the Jordan, and, though the correctness of this has been doubted,
they seem to have been quite right. "Working up the river, the Hasbany
joins the stream composed of the Nahr Leddiin and the Nahr Banias,
and as it is smaller than either of them there can be no doubt that it is
only an affluent of the Eiver Jordan ; farther up these two separate, and
then, the flow of water being nearly equal, the longer course was taken,
and the source was fixed in the romantic cave of Banias. The water
from the Leddun is much diverted for irrigation purposes in the plain,
which yields splendid crops, and some of the water is even carried into the
Nahr Banias.
From Tell el Kady to Banias the road passes through park-like
scenery, the country being thickly studded with trees, principally oak,
not very large, but very refreshing after the bare plain on the west of
the tell. After mounting a slight ridge, the village of Banias is seen
situated in a small plain at the junction of two wadies coming from the
north and east; these join in front of the town and run south. The
village is completely surrounded and shut in by trees of all sorts, and
looks remarkably green and lovely, with the castle of Subeibeh tower-
ing above it.
On approaching the village the rushing water is seen falling over
cascades, tearing through thickets, and almost hidden by creepers. The
source is to the north-east of the town, and the stream runs west till it
joins the wady from the north at the north-west angle of the town, in
which there is also a small stream ; it then rushes down a steep fall form-
ing a foaming torrent to its junction with Nahr Leddun.
A bridge crosses the stream before the town. The spring itself is a few
hundred yards east, and before reaching the bridge a great deal of the
water is diverted for irrigation and to turn mills in the town. Little
streams seem to be running in every direction, cooling the air, and
making this one of the most lovely spots in Palestine. Above the
spring there are about forty yards of stones and debris, which gradually
rise to a large cavern in the face of the rocky cliff. The roof of the
cavern has fallen in, but it shows no visible signs of artificial work. Im-
mediately to the right are the three niches for statues, two of which
have inscriptions on tablets cut in the rock ; these have been often
copied and described.
On the left of the cavern, high up on a ledge of rock, is the little
Moslem sanctuary to el Khudr, or St. George; the rock is a good deal
cut on this side to allow of buildings on the ledges, and the hill-side
seems to have been terraced, and the walls of the terraces ornamented
by small stones three inches square set diagonally in cement. A little
farther west, about 200 yards from the spring, some mosaic pavement
was found running under the roots of very largo olive-trees.
The town was naturally fortified on three sides, north and west by
the river, and south by a deep valley. On the eastern side a wall with
three large square towers was defended by a broad and deep ditch ,
which was probably flooded with water. At the noi-th-west angle
LIEUT, kitchener's keports. 173
another large square tower defended the bridge over the river and the
northern side, Avhere the river does not run so deep as on the western
side, and therefore more liable to be attacked. Surrounded by water,
and with strong towers and walls, this must have been a very strong
place in the early days of siege operations.
All the fortifications are of large drafted stones, and appear to be
Crusading work ; they probably are the remains of the citadel of the
town alluded to by William of Tyre (XX.), which resisted Noor ed
Deen's attack on the town.
The only other remains of ancient Banias are some fine granite
columns lying about, and the remains of a Eoman aqueduct running
through the town, now almost buried in refuse.
The castle of Banias, Kal'at es Subeibeh, is situated on a lefty
spur IJ miles east of the town, and towers nearly 1,500 feet above
it. It is the finest ruined castle I have seen in the country, measur-
ing 1,450 feet from east to west, by an average of oUO feet north
and south. Deep valleys defend it on the north and south ; on the
west there is a rock-cut ditch, and the end of the spur falls steeply
away from it; on the east, the only approachable side, it is difficult
of access, as the rocks rise steeply from the narrow ridge to the
castle. The walls are defended by round towers, and are built of
drafted stones* with the bosses left rough, having a good many
masons' marks. There seems to have been an earlier tower at the
north-west angle, built of much larger stones, with the faces ham-
mer-dressed, and without masons' marks. Some of the stones are
double drafted ; in this i^ortion there are the remains of an un-
doubted pointed arch, thus limiting the date of the most ancient
portion.
In the interior the rock rises to nearly the level of the top of the
round towers, and at the eastern end is a massive keep. A good many
chambers are still perfect. The Saracenic repairs seem not to have lasted
as well as the ruins themsQlves, and, except the inscriptions cut on more
ancient work, they have almost totally disappeared. The earliest of
these dates from 625 A.ii., and details how Melek el Azis Mm-ad ed Din,
nephew of Saladin, rebuilt the eastern portion of the fortress. There are
several others of nearly the same date, relating how different kings and
sultans restored or rebuilt portions of the walls. The castlo is well
supplied with water in very large cisterns. A special plan and photographs
of the castle were made. On the 11th camp was moved to Mahrakah, a
village on the highland of Pha?nicia, about two hours east of Tyre. The
road led across the deep "Wady el Hajeir, in which there is a fine spring,
and past Kal'at Marun, a modern Saracenic castlo, toMahi-akah, which is
situated on the top of a ridge. The rocks of this district are composed
of white chalky limestone, and the valleys are deep and difficult to
cross. The country is thickly covered with villages, but, except just
round them, is bare of trees, and has a very barren appearance. A re-
markable feature is the number of olive-presses ; they occur on almost
P
174 LIEUT, kitchener's reports.
every top, and are different to the more southern ones. Two square
pillars of stone stand side by side about five feet high, with a slit cut in
each of them, and by them is the circular stone press about four feet in
diameter. Occasionally the round stone is also there that crushed the
olives by being rolled round the press. The stone pillars, which do not
occur in other parts of the country, were evidently to hold up the rolling
stone, and the centre of the press is always raised slightly to receive the
framework to which the roller was attached. They have a very ancient
appearance, and as these pillars stand up very distinctly all over the
country they look like ancient landmarks. The steep hills are almost all
terraced, and there are a great number of ruins, showing that the ancient
population of this part must have been very great. No remains of im-
portance were found ; all the ruins are simply heaps of stones with door-
posts and lintels of stone. Some rude figures cut in the rock occur at
different places ; they are of the rudest description, occasionally only a
parallelogram with a small circle for the head, which is pierced for eyes,
mouth, &c. Others are better finished, and show portions of the dress.
They occur on the face of the rock generally near tombs. Another
feature in this jiart of the country are the large number of sarcophagi,
which occur all over the country, some on pedestals, some lying on the
ground. The grandest remaining is the tomb of Hiram, though I think
there must have been formerly many equally magnificent, though now
ruined. A very good view of this tomb is given by Dr. Tristram. The
sarcophagus measures twelve feet long by six feet high, and the largest
portion of the pedestal, which projects at five feet above the ground,
is fourteen feet two inches long by nine feet nine inches broad.
On the north side stejis lead down to a small rectangular rock-
hewn chamber; it was arched above and was full of water. This, and
many places in the country round, I was told, were excavated by the
French. Some enthusiastic Freemason has left a badly- scratched repre-
sentation of the crossed triangles on the tomb. Tyre has been so often
and so thoroughly described that I shall not attempt a description in
this month's report ; next month I hope to spend a few days there to
plan and photograph the cathedral. I was much struck with the
enormous monolithic columns of red granite which had been used in
that building ; they have evidently been taken from some ancient temple,
and two of them are perfect double columns, as in the Jewish synagogues.
If these wore taken from an ancient temple, not a synagogue, it would
appear that the Jews imitated those ancient buildings, and would
account for the double columns at Belat, which may have been a copy
of the more magnificent temple at Tyre.
Our next camp was at Nukurah, which we reached on the 22nd. Here
we closed the triangulation of the north, the point on Eas en Nakurah
being our last station. The country round this camp is principally
limestone hUls covered with small scrub and bushes. The roads are very
bad. There are two large Christian villages in the neighbourhood. Alma
and Bussa ; the latter is situated on the south side of the Ras en Nakurah,
LIEUT, kitchener's keports. 17
and contains from 1,200 to l,oOO inhabitants. The former is on the top
of the hills, and shows by its superior cultivation that these bare hills
might be made very j)roductive. The country east of Alma is princi-
pally given up to the Arabs of the Haramsheh and Khletat tribes. Some
members of the former are active thieves. Not long ago an Englishman
was robbed on the road to Tyre, a little north of the Ras en Nakurah,
and there are continual tales of robbery and murder in this district.
North of our camp on a high top is Kal'at Shem'a, only 140 years old,
and uninteresting except from its fine position. This country, which
looks so bare and uninviting, was once covered with villages, the ruins of
which occur on almost every top. Nothing of interest was discovered at
any of them. They are mostly merely heaps of stones, with traces of
foundations and cisterns. Some of them have a few pillars and tombs.
At Kh. Umm el 'Amud there are a good many columns and other traces
of an ancient temple ; there are also remains of an ancient mosaic pave-
ment and a good many olive-presses. The French have excavated here.
The road from Tyre to Akka shows a large amount of ancient paving,
pai'ticularly so after passing the white promontory Eas el Abiad. An in-
teresting inscription was discovered at the 'Ain at Nakurah. giving an
account of the mending and enlarging of this road. Unfortunately, the
name of the king is cutout. The inscription reads : " He has given the order
to make the road broader and to build the walls of it between Akka and
Tyre. By the virtue of God, our King, his Highness, the Great Sherrif
(name broken). The Victorious (broken), He is great and high and
pure. This inscription was written in the year seventy and eight hun-
dred." The year 870 of the Hejira would be 1294 A.D., and at that time
there reigned over Egypt and Palestine edh, Dhahr Khushukdum, one
of the Memluk julers : he reigned 7J years and died in 1296, The
inscription is probably due to him. I made an expedition by sea to the
end of the Ras en Nakurah, in order to see an inscription I was told
existed on the face of the rock. There was nothing but a few natural
marks in the rocks, which looked something lilte letters. I expect the
boatmen have started the delusion in order to get travellers to hire their
boats.
One of the most remarkable monuments of antiquity in the country is
a solitary column that stands upon the low hills forming the eastern
edge of the Akka plain, immediately north of the entrance of Wady Kurn ;
it is called Khurbet Hamsiu. Three courses of large stones form a
pedestal 11 feet by 10 feet and 9 feet high. A deep moulding runs
round it near the top, almost entirely worn away by the weather. The
column is composed of 11 cii-cular discs 2 feet 10 inches high, and
is 17 feet in circumference. It does not stand on the centre of the
pedestal, being only one foot from the eastern edge. The total height of
the monument is 40 feet ; around it are a few ruins with some small
columns and a few old olive-presses.
The amount surveyed up to the end of the month is ?70 square
miles.
*176 LIEUT, kixchexer's reports.
I hope to finisli the survey of the north about the luth of next
month.
There is very little information in the country of how the war is really
going on, though there are a great many rumours started without founda-
tion. All regular troops have now left the country for the seat of war.
The Bedouins of the Beni Sakr tribe liave taken advantage of this, and
are now in the ghor under their chief, Fendy el F'ais. They muster about
4,000 spears. Their raids ai-e quite unopposed by the authorities, and I
hear they are demanding the Khowy or Arab tax from the fellahin.
Fendy el F'ais, I am told, took £300 from Tiberias on this i^lea a short
time ago.
VI.
Camp at Aleih, August 14, 1877.
On the second of the month camp was moved to Yanueh, a small
village situated on the brow of the hills east of Akka. We were here
1,500 feet above our last camp at Nakurah, and consequently in a much
pleasanter climate. The view over the whole of the Akka plain, bounded
by Carmel and Eas en Nakurah, Avas veiy fine. Unfortunately two of
our baggage camels fell on the road up the hills, and one of them died ;
the mules had, therefore, to make a second journey, and it was 2 a.m.
before we got all our things safely into camp. Nothing of importance
was broken. The country round our camp was principally composed
of rocky hills, covered with small scrub and brushwood, only used as.
pasturage for goats. The cultivation occurs in patches near the
villages, and large tracts of country lie waste Avhich were probably once
covered with vineyards.
The work from here was entirely surrounded by surveyed country,
which made our progress more rapid. In the ten daj's we finished 140
square miles. The heat was very great in the low portions of the
work, and the want of roads and diiSculty in finding and examining
ruins in the thick brushwood made it more tiring and took up a good
deal of time.
The principal ruin of importance is the Kal'at el Kurein ; in the
Crusading times this was the Chateau de Montfort, and previous to its
history under that name there appear to be no records of its existence.
It is situated on a spur from the hills forming the southern bank of the
Wady el Kurn, and is about 560 feet above the river in the valley below.
The slopes fi-om the sharp ridge on which the castle was placed
descend very steeply on the north and east to the river, which here
forms a bend on the west to a valley running into Wady el Kurn, and
on the south it is cut off from the hills by an artificial ditch, Avhich also
formed the quarry where the s^jlendid stones used in the construction
of the building were excavated.
The ridge was not cut away to receive the castle, the outer walls were
built some little way down the slope, the same as in several other
LIEUT, kitchenek's eepokts. 177
Crusading castles in this country, such as Belfort and Subeibeh. Thus
a solid building was formed, the core being of natural rook ; in this
enormous cisterns were excavated, and on it the upper stories of the
building rested firmly. The walls were all built with great care of large
well-dressed stones, drafted on the outside, and with their faces smooth-
dressed ; the interior work was not drafted. These walls closely re-
semble the earliest portion of the masonry at Kul'at Subeibeh, and
have been assigned to Phoenician origin, principally on account of the
splendid size of the stones employed, and from the drafting and dress-
ing, which resembles the Herodian work at Jerusalem. In both cases,
however, there are undoubted remains of pointed arches, which seem
to prove that the art of building had not degenerated in more modern
times.
At the south-west angle one of the lower courses overlaps the
coui'ses below ; it seems to have been thus constructed either to pre-
vent scaling or to increase the size of the platform above ; it seems to
me to be a great defect in the defences of the castle, as it would form
an easy lodgment from which the walls might be undermined, and
unless carried up in successive courses^much higher, of which there is
no proof, would have been easily surmounted by a scaling party.
On the northern side of the castle a large octagonal pillar remains,
which probably formed a part of the chapel of the castle. The
dimensions of the castle were 570 feet long, north and south, by from
84 to 125 feet broad. The remains are now unfortunately only
slight, and are mixed up with Saracenic work of j)robably the time
of Dhahr el Amr.
In the valley below there is a fine spring besides the stream of running
water ; there are also the remains of an ancient bridge, Avhich probably
carried an aqueduct over the river to drive a mill immediately below the
•castle. The position is a fine one, and the castle must have been of
great strength.
Photographs and a special plan were made of the ruins.
M'alia is another Crusading site 2^, miles south-east of Kal'at Kurein ;
it was called Chateau du Roi. No traces of the ancient buildings now
remain in situ, but there are a large number of di'afted stones with
bosses left rough built into modern walls and lying about.
A modern Christian village now occupies the place ; it is situated on
a round space, forming the south-east corner of two ranges of hills
coming from the north and west, and rises steeply from the broad valley ;
•on the south it is slightly detached from the hills by small valleys.
In the south-eastern portion of our work from this camp a large
number of Druses are settled in one of their villages, el Bukoiah; there are
also some Jewish families who till the ground. They state that their land
has been handed down from generation to generation for a groat number
of years. I believe these are the only Jews who own and till land in
this country. It is cui-ious that they should thus appear close by where
we find so many ruins of their ancient synagogues.
178 NOTES FROM THE MEMOIR.
One mile and a half west of our camp is the Kal'at Jiddin, built in
the time of Dhahr el Amr, who ruled this country as an independent
chieftain. The castle from a distance has an imposing appearance, but
on close inspection it is found to be a badly constructed pile of buildings
without interest and rapidly falling to ruin. It is quite unoccupied,
though there are several chambers and vaults that could serve as habita-
tions. The coimtry round is given up to the Arabs, except close round
some small hamlets, where a few crops are grown.
On the 10th Jidy the survey of the north was finished, containing
1,000 square miles of country; 2,773 names have been collected, and 476
ruins have been visited and described, some with special plans. All the
villages have also been described with regard to the number and religion
of inhabitants, the remains of ancient buildings, and the nature of the
country round, &c., &c.
The water-supply of the country has also in all cases been specially
described.
The whole country has been hill-shaded ; the altitudes of a great
number of points have been obtained by aneroid readings besides the
observed heights.
Special notes have been taken on the geology, archaeology, &c., of the
country.
The line of levels connecting the Mediterranean and the Sea of Galilee
was completed on the 24th March,
Photographs have been taken of the more interesting sites in the
country.
On the 11th, camp was moved to Haifa, and after four days' arranging
stores, &c., we marched up the coast to Aleih, where Mr. Eldridge,
H.B.M's. Consul-General, has his summer residence. The journey was
very trying from the intense heat. Office work was at once started, a
room in a ruined house close to our tents being all we required.
I hope early in September to be at woi-k in the south, the only portion
now remaining to complete the Survey of Palestine.
H. H. Kitchener, Lieut. R.E.,
Commanding Palestine Survei/.
NOTES FEOM THE MEMOIR.
Zion. — In a former paper I noticed the occurrence of this name at
some distance west of Jerulalem. I may perhaps be allowed to cite
some of the passages tending to suj)port my \'iew that Zion is to be
taken as a district name, like " Mount Ephraini." From 2 Chron. xxxiii,
14, and xxii. 30, we gather that Hezekiah's aqueduct Avas brought to
the west side of the City of David from Gihon, which was the Virgin's
Pool, according to the Jews, the Lower Gihon being Siloam in the
KOTES FROM THE MEMOIR. IT'J
Targiims (see Qmrtcrhi statement, July, 1877, p. 141). Thus tlie city of
David, in this case, is Ophel. From 2 Chron. v. 2 we learn that the city
of David was Zion. But Millo (A/cpo) was also in the City of David, and
this extends the names to the lower city. Again, the Temple was on
Zion (1 Maceab. iv. 36-39) ; and, lastly, the " stronghold of Zion''^ (or
" movmtain fortress," as the word may be rendered, 2 Chron. xxxii. 5 ;
2 Sam. v. 8 ; 1 Chron. xi. 7) was in the City of David, and is called by
Josephus the Citadel, as distinguished from the Lower City (Ant. vii.
3, 1). This seems to point to the Upper City of Josephus, the modern
Zion.
It seems, then, that not only is Mount Zion used in the poetical books
in a general sense, but that the terms, City of David (which means Jeru-
salem in general, according to Josephus) and Zion were applied to Ophel,
to Moriah, to Millo or Acra, and to the Upper City. Thus we may
naturally suppose it to be a general title applicable to the site of Jeru-
salem and to the hills round among which the same name, " Sunny
Mountain," still lingers.
The question where the early Christians and Crusaders placed Zion is
distinct. Besides the notices of Jerome and the Bourdeaux pilgrim,
which refer apparently to the modern Zion, we have the following,
Arculphus (700 A.D.) places the Gate of David on the west of Zion : this
is shown as the present Jaffa Gate on all the old charts. The city did
not, according to him, cover the southern part of Zion, which is now
outside the walls. The ground north and east was lower, as is the case
with the present Zion. Aceldama {Hak ed Dumra) was south of Zion,
and the Church of the Last Supper was on Zion. St. Bernard, in 867,
mentions the Chapel of Peter in Gallicante (the place where he hid when
the cock crew) as towards the east of Zion. This vault is still shown
on the modern Zion.
Scewulf, in 1102, places this chapel outside the city wall, on the slope
of Zion, and all later chroniclers and the Crusading maps give the same
position to the hill and its two churches.
From the fourth centru-y downwards Zion has thus apparently been
localised in its present position, that of the "Upper City" of Josephus.
Synagogues.— The synagogues as yet visited and described have been
in Upper Galilee, and wore principally built about 120 A.D., according
to Jewish accounts, as I have before pointed out. At this period the
Jews were beginning to gather in Galilee, and the Sanhedrim had its
seat at SJiefa 'Amr and Osheh {Htisheh). It might be expected that
some synagogues would occur near these places, as also farther south —
the Jews inhabiting Haifa and Caesarea to a late period. There is
a ruin called Taigibeh, near Shefa 'Amr, at which occurs one of those
curious double columns distinctive of the corners of the colonnades to
synagogues in Galilee. Excavations among the heaps of hewn stones
here might, perhaps, bring another synagogue to light. On Carmel,
also, is a ruin called Khurhet Senimaka, or the "ruin of the Sumach
tree." Here I found, in 1873, a cauple of lintels and a part of a
180 NOTES FROM THE MEMOIE.
colonnade. The larger lintel belonged to the eastern door, and is still
in situ with its jambs. The mouldings which are carried back so as to
form a sort of T head, resemble those of the lintel at Meirun and at
Kefr Birim. The pillars are about the usual dimensions of the pillars in
the synagogues, and the lintels about the usual size. The second lintel
has two lions carved on it mth a cup between, as at the synagogue of
TJmm el ^ Avied.
Carmel. — The scene of Elijah's sacrifice on Carmel is noticed, and
the history of the convent, taken from the records and recollections of
the oldest monks, is given in full. The statistics of the German colony
will also be found in section D, with many traditions collected from
the natives. Gotapata and Khtirbet Kana are also noticed in detail,
and the site of Sycaminon at Tdl cs Semak.
'AtJdit.—A full account of the beautiful fortress of 'Athlil (Castel Pele-
grino), built by the Templars in 121S, is given, and also of the older ad-
vanced post of Detroit, now called Dustrey. A very important observation
was made at 'Athlit : the masonry is all drafted and in situ, whence it has
been supposed to be earlier work than the Crusading erections, but the
posterns of the towers have pointed arches, in drafted masonry, identical
with that of the walls, showing that here, as at Kaukab el Hawa, the
Crusaders cut their own stones and drafted them. The synagogue (as it
appears to be) on Carmel is described, and the important necropolis
at Sheikh Abreik. Last, but not least, the ruined aqueduct to Sej)-
phoris, and the construction of the tower above that town, partly
crusading, partly eighteenth century work. In section D, the history
of the famous native family of the Zeidamyin is given, as taken from
the lips of the last survivor of the race.
Samaria. — The extent of Samaria on the north differed at various
times. It is doubtful if the plain of Sharon belonged to Judea or to
Samaria, for Csesarea was inhabited by both Jews and Samaritans.
A yearly feast was held in commemoration of Bethshean being taken
by the Jews from the Samaritans. There are two indications of border
Samaritan towns on the north, which are, perhaps, of value : 1st.
Khurhet es Samrvjch, "ruin of Samaritans," just south of Bethshean.
2nd. Ke/r es Sanur, "village of Samaritans," called by the Jews
Castra, and said by them to be the seat of heretics. This is the place
known later as Calamon.
The Feast of Shiloh (Judg. xxi. 21). — Some memory of the locality of
this feast may perhaps be retained in the name 3IerJ el 'Aid, "meadow
of the feast," applying to the plain south of Shiloh.
Elijah'' s Fountain. — Another instance of an imperfectly preserved word
occurs in this case, for the valley in which this spring, now called 'Ain
es Sth (" sjiring of gathering of water") exists, is called by the natives
ytshliil el Haiijeh, "waterfalls of the snake," i^robably corrupted from
FAiha, or Elijah.
Neoij Laivih. — This names applies to a Mukam below Silct ed Dhahr,
north-west of Nablus. The word means " Lcvite," and it is curious to
NOTES I'ROM THE MEMOIK
181
observe that it is applied by the Saniaritans to Sanballat the Horonite,
who was, according to them, the head of the House of Levi.
TaricJuva. — Lieutenant Kitchener mentions this as, perhaps, near
Mejdel, north of Tiberias. There is, however, in Pliny, a passage, as
follows : —
"On the east Julias and Hippos, on the south Tarichsea, by which
name the lake also was formerly called, on the west Tiberias" (Eel.
Pal., p. 440).
Tarichsea must therefore be sought on the shore of the Sea of Galilee,
thirty stadia south of Tiberias.
McKjdiel was a place five Eoman miles north of Dor {Khiirhet Tanturah),
noticed in the Onomasticon. The distance brings us to an important
ruined site now called Met I hah,
Biri is a town noticed in the Talmud (Tal. Jer. Pesachim iv. 1) as
near Kabul. This points to Berweh, but the identification is omitted by
IN'eubauer.
Tor'an. — This name is applied to a mountain and village in Galilee.
It seems to have no Arabic meaning. It may, it is suggested, be the
old French word Turon, used by the Crusaders, as in the castle of that
name and the mount east of Acre, also so called by them ; the meaning
is given by Eey, speaking of the Castle of Toron, as signifying an
isolated hill, such as Jebel Tor an is. Here probably we have another
Crusading Avord to which we may add perhaps the next.
Kustul. —This is the name of a well-lmown village near Jerusalem,
and there is another called Kastlleh or Kmtlnelt, which has probably the
same origin. The word suggests the Latin Castellum ; but at Seffurieh
the gardens and mills round the great spring about a mile south are
called Kmtul Sefffcrich. Perhaps a better derivation is from the Crusad-
ing word Casale, also derived from the Latin, but applied, according to
William of Tyre, to country villages, and used by the thirteenth
century writers of places not defended by walls.
Boche Taille was the name of the present river Falik ; the Arabic, it
may be noted, has the same meaning.
Deklebeh is the name of a mountain. It has, apparently, no Arabic
meaning, but in Aramaic it means a " watchtower." On the top of the
mountain an ancient watchtower exists.
Siirdr. — A good instance of the peculiarities of the peasant language
is furnished by this word. A native of Beyrout called on me, and I
asked him if he knew what the word meant. Though an educated man,
he could not tell, but Mr. Bergheim, who lives among the peasantry,
informs me that it means " pebbles." Thus the word, unknown to the
townsmen, but retained amongst the peasantry, is the Hebrew Tzerur,
"a pebble."
Fur 71,. — This word means in modern language " an oven," but it is
applied to various large mounds throughout the country, and in especial
to one near Beisan. It seems to be a corruption of the Aramaic Pharan,
a royal house like a basilica," according to Buxtorf. This
182 NOTES FEOM XUE MEMOIR.
is striking, because in the case mentioned above, Jerome [Ep. ad Ecang.)
states that the ruins of the palace of Melchisedec were to be seen near
Scythopolis, or Beisan.
B'dearii and Ihlcani are often supposed to be the same towns, but the
first appears to have been towards the west of the territory of Manasseh
(1 Chron. vi. 70), and may very well be BeVa, near the plain. This does
not suit the requirements of Ibleam. If that town be near " the garden
hoiisc," which is generally supposed to be Ji^nia (2 Kings ix. 27), then
Mr. Drake's identification with BcVameh, a ruin in the valley beyond
Jenin, is most satisfactory. It is, however, worth notice, that the name
"garden house" (Beth-hag-bon) is preserved in Belt Jenn, north of
Jezreel, and that a Bd'cnneh exists in this direction also.
Jesiianah. — I am happy to support M. Ganneau's identification with
the modern 'Ain Sinia, p. 20j. Before the publication of this suggestion,
the same identification had been independently communicated by me to
the Fund.
Joshua's Tomh. — It is certain that the modern Tibneh represents the
site supposed by Jerome to be Joshua's tomb. He speaks of the place
as on the road from Lydda to Jerusalem, and the tomb as still shown.
The name of the sacred tree, ShciJih ct Teim, may perhaps preserve the
memory of the " servant of God ; " but the Jews have always held Kefr
Haris, south of Nablus, to be Timnath Heres, and their traditions gene-
rally prove the most reliable. In this case, Nehy Kifl (" the apportion-
ing prophet ") must represent the tomb of Joshua, though, as in the
case of Joseph's tomb, the building is modern.
The neighbourhood of Chasteau Peleriii is minutely described in the
tract called " Citez de Jherusalom" (1187 a.d.)
The monastery of St. Margaret is here noticed as on the side of
Carmel, near the place where Elijah used to live. This appears to be
the ruined Deii', south of the promontory by Elijah's spring. A league
and a half away were habitations of Carmelite hermits, in the side of
the mountain by springs. Between St. Margaret and these places was
a place above the sea called Anne, where the nails Avere made for the
cross. In front of the hermits' habitations was a place called St. John,
of Tyre ; in front of Chasteau Pelerin, not far off, was Capharnaon,
where the forty marks were struck for which Christ was sold.
This curious piece of topography is explained by the Survey. St.
Margaret had a rock- cut chapel and a Greek monastery : this points to
cd Dtir, where such a rock-cut chapel exists. There are caves and ruins
with water east of Chasteaii Pelerin {'AthlU), south of ed Dier, eight
miles by Wddy en Neb'a, *' valley of the perennial spring." Just in
front of them is a Mukam of Sheikh Yahyah, the native name for " John
the Baptist," facing 'Athlit. Capharnaon I liave shown in former
papers is the modern Kefr Lam, according to the distance given by
Benjamin of Tudela from Haifa.
In this case the place called Anne, on a hill above the sea, must be
'Ain Hand, "spring of the trough," sometimes called el 'Aiu only. It
NOTES 1-EOiI THE MEMOIR. 183
lies between the two places just mentioned— ed Deir and Wady en Neb'ti
— on the top of a spur above the sea.
St. John of Tyre was so called because Chasteau Pelerin was supposed
to be Ancient Tyre by the Crusaders. The reason for this identification
it is very difficult to imagine, but it may perhaps have arisen from the-
name Tireli belonging to a neighbouring village owning extensive
lands — a name very easily confounded with " Tire,'" as the word is spelt
in ancient chronicles.
Scarioth. — The native town of Judas was shown to the Crusaders ten
miles from Ctesarea to the east (Fetellus). It seems to have been on
the road leading to Porphyreon (Haifa) by Cairn Mons, or "Mount
Cain " {Keimun), where Lamech was said to have killed Cain. On this
road, twelve English miles from the shore at Cassarea, is a well with
ruins called ^16it ,S7ioA7-a, "father of red colour." This very probably
preserves the tradition, being in the right direction east of Cjesarea.
The Nomenclature.— The following arc the lists compared by me in
arranging the nomenclature : —
1st. The Survey Lists, corrected byNaaman Kasatly^ the scribe
of the party.
2nd. Official Turkish lists for the provinces of Jerusalem and
Acre, furnished by Consul Moore in 1875, containing all the
villages and many ruins.
3rd. Lists of Nablus and Acre provinces, furnished by Consul
Rogers in 1859, with the population of the villages and towns,
and the cultivation and taxes.
4th. A list for Northern Palestine, furnished by the Rev. J,
Zeller, of Nazareth, including ruins and villages.
5th. A similar list near Nablus, furnished by Rev. J. Elkarey,
of Nablus.
6th. Robinson's lists.
7th. A list of the possessions of the family of Zeiddn, furnished
by the last liviug member, 162 villages and ruins in Galilee.
From the comparison of aU these lists a great amount of certainty as
to spelling is obtained, as they are aU in Arabic characters.
The lexicons used in translation were : —
1st. Lane's Arabic Lexicon.
2nd. Freytag's Latin and Arabic Lexicon.
3rd. Newman's English and Arabic Lexicon.
4th. Katafago's English and Arabic Lexicon.
5th. Gesenius's English and Hebrew Lexicon.
6th. Buxtorf's Chaldee and Latin Lexicon.
The number of standard works which I have abstracted for use in the
memoir to the map is now over fifty, according to the list. Nearly one-
third of the Memoir is now completed. ri t» n
C R. C
184
BETHANY BEYOND JOEDAN.
" It is generally admitted by Biblical critics," writes tbe author of
the article entitled, The Autliorship of the Fourth Gospel {Edinburgh
Bevieiv, January, 1877), "that the true reading of chap. i. 28 (St. John's
Gospel) is Bethany, not Bethabai-a."
The Sinaitic Codex with the Yatican and Alexandrine reads Bethania
[fin^avia), and Origen states that in his time (186-253 A.D.) most of the
ancient manuscripts had this reading (in Evan Johannis, tom. "vdii.).
He, however, adopted the reading Bethabara. " For Jordan is far off
from Bethany," and Chrysostom (347-407 A.D.), though mentioning the
reading Bethania, prefers the now accepted Bethabara. Jerome follows
in the same steps, and speaks of Bethabara only.
The objection made by Origen is the same which has lately been
urged by the author of " Supernatural Eeligion," who points out the
probability that Bethania is the true reading, and that while this cannot
refer to the town of Lazarus, it "is scarcely possible that there could
have been a second village of the name " (vol. ii., p. 420). He farther
states that the place in question "is utterly unkno"\\Ti now."
That Bethania, if the true reading, has no connection with the village
near Jerusalem, is clearly evident from the Fourth Gospel, as the posi-
tion of that place is defined (chap, xi., verse 18).
" Now Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off."
The place in question " beyond Jordan" is therefore not in any way
connected -\\-ith this village, for " beyond Jordan" is applied in the Old
and New Testament, and in the Talmud, to the third division of the
Holy Land, called in the Mishma (Shevith ix. 2) Perea, the limits of
which are fixed with great exactitude by the Eabbinical commentators.*
To show that Bethany beyond Jordan is a well known title, and that
this reading is quite reconcileable Avith the other reading Bethabara,
seems to me a point of considerable interest, as materially strengthening
the argument of the topographical correctness of the Fourth Gospel, the
geography of which has been lately subjected to severe criticism, though
not by authors very well acquainted with the subject.
The Edinburgh reviewer points to the identification of Bethany beyond
Jordan with a certain Tell Aniliji, as proposed by Dr. Caspar! (see
Ed. Rev., p. 14, note) ; but this will not be admitted by any Arabic
student as representing the word Bethania, because the H and the J
are radicals, which have no equivalents in the Greek word, and because
the name applies to a Tell east of Jordan, about twenty-one miles from
Kaua ; it has a descriptive meaning in Arabic which may be rendered "the
prominent (or conspicuous) hillock."
It is, however, quite a gratuitous assumption that Bethania is here
* The Greek title Perea has the meaning "lieyoud." The limits of Perea, or
the country "beyond Jordan" {irepav rov lopZavov), are given by Joscphus, and
agree >yith those described in the Tahmid. The title is erxuivaleut to the Hebrew
^Aler ha Yarden, "over Jordan," used in the Bible.
BETHANY BEYOND JOllOAX. 185
meant to be the name of a village or town, and the suggestion I would
make is that the writer refers to the well-known district of Batanea,
which has left traces of its name to the present day in the district called
Ard el Bethdniek "beyond Jordan."
The name Batanea occurs in the Targums and the Samaritan versions
of the Old Testament, in the writings of Josephus, Ptolemy, and
Eusebius, and the following are the indications of the position of the
district : — ■
1st. In the Targum of Jonathan (Psa. Ixviii. 23), Bothenin (jonn)
stands instead of the Hebrew Bashan, and the same change occurs in
Deut. xxxiii. 22. In the preceding chapter (xxxii. 14) the Targum of
Jerusalem reads Bathenia («"''': nn) for Bashan. The two words are,
in fact, the same, Sin and Teih being convertible in Hebrew, as they are
constantly interchanged in the language of the native peasantry, who
pronounce the The of the Arabic alphabet like Sin. The Targums there-
fore identify Batania with Bashan.
2nd. The Samaritan Pentateuch reads Batanin (("'JnD) in every in-
stance where Bashan occurs in the Hebrew.
3rd. Eusebius (Onom. s.v. /Sao-af) gives its name as existing in his day
under the form Batanaia [^aravaia), in which statement he is followed
by Jerome.
It is, therefore, important in the next place to state the limits of
Bashan, and these are approximately given in the Old Testament (Deut.
iii. 10-14 ; Josh. xii. 5). It belonged to the half tribe of Manasseh, and
was situate north of Gilead, and extended as far as Hermon. On the
east it included Salchah {Sulkhad), on the west it reached to the Arahah
or Jordan Valley (see Bib. Diet.); the name signifies "soft and level
soil" (Ar. Bathana), d.n(\. applied to the rich cornland of this district,
■where the crops are finer than in any other part of the Holy Land.
4th. The notices of Batanea in Josephus are few. The districts of
Trachonitis {el Lejah), of Gaulonitis {Jaulan), and Auranitis [Hauran)^
were within the limits of the ancient Bashan, and Batanea appears to
have been specially applied to a district south of Trachonitis and west
of Auranitis (see Eel. Pal., p. 108). The name Ard el Bethdnia now
applies rather farther east to the district of the Lejah, north of Jehel
Hauran (the hill of Bashan) ; but the position given by Josephus would
appear to include the south-western j)ortion of the kingdom of Og.
5th. Ptolemy (140 A.D.) speaks of the region of Batanea as including
Trachonitis, and gives it apparently a greater latitude of meaning, and
the same extension of the meaning, as referring to all Bashan, is deducible
from Josephus (Ant. iv. 7, 4), Avhere Golan is jjlaced in Batanea, which
thus reached to the Jordan valley (see Eel. Pal., p. 318).
6th. In the Onomasticon Batanea is made identical with Bashan, as
above noticed, and the following places are noticed as within its limits: —
1. Ashtaroth c$ Sunamein.
2. Golan in the Jauldn.
3. Gergasa on the east of the Sea of Galilee,
jgg BETHANY BEYOND JORDAN.
besides otliers of doubtful position. In addition to these, a place of some
importance to the present question must be noticed, wbicb is also placed
by the Onomasticon in Batanea— namely, Namara.
Under the head of Nemra Eusebius mentions a town as existing in
his day called Nahara, or according to another edition, Mara. The
former is more probably the correct reading, as the Latin has Namara,
but it is worthy of notice that the place is identified by Eusebius with
Nimrah, near Heshbon (Numb, xxxii. 3), and that Epiphanius (Contra
Hjeres 51, oth cent.) reads Bethamara for Bethabara (Eel. Pal. p. 627).
This town of Nabara was in Batanea according to Eusebius, and would
seem to be possibly the same which is mentioned as identical with Beth-
nimrah (Josh. xiii. 27), a town of Gad, and as being near to Livias,
which was situate in the neighbourhood of Mount Nebo. Eusebius
evidently refers to the true site of Bethnimrah, opposite Jericho, in one
case, but in the other probably to a ruin still existmg near Kancmdt,
within the limits of the modern Ard el BethaniuJt, and called Nimreh.
This T)lace is noticed in the Jerusalem Talmud as on the eastern boundary
of the "land."
The curious connection which thus apparently exists between Batanea,
Abara, and Nimrah, has led modern scholars to place the site of Bethabara
at N'imrui, in the Jordan valley, opposite Jericho (see Smith's Bible
Diet, and Murray's new Map), yet this connection is only apparent, as
the reading Abara is easily shown to be a corruption, and because the
Jordan valley site is not in Batanea as Namara was.
The general drift of the above notes tends to show that Bathania was
the well-known late appellation of the kingdom of Og, which still
existed in the fourth century, and of Avhich traces still remain. The
exact limitation of Batanea is not deducible, but Eeland, one of the
o-reatest authorities on the subject, considers the district to extend to
Jordan, and thus a town near the river could have stood within this
territory, if it were not further south than that part of the valley which
is opposite to Lower Galilee. It is impossible, however, to include the
traditional site of Bethabara, or that at Nimriii, within the limits of
Batanea.
An objection to the identification of Bethany beyond Jordan ^vith
Batanea may perhaps be founded on the long form ^n^avia, but as
has been sho^vn above, the longer form Bothenin occurs in the Targums,
and in addition to this, the use of the letter H in the Greek of Old and
New Testament is irregular. Thus in the LXX we have firjeaaHee for
Bathsheba, and Paepecpa for Bethrapha. In the New Testament Beth-
phage is spelt with the long H and also with the short E, and in the Ono-
masticon Bethshemesh and other words are given in the same way with
both.
An old objection to the topographical exactitude of the fourth gOspel
was founded on the assumption that Bethabara was near Jericho, and
that it would thus be impossible for our Lord to reach Cana of Galilee
"on the third day;" but there is no evidence beyond the tradition of
SYCAMmON, IIEPHA, POHPHYREOX, AKD CHILZON. 187
the fourth century to fix Betliabara so far south, whilst a position near
upper Galilee would both suit the narrative and allow of the reconcilia-
tion of the two readings Bethany and Bethabara.
Bethabara is commonly spoken of as the site of our Lord's baptism.
In this again we follow the fourth century tradition. From the gospel
we gather nothing beyond the fact that it was the scene of certain events
which are placed in the Gosjjel Hannonies (see Smith's Bib. Die. p. 721)
after the Temptation, and which occupied two days, seemingly consecu-
tive, whilst on the third Jesus reached Cana of Galilee.
In a former paper [Quarterly Statement, April, 1875) I called attention
to the fact that the name 'Ahnra stUl applies to the principal ford of
Jordan north of Beisan, and thus leading to Bashan or Batanea, whilst
the site is within a day's journey of the neighbourhood of Nazareth.
Against this identification all that can be urged is the tradition which
places Bethabara near Jericho. It may be said also that the name is
merely descriptive, and might apply to any other ford ; to this I can
only reply, that of more than fifty fords the names of which were col-
lected by the Survey party, not one other had any name at all approach-
ing in sound to this, and that, though doubtless descriptive, it is not a
common name in the country, as it does not reappear in the hst of 6,000
names within the limits of the Survey.
It seems difiicult to understand how the name Bethabara can have
been accei^ted by the early fathers of the church unless the site either
existed in their day, or a tradition dating as early as the middle of
the second century pointed to it as the site of the Bathania of the
Gospel. The above notes will serve at all events to show that the topo-
graphy is capable of exact explanation whichever reading be the more
authentic. Claude E. Coxder, Lieuf. E.E.
SYCAMINON, HEPHA, POEPHYEEON, AND CHILZON.
The question of the sites of the four towns above named is interest-
ing and somewhat complicated.
Haifa is noticed in the Talmud under its modern name (Gemara,
Sabbath, 26a) and by the name Cay^jhas in Crusading chronicles, such
as Geoffry de Vinsauf 1187, Scewulf 1102, Benjamin of Tudela 1160, and
Sir John Mandeville 1322 ; under this title also it is marked on Marino
Sanuto's map ^1321). The name comes from a Hebrew root meaning
" shore," and in Arabic a "mountain side," referring to its position at
the foot of Carmel by the sea. The Crusaders, however, had curious
ideas of the derivation of the title. According to some it was built by
Caiaphas, the high priest, and named from him ; others supposed a con-
nection with the name Cephas, and referred it either to the " stonyness"
of the place, or to Simon Peter, who fished there according to one account.
188 SYCAMIKON, UEPHA, PORPHYEEON, AND CHILZON.
This curious legend has probably some connection with the Crusading'
Capernaum, which was shown near the shore of the Mediterranean
farther south, at Kefr Lam.
The Crusaders further called Haifa Porphyreon, as is certain from
William of Tyre. The real town of this name, which was derived from
the purple of the Murex there caught, was eight Roman miles from
Sidon towards the north, and just south of the Eiver Tamyras {Nahr
Damur), but the Crusading idea was probably connected with their
extraordinary fancy for placing Ancient Tjtc at 'Atldit, which would
bring Porphyreon into a relative position near Haifa.
The question of Palfetyrus, or Ancient Tyre, thus becomes connected
with the present subject. This place, the original site of TjTe, was,
according to Strabo, thirty stadia south of New Tyre on the promontory ;
yet there is a passage which looks as if even in the fourth century it was
placed near Athlit, for Jerome speaks of Dor (s.v. Dornapheth, Ono-
masticon) as nine miles north of Cassarea (at Kluirhet Tantilrali) "to
those going to Tyre now deserted." The Crusaders added to their
theory the position of Porphyreon at Haifa and of Sarepta, possibly at
Surafeud, just south of 'Athlit. They also grouped the sites of Caper-
naum and Meon (the town of Xabal) close by, and the pilgrim on land-
ing was thus shown immediately sacred places, the true sites of which
were removed by days of travel.*
There is further some evidence that Sycaminon was also placed, in the
fourth century, at Haifa. Jerome, in the Onomasticon (s.v. Japthie),
identifies Haifa with Japhia of Zebulon {IT/fu, near Nazareth) and with
Sycaminon. The latter name appears as Shikmonah in the Talmud
(Mishna Demoi I.), referring to a place celebrated for its pomegranates,
and Sycaminon is also noticed by Josephus (Ant. xiii. 20) as near
Ptolemais. The derivation is supposed to be from the Sycamine iigs,
one tree of which still remains on the shore near Haifa. Sycaminon is
also noticed in two early itineraries, and its distance given from Acre
and Cpcsarea.
The fact that in the Talmud both names occur seems to indicate that
Sycaminon and Hepha were distinct places, and this leads to their
identification with the ruined sites of Haifa el ^Atika (ancient " Haifa ")
and Tell es Seiiiak ("mound of the fish"), the latter possibly a corrup-
tion of Shikmonah ; but as these two are only two miles apai't they
might easily be confounded, as identified in the Onomasticon ; in the
Crusading times we find them again distinct — -Haipha, under the name
Cayphas, whence the modern Prankish Caiffa originates, and also as
Porphyreon, Sycaminon, and Sycamazon, a bishopric under the metro-
politan of Csesarea, as early as 431 a.d.
The distance of Sycaminon from the two well-known points of Acre
* The name Tveh, aiiplied to a village near Athlit, may perhaps have some
connection with this idea.
SYCAMIKON, UEPUA, POEPHYREON, AJTD CHILZON. 18&
and Caosarea is difForeutly given by the Antonine and Jerusalem
itineraries, thus : —
AiitDuine. Jerusa'eui.
Sycaminon to Acre xxiv. r.m. xv. r.m,
,, Cajsarea .... xx. r.m. xvi. r.m.
Total area to Ciesarea 44 Roman miles 31 r.m.
The true total distance is thirty-five and a half Roman miles measur-
ing in a line, and by road thirty-nine and a half Roman miles. As
Sycaminon was close to the Carmel promontory, according to every
early account, it could not be only sixteen miles distant from Caesarea,
and a single X has evidently dropped out, which would bring the total
of the Jerusalem itinerary nearly right, thus : —
Sycaminon to Acre 15 r.m.
,, Caesarea (xxvi.) . . 26 ,,
41 r.m.
This, if the road went a little inshore of the Bay of Acre, would be
correct. In the other itinerary, on the contrary, an X seems to have
been added to the northern measurement, for Sycaminon under Carmel
near Haifa could not have been twenty-four Roman miles from Acre.
The con-ection makes the total thirty-four Roman miles, which is rather
short unless direct measurement over the Bay of Acre be supposed.
There is, however, another difficulty in the question, for Sycaminon
in the Jerusalem itinerary is placed after Calamon, three miles farther.
Now Calamon was really three miles farther on the road than Sycami-
non, and situate at Khiirbet Kefr es Sumir (see Quarterly Statement,
January, 1876, p. 20), and this would seem to make the total from Acre
to Ctesarea forty-three miles.*
The two itineraries, however, agree in placing Sycaminon fourteen to
fifteen miles from Acre, measuring along the shore, and this distance
agrees with the position of Tell es Semah, fifteen Roman miles from
Acre and three Roman miles from Calamon {Kefr es Samir) and twenty-
four and a half Roman miles from Csesarea.
The sites of Sycaminon and Haifa were thus near one another, but
separate towns, as the literature of the subject indicates, and the ruins
and names and distances point out.
The cm-ious question remaining is whether Chilzon was ever a name
applied to Haifa.
* A possible explanation of the Calamon difficulty suggests itself to me as
follows : That the Bordeaux Pilgrim crossed over Carmel to Calamon and went
north to Sycaminon. This route would fit the distances very well, as follows : —
Acre to Kefr es Samir (Calamon) 12 r. m., really Hi- r. m.
Kefr es Samir to Tell es Semak 3 ,, ,, 3 r. m.
Tell es Semak to Cajsarea 26 ,, ,, 24-^- r. rc.
This would make the Jerusalem itinerary agree with the known position of
Calamon without giving too great a total.
190 BARAK AXD SlSEllA.
The name is tliat of the Murex, and means " snail" in Hebrew (the
Arabic Hahun). It has thus the same derivation with Porphyreon, also
named from the Murex which yielded the purple. Reland supposes
a connection with the text (Canticles vii. o), "Thy head like Carmel,
and the hair of thy head like purple," as alluding to the fishery of the
Murex near Carmel. Chilzon is noticed, according to this authority, as
a town from which, as far as the ladder of Tyre, the Murex was caught,
but Neubauer supposes the word to be used only for the name of the
mollusk in the Talmud.
In another ancient itinerary the town Chilzon is noticed as distinct
from Haifa, and might be the northern or true Porphyreon. In the
Targums the Chilzon or Miu-ex is noticed as among the riches of the
tribe of Zebulon, and as "coming up into the hills" (Buxtorf). This
seems to give a clue to the real position of the place, for Zebulon did
not'possess any of the land north of Sidon where Porphyreon really
stood, but the country from Carmel to Acre, and the Belus, in and near
which the Murex is found and was caught originally.
The name still exists. It is applied to a large valley, a confluent of
the Belus, called Wudy Halziln, "the valley of the snail" (or Murex).
Here, then, if anywhere, Chilzon most likely stood, and not at Haifa, as
supposed by Eeland, if, indeed, a town of the name ever existed.
The fishery of the Murex extended from Phoenicia down to the Bay
of Acre, and along these shores the mollusk [Murex Trunculas) is still
found.
Claude E. Conder, Lieut. R.E.
BARAK AND SISERA.
Judges iv.
There are few episodes of the Old Testament history on which more
light has been thrown by the Survey discoveries than that of the famous
defeat of the Canaanites under Sisera.
The topography hitherto has been wonderfully obscure. The central
position is Tabor. Hazor, Kedesh, and Bitzaanaim have been generally
placed in Upper Galilee, over thirty miles from Tabor, whilst Megiddo
has been placed close to Taanach, fourteen miles south-west. This is
contrary to what we generally observe in the Scripture narrative, for
the places noticed in a single episode are almost always close together.
I propose to sliow how the whole scene can be laid in the neighbour-
hood of Tabor within a radius of five or six miles.
The kings of Canaan (or of the low lands) were governed by Jabin,
who lived at Hazor. They assembled at Taanach, and by the waters of
Megiddo, but the battle was api)arently not fought close to these places,
f :>r in Psalm Ixxxiii. we read that they " i^erished in Endor," and the
BARAK AND SISEllA. 191
army of Sisera was destroyed in the Kishon, which has its origin far
north of these towns.
It cannot be supposed that Barak would desert the fastnesses of
Tabor and undertake a long march of fifteen mUes over the boggy
plain to attack the Canaanites strongly placed on the slopes of the low
hills at Taanach. fieriptnro saja, " I will draiu unto thee, Sisera . . .
unto the river Kishon." And here, with the full advantage of a rush
from the high ground, Barak, like Napoleon in his battle of Tabor,
descended upon the Canaanites, who were driven into the bogs and
swamps from which the main stream of the Kishon rises, and in which
the Turks lost so many men in the later battle. It is true that an
affluent of the Kishon comes from near Taanach, but the Mujahlyeh, or
*' spring head," is under the Nazareth hills, just west of Tabor.
The notice of Endor shows that the kings in the first instance ad-
vanced from the south, and no doubt posted themselves at the foot of the
conical mountain on which Endor is placed before venturing into the
open plain south-west of Tabor. Thus the position of Megiddo at the
ruin called Mujedda, in the Jordan valley, which I proposed in a paper
•on the subject on entirely different grounds, is in accordance with this
advance. The " waters of Megiddo " must be the innumerable streams
of the broad valley of Jezreel and the springs which flow in abundance
from the mound of Mujedda.
The defeat of Sisera drove his host into the Kishon, "that river of
battles— the river Kishon " (according to Gesenius' rendering instead of
■"ancient").
This points to the identity of Harosheth of the Gentiles with el
Haratluyeh as generally accepted, and the name "wooded country" is
derived, no doubt, from the fine oak woods on the hills west of the
Kishon, towards which the Canaanites who succeeded in getting throuo-h
the swamps would have fled.
But Sisera fled away by himself to the plain Bitzaanaim, which was
in the neighbourhood of that Kedesh where Barak had gathered his
men before advancing to Tabor.
Barak was of the tribe of Naphtali, and this has directed attention to
Kedes (Kadesh Naphtali) and the great plain near it. We must then
suppose Sisera to have fled for thirty miles, over mountains 4,000 feet
high, through the most difficult country in Palestine. We must
suppose Barak to have marched down from these hills to the plain, and
then back again to Hazor, over the waters of Merom, according to
Josephus.
There is, however, a far simpler explanation. There is a Kedesh on
the shores of the Sea of Galilee, only some sixteen miles from Tabor, a
place appropriate for a gathering of the tribes and within the bounds'of
Naphtali, as that tribe held all the country east of Tabor. And between
this Kedesh and Tabor there is a broad plain, and in it a place called
Jlesstim, a word radically identical with the name Bitzaanaim, and close
to the towns of Adami {ed Dumeh) andNekeb {NaVih), which are noticed
in the Book of Joshua (xix. 33) in connection with Bitzaanaim.
192 MEETING OF GENERAL COMMITTEE.
Thus the whole of Sisera's flight is reduced to the far more probable-
distance of five or six miles from the scene of his defeat — a distance
possible for the powers of a man so exhausted as Sisera was, and is
directed in a lino just opposite to that of the pursuit of his army
towards Harosheth. It may be added that the name Bitzaanaim has
not been recovered in the old supposed position, and does not occur in
any other part of Palestine.
Much might be added in illustration of this episode with regard to the
storm, the meteor shower, the butter given by Jael, the hammer and
nail, and the alleged reasons, according to the Jews, for the murder:
but this paper is intended to point out only the probable topography
of the account. C. E. C.
MEETING OF GENEEAL COMMITTEE.
The Annual Meeting of the General Committee was held at the office
of the Fund on Tuesday, July 17th, the Eev. Dr. Joseph Barclay in the
chair.
1. The minutes of the last meeting were read and confirmed.
2. The following Eeport of the Executive Committee was then read : —
' ' The Executive Committee have, on resigning the trust committed to
them on June 26th, 1876, to render an account of their administration
and work during the past twelve months.
1. On then- first sitting Mr. W. Hepworth Dixon was elected Chairman
for the year.
2. The number of meetings held during the year has been twenty-four.
There have also been meetings of the Publication Cominittee, the Finance
Committee, and various sub-committees, specially appointed from time
to time, to investigate and report on matters of importance as they
occurred.
3. The exploration work of the year divides itself into two portions —
the field work, and that of drawing the map, calculating the observations,
and preparing the memoirs. From June to January the whole strength
of the Eoyal Engineers in the service of the Committee was employed on
the latter branch of work, two oflicers and five non-commissioned
officers being engaged upon the map in an office taken for them for this
purpose. The result is tha.t out of twenty-six sheets, twenty are so far
advanced that, were it not for a few points of difficulty which must be
answered by re- examination of the ground, they might be put into an
engraver's hands at once. As regards the memoirs, which are the special
work of Lieutenant Conder, the last report of progress shows that the
whole of the names collected by Lieutenant Conder for the map— 6,000
m number — have been translated, compared wth the official lists and
those of Eogors, Eobinson, Zeller, and others, and the translation has
^»een completed as far as possible. This very important part of the
MEETING OF OEXERAL COMMITTEE. 193
Avork will be carefully examined beforci publication by tbe best Arabic
scholars.
The memoirs of three of the sheets (Nos. lo, 10, and 18) have been
■completed, and two more (viz., 7 and 9) only have to be rearranged in
accordance with the modified plan of the editors.
The greater part of the indexes of the remaining sheets have been
mtide.
At the beginning of the year the Committee thought themselves
justified in sending out Lieutenant Kitchener with a party of three non-
commissioned officers to complete the survey of Western Palestine. There
remained, as was estimated, about 1,200 square miles in northern Pales-
tine, and 200 in the south. Lieutenant Kitchener's letters have reported
steady and uninterrupted progress. In his last letter he estimated that
ihe Avork would be finished in the north by the end of July. By a tele-
gram which reached the Chairman on Saturday last, the Committee
receive the gratifying intelligence that the whole of the northern portion,
which appears to consist of 1,000 square miles, or 200 less than was
estimated, has been now completed.
There remain, therefore, only the 200 square miles in the south and
the examination of certain points in the country to clear up the diffi-
culties mentioned above.
The Committee take this opportmiity of expressing their high sense
of Lieutenant Kitchener's ability and zeal. He has conducted the work
ior six months v/ithout any accidents diu-ing a period of suspicion and
excitement. His reports, which are in the hands of the General Com-
mittee, are careful and intelligent, and his monthly accounts show due
regard to economy. He has hitherto managed to conduct the Survey
for a monthly sum less than that which the Committee gave him as a
maximum. It is hoped that he will return to England in the autumn,
bringing his work with him, after which the Committee recommend that
no time will be lost in arranging and working up the detail, with a view
to the early publication of the map and its accompanying memoirs.
This map, when produced, will, the Committee may fairly promise,
fully justify the work and expenditure of the last five years, and will
form by far the most important contribution ever yet made to the know-
ledge of the lands of the Bible.
4. The income of the Fund from June 30th, 187G, to Juno oOth, 1877,
was £3,709 14s. Id. The classified expenditure during the same period
was as follows : — Exploration account, £2,399 12s. Sd. ; Printers,
£317 12s. -Id. ; Loan repaid to Treasurer, £100 ; Postage, £80 18s. lOd. ;
paid to Photographer, £109 7s. 9d. ; Office, Eent, Salaries, and Advertis-
ing, £049 los. od. The balance in hand on June 30th was £398 Os. 4d.
The Committee, on considerations of general policy, have decided on
abandoning their claim to the rest of the damages awarded for the Safed
outrage. They have received from Consul- General Eldridgo the sum of
£262 12s. od., representing an amount of £270, less exchange.
o. Several new Local Societies have been formed in Australia and
194 MEETIXG OF GEXEllAL COMMITTEE.
New Zealand throuf^li the exertions of Mr. H. W. Fry, to whom the best
thanks of the Committee are due.
6. The holding of drawing-room meetings continues to be carried on
by Mrs. Finn, and the best thanks of the Committee are due to those
ladies who have held meetings.
7. The publication of the Quarterly statement has been under the con-
sideration of the Committee. It has been proposed to make certain
changes in the contents of the periodical, which shall tend to make it
more generally interesting. The matter has been referred to a sub-
committee, consisting of the Chairman and one of the Hon. Secretaries,
who will report and recommend what, if any, change is to be made.
The Executive Committee recommend that powers be granted from the
General Committee to adopt such improvements in the management of
the Quarterly Statement as, on consideration, they may find best suited
to serve the interests of the Fund.
8. The Committee have undertaken to examine and restore to its
proper use, so far as may be found practicable, the interesting site of
Jacob's "Well. For this purpose £100 has been given by Miss Peachc,
and £50 promised by Dr. Eogers, of Exeter. It is proposed to clear out
the well, take away the rubbish which lies round it, and have it guarded
by the low wall, i^art of which is still standing, that once formed part of a
church erected over it. Another special offer of £<50 has been made to
the Committee for the purpose of examining Rachel's Tomb. This will
be done if possible.
9. The special thanks of the Committee are due to Consul-General
Eldridge for the very great trouble he has taken in starting Lieutenant
Kitchener in his work ; to Mr. Harper, Captain Anderson, and Captain
Hamilton for sketches published in the Quarterly Statement ; to the Duke
of Northumberland, Mr. G. Harris, the Hon. "W. Cowper-Temple, the
Earl of Aberdeen, Lord Forbes, Miss Baxter, of Ellangowan, Mr. H. N.
Middleton, Mr. Jno. Edward Wilson, Mr. P. Mackinnon, G. M. E., Sir
T. Archibald, Mr. W. H. Gamlen, Lord Lawrence, Mr. Dimmock, Mr.
Arthur Jones, Mr. Maitland Spencer, Mrs. Lawrence, Mr. Eobinson
Douglas, Mr. H. M. Ormerod, Mrs. Stewart Dykes, Mr. W. Kemble,
Eev, W. Hall-Houghton, the Bishop of Norwich, Rev. Archibald Morri-
son, Sir W. Ramsay Fairfax, Sir W. C. Trevelyan, Lady Herschel, Mr.
S. H. Officer, G. C, Rev. C. Watson, Mrs. Atkinson, Rev. S. S. Mander,
Mrs. Cunliffe, Rev. G. Lawrence, Mrs. Ohphant, Mr. Wagner, M. J. T.
Houghton, Professor Kinke, Mr. F. Pease, J. S., Captain Warren, Mr.
E. H. Palmer, and others for donations varying from £.3 to £lOO,
Many of these are second, tl\ird, or fourth donations."
3. This Report having been formally adopted, the Committee proceeded
to confirm the action of the late Executive Committee in strengthen-
ing the body of the General Committee by the names of the Bishop of
Adelaide, Mr. M' Arthur, M.P., and the Dean of Norwich.
4. The Executive Committee was then re-elected for the following
year, with the addition of Mr. John MacGregor.
THE SErULCilRES OV DAVID AND OF THE KIXGS OF JUDAII. 195
The Honorary Officers were re-elected.
5. A vote of thanks was passed to the President of the American
Association for the gift of their photographs.
G. The Executive Committee received full powers to deal with the
improvement or alteration of the Quarterly Statement as might be found
expedient.
7. A vote of thanks was then ^passed to the Chairman, and the
Committee adjourned.
THE SEPULCHEES OF DAVID AND OF THE KINGS
OF ■ JUDAH.
A HALO of intense interest surrounds the tomb of David. While its
true position is a much disputed point in the topography of Jerusalem,
its discovery would reveal the most ancient monument connected with
the Holy City, and perhaps might throw some light upon the expres-
sion, " the city of David."
The recovery of such a precious relic of the past is a reward yet in
store for some successful explorer ; the definition of its exact or probable
position it is now proposed once more to assay by argument.
We possess but scanty knowledge about early Jewish tombs, yet in
three instances in the Old Testament (the sepulchre of Abraham, of the
prophet at Bethel, and of Elisha) their situation S3ems to have been at
least at some little distance from human habitations.
It is stated, however, in the Bible more than twenty times of some
one or other of the kings of Judah, that he was buried in the city of
David, frequently with the additional words, " with his fathers." No
special honour was necessarily conferred by such burial ' ' in the city of
David," as is clear from the case of Jehoram, who was so buried (2 Kings
viii. 24; 2 Chron. xxi. 20), whilst Josephus says (Ant. ix. 5. 3), "They
neither buried him in the sepulchres of his fathers, nor vouchsafed him
any honours, but buried him like a private man."
The surprise naturally arising at this intramural sepulture on the part
of the Jews increases to amazement when one reads that all Israel
*' biu-ied Samuel in his house at Eamah" (1 Sam. xxv. 1).
Perhaps, however, in our simplicity we have been making the Jews
to do what they neither did nor thought of doing ; so that it is necessary
to examine the two expressions, " buried in his house," and "buried in
the city of David," with the view of ascertaining the precise meaning of
the three words " house," ''city," and " iu."
(A.) House. " They buried Samuel in his house."
The Hebrew word here used for house is " Beth." In the following
passages the same term is applied to a tomb : —
Job XXX. 23. " The Jiouse appointed for all living."
o
■190 TJIE SEPULCHRES OF DAVID AND OF THE ICIXGS OF JUDAH.
Job xvii. 13. " If I wait, the grave is mine house."
Eccles. xii. 5. " Man goeth to his long home" (= house).
Isaiah xiv. 18, 19. " All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie
in gloiy, every one in his own house. But thou art cast out of thy
grave."
Unless it can be very clearly shown that the use of the Avord Beth in
these passages in the sense of tomh is inadmissible in the historical books,
it seems that without hesitation it ought to be admitted that house
= tomh in these thi-ee passages, viz. —
1 Sam. XXV. 1 (as already quoted and elsewhere suggested).
1 Kings ii. 34. •' Joab was buried in his own house in the wilderness."
2 Chron. xxxiii. 20. " They buried Manasseh in his own house." (Com-
pare the parallel passage in 2 Kings xxi. IS, "Manasseh slept with
his fathers and was buried in the garden of his own house, in the
garden of Uzza."
This seems to me sufficient to dissipate the common misapprehension
that when Samuel is said to have been buried in his house, he was buried
in his dwelling-house. "House" in such pissages — (and should be
translated) tomb or sepulchre.
(B.) City, as in the words "the city of David," and similar expres-
■^ions.
From one passage it may be conclusively demonstrated that citij (in
the phrase citi/ of Jtis refuge) embraces the surrounding suburbs — i.e.,
fields, and all the space within the Levitical boundary of 2,000 cubits.
See Numb. xxxv. 2o-2S. Here it is said —
2o. " The slayer shall abide in it " {i.e., the city of his refuge).
26. " If the slayer shall at any time come without the border of the city
of his refuge; (27) and the revenger of blood find him without the
borders of the city of his refuge . . . and kill the slayer ; he shall
not be guilty of blood :
:28. " Because he should have remained in the city of his refuge."
These verses shov/ that the slayer was not required for safety's sake to
remain within the v/alls of the city of refuge, but only within its
Levitical boimdary ; and yet if he went beyond that boundary and was
slain, the avenger was not guilty, for the other ought to have remained
■ ill the city — i.e., within its proscribed boundai'ies.
•Hence it is clear that the word ciiij in such a case as Hebron or Kedesh
includes a district outside the fortified walls. Why should it not have
the same meaning in other cases, and even in the expression, " the city
of David"?
Indeed, in the story of Sliimoi (1 Kings ii. ;5(), 37) Jerusalem evidently
means more than the city witlun the walls, for Solomon first says to
•.iiim, "Build thee a house in Jerugalera, and dwell there, and (jo not
THE SEPULCHRES OF DAVID AND OF THE KINGS OF JL'DAH. 197
/orth thence any wliitlior ; " and then adds, " For ifc shall be, that on the
day thou goest out and passest over the brook Kidron, . . . thou shalt
know for certam that thou shalt surely die.'' Thus the limit imposed
was not strictly the circuit of the walls of Jerusalem, but its suburbs,
at least in one direction, so far as the Kedron.
(C.) The Hebrew prefix translated in A. V. " in," is given by Gesenius
as also signifying " at" — " near."
The following passages in which this prefix is in A. V. rendered in,
seem obviously to require it to be translated " near " : —
1. Gen. xiii. 18. "Abraham dwelt in the plaui of Mann-o, which is ia
Hebron."
Surely not within the city itself, but only near it.
2. Gen. xxxvii. 1:2, 13 (twice). " Feed their tlock in Shechem."
This must be equivalent to " at " or " Jicr."
^. Josh. xxiv. 32. "The bones of Joseph buried they in Shechem, in
the jjarcel of ground which Jacob bought."
vSurely the Shechemites would never have sold any of the land in the
city to a stranger ; and the story in Genesis shows they did not.
4. Josh. V. 13. " When Joshua was h>j Jericlio."
This passage happily removes the last shadow of doubt. Here it was
impossible for the translators (taking Jericho as — the city within the
walls, as in chap. vi. 1, " Jericho was straitly shut up '") to render the
Hebrew prefix any longer by the word in, so that they substituted " hi/,"
since " in Jericho " was just where Joshua was not.
These examples are enough to show that in certain cases the prefix
translated " in " cannot mean within, but only at or near; and there-
fore the oft-repeated phrase rendered in A.V. " in the city of David,"
■does not of necessity mean within the walls of the city, but may equally
well mean near the city of David.
The prevalent opinion, then, that the sepulchre of David was withiii
the city of David, having been founded on the above repeated expres-
sion, is thus shown to be based on a misapprehension. The narrow
meaning of "m" {i.e., within) being given to an equivalent having
equally the wider signification of " at" or " near," has given rise to an
" ignis fatiuisJ'
Therefore the position of the sepulchre of David, whether within or
without the walls of the city of David, must be decided on other con-
siderations than this most misleading translation " in the citij of David."
Farther, there is strong, if not conclusive, evidence in the Bible that
one kiug said to have been buried in tlie city of David was really buried
indsidc the walls. Azariah (or Uzziah) having been smitten with leprosy
for his profane attempt to offer incense, was " a leper unto the day of
198 THE SEPtJLCnRES OF DAVID AND OF THE KINGS OF JUDAII.
Ms death, and dwelt in a several house And they buried him
with his fathers in the city of David ('2 Kings xv. 5-7). In 2 Chron.
xxvi. 23 this is explained, and it is more fully stated, that " they buried
him with his fathers in the field of the burial which belonged to the
kings ; for they said he is a leper." The fact of his being a leper was
the reason of his being buried in a separate rock-cut chamber of his
own in the same field (LXX. TreSiV) indeed, but not in the sepulchres of
the kings.
Josephus says (Antiq. ix. 10. 4) : " So he abode out of the city for
some time, and lived a private life ; . . . after which he died with grief
. . . and was buried by himself in his own gardens."
If the defilement of leprosy shut out Uzziah for the rest of his life
from the city, and when he was dead excluded him from sepulture in
the sepulchres of David, we can hardly suppose it would have admitted
of his burial within the city walls.
The indirect testimony of Josephus is hardly conclusive either way.
From his statements (Ant. vii. Ij. 3; xiii. 8. 4; xvi. 7. 1 : and "Wars
i. 2. 5) of the great treasures buried in the tomb of David, it has been
urged that the tomb could not have boon outside the walls, otherwise it
would have been plundered when Jerusalem was besieged by foreign
armies. To this there is the unanswerable reply, that if ever such
treasures were deposited there it is incredible that they should have
been left untouched in the dire extremities to which the kingdom was
reduced, as for instance " when Hezekiah cut off the gold from the
doors of the temple of the Lord." The suggestion that Hyrcanus took
the Corban and then invented the story about the treasures found in the
tomb of David, or that Herod spread the tale about Hyrcanus to excuse
his own entrance into the tomb, seems satisfactorily to explain the state-
ments of Josephus. It is highly probable, however, that the tombs of
some of the kings, if not the sepulchral chambers of David and Solomon,
had been riiied long before ; for in Baruch ii. 24, reference is made to
the prophecy of Jeremiah (viii. 1) as already fulfilled. " At that time,
saith the Lord, they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah
. . . out of their graves." Still the passage (Ant. xvi. 7. 1) may be
worth something as bearing upon the position of the tomb. On the
words, " Elatpx^Tai npay/xaTeucrdnevos ^Kiffra fxiv iv rfj irdAa (pavepms elvai,
Lewin observes, ' ' He was anxious to elude the observation of those in
the city, from which the inference arises that the tomb itself lay v;ithout
the city; for if both the palace and tomb were within it, the words in
the city would have been superfluous."
"We now come to the exceedingly valuahlc, but (to most) very per-
2>hxin(j testimony of the book of Nehemiah — valuable, because it alone
gives any indication of the position of David's sepulchre ; perplexing,
because the position indicated has by most authorities been considered
as lying outside the walls of the Jerusalem of David's time ; and there-
fore has seemed to clash with the oft-repeated statement " in the city of
David:'
THE SEPULCHRES OF DAVID AND OF THE ICINGS OF JUDAII. 199
Two passages have to be compared in Nehemiah —
iii. 15, 16, 26. xii. 37.
T/ie gate of the fountain At the fount a in gate,
repaired Shallum ... lie built it wbich was over against them, they
. . . and the wall of the pool of went np by
Siloah by the king's garden, and
unto the stairs that go down from the stairs of the city of David,
the city of David. at the going up of the wall,
After him repaired Nehemiah . . .
unto the place over against the
sepulchres of David, and to the pool above the house of David,
that was made, . . .
(26) Moreover the Nethininis
(marg.) Avhich dwelt in Ophel, (re-
paired) unto the place over against even unto
the ivater gate toivard the east. the ivater gate eastward.
This is not the time to enter upon the difficult question of the course
of the wall and position of the gates of Jerusalem as restored by
Nehemiah ; but it is agreed (universally, I believe) that the description in
chap. iii. begins at the north-east and goes round by the west and
south, returning at last to the starting-point at the north-east ; and
that in the procession in chap. xii. the first company proceeds from west
by south to east. The pool of Siloah is also admitted to be the pool
of Siloam, so considered now, at the south end of the Ophel hill.
Beyond this the case is almost one of " quot homines, tot sentential y
Still since the position of the sepulchre of David is affected by the
position of other points named in these passages, reasons are given
below (Note A) which seem to me to indicate that —
1. The /oifnteiji graie was near the pool of Siloam.
2. The water gate was a gate leading from Ophel to the virgin's foun-
tain, and was near to it.
o. The p)Ool that was made was one lower down the Tyropooon valley
(the '\old 2)001" on the oi'dnance map).
4. The stairs of the city of David led down the Ophel hill to near the-
pool of Siloam.
The remarkable coincidence (in the parallel verses above) will have
been observed.
iii. 16. xii. 37.
" The sepulchre of David " (corresponding to) " the house of David."
If now we take the word " house " (it is the former word " Beth ") in
the sense it has been shown to possess by paragraph A, the difficulty
about the palace of David vanishes, having all along been based on a
misapprehension, and the two passages in Nehemiah, mutually support-
ing one another, afford us their combined assistance towards fixing the
position of the tomb of David.
The order given in Neh. iii. lu seems to me to show that the stairs
200 TilE SEPULCHRES OF DAVID AXD OF THE KINGS OF JUDAIl.
of the city of David could not liave descended westwards from Ophel
into the Tyropceon valley to a point at all considerably north of the
pool of Siloam; for (1st) the procession went up a< (most probably =
■close to) the fountain gate, and (2nd) it most certainly went up by the
stairs, ai the jioiut where the wall went up, ''at the. (joing up of the
7vaU."
Agciin, as the pool that -was made seems almost certainly to be the
loiver pool of Siloam, the first company cannot possibly have gone round
by the south side of it, because such a course for the wail would not
admit of the stairs of the city of David forming a point in the rebuilding
of the wall between the pool of Siloam and the jmoI that was made.
The city wall may have run round the north side of the pool of 8iloam,
i-c, of the upper pool, or (less probably) on the south side of it.
If the stairs were close to the wall (which seems in-obable) then since
the company went ahove {= over, as in xii. 37, " (from) ahove the gate of
Ephraim," &c.) the sepulchre of David, it is rather difficult to under-
stand how the entrance to the tomb could have been otherwise than
outside the wall of the city. But if the stairs diverged from the wall,
then they might have been said to have gone over the house (= tomb)
of David, even while the ejitrance was within the walls. Again,
Nehemiah (iii. IG) might probably have been said to have repaired over
against {= in sight of, or opposite to) the sepulchres of David, whether the
entrance was within or without the city, for it is diflftcult to limit the
use of the words "over against" exclusively to objects either inside or
outside the line of the walls. (See Note B.)
It may be added that, since it seems to have been an especial mark
of honour to possess a sepulchre in an elevated situation — as was the
case v/ith Shebna's tomb (Isa. xxii. 16), "He that heweth him out a
sepulchre on high" (LXX. iv ^v^v), and perhaps with Hezekiah's(2 Chron.
xxxii. 33), " They buried him in the chiefest (margin, "highest;" LXX.
fc ava^daei) of the sejiulchres of the sons of David " — it seems probable
that the entrance to the tomb of David was either cut in the face of a
high wall of rock or situated near to the top of the steep pomt (forty or
fifty feet high, Eobiason's " Researches ") with which the ridge of Ophel
ends, just over Siloam. The field of the burial of the kings, 2 Chron.
xxvi. 23 (in which Uzziah was buried in his own gardens, probably the
same as the garden of Uzzah, 2 Kings xxi. 18, 2G), may have been just
below in the Tyroiioeon valley, at the south end of Ophel, the position
apparently (Zech. xiv. 10) of the king's winepresses and near the king's
garden.
The actual discovery of the tomb of David is more properly the
v/ork of the pick than of the pen, but if the argument here attempted
be sound, the position of the tomb is brought within very circumscribed
limits.
If, therefore, the Ophel wall could be found near the pool of Siloam
and traced east or north-east till opposite the lower end of the
j}ool that luas made (the old pool, O. S.), we must come somewhere to
THE SEPULCnUES OF PAVID AKD OF THE KINGS OF JUDAH. 201
" the (joing up oftJtc wall,'" and then wc ought to find cut in the rock on
its western side the stairs of the city of David. Ascending these we
pass over the tomb of David, while its entrance would seem to be below
ns, somewhere on the right hand. Captain "Warren (" Recovery of
Jerusalem," p. 2S0) speaks of steps existing at Siloam, and states that
they lead up towards the Ophel hill.
NOTE A.
Founfain Gate. — It will be allowed by tho supporters of all theories-
that—
1st. The fountain gate stood somewhere on a line drawn from the south-
east I'Vow of the upper city to the pool of Siloam, perhaps p>assinci throiujh
a point up the Tyropoeon valley and ending dose to the pool of Siloam.
2nd. The wall of the city, after the rebuilding hy Nehemiah, at lead
approached near to the sa)ae pool.
A wall must certainly have done so in the time of Hezckiah to protect
the pool ; but that another wall ran across the Ophel hill farther north,
to a point opposite to the Virgin's fountain, seems to me to be a pure
supposition ; while the crossing of Ophel along such a line would have
formed so remarkable a feature in the night journey that its omission
in the narrative would be inexplicable. A necessary consequence of this-
second point seems (to me) to be that we must allow that —
3rd. The wall of the pool of Siloah means (as seems natural) the city
wall towards the south end of Ophel, close to the pool, and not (as has-
been suggested as probable) the wall on the distant heights round the
lower part of the Tyropoeon.
4th. There luas a gate or some kind of outlet from the city close to this
siwt.— For (1) if the pool were outside tho walls and no access to it-
• existed at this point, whither did the stairs lead ? but (2) if the pool
were inside the city wall, the weakest point in this part is taken thereby
into the line of defences, and -with its admission the objection to draw-
ing the city wall from the south-east corner of the upper city to Siloam
at once vanishes. Then the fountain gate ceases to be one leading down
from the city wall above, having found its natural position close to the
fountain of Siloam, and it becomes instead an outlet from the city at
the south of Ophel. In placing the fountain gate elsewhere than close
to the j)Ool of Siloam, we should have to account for the extraordinary
omission of any mention of, or allusion to, a gate near Siloam, even
while we are told of the wall being repaired at this point as far as the-
stairs that go down from the city of David. Besides, we should have also
to alter our translation of Neh. iii. 37, which is (I think) fairly ren-
dered— " At the fountain gate, which was over against them, they went
up by the stairs."
It would seem, therefore, that it is not practicable to avoid placing-
the fountain gate close to the pool of Siloam, whether we adopt the
curve round the Tyropoeon, or tho line straight across to Siloam, as the
course of the city wall on the south.
202 THE SEPULCHRES CF DAVir A^'D OF THE KINGS OF JUDAH.
The water gate towards the east.— It seems to me that this ivater gate
was the gate by which women used to go down from Ophel to draw
water from the Virgin's fountain. Captain Warren's interesting dis-
covery of the way in which it was rendered practicable to obtain water
■from this spring without going out of the city, tends to show that there
was a need for using this supply ; and that therefore it was previously
the custom to go outside the city to draw water from this source.
We ought, then, naturally to look for a gate near the Virgin's foun-
tain, and we seem to have such a gate (agreeing both in name and
2)Osition with what we want) in that mentioned as the water gate towards
the east. (The same descriptive expression is used in connection with
the ?iorse gate farther north in Jer. xxxi. 40, " Unto the corner of the
horse gate toiuard the east.") Obviously there must have been a gate
in this position, so that if it was not the Wfiter gate mentioned in iii. 2(5,
we have one gate (and even two, if we suppose the fountain gate not to
be near the pool of Siloam) passed over without any mention or allu-
sion in chap. iii. ; for in ver. 7, " the throne of the governor on this side
the river" ansv/ers, I believe, to the gate of Ephraim, the place for
administering justice being, of course, at the gate.
No argument against the water gate having been a gate in the outer
wall seems (to me) to lie in the fact that no mention is made of its
having been repaired, since the same silence is observed both in regard
to the horse gate and the gate MiphJcad (not to mention the Ephraim
^ate) ; and if it be urged that no one of these three was in the outer
wall, then we have to explain the astounding circumstance, that there
is neither any mention of, nor allusion to, any outer gate in the Avhole
course of the eastern wall— a thing perfectly incredible, while so many
particulars are given of the repairing of that wall.
The pool that luas made.— In csise of the water gate being an outer
gate near the Virgin's fountain, as seems to me to be proved above,
then in default of any evidence of a pool situated farther south in the
valley of the Kedron, it follows that the pool that was made must be a
j90oZ in the Tyropceon ravine, somewhere lower down than the pool of
•Siloam— that is, it must be the lower pool of Siloam, marked Old Pool
(O. Survey), and now indicated by the remains of an embankment across
the mouth of the valley.
It seems probable, however, that we must arrive at the same result
irom other considerations.
In three jjlaccs (2 Kings xxv. 4, Jer. xxxix. 4, Iii. 7) we are told that
Zedekiah escaped by the gate between the two walls near the king's garden.
Had mention been made only of the Icing's garden, then it might have
been that he escaped by a gate near the Virgin's fountain, since the
royal gardens were near this spot (see Qnarterhj Statement, No. V., 1870,
p. 253, and Jos. Ant. vii. 14. 4). Or had mention been made only of the
two vxiUs, then he might have escaped on the west side of the city near
the valley gate, since certainly in the time of Manasseh there were two
walls in this part (2 Chron. xxxiii. 14), though the difficulty of eluding
WIE SEPULCHRES OF DAVID AXD OF THE KINGS OF JUDAH. 203
the ChaldiEans would have been vastly increased by quitting the city on
its western side. The combined mention, however, of the king's garden
and the two walls, forces upon us the conclusion that Zedokiah escaped
down the Tyropoeon valley, or at all events through the part of it near
the pool of iSiloam,
This seems to be the way indicated by Josephus when he says he fled
out of the city through the fortified ditch (icapTepos (papayyos. Ant. x. S. 2).
The LXX. have a remarkable gloss on Jer. lii. 7, for they render be-
tween the two walls by avajxtcrov tov reixov'^ kol tou TrpOTetX'C^aTor.
When this is compared -with their translation of 2 Chron. xxxii. 5,
" (Hezekiah) buUt up all the wall that was broken and raised it up to
the towers and (elw irpoTi'iXt(TiJ.a &\\o) another ivaU without," one is inclined
to think that the translators possessed considerable topographical know-
ledge in this case, and that -rrpoTeixicrixa in both cases represents the same
wall. It seems to me reasonable to conclude that the wall " without " of
HezeJciah and that of Manasseh (2 Chron. xxxiii. 14) were not identical,
but that while the latter was on the west side of the city near the valley
gate, the former was either (1) built by Hezekiah from near the pool of
tSiloam (or the south part of the Ophel wall) taking in the pools of Siloam,
and reaching to the south-east part of the upper city wall, or (2) was
an outer wall built round one or both of the two pools of Siloam of the
present day ; at any rate round the lower pool, since the uj^per might
previously have been within the walls.
As the two walls in the three passages named have undoubtedly to do
mth some part of the Tyropoeon valley, south of the present city wall,
it seems only reasonable to consider that they are also referred to in
Isa. xxii. 11. "Ye made a ditch (= pool) between the two walls.'" As
this took place in the time of Hezekiah, there seems every reason for
concluding that the very same pool is referred to in 2 Kings xx. 20,
where among the acts of Hezekiah it is stated that he " made a pool."
As we are not told of any other pool being specially made, it seems
that nothing short of a very strong reason can release us from conclud-
ing that the pool thus already (apparently t\vice) mentioned as heing made,
is the identical pool described in Neh. iii. 16 as the pool that was made.
Thus we arrive at the former result in another way. From this it would
seem that the king's pool (Neh. ii. 14) must be the Virgin's fountain,
and so identical with Solomon's pool (Jos. Wars, v. 4. 2) ; while the
contracting of the Kedron ravine at this point may have caused the
ridns to have completely blocked the way.
Stairs of the citg of David. — As these are mentioned after the fountain
gate and the wall of the pool of Siloam, and hefore the pool that was
made, it is obvious that they were both near the pool of Siloam, and
on the hill of Ophel; while if ''at the fountain gate" is a correct
translation, meaning " close to it," it follows that the foot of the stairs
must have been very near not only to the gate but also to the pool
of Siloam ; because the order in Neh. iii. 15 is the gate, the pool, and then
the stairs.
204 NOTE ON KOB.
NOTE B.
' Evoii on the admission (Note A) that the pool that was made was in
the Tyropccon valley, it might still be urged that the loioer pool of
Siloam was the pool of Siloah, and the iq-ti^er pool of Siloam was the
pool made by Hezekiah.
Such a view may possibly be consistent with the LXX. rendering of
Nell, xii. 37, Isa. xxii. 11, though the objections to it on other grounds
seem to me very strong. If it could be maintained, then the line of the
wall and stairs would have to be [drawn from the north end of the
embankment up the Ophel hill, and the position of the tomb of David
altered accordingly. W. F. BiRCii.
St. Saviour's Eectory, Manchester.
NOTE ON NOB.
(0) Bearing on page 56, lines 15, 14 from the end, and page 58, last
paragraph, is the important passage in Ecclesiastious xlviii. 18, "In his
time Sennacherib came up and sent Eabsaces, [and lifted up Ms hand
against Sion and boasted proudly" (LXX., koI aTvjpe (e'/c Aax^'is) koI eir^pe
Xe'ipa).
The words in italics seem only a reproduction of Isaiah x. 32, "As
yet shall he remain at Nob that day : he shall shake his hand against the
motint of the daughter of Zion."
Here it has been commonly .assumed that the shaking of the hand
was to be effected both at NoV and also in sight of Jerusalem. The
writer of Ecclesiasticus, however, the earliest commentator on the passage,
evidently takes Isaiah's Avords to refer to the haughty message of Sen-
nacherib delivered by Eabshakeh (2^ Kings xviii. 17— xix. 4).
Therefore the shaking of the hand took plac{? not at Nob, but in fact
within earshot of Jerusalem — "by [the 'conduit of the upper pool,
which is in the highway of the fuller's field," and the condition that
" Zion should be visible from Nob " is not required by Isa. x. 32.
(6) I cannot but think that; Lieutenant Condet must have fallen into
some mistake in saying in his note on page GO that —
(1) " Ai (et Tell) is not visible from Jeb'a." My observations give
ct Tell as visible from a point of lower elevation than Jeb'a, about half
a mile east of it, and as b jing a hill to attract attention all the way
to Eamah.
Eobinson (Eesearches, vol. ii. p. 113) from Jeb'a saw Dcir Diwan ; so
that the loftier et Tell immediately west of it can hardly be out of
sight.
(2) "Jeb'a is hidden by the Hizmeh 'ridge" {i.e., I suppose from
Anathoth). But {id., p. 110), "From this point Anata there was an
extensive view. Jeb'a was before us, bearing N. 10 degrees E."
These discrepancies show how sometimes even careful observers may
NOTE ON kal'at jalud. 205
be mistaken. Accordingly I still hope that some part of the hill of
Eamah jnay prove to be in sight from some part of Jeb'a, perhaps from
the old tower, possibly also Almit, as well as the western ridge over-
looking L'Isawiyeh, since Laish might easily have stood higher than the
present village.
(c) One reason for identifying Tell el Ful with Gibeah of Benjamin is
th t the Levite (Judges xix.) going north from Bethlehem proposed to
lodge at Gibeah or Eamah. Josephus (Ant. v. 2. 8) says, that from
near Jerusalem he went on twenty stadia and came to Gibeah. Lieut.
Conder says the distance to Tell el Ful is little over twenty-two. The
agreement is sufficiently close.
Again, Tell el Ful may be identified with Gibeah of Saul, for Titus,
marching from Gophna ("Wars, v. 2. 1), pitched his camp at the valley
of thorns, near a village called Gabaoth Saul — i.e., the hill of Saul,
being distant from Jerusalem about thirty stadia. The " distant " refers
to the valley, not to the village or hill, and even then Josephus, who
often speaks in round numbers, only ventures to say ahout thirty stadia.
Geba lies quite away from the direct road.
That there should have been two Gibeahs close together, and that
both names should have perished, seems more improbable than the
identity of Gibeah of Benjamin and Gibeah of Saul.
It is allowed that Gibeah may = Geba in 1 Sam. xiv., but that Geba
■was ever called Geba (or Gibeah) of Benjamin (xiv. 16) is not so clear.
Errata. — For visible from, etc. (p. 51), read visible not far from
Diospolis or Lydda, in justice to Jerome, whose words are, " ffaud
procul ab ea [i.e., Lydda) vidit Nobe."
After but (p. 58, line 8) read ?
After S.E. of Geba {id., line 26) read called Goba.
W. F. Birch.
NOTE ON KAL'AT JALUD.
In 1872, I sent home a sketch of the southern chamber of this castle
and some notes published in the Quarterly Statement for October of that
year (see p. 172).
The drafted masonry is of no great size, and the bosses are rustic.
On the west wall of the south chamber is a pointed arch, with masonry
dressed with a draft, the boss carefully worked; there are five voussoirs
to the arch. The piers, which are older than the small modern masonry,
have alf«o rustic bosses to the stones. I saw nothing^ iu the two
chambers which I visited which could be ascribed to an earlier period than
the Crusading Tancred's Tower. The descriptions given in the memoir
of the Crusading castles of 'AthlU, Kauhah, and Kalansdwieh, built in
places where no old ruins of importance are known to have existed
before the twelfth century, will, I hope, show clearly that large masonry,
three to five or six feet in the length of the stones, was hewn by the
R
206 ■ THE SITE OF JESHANAH.
Crusaders, and dressed with a deep draft and a rustic boss quite dif-
ferent from the dressing of the temple stones. The tool marks are often
diagonal (as at Soba), and the stones used in pointed arches at 'Athlit
are of exactly similar character, and must evidently have been quarried
by the twelfth century masons. C. E. C.
THE SITE OF JESHANAH.
(Reprinted from the Athenccum, by permission of the Proprietors.)
Eehoboam, son and successor of Solomon, was powerless against tlie
usurper Jeroboam, who caused the schism of the ten tribes, and estab-
lished, for his own advantage, the kingdom of Israel. The hands of
the king of Judah were too fidl already with the invasion of the Egyptian
Shishak, protector and, jjerhaps, father-in-law of Jeroboam.
Eighteen years later, Abijah, Eehoboam's son, found himself strong
enough to measure arms with his father's enemy. He assumed the
offensive, and, at the head of a strong army, invaded Jeroboam's terri-
tory, taking up his position in Zemaraim, in Mount Ephraim, north of
Jerusalem. Jeroboam, whose forces were double those of his adversary,
accepted battle ; wishing, however, to take advantage of his superiority
in numbers, and to attack Abijah in flank, he divided his forces in two
parts, and was completely defeated. Abijah, following up the victory,
took possession of three cities. Bethel, Jeshanah, and Ephron, each
" with the towns thereof" (2 Chron. xiii. 19), a fact which assigns them
considerable importance. Two of these places are already identified,
Bethel with Beitin, EjDhron with Ophrah at Taiyibeh. As to Jeshanah,
it is classed among the desiderata in Biblical topography.
These three places, whose capture is the immediate result of Abijah's
victory, must be very near each other. They formed a strategic group ;
they were on the confines of Jtidah and Israel; Bethel marked very
nearly the frontier, Jeshanah was probably to the north of that place,
and in its neighbourhood; it would, therefore, belong to Ephraim, a
fact which explains why it is only mentioned once in the Bible, the list
of Ephraim, as every one knows, being omitted from the Book of Joshua.
This granted, I propose to locate Jeshanah at Ain Sinia, about five
kilometres north of Beitin.
The village of Ain Sinia is indubitably an ancient site. Its numerous
and abundant springs must very early have attracted residents. A large
cemetery is cut in the rock, and on the door of one of the tombs I found
an inscription in ancient Hebrew character, in which I traced the name
of Hananiah, son of Eleazar.
The name of Sinia, found also in that of the valley where the village
stands, corresponds exactly to the Hebrew Jeshanah, generally explained
to mean old. Geographical names commencing in Hebrew with je
THE SITE OF JESHANAII. 207
generally lose the initial syllable on passing into Arabic, as Jericho=
Eiha, Jesh.imotli=Su\veimeli, Jezrael=Zerin, &c. ; the Hebrew shin be-
comes an Arabic sin, the alteration of a into « is quite natural in the
mobility of Semitic vowels. We thus obtain successive and normal
transformations, Jeshanah, Shanah, Sanah, Sinah. From Sinah to
Sinia is but a single step, and we have the analogous names of Kebbia,
Ain Kefria, Jilgilia, &c.
Topographically and onomastically, Ain Sinia has every right to be
accepted for the ancient Jeshanah. It is remarkable that Beitin, Ain
Sinia, and Taiyibeh, otherwise Bethel, Jeshanah, and Ephron, form a
triangle (its south point represented by Bethel), which must have pos-
sessed considerable strategic value, occupying as it does a plateau
whence run in different directions the wadys to the Mediterranean and
the Dead Sea. It is in this triangle that I would place the territory
acquired by Abijah with the "benoth," or villages dependent on the
three cities, and now represented by ruins or scattered hamlets.
C. Clekmoistt-Gaiweau.
PALESTINE
EXPLORATION FUND.
Patron— THE QUEEN.
^arterly Statement
FOR 1878.
LONDON :
PUBLISHED AT THE
SOCIETY'S OFFICE, ii and 12, CHARING CROSS, S.W.,
AND BY
RICHARD BENTLEY & SON, 8, NEW BURLINGTON STREET.
INDEX.
Abel Mea and Abel Maula, 21
Acra, 185
Ai, The Site of, 74, 132, 194
Anath, 20
Arimathrea, 20
Ataroth Adar, 18
Beidan, 20
Bethabara, 120
Betliamari, 20
Bethel and Dan, The Calves of, 27
Bethphage, The Stone of, 51, 146
Bethulia, 18
Beth Shearaim, 19
Bir Eyiib, 21
Bornata, 22
Charashim, Valley of, 18
Conder's, Lieut. , Notes from the Memoir,
18, 76
,, ,, Notes on Architecture
in Palestine, 29
Debir, 121 ^
El Heidhemiyeh, 20
El Mineh, 22
Elon, 19
Etam, The Rock, 116
Galilee, Synagogues of, 123
,, Survey of, 159
,, Expedition to Sea of, 176
Gaza, Note on, 199
General Committee, Meeting of, 108
German Association for the Exploration
of Palestine, 200
Gilgal, 118
Gutter, The (Heb. Tzinnor), 184
Hinnom, The Valley of, 179
Irpeel, 18
Itineraries of our Lord, 15, 67, 193
Jebel T6r'an, Panoramic view from, 122
Jerusalem, Eecent Discoveries at, 78
Joshua's Tomb, 22
Kefr Kama, 19
Kirjath-jearim, The Site of, 114, 196
Kitchener's, Lieut., Eeports : —
(7 and 8) Jerusalem, 10, H
Kitchener's, Lieut., Reports : —
„ (9) Nablus, 14
,, New Pliotographs, 134
,, Report of, 174
Lachish, 19
.Maccabees, Tombs of the, 74
Meiron, Note on the Ancient Synagogue
at, 24'
Midian and its Gold, The Land of, 141
Moabite Pottery, The, 41, 88
Nain, The Village of, 115
Nehhaliu, 18
Notes and News, 1, 47, 105, 155
Palestine, Northern Boundary of, 76
Patriarchs, The Tombs of the, 20
Kabbah of the Children of Amnion, 189
Saiyadeh, 19
Scapegoat, The, 118
Seir and Jearim, Mounts, 19
Sharon, The Rose of, 46, 51
Siddim, The Vale of, 18
Siloah, Siloam, 187
Sion, The Position of, in the fourth,
fifth, and sixth centuries, 16
Sirah, The Spring of, 121
Sisera, The Death of, 115
South Kensington, Meeting at, 4
St. John, The Penance Mountain of, 20
Succoth, 21
Succoth and Pcnuel, 81
Surtubeh, 21
Survey, Corapletion'of the, 5
Survey, Journal of the, 8, 62
Sychar of St. John, The, 114
Tarichepe, Note on, 79
,, Notes on the Position of, 190
Temple, The Veil of the, 79
Tent Work in Palestine, 50, 114
Virgin's Fountain, 187
Wady Kelt, 119
Werdeh, 22
Yemma, 19
Zion, The City of David, 129, 178
Zir, 21
Quarterly Statement, January, 1878.]
THE
PALESTINE EXPLORATION FUND,
NOTES AND NEWS.
*^* On and after December 27th, the address of the Fund will Le at 11 and
12, Ghariug Cross, S.W.
We were aljle early in October, immediately after the issue of the Quarterly
Statement, to announce that the Survey of the n-liole of Western Palestine was
coniiileted on the 28th of September, and that Lieut. Kitnliener had started from
Jerusalem to execute the revision of certain portions of the country. This, too,
is now finished, and the materials for completing Map and Memoirs have
all arrived in England. Thus the Survey, announced in the Q.uarterly
Statement of January, 1872, as then commenced, has taken exactly six years to
execute. Had it not been for the interruption due to the attack at Safed, it
would have been accompliJ.-^ied a year ago.
We print at page 5 the letter sent by the Chairman of tlie Executive Com-
mittee to the papers announcing the completion of the Survey.
Lieut. Conder's Memoirs steadily progress. Hi=! party are now at work in an
ofRce placed at the disposal of the Committee by Her ]\Iajesty'3 Government iu
the South Kensington Museum.
The work of the Committee for 1878 will probably consist entirely in the pre-
paration of Map and Memoirs. It is believed that Lieut. Conder will finish his part
of the Memoirs early in the spring. Probably Lieut. Kitchener will not require
more than a year for the Memoirs of North Palestine, and the hill-shading,
observations, and map-drawing will be pushed on as rapidly as possible.
The following is the financial position of the Fund (Dec. 12, 1877). Receipts,
September 19th to December 12, £874 13s. 9d. Expenditure : Exploration,
£485 ; office and management, £172 17s. 7d. Printers, &c., £190 19s. 7d. The
balance in the banks on the latter day was £230 16s.
The maintenance of a large staff of engineers, with the current expense of
printing our reports, &c., requires an expenditure of over £200 a month; there
are debts to pay amounting to about £600, and it will be most desirable to have a
fund in hand for future work. Will subscribers remember that the earlier their
.subscriptions are jiaid in the better it is for the Committee ? It would be, indeed,
best that all subscriptions should date from the beginning of the year, but this
point is only suggested, as it has always been tlie practice in the Fund for sub-
scribers to choose their own time.
o
2 NOTES AND NEWS.
Lieut. Kitchener -writes Avitli regard to Jacob's Well: — " "WTien passin_
I^ablus, on my way to Jerusalem, I paid a visit to Jacob's "Well. As it -was
late when I arrived, and I was obliged to leave early next morning, I had not
much time to examine the well very thoroughly. The well is situated in an
almost square enclosure, which measui'es 192 ft. by 151ft.; the wall of this
enclosure is almost entirely destroyed ; in many cases it is completely levelled
with the ground ; the ground contained by this enclosure is completely covered
with shapeless ruins, forming a large mound. The well is situated in a vaulted
chamber, the entrance being through a broken portion of the roof of the vault,
with about 7 ft. drop on tlie inside. Above this vault there is about 3 ft. to
6 ft. of rubbish accumulated. The entrance to the well itself was closed by large
stones."
The shield of Hamseh has been taken down from the mosque by the Pasha,
and is now in the serail. It was said that a brass plate was found in the Haram
bearing the arms of the twelve tribes of Israel, and there was some excitement
amongst the Jews. It appears to have been the cover of a baptismal font or of
some vesiel, and is made of bronze containing a great deal of silver. The work
appears to Lieut. Kitchener to be Italian, of the twelfth century ; the shield was
cast.
Outside the Damascus gate an inscription has been found in a tomb west of
Jeremiah's grotto and near the probable site of St. Stephen's Church ; it is in
one line on a slab of stone 4 ft. by 2 ft. V^ in., and runs as follows : —
+ 0hkha"ia*epsc
Lieut. Conder reports that he has obtained from Jacob Shellaby, now in
London, some interesting information on Samaritan traditions. He states that
the Samaritans believe the Cave of j\Iakkedali to be a certain cavern now blocked
up on the side of Gerizim, between the place of sacrifice and the road leading
down to Kas el 'Ain.
At 'Awertah are not only the tombs of Eleazar and Pliinehas, Init also of
Ithamar and Abishuah (supposed author of the famous Samaritan Roll), close to
the tomb of Eleasar. At Kefr Haiis, south of Shechem, they believe Joshua,
of Nun, and Caleb, son of Jephunnch, to be buried. Joshua died in 'Awertah,
Avhich agrees with the account in the Samaritan book of Joshua.
Lieut. Conder also reports as follows on the nomenclature: — "During the
months of August and September Mr. S. Bergheini, of Jerusalem, was in London.
Being the owner of 5,000 acres of land at Abu Shusheh, he has lived there many
years, and knows thoroughly the peculiar dialect of the peasantry. I was glad to
submit to him, therefore, the translation of the nomenclature, on which lie pro-
nounced a very favourable oyjinion, and also gave me the local meaning attached
to a variety of curious words, and special information as to the neighbourhood of
Abu Shusheh, and as to many places in Jerusalem. It must be bonn; in mind
that the peasant dialect proves to be much nearer to Aramaic (which Jerome
.says was the native language in his time) than to modern literary Arabic, and
the criticism of persons who are familiar with this dialect is thus of the highest
value. The natives of the great towns are often quite at a loss to understand
the peasants, and ignorant entirely of the meaning of many words which they
use commonly.
Lieut. Conder proposes (see p. 46) that the Pose of Sharon, l^the meaning of
which has never been certainly determined, is probably the Narcissus, a plant
which grows freely in spring in the Plain of Sharon.
A letter fiom the German Consul at Jerusalem, Baron Von Munchausen,
whicli we repioduce from the AtJu'i ceum, deicribes a visit to Moab, in which he
found certain vases and idols resembling the "Moabite" antiquities sold by
NOTES AND NEWS.
Mr. Shapira to the German Government. We publish this letter, with Mr.
Shapira'.s notes, and Professor Neubaucr's reply, in continuation of the argu-
ments for and against the genuineness of this collection which have already
appeared in these pages.
Lieut. Gender is engaged on a work entitled " Tent- work in Talestine," in
which lie will give an account of his work, its progress, its dilhculties, and some
of its results. The book, which will be ijublished for the Committee by Messrs.
Bentley and Son, will be in two volumes at 24s. But a large reduction will be
made for subscribers. As in the case of other writers, the Committee leave
Lieut. Conder to express his own conclusions, without in any way san(;tioning or
adopting them.
Several cases were dissevered in 1876, and one or tv»o last year, of postage
stamps being lost on their way to the office. The only way to avoid such loss is
to send money by P. 0.0. or 1>y cheque, in every case 2}a]/nble to the order of
Walter Besant, and cronsed to Coutts and Co., or the Union Bank, Charing
Cross Branch.
The ninth thousand of "Our Work in Palestine" is now ready (price 3s. 6d.),
and may be ordered of booksellers. This book carries the v/ork down to the
commencement of the Survey, but does not embrace M. Ganneau's discoveries
nor the results of the Survey itself.
The following are at present Pi,epresentatives and Lecturers of the Society, in
addition to the local Hon. Sees. : —
Archdeaconry of Hereford : Kev, J. S. Stooke-Vaughaa, Wellington Heatli
Yioarage, Ledbury.
City and neighbourhood of Manchester : Piev. W. F. Birch, St. Saviour's
Hectoiy.
Lancashire : Rev. John Bone, St. Thomas's Vicarage, Lancaster.
London : Rev. Henry Geary, 16, Somerset Street, Portman Square.
Norwich : Rev. F. C. Long, Stow -upland, Stowmarket.
Peterborough : Rev. A. J. Foster, Farndish Rectory, Wellingborough.
Worcester : Rev. F. W. Holland, Evesham (Member of General and Executive
Committee, and one of the Hon. Secretaries to the Fund).
Diocese of Ripon : Rev. T. C. Henley, Kirkby Malham Vicarage.
North Wales : Rev. John Jones, Treborth, Bangor.
Yorkshire and Durham : Rev. James King, 13, Paradise Terrace, Darlington,
Ireland. — Diocese of Armagh : Rev. J. H. Townsend.
Rev. G. J. Stokes, Blackrock, Dublin.
Scotland. — Rev. R. J. Craig, Dalgetty, Burntisland.
The Rev. Horrocks Cocks, 19, Edwardes Square, Kensington, has also kindly
offered his services among the Nonconformist churches.
While desiring to give every publicity to proposed identifications by officers
■of the Fund, the Committee beg it to be distinctly understood that they leave
■such proposals to be discussed on their own merits, and that by pul>lishing them
in the Quarterly Statement the Committee do not sanction or adopt them.
Annual subscribers are earnestly requested to forward their subscriptions for
the current year when due, at their earliest convenience, and without waiting for
application.
The Committee are always glad to receive old numbers of the Quarterly State'
ment, especially those which are advertised as out of print.
4 MEETING AT SOUTH KENSINGTON.
Attention is called to the statement already advertised, that subscribers
to the Fund are privileged by the publishers to receive both the "Literary
Kemains of the late Mr. C. F. Tyrwhitt Drake," and the "Underground,
Jerusalem " of Captain Warren, at reduced rates. The former book will be sent
for ten shillings, the latter for sixteen shillings, postage paid. But letters asking
for them must be sent to the office at 9, Pall Mall East only.
Ladies desirous of joining the Ladies' Associations are requested to communi-
cate with Mrs. Finn, The Elms, Brook Green, London, W. The full report of
meetings held by Mrs. Finn during the last quarter will be published in April,
as, owing to the early publication of this Statement, it could not be prepared in
time.
Cases for binding the Quarterly Statement are now ready, and can be had on
application to Messrs. R. Bentley and Son, 8, New Burlington Street. They are
in green or brown cloth, with the stamp of the Society, uniform in appearance
with "Our Work in Palestine," and are sold at the price of eighteenpence.
Lieut. Kitchener's Guinea Book of Biblical Photographs can be bought at Mr.
Stanford's establishment, .^5, Charing Cross. It contains twelve views, with a
short account of each. They are mounted on tinted boards, and handsomely
bound.
MEETING AT SOUTH KENSINGTON.
On Monday eveuing, November 12tli, a meeting on behalf of the
Palestine Exploration Fund was held in the Vestry Hall, Kensington,
the Vicar presiding. The hall was densely crowded by an attentive and
enthusiastic audience, and a large number of persons were unable to
obtain admission. On the platform were the Eev. Dr. Hessey, Eev. Dr.
Stoughton, Dr. Gladstone, F.R.S., Mr. J. MacGregor, M.A., Mr. W. S.
W. Vaux, Eev. H. Cocks, Dr. Ealeigh, Mr. S. C. Hall, Eev. S. Sabunjie,
D.D., of Beyrout, Eev. G. Wingate, M.A., Eev. E. Macbeth, Mr. T.
Fordham, Lieutenant C. E. Conder, E.E., Dr. Grove, Mr. Edmond
Beales, M.A., Mr Walter Besant, Dr. Dudfield, Eev. J. S. Eussell,
M.A., Mr. H. Wright, J.P., Eev. C. T. Ackland, Mr. Hugh Matheson,
and other gentlemen. The Eev. Horrocks Cocks having stated that
letters from the Earl of Shaftesbury, Lord Lawrence, G.C.B., Mr. J. A.
Froude, M.A., the Bishop of Sydney, Sir Trevor LaAvrence, M.P., Mr.
W. Hepworth Dixon, Eev. Dr. Forrest, Major Wilson, Hon. Captain
Maude, E.N., Lord Kensington, M.P., and several other gentlemen,
had been received, all cordially approving of the object of the meeting,
the "Vicar, after a short but suggestive address, called upon Mr. George-
Grove, founder of the Fund, to address the meeting. Mr. Grove, in a.
most lucid address, explained the origin and purposes of the Exploration
Fund. Mr. John MacGregor (Eob Eoy) gave a description of the size
of the Holy Land, and taking Hyde Park as representing Jerusalem,
gave the relative positions of the Temple, the Mount of Olives, the
Dead Sea, Bethlehem, the Sea of Galileo, and other localities. Mr.
MacGregor said that the outline was but a cough one, but it was sugges-
tive. Thus modern Jerusalem might be supposed to occupy that part of
COMPLETION OF THE SURVEY. O
Hyde Park to the cast bounded by the Serpentine. The site of the Temple
— Mount Moriah — the space north of the Achilles statue, and Zion — the
Dairy. Gethsemane would be located at Grosvenor Square, and the Pool
of Bethesda at Grosvenor Gate, while the Pool of Siloam would be Buck-
ingham Palace Gardens water, and the brook Kedron Park Lane.
The Holy Sepulchre would be on the site of the Barracks, and
Herod's Palace on the house of the Eoyal Humane Society. The
Guards' House at the bridge represented the Jaffa Gate, and the Mount
of Olives — 2,700 feet above the sea level — would be in Bond Street.
The uj)per pool of Gihon would be at the Eound Pond in Kensington
Gardens, and the Damascus Gate would be represented by Victoria Gate.
Petersburg-place, Bayswater, would be the site of the Russian Convent,
and Eachel's Tomb would be close to Chelsea Bridge. Bethlehem would
be on Wandsworth Common ; Hebron at Eedhill ; the Dead Sea — -1,300
feet below the sea level — at Erith ; Carmel at Leicester ; Nazareth at
Peterborough ; and Mount Hebron at the mouth of the Humber ; while
the Sea of Galilee would be in the Fens of Norfolk, near Stoke, and the
Mediterranean at Great Marlow. Dr. Gladstone followed in an earnest
and admirable speech, and he was followed by Lieutenant Conder, E.E.,
who, in a most interesting and instructive address, gave an outline of
some of his discoveries in the Holy Land. Lieutenant Conder was fol-
lowed by the Eev. Dr. Stoughton, the Eev. Horrocks Cocks, and the
Yicar.
The following is the first list of subscriptions and donations, some
given in the room, and some following after the meeting : —
The Vicar of Kensington .
Dr. Gladstone, F.R.S
Lord Lawrence, G.C.B. .
Lord Kensington
H. Wright, Esq., J.P
Miss E. Hockley ... 5
Miss Maiy Hockley 5
Mrs. Deane Browne ,
Eev. C. D. Reade, M.A. ...
Rev. Francis Hessey, D. C. L
Rev. R. W. Forrest, D.D.
Hod. Capt. Maude, R.N...
Edmond Beales, Esq., M.A.
Capt. Obert
S. C. Hall, Esq., F.S.A. ..
£10
0
0
10
0
0
5
0
0
5
0
0
5
0
0
5
0
0
5
0
0
5
0
0
2
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Rev. C. T. Ackland £1
Rev. N. L. Blewitt 1
Gisborn Molineux, Esq 1
Mr. Lyon 1
Mr. Walter T. Lyon 1
Mr. Reuben Green 1
Mr. C. R. Stanham 1
Mr. W. N. Froy 1
Mr. E. M. Com-tney 1
Miss Browne 0
Mr. AV. Wright 0
Mr. Webb 0
Small sums 0
Collection at Vestry Hall ... 24
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
10
6
10
6
10
6
14
6
3
6
COMPLETION OF THE SUEVEY.
The following letter appeared in the morning papers of October 5th,
1877 :—
" Palestine Exploration Fund,
" 9, Pall Mall East, Oct. 3.
" Sir, — I have great pleasure, in the name of the Committee of this
Fund, to inform you that a telegram has this day been received from.
b COMPLETION OF THE SURVEY.
Lieutenant Kitchener, E.E., the officer in command, announcing the
completion of the scientific Survey of Western Palestine. When that
officer took out the party in January last there remained to be done about
1,000 square miles of Northern Palestine, including the greater portion,
of the province of Galilee, and 200 miles in the south, between Gaza
and Beersheba. The northern piece of country, begun on the 27th of
February last, was finished on July the 10th. The whole of this portion
of the work, including the map in sheets, the hill-shading, and the
special plans, was put together in the Lebanon, and sent home by one
of the noncommissioned officers. It is now under the charge of Lieu-
tenant Conder at the Society's working office in the South Kensington
Museum. After a short rest the expedition proceeded to the south and
completed the small portion there waiting to be smweyed. Lieutenant
Kitchener is now riding over the district already surveyed in order to
clear up on the spot certain small difficulties which have arisen in lay-
ing down the work at home. We expect the party back in England
before the end of the year. The Committee, in making this gratifying
announcement, must express their sense of the zeal, ability, and vigour
with which their work has been conducted by the officers of Eoyal
Engineers placed at their disposal br her Majesty's Government during
the last twelve years, including the names of Major Wilson and Captain
Anderson, the first officers sent out by the Societj^, and that of Captain
Warren, the excavator of Jerusalem. With the exception of fifteen
months in 1875-76 spent in office work, the Survey has been in active
progress since its commencement in January, 1872. Its history, which
remains to be v."ritten, and which we hope to present to the world before
long, abounds in records of events, adventures, and escapes, as well as
of solid and uninterrupted labour. At the very beginning success was
threatened by the illness which compelled the officer who began the
Survey, Captain Stewart, to return to England. His place was taken and
the Survey carried on by Mr. Tyrwhitt Drake until the arrival of Lieut.
Conder. In the third year of the Survey Mr. Drake fell a victim to the
climate, exposure, and hard work. After his death Lieutenant Kitchener
Avent out to join the party as second in command. In the fourth
year, July 187j, occurred the attack on the expedition at Safed,
after which the party came home and remained in England during the
necessary office work until last January, when Lieutenant Kitchener
went out again to complete the task now happily accomplished. We
now hold in our hands the materials of a map which will give the
world such a geography of Palestine as ■will make the tojaography of the
Bible for the first time completely intelligible. The map will consist of
twenty-six sheets, each to be accompanied by its own memoir. These
memoirs contain some thousands of names, very many of them of Biblical
places heretofore not identified, together with many of those found in
Talmudic, early Christian, and Crusading histoiies. There are special de-
tailed plans of the most important ruins, and thei'e is a vast mass of in-
formation on Biblical subjects which Lieutenant Conder is now reducing to
COMPLETION OF THE STJKVEY. 7
shape. As regards the future of the Society we have, as our first duty,
to get our observations worked out, the map-drawing and hill-shading
completed, and the memoirs finished. "We are confident that the
sujjport which has enabled us to complete our Survey will be continued
until the map and the results of the exploration are placed in the hands
of the public in an available forni.
" I remain, Sir,
" Your obedient servant,
" W. Hepworth Dixox,
" Chairman of the Executive Coruviittee."
The following correspondence has passed between the Chairman of
the Executive Committee and H.E. Musurus Pasha : —
Palestine Exploration Fund,
9, Pall Mall East, Nov. 1, 1877.
Sir, — I have the honour, in the name of the Committee of this Society,
to inform yoiir Excellency that the Survey of Western Palestine is now
completed, and that the Committee have in their hands material for the
construction of an accurate map, on the scale of one inch to a mile, of
the whole of that country.
The success of this important work has been much aided by the liberal
and generous way in which it has been regarded from the outset by the
Imperial Ottoman Government and by the Pashas and Governors of the
districts over which the work was cai-ried. The Committee desire to
express to your Excellency their sense of the assistance thus afforded.
The duty further devolves upon me of conveying to you the best thanks
of the Committee for your personal intervention on more than one occa-
sion in favour of our work.
Vt^'e believe that we shall have the map ready for publication in the
course of the next year, when I hope to have the honour of forwarding
one of the earliest copies to your Excellency for the use of the Imperial
Ottoman Government.
I have the honour to remain.
Your obedient servant,
W. Hepwoktii Dixon,
Chairman Executive Committee.
Imperial Ottoman Embassy,
London, Nov. 3, 1877.
Sir, — I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of
the 1st instant, in which you are good enough to express the thanks of
the Palestine Exploration Committee for the assistance afforded by the
authorities of the Imperial Government in the Survey of Western Pales-
tine.
In thanking you for your kind intention of sending me a copy of the
8 JOURNAL OF THE SUEVEY.
map for the use of the Imperial Government, I beg to say that I shall
have much pleasure in communicating your above-mentioned letter to
my Government, who will, I am sure, share the satisfaction I experi-
ence at having in any way contributed to the success of the efforts of
your Comnuttee.
I have the honour to be, Sir,
Your obedient servant,
MUSUEUS.
JOUENAL OF THE SURVEY.
The following are extracts from Lieut. Kitchener's letters to the
Committee :
Jerusalem, Oct. 2, 1877.--I am sure you will be glad to hear that the
map is an accomplished fact, and six years' work has been finished. We
wound up at Beersheba on the 28th of September, much quicker than I
expected, though the work in the south was 340 square miles instead of
200. The fact is we had to work hard ; the water was so bad, being
salt, and the colour of weak tea, and our bread all went mouldy. The
country we have been in is only inhabited by Arabs, who have been at
war amongst themselves for the last three years. They said no Europeans
had ever been in this part of the country before, which I can believe
from the very bad state of all existing maps of the district. You will
see by my report the details of our campaign and the discovery of
Ziklag. Everybody was very full of the danger of going to Beersheba,
but I found no Arabs within five hours of the place. In fact, every one
is so afraid that no one goes there. I had some difficulty in getting rid
of the expensive escorts the Kaimacam of Gaza wanted to impose upon
me, but at last we started with only our own party. The Kaimacam
did it out of civility, and really was afraid of us. We got back here at
the end of the month, a week earlier than I had calculated upon. I
now have a full fortnight of office work, and will then send you home
the results, keeping duplicates ; we shall then take up the revision, which
I expect will take some time. I cannot say how long it will take me
till I get it well in hand ; I will then send you an estimate. Expenses
were high among the Arabs, and I had a great deal of travelling, but I
still keep on the right side of the estimate. From Beersheba I had to
take my camels by force, as those that brought us wished to desert and
leave us there, in which case wo might be there now.
The most important revision work is about Nablus, and I hope to do
Jacob's Well up at the same time. The party are all well, none the
worse for the roughing it. The news in the country is of the murder of
a young Englishman named Gale, who started from Nazareth to walk
to Haifa, and was not afterwards heard of. His remains have since
been found. I knew him at Haifa, and am extremely shocked and dis-
JOURNAL OF THE SURVEY. »
tressed at his sad end. Mr. Moore is going up to hold an official inquiry.
Hero everything is quiet, and people hope for travellers to bring a little
cash. There is a good deal of distress, as the year has been very bad,
harvest failing entirely, and all the men taken for the war. A com-
mittee have started subscriptions for the poor families of redifs. The
country seems quite safe for travellers. If any one asks you, I believe
myself safer than before the war, as there are so few young men in the
country; extra precautions are now necessary against thie7es, as
deserters are hidden about in all the hills, caves, &c., and make raids in
the night-time. I am not sure whether I told you before of an expedi-
tion that was made to Moab to verify the Shapira pottery. It was sent
by the German Government, and the consul here, Baron Von Mun-
chausen, Avent as the principal commissioner.
Jerusalem, Oct. 11.— I have little or no news to tell you. The ther-
mometer has been at 102 deg. in shade at noon every morning for the
last week. I am in treaty with the Patriarch about Jacob's Well. If I
build up the wall, repair the well, &c., I want him to build a small
lodge and undertake to keep a guardian to preserve the site. His
Beatitude, as they call him here, has referred the matter to the synod,
and will give me an answer in a few days. Of course I give up all
claim to the promised site for the Protestant Church.
Jerusalem, Oct. 15. — To-morrow I start for the north, and work the
revision back, doing Jacob's Well en route. The Greek Patriarch has
delayed me two days in negotiating about the well. I told you in my
last he had refused. I saw him next morning early, and put it clearly
before him that a refusal, after having promised to allow the work,
would cause a very bad impression in England. After considerable
talk he promised to see the synod again on the subject, and Monday
afternoon called upon me. I was unfortunately out revising ; however,
this morning, by his desire, I attended a service in the H. S. Church,
and afterwards saw him at the Patriarchate. It was his fete day, and
he held a reception of all the Greek community. I was treated with
the greatest civility, chair and carpet in the church, and a seat next
Patriarch above all the bishops in reception. He then showed me a
French document declaring I had no claim on the site, and that Protes-
tant Church had none, that no work could be done without his per-
mission. This I agreed to, but stipulated if I put a wall round the site
and a gate, that all Christians should have a right and facility of
entrance. This was at once agreed to. He then said they had no money
to build the chamber for the guardian, as I had asked him to do, and
that the key should be kept till he could do so at the Greek convent in
Nablus. I objected, and said in that case I would buy the gate, but
not put it up till the guardian's chamber was ready. At last we came
to the decision that the key should be kept in the village close by,
within a stone's-throw, and that a notice in English of where it was to
be procured should be put on the gate, and notice of any change should
be given to the English Consul. I hope these arrangements will meet
10 LIEUT, kitchener's REPORTS.
■witii the approval of the Committee. All discoveries of antiquities, &c.,
are to be handed over to Greek Patriarch by agreement. Corporal
Brophy is ill, but will be well enough to start to-morrow, I hope. I
have seen the German Consul about his visit to Moab. The Baron
was extremely civil and obliging in giving me a detailed account of his
expedition. The qiiestion seems, however, still an open one as to the
genuineness of the pottery. A curious point was on a cave they dug
open ; there was vegetation on the earth and rocks that had to be
removed to effect an entrance. They found a broken idol and some pots
inside.
Nahlus, Nov. 4. — I have just received the October Quarterly, and wish
to notice a mistake in punctuation which makes my description of Malia
nonsense. It is on p. 177. Will you alter it thus :
" A modern Christian village now occupies this site. It is situated
on a narrow top, forming the south-east corner of the ranges of hills
coming from the north and west, from which it is slightly detached by
small valleys. A steep descent on the south leads to a broad valley."
I was very much gratined at the way the Committee mentioned my
work at the General Meeting.
I hope, if we are not further delayed by wet weather, to finish up by
the end of November. The revision has been the hardest work I have
done yet, and not at all the pleasant trip it has been described to be.
■ Beit Ur el TaJitd,'Nov. 10. — We are getting on very well with the
revision. I have discovered Ai, I think — Khiu-bet Haiy ; I do not think
any one has found it before, but am not sure. It is one mile east of
Michmach. I think all the sites proposed hitherto for Ai have been
west of Michmach.
LIEUT. KITCHENER'S EEPOETS.
VII.
Jerusalem, 7th September, 1877.
The work of this month has been entirely office work and travelling.
In order to send home the map of the north everything had to be made
in duplicate for fear of loss on the journey. Early in the month I took
a short trip in the Lebanon, leaving the non-commissioned officers at
work at Aleih. I first visited Mr. Jago at Eludan, and then rode round
by Baalbek, the Cedars, and Nahr el Kelb, back to Aleih. This route is
so well known that a descrij^tion of it would be suijerfluous. On my
return I found the resolution of the Committee, recalling one of my
non-commissioned officers with the map. I selected Sergeant Malings
to go, as he had been suffering from fever for some time, and he left by
the Austrian steamer of the 23rd with all the originals of the map com-
plete. A duplicate of everything has been kept in this country. On the
24th I started from Aleih for Jerusalem. Our first day was to Sidon.
LIETJT. kitchener's REPORTS. 11
We suffered considerably from the heat. For over ten years so hot a day
has not been known in the country. At midday I got a slight sunstroke,
and I did not get into camp at Sidon till 1.30 a.m. Everybody was
much exhausted, and my dogs nearly died, though they were carried all
the way. At Aleih the thermometer stood at ninety-three degrees in
the shade, and at Nazareth at 114 degrees. Next day we started at
six p.m., and travelled by moonlight, which was much more pleasant.
In the next three days Ave camped atRas el 'Ain, Acre, and at Nazareth.
At Acre I saw H.E. the Pasha, who was very polite and obliging
I stayed two days at Nazareth to rest the animals, and then left for
Jenin. On the way I paid a visit to the sheikh of the Beni Sakr — his camp
was close to Solam. The tribe have come from the other side of Jordan,
and now occupy the country between Beisan and Tiberias ; their large
troops of camels are seen grazing over the plain of Esdraelon. The
fellahin have to take up whatever crops remain on the ground before
they are ripe, or have it eaten by them. Fendy el Feis is the chief
sheikh of the tribe, and can muster 4,500 spears in case of necessity.
His tent was much longer than any of the others. The sheikh is a very
fine old man, and was better dressed and cleaner than the others. We
received Arab hospitality, in the shape of excellent coffee, preserved
dates, &c. The sheikh showed us his sword, a Damascus blade kept
with great care, also a coat of mail, which probably dated from early
Saracenic times. They had none of their trained falcons with them,
having left them all on the other side of Jordan. The sheikh said he
would be very glad to help us if we came to make a map of his part of
the country. Next day we arrived at Nablus, and I visited Jacob's
Well, about which I send you a few separate notes. The day after, the
2nd September, I rode into Jerusalem. The mules had to make two
days of this journey, so we put up in the hotel for one night.
I hope soon to be able to start for the southern portion of the Survey.
The country is now quiet in that direction for the fii'st time for three years.
I send you some special notes on recent discoveries at Jerusalem.
VIII.
Camp at Jerusaxem, Odder 2nd, 1877.
I am glad to be able to report that the work of this month has finished
the map of Palestine from Dan to Beersheba. There remains only the
revision of the earlier portion of the map, and when that is completed
all the data necessary for the publication of the map will be safely in
England.
On the 12th September we left Jerusalem with the object of surveying
the desert between Gaza and Beersheba. Our first day's march was to
Hebron, where I attached two soldiers to the expedition. The acting
kaimacam replied to my request for the soldiers that two were quite
insufficient. However, on my asking for his reply in writing to submit
to the pacha, the soldiers were immediately forthcoming. I found out
12 liiEUT. kitchener's reports.
here ttat the next village I was going to, Dhoheriyeh, was entirely
deserted. Owing to the bad year, the inhabitants were not able to pay
taxes, and found it better to desert their homes. There is also a great
want of water in the countrj'.
I therefore changed my plans, and marched to Beit Jibrin. Here we
found barley and provisions very dear, owing to the bad harvest. I
could learn little or nothing about the country I was going to, as the
fellahin and Arabs have always a feud with each other, and neither dare
venture into the other's territory. However, I found out that there was
water at Tell el Hesy, and determined to find my way there. Next day
we marched to Tell el Hesy, and encamped there. We were now entii-ely
in the Arab country, having left all villages some hours behind us. The
principal sheikh of the Jubarat Ai-abs, Sheikh 'Aid ed Dibs, came, and
was very civil, promising all sorts of assistance. The Arabs were
naturally extremely astonished to see us, as no travellers had ever been
in their country before. I found it was necessary to establish an Arab
guard on the tents, as the Taiyahah Arabs make frequent raids in this
part, and by this means Sheikh 'Aid ed Dibs was made to a certain
extent responsible for anything that might be stolen.
The whole country was as bare as a freshly-ploughed field, and, far
from being a dead level, as shown on existing maps, not a tree or house
to be seen in the wide prospect of rolling ground. In the spring, how-
ever, all this country is green ^\4th barley. Last year the crops en-
tirely failed. "We had luckily come to the only place with water for
many miles round, and here it was very brackish, and the colour of
%veak tea.
On Saturday, the 15th, we started the tiiangulation, and were able to
finish in one day after observing from three points. On Monday the
surveymg commenced. Our Arab guides were a cause of some difficulty,
as they were afraid of going far south, and were most exorbitant in
their demands for backsheesh. Luckily it is Eamadan, the month in
which the Moslems are not allowed to eat or drink while the sun is up,
so that we escaped being obliged to feed a large number of visitors.
All the week the work went on steadily. Coming back from the south,
or enemy's country, in the evening, wc often scared the Arabs with
their flocks of camels, and once Corporal Brophy was charged by an
Arab with a spear to within a few inches of his face.
Our principal discovery was the ruins of Ziklag, which still bears the
name of Khurbet Zuheilikah. Lieutenant Conder first heard the
name, and suggested the identification. The ruins occur on three small
hills in the form of an equilateral triangle, nearly half a mile apart.
The highest hill of the three is to the north, and forms the apex of the
triangle. There are a number of ancient ruined cisterns at the ruins,
but, as in almost every case in this part of the country, the stones have
all been removed, the sites ploughed over, and they are only visible
now by the white patches on the dark soil, which show Avell even at a
distance at this time of year, though in the spring they are completely
LIEUT. KITCHENEU'S EEPORTS. 13
hid by the crops. The site is in the open rolling plain, some distance
from the low hills of the Shofalah. It is 11 miles distant from Gaza, on
a line bearing 25 degrees south of east, and is 19 miles south-west of
Beit Jibrin.
Three miles south of Khurbet Zuheilikah runs the broad Wady
Bashkhah, or Wady Sheri'ah (both names are used for it by the Arabs).
This may be the brook Besor mentioned in 1 Sam. xxx., whore the 200
faint and weary stayed from following David in his pursuit of the
Amalekites. South of this is the country of the Azzazimch Arabs, the
modern representatives of the Amalekites, and even now continual raids
are made across the wady into the northern country, from which
they carry off all they can lay hands on. One hundred and sixty govern-
ment soldiers are now stationed on the wady to prevent these incursions.
It is evident that this portion of the country is in a very similar state to
what it was in the time of David, when this wady probably formed the
boundary of the kingdom of Gath.
Another fine ruin, Khurbet Zebalah, five miles east of Khurbet
Zuheilikah, appears to me as likely to represent Baalah or Balah of the
list in Josh. xv. It is a large and important ruin on the banks of a
wady, with many cisterns and an ancient well.
On Monday, the 24th, camp was moved to Kuweilfeh, where there is
a line well of water. Our Arab friends, though very strong in their
protestations that they could not let us go to Bir es Seba alone, at the
last moment shirked off, and would not come, which I was not sorry for.
We had one hard day's work amongst the low hills of the Shefalah,
which are studded with large ruins, principally of early Christian times,
judging from the remains of churches found at them. Kuweilfeh itself
is a large and important ruin commanding a pass through which the
main road leads from the hills to the plain. A large partially artificial
plateau was probably the site of some important fortress, of which there
are now no traces except cisterns. The valley down to the well shows
many traces of ruined buildings.
Three quarters of a mile south of Kuweilfeh is another important
ruin, Khurbet Umm er Eemamin, which has been identified with Eim-
mon. Here there are foundations of many buildings. Oa the top of
the hill there are the foundations of an important square building of
large well-dressed stones, and lower down there are the bases of three
columns in situ, which probably belonged to a church, though without
excavations it is impossible to say exactly. There are numbers of caves
and rock-cut cisterns at all these ruins.
On the 2Gth we moved camp to Bir es Seba. "We had been warned of
some danger from the Arabs in this part, but found the country entirely
deserted. The fact being that this portion of the country is equally
feared by both tribes, therefore neither dare venture into it except for
raids. We had considerable difficulty about the names, and I am con-
vinced that in less troubled times more might be collected in this part.
From this camp we finished the map commenced almost exactly six
years ago.
14 LIEUT, kitchener's REPORTS.
Our journey back was rapid, owing to all cur bread having gone
mouldy and our provisions run short. Our first day took us to Dura
on the road. At the wells near El Burg some fellahin were watering
their flocks of goats. Seeing a mounted party arriving from the Bedouin
country, they raised a shout of " Bedouins ! " Away went the goats at a
gallop up the hills. This we were used to, and rode on trying to reassure
them by shouting "Soldiers!" when about fifteen men ran together
behind some stone walls, and after gesticulating frantically, opened fire
upon us. The balls whistled by and threw up the dust under our horses'
feet, so we pulled up, and after some difficulty succeeded in making
them understand who M^e were. After all, we ran more danger from
our friends than from the much-dreaded Arabs. At Dura some boys
threw stones at Corporal Sutherland, so I had them publicly flogged.
Next day, Saturday, we marched into Jerusalem, our horses rather
done up by their hard work. Our tents and camels did not arrive till
after dark. We shall now have about a fortnight's work preparing
everything in duplicate. I will then send home the last portion of the
map and take up the worlc of the revision.
The amount surveyed was 340 square miles, making a total since we
have been out of 1,340 square miles.
One hundred and four ruins have been examined and mapped in this
latter portion of the Survey.
IX.
Nablcs, 1st November, 1877.
The early portion of the month of October was taken up in preparing
the last 340 square miles of the map to go home ; this was done at Jeru-
salem; some revision of the country round was also completed. Ar-
rangements were also made with His Grace the Greek Patriarch of
Jerusalem, granting me full permission to repair Jacob's "Well.
On the 17th I marched north to Zerin, revising on the road. My
camps were Khan Lebban, Jeb'a, Zerin.
From Zerin I sent an expedition to Tiberias to inquire after the name
Sinn en Nabia, which I had heard still existed on the shores of the Sea of
Galilee. The name was found to be well known, and applies to the
ruins west of the road at Kerak. A description of this site was given in
my report on the Sea of Galilee.
On the 23rd the revision of the country round Zerin was complete,
and camp was moved to Nablus, where I intended to repair Jacob's
Well. Unfortunately, owing to the bad government here, that design
has been frustrated ; when the matter is settled I will forward a special
report on what has occurred.
A special plan has been made of Samaria, and another of the church
there ; also one of the town of Nablus.
The revision of the country round is almost completed.
ITINERARIES OF OUR LORD. 15
The weather has been very bad— heavy storms of wind and rain ; two
days have been lost by wet weather.
The country is, in my opinion, now in a more dangerous state than it
has been anytime this year. I attribute it to the elation felt by Moham-
medans at having been able to beat so large a Christian power as Eussia.
H. H. Kitchener, Lieut. E.E.
ITINEEAEIES OF OUE LOED.
St. Aidan's College, Nov. 1877.
In the January number of the Quarterly Statement for 1877, Mr.
Hep worth Dixon invited attention to this subject. Having studied it
carefully myself, I shall be glad to lay the results before the readers of
the Quarterly Statement, and hope it may call forth further information.
Our Lord's ministry lasted, in all probability, three years and a half.
In this opinion, and in my succeeding statements, I follow Robinson's
Harmony, a cheap edition of which has been published in English by
the Eeligious Tract Society, and forms an excellent manual for studying
the subject. We may divide the three years and a half into |three
periods, reckoning by the Passovers which occurred during our Lord's
ministry. The first period will be eighteen months, the second a year,
the last also a year. In the first period our Lord's Itinerary would be,,
so far as the places are mentioned in the gospels : 1 , Bethabara to the
wilderness; 2, to Cana of Galilee; 3, to Capernaum ; 4, to Jerusalem
for the first passover ; 5, to the Jordan ; 6, to Sychar ; 7, to Cana of
Galilee the second time ; 8, to Nazareth ; 9, to Capernaum, which
became our Lord's headquarters in Galilee, and from which He made
various excursions, of which no details are given; 10, to Jerusalem
again for the Passover. It should be noted here that instead of Bethabara
which appears in our Bibles as the place of Christ's baptism, the best-
manuscripts read Bethany in John i. 28.
In the second period the Itinerary woidd begin again at Jerusalem
and go (2) to Capernaum ; (3) to the Mount of Beatitudes ; (4) back to
Capernaum; (5) to Nain ; (6) back to Capernaum, from which our Lord
made a circuit through Galilee, and returned to the Sea of Galilee, where-
He preached from the ship ; (7) to Gadara ; (8) back to Capernaum ; (9) to
Nazareth the second time ; (10) back to Capernaum, from which He made
another circuit in Galilee; (11) to Bethsaida east or north-east of
the lake; (12) to Capernaum, when He walked on the sea.
This ends the second period. Our Lord did not go up for the Passover
that year (John vii. 1), but He went up to the Feast of Tabernacles six
months later. The third period, therefore, begins at Capernaum in the
spring. From Capernaum He went ( 1 ) to the coasts of Tyre and Sidon ;
(2) to Decapolis ; (3) to Magdala and Dalmanutha across the hike ; (4) to
Bethsaida; (5) to Ciesarea Philippi ; (i>) to the Mount of Trans liguration,
C
16 THE rOSITION OF SIGN.
probably Hermon, and not Tabor as generally supposed ; (7) to Caper-
naum for the last time; (8) to Bethany; (9) to Jerusalem for the Feast of
Tabernacles ; (10) to Bethany again ; (11) to Jerusalem to the Feast of
the Dedication in winter ; (12) to Bethabara (or Bethany beyond Jordan),
where He was baptized ; (13) to Bethany to raise Lazarus ; (14) to Ephraim ;
(15) through Pertea ; (16) to Jericho ; (17) to Bethphage and Bethany;
(18) to Jerusalem for the last Passover.
These Itineraries, though partly conjectural as to the exact order, are
in the main features, and in the names of the places, clear and certain.
They are also of the deepest interest, yet, as Mr. Hepworth Dixon has
observed, no special and continuous study has been given to the subject.
I have never seen maps drawn to illustrate these Itineraries, except what
I have drawn myself.
I should like also to add a supplement to a letter of Lieutenant Conder
in the Quarterly Statement of October, 187G. He there gives a list of
twenty-two names which he says " almost, if not entirely, exhausts the
toj)ography of the New Testament " as regards Palestine. Yet he has
omitted the following : (1) Arimathca ; (2) Azotus ; (3) Bethphage ; (4)
Dalmanutha ; (o) Gadara ; (6) Gergesa ; (7) Joppa ; (8) Lydda ; (9)
Magdala. We should observe that instead of Magdala in Matt. xv. 39
the Sinaitic and Vatican MSS. read Magadan ; also that the name Persea,
which does not appear anywhere in the common text, is given in Luke
vi. 17 in the Sinaitic MS.
J. T. KlXGSMILL.
THE POSITIONS OF SION IN THE EOUETH, EIETH,
AND SIXTH CENTUEIES.
The following extracts, taken from Tobler's " PalsestinEe Descrip-
tiones ex Sa3Ciilo, IV., V., et VI.," contain what bears upon the
position of Sion in the accounts of travellers of that period. They are
given here without note or translation for the iise of those interested in
the determination of this question.
1. The first is from the Bordeaux Pilgrim (a.d. 333). After describ-
ing the site and condition of the Temple, he says : —
" Item exeiuiti Hierusalem ut ascendas Sion, in parte sinistra et
deorsum in valle, juxta niurum, est piscina qute dicitur Siloa et habet
quadriporticum et alia piscina grandis foras.
Inde eadem via ascenditur Sion, et paret iibi fuit domus Caiphse
sacerdotis, et columna adhuc ibi est, in qua Christum flagellis cecide-
vunt. Intus autem, intra murum Sion, paret locus, ubi palatium habuit
David. . .
Inde ut eas foras murum de Sion eunti ad portam neapolitanam ad
partem dexteram, deorsum in valle sunt parietcs, ubi domus fuit sive
pra3torium Pontii Pilati ; ubi Dominus auditus est antequam pate-
THE POSITIOIT OF SION.
17
retur. A sinistra antem parte est monticulus Golgotha ubi Dominus
crucifixus est. Inde quasi ad laj^idis missuui est cryptu, ubi corpus ejus
positum fuit et tertio die surrexit. Ibidem mode jussu Constantini
imperatoris basilica facta est, id est, dominicum mirae pulcbritudinis
habens ad latus exceptoriuui unde aqua levatur, et balneum a tergo ubi
infantes lavantur."
II. Sanctae Paulse Peregrinatio (circa a.d. .380). After praying at the
Holy Sepulchre she ascends Sion : —
" Inde egrediens ascendit Sion qute in arcem vel speculam vertitur.
Hanc urbem quondam expugnabit et reasdificavit David."
III. P. Eucherii epitome de aliquibus locis Sanctis (a.d. 427) : —
"Situs ipse urbis pene in orbem circumactus, non parvo murorum
ambitu, quo etiam montem Sion quondam vicinum jam inti'a se recipit
qui a mcridie positus pro arce urbi supereminet. Major civitatis pars
infra montem jacet in planitie humilioris collis posita.
Mons Sion latere uuo quod aquilonem respicit, clericorum religios-
orumqe habitationibus frequentatur cujus in vertice planitiem mona-
chorum cellulse obtinent ecclesiam cirumdantes quse illic, ut fertur, ab
apostolis fundata pro loci resurrectionis dominicse reverentia.
Primum de locis Sanctis. Pro conditione platearum divertendum est
ad basilicam qua3 martyrium appellatur a Constantino magno cultu
extructa. Dehinc cohasrentia ab occasu insunt Golgotha atque anastasis ;
sed anastasis in loco est resurrectionis Golgotha vero medius inter anas-
tasim ac martyrium locus est dominicse passionis ; in quo etiam rupes
apparet quae quondam ipsam, affixo Domini corpore, crucem pertulit.
Atque htec tum extra montem Sion posita cernuntur quo se ad aquilonem
deficiens loci tumor porrigit. Templum vero in iuferiori j)arte urbis
in vicinia muri ab orieute locatum magnificeque constructum quondam
miraculum fuit, ex quo parietis unius in minis qutedam pinna stat super
reliquis ad fundamenta usque destructis.
Ab ea fronte montis Sion quse prajrupta rupe orientalem plagani
spectat infra muros atque e radicibus collis fons Siloa prorumpit."
IV. Theodori Liber de situ Terrco Sanctee (sixth century) : — -
" In medio civitatis est basilica. A parte occidentis intras in sanctam
resurrectionem ubi est sepulcrum Domini nostri lesu Christi. Et est
ibi mons Calvarise ad quem montem per gradus callis est. Ibi Domi-
nus crucifixus est et ibi est altare grande ; sub uno teeto est. De
SepulcroDomine usque in Calvarige locum sunt passus numero XV. . . .
De CalvarifE loco usque in Golgotham passus sunt numero XV. . . . De
Golgotha usque in Sanctam Sion passus numero CO, qua3 est mater omnium
ecclesiarum. . . . De Sancta Sion ad domum Caiaphte qua3 est modo
ecclesia Sancta Petri sunt plus minus passus numero L. De domo
Caiaphaj ad praetorium Pilati plus minus passus numero C. Ibi est
ecclesia sanctae Sophiae."
18
NOTES FEOM THE MEMOIE.
The Vale of Siddim. — There has been much doubt as to the meaning-
of this name. Gesenius compares it with the Arabic Sidd, and Dean
Stanley with Sddeh. It is worthy of notice that the words Sidd and
Sddeh are frequently used in the Jordan valley with a meaning peculiar
to the dialect of that part of the country. Thus we have Sidd el 'Atiyeh,
*' the dry Sidd," applying to one of the great marl banks below the cliffs
of the Dead Sea, near Eas Feshkhah. The word was in this instance
explained to us as meaning a cliff. Again, we have Deir es Sidd,
" Convent of the Cliff," a ruin on the edge of a precipice; Sidd Hariz,
"the fortified cliff," a precipice near Phasaelis; Sddet el Fikiah, "the
cracked cliff; " Sddet el Mirmil, " cHff of rue ; " Sddet en Nahleh, " cHff
of the torrent;" Sddet et Tdleh, "the straight cliff;" Wddy Siddeli,
" the valley of cliffs." The word is unknown to the inhabitants of the
towns ; it seems peculiar to the Jordan valley, and does not occur in the
nomenclature of the other parts of the country. We may perhaps render
the Yale of Siddim " Valley of Cliffs," and the title would apply to the
neighbourhood of the Dead Sea or to the whole valley.
Ataroth Adar (Josh, xviii. 13). — This place is of the highest importance
in drawing the boundary line of Benjamin. It is most minutely described
as " near the hill that lieth on the south side of the nether Beth-horon."
Looking at this spot on the map, I find it occupied by the ruin of
ed Ddrieh, which no doubt represents the ancient name Adar. The
same place is perhaps the Addara of the Onomasticon, east of Lydda.
Irj)eel (Josh, xviii. 27) is a town of Benjamin, long sought in vain.
The root of the name may be recognised in the modern Rd-fdt, being
the same from which the name Eephaim is derived. The final el would
in this case be supposed to have been lost, as in many other instances
in the country in which it has disappeared.
Valley of Chnrashim, — I do not think I have ever noticed that this
word is recognisable in the ruin called Hirsha, on the side of the valley
which has always been supposed to be intended (1 Chron. iv. 14 ; Neh.
xi. 35).
Nehhalin, near Jerusalem, may perhaps be the native town of Shemaiab.
the Nehelamite, the enemy of Jeremiah (Jer. xxix. 24, 31, 32).
Bethidia. — This site has never been fixed in a satisfactory manner.
The narrative of the Book of Judith requires that the place should be in
the neighbourhood of Dothan {T. Dothdn), and within sight of the plain
of Esdraelon. It has never, I think, been noticed that this applies to
the neighbourhood of the modern MithiUa, east of the main road from
the plain of Esdraelon to Shechem. Mithilia approaches very closely in
name to Bethulia ; it is only about three and a quarter miles from
Dothan, and the plain of Esdraelon is visible from the pass south of the
village. The site is thus described in the Memoir : —
"A small village with a detached portion on the north, and placed
NOTES ¥RO:sL THE MEMOIR.
on a slope, with a knoll to the south. It is surrounded by good olive-
groves, and has a plain to the north."
The place is not far from Sanur, where Bcthulia is generally placed,
but Sanur is open to the objection that the plain of Esdraelon cannot
be seen from it.
i:ion, a town of Dan, near Jethlah (7?. Trd) and Thimnatha (Josh.
xix. 43). Possibly this might be Beit Ello, in which case Thimnatha
would be the northern Tibneh, not far off.
Mount Stir and Mount Jcarim wore places on the boundary of» Judah,
between Kirjath Jearim and Beth Shemesh ; the last was close to
Chesalon {Kesla). There are two ruins which seem to preserve these
names. 1st. Batn es Suijlur, a ruin on the great ridge west of Soba.
2nd. Khurbet 'Erma, a ruin on the brrhk of the great valley, two miles
south of Kesla, or Chesalon.
The New Work.— A. cursory glance at the new traces which arrived in
September shows that a great deal of value is to be recovered from them.
The following points may be noticed.
Yemma, near Tabor, no doubt represents the Caphar Yama of the
Talmud, which is said (Tal. Jer. Megilla, 70a) to have been the late name
of Jabnecjl of Naphtali.
Xe/r Kama is probably the Lekim of the same passage, the ancient
Lakum of Naphtali.
Saiyadeh is no doubt the Ziadetha of the same passage, the ancient
Nekeb, near Damieh, or Adami, of Naphtali.
Higher up the country is a ruin called Ummah, perhaps Ummah of
Asher.
In the bit of desert near Beersheba and Beit Jibrin is a ruin called el
Bendwy, possibly Libnah.
As regards medieval and other places there is also much of value
in the new traces. There was a town of St. George, the position of
which is carefully described by Marino Sanuto as in the great valley
now called Wady Shaghur. Here I find a place sacred to St. George,
marked on the new work by one of the principal villages.
The tomb of Habakkuk is often noticed by mediaeval Jewish travellers
near Yaktek ; it is shown on the new trace.
Beth Shearaim was an important place, as being the seat of the San-
hedrim. A ruined site called Sha'arah has been found in a position
which seems suitable.
Lachish. — The part of the country in which this town should appa-
rently be sought is now completed, and I find nothing to shake my
previous view, which is as follows : —
The site was apparently known in the fourth century, and is placed
seven mUes from Eleutheropolis, towards Daroma, that is towards the
" south," and not, as some have supposed, towards the town called
Darum by the Crusaders, which is explained in the Chronicles to mean
" Greek Monastery " (Deir-er-Eum).
Eobinson's site at Unun Lays, as the name is pronounced, does
20 NOTES FEOM THE HEMOIE.
not agree in distance with the Onomasticon, nor in name has it any
connection with Lachish. The place was, I may boldly say, never the
site of an ancient city, consisting only of a few traces of ruins, two
masonry cisterns, and a small low mound, which I visited in 1875.
On the main road from Beit Jibrin (Eleutheropolis) to Gaza is the
great moimd of Tell el Hesy (" hillock of the water pit "). It is a con-
spicuous and important site, supplied well Avith water, and giving its
name to a great valley. It is ten miles from Beit Jibrin, and not
far from 'A)Idn (Eglon). The name el Hesy may, I would suggest, be
a corruption of Lachish, the Hebrew Caj)h being changed into the
guttural, just as it has been changed in the case of Muhhmds. Tell el
Hesey is evidently an important site, commanding the approach to the
hills, and fits well in position the requirements of Lachish.
Passing from Biblical questions to those of mediaeval sites, I may
enumerate the following : —
The penance mountain of St. John was shown to Bertrandon de la
Broquiere in 1432, between Gaza and Hebron. I find on our map that
the hill south-west of DMheriijeh still retains the name Mu'kufat Ahya,
" the place of separation of St. John the Baptist," showing yet one
more Christian tradition lingering among the Moslem peasantry.
The Tomhs of the Patriarchs were shown to Paula at or near Shechem,
as noticed by Jerome. Eobinson expresses his inability to find a trace
of this tradition ; but there is a sacred place on the north side of the
town of Nablus, near the modern cemetery, which is called OuJdd
Ta'kuh el 'Asherah, " the ten sons of Jacob." This, no doubt, represents
the early Christian site.
Anath, a town of Judea, north of Jerusalem, mentioned in the
Talmud (Neubauer, p. 754) as built by the giant Ahiman, is perhaps
Ke/r 'Ana, near Bethel.
JBethamari, noticed in the Onomastion as near Gabaa, is probably
Sett Ummar, near the southern JeJ/a, south of Jerusalem.
Beidan is noticed in the Samaritan book of Joshua as being the place
of purification of the hosts entering Palestine to build the temple on
Gerizim. The upper part of the great Wady Farah, by which a host
from beyond Jordan would naturally approach Shechem, is called i>eic?an,
and is well siipplied with water for the purifications described.
Arimathcea. — A very good instance of the uncertainty which was felt
regarding many Scriptural places in the fourth century is afforded by this
town. Jerome mentions two places — one in the district of Thamnitica,
near {juxta) Diospolis, which he makes to be both Ramathaim Zophim and
also the to^vn of Joseph. This would probably be Rentieh, near Lydda.
A second place, called Ecmphis, in the bounds [finihus] of Diospolis, was
considered by many to be ArimathiToa. This second site farther from
Lydda would be the modern Jlenth. Evidently there was no certain
tradition, at least on this subject, in the fourth century.
El Heidhemiijch, "the place torn down," is the native name of the
rock which Christians call Jeremiah's Grotto at Jerusalem. This is a
XOTES FROM THE MEMOIR. 21
valuable instance of change. Mr. Bergheim tells mo that in the six-
teenth century, according to the Moslems of Jerusalem, the name is
found in Arabic MSS. written Iltireiatyvh, or "Jeremiah," and is thus
derived from the fifteenth-century tradition. Hence we may see how-
many changes have occurred which it is now quite impossible for us to
trace in the nomenclature, and how wide a field of conjecture might be
entered upon if we once discarded the rule to accept for identification
only names radically unchanged.
JBir El/ill). — Here also we find a change creeping over a tradition.
This well was discovered and opened up by the Crusaders in 1184, and a
century later it had come to be considered the ancient En Eogel, whence
the modern name, " Joab's Well." In the eyes of the peasantry, how-
ever, it is Neby Eyub, or Job, not Joab, after Avhom the well is named.
The tradition has thus become distorted, and furnishes yet another
instance of the preservation of Christian traditions and of the influence
of the monks over the peasantry during the palmy days of Christian
rule.
Succoth. — A great deal of argument has been expended on the ques-
tion whether Scikfit in the Jordan valley could be Succoth. The general
conclusion has been that it Avas not the Biblical town, which is rather to
be sought east of Jordan, and much farther south. The name Sdhut has
radically not the least connection with Succoth, the first letter only
being common to the two words in Hebrew. It is interesting, how-
ever, to note that Marino Sanuto on his map marks Succoth just where
Sdhlt now exists. Probably, therefore, we have here a media3val tradi-
tional site.
Abel Mea and Ahel Maula were places, the first on the way from
Scythopolis to Neapolis, the second ten miles south of Scythopolis, and
called Beth Aula in the fourth century. The first would probably be
represented by the ruin of BeVanieh, south of Jenin, on the road from
Beisan to Shechem, across the great plain. The second is evidently the
present 'Ain HeJtueh, ten miles south of Beisan. This would very well
suit for Abel Mehola, with which Jerome identifies it.
Surtuheh is well known to have been a beacon station in the late
Jewish times connected with the watching for the new moon. Perhaps
the name Dalitk, "burning," applied to one of the principal tops of this
block, may have a connection with this fact, especially as the valley
leading down from the peak is called Wddt/ en Ndr, "the valley of
fire," and another of the j)rincipal peaks is called Uvwi Hallal, "mother
of the new moon."
Zir.— In the last Statement of the American Society I notice traditions
of this famous chief in the Jordan valley. We also collected some of
these traditions. The camp of Zir is shown close to Fusail, and one of
the fords of the river at this point is named apparently after his brother
Jerro. Farther north, at Ma Ml, near Nazareth, the curious structvu-al
tomb measured by Major Wilson is called " Zir's house," and a little
farther north is the Meiddn or "open place" of Zir. Zir and his
22 Joshua's tomb.
brothers Kuleib ("little dog") and Jerro("cub") are said to have
come from beyond Jordan, and to have camped at Semmunieh, west of
Nazareth. Their tent-pegs were made of acacia wood, and from them
sprang the acacia trees of Semmunieh, which are of a species {Acacia
vera) not generally found in Palestine.
It must be noted that the same tradition occurs in the south of Pales-
tine (see Finn's "Byeways," p. lol). The acacia trees of Wacli/ es Sunt,
which is named from them, are said to have sprung from the tent-pegs
of a certain king of Egypt called Abu Zeid, who was here defeated.
The derivation of a few curious names may also be noticed.
Bornata, meaning "hat," is a name applied to several ruins. Per-
haps it may be considered to be the Aramaic BirnatJiah, meaning "a
palace " or large building.
Werdeh, commonly translated " rose," is the name of a great many
springs in Palestine. It is unnecessary to say that there arc no roses
near any of them, because roses do not exist in Palestine. The word
has a very special meaning of " going down to fetch water," and is thus
equivalent to the Hebrew Yered, which has a similar meaning. Thus at
Tell Jezer we have a spring which is called either Werdeh or Yerdch, the
latter from being understood by the peasantry to mean " collection " of
flocks, &c., round the water. It is, in fact, the root of the name of
Jordan, " the descender," which still lingers in the language.
El Muieh. — This title is applied to the various harbours along the
coast, but it is not an Arabic name. In the Talmud the harbour of
Csesarea is called Lemineh, though not a Hebrew word. It is, in fact,
the Greek Xifx-nv, "a harbour," which was adopted apparently by the
Jews, and which has become corrupted into El Mrneh. The Jews were
not a maritime people, and Palestine has no harbours ; thus for the
small ports built by the Eomans they seem to have adopted a foreign
title still used, though its derivation is obscured by a slight corruption.
lG//i November, 1877. C. E. C.
JOSHUA'S TOMB.
There are two places in Palestine which might claim the honour of
being the jjlace of sepulture of Joshua. The one is pointed out by
Christian tradition, the other by Jewish and Samaritan.
The name of the city where Joshua was buried was Timnath Heres,
and it was situate in Mount Ephraini ; but the exact site of it is not
defined in the Bible, except by the statement that it was on the north
side of Mount Gaash, a place as yet not known.
Christian tradition points to the town of Thamnathah, now the
ruin of Tibneh, on the Roman road from Antipatris to Jerusalem.
Jerome speaks of this place as on the border between the possessions of
Dan and Judah (though that border was not very well understood in
JOSHUA S TOMB.
23
his days), and on the way from Lydda to Jerusalem ; here Joshua's tomb
was shown in his time.
The ruiu of Tibneh has a roinarkablo rock cemetery, containing nine
tombs south of the site of the town, which was once the capital of the
surrounding district. One of these tombs is large, with a portico sup-
ported on rude piers of rock with very simple capitals. One of the
piers was destroyed between ISGU, when Major Wilson visited Tibneh,
and 1873, when the Survey party were there. There are niches for over
200 lamps, once burning in front of the tomb entrance. Within there
is a chamber with fourteen graves, or Icokim ; and a passage, which at
first looks like another grave, leads into an inner chamber with only one
koka.
There is no direct evidence as to the date of this tomb, but in most
cases where the more important rock tombs with such porticos can be
approximately dated, they do not seem older than about the first century
of our era. Thus, though the tomb may well be that described by
Jerome, there is considerable doubt as to its being really that of Joshua.
There are two other curious facts as to Tibneh. The great oak-tree,
some forty feet high, near the tomb, is called Sheikh et Teim, " the chief
the servant of God." There is also a village, about three miles to the
east, called Kefr IshiCa, or " Joshua's Village."
The second site for Timnath Heres is Kefr Haris, south of Nablus
and about nine miles from it. The Samaritans of the present day state
that Joshua, son of Nun, and Caleb, son of Jephunneh, were here buried.
On the map of Marino Sanuto (1322) the same place will be found
marked as Timnath Heres. The two tombs of Caleb and Joshua are
noticed as here shown by Eabbi Jacob of Paris in 1258 A.D., and thus
three separate traditions point to the same place.
Kefr Haris is an ordinary village on a hill among olive groves. It has
on the east of it two sacred places resembling the other Mukdms of the
country, inclusive of Joseph's tomb. One of these has the curious
name Nelij Kijl, "Prophet of the division by lot," who is called now
" Companion of the Prophet." The other is now named Nehy Kulda or
Kunda, possibly a corruption of Caleb. May we not under the title
Kifl recognise Joshua, who divided the inheritance among the children
of Israel ? It seems by far the most probable that the place to which
Jew and Samaritan both point would be the true site, for it is most
striking to find Jews visiting and venerating a place in the country
of Samaria, yet in Samaria the tombs of Joseph, Eleasar, Phinehas,
Ithamar, and Abishuah are still shown, and if we follow the indigenous
rather than the foreign tradition, it is here that we should place the
tomb of Joshua also. C E. C.
olst October, 1877.
24
NOTE ON THE ANCIENT SYNAGOGUE AT MEIEON.
Leeds, Oct., 1877.
I OBSERVE in Lieutenant Conder's " Notes from tlie Memoir " in last
montli's Quarterly, an incidental mention of the [ancient synagogue at
Meiron, in whicli he refers to the singular T-shaped moulding on the
lintel of the main entrance.
This reminds me of an outline sketch in my journal, which I send, as
it may possibly prove interesting to your readers. During my four years'
residence in Palestine I spent a month in Galilee, in 1859, and camped
at Meiron on the 30th April, the day of the annual Jewis fete in honour
of Eabbi Simeon Ben Jochai.
The scene was such as I shall never forget. "We could scarcely find
room to pitch our tent for the crowds of Jews assembled from all parts
of the world. Eepresentatives were there, not only from Jerusaleni and
all parts of Palestine, but European Jews, and others from America.
Two had come all the way from Calcutta, ostensibly to pray at this " holy
place." Men, women, and children filled the building over the Eabbi's
tombaswell as the surrounding ruins, andjcovered the ground like locusts.
As night approached a fire was lighted in the court, and many who had
brought offerings of valuable garments, embroidery, shawls, and
jewellery, threw them into the flames, Avhile old and young joined
in frantic dancing and singing round the fire. It looked more like some
heathen orgies than anything akin to modern Judaism.
The dancing, drinking, and singing was kept up the greater part of
the night, which happened to be moolight, and, together with the wild
NOTE ON THE ANCIENT SYNAGOGUE AT MEIllON. 25
rocky hills around, liglited up partly by the moon and partly by
numerous camp-fires, constituted the most strangely weird picture I
ever beheld.*
Next morning, May 1st, we visited the ruins of the ancient synagogue,
and were struck with the sharpness of the masonry, considering it had
stood probably for seventeen centuries.
Eobinson's description of the ruin, written seven years before our
visit, is so much to the point that I cannot do better than transcribe it.
" The site is an area, artificially levelled ofF, on the eastern side of a
huge overhanging rock. The edifice fronted toward the south, and hero,
too, only the fine portal and a portion of ,the front wall (including side
doors), t is standing. The architecture is almost precisely like that of the re-
mains at Kefr Bir'im, but of more massive proportions, larger stones, and
richer sculpture. Some of these stones are 4A feet long by 2},- feet thick.
The portal is nearly 10 feet high by 5k feet wide. Its side posts are
each of a single stone, elaborately sculptured. The sculptured lintel
projects somewhat beyond the side posts, and is without inscription and
■without the wreath. The portico is wholly gone, except a corner
pedestal fitted inside for a double column. Some fragments of columns
and sculptured entablatures are scattered around. The area of the inside
is empty." — Bibl. JRes. Hi. p. 74.
The coincidence of the T-shaped moulding occurring both at Kefr
Bir'im and at Khurbet Semmaka, on Carmel, is curious, and would seem
to imply that they were about equal in date, while the absence of either in-
scription or sculptured symbols at Meiron, such as are found in the other
synagogues, might lead to the inference that this building was the latest
of the three.
The broken and displaced lintel may perhaps be a record of that
terrible earthquake which, so lately as the year 1837, ruined the neigh-
bouring village and castle of Safed.
Speaking of Jewish symbols introduced as architectural ornaments, I
find in my sketch-book a note of a door I saw at Hebron in 1856. What
was the building of which it formed a part, or whereabouts situate, I
cannot now recall — not even whether the building were occupied or a
ruin. One thing appears certain— namely, that the sculptured lintel is
not in its original position. It may have belonged originally to the
same structure, and even to the same door, but the three stones with
the seven-branched candlesticks (two upright and one reversed) enclosed
in a moulding or entablature, while evidently belonging to one another
and in their proper relative position, have been built into their present
place, above the true lintel, at some time subsequent to their first em-
ployment. This is evident from the abrupt termination of the moulding.
The use of this sacred symbol stamps these stones as Jewish, and siiggests
their having belonged to a synagogue. This, if true, would be very
* llobinsou Bibl. Res. ii. p. 431.
+ One side door is imperfectly preserved, but its ruin is recent.
THE CALVES OF BETHEL AND DAN. 27
interesting, occurring in Southern Judoa, while all the ancient syna-
SToerues hitherto described have been in Galilee and the north. The
sculpture has all the appearance of antiquity. I trust the officers of
the Survey may be able to throw additional light upon this interesting
fragment. Edward Atkinson.
THE CALVES OF BETHEL AND DAN.
It is generally supposed that the idols erected by Jeroboam were
placed, the one at the sources of Jordan beneath Hermon, the other at
the town which lay on the north boundary of the tribe of Benjamin;
but this was not the understanding of the mediseval writers, who placed
them upon the two mountains Ebal and Gerizim. The authorities are
as follows : —
Marino Sanuto, who represents the opinions of the Crusading epoch,
gives a very exact account of Shechem. On a high mountain west of
the town he states that Jeroboam placed the one calf, and on a second
higher, east of it, the second. The city lay in a valley beneath and
between these mountains.
John of Wirtzburg in like manner (1100 A.D.) speaks of Shechem as
between Dan and Bethel, and says that the latter, also called Luz, was
beside Gerizim.
The manuscript of Fetellus (IIjO A.D.) is yet more explicit : —
"In Sichem, at the foot of Gerizim, by the spring, Jeroboam made
the golden calves ; one he placed in Dan, another in Bethel. The Samari-
tans say that four mountains overshadowed Sichem ; Gebal and Dan
to the east. Bethel and Gerizim to the>outh" (see Du Vogiie, " Eglises
de la Terre Sainte," p. 424).
It is evident that the Crusaders here adopted the Samaritan view.
Gerizim, according to them, is Moriah, where Abraham sacrificed Isaac,
and also Bethel of Jacob's vision. The ruins below the main peak on
the west are still called Lozeh, or Luz, the ancient name of Bethel, and
this site is constantly noticed from the time of Jerome downwards by
pilgrims visiting Shechem.
There are also traces of the name Dan on the opposite hill. A spur
of height not much less than that of the summit runs out west of
Ebal, and is north-west of Shechem, as Gerizim is south-east, agreeing
roughly with the description of Sanuto. On this hill stands the sacred
site of 'Amdd ed Dm, " monument of the faith," which I have previously
proposed as the site of Joshua's altar erected in Mount Ebal. The hill
itself is called Eds el Kadi/.
Dan in Hebrew means "judge," and at the northern Dan under
Hermon the meaning, not the name, is preserved in the title Tell el
Kadij, " hill of the judge." Here at Shechem it would seem as if the
28 THE CALVES OF BETHEL AND D^VX.
same change had occurred, and the media3val Dan is now represented
by Has el Kachj, " mountain top of the judge."
It is curious that in the possession of a Samaritan at Nablus I
found a small brazen calf, for which, however, he asked an estiavagant
price.
The facts of the Crusading view are thus clear ; it is interesting to
consider further whether they were right. It seems at first sight very
probable that Shechem would have been chosen by Jeroboam as a
religious centre, for Gerizim vras the Mount of Blessing, and on Ebal
Joshua's altar was perhaps still standing. There are many indications
which point the same way which may be briefly enumerated.
1st. Bethel of the Calf was close to the king's palace (Amos vii. 13),
and Jeroboam lived in Shechem (1 Kings xii. 25).
2nd. The southern Bethel was taken from Jeroboam by the king of
Judah (2 Chron. xiii. 19), but the calf of Bethel was not destroyed, nor
is it mentioned as having been taken. It remained standing long after
(2 Kings X. 29).
3rd. The southern Bethel was in the tribe of Benjamin (Joshua xviii.
22), and would scarcely have been chosen as a reHgious centre by a king
who was anxious to draw away the people from Jerusalem (1 Kings
xii. 28).
4th. The Bethel of the Calf is constantly mentioned in connection
with Samaria (1 Kings xiii. 32 ; 2 Kings xxiii. 19 ; Amos iv. 1—4 ;
V. 6), and the old prophet at Bethel was, according to Josephus (comp.
2 Kings xxiii. IS), a Samaritan.
5th. The Samaritans in Shechem having been plagued with lions, a
priest was sent to Bethel to instruct them. It is most natural in this
case also to suppose a Bethel close to Shechem (2 Kings xvii. 28).
6th. The ancient name of Bethel still lives amongst the peasantry on
the slope of Mount Gerizim at the ruins of Luzeh.
7th. The southern Bethel was the seat of a school of prophets visited
by Elijah, which is scarce consistent with the existence of the calf
(2 Kings ii. 2, 3).
■^Tiilst thus stating what appears to me a strong case in favour of the
supposition that the golden calves were erected in Ebal and Gerizim,
and thus became the original cause of the establishment of a rival
religious centre at Shechem, which has been carried down to our own
day by the Samaritans, it is fair to state the objections to the view,
which are two.
1st. Josephus certainly understood by Dan the site at the source of
the Jordan, a place not consecrated either by the prescriptions of the
Pentateuch or by the memories of Jewish history (Ant. viii. 8. 4).
2nd. The prophet Hosea mentions Bethel and Bethaven together.
The passage is considered by the Jews and by Jerome to mean that the
two places were one ; the verse contains a paronamasia, the prophet
saying that the place once Beit-Al, " house of God," had become Beit-
aun, " house of vanity," a change of which we have an echo in Beitin,
NOTES ON ARCHITECTURE IN PALESTINE, 29
the vulgar pronunciation of the name of the modem Bethel (Hosea
iv. 15 ; V. 8 ; x. 5).
Whether this last passage can be considered as conclusive appears to
me doubtful in face of the extreme improbability of the establishment
of a place of worship by Jeroboam beyond the bounds of his own king-
dom, but it is certain that a district of desert east of the Bethel of
Benjamin was called Bethaven (Joshua xviii. 12) probably meaning " the
empty placa," as being uninhabited, and it is also certain that a town
socalled existed near Bethel (xviii. 12) and distinct from it (1 Sam. xui,
o ; xiv. 23) ; this place Major Wilson places at Khiirhet An. Hosea,
however, refers to Bethel itself.
The question appears to me worthy of consideration by Biblical
students as tending to throw a new light on the history of Israel.
Claude E. Conder, Lieut. E.E.
NOTES ON ARCHITECTUEE IN PALESTINE.
The different rate of progress which has been observed in architectural
style in various countries renders it very important that any building of
unknown date should be compared with examples of known date which
exist in the same country and were erected by the same nation. The
notes in the Memoir to the Map are more than half devoted to the
description of ruined buildings. Many of these are dated, and I propose
to abstract all that I have been able to collect of value as throwing
light on the question of the dates of those which possess any marked
architectural features.
Palestine may be said to have had five building epochs. First, the
Jewish period before the nation became subject to the western powers of
Greece and Eome ; secondly, the period when Jewish architecture was
influenced by that of the western nations, which might conveniently,
if not very exactly, be entitled the Herodian epoch ; thirdly, the By-
zantine period ; fourthly, the Crusading ; and lastly, the Saracenic. These
may be considered separately.
I.— Jewish Architecture.
It is not a new remark, but it is an important one to keep in
memory, that the Jews were not a great building people. At one
of the first meetings of the Fund (July 23rd, 1866), Mr. Layard, M.P.,
warned the subscribers that "they could not expect such important
results as had attended the investigations in Assyria and Babylon."
The explorations have fully justified this dictum, for whilst topographical
discoveries of the highest interest are obtained, and the illustration of
30 KOTES OX ARCHITECTURE IN PALESTINE.
the Bible most fully carried out, no great arcliaeological finds like those
in AssjTia have ever been made in Palestine outside Jerusalem. There
is only one building which has been thought worthy of notice in the
Bible— Solomon's Temple ; of this we find the foundations, but even this
was the work of foreign masons obtained from Hiram king of Tyre.
The Jews were forbidden to produce sculptured images, and they were
evidently not an inscribing race, or inscriptions would occur on the fine
sepulchral monuments of the country, which is scarcely ever the case.
The Temple of Jerusalem was their one central building, the pride of
the nation, and their supreme architectural effort. That we have
found, and no other building remains to be found,'as far as we have any
indication in Scripture.
On the other hand, many passages may be adduced to show that the
Jewish ordinary architecture was, on the whole, much what is now the
natural style of the country.
Thus we may point to the rapid overthrow of the Canaanite cities by
Joshua, to Joab's proposal to draw a Avhole town into the river, to
Samson's destruction of a house supported on two pillars, to the removal
of the roof of a building in order to lower the sick of the palsy, and to
many other indications which show that the buildings were neither large
nor very solidly constructed.
In the time of Saul the people are found living in caves just as they
still do in parts of the country where protection is most needed. In the
account of the siege of Megiddo by Thothmes III., the defeated army
is said to have been dragged up the walls of the town by those inside,
who let down their cloaks from above ; evidently the town walls were
not very lofty.
The names used for cities in the Bible include " fenced cities," which
were surrounded with stone walls (1 Kings xv. 22) and un walled hamlets
(Perezoth). The former may be thought to have resembled some of the
Galilean villages which were walled round by the great native family of
the Zeidaniyin, and which have houses built against the walls, just as
Eahab's house at Jericho was built.
Of these ancient towns nothing seems now left beyond what is cut in
the rock. If we remember the repeated overthrow of almost every im-
portant place in successive invasions, the violent action of weather, and
the fact that these buildings Avere erected two or three thousand years
ago, it is surely unreasonable to expect to find much else remaining. In
Palestine a building of the sixth century, or five hundred years earlier
than the Norman conquest, is looked upon as quite modern and un-
interesting.
Time, weather, and the hand of man have left of the Jewish cities
only the great mound on which the modern houses stand, but there
are indications that the power and energy of the old inhabitants far
surpassed that of their descendants. The town (which stands almost
invariably on the old site, as far as wo can judge from name and the
position of the water supply and cemetery), is often surrounded with a
NOTES ON AllCHITECTURE IN PALESTINE. 31
scarp of rock artificially cut. The most wonderful of these scarps is
that at the south-west corner of Jerusalem, where a carefully worked
wall of rock, 50 feet high, is traced for over loO yards. Similar scarps
on a smaller scale are not uncommon throughout the country.
The second indication of an ancient site is the existence of rock-cut
reservoirs and cisterns. The bell-mouthed cisterns occur so constantly
near and in connection with Jewish tombs that it seems natural to
ascribe them to Jewish workmen, though they have no marks of date
which will fix them so early.
Still more important are the rock-cut tombs which generally serve to
show that the site is unchanged, for they are cut on the hill-side oppo-
site the modern village or ruined site, and hardly ever are found within
or beneath the ruins. The rock-cut tombs may be conveniently divided
into three classes — 1. KoJcim tomhs. 2. Locidus tomhs. 3. Sunk tombs.
The two first classes seem to be of Jewish origin, but the third will be
noticed later.
The Koh'm tombs are those which have parallel tunnels running in,
three or four side by side, from the walls of a rectangular chamber. The
bodies lay with their feet towards the chamber, and stone pillows for
raising the heads are often found at the farther end. The Kohim vary
in number from one or two up to fifteen or twenty, and are of various
lengths, from 3 or 4 feet to 7 feet. There is no system of orientation,
and the entrance-door is in the face of the cliff, the chamber within
being directed according to the lie of the rock.
This kind of tomb is certainly the most ancient in the country, for the
Kol'im are sometimes destroyed in enlarging the tomb on a diiFerent
system. There are also instances of tombs in which the old outer
chamber has Kohim, the inner or late chambers locuJi, but the reverse
has not been found. There are cases of a transition style, in which an
arched recess has been cut, and two bodies laid beneath it, side by side,
the feet pointing to the chamber.
These tombs were used by the Jews. Over one we found a Hebrew-
inscription ; over another, the representation of the golden candlestick ;
others are sacred to the modern Jews as the tombs of their ancestors ;
and if further proof were required, the description of a tomb in the
Talmud might be adduced.
As regards their date, they are earlier than the locidus tombs, because
they have been afterwards enlarged on that system. They are therefore
earlier than the Christian era, but how much earlier there is as yet no
evidence to show.
One further relic of Jewish architecture must be noticed — the vine-
yard towers. These buildings are generally about 15 feet square out-
side, and the same in height. The walls are of unhewn blocks, 4 or
5 feet long; the roof, supported on a buttress, is of slabs 7 or 8 feet long.
These solid and rude buildings occm- near rock-cut wine-presses and
ancient tombs, and appear to be referred to in Scripture (Mark xii. 1).
D
32 NOTES 0:N' AECHITECTUEE in PALESTINE.
II. — Heeodian Peeiod.
Altliougli the conservativ e portion of the race set its face against the
■ways of the heathen, the influence of Greece and of Eome penetrated
into Palestine about the time of Christ. The great works of Herod
at Csesarea, Samaria, Ascalon, Antipatris, Jerusalem, and Herodium,
described by Josephus, were conceived in imitation of Soman art-
These buildings have, however, almost entirely disappeared.
At Caesarea, excavation might recover entirely the theatre and the
temple, the sites of which we found and planned in 1873. The two
magnificent aqueducts on the north are no doubt also of this date, and
these have been traced and carefully described.
At Samaria, the columns still stand in place, -wdthout their capitals,
but the superstructure has disappeared. These jjillai'S are of no great
size, being only 1 1 feet high and 2 feet diameter.
At Ascalon, the Crusaders seem to have uprooted Herod's colonnades,
and to have used the shafts in the walls of the town as thoroughbonds.
At Antipatris, nothing remains above the surface. At Herodium,
there are buildings of moderate masonry, well cut, but in no way
remarkable for grandeur or beauty. At Masada, all that can be
ascribed to Herod is of rude workmanship, and the masonry of no great
size,
Thus it is only at Jerusalem and at Hebron that the megalithic
masonry occurs with the peculiar draft and dressing of the stones, the
like of which is not found elsewhere in Palestine. This is ascribed by
M. Du Vogue, in the case of Jerusalem, to Herod, and Mr. Fergusson
dates the walls of the Hebron Haram to the same epoch. The peculi-
arities of style in the two monuments are the same, and even the pilas-
ters of the Hebron Haram occur, as I found in 1873, on the walls of the
Haram at Jerusalem.
Perhaps to this epoch we may also ascribe some of the aqueducts
which bring water down the Kelt valley to the foot of the hUls, where
the Jericho of Herod seems to have stood. The Aqueduct of Pontius
Pilate, 41 miles long, is of the same kind of masonry — small and rudely
he^vn, but laid in excellent mortar ; and this would point to the great
reservoirs called Solomon's Pools, which form part of the same system,
and resemble the aqueducts in masonry, being also dated as the work of
Pontius Pilate.
We have also to consider at this date the Galilean synagogues. That
at Arbela is said by Samuel Bar Simson (1210 a.d.) to have been built
by Rabbi Xitai, who lived about 200 B.C. Rabbi Simeon Bar Jochai
lived about 120 A.D., and he built twenty-four synagogues, including
those at Kefr Birim, el Jish, and Meirun (where he was buried). Four
other synagogues visited by Major Wilson at Tell Hum, Kerazeh,
Nebartein, and Umm el 'Amed, may very probably be ascribed to this
builder, as they closely resemble in style the three dated examples ; and
the synagogue at Taiyibeh, with the one on Carmel, and perhaps the
NOTES ON ARCHITECTURE IN PALESTINE. 53
ruiii at Balata, might serve to swell the number. The conclusion thus
arrived at historically agrees with the judgment of architects, founded
on a study of the architectural style, fixing these synagogues as of the
second century of our era.*
The tombs belonging to this second Jewish epoch are far more am-
"bitious works of art than the koJcim tombs. They have facades covered
with decoration of a peculiar kind, a rude copy of classic mouldings
with details entirely original. There is generally a portico with a frieze
above, supported by pillars cut in the rock with Ionic or Corinthian
capitals. Within, the chamber is sometimes ornamented, and has an
arched recess with a sort of x-ock-cut sarcophagus or loculus beneath,
the body lying parallel to the side of the chamber. If Robinson's argu-
ment be allowed, we have a dated example of this style at Jerusalem,
in the tomb of Helena, queen of Adiabene, which belongs to the first
century of our era. This agrees with the conclusion at which architects
have arrived by study of the style, and the curious admixture of classic
and native ideas cannot well be ascribed to any other period.
The rolling stone is found almost invariably with the Ucidus, not with
the koka. This agrees with its use in the time of our Lord, and the fact
that the Holy Sepulchre must have been a loculus tomb. The only in-
scriptions which can be certainly ascribed to the same period are the
Hebrew inscription over one of the Jerusalem tombs, and a Greek one
consisting of only the word " Parthenes," which occurs at Sheikh Ibreik,
in a cemetery of tombs with Icokim enlarged later with loculi.
There are several other methods of closing the entrances of the tombs :
Btone doors with pivots, doors with a bar across, doors which slide down
from above, and doors of masonry carefully built up, as though intended
never to be opened. The rolling stone was perhaps a late invention,
remarkable for its simplicity. It may be described as a stone like a cheese
on end, roUing in a deep groove in front of the entrance ; the groove
generally inclmed, so that unless wedged up the stone ran down across
the doorway. In order to open the tomb it had to be rollei up hill.
III. — Byzantine Period.
Advancing to late times, we come to the most important building
epoch in the country. From the year 32G A.D., when Helena visited
Palestine, down to 636 A.D., when Jerusalem fell into the hands of
Omar, a Christian invasion of the country was carried out. Jerome
speaks of ' ' the great multitude of the brethren and the bands of
monks," and mentions a town full of Christians almost as far south
as Beershcba. It is therefore natural that we should find the country
covered with the remains of Byzantine monasteries and chapels.
We possess two dated examples during this period — the Basilica of
Constantine at Bethlehem of the fourth century, and the fortress of
* See Major Wilson's "Notes on Jewish Synagogues in Galilee," Quarterl]/
Siatemcnt, April, 1869, p. 37.
34 NOTES OX ARCIIITECTmiE IX PALESTINE.
Justinian round Zeno's churcli on Gerizim in the sixth. The Bethlehecar
Basilica serves to show the plan on which a church was built at that
time, with an atrium, narthex, basilica, transept, and apse; the character of
the pUlar capitals is also important, and the fact that they support not
arches but a straight entablature.
The fortress on Gerizim is of value as giving a dated example of
drafted masonry, and this drafted masonry is found in all the innu-
merable Byzantine buildings which have been planned during the course-
of the Survey. It is very important to note the difference between this
masonry and that at Jerusalem ; the draft is deeper and broader,
irregularly cut, and finished with an entirely different dressing. It has
too often been assumed that drafted masonry is always of Jewish origin,
because the Temple stones are drafted. It is impossible to suppose that
in every case where a monastery was built ancient foundations or old
drafted stones were found and used up. The only natural explanation
is that the masons in the fonrth, fifth, and sixth centuries were in the-
habit of drafting their masonry, and this is borne out by the fact that
in a great many cases the stones have evidently been cut to fit the place
ia which they stand in the walls.
A second important feature of this style is the character of the arching.
Semicircular arches are used, and the keystone is narrow, whilst the
haimch stones are broad. This is also the case in the tunnel vaulting of
the buildings (as in the church of St. John at Beit Jibrin, for in-
stance).
If, as appears almost certain, this kind of arch is peculiar in Palestine
to the Byzantine period, then the roofs of the double passage in the
Haram, of the two great Tanks No. 1 and No. 3, and of the Twin Pools,
are all of this period, as they all have round arches with the narrow key-
stone.
Another peculiarity by which Byzantine buildings may be known, is
that a large and heavy lintel, generally having the cross upon it, once
existed above every door. The weight in many cases is really taken by
a low relieving arch above, but the lintel seems to have been used in-
variably, and is often all that remains to show the site of a large build-
ing. The lintels sometimes have inscriptions on them, as at Khoreisa,
where we found a Greek text, " This is the gate of the Lord, the righteous
shall enter in."
This construction, a lintel with a low relieving arch, may also be ob-
served at Jerusalem at the double gateway, and the supposed date
again agi'ees with that of the vaulting of the passage within. The lintel
in this case is, however, probably older than the arch above, as it
is drafted like the wall below it.
It may be here noted that the peculiarity of the Byzantine arch is not
found in the arching of the Dome of the Eock. The arches in that
building are indeed round, but the voussoirs are all of one breadth, and
in appearance they approach nearer to the arches used in the earlier
Crusading churches, as hereafter to be described.
NOTES ON ARCniTECTUllE IN PALESTINE. 35
The question of the kind of tomb nsed in the Byzantine period is not
•a very easy one. The rock-sunk tomb, to be described later, occurs near a
liyzantine monastery, but the kind of tomb most frequent near such
sites is the loculus tomb. At Shefa 'Amr is a tomb of this kind,
elaborately ornamented with a Greek inscription and crosses which are
cut on bosses, so that they must evidently be part of the original design.
At jBe^aA we found a /ocui'ms tomb iuscribed "One God alone," Avith a
date 332 a.d. At Deir Serur, a fine Byzantine site, probably the ancient
Sozuza — an episcopal towTi in the fifth century — is a cemetery of loculus
tombs. There are crosses cut on the walls of tombs of every class, but
very rudely, and they seem to be due to hermits who have lived in the
sepulchres. At Jerusalem, however, there is a tomb with a loculus and
crosses in red paint, with the A and n either side. Nor must we forget
the tombs in the so -called Hinnom valley with inscriptions, "The ex-
cellent monument, the tomb of Amarulph of Germany," and "The
monument of various persons of the Holy Zion from Rome," proving
that Christian pilgrims — for the cross occurs in the inscriptions — were
buried in loculus tombs.
I,! fcThe Jews cannot be supposed to have shared their cemeteries with the
Christians, and the tombs in many cases were certainly not old Jewish
tombs used again by Christians, but special sepulchres hewn in Byzan-
tine times.
if |,The only method by which it seems that the Jewish loculus tombs can
be distinguished when inscriptions do not exist, is by the existence of
holcim tombs in the same cemetery. The Christian loculus tombs occur
by themselves, and are never enlargements of older kokiin tombs.
IV. — Crusading Euins.
The following table of dates, compiled from various sources, will be
valuable as the foundation of the study of Crusading work in Pales-
tine : —
Jerusalem taken by Godfrey 1099
Toron [Tihnin) built llOi
Church on Tabor 1110
Montreal, east of Jordan 1115
St. Marie Latine in Jerusalem 1120
Tyre taken, a period of peace begins 1124
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre built 1130
The Castle of Ernuald 1134
The fortress of Gibelin {B. Jihrin) 1134
The Monastery of Bethany 1138
The Hospital and St. Marie La Gi'ande 1140
Blanche Garde (r. es »§«/) and Ibelin (reZ^«o) .. 1144
The church at Bireh 114(5
Mirabel [Rds el 'Ain) built before 1149
JS'ablus, the Hospital 115G
36 NOTES ox ARCHITECTURE IN PALESTINE.
St. Samuel [NeUj Samw71) 1157
Darum [Deir el Beldh) 1170
Beauvoir {Kaulcab el Hawa) 1182
Nazareth, the Church 1185
Saladin takes Jerusalem 1187
Asealon, Plans, Capernaum, Galatia (rebuilt) . . 1190
Castel Pelegrino {'Athlit) 1218
Csesarea 1218
Saida 1227
CfBsarea restored 1251
Bibars destroys Csesarea 1269
Acre taken from the Christians 1291
From this outline of the best dated specimens an idea of the pro-
gressive style of the Gothic work in Palestine may be obtained. The
question has been fully treated by competent authorities, and I only
propose to add a few notes of practical utility.
The whole building period is confined to about sixty years, with the
exception of the towns along the coast. The most ancient buildings
are the frontier fortresses and the churches round Jerusalem ; the latest
are the thirteenth-century erections in the neighbourhood of Acre, the
last Christian stronghold in Palestine.
In the earliest specimens, as in the Hospital at Jerusalem, we find the
semicircular arch used, and the heavy mouldings approach the Byzan-
tine style. In the Convent of St. Marie la Grande we have a beautiful
window (Photo. No. 16, Lieut. Kitchener's set), with mouldings which
approach the English " dog-tooth " of Early English work, but the arch
is here slightly pointed. Even as late as the latter half of the twelfth,
century the round arch is occasionally in use, as at the Churck of
Samaria. At Beit Jibrin we have remains of the Church of St. Gabriel,
a Crusading structure, dating probably about 1134 A.D. (Photo. No. 29,
Lieut. Kitchener's set). In this the arches are slightly pointed, but the
heavy pillars and cornice have a Byzantine appearance. In most of the
earlier Crusading churches marble capitals in imitation of Corinthian
style occur, and iii some cases there seems no possibility of their being
derived from any older building. The fact that some half-dozen are
found in one building all exactly alike (as at Beit Jibrin) induces one to
conclude that this kind of capital was sculptured by the twelfth century
masons, and not, as in the case of Saracenic buildings, stolen from some
other ruined structure.
As we advanco, the character of the architecture gradually changes,
the heaviness of proportion disappears, beautiful clustered columns take
the place of heavy pillars, and ribbed groins are introduced. In the
thirteenth century we find the pointed arch exclusively in use, with
voussoirs, sometimes an odd sometimes an even number. The Corin-
thian capital disappears, and is succeeded by an endless variety of form,
from the smooth-leaved " crochets" of Samaria, to the deeply-serrated
NOTES ON AECniTECTURE IN PALESTINE.
37
leaves at Blreh. The beauty of the later churches far surpasses that of
the clumsier buildings of the earlier period.
There are two other points of great importance to note in Crusading
sites. One is the character of the masonry, the other is that of the
inscriptions. Either of these is sufficient to class a ruin without the
discovery of pointed arches.
M. Ganneau was, I believe, the first to call attention to the diagonal
dressing on the stones as distinctive of Crusading work. It is not so
much that this dressing is the only one which they used, but that the
diagonal dressing is not to be found on earlier work. Care is, however,
very requisite in this examination, because the Saracenic masons also
used this dressing, though their work being rougher, it is generally
possible to recognise it.
The use of a toothed chisel is still common in Palestine, and this in-
strument may be driven over the surface in any direction, so that in a
wall of twelfth-century work the stones will be found dressed at every
angle, but always in parallel lines.
A far safer indication of Crusading work lies in the masons' marks.
No other buildings but those of the twelfth century and thirteenth cen-
tury in Palestine have masons' marks. These marks are finely cut on
the best dressed stones of interiors, and vary in size from an inch to
two or three in length. They include every letter of the alphabet except
D G Q and X, with various geometrical signs. The same mark is found
in buildings separated by the entire length of the country ; the marks
have no reference to the position of the stone in the building, but suem
rather to be those distinctive of the workmen employed. Some build-
ings have a great variety, others have the same often repeated. As a
rule, the larger buildings seem to have a greater number of different
marks, the smaller fewer, showing that a larger number of masons were
employed on the more important buildings. There is no impossibility
in matter of date in the view that each mark is distinctive of one man,
for the thirteenth-century marks, though similar, are not identical with
those of the twelfth century buildings. The collections of these marks
are given in the Memoir- to the Map.*
The above remarks apply to the masonry of interiors. The exteriors
are of much more massive ashlar. In the case of the fortresses, the
stones are almost invariably drafted. The only exceptions are the
* The diagonal dressing of the stones is characteristic, as Professor Hayter
Lewis remarks, of Norman work in England, as is also the comparatively small
size of the masonry. The toothed chisel was used, he says, in England and
France in the thirteenth century — rarely before. The church of St. Marie la
Grande (1140) has masonry dressed with this kind of chisel. The size of the
stones is from 1 foot to 2 feet in length, and 1^ feet in height. Almost all the
Crusading masonry is small, excepting that of the exterior of the fortresses,
the dratted stones being 2 feet high, and from 2i to 5 or 6 feet in length, as at
'AtUit (1218 A.D.) and Kaukab el Hawa (1180 a.d.)— C. K. C.
38 NOTES ON ARCHirECTUEE IN PALESTINE.
tliirtcentli-centmy works, wHcli have sloping scarps of small masonry.
This drafted masonry difiers both from the Jewish and from the Byzan-
tine in having a rustic boss to the stone, which projects sometimes a foot
from the draft. I found instances in which the draft had diagonal
dressing at Soba and Koloniah.
These exteriors have nearly all at various times been ascribed to the
Phoenicians, yet we know that in many cases the sites chosen by the
Crusaders were entirely new ones, where no old city had stood. The
use of this rustic masonry in the middle ages is not peculiar to Pales-
tine, and not only is the diagonal dressing found on the drafts, but the
pointed archways of gateways are in some cases of drafted masonry
exactly similar to that of the walls. It is thus clear that these stones
were quarried by the Crusaders and cut with a draft ; and the presump-
tion, when a drafted stone with a rustic boss is found, is, that it
was cut by a twelfth-century mason, who would have used such a
draft, and not by the Phcenicians, whom we do not know to have made
use of such masonry. I have, indeed, not seen a single piece of masonry
in Palestine which could be ascribed to the Phoenicians, and histori-
cally, I believe, we do not know of their territory having extended
beyond Phoenicia proper.
The question of inscriptions is also of great importance. At Bethle-
hem we have the dated example of the Mosaics which were erected in
1169 A.D. by the emperor Manuel Comnenos. In the inscriptions of
these Mosaics we have various peculiarities distinctive of the time. The
shoes of the letters, the peculiar forms of U, M, and N, the contractions
used, the accents, and the smaller size of the vowels, which are placed
above the line, are all distinctive. It is important to notice these indi-
cations in the case of the numerous frescoes on the walls of various Cru-
sading monasteries of the Jordan valley and in those of the chapels on
the Mount Quarantania. These frescoes are thus shown to belong to the
twelfth century, and not, as has been supposed by former travellers, to
the fourth or fifth.
Lastly, we come to the question, how the Crusaders buried their dead.
Wherever rock-cut tombs are found near Crusading ruins (as, for
instance, at Mejdel Yaba), they belong to the kind called " Eock Sunk."
A shaft some 7 feet long and 3 feet wide is sunk 5 or G feet in the flat
surface of the rock ; on either side an arched recess is cut back, and thus
two bodies lie, one each side of the shaft, parallel to each other, and to
the length direction of the shaft.
We have no indication that this form of tomb is Jewish. The natives
of the country say that such cemeteries are Frank cemeteries, and the
tomb seems fitted for the reception of a man and his wife. In Jerusa-
lem such a tomb has been found to contain leaden coffins with crosses
on them. At another site we found an inscription with crosses cut at
the back of one of the locuU. It runs thus— + MIMOPIN + rEa.PriO.
The form of the letters, the barbarous Greek, and the small size of the
vowels, seem to point to a twelfth- century origin for the text. The only
NOTES ON ARCniTECTURE IN TALESTINE. 39
question whicli remains donbtful is as to wliether this kind of tomb was
used also in the fifth century, but there is no evidence of any kind to
carry it back to the Jews. It does not occur at the really ancient sites,
but only in connection Avith Christian ruins ; and as we know the tombs
used in former eras, we may perhaps safely ascribe the " Sunk Tomb "
to the Crusaders.
V. — Saracenic Builders.
A few words only in conclusion are required. The Saracenic build-
ings are fortresses, khans, and mosques ; they are thus easily distin-
guishable, except in the matter of the fortresses. In this question
we must be guided jirincipally by the masonry. A building with
masons' marks cannot be ascribed to the Saracens, for their dated
buildings (as in the White Mosque at Eamleh)have no such marks. The
large drafted masonry of exteriors is, again, never found in buildings of
Saracenic origin.
The work of the Moslem conquerors of Palestine was destructive
rather than constructive. We have Saladin's walls of Jerusalem either
repairing or replacing the Crusading work. We have the great mosque
of Eamleh, and a few more such edifices, but the buildings of this class
are not numerous. Christian churches were converted into mosques,
Christian strongholds were patched up, and almost the only native
work, excepting the khans, consists of the small fortresses in Galilee
built by the famous native family of Zeidaniyin. Thus the fifth epoch
is not by any means so important as the two which preceded it.
The value of these architectural notes will lie in the application of the
observations to sites of unknown date and origin, which may be judged
of from the following distinctive marks : —
1st. To distinguish a Jewish site, the presence of tombs with KoJcimis
almost indispensable, and the great mounds with rock scarps, cisterns,
and pools are almost the only other indications.
2nd. Later Jewish work may be recognised by the florid character of
its ornamentation, combining the classic with native ideas of art. The
finer tombs with loculi, and the synagogues with their peculiar double
pillars at the corners of the cloisters, are to be ascribed to tliis period.
3rd. Byzantine buildings may be distinguished by lintel stones with
crosses, by round arches with a narrow keystone, by irregularly drafted
masonry, and by the architectural details of capitals and cornices.
4th. Crusading buildings are known by masons' marks, by the diago-
nal dressing of the stones, by the character of the written inscriptions,
by the rustic masonry of the exteriors, and by the clustered columns
and pointed arches.
5th. Saracenic buildings are known by the small and less finely-cut
masonry, without masons' mai"ks ; by the pointed arches, and by the
comparative timidity of the low relief in ornamental designs as con-
trasted with the bold sculpture of the Crusaders.
40 :ifOTES ox ^VECHITECTHRE IX PAiESTIKE.
The deductions which are to be obtained from an archteological
examination of Palestine seem to me to be —
1st. The Jews were not a great building people. Fine buildings of
Jewish origin are not to be looked for, nor does the Bible lead to the
expectation that they will be found. They were not an inscribing
people ; and it is not probable that many important inscriptions will be
found in Palestine dating back to Bible times.
2nd. The influence of the "Western nations is to be noticed in later
Jewish buildings, which date back only as far as the Herodian period,
or about the time of Christ.
3rd. The great buildings of the country are to be ascribed to the
Byzantine and Crusading Christian epochs.
4th. The study of archEeology in Palestine, by excavation or other-
wise, is not likely to bring to light very much of value with respect to
the illustration of the Bible. The work which is really of importance
is that in which the Fund is now engaged, namely, the examination of
the topography of the land : from this we may expect, and have
obtained, results of the highest importance, as illustrating the accu-
racy and consistency of the Bible history ; and thus the discovery of
even the most obscure of Bible towns, and its identification by the
recovery of the ancient name radically unchanged, together with the
examination of the natural features of the ground, and of the ways
and customs of the peasant population, are studies of infinitely more
valuable character than the costly attempt to explore by excavation,
with results which, though of antiquarian interest, have no bearing on
Bible questions. Claude E. Coxder, Lieut. E. E.
The above notes are necessarily rather brief and general, but for those
who wish for further information a perfect mine exists in the Memoir
from which these are extracted. The size and dressing of masonry was
always noted in every ruin, with the character of the mortar and all
other points to which attention had been called by architects in the
papers given to me before leaving En gland. Mouldings of capitals, cornice,
and bases were measured with the greatest accuracy possible, and
sketches of tracery made. Photographs of buildings and of architec-
tural details were taken when possible, and to these notes I nmst refer
those who wish for further information.
11th November, 1877.
Note. — A paper on the actual measurements of various places de-
scribed by Josephus, such as Cajsarea, Masada, &c., is under con-
sideration.
41
THE MOABITE POTTEP.Y.
The following letters have appeared in tlie Athenceum, and are here re-
produced by kind permission of the Proprietors : —
Consulate of the German Empire for Palestine,
Jerusalem, November 1st, 1877.
My dear Me. Shapira,— Mrs. Shapira has informed me of yoiir
departure for England on business, and, at the same time, requested me.
to give you in writing my detailed opinion on the present state of the
disputed Moabitic question, immediately after my expedition to Moab,
and to forward it to you in London.
I accede with pleasure to so reasonable a request, and hereby authorise
you expressly to have the following statement translated into English,
and to make such use of it as you may think fit.
According to my humble opinion, nothing at all had been positively
proved respecting either the genuineness or non-genuineness of your
collections before the expedition of Dr. Almkvist to Moab ; nor did the
learned antagonists of their genuineness— the Professors Socin and
Kautzsch— finally arrive at any other result in their well-known work.
The difference between myself and these gentlemen, as well as other
antagonists of the genuineness, was only that I considered the falsifica-
tion of the collections to be less probable.
The researches made by Dr. Koch in the summer of 1875 have proved
it to be utterly impossible to manufacture such pottery- ware here in
Jerusalem ; a similar result had been already obtained, by the researches
made by Mr. Drake. The pottery-ware manufactory alleged to exist at
Jericho by the Sheikh Kaplan, on whose statements the local antagonists
of the genuineness— Pater Antonin and Missionary Klein— are relying,
has long ago been proved to have been a fable. On this occasion I may
state that my most sincere exertions to obtain light in this direction have
remained without success. Both these gentlemen always decline to
name their authority, however often and ui-gently I begged they Avould
do so. It was from another source only that I obtained information of
Sheikh Kaplan's being one of them. No proof could therefore be estab-
lished in this way, and all I can do is to consider all statements coming
from that quarter as empty talk.
But if the pottery-wares have not been manufactured here, might
they not have been made at Damascvis, Port Said, or even in Europe ?
Certainly not in a position to refute these questions, I nevertheless hold
such a proposition to be most improbable, especially with respect to the
first collection. How could a falsifier risk so uncertain an undertaking,
subject to such large expenses as this manufactvire would have necessarily
implied, before the Prussian Government bought the first collection ?
But as utterly impossible I must declare the supposition that the manu-
factured objects had been interred in Moab in order to give the finishing
stroke to the forgery.
42 THE ilOABITE POTTERY.
Whoever is acquainted with the superstition and greediness of the
Bedouins will surely agree with me that they would not have permitted
the execution of an undertaWng, which must needs appear to them as
monstrous and adventurous, such as the interment of thousands of vases
and idols in the ground of which they are the sole lords and masters,
and the desecration of which must unavoidably be followed by the
heaviest divine punishments — to say the least, by lasting dearth; I say
that the Bedouins would not have suffered all this, not even on payment
of the entire sum given by the Prussian Government. How, then,
about the expenses ? In this case the falsifiers would, indeed, have
done more than travailler pour le Roi de Prusse.
I cannot enter here individually on the attacks of the learned, and
must limit myself to expressing my regret at the want of moderation,
objectivity, and especially impartiality they manifest so frequently.
Thus everything stated by M. Ganneau is declared to be proof a priori,
and whatever falls from M. Weser is subjected to polemical criticism.
One of these gentlemen goes, indeed, so far as to declare at once,
that the result of Weser's expeditions of verification is null, because
Selim, who was suspected of falsification, was concerned in it ; but he
says nothing about Pastor Weser's having also undertaken one expedi-
tion without Selim, during which also something has been found. This
silence, however, throws a curious light on that critic. I must here
ignore entirely the superficial opinions which have been put forth among
the German public in consequence of the jDamphlet emanating from
Kautzsch and Socin, and which found expression during one of the
sessions of one of our parliamentary bodies in such a manner as to appear
comical to those conversant with the actual circumstances. Such was
the state of affairs up to the end of last year, and this state I will resume
once more in this sense, that nothing has been positively proved either
for or against, except that the pottery-wares could not have been made
here, and that notwithstanding a sentiment antagonistic to the genuine-
ness pervades the circles of both scholars and laymen in Germany.
All of a stidden this state of things was altered by the expedition of
Dr. Almkvist. This scholar, who set to work with the utmost distrust-
fulness found in the rocky wall of a cave in the Moabitish mountains,
ehoseii by himself at a venture, after delving for two hours, two feet deep
in the rocky wall, a jar with a Moabitic inscription I But Selim was
ao-ain present ; yet would it be certainly insulting to these gentlemen
to expect from any of them an opinion to the effect that Selim had been
able to conjure also this jar into that place, surrounding it afterwards,
artificially, by a rock of one metre in thickness. Moreover, such a
supposition, independently of the physical impossibility, Avould stamp
honest Dr. Almkvist, who Avent to work nmch rather with distrust than
with gushing confidence, as a liar, declaring expressly as he does that
he, entirely liy his own inspiration, had indicated that identical spot to com-
mence opening the rock. The discovery made by Dr. Almkvist offers,
therefore, a real proof —indeed the first— not only to the impartial, but
THE MOABITE POITERY. 43
also even to the prejudiced observer, that pottery-wares had been lying
for considerable periods in the rocky soil of Moab.
Less fortunate was the result of my own expedition, which was
interrupted by the Russian war. The discovery I made represents, in
my opinion, a proof only to an unprejudiced judge. After perusing sa
many criticisms on Weser's expeditions, — I mean besides Prof. Socin,
also the learned geographer Hellwald, — one must be prepared for any-
thing. Both my companions and myself found the caves of Kubeibe,
Mack'ad, and Kyriath-Aleyan, materially changed from the description
given by Almkvist. No doubt some people have continued digging
after that expedition. It seems, too, that the principal proprietor, the
Sheikh Mutlak, also had obtained some experience in forming an
opinion on the rocks. He told us that the pottery-wares were to be
found only in certain formations. Here I mentally hear the learned
critics exclaim, " Ah, very well ; those are Mutlak's own formations,
behind which he has hidden his or Selim's manufactures." But I should
like to see the great conjuror who is able to create artificially that
stratum of flint protruding from the side wall of one of the caves more
than one metre high above ground , and losing itself in the depths of the
earth, behind which, after excavating for sevex'al hours, we found some
large fragments o£ clay, bearing inscriptions.
The surface (of the cave) was covered by a kind of fine grey moss ,
which was distributed over it like mould, having ruts worked by the
passage of insects, a proof that no human hand had touched it for long
periods. This stratum, which rose diagonally from below, reaching
into the side wall of the cave, was burst, and soft earth had sunk into
the rents. Thus we were enabled to loosen them by degrees, and, after
having rolled aside several fragments of rocks of upwards of a cubic
foot in diameter, we found behind them, in the soft earth that had fallen
down, these fragments of clay, together with a small idol and several
bones. After these boulders of rock had been removed, a niche in the
cave was discovered behind them, which, so long as the flint stratum
had not been touched, could not even have been seen, much less entered.
But now my companions examined it with a lantern. They found, in a,
crack of the rocky ceiling over the niche, a large idol, consisting of two
portions, not entirely fitting together, the front part of which shows
Moabitic letters in relief, while at the back they are imprinted, as is the
case with the articles of the present collections.
The gentlemen appointed to accompany me on the part of the
Imperial Government, — consisting of Massrs. Schick, Councillor for
Architectiu-e, Ser Murad, first Dragoman to the Imperial Consulate, and
A. Niepagen, Inspector of the Euius of the Convent of St. John, all of
whom are perfectly impartial and unconcerned in all matters relating to
the disputed Moabitic question, — have declared with me that the supposi-
tion of a forgery was, under these circumstances, utterly impossible.
Mr. Schick did not even consider it worth while to allege, in his tech-
nical report to the Imperial Government on the results of our expedi-
44 THE MOABITE POTTERY.
tion, all the individual elements calculated to prove the correctness of
our supi^osition. Certainly the objections which, no doubt, wUl be
raised against it in Berlin can, in the presence of the tangible facts in
the cave, only make him smile ; but I, being cognisant of the state of
things there, and aware of the criticisms lavished on the results of
"Weser's expeditions, could not be satisfied, and, therefore, completed
Schick's rei)ort in the essential points.
It is thus to be hoped that the truth may at last be known respecting
this interesting question.
In the hope that the foregoing explanation may be of service to you
in England, I remain, my dear Mr. Shapira, very faithfully yours,
(Signed) Freiiierr von MuNCHHAUSEisr,
Imperial German Consul in the Holy Land.
London, Nov. 29th, 1877.
Allow me to state here the results of my own observation : —
I observed that the rocky mountains south-east of Moab, from the
upper Wadi Themad to the lower part of it, called Wadi Vali (the maps
all wrongly give two separate wadis), as well as farther south to the
Wady Sepha (perhaps the Supha of the Bible) and the Eiver Arnon,
consist of white soft limestone intermingled with masses of flint,
as also some other harder stone called Missi in Arabic. Many holes
oocur in the limestone, some smaller, some larger, especially near the
flint strata, which holes seem to be natural earth bubbles. The softer
parts of the rock are apt to dissolve into very fine white dust, which
tumbling down, and mixing ^vith some harder pieces of stone fallen from
above, in process of time petrifies, and so forms a new " rock."
The same thing must, in my opinion, have happened in the hundreds
of caves I have seen, all of which are hewn in the original rock. The
tipper parts resolved themselves into powder, and the idols, vases, etc.,
hidden in the natural holes there (and used as talismans ? or monuments ?),
also fell down to the bottom of the caves, and are, consequently, often
foirnd under ground near the rocky walls of the caves. Others, which
were hidden in a hole in the midst of the rocky wall of the cave, behind
a prominent row of flint, became covered by a petrifying new wall,
formed in process of time from the dust, stones, or even buried pottery,
which had fallen slowly from above.
Dr. Almkvist is Professor of Oriental Languages at Upsala. Mutlak,
I may add is Selim's greatest enemy, and would have long ago killed
Selim if not afraid of me.
M. W. Shapira.
Bodleian Library, Oxford, Dec. 3, 1877.
All Semitic scholars, I have no doubt, will read with the greatest
THE MOABITE POTTERY. 45
satisfaction, Freiherr von Munchausen's letter, addressed to Mr. Shapira,
so far as his new discoveries of Moabitc idols and potteries, with and
without inscriptions, are concerned. No one ever believed that the
Mesha inscription was the first and the last made by Moabites, and
hopes were expressed that some other documents would turn up in the
land of Moab, and I may add, perhaps, even in the land of Amnion.
But, as to the potteries bought at Berlin, no official or unofficial docu-
ment will ever prove their genuineness. Before Profs. Socin and
Kautzsch had even the idea of investigating the subject, I had shown,
from Prof. Schlottman's specimens, published in the Transactions of the
German Oriental Society, that, from a palseographical point of view,
the inscriptions published by him must be a forgery, since we find there
not only one and the same letter sometimes in the right position and
sometimes upside down, but also Himyaritic and even Arabic characters,
which cannot occur in a genuine document of at least 600 B.C. It is
probable that the unskilful falsifier worked with a table of alphabets,
let us say with that of Gesenius. I shall not insist, either, on the shape
of the goddess of the earth, which, according to my opinion, represents
rather the type of a German girl — this must be left to the judgment of
the archjBologists — or on a passage of these inscriptions which repre-
sents a permutation of a passage of the Proverbs, which might, per-
haps, be disputed. If I am right in the last point, the falsifier must
have been a person knowing the Hebrew text of the Bible. At all
events, as I have pointed out, whilst no two words can be explained in
the specimens published by Prof. Schlottmann, not even with the pro-
fessor's strange method of decipherment, by having recourse to all the
Semitic dialects, the Mesha inscription is read with facility except in
the broken parts. I may add that the Moabite potteries at Berlin are
considered tacitly by all the German Semitists, with the exception of
Prof. Schlottmann, as forgeries, otherwise the inscriptions found upon
them would have been published already. I may remind the Imperial
German Consul in the Holy Land that the Crimean tombstones with
Hebrew inscriptions, mentioned in your columns, were declared by a
professor of geology to have lain buried horizontally for 1,800 years;
and, in spite of this statement, it is now evident, from Dr. Harkavy's
researches, that the inscription, which was believed to be 6 B.C., is not
earlier than the thirteenth century A.p. Allow me to express the hope
that, in the further discussions concerning these Moabite antiquities, no
' one wilbimitate the example of Prof. Schlottmann, who declares, in the
Norddeutsche Zeitunfj, M. Clermont Ganneau's statements to be the
result of chauvinisme. Science is, and ought to be, cosmopolitan, and
professors have to give the first example to the general public of con-
fraternity and candour. Ad. Neubauer.
46
THE EOSE OF SHAEON.
(Cant ii. 1 ; Isaiah xxxv. 1.)
The question of the proper translation of the word HahatstseletJi,
rendered "rose" in the English version, has never been settled with
certainty. The following notes may be of interest regarding it : —
The word in Hebrew comes from the root Batzl, "bulbous," from
which it has been generally concluded that some kind of lily was in-
tended, and a great many species have been proposed.
The Targums translate the word by Narlcus, the narcissus, which is
not only of the lily tribe, but also a plant very common in spring in the
Plain of Sharon.
Eoses are not found in Palestine, though the dog-rose flourishes on
Hermon in the cooler atmosphere 6,000 feet above the sea and in the
Anti-Lebanon. It seems improbable that the climate of the lower
regions can ever have been fitted for roses.
We found that the name Buseil was applied to one plant only in
Palestine, and that plant is the narcissus. This is confirmed by M.
Bergheim of Abu Shusheh, whose acquaintance with the peasant
language is intimate.
The agreement between the modern name and the Jewish tradition
of the meaning of the word used in the Bible seems perhaps sufficient
to identify the rose of Sharon with the beautifid white narcissus which
covers the low hills in spring and is also found on the plain.
C. R. C.
Quarterly Statement, April, 1878.]
THE
PALESTINE EXPLORATION FUND.
NOTES AND NEWS.
Lieutenant Kitchener returned to England in January, and after a short leave,
joined Lieut. Conder at the South Kensington Museum, where he is now engaged
in arranging and writing the ]\Iemoirs for the sheets of the Map executed by him-
self. The Memoirs of Lieutenant Conder are almost completed. He leaves the
service of the Committee at the end of April, after six years' work on the survej'
of Western Palestine. A note on his new book will be found later on.
The work done from the end of Febn;ary to the end of November, nine
months, amounted in all to the triangulation and survey of 1,340 square miles of
country ; every ruin was examined, and special reports on all villages and water
supply were drawn up ; the line of levels between the Mediterranean and the Sea
of Galilee was completed, 1,700 square miles of country were revised, 3,850 names
were collected and 816 ruins examined and described, 29 special plans and 19
photographs were taken, besides notes on all archaeological and geological points
of interest in the country.
The most interesting discovery, from a Biblical point of view, announced in
the present Quarterly Sta'cvient, is that of the "Stone of Bethphage. " The
account given by Captain Guillemot differs from that of Lieut. Kitchener in
one important particular. The stone is not in the centre of a circular chapel,
but within a chapel the plan of which has been drawn by Lieut. Kitchener. It
is probably that mentioned by Theodoricus, the passage from whom is quoted by
M. Clermont Ganneau (p. 59). AVe have here, therefore, the Bethphage of
tradition.
The work for the year will consist entirely of the preparation of Map and
Memoirs. Everytliing is being pushed on as rapidly as possible.
48 XOTES A^S'D XE'^S.
The following is the financial position of tlie Fund (March 25, 1878). Receipts,
December 12th to March 25th, £911 6s. 5d. Expenditure, same period : Explora-
tion, £455 6s. Printing, £200. General expenses and small bills, £355 Is. 6d.
The balance in the banks at tlie latter date was £126 13s. 5d.
This small balance would probably have been much larger but for an ap-
parently preA'alent belief that the work of the Fund is over, and its expenses no
longer heavy. First, the special work of the survey of Western Palestine is by
no means over, nor will it be over until Map and Memoirs are completed and
published. And secondly, not only is there the usual monthly expenditure to
be met, but there are many debts which have to be paid off. Subscribers mil
strengthen the liands of the Committee verj"^ much if they will send their sub-
scriptions for the year as early as convenient.
The controversy on the Moabite pottery has been continued during the last
(juarter. "We reproduce the most important portions of the letters on the subject
published in the Athcnceiim. The two "idols" lirought home by Lieut. Kitchener
are now in the office of the Fund, and can be seen by any visitor.
Two mistakes were allowed to pass in the January Qiuirtcrhj Statement. In
one of them the meeting in the Kensington Vestrj- was spoken of as a meeting in
South Kensington. And in tlie other, the extracts from the Dcscriptioncs Palces-
tinm on the Position of Sion were headed Positions of Siou.
In the account of the Kensington meeting in the last Quartcrhf Statcnienf, the
names, also, of the following speakers were omitted : Eev. Dr. Francis Hessey,
Eev. Dr. Kaleigh, and Mr. Edmond Beales.
We have to report the loss of three members of the General Committee by
death. The first of these, Mr. Ambrose Phillipps de Lisle, was a member of the
Committee ft-om the beginning, but has not of late taken an active interest in
work. The second. Sir Gilbert Scott, also jomed the Committee at the founda-
tion of the Society. The third is the Piev. George Williams, whose interest in the
Fund has been imflagging, and whose personal assistance in addresses, speeches,
and writing has always been very great. Canon Williams is chiefly known by his
work on Jerusalem called the "Holy City." The first edition of this, partly
prepared during his residence in Jerusalem, appeared in 1845. A second edition,
greatly enlarged, and enriched by Professor Willis's paper on the Architecture
of the Holy Sepulchre, was issued in 1849. The author was at the time of his
death, which was sudden, engaged in the preparation of a third edition. It is
not yet known how far he had advanced with this design.
The death is also announced of Mr. Joseph Bonomi, the companion of Mr.
Catherwood, the first European who (in 1833) examined and surveyed the Haram
NOTES .\JN'D NEWS. 49
area. Mr. Bouomi, wlio spoke Ara])ic liuentl}^, had often visited, but was not
able to survej' or sketch, the Dome of the Kock and the Mosque el Aksa in the
disguise of a Mohammedan pilgrim. Mr. Catherwood, who wore the dress of
an Egj'ptiau officer, was suffered to make drawings and take measurements,
in the belief that he was ordered to do so by ilehemet Ali for the jjurpose
of repairing the holy X'laces. He introduced Bonomi and Mr. Arundale, on
the pretence of requiring assistance, nor was it till the work was completed
and the travellers at a safe distance from the city that the deception was dis-
covered. Mr. Bonomi was for many years Curator of the Soane Museum.
Later on will be found an announcement of the general contents of Lieut.
Conder's new book. It will be published at 24s. The Committee have resolved
on reducing the price to subscribers to 17s. 6d., postage paid. But it can only
be obtained at this price by application to the London office. Names will be
received in advance. The book will be ready towards the end of April.
Several cases were discovered in 1876, and one or two last year, of postage
stamps being lost on their way to the office. The only way to avoid such loss is
to send money by P.0.0. or by cheque, in every case payable to the order of
Walter Besant, and crossed to C'outts and Co., or the Union Bank, Charing
Co'oss Branch.
The ninth thousand of "Our Work in Palestine " is now ready (price Ss. 6d.),
and may be ordered of booksellers. This book carries the work down to the
commencement of the Survey, but does not embrace M. Ganneau's discoveries
nor the results of the Survey itself.
The following are at present Ptepresentatives and Lecturers of the Society, in
addition to the local Hon. Sees. : —
Ai-chdeaconry of Hereford : Kev. J. S. Stooke-Vaughan, Wellington Heath
Yicarage, LedburJ^
City and neighbourhood of Manchester : Ptcv. W. F. Birch, St. Saviour's
Eectorj-.
Lancashire : Rev. John Bone, St, Thomas's Vicarage, Lancaster.
London : Rev. Henry Geary, 16, Somerset Street, Portman Square.
Norwich : Rev. W. F. Creeny.
Suffolk : Rev. F. C. Long, Stow-iipland, Stowmarket.
Peterborough : Rev. A. J. Foster, Farndish Rectory, Wellingborough.
Worcester : Rev. F. W. Holland, Evesham (Member of General and Executive
Committee, and one of the Hon. Secretaries to the Fund).
Diocese of Ripon : Rev. T. C. Henley, Kirkby Malham Vicarage.
Noi-th Wales : Rev. John Jones, Treborth, Bangor.
50 NOTES AND NEWS.
Yorkshire, Durham, and the Nortli : Rev. James King, 13, Paradise Terrace,
Darlington. Mr. King is now in the Holy Land, but communications for
lectures, &c., can be sent to the Office at Charing Cross.
Ireland. — Diocese of Armagh : Rev. J. H. Townsend.
Rev. G. J. Stokes, Blackrock, Dublin.
Scotland. — Rev. R. J. Craig, Dalgetty, Burntisland.
The Rev. Horrocks Cocks, 19, Edwardes Square, Kensington, has also'_kindly
offered his services among the Nonconformist churches.
While desiring to give every publicity to proposed identifications by officer*
of the Fund, the Committee beg it to be distinctly understood that they leave
such proposals to be discussed on their own merits, and that by publishing them
in the Q^uarterlij Statement tlie Committee do not sanction or adopt them.
Annual subscribers are earnestly requested ta forward their subscriptions for
the cuiTent year when due, at their earliest convenience, and without waiting for
application.
The Committee are always glad to receive old numbers of the Quarterly State-
ment, especially those which have been advertised as out of print.
TENT WOEK IN PALESTINE.
Lieut. Conder's book is expected to be ready about the third or fourth week
in April. The Committee are anxious that the work should be understood to be
presented by Lieut. Conder not as the scientific result of the Survej', which will
be looked for in the twenty-six sheets of the Map, and the voluminous Memoirs,
plans, special sm'veys, and drawings which will accompany them, but as a book
naturally growing out of the note-books and observations of a traveller. It is a
record of personal adventure, with sketches and drawings made on the spot. It
contains also a more popular account of certain interesting discoveries and
suggested identifications than is possible in the dry details of a scientific memoir.
From the table of contents of the book are taken the following heads : —
Vol. I. An account of the Samaritans and of the ancient manuscripts of Shechem.
Description of Ebal and Gerizim. The accounts of Josephus compared with the
results of the Survey as regards Samaria, Civsarea, and Masada. The origin of
the monastery of Carmel told by one of the last monks who remembers the
foundation. Cana of Galilee, with an account of the early notices of the place.
Adventures among the Arabs of Sharon, Damascus, and Baalbek. From the
Summit of Hernion. (.'hristmas at Bethlehem. Easter at Jerusalem. The site
of Calvary. The site of the Temple compared with tlie ascertained rock levels of
the Haram Area.
Vol. II. Jericho, Gilgal, and the Cities of the Plain. The Jordan Valley.
Bethabara and MegiJdo. David's Wanderings. The Desert of Judaa. Masada.
THE STONE OF BETIIPIIAGE. 51
The Valley of Miclimash, Bethel, Ai, Spring in Thilistia, Lachish, Ascalon,
Galilee. The Safed attack. Ciistoms, language, and probable origin of the
Fellaheen. Arabs, Jews, Russian Pilgrims and German Colonists. Fertility
and Future of Palestine.
In an appendix will be published a complete list of the cities and towns men-
tioned in tlie Bible, with the identifications which have been proposed.
The illustrations, all from drawings made by the author in Palestine, or from
new })hotographg, and chiefly of scenes never before figured, consist of six full-
page and about thirty half-page woodcuts, engraved by Mr. Edward Whymper.
Those subscribers who wish to avail themselves of the privilege of obtaining
the book at reduced price are requested to forward their names to the Secretary
as soon as possible.
Although the work is issued by the Committee, it must be understood that the
opinions expressed are those of the author, and that the Committee do not, in
publishing the book, sanction or adopt Lieut. Conder's views.
THE EOSE OF SHARON.
Mrs. Finn writes, with reference to Lieut. Conder's note on this subject
{Quarterly Statement, Jan., 1878, p. 46) : " During our seventeen years' residence
in Palestine I had many opportunities of seeing roses growing in the Holy Land,
both cultivated and wild. I have a wild dog-rose gathered in Lebanon. I saw
another growing and in blossom on the roadside between Nabliis and Jerusalem.
Roses have been also cultivated in Palestine for a very long period, and they
hrive well. The Hebrew word may well mean the Rose. It signifies, as does
its cognate Arabic, the root of a bulbous plant. The flower of a rose is like a
bulb in the way its petals are folded over each other. Hence the name applied
to both."
THE STONE OF BETHPHAGE.
I.
(Abridged from a paper published in the Rcvuc Archceologiquc, Dec., 1877, by
M. Clennont Ganneau. )
I HAVE received from the Frere Lievin certain documents and
drawings relating to an important discovery lately made near Jerusa-
lem. They describe a Crusaders' monument, interesting both as regards
the history of Western art in the East, and as illustrating the topography
of Jerusalem. Frere Lievin was fortunate in obtaining the valuable
assistance of Captain Guillemot, to whose pen we owe the drawings
here engraved. Farther on will also be found a notice drawn up by
Captain Guillemot on the monument, its origin and destination, in
support of which I shall have a few remarks to offer. The drawings
are the more valuable because the monument has greatly suffered since
9 THE STOKE OF BETHPHAOE.
the clearing out. I heard, for instance, in October, that a part of the
inscription painted on the western side fell off shortly after it was
copied.
The excavations undertaken with a view to clear out the monument
met Avith every kind of obstacle from the natives until the intervention
of Eeouf Pacha, who has rendered a great service to science in this
matter — one which ought not to be forgotten, and which leads us to
count on him for the future as an enlightened protector and patron of
archreological research.
The following is the text of Captain Guillemot's report : —
" On leaving the Convent of Carmelites on the Mount of Olives to go
to Bethany, the path to the east follows the contour of the south side
of the mountain. After a gentle descent of about five hundred metres it
turns abruptly to the south, passing over a natural ridge, which unites
the Mount of Olives with that of Bethany.
""When you are arrived at the middle of the ridge, turn to the east,
the Dead Sea is visible in the distance ; behind you, on the west, is tho
group of sanctuaries, the Ascension, the Pater Noster, and the Credo ; on
the north, at the left, you are overlooked by the new constructions of
the Kussian Archimandrite ; the road of Bethany, on the right, runs to
the south, and if you advance a few steps you are on the spot where
the most ancient traditions place Bethphage.
" Some time in the spring of the present year a, fellah of Jebel Tur,
digging on this spot in the hope of finding building stones, struck upon
a polished block, upon which, on clearing away the earth, he found
paintings and characters. In the hope of backsheesh he ran to his
neighbours the Russians ; these, however, preoccupied with the coming
war, told him to cover all up and leave it for the present.
" For centuries past the Franciscans have been accustomed to celebrate
THE STOXE OF BETIIPIIAGE. Oo
every year the Feast of Saint Magdalene at Bethany ; on their return
they halt at Bethphage in order to recite the Gospel of Palm Sunday.
During the ceremony of this year (Jvily 23, 1877) an assistant perceived
certain letters on the stele, which had been imperfectly covered over,
and clearing away a portion of it, found a Latin inscription in Eoman
characters. The father in charge of the sacred places, recognising at
once the importance of this discoveiy, instructed Frere Lievin to com-
mence excavations as soon as possible ; to take notes of and to copy
accurately everything that should be found.
" Shortly after, Frere Lie via, having with him a small band of work-
men armed with pickaxe and sjDade, brought me to the Mount of Olives
and asked for my assistance. The moment our work was commenced the
ci^pidity of the feUahin began to raise diffictdties. Every resident of
Jebel Tur pretended immediately to be the sole proprietor of this spot,
hitherto neglected ; and, to crown all, the villagers of Bethany declared
THE STONE OF BETHPHAQE.
55
that the place belonged to their territory. I had, however, time to
make notes of two fragments of inscription and a sketch of the north
side of the fresco, representing the master of the castle according to the
two disciples permission to carry away the ass and the foal.
" Next day, when I came back to compare my finished drawing with
the original and to study the details, the excavations had been completely
fiUed up and again partly cleared out. Hapijily, the part which I then
wanted was not hidden.
" Next day, the same trouble ; there was only the western face which
remained partly uncovered. It was possible, however, to draw, the
figures bearing palms and hardly visible which stand on the right and
left of the niche. Two days afterwards the whole was completely
covered over ; not even the top of the stone was visible.
" These proceedings resulted from disputes between thb fellahin, some
of them wanting the excavations to proceed in the hope of getting back-
sheesh, and the others filling them up, as fast as made, out of jealousy.
" Things being in this position, Frere Lievin had recourse to the Pacha,
who immediately accorded us his protection. Orders were given by
his excellency to the chiefs of the villages of Bethany and Jebel Tur ;
a soldier was placed on guard over the excavations, and we were enabled
to continue our labours in peace.
" The fresco which I had, happily, copied carefully had been seriously
damaged by the pickaxes and by the continual friction with stones and
earth ; several letters of the inscription had disappeared. I made haste
to note all that remained ; it was fortimate that I did so, because
shortly afterwards an unkno^vn hand destroyed in our absence the greater
part of the rest.
56 THE STONE OE BETHPIIAGE.
"The s^fZe measures 1*30 metres (4ffc. 3"18in.) in its greatest lengtli ; in
breadth it is 1"13 metres (3t't. 8'49in.) at the northern end, and 1"06
metres (or 3ft. 5'63in.) at the southern end. The height at the northern
end is irregular, and averages one metre (3ft. 3'37in.) At the southern
end it is 0-90 metres (2ft. ll'4in.). It is constructed of the rock on
which it stands, a porous limestone, lying in irregular strata, with
alternate soft and hard beds.
" The monolith has not been separated from the rock of which it forms
part, except on the four faces.
" At first sight the monument would be taken for an altar, or even for
a tomb. But there exist no traces of the steps and other accessories to
an altar. As regards the second, there is no sign of any opening. The
white stucco which covers it is still solid in certain places. The paint-
ings are finely executed and of a striking character. Nevertheless, the
inscriptions leave no doubt as to the origin of this decoration.
"But is it only a restoration? At what period was the stone cut?
That is a question impossible to answer. Those who thus ornamented
it must have had no doubt that formerly the rock stood out above the
level of the soil, presenting a sort of rustic seat, and that our Lord
may have sat upon it on a certain memorable day.
" The Resurrection of Lazarus. — The choice of the south side for this
painting, which faces Bethany, and the subject, that of the permisssion
to take the ass and the foal, makes me think that the west part, facing
Jerusalem, must have represented the triumphant entry of our Lord
into the Holy City. The figures which can still be seen bearing palms,
on the two sides of the niche, are in favour of this hypothesis.
" This painting is much superior to the others. I believe, however,
that it is by the same hand.
" On the facade of the Church of the Holy Sei^ulchre there is a Eesur-
rection of Lazarus carved in the prolongation of the lintel. It is in
great measure identical with that of Bethphage. Did the painter copy
the sculptor ? Perhaps while studying the vigorous bas-rehef he may
have acquired a more perfect understanding of the line and of light
and shade. I am happy in having been able to cojjy this composition
in time. At present it is greatly damaged ; wet fingers have been
passed over the figures, and have effaced them ; many of them have
quite disappeared.
" The fresco on the other side appears to be the blessing of the
restoration of this little sanctuary. The notch which is observed in the
upper part, about the middle, may have been to hide a defect in the
stone.
' ' On clearing away the earth from our excavations we came upon a
circular construction of a m.uch more ancient appearance than the
decoration of the stele. The disposition and arrangement of the ma-
terials have nothing in common with Crusaders' work. Besides, at two
metres from the circumference we found the fragment of a column
standing still upright upon its base. Is this the first and most ancient
THE STONE OF BETIIPIIAGE. 57
sanctuary, which, those who restored the monument were unable to
repair in its original grandeur ? More complete examination of the
place is required to prove the point.
" In any case, we ascertained that the stele itself was in the centre of
the circiilar space.*
"Near the monument lie a number of cisterns, some in ruins, some
covered over and still in use. Their depth and size, and the fact that they
are gathered together over a narrow space, their acknowledged antiquity,
all go to prove that there once existed an important village in this place.
Two of the reservoirs are in ruins ; two others serve as watering-places
for cattle. A small rocky ravine which used to feed these cisterns
separates them towards the west from a mamelon which may very well
be the site of Bethphage. I have seen on the ground broken pillars,
fragments of marble pavement, an enormous quantity of broken Jewish
pottery, and mosaic cubes of all colours, all of which have been brought
to light by the cultivation of the soil.
" I one day met the proprietor on the spot at the moment when he was
taking out of the ground a stone evidently once part of an aqueduct,
and evidently of great age. I asked him if he found many things like
it. He replied, ' You see all this place ; I cannot dig anywhere without
finding walls.' Then he added, ' There was formerly a city on this
spot.' That, indeed, is the opinion of the whole country.
"It does not seem to me possible that Bethphage could have been
placed on the side of a road which, shut in to right and left by two hills,
is a mere gulf for the west wind, so terrible in this country. The old
cities in the vicinity are all built on slopes which incline to the south-
east. Now this mamelon near the cisterns has a similar inclination.
" Again let us turn to the sacred narrative. The Saviour came from
Jericho towards Jerusalem ; He had passed Bethany, and passed over
the ground broken by the hills which separate the valleys of Bethany
and Bethphage. ' Go,' He said to His disciples, ' to the village over
against you, ' (Matt. xxi. 2). Now the road has not been changed, since
it could have passed no other way than over the narrow ridge to join
the Mount^of Olives. If, then, the village was on the road, .why send the
disciples, since the Lord would pass it Himself ? And if we look at the
plan, we may be sure that the disciples, to make a short cut, descended
the valley to climb the mamelon of Bethphage, while our Lord, with the
rest of His disciples, continued to follow the road in the direction of the
Mount of Olives, and there waited the return of the disciples.
" And to the faithful this stone would be that on which Jesus rested
by the wayside and when He mounted the ass."
To this report M. Clermont Ganneau appends several pages of valuable
comment. He points out that the niche shown in the drawing may, as
Captain Guillemot suggests, have been carved on the stonei originally,
and in order to hide some defect ; or it may have been cut by a fellah
of more modern days to receive a beam for some construction of his
* See Lieut. Kitchener's Eeport and Plan, p. 6].
THE STONE OF BETIIPHAGE. 59
own. The inscription he ascribes, as beyond doubt, to the twelfth
centmy. On one of the faces occurs the name of Bernard Witard.
There appears in the Cartulary of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre the
name of Johannes Guitard (= Witard). Probably Bernard belonged to
this famUy, and defrayed the expenses of the monument.
As regards the constructions found round the stele, M. Ganneau is of
opinion, in which Lieut. Kitchener's observations (see plan, p. 61) sup-
port him, that the wall was not actually circular, but apsidal, and part
of a church, and he calls attcTition to the importance of proving
that the church was buUt before the stone was painted. His own dis-
covery of the taiUe medioevale {Quarterly/ Statevient, April, 1874) may be
applied here.
As regards Captain Guillemot's suggestion that the stone may have
been regarded as that on which our Loid rested, M. Ganneau brings
direct proof that such was the case. He quotes Theodoricus de Locis
Sanctis (a.d. 1072) : — " Milliario ab Hierosolymis Bethania, ubi domus
Simonis leprosi, Lazari et ejus sororum Marise et Marthse erat, distat,
ubi Dominus ssepe hospitari solebat. Sita est autem Bethania juxta
vallum Oliveti, montem a parte orientali terminantem. A Bethania ergo
in die palmarum dilectissimus dominus noster Jesus Christus prsecedens
et Bethphage veniens, qui locus inter Bethaniam et montem Oliveti
medius est, ubi etiani honesta capella in ipsius honore est fabricata binos
ad adducendum asrnam et pullum misit discipulos, et stans super lapi-
dem grandem qui in ista capella manifesto videtur, et asino insidens per
montem Oliveti Hierosolymam properavit cui turba multa in descensu
montis ipsius obviam processit." — Tobler's edit. p. 52.
So that in the second half of the twelfth century they showed between
the Mount of Olives and Bethany the site of Bethphage and the place
where Jesus had sent two of His disciples to seek the ass and the colt.
There they had raised a "fair chapel" — honesta capella — and in this
chapel was visible the stone on which our Lord stood before mounting
the ass.
"This rock," says M. Ganneau, " can be no other than this monolith,
from which the surrounding rock has been carefully cut away, lovingly
covered on all sides by delicate paintiugs, which remind one of illumina-
tions in a precious missal rather than an ordinary fresco drawn to hide
the naked stone. . . . We may remember that the Crusaders had an
especial predilection for fresco painting ; they covered the walls of all
the churches on the sacred sites ^\dth frescoes. Many pilgrims, especially
John of Wurzburg, have preserved the description of these paintings, the
siibjects of which, all borrowed from the Old and the New Testament, were
in accordance with the traditions of each sanctuary. These paintings were
accompanied by long inscriptions, generally in rhymed Latin, according
to the fashion of the time. It is a pity that John of Wurzburg did not
visit the place and copy the inscriptions. He mentions, however, the
church of Bethphage. Several other writers of the twelfth century
speak of Bethphage and its church. Soewulf, however (a.d. 1102),
speaks as if a church had not yet been erected: "Bethphage, ubi
60 THE STOA'E OF BETIIPHAGE.
Dominus prtemisit discipiilos ad civitatem est in monte Oliveti, sed fere
nusquam apparet."
Bernard (a.d. 865) says : — " In descensu etiam de monte Oliveti ad
occidentalem plagam ostenditur niarmor, de quo descendit dominus super
pullum asinte."
The " western" slope of Olivet will not fit in with, our stele, but the
fact remains that in the ninth century such a stone was shown.
M. Ganneau goes on to show that the traditional site of Bethphage
was maintained up to the 17th century. He concludes his paper {Revue
Archceologi'jue, Dec, 1877) as follows: — "We know, therefore, beyond
any doubt, the point where the Crusaders localised the episode to which
the name of Bethphage is attached. The ruins noticed by M. GuUlemot
not far from the painted stone belong to the Bethphage so called by the
Crusaders. Is this mediaeval Bethphage identical with that of the
Gospel ? This is a question quite distinct from the first. We know how
different are opinions on the site of Bethphage. According to some who
rely on the Greek text of Luke xix. 29, it is placed to the east or the
south-east of Bethany ; others consider it as identical with the modern
village of SUwan ; others, again, relying on the authority of the Talmud,
make Bethphage a suburb of Jerusalem. For my own part, I confess
that I ask myself whether Bethphage is not simply the village of the
Mount of Olives called Kefr ct-Tur. I believe this village ancient on
account of its name of Kefr, on account of its situation, and on account
of the ancient remains that one sees there. Kefr et-Tur means the
Village of the Moumt of Olives ; it may formerly have had a designation
more personal, which is lost. Now the Gospel tells us of an ancient
locality whose name has disapj)eared ; it is Bethphage, the Village of the
Mount of Olives,
" This hypothesis will enable us to explain and understand certain
Talmudic passages, which are all clear if one admits that Bethphage
marked on the East the boundary of the Sabbatic zone which on every
side surrounded the city. The Mount of Olives (by which we may now
understand a particular point of this mount) was exactly a Sabbath-day's
journey from Jerusalem. And what point could this be except the
village of the mountain which occupied its principal summit and now
bears its name r "
II.
LiEUTEXAKT Kitchener's EEronT.
The road from the Mount of Olives to Bethany crosses a narrow
ridge of land which joins the Mount of Olives to the hill above Bethany.
On this narrow strip ancient tradition placed the site Bethphage, men-
tioned (Matt. xxi. 1 ; Mark xi. 1 ; and Luke xix. 29) as the place Avhere
our Lord mounted the ass for his triumj)hal entry into Jerusalem. The
remains of an ancient chapel have been imcovered, dating probably from
the twelfth or thirteenth century.
In the chapel there is an almost square block of masonry or rock
covered with paintings ; it measures 4ft. 3in. by 3ft. Gin. by 3ft. lOin.
THE STONE OF BETHPHAGE.
61
high, and its position in the chapel is curious — being on the north
side, probably between two columns of the nave, as seen on the accom-
panying plan.
This square block is supposed to be either an altar, a shrine, or a
portion of the rock cut out and ornamented, being the exact place
where our Lord mounted the ass.
PLaii' of Tcc€nt' SLscovery
■ Moimt ct Olives
I
^
«ir_
The paintings, of which I send you pen-and-ink sketches, are well
done, though now much disfigured. On the south side is the Eaisino- of
Lazarus ; on the north are the Disciples fetching the Ass ; on the east
there are a number of persons standing in a row, but it is too much
disfigured to be recognisable ; on the west there is a niche covered by
an arch, which was probably supported by two small columns; below
the niche is a portion of an inscription still remaining ; several lines
have been destroyed.
On the top there was also some design and the traces of an inscrip-
tion. The walls of the small chamber to the south were also painted
with a design of squares containing circles, and the walls of the church
were painted in a common pattern.
M. Le Capitaine Guillemot was the first to visit these remains, and
he has made elaborate drawings and copies of the paintings and inscrip-
tions when everything was almost perfect. These he is about to publish.
He was able to read on different parts of the inscription, " Hie est,"
"Bethphagus," and "Hierusalem." H. H. K.'
62
JOUENAL OF THE SUEVEY.
Jerusalem, 23i'd November, 1877.
Tlie obstruction of the authorities of Nablus to my repairing Jacob's
"Well continued during the whole time I was there, in spite of all the
measures I took to gain their compliance in a work which could only
be for the good of all, Mohammedans and Christians alike. I was
subjected to many indignities by the officials, which culminated on the
3rd of November by my being stoned by a mob of boys in the streets of
Nablus. My letter of complaint to the acting governor was sent back
unopened, showing that, if they had not connived at the insult to me,
they intended taking no steps to punish the delinquents. The case
is now officially before the ambassador, but owing to the unsatisfactory
state of things in Turkey there is little hope of its being attended to
for some time.
Wliile at Nablus the revision went on steadily, and many important
results were obtained. I made considerable search on Mount Ebal for
the el Keniseh (the church) described by Major "Wilson, and with some
difficulty found the name of a ruin (el Kuneisah) spelt differently, and
therefore not meaning a church. The people from the north side of the
mountain who cultivate the ground Avere an extremely bad lot, and I
had to make three expeditions to the top before I could gain any reliable
information.
I sent Corporal Brophy with an expedition to Tulkerum to revise
that portion of the map, which was successfully accomplished. On the
2nd I rode out to Teiasir to search for the tombs of the kings of Israel.
As I was passing the village of Tubas I made some search after an
inscription which had been reported, but after careful inquiry and
search among the tombs, I could not hear of any inscription answer-
ing to my description. On visiting the mosque, however, they told
me of a valuable stone that was built into the wall. Getting my
fingers into a crevice under the stone, I could feel that it was inscribed.
I therefore urged them to pull it out to adorn the mosque, and after
a little persuasion in the shape of bucksheesh they set to work and
soon rooted out the stone. It proved to be an Arabic inscription, very
much defaced, telling of the building and dedication of the mosque.
Tubas is a large village of about 1,500 inhabitants, situated in a most
fertile country. By paying £100 in gold to the Pasha of Nablus the
people have escaped the conscription up to now, but I expect their teim
is nearly out, and unless they pay another heavy bribe they will soon be
called upon to make up for the time they have been spared.
At Teiasir I was unable to identify the tombs of the kings. There are
large numbers of caves and tombs on the side of a valley, but nothing to
distinguish any above the rest. The surface of the walls is cut up with
winepresses and cisterns. On the top of the hill, above the tombs,
there seemed to be traces of what might have been sonic large attached
JOURNAL OF THE SURVEY. 63
sarcophagi, but they are so broken and worn down that it was impos-
sible to be certain about them. The village is deserted, owing to the heavy
demands for taxes and conscription. Half a dozen very unpleasing-
looking men rushed out of a cave when they heard us, evidently mean-
ing mischief ; but on seeing that we were three, and well armed, they
skulked off amongst the bushes. Poor creatures ! they looked pinched
with hunger, and were evidently very nearly driven to desperation.
These are the sort of people that are making the country dangerous at
this time. After visiting all the rock-cut tombs and caves and examining
the remains of the old Roman masonry tomb, which reminded me of the
one at Kades, though much smaller, we rode back along the remains
of the Roman road. At one place four Roman milestones were thrown
together in a heap. The engineering of these Roman roads was excellent.
Over a most difficult country such as this it excites admiration to see the
way that difficulties were got over with the least possible expenditure
of labour. Should Palestine ever be reopened to civilisation, these
roads will form the basis of the principal lines of communication through
the country.
On passing Wady Farah I visited the tent of Fendy el Feis, the chief
of the Beni Sakr. The tribe left the neighbourhood of Zerin on account
of the row that was made about the murder of Mr. Gale, near Nazareth.
The government had long wished to get rid of them, and seized the
opportunity, when Mr. Moore arrived at Acre in a British man-of-war
to inquire into the murder, to inform the Beni Sakr that it might be
disagreeable to them if they remained, as suspicion was likely to fall on
some of them.
Their tents were pitched in a lovely spot close to Burg el F'arah, on
the high ground between the two springs 'Ain el F'arah and 'Ain ed
Duleib. Both of them form streams of water at once, and run through
groves of oleanders and bushes.
Fendy was absent in Moab arranging for the sale of camels for the
Haj. The tribe make about £1,500 a year by selling or hiring camels
for the pilgrimage to Mecca ; the Beni Sakr tribe seem to have almost the
monopoly in this trade. While at Bosra the government on some plea
took Fendy prisoner ; his son at once got together a baud of Arabs and
came to the rescue of his father. The first shot fired by the escort
guarding Fendy killed his son ; this seems to have ended the affray.
There was some fear that this would be a cause of feud between the
tribe and the government, but Fendy is reported to have said on the
occasion, "My son and I were servants of the Sultan, now he has one
less," which is taken to mean he does not intend making a feud of it.
I got back to my tent late.
On the 3rd I sent the two non-commissioned officers to Lebban with
a party to go on with the revision of that district. I stayed at Nablus
owing to a telegi-am from the consul-general asking me to wait and
see what steps the Vali of Syria would take in the matter of Jacob's
Well. I rode out and examined the fine site of El 'Ormah, south-east
64 JOUKXAL OF THE SUllVEY.
of Nablus. The position was very grand, standing higli above the
surrounding hills ; from a distance the castle seems almost inaccessible ;
by approaching it from the west, however, a narrow tongue of land leads
to within a little of the top. A stiff climb along rock terraces and over
scarped rocks leads to the plateau on the top on which the castle was
situated. The foundations of two square towers of large drafted masonry,
similar to Crusading work, still guard the southern entrance ; these
and some cisterns and ruined houses are all that now remain ; the whole
area of the plateau would be about three-quarters of an acre. The rock
was scarped perpendicularly on the west side ; on the east and north
sides the hill descended very steeply about 500 ft. to a valley ; on the
south a very narrow ridge led to another small round hilltop, slightly
lower than the fortress, which was equally inaccessible. The place
must have been one of great strength ; the remains still existing do not
seem to date from a period previous to the times of the Crusaders.
I returned by the village of Awertah, which is very pleasantly situated
amongst olive-groves, and well supplied with water. It is famous for
the tomb of Eleazar (el 'Azeir), which is held in high veneration by the
Mohammedans, Jews, and Samaritans. I had to search for the tomb
of Phinehas ; but, though there are three other sacred places, the inhabi-
tants knew nothing of Phinehas. The three others are Sheikh el
Mansury, Neby el Mefuddil, and el 'Azeirat, and in each there are
Samaritan inscriptions. In Neby el Mefuddil the inscription is plastered
up. The people are very obKging, and all the sacred places are kept in
excellent repair. A Samaritan told ma that Sh. el Mansury was the tomb
of Phinehas according to their records, but it seems more probable from
the positions on the ground that el 'Azeirat, which corresponds with el
'Azeir, should be the site. The place is evidently very ancient ; there are
many rock-cut tombs, Avine-presses, cisterns, and a fine spring of water.
The people told me that el 'Azeir was a very great Neby next to
Mohammed, and that he had even lived before the Prophet of God.
As I found, on my return to camp, that the government intended
still to raise objections, though they had received a pressing telegram
from the Vali, I determined to move next day to Beitin. Telegraphic
communication at Nablus is in a curious state, no telegrams being con-
sidered private. The Greek bishop often brought me copies of telegrams
received by the government, and I am quite convinced the authorities
received copies of mine probably before they were forwarded. To
frustrate this I sent some of mine round by Jerusalem. Next day I
moved camp to Beitin, as nothing official had arrived in the twenty-four
hours. My non-commissioned officers were there before me. From
this camp a large tract of country was revised.
Corporal Brophy having reported some inscriptions and carved stones
at Jifna, I rode there next day. The inscriptions are on a small modern
bridge, and are in modern Greek and Arabic, stating the bridge to have
been built by the head of the convent.
Let into the wall of the Greek chui-ch there is a very beautifully
JOUllNAL OF THE SURVEY. 65
carved sarcophagus in perfect preservation. It is very rare in this
country to find figures unmutilatcd, but in this case the sarcophagus
was found on Greek ground, and the village being Christian, it has
escaped. The work and finish is very fine : four small angles support a
wreath hanging in festoons ; in the centre of each compartment thus
formed above the wreath is a cherub's head ; the expression on the faces
is very beau tif id ; the whole is cut in white marble. There is a great
difference between this sarcophagus and those described by Major Wilson
at Kades, of which two remarkably well-preserved specimens may be
seen at Kh. Shelabun. The work is much smaller and finer, and I
should think of a later date.
Next day I moved camp to Beit Ur et Tahta, every one revising on
the road, as usual when we moved camp.
The following day I rode down the great valley that witnessed the
flight and pursuit of the Philistines by Joshua on that day that was
like no other. After visiting Beit Nuba and Yalo I returned by Beit
Sira, and met a bridal party. Our village had arranged to give a bride
to a man of Bir Main in exchange for one of equal beauty and wealth
for one of their sons. Both brides started at a given time from their
villages, accompanied by all the women in their gayest attire, and
escorted by mounted men galloping frantically about performing
" fantasia," as they call it. The brides were veiled and so mufiled up
that they could hardly move. The women kept up a chant the whole way.
When the two processions came within sight of each other they halted, and
the brides were dragged off their horses and took leave of their friends
with a good deal of lamentation. They were then mounted again, and
two men led the horses alone to the opposite party ; the men changed
horses midway, and brought back the new brides. They were at once
received with great joy, and had to dismount again to receive the con-
gratulations of their new friends. Both parties then returned with a
good deal of shouting and firing off of old rusty guns. In the evening
the shouting and noise in the village was kept up to a late hour.
The following day I sent the non-commissioned officers to make sj)ecial
plans of the White Mosque at Eamleh and the reservoir of St. Helena.
I rode to Jaffa revising, and slept there ; the ground was very deep in
the plain, owing to the rains, and great care had to be taken. Our
horses were frequently up to theii* girths in the soft ground.
I was astonished to learn at Jaffa that the French steamer would
arrive on the 23rd instead of the 29th, as I had expected and calculated
for. It was extremely important that the non-commissioned officers
should go home by that steamer, as otherwise they would have to wait
a fortnight for the next. I rode from Jaffa to Arsuf to examine the
castle, while the non-commissioned ofiicers made a special plan of Eas
el Ain and revised the country round. The castle at Arsuf is very Hke
Ascalon in the style of its masonry and the excellence of the cement
employed. In places where the stones are weathered away, the cement
remains. It was almost impossible to break off a piece. In other
6 JOURNAL OF THE SURVEY.
places the pointing remains as fresh as when the masons left it. The
castle was built on a bad foundation of very soft rock, on the seaside ;
this has been woi-n away, and the walls have slid down bodily. They
are naturally cracked and broken, but immense portions of the walls
have rolled down from a great height without breaking up. In some
parts the walls look as if they had been built on sloping scarps, so
perfectly have they slid from their high position. A quantity of green
sulphate of copper is scattered about attached to rocks in crystals. I
had to leave eai-ly, as it was necessary to get back to camp at Lidd that
evening. Next morning I sent Corporal Brophy up to Jerusalem to get
on with the packing up, and moved camp to Deir Aban. I visited Mr.
Bergheim's farm at Abu Shusheh, and found the position of 'Ain et
Tamuir. It is now applied to a spot on the hill side, where the aiti is
said to commence. The water is carried from this spot ia an aqueduct
Tinderground to the present 'Ain el Yerdeh, lower down. This theory
is carried out by the discovery, when the men were cleaning out 'Ain el
Yerdeh, that the water came into the well from an aqueduct. After
examining the country round, I rode to Amwas to see the church. I
entered the mosque and measured it up. On coming out I found a
throng of people, who said it was a most sacred place, being the tomb
of Sheik Obeid. I apologised for going in with my shoes on. The
people were extremely civil and obliging, and though I had a Turkish
soldier with me, they expressed their longing that England would take
the country and give them the benefits of a just government. Nothing
I could say would induce them to believe that England had no inten-
tion of doing anything of the sort. There had been a wedding that
day, and as the bridegroom has to stand a certain amount of powder
for fantasia on these occasions, the young men very sensibly determined
to use it for firing at marks, instead of throwing it away uselessly. They
made some very good practice. At a certain time they all formed in
line in front of the mosque, with the old sheikh in front, and went
through their devotions together. They were very fervent in their
prayers that God would give victory to the Sultan and confound the
Muscovites. I then visited the remains of the magnificent church. The
stones are very large, and the church, in my opinion, is older than the
Crusading times, very probably dating from the fifth century.
I next visited the tine remains of the Crusading castle at Latron ; it
must have been an important place, and is still in very fair iireservatiou.
I had no time to make a jilan of the remains. Pushing on for Deir
Aban I soon caught Corporal Sutherland, who had been revising in
another direction; his horse was evidently very ill, and as Corporal
Suthei-land had a very bad foot I had to load it all the way, about six
miles, to Deir Aban. We got in some time after dark ; the horse was
very bad on the road, and though everything was done he died a quarter
of an hour after getting into camp. It was sad he could not last another
day, as that would have finished his work.
Next day we marched into Jerusalem. I visited Beit Atah and EUar
ITINERARIES OF OUR LORB. 67
et Tahta, making inquiries about Azekah, but could hear of no sucb
place except Ez Zak near Khuweilf eh, and Kh. Habeik, both well-known
places.
I cami3 round by Solomon's Pools and the Bethlehem road revising,
while Corporal Sutherland took a straighter course ; Corporal Brophy
revised the road on his way up from Lidd. The revision of 1,700 square
miles was therefore completed on the 17th November. We had some
very bad weather during the month — six days may be characterised by
continuous rain — but the work was carried on the same and no day was
lost. Packing up and arranging for the sale of the horses took two
days. The men left on the 22nd and sailed next morning with all the
luggage. I made some final arrangements and sailed myself for Con-
stantinople on the 26th.
The work done from the end of February to the end of November,
nine months, has been 1,340 square miles of country triangulated and
surveyed, every ruin examined, and special reports on all villages and
water supply; the line of levels between the Mediterranean and the Sea
of Galilee completed, 1,700 square miles of country revised, 8,850 names
collected and 816 ruins examined and described, 29 special plans and
19 photographs, besides notes on all archgeological and geological points
of interest in the country gone over.
H. H. Kitchener, Lieut. E.E.
ITINERAEIES OF OUE LOED.— CANA OF GALILEE.
St. James's Terrace, Eegent's Park,
March 30th, 1878.
In trying to lay down the routes by which our Lord made his journeys,
nothing is more important than to fix, if possible, disputed sites. A
place identified becomes a fixed point, from which other Hues may be
pushed out. Happily, a few of the more important places— Nazareth,
Bethlehem, Bethany, Mount Olivet, Jerusalem, and Jacob's Well — have
never been the sport of theorists. But this good fortune has not
attended Cana, Bethsaida, Capernaum, and Bethabara. If all these
places could be fixed beyond dispute, much would be done towards
framing an outline for the Itineraries. In the following notes I venture
to submit the case in favour of Cana, and to ask for a verdict on the
evidence adduced in favour of the historic site, against the theorists.
Where was this sacred place ?
All the native Churches, whether Gi-eek or Latin, Coptic, Nestorian,
or Armenian, reply that Cana of the marriage feast lay at Kefr Kana,
on the road from Nazareth to Capernaum. Kefr Kana means Village
of Cana. Till the days of Eobinson there had been no dispute about
the locality. Cana was a common name in Palestine, very much like
68 ITIKERARIES OF OUR LORD.
Asliton in England, Steinberg in Germany, San Lucar in Spain. There
was a Cana in Judtea, a second Cana near Mount Tabor, a third Cana near
Tyre. There may have been more. Villages of this name rose and
perished ■without a record. One such village floui-ished in a recent
period at a spot some six miles north of Sephoris, and is now called
Khurbet Kaua, Ruins of Cana. An ignoyant Frank confused the new
Cana north of Sephoris with the old Cana north-east of Nazareth ; but
the false suggestion died with the ignorant Frank who made it. Qua-
resmius, hearing of the suggestion, put an end to it by simple state-
ment of the facts. Robinson revived the doubt.
On going up the hill of Nazareth with his Arab seiwant, Abu Nasir,
to get a view of the country, Robinson heard of that dead Cana, lying
beyond Sephoris. The name was new to him, and the spot indicated
was a desert place. Abu Nasir spoke of it as Kana el- Jelil — Cana of
Galilee. Robinson adopted the ridiculous heresy which Quaresmius
fancied he had crushed. Robinson thought he had caught the monks
at their tricks. The real Cana lay out of their way, and they changed
the site for their own convenience. Abu Nasir' s word was enough.
"The name is identical. . . . On this single ground, therefore, we
should be authorised to reject the present monastic position of Cana."
When Robinson had made up his mind he found plenty of texts to
support his theories — found them by the easy process of misreading
and false translation. He never went to see the spot ! The place was
called Khurbet Kana, Ruins of Cana ; but he never asked whether the
ruins were new or old — the waste of an Arab village later than the
Crusades, or a Syrian hamlet earlier than the birth of Christ. Enough
for him that Abu Nasir called it Kana el- Jelil ; Abu Nasir's word out-
weighed for him the authority of all the native Churches.
This story sounds like farce ; and yet, since Robinson's time, Khurbet
Kana has for many persons usui-ped the place of the genuine Cana of
Galilee. Karl Ritter adopted Robinson's mistake, and his authority
has led to the insertion of his blvmder in many maps. A note to the
last edition of Ritter' s work affords the means of correction ; but several
map-makers were misled before that correction came ; see Chambers's
map of Palestine, Hughes's map of Syria, Boedeker's " Galilee," and
(Ifam sorry to add) Murray's far more valuable map of the Holy Land.
Let us scan the evidence of fact.
I. — Evidence or Name.
Kefr Kana (Village of Cana) and Khiarbet Kana (Ruins of Cana) are
places in the same district of Galilee, hardly a dozen miles apart. In
Greek their names are identical — they are both called Kavd; in our
English form Cana. To distinguish either of them from Cana in Judaea it
was necessary to add the words " in Galilee" or " of Galilee," as we, in
speaking of our northei-n Richmond, should add " in Yorkshire " to dis-
tinguish it from the better known town near London. Robinson's first
mistake arose from treating the form "Cana of Galilee" as a proper
ITINERARIES OF OUll LORD. 69
name. His whole theory rests on this foundation. " Cana of Galilee,"
he argues, is the name of a place mentioned by St. John; "Kana el-
Jelil " is the name of a place mentioned by Abu Nasir. They must be
one and the same. Such is his process — such bis proof.
But was " Cana of Galilee " a proper name ? Some names of towns
are compound, the words wedded and inseparable, like Civita-Castellana,
Boulogne-sur-Mer, and Ashton-under-Lyue. Is "Cana of Galilee"
such a compound name ? If not, Eobinson's theory is imtenable — his
inference unsound.
On this point there is not much room for philological mistake. Cana
is mentioned by two authors, and no more. They mention it by the
same name, and with very nearly the same descriptive adjunct. These
authors are Josephus and St. John. The name is only known in the
Greek form Kafd, to which the English form Cana corresponds with
perfect accuracy. No Hebrew, Chaldee, or Aramaic form of the word is
known. All modern forms, whether Arabic or Frankish, are derived
from the Greek word, and must be carried back to it in case of variance.
Robinson saw an argument in favour of his heresy in the fact that some
modern Arabs have rendered the Greek word Kava by two Arabic forms,
Kana and Kenna. So he used the form Kana in reference to Khurbet
Kana, Kenna in reference to Kefv Kana. There is no ground for such
a distinction. Kana and Kenna come from Cana and return into Cana.
Such variations as occnr in the name of Cana belong to modern Arabic,
not to ancient Greek.
Josephus and St. John knew Cana well. While Josephus held his
command in Galilee, he lived at Cana ; a convenient post from which
he could watch Sephoris on one side and Tiberias on the other side.
Cana figures in the narrative of his life on at least one very important
occasion — that of his night- march on the capital of Lower Galilee.
Josephus calls the place in which he lived and from which he started
"a village in Galilee called Cana." Nothing in his text suggests that
the place was called " Cana of Galilee," as Robinson imagines it to have
been called. St. John knew Cana as well as Josephus. He was at the
marriage feast. Cana was the home of Nathaniel, his fellow-disciple,
and was only a few miles from his own house at Capernaum. He calls
the place Cana of Galilee. The name occurs twice in the fourth Gospel
— in the second chapter, and in the twenty-first chapter. Our trans-
lators render the first passage Cana of Galilee, and the second Cana in
Galilee. The texts of Josephus and St. John leave no doubt that Cana
is a proper name ; Cana of Galilee, or Cana in Galilee, a descriptive
phrase. Josephus says " a village of Galilee called Cana," as we should
say "a village in Kent called Sevenoaks." He never mentions his
dwelling-place as a village called " Cana of Galilee." There being more
than one Cana in Palestine, as there is more than one Richmond in
England, like causes produced like use of language. A Yorkshire
writer mentioning Richmond would describe it as Richmond in York-
shire, not because " Richmond in Yorkshire " is a proper name, but
70 ITINERARIES OF OUR LORD.
because he might otherwise run some risk of being thought to mean
Richmond in Surrey. John uses the form Cana of Galilee in order
that his ordinary readers may not confuse the scene of the marriage
feast with the better known Cana in Judtea. Cana in Judaea had in the
days of St. John a fame like that of Sedan in our own days. There
Antiochus had given battle to the Arabs. There he had fallen, and his
whole army had been destroyed. A Jew writing in those times of
" Cana" would be understood to mean Caua in Judaea, the scene of
that great disaster to the Jewish arms. Hence, for the sake of clear-
ness, both Josephus and St. John added the name of the province in
which his Cana lay — the first saying, simply, a village of Galilee called
Cana; the second, no less simply, Cana of Galilee.
When the notion of " Cana in Galilee " being a proper name is set
aside, it is waste of time to seek a modern equivalent in Arabic for that
unknown form. If any place is now called Kana el-Jelil — Cana of
Galilee — the place is likely to be modern, and the name a mistake.
Kefr Kana is an exact Arabic rendering of the Greek words used by
Josephus— Village of Cana ; so that the whole argument from philology
is in favour of the native Churches.
II. — Evidence of Site.
Cana (Kefr Kana) is five English miles from Nazareth, in a north-
eastern line, on the present main road to Tiberias and the lake district.
Sefurieh (old Greek colony of Sephoris) stands north-west of Kefr Kana,
on the road to Acre, the city called in the time of our Lord, Ptolemais.
Sephoris was a walled city, and the Eoman road passed through its
streets.
The heap of ruins now called Khurbet Kana lies five miles due north of
Sephoris, which waUed city cut it off from the whole region in which
the Teacher lived. Khurbet Kana is not on the road from Nazareth to
Capernaum. A man coming up from Capernaum to Nazareth, as in the
Gospel, could not have come near the ppot now called KhurbetKana. That
spot lay on the road from Sephoris to Ptolemais, not on the road from
Sephoris to Tiberias. A man coming up from Blackwall to Highgate
does not pass through Harrow.
In the time of St. John, Cana was a station at the crossing of two
roads ; a country road used by Hebrew herdsmen and peasants, and an
imperial road used by Roman and other strangers — a fact which gave
it value from a military point of view. The country road led from
Nazareth, and other open towns and villages, through Cana, to
Magdala, Capernaum, Bethsaida, and other water-places on the lake.
The Eoman road ran from Acre (then Ptolemais) to Sephoris, the old
Greek capital of Upper Galilee, and thence through Cana to Tiberias,
the new Roman capital of Lower Galilee. Thus, Cana was a station on
the I'oad between Sephoris and Tiberias, very much as Rochester is a
station on the road from Ijondon to Dover.
Keeping this position on the map in mind, turn to the several texts
ITINERARIES OF OUR LORD. 71
in whicli Cana is mentioned. Jesus, coming np from the lake country
with his disciples, met his mother at Cana (St. John ii. 2). From Cana
He goes "down to Capernaum" (ii. 12). The expressions show that
Cana stood on the ledge of the hill country, above the lake, and on the
road from Bethsaida and Capernaum to Nazareth. The words could
not apply to a place standing six miles beyond Sephoris, on the way ta
Ptolemais. Again, the nobleman of Capernaum, coming to seek Jesus,
finds Him in Cana. " Come doiun, ere my child die," says the father.
On being assured that his son lived, the nobleman went down. " As he
was now going down, his servents met him." A journey from the spot
now called Khurbet Kana could not be described as " going down ; "
for the road first leads up to Sephoris, the capital, and then through a
rough sort of table-land as far as Cana ; and it is only from this point
that the road begins to drop down. Every word in the Gospel narrative
implies that Cana stood near the ledge of the hill country over the
lake.
Next turn to Josephus. Happily for us, Josephus had a good deal to
do with Cana. Sent from Jerusalem into Galilee, as a delegate of the
Sanhedrin, he first went to Sephoris, capital of Upper Galilee, where
he found the people excited but at peace. He next went to
Tiberias, capital of Lower Galilee, where he found the people
in revolt. Josephus raised a large body of men, fortified several
strong places, including Mount Tabor, and in a short time be-
came master of the whole province. He saw a good deal of fight-
ing. Twice he had to storm Sephoris ; four times he had to storm
Tiberias. These populous cities had to be sternly watched. In order
to keep effective watch over both, Josephus fixed his camp at Cana, a
position in the hill country between the two capitals. When John of
Gischala induced the Jews of Tiberias to rise against Silas, Josephus
says he left Cana with 200 men. made a night-mai'ch down the hills,
and came before Tiberias early in the morning. That night-march
was possible from Kefr Kana ; impossible from the place now marked
as Khurbet Kana. The distance from Kefr Kana to Tiberias is about
ten miles ; and a night march means, in the language of Josephus, a
march from midnight watch to morning watch, a period of five houi's.
Everyone who has walked in Palestine knows that ten miles down-hill
are not easily done in less time than five hours. If the camp of Josephus
had been at the spot now called Khurbet Kana, the Jewish captain
could not have made his secret night-march at all ; since he would
have had to pass through Sephoris, a walled city, with her gates closed
and her sentinels on guard.
The whole argument derived from site is therefore in favour of the
native Churches.
III. — Evidence of Remains.
The evidence of existing remains is no less strong than that of name
and site. Kefr Kana is an old place and a prosperous place ; Khurbet
72 ITINERAMES OF OUB LOED.
Kana is a new place and a deserted place. At Kefr Kana there are
remains of ancient edifices ; at Kliurbet Kana, though, the buildings
are in ruins, there is nothing older than late Saracenic times, even if
the bi'oken tanks and cisterns belong to Saracenic times at all.
No one can look at Kefr Kana without a strong conviction that the
place is old. Here is a house old enough to pass for that of St. Bartholo-
mew. Here are the foimdations of an early church and monastery-
The church, built in honour of the miracle, was standing in Cana
before the Moslems established their power in Galilee. St. Willibald
prayed in that church, then dedicated to the Ruler of the Peast. " A
large church stands here," said the English saint in 721. Four
hundred years later — that is to say, in 1102 — another English pilgrim,
Ssewulf, saw that monastic edifice. Eive hundred years after Ssewulf,
Quaresmius mentioned the monastery. To-day the ruins of that early
Christian edifice may be seen. This sort of evidence is, for ordinary
men, decisive. Syrian Christians build a church and monastery at
Cana, in honour of the marriage feast. Various pilgrims from the
western countries see that shrine from time to time during a period of
900 years. The foundations of these buildings are now in site.
Are there any i-emains of ancient buildings at the other Kana ? None
at all. The village is a heap of rubbish ; but the dust and ashes are
new — not old. No house there is old enough to be shown as that of St.
Bartholomew. There are no foundations of church or convent. All
the dwellings are small and mean. The shards of pottery are not of
ancient form or colour. Here and there you come on a tank or cistern
of later date ; but these are seemingly of Arabic construction. The
stones used in building are small, and of a modern pattern. Jackals
prowl in the ruins, and wild boars gi'ub among the tanks, while the
hillSjai'ound are barren and the plains in front are desert waste. No
vestige of an antique world is seen. In truth, from the mere evidence
of remains, a traveller without a theory to supj)ort wou.ld say that
Khurbet Kana was a modern village which had sprung up round a
potter's field and furnace, and had perished with the trade that gave
it birth.
On the other hand, the house of St. Bartholomew and the monastic
ruins prove the antiquity of the true Cana ; so that from the evidence
of existing remains a traveller, without a theory to support, would have
no difficulty in identifying Kefr Kana with the Cana of Josephus and
St. John.
IV. — Evidence of History,
The evidence of history, as regards Cana of the marriage feast, is a
chain in which there is no missing link. St. Willibald, visiting Galilee
in 722, started from Nazareth on his way to Cana. His route lay east-
ward, not northward — that is, toward Kefr Kana, not toward the place
now called Khurbet Kana. He took Cana on his way from Nazareth
to Mount Tabor. " He stayed at Cana one day, and then continued
ITIXKRARIES OF OUll LORD. 73
his journey to Mount Tabor." Klivirbet Kana lies in the opposite
direction. Ssewulf, who went to Galilee in 1102, is even more precise. " Six
miles to the north-east of Nazareth, on a hill, is Cana of Galilee, where
our Lord converted the water into wine." Saewulf uses the Roman
mile of 1,614 yards ; and his guess of " six miles " is near the actual
truth. If oiir knowledge of the site of Cana had perished as completely
as that of Bethsaida or that of Chorazin has perished, the bearings
and distances supplied by Ssewulf would enable us to lay it down cor-
rectly on a map. When Ssewulf was in Galilee, Cana had been partly
but not wholly destroyed. " Nothing is left standing," he says, " except
the convent called after the Ruler of the Feast "■ — -Holy Architriclinius.
Later in the twelfth century, Phocas, following in the track of Stewulf,
from Acre to Nazareth, describes the points of his journey. Leaving
Acre, Phocas comes — first to Sephoris, next to Cana, and then to Naza-
reth. To all these witnesses, Kefr Kana was the true Cana of
Galilee. The distance of Cana from Nazareth is given by Mandeville
in 1322 : " four miles from Nazareth." Mandeville uses the old English
mile; which gives the distance of Kefr Kana pretty accurately, but
not the distance of Khurbet Kana, which is fully eleven miles from
Nazareth.
Robinson was not original in the mistake corrected by so many proofs.
The first blunder is due to Marino Sanudo, a Yenetiau, who compiled
a book on Palestine for the use of Crusading princes. Sanudo lived in
the fourteenth century. There is no evidence that he ever visited Pales-
tine, or that he had the use of actual itineraries in making his tract and
chart. He placed his Cana to the north of Sejihoris, instead of to the
south-east. At that time Palestine was closed to pilgrims. Saewulf
and Phocas were the latest authorities on the subject, but their accurate
observations seem to have escaped the notice of Sanudo. After Sanudo
had put Cana in the wrong place on his map, a Frank pilgrim now and
then fell into his error, until Father Quaresmius, a monk who lived in
Palestine, took the matter up, and settled the dispute in favour of Kefr
Kana.
The only passage which Robinson found in any writer previous to
Sanudo that appeared (only appeared) to favour his theory, is a line in
Sa3wulf. " Cana," says that author, "stands six miles north-east of
Nazareth." This is the true text; but Robinson, ignorant of the use
of middle-age Latin, translated Saewulf's six miliariis ad Aquilonem,
'•'six miles north," instead of six miles north-east. (See Wright's
Vocab., p. 16, for illustrations of the meaning of aquilo in the age of
Ssewulf.) Contrary to the usage in classical Latin, this word, iu the
time of Ssewulf, was always used for the north-east wind.
Such is the evidence in favour of Kefr- Kana as the true Cana "of
Galilee" — identity of name; identity of site; constant record of the
Syrian Churches ; actual remains of antiquity ; and the testimony of a
succession of travellers from East and West.
W. Hepwortii Dixox.
74
TOMBS OF THE MACCABEES.
From our camp at Lidd, I visited El Medyeh, to resolve, if possi-
ble, tlie much disputed site of tlie graves of the Maccabees. I first
visited SheLkh el Gharbawy, which M. Ganneau has proved not to
be the site. There are a good many tombs in the neighbourhood,
some of which are called Kabr el Yahud, tombs of the Jews, but
a deep valley separates them from Medyeh, and the sea cannot be
seen from immediately above. I next crossed the ravine and visited the
village, which is evidently an old site. To the south of the village and
close to it there is a round hill, flat on the top, which has almost an
artificial appearance ; it is called er Eas. From this hill a good view
of the sea is obtained. On the top I found one rock -cut tomb, which
had been turned into a cistern; there are many cisterns, and some
other cuttings in the rock which might prove to be tombs if they were
cleared out. A Mohammedan holy place, el Arbain, now occupies the
top. I have no doubt in my own mind that this was the site of the
tombs of those celebrated heroes of later Jewish history. The hill
is a very prominent feature, and appears to me to fulfil all the requisites
of this very important and much disputed site. A little farther on I
took refuge from a storm in a curious rock-cut cavern, el Habis. A
large face of rock has been scarped perpendicularly, leaving an over-
hanging ledge at one end. This ledge projects considerably, and is sup-
ported by rough square blocks cut out of the rock and left when the rest
was excavated. High up in the face of the rock a small hole gives access
to a gallery running in a circular direction. Ledges along the sides in
alcoves seem to have been intended for sarcophagi. I have little doubt
that this was once a spacious tomb, and that the overhanging ledge
supported by square columns ran the whole length of the scarped rock
— some 50 yards. H. H. K.
SITE OF AI.
From our camp at Beitin I found, in the course of the revision, that
the name of Kh. Haiy was well known at Deir Diwan, but on talking to
the natives I heard of another Kh. Haiy, which seemed to me nearer to Ai.
Having secured a guide who knew the place, he led me to a ruin about
one mile south-east of Mukhmas and north of Wady Suwcinit. It
appears to have been an old and important place. The ruins have
escaped previous observation owing to being hidden away behind a small
rising ground.
It is extraordinary how the name of Haiy, or something like it, clings
to this region. First there is Kh. Haiyan close to Deir Diwan, then
there is a Kh. Haiyeh south of "VVady Suwcinit, and now there is a third
SITE OF AI. 75
Kh. Haiy one mile east of Mukliinas ; thus we have three ruins having
the name of Ai in a space of about two square miles.
Kh. Haiyan has been suggested by M. Ganneau for Ai, and I would
point out that, if Deir Diwan be Bethaven, as suggested by the Rev.
W. F. Birch, this site is most certainly beside it, as mentioned in
Joshua vii. 2. Looking at the position on the ground, Kh. Haiyan
appears to have been only the site of the graves and cisterns of Deir
Diwan, and may have been, as the natives say, the former site of that
town. As a strong place of ancient times it is hardly suitable, and the
difficulties of the position of et Tell are still prominent at Kh. Haiyan.
It also seems difficult to see how the people of Bethaven took no part in
the fight, and how their town was not taken with Ai. Kh. Haiyeh,
south of Wady Suweinit, is evidently not Ai.
The third Kh. Haiy has, however, some claims to consideration.
Situated one milo south-east of Mukhmas, on the ancient road leading
up from Jericho into the interior, it would be naturally the first strong-
hold Joshua would have to overcome.
Dean Stanley, Sinai and Palestine, p. 199, says: "The designation of
the site of Michmash is so similar to that which is used to describe Ai as
inevitably to suggest the conjecture that it was the successor, if not to
to its actual, at least to its general position." This deduction exactly
suits the new position, hardly one mile south-east of Michmash.
Major Wilson, E.E., had identified et Tell with Ai, but there seems
some difficulty in this case in accoaimodating 5,000 men and .■jO,000 men
in ambush on the west of it, so that the people of Bethel, only one and
a half miles distant, knew nothing about it. From Josh. viii. 17 it
appears that not only the people of Ai sallied out after the Israelites
when they pretended to fly, but also the people of Bethel ; they there-
fore could have known nothing of the ambush. Also there is some
difficulty in seeing how a force attacking from the east should move
across an almost impracticable valley in order to attack from the north
across the same ravine.
At Kh. Haiy these difficulties are cleared away. There is a plain to
the north not cut off by any impassable valley and very fit for a battle-
field. There is also plenty of room for the ambush to hide without beinf
seen by the men of Bethel.
The connection between Ai and Michmash in the Bible is very close
in Isa. X. 29. Here Bethel is not vaentioned, as it seems natural to
suppose it would have been had Ai been at et Tell, and this seems to me
to point to a different site for Ai. Kh. Haiy, however, would have to
be passed by the great king before the baggage was laid up at Mich-
mash for the passage of the Wady Suweinit. H. H. K.
tb
NOETHEEN BOUXDAEY OF PALESTINE.
The new sheets throw much light also on the boundary between " the
Land" and Phoenicia, which is minutely described in the Talmud.
Thus, in J'athfoi we recognise the G'atin of the Talmud, and in JeW the
Katzra of Gelil mentioned in the same passage. The list in the Talmud,
which is of no Uttle importance, now stands as below, giving the
boundary from Acre to Hermon. The general result is to draw the
Phoenician boimdary farther south than it is usually placed, thus
agreeing with Josephus, who makes Ecdippa [ez Zih) the boundary.
The great valley of Nalr Mefshdhh forms the division, having Nos. 2,
3, 4, and 5 along its course.
L
Accho . .
'Akka.
•>
Gatin . .
J'athun.
3.
Kabartha
el Kabrj'.
4.
B. Zanita
Zuweinita.
5.
Katzra of Gelil
Jelil.
G.
Kubaia . .
i .
Bir
pefr Bii-im.
8.
Tirii
Tireh.
9.
Tifni
Tibneh.
10.
Ailshitha
'Atshis.
11.
Aulem . .
'Alman.
12.
Mejdel Kherub
el Khii-beh.
13.
Chasm of Ayun
Merj 'Ayun.
14.
Tortagla ( ' ' Snowy Mountain " )
Hermon.
15.
Kisrin . .
Banias.
Of these fourteen identifications ten are, I believe,
quite new.
I would further suggest that the Beth-Baltin
of the Talmud may be
the present Belatun.
C. E. C.
NOTES FEOM THE MEMOIE.
The Memoir is now rapidly approaching completion, and the sheets
from Nazareth to Beersheba may be expected to be complete in the
month of April ; the Jerusalem sheet (the heaviest of all the twenty-six
sheets) being now nearly finished.
The following points are Avorthy of notice as concluding notes from
my portion of the Memoir : —
The Cities of the Segch. — In a former report it was noted that many
of these towns might be identified with places farther north than is
generally supposed. Thus in the district within ten miles of Beit Jibrin,
to the south, we have Shualiyeh, possibly Hazar Shual; Jedeideh,
NOTES FROM THE MEMOIR. ?7
perhaps Hazar Gaddali ; Unnn Deimnah, for Madmenali ; and Hazzdrah
for Hazor Hadattah, or "new Hazor."
Northern Sheets. — Several valuable names have been collected also in
the nortli, including above all the title IlmVureh, a Avord radically-
identical with Hazor. This is applied to a mountain, a plain, and valley-
some four miles east of the position in -which the Eoyal Hazor — said
by Josephus to have been over the waters of Merom (the Hfdeh) — has
hitherto been placed. No name approaching that of Hazor has been
found in this district by former travellers, but in Lieutenant Kitchener's
lists the name occurs under the same form in which Eobinson found it
preserved in the Southern Desert at the site of another Hazor. Madon,
also a royal city, which has long been sought in the neighbourhood of
the Sea of Galilee, is no doubt the ruin of Maclin, on the plateau west
of that sea, and the neighbouring ruin of el Aikeh may well represent
the ancient Lakum, which is to be sought in the same district.
Diblath, a town mentioned, apparently, as in the north of Palestine
(Ezek. vi. 14), may, I would suggest, be the modem Dibl ; and the
position of Edrei (Josh. xix. 37), near Kedesh and En Hazor, seems to
agree with that of the modern Y'afir, some three miles north-west of
'Hazireh (En Hazor), at the edge of the high hills of Naphtali. The
change of D to T is not unknown, and the modern name preserves the
guttural found in the Hebrew.
Two places mentioned in the Book of Judith near Shechem do not
appear, as far as I can gather, to have been recognised — viz., Esora and
Chusi, which may very well be the modem 'Asireh and Kuzah, in the
neighbourhood of that city.
One of the few places noticed in the Onomasticon, and not as yet
fixed, was Arath, west of Jerusalem. This I would suggest is the ruin
of Hardsh, near Kolonia.
It is also worthy of notice that the modem name of the valley of
Aijalon, the site of the great defeat of the Canaanites by Joshua, is
Wddy el Mihteleh, " the Valley of Slaughter."
In conclusion of these last notes from the Memoir, I would call atten-
tion to one more example of the archaic character of the peasant dialect.
The word commonly employed for a threshing-floor is Beiddir, which is
a corrupt pronunciation of the proper word Neiddir. But among the
peasantry another word, Jiirn, is often employed, which in ordinary
Arabic means a "trough," but is in this case used in the sense of the
Hebrew Goren, for " a threshing-floor."
0> H. G<
8th March, 1878.
EECENT DISCOVERIES AT THE KAL'AT JALUD,
JERUSALEM.
Ith Septemher, 1877.
An interesting discovery has been made lately by the French monks
at Jerusalem. While digging for the foundations of a new school on
the site of the KaFat Jalud, or " Goliath's Castle," they came upon four
massive piers of ancient drafted masonry. A number of ruined vaults
and masses of rubbish have been removed, and now the ancient work is
uncovered almost down to the rock. Two of these i^iers were seen by
Major Wilson, and were, in his opinion, of media; val date ; but the
lower portions now disclosed seem to be earlier. The French monks are
quite confident that they have here discovered the foundations of the
tower of Psephinus.
The stones are large, measuring 8ft. 6in. by 2ft. 9in. by 2ft. 4in. high,
and 7ft. 6in by 2ft. Sin. by 2ft. 4in. high. Some are rather smaller ;
they are all drafted, the draft varying from three to four and a half
inches. The joints are carefully finished, and the courses are quite
regular ; the stones are fixed [together by a thin layer of very hard
cement. The bosses are left rough and project in some cases as much
as eight inches ; the stones show no signs of being weather-worn. Four
courses of the ancient work remain, and they measure Oft. 4in. in height ;
on the top of these courses is mediaeval work for two or three courses ;
there are also walls of probably the same date faced with large drafted
masonry. In the vaults and passages there are also considerable remains
of Crusading work. I have sent you a plan which will show the form of
the four piers ; where the lines are dotted the walls were not visible. The
enclosed photograph was given me by the French monks. It seems
impossible to make an octagon out of these remains, which is necessary
for the tower of Psephinus, according to Josephus. I could see no traces
of ancient arches, or any clue to what these piers supported originally.
As far as I was able to see, there is no reason why the piers should not
have been originally joined, forming two walls running south- cast and
north- Avest ; this would then have probably been an ancient city gate.
The scarped rock on the north-west, on which the city wall is built, runs
out almost at right angles to the line of this gate, and on the south-
west there are traces of ancient work running in the same direction ;
thus the gate Avould appear to have been fianked by two towers. That
on the south-west may have been Psephinus, as it would have been on
the highest ground of the city.
I am glad to bf^ able to report that the owners have modified then-
plan so as to preserve these interesting remains for futiiro examination.
Unfortunately an ancient comer of wall south-east of the piers had to
be removed. The stones are described as larger, and the appearance
was not so finished us those recently found. Major Wilson examined
them while excavating in this direction.
H. H K.
79
NOTE ON TAEICHyEA.
Nablus, 1st November, 1877.
Lieutenant Conder, in one of his "Notes from the Memoir," October
Quartcrli/, p. 181, states: — "Tarichtea must be sought on the shore of
the Sea of Galilee, thirty stadia south of Tiberias."
In the passage he quotes from Pliny no mention is made of distance.
Pliny's account of the lake in the passage quoted appears to me very
difficult to understand, unless he had a very imperfect itnowledge of
what he was writing about. He states Julias to be on the east of the
lake, whereas, from the fight Josephus had near that place, it must have
been very near the entrance of the Jordan, and therefore north.
As Sennabris is now undoubtedly fixed at Kerak, it seems to ine Pliny
must have made another mistake with regard to Tarichsea.
Josephus lived a considerable portion of his life on the shores of the
sea, and in the localities in question I think his evidence should have a
prior claim to consideration. His description of Vespasian's march appears
to me to give conclusive proof that Tarichjea was situated north of
Tiberias, and other accounts by him make it close to the latter place.
A distance of thirty stadia south of Tiberias is, if I remember right,
luentioned by him with regard to Sennabris, and answers very well to
the distance between Tiberias and Kerak, as I think I pointed out in my
report on that district in a former Quarterly.
H. H. K.
THE VEIL OE THE TEMPLE OF JERUSALEM AT
OLYMPIA.
{Reprinted from the " Athenceum" bij pcrmlssioii of the Frojirieiors.)
In pursuit of the hitherto neglected question of the connection of
the Phoenicians with the Peloponuese, I have been led to ascertain the
existence in the province of Elis of certain facts, customs, and observ-
ances which offer a remarkable analogy with what we know of the
Phcenicians, and, particularly, of the Hebrews, I confine myself in
this place to a succinct enumeration of the principal points, fall details
of which will appear in my forthcoming work, called " Le Dieu Satrape
et les Pheniciens dans Ic Peloponnese." (Nearly ready : E. Leroux,
Rue Bonaparte, 28, Paris.)
1. The Eleans, alone in Greece, cultivated the hyssus, a textile plant
the Oriental origin of which is incontestable. Pausanias tells us that
the Elean byssus was quite equal in fineness to the byssus of the
" Hebrews."
2. The Eleans were forbidden, for religious reasons, to breed mules :
the same interdiction existed for the Jews, as we kuow. It was based
on a passage of Leviticus (xix. 19),
80 THE VEIL OF THE TEMPLE.
3. In Elis, near Lepreos, a city whose name is traditionally explained
as derived from the leprosy which afflicted its earliest inhabitants, flowed
a river anciently called 'idpSavos — the same as Jordan.
But it is especially at Olympia, the famous theatre of the Olympic
games which have given Elis so considerable a place in Greece, that we
are presented with points which strike las at once as resembling observ-
ances of Semitic religion.
4. Anointings with oil were practised on the celebrated statue of
Olympian Zeus (to preserve the ivory, says Pausanias).
•5. In the temple of Olympian Zeus were certain 0mij.o(, held in ex-
treme veneration, formed by the accumulation of the ashes of victims,
and exactly similar to the deposits of ashes coming from the altar of
Jehovah, — deposits regarded as sacred (Leviticus i. 16, iv. 12 ; 1 King,
xiii. 3 ; 2 Mace. xiii. 8).
6. The women of Elis were absolutely forbidden to penetrate into
the sanctuaries of Olympia : they were not to pass beyond a certain
limit. This is parallel with the Court of Women. The women of Elis
were also forbidden to be present at the Olympic games and to cross
the waters of the Alpheus at certain periods, the whole under pain of
death. This idea of woman's constitutional impurity, this implacable
penalty which sanctioned it, are traits essentially Semitic.
7. The women of Elis, thus kept apart, had ceremonies of their own,
on the other hand, which seem based on those of the Phoenicians, those
mourners for Adonis and for the solar Tammuz whom Ezekiel (viii. 14)
shows us in the very Temple of Jehovah. *'At a certain season," says
Pausanias, "at the moment of the setting sun, the women of Elis went
to weep round the empty sepulchre of him whom they called Achilles," —
a fabulous Achilles, an Achilles sprung from some Oriental ' A5 wi/tao-^urfs,
rather than from Homeric tradition.
8. At Olympia, near the Temple of Hera, sixteen women were em-
ployed in weaving the peplos of the goddess, just as the women wove
the sacred tents for Asherah in the Temple of Jehovah (2 Kings xxiii.
7; Ezek. xvi. 16).
9. At Olympia also was adored the singular Zevs AnSfivios, whose
literal prototype is found in Baalzebub, or BaaA ij.v7a of Ekron (2 Kings i.
2, 3, 16).
10. Finally, there was in the sanctuary of Olympia a great woollen
veil, of Assyrian workmanship, dyed with the Phcenician purple, given
by Antiochus, and executed, perhaps, on the same plan as that great
veil of the Temple, of Babylonian texture, the marvels of which have
been described by Josephus.
I even venture to ask whether this veil of the Olympian Temple might
not have been the very veil of the Temple of Jerusalem carried off by
Antiochus IV., the grand pillager of temples.
This conjecture may appear rash at first sight. There are, however,
certain facts which seem to me to lend to it a high dogree'of probability.
The first book of Maccabees (i. 23, 24) informs us that Antiochus
6UCC0TII AND PENUEL. 81
took away from tho holycitj'- "tho golden altar, andtlie candlestick of
light, and all the vessels thereof, and the table of the shewbread . . . and
the veil {rh KarawiTacri^a) . . ." This is confirmed by Josephus, according
to whom Antiochus "did not spare even the veils made of fine linen
and scarlet " (" Antiq. Jud.," xii. 5. 2).
Pausanias said that Antioch\is dedicated {avierjKiv) his oriental veil
in the Temple of Olympia.
It was the custom to adorn temples with similar trophies.
But there is more.
Pausanias minutely explains that the irapaviTaa-jxa, or curtain of the
sanctuary of Olympia, in place of rising up to the roof as, for instance, that
of the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, was dropped to the ground from
above by means of ropes. He might have spared himself a good deal
of trouble by stating at once that it was not a wapanfTaa-fxa, but a
Kara-KiTaatxa (down-curtain), «'.e., he might have used the word always
employed by Josephus and in the texts of the Maccabees to designate
the Jewish veil. St. Matthew also says that the veil {Ka-rairiTaaixa)
was rent, &vuQev ewy koltw.
Again, to whom did Antiochus dedicate the Temple of Jerusalem-
plundered and defiled by him ? To Olympian Zeus (2 Mace. vi. 2),
We need not be astonished, therefore, if he hung up the veil of the
Jewish Temple in that of the Olympian Zeus. Are not always the
spoils of the conquered deities consecrated to the victorious deities ?
(Cf. the sacred utensils of Jehovah consecrated to Chemosh by Mesha,
king of Moab.)
If the veil of the Olympian and'that of the Jewish Temple are identi-
cal instead of being similar, the argument which I thought to draw from
an analogy to establish an afiinity must be set aside. On the other
hand, we obtain a result important in qviite another way. There are
not two objects to be compared, but two deities placed side by side.
I think the foregoing reflections are of a kind to draw special atten-
tion to the excavations now being conducted at Olympia. Should, for
instance, any discovery be made bearing upon Syrian rites, religions,
and antiquities, I for one should not be sixrprised.
C. Clermont Ganneatj.
THE IDENTIFICATION OF SUCCOTH AND PENUEL.
{Reprinted from the " Athenceuvi" hy x)ermissiun of the Pro2»'ictors.)
Andover, Mass., U.S.
These places are mentioned in the Bible in connection with such
men and events as to make their identification a matter of peculiar
interest and importance. But before I give the facts which my recent
researches have brought to light, it will be necessary to correct an error
into which two Biblical scholars no less eminent than Mr. Grove in
82 SUCCOTH AND PEKUEL.
England and Dr. Robinson in America have fallen. Burckbardt, in a
passage wbicb refers to tbe west bank of the Jordan, makes the state-
ment,—" Near where we crossed, to the south, are the ruins of Sukkot."
This has been misunderstood as referring to some ruin on the east of the
river. But it will be noticed that after Burckhardt had crossed the
river, he gives the names of all wadies, ruins, or tombs between the
crossing and the Zerka or Jabbok, and among them Sukkot is not men-
tioned. Bui-ckhardt did not himself visit Sukkot. In the Leisure Hour
for 1874, p. 599, Eev. W. Wright, formerly of Damascus, appears to
take it for granted that Bui-ckhardt's Sukkot was on the east of the
river. He says, — "Jerome places Suceoth east of the Jordan, opposite
Scythopolis, at the place where Bm-ckhardt found its ruins." Dr.
Eobinson and Mr. Van de Velde \'isited a place on the west of the river,
about ten miles south of Beisan, which they call " Sakut." This Dr.
Eobinson labours to identify with the Suceoth of the Bible. Mr. Grove
thinks this place is " entii-ely distinct both in name and position from
that of Burckhardt," while in my judgment they are identical. But
independently of these -writers I can testify that in the portion of the
valley opposite Beisan there are no ruins, nor, fm-ther, are there any-
where on the eastern side of the river any ruins bearing the name of
Suceoth or any name that might correspond to it.
As to Dr. Eobinson's view, that the Biblical Suceoth was on
the west of the river, all the facts seem to prove the opposite. In the
division of the country under Joshua, Suceoth was allotted to the tribe
of Gad, and hence must certainly have been on the east of the river.
Jerome seems to know of a town named Suceoth which was ' ' beyond
the Jordan." The Tabnud in its physical divisions of Perea adopts those
of the Bible, namely, "Beth Haram, Beth Nimrah, Suceoth, and
Zaphom," which makes Suceoth a district as well as a town, and fixes it
on the east of the river. Again, in Gideon's pursuit of Zebah and
Zalmunna, it was after he had crossed the Jordan, going south and east,
that he came to Suceoth. Mr. Grove is right in saying that the "Sakut "
of Eobinson is too far north, and entirely out of the way of any route
leading from the Jabbok to Shechem. This writer's conclusion, derived
from Genesis xxxii. 30 and xxxiii. 18, that Suceoth lay between Penuel
(on the Jabbok) and Shechem, is correct and important, and must be
borne in mind in discussing this question.
It is necessary also to remember the physical di\'isions which the
Bible makes of the valley east of the river, and which are repeated, as I
have said, in the Talmud, namely, " Beth Haram, Beth Nimrah, and
Suceoth." Beth Haram is the vast oasis of the Shittim plain at the
north end of the Dead Sea. Beth Nimrah is the vast oasis immediately
north of the Shittim plain, and which appears to be really a part of it
when looked at from the neighbouring hills. From Wady Nimrin
northward to the Jabbok there are no foimtains or streams, and that
portion of the valley is entirely desolate and barren, except during the
rainy season. About the mouth of the Jabbok there is a plain of great
SUCCOTH AND PENTTEL,
83
extent and fertility, and this is the Succoth region of the Talmud, and
here, if anywhere, we are to seek for the Succoth of Jacob, and Gideon,
and Jerome.
But have we any clue as to the precise locality which bore the name
of Succoth y I think we have, and, further, I think that this interesting
Biblical site can be identified beyond any reasonable dispute. The
Talmud states definitely that in its time Sviccoth was called "Ter'alah,"
and in the great plain north of the Jabbok, about one mile from the
stream, and about three miles from where the river leaves the hills,
there is a large mound or tell, which bears the name of Der'ala. The
letters correspond to those of the Hebrew Avord, excex)t that t in
Hebrew becomes d in Arabic, a change of very frequent occurrence.
There are places in other sections of the country bearing the name of
Der'ala, but in this case the fact of its being found in this particidar
locality, considered in connection Avith the testimony of the Talmud, is
more than a coincidence. Adjoining this tell is a smaller one, a kind of
shoulder, on which there are at jiresent some ruins, with a few columns.
The princii^al mound is so thickly covered with broken pottery that it
could be raked into heaps. I picked up as I passed over the tell as
many as twenty specimens of different kinds and qualities of pottery •
On one side of the tell some animal had burrowed, which enabled me to
examine the soU for at least four feet below the surface, and I was sur-
prised to find that the broken pottery extended all through it. I was
anxious to make some cuttings into the mound, but had neither time nor
means to do so. The Bedawin living in that region have a tradition
that a city existed upon that mound in ancient times. This I mention
incidentally, attaching to it no special weight. Among the facts brought
to light in this region during my researches is that of a ford or cross-
ing of the Jabbok, some distance to the east of Tel Der'ala, but before
the hills are reached, which bears the name of " Mashra'a Canaan,"
i.e., Canaan's Crossing. Canaan may here be a man's name, or
the name of the country, and the words may mean " the cross-
ing which leads to Canaan." But either way this discovery is very
interesting and important, because, as I shall soon show, the course of
the Jabbok is the only feasible route by which the caravans of commerce
and the swarms of Midianites from the east and south could reach the
country of the Hebrews on the west of the Jordan.
If we examine the account of Gideon's pursuit of the Midianites, we
may get some hints as to where we should look for Penuel. After their
terrible midnight rout in the valley of Jezreol, a remnant escaped
amounting to about 15,000 men. These were pursued by Gideon, who
crossed the Jordan, and came first to Succoth and afterwards " went up
thence to Penuel," asking at both places for assistance, and being each
time refused. (Judges viii.) Gideon threatened to punish the men of
Succoth, and with regard to Penuel he says, " I will break down this
tower." Those '" children of the east " keep to the lowlands, plains, and
the good roads. They come from the deserts of Arabia, they follow the
84 SUCCOTH AND PENUEL.
course of the Jabbok to the Jordan, they move up the Jordan valley till
nearly opposite Beisan, and then cross and spread themselves, "like
grasshoppers for multitude," over the great Esdraelon plain. After the
rout just referred to they retrace their steps, hotly pursued by one of
the heroes of Hebrew history. Gideon crosses the Jordan by one of
the fords near Beisan, hurries down the Jordan valley as far as Succoth,
and halts there to rest and refresh his weary but resolute band. The
men of Succoth reason with themselves : " We live on the great army
route between Canaan and the east, and it will not do for us to show a
decided friendship for Gideon ; for if we do, and he is unsuccessful, Ave
shall bring upon our heads the terrible vengeance of the Midianites.
Our own safety demands that we be strictly neutral. The men of Penuel,
living on the same great thoroiighfare, were actuated by similar motives,
and likewise refused to assist Gideon.
It will be noticed from the eighth verse of the chapter just referred to
that Gideon goes uj) from Succoth, evidently leaving the Jordan and
turning into the mountains to the east. But we know with absolute
certainty from the account of Jacob's return (Gen. xxxii.) that Penuel
was somewhere on the line of the Jabbok, and hence we are justified in
concluding that Gideon on this occasion followed the course of that
stream.
The impression that I get from reading this eighth chapter of Judges
is that Penuel was at no great distance from Succoth, although there
are no certain hints to prove this beyond dispute. The points that have
been hitherto established with certainty are, 1, that Penuel is on the
line of the Jabbok, and 2, that below Penuel, near where the stream
leaves the hills, there is a ford called " Canaan's Crossing." It is also
established beyond any reasonable doubt that Succoth is situated a
little to the west of this crossing and north of the Jabbok. So far every-
thing seems to corroborate Mr. Grove's conclusion noticed above, that
Succoth must be somewhere between Penuel and Shechem. If Succoth
is where I have placed it, it will be on the direct route between the
Jabbok and Nablus or Shechem by way of the Damia ford. But we
have still an interesting hint with regard to Penuel in the life of Jero-
boam. After the division of the kingdom " Jeroboam built Shechem in
Mount Ephraim and dwelt therein ; and went out from thence, and
built Penuel " (1 Kings xii. 25). It will be remembered that Gideon in
his threat to the men of Penuel says, " I will break down this tower,"
as if a tower or fortress were a principal feature of the place. This leads
to the suggestion, which is confirmed by all the circumstances con-
nected with the case, that Penuel was a frontier fortress, built on the
great thoroughfare from the cast for the purpose of repelling invasions
from that quarter. When Jeroboam comes into possession of his king-
dom he feels the need of a defence on that side, and hence one of his
first acts is "to go out" and rebuild Penuel, which lay almost directly
east from his capital ; otherwise invading bands or hosts might pour
do^vn the valley of the Jabbok, cross the Jordan by the Damia ford, and
SUCCOTII AND PENUEL, 85
sweep up what is now called Wady Fari'a, and attack him in his royal
residence. The rebuilding of Penuel was evidently of such importance
to the nation as to demand the personal attention of the king, and such
as to receive special mention in the annals of his reign.
In the account of Jacob's journey after he had parted with Esau it is
said : " And Jacob came to Succoth, and built him an hoiise, and made
booths for his cattle" (Gen. xxxiii. 17). Even to this day the fertile
fields along the mouth of the Jabbok are the favourite resort of the
powerful tribes which occupy the eastern plains, for here they find
abundant pasture for theii" numerous flocks and herds. They could not
go south of the Jabbok, and very seldom do they go very far north of
it ; but if they desire to find pasture for their cattle they go directly to
the Succoth region. The same physical conditions exist now that existed
in Jacob's time, and coming from the east with his sheep, and cattle, and
camels, he went at once to Succoth, where he abode perhaps for a con-
siderable period.
I have alluded to the valley of the Jabbok as being the main thorugh-
fare from the eastern plains to the Land of Canaan. There is more
evidence for this than perhaps would occur to the casual reader. When
Gideon pursued the Midianites from Succoth up through the eastern
hills on to the plains beyond, he " went up," it is said, " by the way of
them that dwelt in tents " — i.e., went up by the route which such people
usually took ; as if they were confined to one route, or had at least a
favourite route by which to approach the country on the west of the
Jordan. The apparently incidental circumstance which the words just
quoted record did not assume in my mind the importance which it now
has until I had been backwards and forwards over all that region several
times, and followed the whole course of the Jabbok from its source to
where it enters the Jordan. North of the Jabbok there is no other
possible route until the valley of the 'Ajlun is reached, and this is
altogether out of the question is considered as a thoroughfare for the
"children of the east" on their way to Canaan. South of the Jabbok
again, as far as the line of the Dead Sea and Hasban, while there are
difficult paths, there is no feasible route by which large caravans or any
invading " host " could pass down into the Jordan valley on its way to
Canaan. For various reasons I judge that the phrase " the way of those
dwelling in tents " refers to a well-known route that has been followed
for ages. It was not once, but often, that the swarms of Midianites
and Amalekites invaded Western Palestine, and caused terrible distress
in all that region.
With regard to their route it may be said : 1. That such people as are
here under consideration do not, when they move in large masses with
their flocks and herds, go over difl&cult hills if there is a better road, even
if this should be somewhat longer. 2. From a thorough personal ex-
amination of the country, I think I can say with truth that neither to the
north nor to the south of the Jabbok is there any other feasible route by
which to enter Canaan from the plains and deserts of Arabia, 3, Along
86 SUCCOTH AND PENUEL.
the course of the Jabbok these people were sure of a good and easy road
for themselves and their camels. 4, Here they would always be sure
of grass for their flocks. 5. Here they would always be sure of abun-
dance of water.
It is on this great thoroughfare that I suppose Penuel, a frontier
tower or fortress, to have been built in the earliest times in order to
repel invasions from the east. Jeroboam, as we have seen, felt the need
of defence on that side, and therefore he rebuilt Penuel. This frontier
fortress may have played a more important part in the history of those
troublous times than wc at present have any conception of. How many
times the! garrison was successful in repelling invasions, or how many
times they must yield to superior numbers, and allow the desert hosts
to sweep on to plunder their fatherland, we cannot even guess.
But can Penuel itself be located with any certainty P In my judg-
ment the possible places that can represent Penuel are reduced to a
single locality, which I will proceed to describe.
About one hour and twenty minutes, or say four miles, above Canaan's
Ford or Crossing, following the course of the stream, there is one of the
most singular formations in Syria. At this point the valley is quite
narrow, and its walls are precipitous. In a line with the valley, the
course of which is from east to west, there spring from its lowest level
and rise to a height of two hundred and fifty feet two conical hills. One
of these sugar-loaf hills is on one side of the stream, and the other is
on the other side, and the stream winds about them in a peculiar manner
which can only be described by a chart. The sides of these mounds
are steep, and it took me fifteen minutes to reach the summit of one of
them. These hills are called at present Tulul edh-Dhahab, or " Hills
of Gold." The inhabitants of the region can give no account of the
origin of the name. They speak of a place on the side of one of the
tells from which a strong current of^air issues at times, but I did not re-
main there long enough to investigate the matter. The prevailing stone
or rock upon the tells is a yellow sandstone which one might fancy to
resemble gold, and the name may have arisen from this fact. On both
these tells there are extensive and ancient ruins. The one to the west
is larger than the other, and has upon ifc more ruins ; but the ruins
upon the one to the east are remarkable. They consist of the ruins
of buildings on the summit, and of a long wall of massive stones
which runs from the summit to the foot of the mound on the south-
west side. The hill at this side is so steep that it is a marvel to
me how the wall could have been built. In addition to this wall
there is, about half way up the mound or a little less, a great plat-
form running along the side of the hill for several hundred feot, which
is supported by a wall of great strength and solidity. In some places
this wall is fifteen and twenty feet in height, and one portion of it is still
quite perfect for a distance of over one hundred feet. The walls which
remain have a substantial appearance, and the platform referred to was
probably the foundation of a castle or fortress. Whatever the nature
SUCCOTir AND TENUEL. 87
of the structures once standing here may have been, they could have
been built, considering the nature of the ground and the size of the
stones, only at enormous exi^ense. The work is certainly not Moslem,
nor does it appear to be Roman ; while the great unhewn stones would
seem to classify it more properly with the ancient cyclopean work which
still exists in a very few places, perhaps half a dozen, in the country
east of the Jordan. This, if anywhere on the Jabbok, would be the
most suitable place for a frontier fortress, and such we have reason to
believe was Penuel. A fact which seems to indicate that this may have
been Penuel is, that on the whole line of this great thoroughfare which
followed the Jabbok there are no ruins, except ruined mills here and
there, until Kalat Zerka is reached, fifty or sixty miles from the mouth
of the river. At this point the Haj road touches the Zerka, and this
castle was built for the protection and convenience of the pilgrims to
Mecca.
If this is Penuel, the ruins are certainly such as would justify Jero-
boam in recording in his public annals the fact of his having rebuilt
the place.
What I have called the " Succoth region" answers very appro-
priately to the " valley of Succoth" iu Ps. Ix. (repeated in cviii.) This
psalm appears to refer to some victory, or to the wresting of some por-
tions of the fatherland out of the hands of their enemies. Patting
Succoth where there are valid reasons for locating it, the order of
places is very natural — namely, " Shechem, the valley of Succoth [in
the direct line towards Gilead], Gilead, and Manasseh."
With regard to the name Penuel or Peniel I am pretty well convinced,
since I have been over the ground and examined the strange physical
conformation there existing, that it is connected in its origin with that
remarkable phenomenon. Mr. Grove has already anticipated me in
referring to a similar fact occurring in another section of the country : —
" The promontory of Ras es Shukah, on the coast of Syria above Beirut,
was formerly called ' Theouprosopon,' face of Ood, probably a translation
of Peniel, or its Phoenician equivalent" (Smith's "Bible Dictionary,"
article Peniel). An Oriental people would easily persuade themselves
thas such a place as the Hills of Gold marked the site of some special
manifestation of Deity, and would give it a name accordingly. And as
the same name is frequently given a second time to one and the same
place, the foregoing remarks can be made without invalidating or
obscuring in the slightest degree the truth and beauty of that incident
in the life of Jacob where the process of giving this particular name was
a second time repeated.
From the ruins and summits of these strange tells, as my eye fol-
lowed the course of the valley east and west, I felt that I was looking
down upon the very route along which the ancient " sons of the east"
passed with their camels, a wild throng from the desert, on their way
to the land of Canaan, or by which they returned, either laden with
plunder gathered from the Hebrews on the west of the Jordan, or, as
88 THE MOABITE POTTERY.
sometimes happened, a fugitive rabble, — tbe mere wreck of a liost,
beaten and ruined by tbe bravery of some Old Testament bero. Succotb
and Penuel are interesting places in tbe geography of Palestine from
their connection with Gideon, but especially because they are associated
with the life of Jacob. Here at Penuel the patriarch wrestled all night
with a strange messenger, and at sunrise he passed on to meet his
brother. Esau came from the south along this very road, and some-
where, not far from this spot, probably, was the scene of the famous
meeting and reconciliation between them. It was at Succotb that Jacob
rested for a season on his way to Canaan, after his injured father-in-law
and brother bad been appeased, and the offending one had by them been
forgiven.
Selah Merrill.
THE MOABITE POTTEEY.
The controversy on the genuineness of these collections has been
carried on vigorously during the last quarter in the pages of the
AthencBuvi. From the letters which have appeared we make, by per-
mission of the Proprietors of the AtJienceinn, the following extracts, in
the endeavour to present everything that is urged on either side as faii-ly
as possible; but without the repetitions which have naturally found
their way into the long letters written from either point of view.
I. — Letter from Mr. Shapira.
The main arguments against the genuineness of the Moabite pottery
are four, as follows : —
First, many false inscribed stones and squeezes of inscriptions bad
been forged in Jerusalem and Nablus, some of which came into my
possession; why then should the pottery also not be forged, especially
as SeHm, my agent, is certainly a great rogue ? For this reason I my-
self doubted the character of the pottery ; hearing of thieves makes a
man cautious, yet it does not follow every man he meets is a thief ; but
Prof. Koch has sho-wn in his well-known pamphlet that the forgers of
the stones could have had no hand in the pottery.
The principal forger of inscribed stones was Martin Bulus, who
appears to have learned imperfectly the ali)habet of the Mesa stone and
some of the names found on that monument. He is an ingenious stone-
cutter, but an ignorant man. In his forgeries the words Jehovah, Israel,
Melek, Mesa, Moab, Chemosh, recur suspiciously, often with Abraham
and all the patriarchs. In one case all the twelve tribes are named ; in
another, he brought me the squeeze of a large stone, with the words
" the holy shekel " on it, in Hebrew, evidently from some coin; and in
THE MOABITE POTTERY. 89
another the inscription, AVSVSTVS HADPNNVS, by which he pro-
bably meant Augustus Hadrianus. On the other hand, I may remark
that, in many hundred inscriptions which I have examined on the pot-
tery, the words Mesa and Melek, Israel, Jehovah, and Abraham never
occur, and Chemosh only twice ; nor is there any evident attempt to
make the inscriptions interesting to the casual reader of the letters.
Secondly, it was thought suspicioxis that nothing of the kind had been
found before, and that the American exploring party found no speci-
mens. I can only say to this that Dr. Almkvist and Baron Miinchhauseu
have shown in their reports that the pottery was too carefully hidden to
be found except by special excavation. The American party never went
into Moab proper, and it is not likely that the Arabs would have shown
the pottery to strangers accompanied by a Sheikh (Kablan) of the
hostile tribe of the Adwan, considering that Mutluk would not even
give a single piece to Mr. Shick, who went over with the Consul, though
he was represented to have come over from me to build a water-mill
Avhich the Arabs had asked for.
Mutluk had found jjottery about six years ago in digging for saltpetre,
and, Avith a few companions, had sought for it since with great secrecy,
in fear of his life. The BedaAvin believe that the inscriptions are charms
or directions for finding hidden treasure, and that to reveal where they
are to be found should be punished by death.
Thirdly, the letters of M. Ganneau have raised an imfavourable feeling
regarding the pottery. I will answer this objection shortly. M. Gan-
neau has never seen pottery made in Jerusalem like the Moabite ; he
only reports the hearsay evidence of a few wretched underlings, who
contradicted themselves and one another, and were probably told by a
servant or dragoman that they had better tell a tale likely to be accept-
able. Attempts to get imitations from the Jerusalem potters only showed
that they were unable to imitate the texture or art of the Moabite anti-
quities, and if Selim did attempt to forge any small objects he certainly
did not succeed.
The attack made by Prof. Kautzsch is even less important {Allge,
Zeitung, June, 1876). He begins by giving me a high character for
honesty and uprightness, but argues that all my supporters rely on my
critical judgment, whilst I myself did not confidently believe in the
genuine character of the pottery, as I had refused to sell any more
specimens till they had been proved not to be forgeries ; but evidently
it does not follow that because not proved genuine they were, therefore,
in my opinion forgeries.
Again, this gentleman says he was told in Jerusalem (by Mr. Klein)
that an Arab boy had told his informant that Selim had ordered pots to
be made, and had engraved upon them the inscriptions after they were
baked, which, he says, explains how all attempts faUed to trace them to
the potters, as they knew nothing of what happened after the pots left
their hands. Now, not only does this theory not account for the jars
with raised letters and the idols, but the professor has not even taken
yU THE MOABITE POTTERY.
the trouble to notice that the sunk inscriptions are not engraved after
baking, but must have been made by impressing the clay when damp.
Still stranger is the proof of forgery which he gives, that a gentleman
from Jerusalem had told him that he had heard from his Arab servant
that an Arab merchant from Es Salt had said that he met a Bedawin
passing over Jordan, and when he asked, " What have you got in your
saddle-bag!'" he answered, "Seventeen bits of pottery, which I am
going to bury in the East for the Consuls to find," in which the pro-
fessor recognises for certain the twelve inscribed pieces found by Pastor
Weser and his party at Madeba. When the man who related this story
was asked, he said it occurred in the summer of 1874. Thus we have a
new natural phenomenon. The seventeen pieces buried in the summer of
1874 had increased in the course of two years haclnvards to the August
of 1872, to twelve inscribed pieces and several hundred not inscribed
found in Madeba, with forty-two at Diban, all the result of interring
seventeen pieces only two years later !
Fourthly, the most important and substantial objection is on the
palseographical grounds which liave been relied on by English and
French scholars : some letters supposed to belong to a later period are
found with others thought to belong to an earlier one. Three letters
especially have been suspected from their peculiar shape — namely, the
Mim, the Yod, and the AljjJia. This question is about to be treated in
Schlottmann's large work soon to be published, and Prof. Koch has
already partly answered the objection in his pamphlet.
I will only add that the three disputed letters are all found on the jar
discovered by Dr. Almkvist, the genuine character of which cannot, of
eourse, be disputed ; and that these letters are consequently indisputably
Moabitic.
But, finally, all that is said above only shows the objections to have
no ground ; but, as the idols and inscrij)tions are destined to form so
important a new link in the obscure history of the habits and ritual of
the nations surrounding Israel, it is only natural they shoidd not be
accepted imless positively proved genuine. I come, then, to the most
important point. It has been proved by the greatest technical authori-
ties in Europe, by Mr. Behme, the owner of the great pottery at Halle,
and by one of the first techrucal authorities in Berlin on the subject,
the Commercienrath Marsch, that the jars and idols with raised letters
on them require an artist of technical skill, as the letters are not stuck
on but the soft clay cut away round them to leave them standing out —
a most difficult plastic work, and requiiing that the jar shoxdd be kept
wet for seven or eight days until moulded. Mr. Marsch thinks that
with all their modern improvemeuts it would be impossible to make such
a jar for less than seventy marks (£3 10s.), and an idol would be yet
more costly. This kind of work is, according to these gentlemen, en-
tirely new, and they cannot explain why the Moabite jjotters should
have done their work in so difficult a manner, unless, they say, the
potters wished for that holy jjurpose to imitate the stone idol sculptors.
In any case the Jerusalem potters or any Others in the country would
THE MOABITE POTTERY. 91
not know how to do sucli work ; and why should a forger choose so ex-
pensive a method, costing ten times what he would get for the jar 'i My
expenses in actual price of the antiquities are often very small, the
principal cost being in travelling to fetch them. The objects were also
proved to be of many different styles of workmanship, and of different
kinds of clay, especially those of my third collection.
The above proof seems to show that the pottery is imquestionably
genuine. See the Report of the above-mentioned gentlemen (No. 40
Beilage der^n*/. Alhje. Zeitunrf, 1S77).
The jar found by Dr. Almkvist was also examined by these gentlemen,
and was found in all respects similar to those in the Berlin collection.
The above proof refers only to the raised inscriptions ; fortunately
some of the same jars have also impressed inscriptions made when the
clay was moist, and nearly all the large idols have such double inscrip-
tions raised in front and impressed behind. The impressed must con-
sequently also be genuine. Other specimens which have only impressed
inscriptions are found to resemble, in the peculiarities of different
systems of writing from different localities, as well as in texture, those
with the double inscriptions. These also are thus shown to be genuine.
II. — From M. Clermont Gajnneau.
Paris, 4 Dnemhre, 1877.
Je viens de lire dans VAthenceum la longue lettre de M. le baron de
Miinchhausen tendant a etablir I'authenticite des poteries moabites.
Comme mon nom s'y trouve incidemment mentionne, et qui, d'ailleurs,
les conclusions de M. de Miinchhausen visent incontestablement les
idees que j'ai cmises le premier sur cette question, et qui sont celles de
la majorite des savants anglais, allemands et franyais, permettez-moi de
repondre quelques mots — niais quelques mots seulement, car je con-
sidere, pour ma part, que c'est perdre son temps et sa peine que de
revenir sans cesse sur cette affaire dej)uis longtemps jvigee. D'autres
travaux plus serieux me reclament.
La majeure partie de la lettre de M. tie Miinchhausen est consacree a
exposer sa maniere de voir d'apres des faits dcja, connus et discutes ; elle
ne nous apprend de ce chef rien de neuf, et il serait oiseux de recom-
mencer da capo, pour I'edification personnelle de M. de Miinchhausen,
tout ce fastidieux morceau. Je retiens seulement de cette premiere
partie de la lettre une indication : c'est que M. de Miinchhausen avait
deja son opinion faite sur I'authenticite quand il a entrepris son excursion
au pays de Moab. Je crois d'ailleurs (si je ne m'abuse ou si ma memoire
ue me trahit) que c'est precisement sous M. de Miinchhausen qu'a eu
lieu en 1874 la grande enqucte considaire dirigee par M. Weser, enquete
((hsoJumpnt of/icieUe, comme je I'appris non sans quelque etonnement
aprcs avoir re(;u de M. Weser I'assurance positive du contraire. M. de
Miinchhausen ne saurait done se presenter, je ne dis pas comme un juge
impartial, mais comme un arbitre neutre. Son siege etait fait depuis
longtemps quand il s'est rendu en Moab.
Je n'ai jamais pretendu qu'on ne trouverait en Moab aucxm monu-
92 THE MOABITE POTTERY.
ment authentique ; la stele de Mesa serait la pour donner a une aussi
absurds assertion le plus eclatant des dementis. J'ai seulement affirme,
et j'affirme encore, que les poteries moabites de Berlin sont apocrypbes.
M. de Mimcbbausen aurait done parfaitement pu decouvrir dans la
grotte de Sbeikb Mutlak des poteries dont je serai le premier a recon-
naitre la "genuineness" si elles sont "genuine"; j'aurais meme ete
dispose, jusqu'a plus ample examen, a tenir ces poteries pour autben-
tiques ; mais si, comme 1' affirme M. de Muncbbausen, ces poteries sont
identiques a celles de Berlin, je declare a priori, que pour moi, elles sont
fausses. Maintenant, M. de Muncbbausen, dont le dire n'est point
parole d'evangile en matiere d'archeologie, peut se tromper dans son
critermm — et c'est a soubaiter dans I'interet meme de sa decouverte.
Je ne saurais discuter ici les conditions dans lesquelles cette nouvelle
trouvaille aurait ete faite; j 'attends sur ce point le rapport tecbnique
annonce de M. Scbick, pour I'autorite de qui je prof esse une grande
estime scientifique ; en tout cas la "kind of fine grey moss " qui re-
couvrait le sol de la caverne, et les "ruts worked by tbe passage of
insects" (lesquels?) sont des arguments bien faibles pour en tirer avec
M. de Muncbbausen la preuve que " no buman band bad toucbed it for
long periods " ; il suffit d'une saison pour que la mousse pousse, et de
quelques beures pour que des "insects" (p. ex. de vulgaires lombrics)
se frayent un cbemin dans un sol precedemment remue.
M. de Muncbbausen relate en passant que le Dr. Almkvist, accom-
pagne de Selim, a fouille une caverne de Moab cboisie par lui seul, au
basard, et y a deterre une jarre avec inscription moabite. Si le Dr.
Almkvist n'a reellement obei a aucune suggestion, directe ou indirecte,
de son compagnon eminemment suspect, s'il n'a pas ete victime de ce
tour de passe-passe, que nous appelons en fran9ais la carte forcee, on ne
peut qu'admirer cette bonne fortune qui du premier coup, sur un point
pris au basard dans le pays de Moab, le fait tomber precisement sur
ime de ces jarres epigraphiques qu'il etait alle y cbercber ! Je ne con-
nais d'ailleurs ni la relation du Dr. Almkvist, ni le monument qu'il a
rapporte ; je m'abstiens done de tout autre commentaire, mais je reclame
le droit de rester, jusqu'a nouvel ordre, dans mon scepticisme.
Je me permettrai, en terminant, de demander a M. de Muncbbausen
pourquoi le Museum de Berlin n'a pas cru devoir acquerir les suites de
la collection si interessante de M. Sbapira, pourquoi Ton a renonce a
exposer et a publier les monuments dej a acquis. Si les arguments de
M. de Muncbbausen possedent reellement la valeur qu'il leur prete, il
semble que le premier effet qu'ils doivent avoir c'est de convaincre ses
propres compatriotes.
III. — ^From M. Clermont Ganneau.
Paris, 16 Decemhre, 1877.
Je viens do lire I'article de M. Sbapira dans le nombre dc VAthencKum
du 1 j courant. Ce long ijlaidoyer 2^'ro dmtu sua, fruit natui-el et attendu
TIIE ilOABITE POTTERY. 93
de la lettre de M. de Miincliliaiisen, ne contient aucun element nouveau
d'information poui- ceiix qui sont au courant de la question.
M. Shapira affecte de faire porter le debat sur des points qui sont horg
de conteste, et qui lui offrent I'occasion de triompher a peu de fraig
d' objections imaginaires. II neglige en revanche de repondre aux argu-
ments les plus directs et les plus categoriques. Ainsi, par exemple, je
n'ai jamais, pour ma part, attribue la fabrication des poteries moabites
au lapicide Martin Boulos ; je sais, je savais et j'ai publie, bien avant
que M. Shapira ne le siit et ne le publiat, ce dont ce concurrent de Selim
etait capable ; Martin Boulos a fait, en effet, ses premieres armes sur la
stele du Temple que j 'avals decouverte et qu'Ll avait travaiUe, pour mon
compte, a degager du mur ou elle etait encastree.
Les essais infructueux tentes pour fau'e fabriquer a certains potiers de
Jerusalem des poteries analogues a celles de M. Shapira, ne sont pas de
mon fait ; je n'ai jamais eu recours a ce moyen pueril qui devait neces-
sairement echouer, parceque ceux qui ont eu la naivete d'y recourir ; ne
s'adressaient pas aux veritables fabricants, en s'adressant aux potiers
arabes.
M. Shapira crie victoire pareequ'il croit devoir tirer des trouvailles de
MM. Almkvist et de Miinchhausen la preuve qu'il est possible de decouvrir
dans le pays de Moab des monuments epigraphiques authentiques ; mais
— qu'il me permette de le lui dire — c'est encore ce qu'on appoUe enfoncer
une porte ouverte : cette possibilite n'a jamais ete mise en doute, et il
est plus que superflu de I'etablir. Les trouvailles de MM. Almkvist et
de Miinchhausen, fussent-elles a I'abri de tout soup9on— et nous avons
vu qu'il etait loin d'en etre ainsi — ne prouveraient absolument rien pour
I'authenticite des series actuellement a Berlin ou entre les mains de
M. Shapira.
En effet, ou les objets recueillis par MM. Almkvist et de Miinchhausen
ne resemblent pas aux poteries contestees, et alors ils ne peuvent etre
invoques en leur faveur ; ou bien, au contraire, ils leur ressemblent, et
alors ils tombent sous le coup des graves accusations dont leurs soeurs
n'ont encore pu se faire decharger par aucun tribunal serieux. Ces
objets, deterres par MM. Almkvist et de Miinchhausen, soit en com-
pagnie de Selim, soit dans une caverne de Cheykh Mutlak (I'lm des ex-
comparses de Selim), appartiennent par leur aspect — d'apres ce que nous
apprennent ces messieurs eux-memes — a cette famille plus que suspecte.
Tant pis pour ces objets I lis partageront le sort commun.
En un mot M. Shapira raisonne a peu pres ainsi :
"Les premieres poteries sont les congeneres des nouvelles poteries;
or les nouvelles sont authentiques (?), done les premieres sont egalement
authentiques.
On me laissera libre, j'espi^re, de retourner ce raisonnement arbitraire
et de dire :
Les nouvelles poteries sont les congeneres des premieres i:ioteries ;
or les premieres sont apocryphes, done les nouvelles sont egalement
apocryphcs.
H
94 THE MOABITE POTTERY.
C'est un peu la fameuse liistoire du prisonnier :
" Mon capitaine ! j'ai fait un prisonnier I — Eh I bien, amene-le I — Je ne ■
jjeux pas I il m'emmene I "
lY.— FpvOM Major Wilson, E.E.
December, 1877.
I have hitherto taken no part in the discussion as to the genuineness
or otherwise of the so-called Moabite pottery, nor do I wish to do so
now, but the letter of Freiherr von Mlinchhausen, in your issue of the
1st inst., which I have only just seen, seems to call for some remark.
The letter is avowedly written for publication, and, as it were, officially
recognises the genuineness of the pottery. There are, however, two or
three points which have never been satisfactorily cleared up, and I still
hesitate to believe in the pottery. No inscribed pottery, or images of •
any kind, that I am aware of, were found in Moab before the discovery
of the Moabite stone, of which Selim is known to have made a copy,
opened up visions of untold wealth to the hungry eyes of the Bedawin
sheikhs. The visits of Messrs. Shapira, "Weser, and Munchhausen to
Moab have been hurriedly made for the purpose of digging up pottery,
or proving that pottery could be dug up. On the other hand, Prof.
Palmer and Mr. Drake heard of no pottery during their stay in Moab,
and the members of the expeditions sent by the American Palestine
Society, who passed not days but weeks in Moab, have been similarly
luifortunate. Is it likely that the scientific officers of the American
expeditions, in daily communication mth the Bedawin, would have
allowed articles of such extreme interest, if genuine, to have been un-
earthed only by gentlemen from Jerusalem ?
In one respect Fr. von Mimchhausen's letter is likely to create a false
impression as to the conclusions arrived at by the late Mr. Drake. Mr.
Drake, it is true, at first believed, though doubtingly, in the genuineness
of the pottery, but he was at last quite convinced that the greater
number of the pieces, including all tliose Avith inscriptions, were forgeries.
(See Quarterly Siatemcni of P. E. F., April, 1874, p. 119.)
I may add, that after carefully reading the German Consul-General's
letter, I can quite conceive that he was deceived by the Bedawin.
V. — From the " Athen.'eum."
The latest event in the history of the " Moabite " pottery is the arrival
in England of two idols recently brought home by Lieut. Kitchener.
These were procured in Jerusalem, and their manufacture has been traced
by Lieut. Kitchener to the renowned Selim el Kari. He has also ascer-
tained that similar pottery may be obtained at a low price from the same
source. The two specimens have been seen by Baron Miinchausen and
others in Jerusalem, and are regarded as identical with the idols of the
Shapira c»llection. Ono of them is a truncated figure in hollow pottery,
THE MOABITE TOTTEKY. 95
the front of which is covered with the familiar letters, not inscribed, but
in relief ; the neck is decorated with the constantly recurring seven
dots, and the back is adorned with inscribed letters. The second is a
hollow, circular tube, with a face. The front has the letters in relief,
and the back inscribed letters. The faces resemble those of the drawings
and photographs already sent home of the Shajaira collection. As Mr.
Shapira has very kindly offered to lend to the Committee of the Pales-
tine Fund a small collection of his pottery, comparison will shortly be
possible. Meantime Lieut. Kitchener's idols remain for the present at
the office of the Fund. Any definite conclusion, from these specimeus
alone, as to the worthlessness of the whole would be at present prema-
ture, but it may be useful to point out that, as the case at present stands,
the following facts are indisputable: (1) Two independent investigators,
Messrs. Gamieau and Drake, working in ignorance of each other's move-
ments, arrived almost simultaneously at the discovery that Selim el Kari
was engaged in manufacturing sham antique pottery, and (2) Lieut.
Kitchener has traced the production of his two idols to the same work-
shop.
VI. — From Me. Shapira.
Jerusalem, Jan. 11, 1S78.
It is with great satisfaction and pleasure that I announce to you that,
after several years of vague rumours about Selim having fabricated
" Moabitica," some specimens of his manufacture have, during my recent
absence, been at last discovered. An investigation in reference to those
forgeries was at once instituted by the Freiherr von Miinchhausen, the
Imperial German Consul for Palestine, who communicated to me a state-
ment of the results hitherto obtained, which I would ask you to insert
in yoirr valuable paper, for the benefit of all who desire to arrive at the
truth concerning the Moabite pottery.
The statement of the Freiherr von Miinchhausen was accompanied by
a note in German, of which I give the English translation : —
"Jerusalem, Jan. 9, 1878.
" Enclosed I hand you the English translation of a truthful descrip-
tion of an investigation concerning traces of Moabitic forgeries which I
instituted during your absence, my attention having been drawn to the
subject by Lieut, Kitchener's purchases. Let me add that, although
Selim has, in the meantime, escaped to Alexandria, I have not failed
to follow up the traces, and hope soon to be in a position to communi-
cate to you further results.
(Signed) " Munchhausen. ' '
Lieut. Kitchener, the chief of the last expedition sent out by the Com-
mittee of the Palestine Exploration Fund, showed me, a few days before
-liis leaving for England in December last, some Moabitic clay idols.
96 THE MOABITE rOTTEEY.
bearing inscriptions, which had been secretly and in strict confidence
shown to him, and which he had subsequently purchased. He could
not, therefore, tell me the name of the person from whom he had bought
them, but stated that not only had that person declared these idols to
be forgeries, but that he had also expressed his readiness to lead him,
Mr. Kitchener, to the house where the Moabitic antiquities were made,
and especially that he would show him there a similar idol, made of
clay, but not yet fired, or burnt. When I asked Mr. Kitchener, just
before he left, about the results of his investigation, he told me that
though he had actually had the house pointed out to him which was
said to contain the unburnt idol as well as the whole factory of Moabitic
antiquities, he had been unable, notwithstanding repeated efforts, to
gain admission there.
The day after Mr. Kitchener had left, I discovered his informant, and
the next day the house which had been pointed out to him. The former
is a certain Kattan, a seemingly honest young Arab tradesman : the
house is no other than that of Selim el Kary, whose name is sufficiently
notorious in this controversy. Having at once procured a warrant from
the Tm-kish police, I caused the house to be searched in the presence of
one of the agents of the consulate, when the following articles were
found : — 1 . A newly made unburnt clay idol, in a sitting posture, and
more than a foot in height ; 2. Four small iron chisels, which had clearly
been used in the manufactmre of this figure. No other pottery wares
were found, nor any tools, except those mentioned, and no oven capable
of being used for firing was to be seen in the whole house. These
articles were confiscated by the police, and courteously placed at my
disposal by the governor. The inscription on the idol's breast differs
essentially in character from those of Mr. Shapira's antiquities : the
letters, too, are very much smaller. They have been neatly enough in-
scribed— no doubt with the confiscated chisels — but they differ consider-
ably from the usual alphabet. Besides, a number of fantastic marks are
interspersed here and there among genuine letters. The figure itself is
hollowed out a little at the base, but is otherwise massive and solid, and
consequently very heavy, whereas the articles in Mr. Shapira's collection
are mostly quite hollow and light.
When I examined Kattan and Selim el Kary at my office, I found them
to agree in this, that they both stated that Selim had sold five Moabitic
clay figures to Kattan, and that the latter had sold two of them to Mr.
Kitchener. But with regard to the main point, viz., the origin of these
articles, they contradicted each other. While Kattan asserted that
Selim had declared them to be his own manufacture, Selim said, as he
has often said before, that he had never imitated any Moabitic pottery
at all, but that the five clay figures in question were part of a collection
which had been offered two years ago to Mr. Shapira by a Bedouin, that
Mr. Shapira had at that time declined purchasing them, and that he,
Selim, had then bought them very cheaply. When I questioned him
about the unburnt idol, he replied that he had received it from the well-
THE MOABITE POTTERY. 97
laiowii antique forger, Martin Boulos, as also the four chisels, the latter
for the purpose of closing up certain cracks and crevices in the clay. He
further said that Martin Boulos had held out brilliant prospects to him
which they might realise together if such forged articles could be sold.
It is remarkable that Selim, in his declaration (upon which, since lying
has become his second nature, no reliance whatever can be placed),
always wished to give the impression that he could tell much more, but
that he would only do so in Mr. Shapiro's presence. This probably supplies
the key to the whole business.
When, through the publication of Messrs. Socin and Kautzsch's pam-
phlet, the market value of the Moabitic antiquities had considerably
fallen, Selim was dismissed by Mr. Shapira, who till then had kept him
in his employment, and he was reduced to great poverty. A short time
before Mr. Shapira left for Europe, SeHm presented a petition here, in
which he claimed wages due to him by his late employer; whereas,
according to two bills in Mr. Shapira's possession, he proved to be the
creditor, and not Selim. As the latter, however, would not yield, but
persisted in his claims, I referred him to the competent Tm-kish authori-
ties. There, of course, on the production of the bills by Mr. Shapira,
Selim's claims were rejected ; and on that occasion he told several persons,
so that I came to hear of it, that if Mr. Shapira did not satisfy his
demands to the last farthing he would " expose the whole of the Moabitic
antiquities."
Even if, as above mentioned, the two idols acquired by Mr. Kitchener
are suspected to be imitations, such is not the case with the other three
clay idols which Kattan bought from Selim, and which he has since
shown to me. To judge by their colour they seem to be very old, and
in the deeply and elaborately engraved letters, all belonging to the well-
known Moabitic alphabet, is found a quantity of hard, ancient-looking
earth, firmly adhering to the clay. Some persons entirely unbiassed in
this controversy, and experienced in judging of the age of pottery wares,
to whom I showed the idols, declared them to be genuine, or at all
events extremely old. The idea of these articles, as well as of those of
the former collection, being imitations or forgeries is improbable, for
many and frequently stated reasons, and yet it is not impossible that the
idols in Mr. Kitchener's possession may be imitations, since even Mr.
Shapira declares that he has one non-genuine clay figure. Mr. Koch's
investigations in the year 1875 have proved it impossible for these
articles to have been fabricated here in any great quantity, and yet the
factory where they were fabricated to have remained undiscovered all
this time. But, even granting such a possibility, the great and very
geuTiine poverty of Selim seems sufficient proof that he could not have
taken part in the wholesale profitable manufactm-e of ungenuine
" Moabitica." He must, in such a case, at least have earned enough to
save him from the utter poverty into which he has now fallen. The most
probable explanation of his conduct, and of the circumstances under
which the confiscated articles came into his possession, seems to be simply
98 THE MOABITE TOTTERY.
that he attempted to extort money from Mr. Shapira. Thus his way
of selling them to Kattan shows his Avish to excite curiosity by an
affected mysteriousness of demeanour, and my agent informed me that
Selim's conduct during the search in his house could not but make him
suspect that he actually wished for it, and was glad that it took place.
And if, besides, his absurd statement when examined by me is taken
into consideration — viz., that he could only tell the whole truth in Mr.
Shapira's presence, the conviction is almost forced on one that he pro-
cured the unburnt idol and the four chisels, and cautiously directed
public attention to them, in order to compromise Mr. Shapira, and
thereby perhaps manage to extort something from him for himself, or
simply by way of revenge. However, I shall not content myself with
this impression, but shall continue my investigations, and hope to obtain
some definite and final resiilts. Baron Mu:s'cniLViTSEif.
By Freiherr von Miinchhaussen's kindness I have been allowed to
take a photograph of the unbaked idol mentioned in his statement.
In sending you a copy of the same, together -with a photograph of
genuine pottery, taken, some three years ago, by Lieut. Kitchener, I
ihope that the publication of the two woodcuts, side by side, will enable
your readers to arrive at an accurate idea on the subject.
M. W. Shapira.
VII. — From the Eev. W. Hayes Ward.
New York, Dec. 31, 1877.
It may be interesting, in connexion with Mr. Shapira's late commu-
nications to the Athenceum, to tell the reasons why some in America
have been so slow to accept his wares as genuine.
About six years ago, before the first collection of his wares was pur-
chased by the German Government, through the kindness of the Eev.
D. Stuart Dodge, of Beirut, a collection of squeezes of "Moabite"
inscriptions, and drawings of pottery and idols with their inscriptions,
including a fair share of the coarse and obscene figures, was obtained
from Mr. Shapira, and sent to New York to be examined by the direc-
tors of the American Palestine Exploration Society, with a view to a
purchase. A number of these copies are before me as I write.
These inscriptions and figures were carefully examined, among others
by Mr. Addison van Name, Librarian of Yale College, Prof. Isaac H.
Hall, and myself, and our judgment was decidedly averse to their
genuineness, although they came endorsed by Mr. Shapira's signature.
We found that it was utterly impossible to put them into words of a
Semitic character. This was not through any lack of legibility, nor
because the inscriptions were not of sufficient length. There is abso-
lutely no reason to expect anything but inscriptions in a Semitic lan-
guage from that region ; but it was not in any way j)ossible to reduce
them to sense.
THE MOABITE POTTERY. 99
Then, again, tlie shape of the characters sufficiently proved that they
■were forgeries. There are, in the Phoenician alphabet, certain letters
■which, as every epigraphist kno-ws, belong to the same class, so far as
their construction is concerned, and •which change their shape together.
Such letters are dahtli and resh ; and such are mem, nun, and shin. To
see daleth as a triangle and resh rounded was enough to prove the
forgery. So it -was absurd to find mem written in the later form, with
the strokes at right angles, while sliin was written in its oldest style,
like our English W.
I may add that it was also startling to find, on the same squeeze, two
long inscriptions, in two different alphabets, that could not have co-
existed by less than five hundred years, one of these being Pha^nician of
the composite character above described, while the other was apparently
made by random strokes, so as to produce the general effect of ISTaba-
thean.
Other evidence even more startling -was " not wanting. Of two of the
longest inscriptions squeezes were sent. I noticed on the brown paper,
over considerable portions, a light, whitish cloud, which appeared to me
to suggest lime. It occurred to me, especially as the impressions of the
letters and other marks seemed to agree therewith, that instead of being
taken from black basalt at Um-el-Easas and Aroer, they had been taken
from a bed of mortar, impressed when wet "with the inscription. This^
led to a more careful examination of the paper, when there were found
adhering to it quite a number of hard white particles, which on analysis
proved to be carbonate of lime, and which were just such as might have
been detached from the bed of inscribed mortar, from which I have no
doubt the squeezes were taken. This was confirmed by evident slips of
the stick -with which the letters were traced, so that the lines crossed
each other at the apex of angles.
Not less surprising was the character of the border of the inscription.
lu one case the squeeze showed a border around the inscription of large
dots, and in another of short diagonal lines, thus suggesting that the
idea was taken by some ignorant forger from some plate in which the
engraver had thus represented the edge of the stone.
The Palestine Exploration Society was advised not to purchase
Mr. Shapira's collection, which was afterwards secured, much to our
surprise, by the German Government.
"WilliajSi Hayes Waed.
P.S. — ^Mr. Shapira says that "the American party never went intO'
Moab proper." The American party, in 1873, made its camp in Hesh-
bon, a Moabitic city, and were there all summer, and made excursions
into all parts of the country north of the Amon, including all the places-
from which Mr. Shapira's pottery was at that time said to have come,
including Heshbon, El-'Al, Mahsuh, Madeba, and Main. There was-
then no difficulty about hostile tribes, and the range of the Adwan
extended as far as the Zarga Main, south of Madeba, without hostility..
A son of Kablan, who acted at times as guide of the American party^
100 THE MOABITE POTTERY.
confidentially yet repeatedly told them that none of the antiquities in the
possession of " the gentleman of Jerusalem," moaning Mr. Shapira,
came from the east of the Jordan. Further, one Eev. Bahnam Hassuni,
formerly pastor of the Protestant Church at Es-Salt, informed them
that at the beginning of his career Selim endeavoured to induce him to
enter upon this work of forging and palming off antiqiiities from Moab.
VIII. — From M. Clermont Ganneait.
Paris, Eue de Vaugirard 60, Fevrier, 1878.
1° La premiere fois que j'eus occasion d'examiner des reproductions-
de poteries moabites (a Londres, vers 1872) je n'hesitai pas i declarer
que, pour moi, ces poteries etaient fausses, et que j'y croyais reconnaitre
la main d'un Arabe chretien nomme Selim.
2° Plus tard, pendant ma mission a Jerusalem (1873—74), j'acquis et
publiai les preuves materielles de ce qui n'etait jusqu'alors qu'une pre-
somption : je surpris lo faussaire la main dans le sac, et se faussaire-
c'etait le dit Selim — et de deux.
3" D'un autre cute, M. Drake, qui ne pent etre soupfonne d' avoir obti
a des idees precon^ues, attendu qu'il a cru, au debut, a 1' authenticity des
poteries, arrivait au meme resultat et rencontrait, comme moi, au fond
de I'affaire un nom, celui de Selim — et de trois.
4" II ne manquait plus, pour achever de convaincre les plus incredules,
que I'aveu meme du mystificateur ; cet aveu nous I'avons aujourd'hui,
gnice au Lieutenant^ Kitchener, et celui qui le fait c'est Selim— et de
quatre I
La piquante decouverte de M. Kitchener me fait un devoir de livrer
a la publicite un curieux document que j'ai conserve par devers moi
pendant plusieurs mois : c'est une lettre autographe de Selim, ecrite en
grec moderne fort incorrect, et a moi adressee au mois d'Aout, 1877.
J'y joins une traduction litterale que je dois a I'obligeance d'un de mes
amis d'ici.
A Monsieur Ganveau.
De Jerusalem, 3Iois dc Aofd, 6.*
D'abord je te demande des nouvelles de ta sante et ensuite je te dirai
que quandf ... les antiquites avec Khavadja Sapira, il me jiarla et me
dit: "Jete donnerai beaucoup d' argent pourvu seulement que tu ne
paries pas des choses secretes relatives a la provenance des choses." Je
lu'en suis beaucoup occupe et a cette heure il me traite en ennemi parce
(jue quand nos gardes s'en allerent il me dit que je paie les hommes qui
avaient mal parle de nous, et moi, tout ainsi qu'il me I'avait dit, j'ai
paye, d'ai voulu rentrer dans ces depenses alors il me dit: "Main-
tenant je ne te crains plus parce que le roi le sait bien que ce sont
des mensonges, il m'a paye ; toi et Ganneau (il sait) que vous voulez me
nuire."
Pour moi je veux Ic perdro comme il ni'a perdu, ear jo connais toute-
* Vicux style. t I^i mi ii^ot douteux.
THE MOABTTE POTTERY. 101
son affaire. Si tu veux que je vienne pres de toi afin que je te disc tout
at que tu le publies dans les journaux ut qu'ainsi je devoile tous ses
men.songes, si tu lo veux, ecris a un do tes amis qii'il m'avance les fonds
pour que je vienne pi'es de toi et t'explique tout claireuient, si tu veux
que je sois present pour rend re manifestes les mensonges depuis le coni-
uiencement jusqu'a la fin. Ton serviteur,
Saxim Kaui.
La suscription seule est en arabe. La lettre m'est arrivee par I'inter-
mediaire d'un de mes amis de Jerusalem que Selim etait venu trouver et
:i qu'il a debite une foulo de choses que je m'abstiens de repeter. Je
decline naturellenient toute espece de responsabilite pour cette lettre,
dont je n'entends endosser en rien les assertions.
Je suis paye pour savoir la creanco que meritent les dires de maitre
Selim, mon ex-accusatcur, devenu spontanement mon correspondant.
Conuaissant le peleiin, je n'avais pas attache a cette missive, embrouillee
et paraissant dictee par un sentiment de vengeance, plus d'importance
qu'elle n'en comportait. Je me demandais me me par instants, je I'avoue,
si cette demarche bizarre ne cachait pas un piege dresse contre moi, et si
Selim ne jouait pas au Zopyre. Je mis done la lettre de cote, sans y
repondre bien entendu, et j'attendis les evenements: I'evenement est
venu sous la forme des statuettes achetees par M. Kitchener.
Libre aiix derniers partisans de rauthenticite de refuser de se rendre
a r evidence ; ce n'est certes pas moi qui entreprendrai la conversion de
pecheurs aussi endurcis. Apres tout, il leur reste toujours la ressoui'ce
d'expliquer I'inexplicable volte-face de Selim par une influence occulte,
d'y voir meme le resultat d'un plan machiavelique. N'est-ce pas moi
qui ai oifert autrefois a Selim, dans la rue des Chretiens, je ne sais plus
quelle somme fabuleuse pour acheter son faux temoignage contre M.
Shapira ? Aujourd'hui c'est Selim qui m'a fait des avances pour
" perdie " le dit M. Shapii-a !
IX.— Fkom Dr. Neubatjer.
Bodleian Library, Fcl. 15, 187S.
During my last visit to Berlin, in December, although very busy with
the more particular object of my journey, I could not help devoting a
day to visiting the famous MoabJtic collection of pottery; permission
having been most courteously granted me by the authorities in the
Ministry of Public Listruction, where this collection is preserved ia a
room by itself, and not in the Maseum, as is wrongly stated by Prof.
Socin and M. Clermont Ganneau. It must be said, to the honour of
the authorities of the Museum, that they never thought of accepting it
for their establishment.
As I have already stated in your columns, I was perfectly persuaded,
from the specimens published by Prof. Schlottmann, in the Journal of
the German Oriental Society, that the pottery and idols are forgeries,
I
102 THE MOABTTE POTTERY.
and I was confirmed in my belief by the elaborate book of Prof. Kautzsch,
published in 1876, after a personal examination of the Berlin collection
as well as those at Stuttgart and Basle. Still I thought I might find
one or more pieces in the collection which would make the impression
of being genuine, and justify Prof. Schlottmann's belief. I must say,
however, that I have never seen such a heap of ugly objects altogether
as in this collection, and I was quite astonished that a man of learning
and common sense should not have seen in them at once the rudest
forgeries possible. I shall not insist again upon the palseographic?!
evidence of their spuriousness, nor on the fact that not a single Semitic
woi'd can be read in any of them, this having been made clear over and
over again. Prof. Schlottmann, however, thinks he is able to explain
the variety of forms assumed by one and the same letter in tbe same
line, and Dr. Koch still believes the language might be some unknown
one, although we know from the Mesha inscription what the Moabite
language was like.
It has already been stated by Prof. Kautzsch, that the shape of one
of the gods has a resemblance to Napoleon the Third, weaiing a.chapeau
de gendarme, and by myself that the goddess of the earth looks like a
German girl ; and now I find from personal inspection that one of the
idols (that near the window at Berlin) is a copy of a Chr-ist in the Greek
churches, and tliat, too, executed in the rudest way possible.
Prof. Scblottmann says that these ugly figures are meant in the Old
Testament by the word i'^pay, which I deny. The word means "abomina-
tion," and is applied to all idols in general, and even the Venus of Milo
would not have had another denomination. The Prophets from first to
last speak of idols of gold, silver, and other metals, of stone and wood,
but never of those of clay. Would, for instance, the passages in
Isaiah xli. 19, 20, Jeremiah ii. 28, Psalms cxv. 4 to 8, not have been the
place to make allusion to such fragile idols ? The only mention of idols
formed by potters is to be found in the apocryphal book, "Wisdom of
Solomon, xv. 8, whicb refers probably to the Greek period in Palestine.
How is it to be explained that in a place where so many idols and vases
have been found not a single one in wood and metal occurs, as the Old
Testament would lead us to expect ? What are those beaps of smaller
and larger tablets, or tesseroi, in the collection of Berlin if not a forgery
by a person who knew of the existence of such objects in old times ?
How comes the vase near the door of the collection to be ornamented
with four Maltese crosses ? The forgery is evident, and is confirmed
now by the discovery of Lieut. Kitchener. Ad. Neubauer.
The correspondence has for the present closed vnth a letter from
Mr. Sliapira, in which he analyses the letters on the inscribed jars, and
one from the Baron Von Mlinchhausen, which called forth two notes
from Lieut. Conder and M. Ganneau. It contains, however, no new
fact likely to be of service to those who take interest in this discussion.
DOORWAY OF NEWLY-DISCOVERED SYNAGOGUE AT SUFSaF.
(From a Photograph by Lieutenant Kitcheiur. ,
Quarterly Statement, July, 1878.]
THE
PALESTINE EXPLORATION FUND.
NOTES AND NEWS.
The two points of greatest interest at the present moment are : (1) the Publi-
cation of the Map, and (2) the Future Work of the Fund. With regard to the
former, the Executive Committee have announced (see report of meeting of
General Committee, p. 108) that by an arrangement made with the Ordnance
Survey Department the whole of the sheets are now being photodithographed
and prepared for publication by the Director of the Ordnance Survey. Tliey are
also being photogi'aphed to a scale of three-eighths, on which scale they will be
laid down on three sheets, which will form the reduced Map. It is proposed that
this shall be engraved as rapidly as possible, and published simultaneously with
the larger Map. It is expected that the two ]\Iaps, the greater and the lesser,
will be issued earlj^ next year.
With regard to the Memoirs, Special Plans, &c., the Executive Committee are
not at present in a position to recommend any method for their publication.' The
work will be of a very voluminous and costly nature, embracing long lists of
Arabic names with their English equivalents, which will have to be carefully
examined by an Arabic scholar, the whole of the notes prepared by Lieutenants
Conder and Kitchener, and a large number of special plans and drawings made
for the Committee by the officers of the Survey, by Majors Wilson and Warren,
Captain Anderson, Professor Palmer, Mr. Tyrwhitt Drake, and JI. Lecomte (the
architect who accompanied M. Clermont Ganneau).
The work proposed for the immediate future will be found in the Eeport of
the Executive Committee. It is recommended to organise and dispatch a special
expedition with the object of examining, by means of excavation M'here necessary,
the shores of the Sea of Galilee, and the determination by this method of the
sites of Capernaum, Chorazin, Bethsaida, and the other places on these shores
K
106 NOTES AND NEWS.
associated with the New Testameut history. A detailed prospectus showing
what is wanted and how it is proposed to supply that want will be issued without
delay.
Meantime Lieutenant Kitchener is occupied at the working office of the Fund,
Soutli Kensington Museum, in laying down the reduction of the Map, and in
finishing his Memoirs. He calculates that he has six months' work before him.
Lieutenant Conder's 3Iemoirs were finished on April 30th, when he formally
handed over everything to the Committee, and took his leave of the Societj'-, in
whose service he has worked for more than six years. He has accepted, how-
ever, an invitation to join the list of General Committee, so that the advantage
of his counsel and expei'ience may still be looked for.
His book, "Tent Work in Palestine," was published on Monday, June 3rd.
Extracts from it will be found farther on (page 114). ^Meantime subscribers who
wish to take advantage of the reduction of 27 per cent, in the price (17s. 6d.) are
requested to forward their names to the office, 11 and 12, Charing Cross, with as
little delay as possible.
Invitations to join the General Committee have been issued to the following
gentlemen : —
Lord Talbot De Malahide.
The Bishop Designate of Lichfield.
Col. Sir John Cowell, K.C.B.
Sir Howard Elphinstone, K.C.B., C.M.G.
General Cameron, R.E.
Colonel Home, R.E., C.B., C.M.G.
Dr. Erasmus AVilson.
Lieutenant Conder, E.E.
Major Warren, E.E., C.M.G., now in command of a troop of cavalry (the
Diamond Fields Horse) at the Cape, retires from the Executive Committee the
following members of General Committee have been invited to join the
Executive : —
Lord Dufi'erin,
Mr. "William Simpson, F.R.G.S.
The income of the Fund from all sources from !JLarch 2Sth, 1S78, to" June 27th,
1878, was £519 18s. 8d. The expenditure was as follows : Exploration (expenses
of sui-vey party), £262 8s. Gd. ; printing, £1G3 15s. 8d. ; office management, and
bills, £221 6s. 3d.
NOTES AND NEWS. 10
Subscribers are entreated not to think that the expenses of the Fund are over
because the field work in Western Palestine is finished. The monthly expenses
amount to about £180 ; the liabilities of the Committee are not yet discharged,
and provision must be made for the future work.
For the next six months, while the working office at the South Kensington
Museum will be occupied by Lieutenant Kitchener and his noncommissioned
officers, friends of the Fund are invited to call at that office and see such portions
of the Map as maj^ be then under their hands.
The death of Earl Eussell deprives the Fund of one who had been a member of
General Committee from the very foundation of the Society. Lord Russell showed
his continucLl interest in the work of the Committee by a donation —his second
— made to the Fund in 187 5.
Several cases have been at various times discovered of postage stamps being
lost on their way to the office. The only waj^to avoid such loss is to send money
by P. 0.0. or by cheque, in every case pay ahle to tlie order of JValter Besant, and
crossed to Coutts and, Co., or the Union Bank, Charing Cross Branch.
The ninth thousand of " Our "Work in Palestine " is now ready (price 3s. 6d.),
and may be ordered of booksellers. This book carries the work down to the
commencement of the Surve}^, but does not embrace M. Ganneau's discoveries
nor the results of the Survey itself.
The following are at present Eepresentatives and Lecturers of the Society, in
addition to the local Hon. Sees. : —
Archdeaconry of Hereford : llev. J. S. Stooke-Vaughan, Wellington Heath
Vicarage, Ledbury.
City and neighbourhood of jlanchester : Plcv. "\Y. F. Birch, St. Saviour's
Piectory.
Lancashire : Eev. John Bone, St. Thomas's Vicarage, Lancaster.
London : Rev. Henrj^ Geary, 16, Somerset Street, Portman Square.
Korwich : Eev. W. F. Creeny.
Suffolk : Eev. F. C. Long, Stow-upland, Stowmarket.
Peterborough : Rev. A. J. Foster, Farndish Rectory, "Wellingborough.
"Worcester : Eev. F. W. Holland, Evesham (Member of General and Executive
Committee, and one of the Hon. Secretaries to the Fund).
Diocese of Eix^on : Eev. T. C. Henley, Kirkby Malham Vicarage.
North "Wales : Eev. John Jones, Treborth, Bangor.
Yorkshire, Durham, and the JTorth : Eev. James King, 13, Paradise Terrace,
Darlington. Mr. King has now returned from the Holy Land ; communi-
cations for lectures, &;c., can be sent to the Office at Charing Cross.
108 MEETIXG OF THE GENERAL COMMITTEE.
Ireland.— Diocese of Armagh : Rev. J. H. Tovmsend.
Eev. G. J. Stokes, Blackrock, Dublin.
Scotland.— Rev. R. J. Craig, Dalgetty, Burntisland.
The Rev. Horrocks Cocks, 19, Edwardes Sciuare, Kensington, has also kindly
offered his services among the Nonconformist churches.
While desiring to give every publicity to proposed identifications and other
conclusions arrived at by officers of the Fund, the Committee beg it to be dis-
tinctly understood that they leave such proposals to be discussed on their own
merits, and that by publishing them in the QiMrtcrhj Statement the Committee
do not sanction or adopt them.
Annual subscribers are earnestly requested to forward their subscriptions for
the current year when due, at their earliest convenience, and without waiting for
application.
The Committee are always glad to receive old numbers of the Quarterly State-
ment, especially those which have been advertised as out of print.
Attention is called to the statement already advertised, that subscribers
the Fund are privileged by the publishers to receive both the " Literary Remains
of the late Mr. C. F. Tyrwhitt Drake, " and the " Underground Jerusalem " of
Captain Warren, at reduced rates. The former book will be sent for ten
shillings, the latter for sixteen shillings, postage paid. But letters asking for
them must be sent to the office at 11 and 12, Charing Cross only.
Cases for binding the Quarterly Statement are now ready, and can be had on
application to Messrs. R. Bentley and Son, 8, New Burlington Street. They
are in green or brown cloth, with the stamp of the Society, uniform in
appearance with "Our Work in Palestine," and are sold at the price of
eighteenpence.
Lieut. Kitchener's Guinea Book of Biblical Photographs can be bought at Mr.
Stanford's establishment, 55, Charing Cross. It contains twelve views, with a
short account of each. They are mounted on tinted boards, and handsomely
bound.
MEETING OF THE GENEEAL COMMITTEE.
TuE General Committee Meeting was held on T'jesday, June llth, at
the Society's Offices at Charing Cross.
The Chair was taken by Professor Donaldson.
The Minutes of the last meeting having been read and confirmed, the
following Report of the Executive Committee was read.
MEETING OF TUB GENERAL COMIIITTEE. 109
"On resigning the trust committed to them on July ITth, INTT, tlio
Committee have to render an account of their administration during the
past twelve months.
1. On their first sitting Mr. Hepworth Dixon was elected for the
second time Chairman for the ensuing year.
2. The number of meetings hekl during the year has been twenty-
two, which does not include the meetings of Publication and other sub-
committees, held for various objects.
3. The Committee were able to report at the last nieetmg of the
General Committee that the whole of the northern portion of the'Survey
of Western Palestine was then completed, and that there remained to^be
surveyed at that date only a small district of 200 square miles in the
north, together with the revision of certain sheets. On October ;ird,
1877, the Chairman was enabled, by the receipt of a telegram] from
Palestine, to send a letter to the papers containing the welcome intelli-
gence that this remainder was also happily accomplished, and the whole
of the work on its way home under charge of the noncommissioned
officers. Lieut. Kitchener himself, to whom the Committee granted a
month's leave of absence, arrived in January, and joined Lieut. Conder
at the workmg office at South Kensington, very kindly lent to the Fund
by Her Majesty's Government. Here he has been, and is still, employed
in the preparation of his memoirs and plans and the reduction of the
map.
4. It is duo to this officer to state that his work, although it is in no
respect inferior to that of his predecessor in command, was accomplished
imder the most urgent necessity for dispatch. For a large part of the
eight months during which he was in the country he and his men worked
without intermission in order to get the work completed while the
country, then threatened with disturbances, was still tranquil. No serious
hindrance was met with, nor was there any opposition from the natives,
except at Nablus, where Lieut. Kitchener was attacked and stoned in
the streets, and where he was prevented from executing the proposed
repairs of Jacob's Well. The Committee desire to express their sense
not only of the energy and ability, but also of the tact shown by this
officer in the conduct of his expedition, and of the careful economy with
which he kept his expenses below the estimate.
0. Lieut. Conder completed his Memoii's on the 30th April, and on
the 1st May rejoined his corps, after a period of six years' consecutive
work in the service of the Committee. No other officer has worked so
long for the Society, and the Committee feel that they must ask the
General Committee to record an expression of thanks for his services
and of regret at his departure.
6. The Committee have the greatest satisfaction in announcing that
they have made arrangements, through the courtesy which has always
been extended to them by the different departments of Her Majesty's
Government with whom they have been in corresjjondeace, for photo-
lithographing and preparing for publication the whole of the large map of
110 MEETING OF THE GENERAL COMMITTEE.
"Western Palestine by the Ordnance Survey at Southampton. The sheets
are now in the hands of General Cameron, E.E., the Director, for that
purpose. Each sheet of the work will bear the usual imprint of the
Department. There seems good reason to believe that the map will
be ready for publication on this large scale as soon as the Committee
can prepare the small map, which for business purposes must be issued
simultaneously. The arrangement so made will enable the Committee
to publish this large map on a scale of economy not originally considered
possible. Facilities have been kindly offered by the department for pre-
paring the smaller map also. Correspondence on this subject is still
proceeding, and the Committee expect that their communications will
result in an arrangement by which the publication of the smaller map
Avill be greatly assisted both in time and economy. It is hoped that this
may be completed within the coming twelve months.
7. The Committee, considering the desirability of providing a record
of their Survey in a more popular form than their scientific memoirs,
resolved on inviting Lieut. Conder to write for them a book which should
contain such a record. This book, called ' Tent Work in Palestine,' is
now ready. It is illustrated from drawings made by Lieut. Conder
himself, and engraved by Mr. J. S. Whymper.
They have followed the example set in the ' Ptecovery of Jerusalem,'
in making a large allowance for subscribers, by whom it can be obtained
at a reduction of 27 per cent, post free.
8. The Committee have next to consider the present and future opera-
tions of the Society.
The origuaal prospectus of the Society contemplated the following
main branches of exploration : —
(1) Archceology. — In this branch Jerusalem alone has occupied the
attention of the Committee. Their excavations under Major Warren,
although extensive, wore necessarily not exhaustive, in consequence of
the impossibility of obtaining permission to dig in the Haram area.
The other places mentioned in the original prospectus are still awaiting
examination. Among them are Mount Gerizim, the Valley of Shechem,
Samaria, the Roman cities of the coast, especially Csesarea, Antipatris,
Gaza, the tombs of Tibneh, the mounds in the valley of the Jordan,
Eethshean, and Jezreel.
Special detailed plans of many of the places, especially Csesarea,
where Lieut. Conder believes that he has found the remains of the Temple
erected by Herod, have been made during the Survey, but no excava-
tions of any kind were conducted during the progress of that work.
A great quantity of archfcological work has also been done for the
Committee by the officers in charge of their several expeditions, especially
by M. Clermont Ganneau in 1874. This work has all been published in
the Quarterly Statement, which has been made, as far as possible, a
medium for publishing other discoveries and researches made in Pa-
lestine.
(2) Manners and Customs.— TJndiQv this head the Committee originally
MEETI]N-G OF THE OEXEKAL COMMITTEE. HI
contemplated producing sucli a work on the Holy Land as was written
by Mr. Lane for Egypt, wliicli shonld describe in a systematic and
exhaustive order, with clear and exact minuteness, the manners, habits,
rites, and language of the present inhabitants. A mass of materials
has been collected towards such a work. They have been published
among the reports of M. Olenuont Ganneau, Lieut. Conder, Mr. Tyrwhitt
Drake, and others. This part of their programme, however, remains to
be carried into execution.
(3) Topography. — The exact words of the original prospectus, written,
it must be remembered, thirteen years ago, were : —
' Of the coast-line of Palestine we now possess an accurate map in
the recent Mmiralty Charts. What is wanted is a suivey which, when
we advance inland, should give the position of the principal points
throughout the country with equal accuracy. If these were fixed, the
intermediate spots and the smaller places could be filled in with com-
parative ease and certainty. In connection with the topography is the
accurate ascertainment of the levels of the various points. The eleva-
tion of Jerusalem and the depression of the Dead Sea are abeady pro-
vided for by the liberality of the Eoyal Society and the Eoyal Geo-
graphical Society ; but the level of the Sea of Galilee (on which depends
our knowledge of the true fall of the Jordan) is still uncertain within
no less than 300 feet — as are other spots of almost equal moment.
'The course of the ancient roads, and their coincidence with the
modern tracks, has never been examined with the attention it deserves,
considering its importance in the investigation of the history.'
It is gratifying to record that, so far as Western Palestine is concerned,
all these points then noted as requiring examination have been entirely
cleared up. We have a complete survey of the country ; the positions
of all the principal points are observed ; the levels are noted ; that of
the Sea of Galilee has been obtained ; the ancient roads have been laid
down.
Of Geology, Botany, Zoology, and Meteorology, almost the same
words may be used now as were used in 1865. The objects then pro-
posed by the Committee remain still to be carried into execution.
So far, therefore, the Committee have carried into effect the original
prospectus of the Society. It remains to be considered what steps should
be recommended for the future.
a. For the immediate future, or rather for present work, the Com-
mittee recommend the publication of the map as speedily as possible.
Every hope is entertained of having both the larger and the smaller
map ready before the next meeting of the General Committee.
h. This should be followed by the publication of the Memoirs and
special plans. The Executive Committee are not at present prepared to
recommend a mode of undertaking this costly publication, which should
include the special plans of Lieuts. Conder and Kitchener, those of
Majors Wilson and Warren, and the drawings made for the Committee
by M. Le Comte and others, now in their possession.
112 MEETIXG OF THE GENERAL COMMITTEE.
c. As regards future field work, the opinion of Major Wilson, Captain
Anderson, and Lieuts. Conder and Kitchener, has been invited, and
their views have been considered by the Committee.
It is recommended that an expedition should be sent out as soon as
may be found convenient, with the special object of examining, by means
of excavations where necessary, the shores of the Sea of Galilee, and the
determination by this method of the sites of Capernaum, Chorazin,
Bethsaida, and other places connected with the New Testament history.
A special appeal might be made for this Mission to Galilee.
An alternative expedition would be the examination by a geologist of
reputation of the Jordan valley and the Dead Sea. Both the Lake of
Galilee and the Dead Sea must be examined at the same time of the
year, namely, in the winter.
In the absence of any definite communication from the American
Committee, nothing can be recommended as regards the survey east
of Jordan. But it must be borne in mind that the work remains
to be done.
Excavations would certainly yield valuable results at Jerusalem,
Samaria, Caesarea, Jezreel, Ras el Ain, Jericho, and many other places.
A special prospectus of future operations should be issued as soon as
possible.
10. The Committee have to regret the loss by death of several members.
These are, Mr. Ambrose de Lisle, a member of the General Committee
from the commencement of the Fund ; Mr. William Longman, on several
occasions a member of the Executive Committee; Earl EusseU, who
showed his interest in the Society by several donations; Sir Gilbert
Scott, one of its original founders ; and the Eev. Canon Williams, author
of the " Holy City," Avho, from the foundation of the Society, was active
in rendering assistance on every possible occasion by addresses, by
writing, by counsel, and by presiding or assisting at meetings.
It is proposed to fill up these losses by inviting the following gentle-
men to join the General Committee : —
Lord Talbot de Malahide.
Sir Howard Elphixstome.
Col. Sir JOHIf COWELL.
General Cameron, R.E.
Dr. Erasmus Wilson.
Col. Home, R.E., C.M.G.
Bishop of LicnpiELD.
Lieut. Conder, R.E.
The Committee also recommend that Lord DufFerin and Mr. William
Simpson be invited to join the Executive Committee.
11. The income of the Fund from June .30th, 1S77, to June 11th, 1878,
from all sources, has been £3,029 Is. 3d., a sum less than that received
during the preceding twelve months by £680 12s. lOd. The falling off
is not due to a decrease in the number of annual subscribers so much as
MEETIXG OF THE GEXEllAL COMMITTEE. 113
to the cessation of donations on the announcement that the Survey was
finished.
The Committee have no doubt that when another expedition is an-
nounced their income will rise to its former level.
The balance in hand this day amounts to £100 lis. lOd. The expendi-
ture has been distributed as follows : — Exploration, £2,002 8s. Od. ;
sundries, petty cash, postage, &c., £126 12s. ; printing, £390 ; salaries,
management, advertising, rent, and all other expenses, £681 8s. 6d.
12. The best thanks of the Committee are due to those ladies who
have kindly opened their drawing-rooms for meetings to be addressed
by Mrs. Finn.
13. The special thanks of the Committee are due to the Rev. W. F.
Maclagan (now Bishop Designate of Lichfield) for taking the chair at
a meeting at the Kensington Vestry Hall, to the gentlemen who ad-
dressed the meeting, and to the Eev. Horrocks Cocks for the great
trouble he took in organising it. Also to Mr. James Bateman, F.Il.S.,
Mr. Eobinson Douglas, ;Mr. Hall Dare, Lord Lawrence, Mr. J. P. Bacon,
Mr. Dimmock, General Lefroy, Mr. R. D. Wilson, Mr. S. H. Officer,
Mr. Burges, Miss Peache, Colonel Haig, Mr. Ormerod, Mr. Harper,
Mr. Mackinnon, "Esther and Maud," the Sunday School Union,
Lady Tite, Miss Hockley, Miss Mary Hockley, Mrs. Deane Browne,
Mr. Cecil Turner, Mr. S. Morley, Dr. Gladstone, Lord Kensington,
Mr. Jones, Mr. Gotto, Mr. Herbert Dalton, Miss Wakeham, Rev.
F. E. Wigram, Mr. Wingfield Digby, Rev. G. H. Egerton, Rev.
W. D. Maclagan, C.E., Rev. H. Hall-Houghton, Rev. W. H.
Walford, H. Heywood, the Dean of Lincoln, Rev. C. "Watson, Mr.
Hastings Middleton, Rev. W. H. Gamlen, Mr. J. T. Houghton,
CD., Miss Ridding, Mr. David Johnstone, Mr. William Atkinson,
Mr. W. Scott, the Earl of Shaftesbury, the Bishop of Exeter, Mr. J. S.
Mander, Valley Field, Mr. J. F. Gibson, Mr. Peter Denny, Mrs. Na-
thaniel Muggeridge, and others, for donations, many of them annual,
of sums varying from £5 to £100. Also to all the Hon. Local Secretaries,
by whose assistance and encouragement interest in the work of the Fund
is maintained. W. Hepworth Dixon,
Chairman.''
It was Resolved that this Report be accepted.
A letter was then read from Mr. George Grove, proposing to resign
his office as Honorary Secretary on the ground of pressure of woi-k. It
was Resolved — That the Committee receive this letter with the greatest
regret ; that they hope Mr. Grove will reconsider his resignation, and
will continue as Honorary Secretary, to give the Committee his counsel
on occasions of emergency and importance ; and that in this hope they
should proceed to re-elect the Honorary Officers of the Fund.
It v>-as next Resolved — That the thanks of the General Committee
be conveyed to Lieutenants Conder and Kitchener for the skill and
devotion displayed in the successful conduct of the Survey of Western.
Palestine.
114 TENT "^ORK IN PALESTINE.
It was then Eesolved — That the thanks of the Committee be passed
(1) to Mr. Hep worth Dixon, for his two years of oflB.ce as Chairman of
the Executive Committee ; and (2) to Mr. "Walter Besant for his zeal and
activity as Secretary to the Society.
After a vote of thanks to Professor Donaldson for taking the chair
the Committee adjourned.
TENT WOEK IN PALESTINE.
We published in the last Quarterly Statement the table of contents of these
two volumes, which have since been issued. These pages arc not the place
for a criticism of Lieut. Conder's book, but we may be allowed to show by
a few extracts something of the nature of the work and of the manner in
which the prospectus we gave last quarter has been carried out. We confine
ourselves exclusively to those passages which most directly concern the
special work of the Fund, Biblical illustration. Lieut. Conder's con-
clusions on the topography of Jerusalem, the present state of tlie Samari-
tans, the Bedawin, the modern colonists of Palestine, the fertility of the
comitry, and other topics of the greatest interest, must be looked for in
the book itself.
The Site of Kiejatii Jeaeiji.
" This fine site, standing out black against the sky, with its grand
ravine and wild copses, is evidently an important spot ; yet the name
Soba does not recall any Scriptural place, though not far diflferent from
the Hebrew Zuph Avhere Saul met Samuel. In modem Arabic it means
' a heap,' such as the grain-heaps of the threshing-floors, a title which
applies well to the shape of the hill, but probably this is a corruption of
some older word. Dr. Chaplin, of Jerusalem, who is perhaps the soundest
antiquarian in the country, supposes it to mark the real site of Kirjath
Jearim, and there many points in favour of such a view. First of all,
Kirjath Jearim is mentioned as on the boundary of Judah next to
Mount Seir, which, in turn, is next to Chesalon. Chesalon is known to
be the present Kesla, a village on the same ridge with Soba, and between
them is a mountain called Saghir, a word radically identical with Seir.
Then again the thickets west of Soba may well represent those of the
ancient Mount Jearim, ' the hill of thickets.' Geba also was a place near
Kirjath Jearim, and a ruin called Jeb'a exists close to Soba. Baalah
was another name for Kirjath Jearim, and the word means 'high' or
' elevated,' applying well to Suba, which is a strong place. It is also
not impossible that in the name Soba we have a trace of Shobal the
founder of Kirjath Jearim."
The Sych^ve, of St. John (iv. 4).
"It is hero no doubt that we recognise the Sychar of the Fourth
Gospel. An unaccountable confusion has grown up lately between
TENT WOKK IN PALESTINE. 115
Sychar and Sliecliem, for which the Crusaders are originally responsible,
as they are indeed for most of the false tlieories on sacred sites. It is
only through careful study, and by such work as that of the Survey, that
we are beginning to escape from the entanglements and confusion caused
by the ignorance of knights and priests, arriving, in the twelfth century,
strangers and illiterate enthusiasts in a hostile country.
" It will be evident to all readers of the Gospel narrative that Sychar,
' a city of Samaria ' near Jacob's Well (John iv. 5, 6), is a description
hardly to be expected of Shechem, which is moreover mentioned by its
original name in the New Testament (Acts vii. IG). The early Christians
recognised the distinction, and place Sychar a mile east of Shechem, as
noticed in the ' Itinerary of Jerusalem,' 333 A.D. It is clear that they
refer to 'Askar, and the identity is maintained by Canon Williams and
others ; but a difficulty has always been felt by students because the
modern name begins with a guttural, which cannot have occurred in
the name Sychar. This difficulty the Samaritan Chronicle seems to me
to remove, for in it we find a town mentioned ajaparently near Shechem,
called Ischar, which is merely a vulgar pronunciation of Sychar ; and
the Samaritans themselves, in translating their Chronicle into Arabic,
call it 'Askar. Thus the transition is traceable from the Hebrew form,
having no meaning in Arabic but originally ' a j)lace walled in,'
through the Samaritan Ischar to the modern 'Askar, ' a collection ' or
' army ' in Arabic."
The Village of Nain.
" The village of Nain lies below on a sort of spur to the north of
Neby Duhy, and the road from Nazareth ascends in a hollow to the west
of it. On the right of the road, yet farther west, are the rockcut tombs,
and thus the procession bearing the young man's body would have come
down the slope towards the little spring westwards, meeting our Lord
on the main road. The mud-hovels on the grey tongue of limestone
have no great marks of antiquity, but the surrounding ruins show the
village to have been once larger, and a little mosque called ' the Place
of our Lord Jesus ' marks, no doubt, the site of an early chapel. There
are, as far as we could see, no traces of a wall, and I think we should
understand by ' gate of the city,' the place where the road enters
among the houses, just as the word is used often in Greek, and in
modem Arabic in such expressions as ' gate of the pass,' ' gate of the
valley,' and even ' gate of the city,' where no wall or gate exists."
The Death of Sisera. *^*
" The Bedawin have a delicious preparation of curdled milk called
Leben, which is offered to guests but generally considered a delicacy ;
from personal experience I know that it is most refreshing to a traveller
when tired and hot, but it has also a strange soporific effect, which was
so sudden in its action on one English clergyman after a long ride, that
he thought he had been poisoned. It was perhaps not without a know-
-^16 TENT WORK IX PALESTINE.
ledo-e of its probable effects, that Jael gave to her exhausted guest a
tempting beverage which would make his sleep sound and long.
" The murder of a fugitive and a guest is so contrary to the morality
of the Semitic nomads, that we must seek for a very strong justification.
It could not have been national enthusiasm whicli actuated Jael, for she
was a Kenite, not a Jewess, one of a nation hostile to Israel, and there
' was peace between Jabin King of Hazor (Sisera's master) and the house
of Heber the Kenite.' The true reason is probably to be sought in
Sisera's entering the tent at all. There are instances in later history in
whicli a defeated Arab has sheltered himself in the women's apartments,
but sucb an infringement of Eastern etiquette has always been punished
by death ; and it is not improbable that in revenge for such an insult
Jael seized the iron tent-peg and drove it with the mallet, used to fix
the tents to the ground, through Sisera's brain.
"One final illustration maybe added, suggested to me quite lately
by an English clergyman. In the magnificent song of Deborah, the
great storm which swelled the Kishon is described :
"'They fought from heaven, the stars from their courses fought
against Sisera ' (Judg. v. 20).
" The season was probably that of the autumn stonns which occur
early in November. At this time the meteoric showers are commonest,
and are remarkably fine in effect, seen in the evening light at a season
when the air is specially clear and bright. The scene presented by the
falling fiery stars, as the defeated host fled away by night, is one very
striking to the fancy, and which would form a fine subject for an artist's
pencil."
The Eock Etam.
"About two miles west of Beit 'Atab, a valley running north and
south, separates the high rugged mountains of the 'Arkub from the low
rolling hills of the Shephelah district, beyond which is the Philistine
plain. This valley joins the great gorge which bounded Judah on the
north, and forms a broad vale, half a mile across, filled with luxuriant
corn, with a pebbly torrent-bed in the middle, and low white hills on
either side. The vale is called Wady Siirar (a Hebrew word, meaning
' pebbles '), and is the ancient Yalley of Sorek. The ruins of Bethshe-
mesh lie on a knoll surrounded by olive- groves, near the junction of the
two valleys above mentioned. On the south is Timnah, where Samson
slew the lion ; and on the north are the little mud villages, Si'ir'a and
Eshu'a— the ancient Zoreah and Eshtaol— the hero's home. The scene,
looking up the great corn valley to the high and rugged hills above, is
extremely picturesque, and is that which was spread before the eyes of
the five lords of the Philistines, as they followed the lowing oxen, which
bore the ark on the ' straight way ' from Ekron to Bethshemesh.
" Here also, at the edge of the mountains, is the village of Deir Aban,
supposed, by the early Christians, to mark the site of Ebenezer, the
boundary' of Samuel's pursuit of the Philistines, and of the land held by
TENT "WORK IN PALESTINE. 117
the Jews at that period. On the north brink of the Vale of Sorek (in
which also Delilah lived) there is a conspicuous white chapel on the hill,
dedicated to Neby Samit, and close to the village of Zoreah. Confused
traditions — which are, however, probably of Christian origin — connect
this prophet with Samson, whose name is recognisable in other parts of
this district under the forms Shemshiin, Sanasin, and 'Aly (as at Gaza),
and also a little farther south as Shemsin and Samat. It appears yvo-
bable that the tomb now shown at Zoreah, is that known, to the Jews,
in the fourteenth century as Samson's ; and the tradition, thus traced to
other than monkish origin, is very possibly as genuine as that which
fixes the tombs of Joseph and Phinehas near Shechem. Here, then, we
are in Samson's country, and close to Zoreah we should naturally look
for the Rock Etam.
" The substitution of B for M is so common (as in Tibneh for Timnah),
that the name ' 'Atab ' may very properly represent the Hebrew Etam
(or 'eagle's nest'); and there are other indications of the identity of
the site. It is pre-eminently a ' rock ' — a knoll of hard limestone,
without a handful of arable soil, standing, above deep ravines, by
three small sjirings. The place is also one which has long been a
hiding-place, and the requirements of the Bible story are met in a re-
markable way ; for the word rendered ' top of the Eock Etam ' is in
reality ' cleft ' or ' chasm ; ' and such a chasm exists here — a long,
narrow cavern, such as Samson might well have ' gone down ' into, and
which bears the suggestive name Hasuta, meaning ' refuge ' in Hebrew,
but having in modem Arabic no signification at all.
" This remarkable ' cave of refuge ' is two hundred and fifty feet long,
eighteen feet wide, and five to eight feet high ; its south-west end is
under the centre of the modern village ; its north-east extremity, where
is a rock shaft, ten feet deep, leading down from the surface of the hill,
is within sixty yards of the principal spring.
"The identification thus proposed for the Eock Etam is, I believe,
quite a new one ; and it cannot, I think, fail to be considered satisfactory,
if we consider the modern name, the position, and the existence of this
remarkable chasm. Eamath Lehi, where the Philistines assembled
when searching for Samson (Judg. xv. 9, 10), is naturally to be sought
in the vicinity of Zorea — Samson's home, and of the Eock Etam where
he took refuge.
"A little way north-west of Zoreah, seven miles from Beit 'Atab, is a
low hill, on the slope of which are springs called 'Ayim Abu Meharib,
or the 'fountains of the place of battles.' Close by is a little Moslem
chapel, dedicated to Sheikh Nedhir, or ' the Nazarite chief ; ' and, higher
up, a ruin with the extraordinary title Ism Allah — ' the name of God.'
The Nazarite chief is probably Samson, whose memoiy is so well pre-
served in this small district, and the place is perhaps connected with a
tradition of one of his exploits. The Ism Allah is possibly a corruption
of Esm'a Allah — ' God heard ' — in which case the incident intended will
be the battle of Eamath Lehi. Finally, we were informed by a native
118 TENT worac in Palestine.
of the place that the springs were sometimes called 'Ayun Kjira, in
which name we should recognise easily the En Hak-Kore, or ' fountain
of the crier' (Judg. xv. 19).
" To say that this spot certainly represents Eamath Lehi— ' the hill of
the jaw-bone'— would be too bold. It seems, however, clear, that a
tradition of one of Samson's exploits lingers here ; the position is appro-
priate for the scene of the slaughter \vith the jaw-bone, and we have
not succeeded in finding any other likely site."
The Scapegoat.
" According to the Law of Moses the Scapegoat was led to the wilder-
ness and there set free. This was not, hov/ever, the practice of the later
Jews. A scapegoat had once come back to Jerusalem, and the omen
was thought so bad that the ordinary custom was modified, to prevent
the recurrence of such a calamity. The man who led the goat arrived
at a high mountain, called Sook, and there Avas at this place a rolling
slope, doAvn which he pushed the unhappy animal, which was shattered
to atoms in the fall. It was always a matter of much interest to me to
find out where this mountain was.
" The Scapegoat was led out on the Sabbath, and in order to evade
the law of the Sabbath-day's journey, a tabernacle was erected at every
term of two thousand cubits, and became the domicile of the messenger,
who, after eating bread and drinking water, was legally able to travel
another stage. Ten such tabernacles were constructed between Sook
and Jerusalem, and the distance was ninety Pus, or six and a half
Eno-lish miles. The district was called Hidoodim, and the high moun-
tain Sook. The first means 'sharp,' the second ' narrow,' both apply-
in"- well to the knife-edged ridges of the desert. The distance of ninety
Pas brino-s us to the great hill of El Muntar, and here, beside the ancient
road from Jeiiisalem, is a well called Suk, while in the name Hadeidim,
applied to part of the ridge, we recognise the Hebrew Hidoodim.
" Here then, I think, we may faii-ly conclude is the Mountain of the
Scapegoat. From this high ridge the unhappy victim was yearly rolled
down into the narrow valley beneath, at the entrance of the great desert,
which first unfolded itself before the eyes of the messenger as he gained
the summit half a mile beyond the well of Suk. Beside this well stood
probably the tenth booth to Avhich he returned after the deed, and
where he sat until sun-down, when he was permitted to return to
Jerusalem."
GiLGAIi.
"A question of even greater interest is that of the long- sought site of
Gilgal, and our inquiries were rewarded with success. Eobinson had
heard the name Jiljulieh, but had not been able to fix the site. A
German traveller (Herr Schokke), in ISGu, had been more fortunate, and
was shown the place at a mound about a mile east of Eriha. It was
important to ascertain the reliability of this discovery, and I succeeded
TENT VOKK IX TALESTIXE. 119
in fixing the spot visited by this traveller, by means of the compass-
bearing which he bad been wise enough to take. I found three persons
who knew the site by the name Jiljulieh, and one of them conducted
me to ruins to which a curious tradition applies.
'* There was, however, stUl a difficulty to be met ; for Captain. "Warren
had been shown another place, as the true site of Gilgal, north of this
Jiljulieh, where are ruins of a large mediaaval monastery. The explanation
is, however, the usual one. Our Jiljulieh is the Gilgal known to the
early Christians, which St. WilHbald (724 A. D.) places two miles from
the Jericho of his time, and five miles from Jordan ; Captain Warren's
site is just in the position in which Gilgal is shown on the media3val
map of Marino Sanuto. The Crusaders have again in this instance
changed the site, and both traditions are extant among the natives.
The questions naturally arise, which is the true one, or whether either
is worthy of notice ? The ruins of Jiljulieh, east of Jericho, appear to
me to bear away the palm, for two reasons ; first, the position is that
described in the Bible, ' in the east border of Jericho ' (Josh. iv. 19) ;
secondly, the fourth-century site is noticed by Jerome, not as fixed by
a monkish tradition, but as held in reverence by the inhabitants of the
country, and thus apparently connected with a genuine or indigenous
tradition. It is true that the existing ruins, with hewn stones and
tesserae of glass, indicate traces of the early Byzantine monastery, which
is noticed as containing the Church of Galgalis, but this does not
militate against the genuine character of the site, for the tradition, in
this case, appears to be derived from a more authentic source than that
which fixes most of the early Christian sacred sites.
" The recovery of Gilgal ranks as one of the most important successes
of the Survey work. The name is not commonly known among the
natives, for the site is generally called Shejeret el Ithleli, ' the
tamarisk-tree,' from the very large tamarisk just west of the ruins.
The tradition connected with the place is, however, apparently common
among the Arabs of the neighbourhood."
Wady Kelt.
"Wady Kelt has been also thought to be the Brook Cherith, and the
scene seems well fitted for the retreat of the prophet who was fed by the
' 'Oreb,' whom some suppose to have been Arabs. The Avhole gorge is
wonderfully wild and romantic ; it is a huge fissure rent in the moun-
tains, scarcely twenty yards across at the bottom, and full of canes and
rank rushes between vertical walls of rock. In its cliffs the caves of
early anchorites are hollowed, and the little monastery of St. John of
Choseboth is perched above the north bank, under a high, brown
precipice. A fine aqueduct from the great spring divides at this latter
place into three channels, crossing a magnificent bridge seventy feet
high, and running a total distance of three miles and three-quarters, to
the place where the gorge debouches into the Jericho plain. On each
side the white chalk mountains tower up in fantastic peaks, with Ion"-'
120 TEXT WOEK IX PALESTINE.
knife-edged ridges, and hundreds of little conical points, with deep
torrent-seams between. All is bare and treeless, as at Mar Saba. The
wild pigeon makes its nest in the ' secret places of the stairs ' of rock ;
the black grackle snns its golden wings above them; the eagle soai's
higher still, and over the caves by the deep pools the African kingfisher
flutters ; the ibex also still haunts the rocks. Even in autumn the
murmuring of water is heard beneath, and the stream was one day
swelled by a thunderstorm in a quarter of an hour, until it became a.
raging torrent, in some places eight or ten feet deep.
"The mouth of the pass is ako remarkable; for on either side is a,
conical peak of white chalk — one on the south called the ' peak of the
ascent ' (Tuweil el 'Akaboh), while that to the north is named Bint
Jebeil, ' daughter of the little mountain,' or Nusb 'Aweishireh^
'monument of the tribes.' "
Bethabara.
"The fords were collected and marked in the natural course of the
Survey, the names carefully obtained, and every precaution taken to
ensure their being applied to the right places. It was not, however,
until the next winter that I became aware how valuable a result had
been obtained. Looking over the nomenclature for the purpose of
making an index, I Avas struck with the name 'Abarah applying to a,
ford. The word means ' passage,' or ' ferry,' and is radically the
same word found in the name Bethabara. I looked 'Abarah out at once
on the map, and found that it is one of the main fords, just above the
place where the Jalud river, flowing down the valley of Jezreel and by
Beis&n, debouches into Jordan.
" One cannot but look on this as one of the most valuable discoveries
resulting from the Survey ; and I have not, as yet, seen any argument
directed against the identification which seems to shake it. It may be
said that the name 'Abarah is merely descriptive, and perhaps applies to
several fords. That it is descriptive may be granted ; so is the name
Bethabara, or Bethel, or Gibeah, or Raniah. That it is a common
name may be safely denied. We have collected the names of over forty
fords, and no other is called ' Abarah ; nor does the word occur again in
all the 9,000 names collecied by the Survey party
" Here at 'Abarah we have the name, and nowhere else, as yet, has
the name been found ; the question then arises, is the position suitable ?
"We speak commonly of Bethabara as the place of Our Lord's baptism.
Possibly it was so, but the Gospel does not say as much. It is only
once mentioned as a place where John was baptizing, and where certain,
events happened on consecutive days. These events are placed in the
Gospel harmonies immediately after the Temptation, when Christ
would appear to have b( en returning from the desert (perhaps cast of
Jordan) to Galilee. Bethabara, ' the house of the ferry,' was ' beyond
Jordan ; ' but the place of baptism was no doubt at the ford or ferry
itself; hence the ford 'Ala ah is the place of interest. It cannot be
TENT WORK IX TALESTIXE. 121
Christian tradition which originates this site, for Chiistian tradition has
pointed, from the fourth century down to the present day, to the fords
of Jericho as the place of baptism by St. John.
"'And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee'
(John ii. 1). Here is the controlling passage. The hostile critics of the
fourth Gospel have taken hold of it ; they have supposed the traditional
site to be undoubtedly the true one, and have thence argued the
impossibility that in one day Christ could have travelled eighty miles
to Cana. To the fourth-century inquirer the difficulty would never
have occurred ; he Avould have answered at once that Our Lord was
miraculously carried from one place to the other ; but the Gospel does
not say so, and we should therefore look naturally for Bethabara within
a day's journey of Cana. The ford 'Abarah is about twenty-two miles
in a Jine from Kefr Kenna, and no place can be foimd, on Jordan, muck
nearer or more easily accessible to the neighbourhood of Cana.
" I leave these facts to the reader, asking him to choose, between the
difficulties attendant on the traditional site, and the suitability of the
new site, where alone as yet the name of Bethabara has been recovered.
"There is, however, another point with regard to Bethabara which
must not be overlooked. The oldest MSS. read, not Bethabara, but
Bethany, beyond Jordan. Origen observed this, yet chose the present
reading, and we can hardly suppose that the early fathers of the Church
made such an alteration without some good reason; perhaps the original
text contained both names, ' Bethabara in Bethany ' beyond JcrdaEv.
being a possible reading.
" If Bethabara be a true reading, the place should thus most f)robablv
be sought in Bathania, and the ford should the'refore lead over to .
Bashan. This again strengthens the case for the 'Abarah ford, which is
near the hills of Bashan, whereas the Jericho fords are far away,
leading over towards Gilead and Moab."
The Spring of Sirau (2 Sam. iii. 26).
"After his interview Avith David, Abner set out on his way to Jerusalem-, .
and had gone as far as the Spring of Sirah, when Joab's messengers-
overtook him and brought him back to Hebron, where he was murdered
in the gate (2 Sam. iii. 26). Now on approaching the modern town by
the old paved road to the north, the first spring beside the way is called
Sarah. Like the Hebrew Sirah, the word means ' withdrawn,' and the
title is, no doubt, due to the fact that the spring is under a stone arch,
at the end of a little alley with drystone walls, and is thus withdrawn
from the high-road. This place may therefore be considered as one of
the few genuine sites in the neighbourhood of Hebron."
Debir (Joshua xv. 48).
"There seems to me to be every reason for supposingDhaheriyeh to be
the ancient Debir, a place not identified before the Survey. The name
has the same meaning, derived from its situation on the 'back' of a
122 TEXT WOllK IN rALESTINE.
long lidge ; and the position between Shoclioli (Shuweikeh), Dannah
(Idhnali), Anab ('Anab), and Esbtemoa (Es Semu'a), seems very suitable
(Josh. XV. 48). The place, moreover, is evidently an ancient site of
importance, to which several roads lead from all sides. The springs
near Debii' given to Achsah (Judg. i. 15) might well be the beautiful
springs of Dilbeh, about seven miles north of the to^vn, and the
identification seems to me to be amongst the most valuable of those due
to the Survey."
Panoramic View feo:m Jebel Tok'ax.
The view from the summit of Tor'an is interesting and extensive.
The Sea of Galilee is visible, and we were able to fix the direction of
many points along its shore.
" On the south, separated from Tor'an by a second plain, lay the low
bare range of the Nazareth hills, Neby S'ain, and Gath Hepher with
the tomb of Jonah, being visible, while rather farther east Kefr Kenna
stood among its olive-groves and gardens of pomegranates.
" Tabor, crowned with two monasteries, was also plainly visible, east
of the Nazareth range, the slopes partly hidden by oak-groves.
Through a gap, between it and the western hills, the outline of Gilboa
and part of Jebel ed Duhy could be seen. The plain of Esdraelon was
hidden, but the cone of Sheikh Iskander was visible to the south-w^est.
" To the west the view extended over the low wooded hills to the long
range of Carmel, which was visible, from the Peak of Sacrifice to the
white monastery where, on a little spit, stands the German Avindmill,
which showed up quite black against the gleaming sea.
"The brown and fertile plain of the Buttauf, in the basaltic soil of
Avhich tobacco, corn, maize, sesame, cotton, and every species of
vegetable grow luxuriantly, lay at our feet. The high blunt top of
Jebel Deidebeh ('mountain of the watch-tower'), crowned with its
ring of thicket, rose behind, shutting out the view. Beyond this was
the chain of hills running eastwards, with rolling grey uplands dotted
with olives, whUe farther still, some ten or twelve miles away, rose the
mountain-wall of Upi)er Galilee, culminating in Jebel Jermuk, a bare
craggy ridge which closed the view to the north. Turning yet farther
east, the large town of Safed shone white on the mountain side, divided
into two quarters, with a double-pointed summit behind them. Beyond
all, dark and dreamlike, the great Hermon, ' Sheikh of the moun-
tains,' was seen streaked with silver lines of snow.
" But the view due east of Tor'an was yet luoro interesting. A yellow
plateau shelves down from the foot of the mountains of Upper Galilee
and runs into little tongues and promontories, separated by tiny bays,
along the north-western shores of the Sea of Galilee : only in one part
of this ^line is there a cliff, just where the little fertile plain of
Gennesaret terminates at Khiin Minieh; the rest is sheMng ground
almost to the water's edge.
"The deep chasm rumiing down from Safed, and known as ' the Yalley
SYNAGOGUES OF GALILEE. 123
of Doves ' (W. el Hamam), debouches into tlie green oasis of Ghuweir,
or plain of Gennesaret. East of the sea the long flat plateau of
Bashan stretches from the precipices which enclose the lake, and
reaches away to the volcanic cones and dreary lava-fields which are
backed by the peaks of Jebel ed Druz.
"Tiberias was hidden below the cliffs, and only about half the blue
and limpid lake was seen behind them ; most conspicuous on this line
are the Horns of Hattiii, so fatal to the Christian kingdom in 1187,
and here also, as on the east, a broad plateau runs almost to the top of
the precipices.
" Itis wonderful to reflect how numerous are the ancient towns which
encircled this little lake ; speaking of the west side alone, they number
more than twenty. Hidden by the cliffs we have Tiberias, or Kakkath,
andHammath (El Hummam), Tarichaoa (Kerek), Sinnabris (Sennabreh),
and Magdala (Mejdel), with Kedish, the probable site of the Kadesh
of Barak,
" On the western plateau stand Adamah(Admah), Adami(Ed Damieh),
Bitzaanaim (Bessum), Lasharon (Saruna), Shihon (Sh'ain), and other
sites of Biblical interest. Arbela, with the synagogue of Eabbi Nitai
(200 B.C.), Hattin (the ancient Zer), Yemma (the Talmudic Caphar
Yama), Kefr Sabt (Caphar Sobthi), Seiyadeh (the Talmudic Ziadethah),
Tell M'aun (Beth Moan), Sha'arah (Beth Sharaim), and several other
towns of later times swell the long list of cities. The district is full
of sacred places : Rabbi Akiba, Eabbi Meir, and the great Maimonides,
were buried near Tiberias, and the supposed tombs of Jethro and
Habakkuk are still shown on the hills above."
SYNAGOGUES OF GALILEE.
TnE number of known examples of synagogues in Palestine is eleven;
besides these there are three doubtful specimens which may have been
synagogues, making the total number fourteen. By dealing first with
the three doubtfid specimens the way will be left clear for a consideration
of the date of these interesting buildings. The only specimen that
LiOes not occur within the limits of Galilee is that on Mount Carmel,
described by Lieutenant Conder, at the ruin of Kh. Semmaka. Two
lintels were found, one still resting in situ on its stone doorposts.
The mouldings resemble those common in other synagogues, being carried
back on the lintel in the peculiar T-shaped beading clearly seen in the
synagogue at Meiron. Lieutenant Conder describes this principal door-
way as being the eastern door, which is peculiar. The only other known
example of the entrance being on the east is at the synagogue at Irbid,
and there this position was rendered necessary by the fall of the ground
on which the synagogue was built.
Part of a colonnade was observed, the pillars being about the same
124 SYNAGOGUES OF GALILEE.
dimensions as those usual in synagogues. The second smaller lintel lias
t%vo lions carved upon it, with a cup between them; this is another
peculiarity, as on all the other synagogues where carved figures occur
they seem to have been on the principal lintel or upon all three. There
is no other example known where the side-door lintels were thus
ornamented and the principal door left bare.
The second doubtful synagogue is at Kh. Taiyebeh, not far from
Shefa 'Amr. A single double column and some pieces of ordinary
columns were observed in the ruins of a small building, too much
destroyed to be at all intelligible in its present condition. Excavation
here might lead to the discovery of a synagogue. The third is the ruins
at Belut, where the peculiar double columns again occur at both ends
of a long colonnade. It was described by me in Quarterly Statement,
October, 1877, p. 166, and the only photograph of these interesting
remains is now in the Palestine Exploration Fund series. Though this
building has some points of resemblance to synagogues, it is not, in my
opinion, one of that class of buildings. In the first place it is longer
and narrower than any known synagogue, the want of mouldings on
the architrave, the archaic form of the capitals, and the general
appearance of the building, seem to point to a much earlier date than
that at which the synagogues were erected. The aisle or passage
between the columns is made wider than in synagogues, and there is
only one specimen (the small synagogue at Kefr Bir'im) where only
two rows of columns occur. There is no sign of a southern doorway,
though there is some reason to suppose that the entrance was in the
centre of the eastern side, which is, as before pointed out, unlike the
generality of synagogues. On the eastern side of this building there
are the remains of buildings enclosing a courtyard containing a large
well that resembles such as one would expect to find of a monastery or
castle. The situation, on the top of a very commanding, steep, and
narrow ridge, difficult of access, is unlikely to have been the site of an
important town, of which there are no traces. From these con-
siderations I am led to the supposition that we have here one of the
most perfect and earliest specimens of a temple dedicated to some
deity worshipped on this " high place," and attended by a number of
priests or votaries wha were lodged in the surrounding buildings.
To its isolation in this, the wildest part of the country, is probably due
its preservation up to this time.
It seems probable that from this and other specimens of the same
class then existing, the architects copied those peculiar double columns
that are always found terminating the colonnades in synagogues.
Another fact pointing to this view of the case may be derived from the
enormous monolithic double columns of red granite now lying in the ruins
of the cathedral at Tyre. These were certainly not made for the cathedral,
as all the interior decoration of that building was of white marble.
They must have been taken from some building, or, more probably, were
found lying, half covered with sand, on the site, when the cathedral was
SYNAGOGUES OF GALILEE. 125
about to be built, and, from their great size and beauty, were used in
that building by the Christians who did not know their Pagan origin.
Wo then come to the question, Were they not used in a synagogue
formerly on this spot ? If so, the Jews of that time were able to import
from a distant country, probably Egypt, larger monoliths of more
beautiful marble than any other race had been capable of bringing to
the country. In no synagogue has any marble been found, the hard
limestone of the country is always used, and the columns and door-
posts, though of monoliths, are nothing like the stupendous size of
these enormous blocks of granite. It appears to me that these columns
are the remains of a very early and most magnificent temple, dedicated
to some unknown deity. The remains at Belat (within sight) appear to
have been an offshoot and, probably, a copy of this temple. What
mysterious religion was inculcated at these places there is no evidence
to show.
If it is allowed that synagogues were copied from an earlier form
of temple, much additional interest is added to the study of the details
of these buildings.
The known examples are eleven, and stated in order of their preserva-
tion would occur thus : —
Large Synagogue at . Kefr Bir'im.
Synagogue at ... Meiron.
,, ... Irbid.
Small SjTiagogue at . Kefr Bir'im.
Synagogue at ... Tell Hum.
,, ... Kerazeh.
,, ... Nebratein.
Small Synagogue at . el-Jish.
Synagogue at ... Umm el 'Amed.
Large Synagogue at . el-Jish.
Synagogue at ... Sufsaf.
I have very little doubt that there were also synagogues at Tiberias and
Sasa. At both there are traces, but not sufficient evidence without
excavation to say for certain that they are those of synagogues. The
whole area covered by these synagogues is very small ; only a little
larger than Rutlandshire.
This shows how local the Jewish influence was in the country when
these synagogues were built. A striking characteristic of these build-
ings is their similarity in plan and detail of ornamentation; at all of
them the same class of mouldings are observable ; and in many cases
they are identical, even when cut out of the hard basalt as at Kerazeh.
No modifications were allowed, and the niches of this specimen are
even more elaborately carved than in other cases. The capitals show
some variation, being Corinthian, Ionic, and with simple mouldings ;
but all these forms occur in the synagogue at Irbid, and cannot therefore
be taken to show diffex'ent dates. These points seem to show that they
126 sy^'AGOGUES of galilee.
were all built at nearly the same time, and that no later specimens
were attempted. Thus we arrive at the conclusion that the Jewish
influence which gave rise to these buildings was both extremely local
and short-lived.
In the New Testament, synagogues are frequently mentioned ^s
occurring commonly at all towns and villages : at Jerusalem, John xviii.
20, Luke xiii. 11 ; at Nazareth, Luke iv. 16 ; at Capernaum,' Matt. xii. 9,
John vi. 5, Mark i. 23, Luke vii. 5 ; Synagogues in all villages. Matt. iv.
23, xiii. 54, The question then is, are these ruins the remains of the
synagogues there mentioned ?
In the " Bible Dictionary, "on Synagogues, under the sub-head " Struc-
ture," it is stated': " Its position was, however, determined. It stood,
if possible, on the highest ground in or near the city to which it
belonged." This is not what is found as characteristic of these ruins.
Major Wilson, R.E. {Quarterhj Statement, No. 2, p. 37), states: "In
choosing sites for the synagogues in the different towns, the builders
have by no means selected the most prominent positions."
Eeturning to the "Bible Dictionary," we find: "Audits direction,
too, was fixed — -Jerusalem was the Kibleh of the Jewish devotion. The
synagogue was so constructed that the worshippers as they entered and
as they prayed looked tov^ards it (Vitringa, pp. 178 and 457)." The
existing remains have, with one exception, at Irbid, where the ground
would not allow of this arrangement, their doors on the southern side, so
that every Jew entering Avould have to turn his back on Jerusalem.
The ark, if there was one in these synagogues, must therefore have'been
kept at the northern end, and the Jews would therefore pray Avith their
backs to Jerusalem.
We know besides how abhorrent to the Jews were the figures of
animals ; yet in these synagogues we find them prominently carved'ia
stone in six out of the eleven, and they probably existed in the others
and in greater quantities than those already noted, but have been
destroyed by the Mahommedans as contrary to their religion.
It may therefore be said that they differ vitally from the known
form of the earlier synagogues, as well as from the tenets of the earlier
Jewish religion, and yet there can be no doubt that they are synagogues ;
the Hebrew inscriptions and the sacred Jewish symbols carved on the
lintels prove it.
Milman's "History of the Jews," Book XIX., gives an account of
the establishment of the Patriarchate of Tiberias after the fall of
Barcochab, less than sixty years after the war under Hadrian.
Before the close of the second century after Chi'ist, the Jews present
the extraordinary spectacle of two regular and organised communities :
one, under a sort of spiritual head, the Patriarch of Tiberias, comprehend-
ing all of Israelitish descent who inhabited the Roman empire ; the
other under the Prince of the Captivity, to whom all the Eastern Jews
paid their allegiance.
The Sanhedrin was re-established under Simon, son of Gamaliel, and
SYNAGOGXTES OF GALILEE. 127
five others, who were named by Juclah, son of Bavah, secretly, before he
•was slain by the Eomans ; these were Judah, son of Ilai, Simon, son of
Jochai, E. Jo&e, E. Elasar, E. Nehemiah, and E. Meir.
The foreign communities of Jews at Eome and in the whole of Asia
Minor acknowledged at once the authority of the i^atriarch, and either
came to live in the district or sent alms to their spiritual head.
The Eomans recognised the Patriarch of Tiberias, and by their mode-
ration granted him many indulgences ; ho was empowered to appoint
his subordinate ministers and apostles, who visited all the colonics of
the Jews in distant parts, and also to receive from his despised brethren
an annual contribution. By this kind treatment and by the influence
of the foreign Jews, who had been completely naturalised to the lan-
guage and customs and partially to the religion of the people with
whom they dwelt, the Jews of Palestine became tractable to Eoman
rule and Eoman customs, and developed their great characteristic love
for commercial pursuits which has ever since been typical of them.
Thus the colony round Tiberias became very powerful, and under
Antoninus Pius, 138-161 A.D., some additional privileges were accorded
to them, such as the permission to perform the rite of circumcision.
Synagogues were at this time erected in the villages belonging to the
colony, and it seems probable that they were erected in imitation of the
great works of that emperor in Syria.
At the beginning of the third century they were in high favour with
the Emperor Alexander Severus; this emperor was even called the
Father of the Synagogue, and this name may have been given him from
his influence over the erection and architecture of these buildino-s.
At this time the most celebrated of the rabbinical sovereigns, Jehuda
the Holy, had ascended the Patriarchal throne, which was then at the
height of its power, and after his death its glory sank. Milman
describes its fall : — " The small spiritual court fell like more splendid
and worldly thrones, through the struggles of the sovereign for
unlimited sway and the unwillingness of the people to submit even to
constitutional authority. The exactions of the Pontiff, and of the
spiritual aristocracy, the Eabbins, became more and more burdensome
to the people. The people were impatient, even of the customary
taxation. Gamaliel succeeded Jehuda, Jehuda the second Gamaliel."
Falling rapidly as Christianity arose, we find the two powers in
frequent collision in later times. A last flicker of life was given to the
community under the Emperor Julian, the apostate. His proposal, in
360 A.D., to rebuild the temple on Mount Moriah, gave the Jews an
immense impulse ; they flocked to Jerusalem, but the signal failure of
the enterprise gave the last blow to the power of the community, and
the Patriarchate became extinct in 414 a.d.
We thus find that there was a powerful body of Jews established at
Tiberias, receiving contributions in money from the Jews of the whole
Eoman Empire; even the Babylonian Jews, under the Prince of the
Captivity, acknowledged the supremacy of the Patriarch of Tiberias,
128 SYNAGOGUES OF GALILEE.
about the year 180 A.D. ; and also that this power was under the
protection of the great builders and restorers of temples in Syria,
Antoninus Pius and Alexander Severus. The existence of the power of this
commimity was also very short-lived ; one century, or almost the life
of one man, Eabbi Jehuda the Holy, appears to have been its limits.
It seems, therefore, almost a certainty that these emperors inspired
and aided the erection of these synagogues, and that they were built by
Roman labour; perhaps the same as restored the temple at Baalbek and
built the Temple of the Sun at Kades. The Jews themselves, having
taken to commercial pursuits, were unable to perform work of this sort,
and by using Eoman workmen obtained much finer results than we
are led to think they would themselves have been capable of. The
architecture of these buildings bears out this view of their erection. The
dressing, size, and nature of the masonry is certainly Roman, so much
so that the Temple of the Sun at Kades has been mistaken for a
synagogue. No synagogues of the same kind have been found in other
countries, though ther3 were many in Babylon and in the colonies of
the Jews, and this type has never been perpetuated in later works ; no
tradition of the Jews appears to have lingered that this was the proper
form of a synagogue, and we have seen how many points of their
religion were disregarded in their design and ornamentation. We may
therefore suppose that they were forced upon the people by their Roman
rulers at a time when they were completely submissive to that power,
and that directly they were able, they deserted such Pagan buildings as
a disloyalty to their religion. It has been stated that Rabbi Simon, son
of Jochai, was the founder of these buildings ; it is related that he built
with his own money twenty-four synagogues in this part of the country,
but putting aside the immense riches one man must have possessed to
be able to build so many beautiful temples, from what we know of this
rabbi he was a most fanatical teacher of the law, and during a public
debate bearded Rabbi Jehuda, who was praising the Romans, and
abused them roundly. For this he was adjudged by the Romans to
have forfeited his life. This great scholar could therefore hardly have
erected so many buildings in violent contradiction to so many points
of the religion he guarded so jealouslj'.
From these considerations I consider the date of these synagogues to
be between the year 150 a.d. and 300 A.D.
Plans and detail drawings of the remains of all these buildings will
be published in the memoirs to accompany the sheets of the large map.
Photographs of most of them may be procured at the Fund Office.
Some points of interest, such as the formation of the court in front of
the Great Synagogue at Kefr Bir'im might be mentioned. In this case
the court was formed two bays wide, and the total length of the front
of the synagogue. The j)illars are on pedestals, and are as high as the
building ; they support an architrave with simple mouldings, and from
a peculiar portion of this ai'chitrave that I found, I am led to suppose
that over the centre bay, opposite the great door of the synagogue, the
ZIOX, THK CITV OF DWID. 129
architrave was carried up to a jioint. This must have been a striking
feature in the bailding, and is a very peculiar formation ; it may have
been copied from the gate Tadi of Herod's temple, which is described as
having been of this nature in the Talmud. The corner pillars of this
porch or court were of the peculiar double form seen at the corners of
the colonnades in the interior of all synagogues.
H. H. KiTCHEXER, Lieut. E.E.
ZrON, THE CITY OF DAVID.
TVnERE WAS IT? now DID JOAC MAKE HIS WAY IXTO IT? AJN'D WHO
HELPED IIIM ?
Arauxati could easily have answered these questions. Unhappily,
we have not the spiritualistic power of cross-examining him. 80 we
must be content if we can get conclusive answers by the laborious
process of close investigation. The Bible, with various works on
Jerusalem, and Captain Warren's remarkable discoveries, will be found
to furnish sufficient materials for this end.
While the thrilling incident of the story will attract the general
reader, the savans will require full proof of the statements advanced, so
that both are given, but separately, to suit different tastes.
The Story.
Ancient Jerusalem stood on a rocky plateau enclosed on three
sides by two ravines ; that on the west and south was called the
King's Dale, that on the east the Brook Kedron. The space thus
enclosed was further cleft by another ravine called the Valley of Hinnom.
On the narrow ridge running between the " Brook" and "Valley," and
towards its southern extremity, stood, at the beginning of Davids'
reign, the hitherto impregnable fortress of Jebus. On the west side of
this ridge, in the " valley," lay the rest of the city, once at least already
captured by the Israelites, but occupied (perhaps at times in conjunction
with them) by the Jebusites. On its east side, near the " Brook," was
an intermittent fountain, or rather one of irregular flow, called then
Enrogel, once Gihon in the "Brook," for a time Siloah, but now the
Fountain of the Virgin.
To a stranger, this position of the fortress of Jebus or Zion would
not have seemed to be well-chosen, for it was built on an inconsiderable
hill, while loftier and more precipitous eminences were close at hand.
The founder, however, of this stronghold of Zion was a very subtle
man. While the art of erecting and taking fortified places was then in
its infancy, water was, of course, as much as ever a necessary of life.
An ordinary wall of no great height was enough to baffle the most
skilful general and the bravest army — always supposing the besieged
kept a sharp look-out. Bethel on its low hill was a match for all the
130 ZIOX, THE CITY OF DAVID.
might of Ephraim. Late in David's reign the shrewd Hushai proposed
to capture a fortified city by dragging it down with ropes ; and if the
more practical Joab preferred raising a bank and using a primitive
battering ram, still he too would have found considerable difficulty in
dealing with the steep sides of Zion. Even perpendicular cliffs without
water to drink would have been useless, while, after all, the height of
walls was but a question of labour. Very wisely, therefore, the stronger
positions on the western hill and northern part of the ridge were passed
by, and the humbler slopes of the sunny Zion selected as the site of
the future fortress on account of the copious fountain overflowing at
its base.
It was not, however, that the damsels of Jebus might have a less
distance to go for water that the stronghold was built on the hill of
Zion.
The far-seeing mind of some Hittite or Amorito (perhaps of Melchi-
zedec himself) had another project in view, which resulted in the
execution of a monument destined after 3,000 years to be discovered by
Captain "Warren. A sketch of it is given.
It occurred to this engineer, who had never seen Woolwich, that from
inside the city wall a subterraneous passage might be dug through the
rock to the spring below, and so in troublous times, when the daughters
of Zion could no longer venture outside the gates to draw water from
the fountain, the needful supply would by this ingenious device be
always obtainable, probably without the knowledge of the besiegers,
and not less certainly without risk to the besieged ; for what enemy
would attempt the all but impossible feat of diving along a watercourse
for 70 feet, and then climbing 50 feet up the smooth sides of a vertical
rock- cut shaft ?
This clever scheme was carried out, and though four centuries had
rolled on since the conquest of Canaan, the stronghold of Zion was still
unsubdued. Jericho had fallen by a miracle. Bethel by treachery,
Hebron though defended by giants. In the plains alone, where war-
chariots could be used, did the ancient inhabitants hold their ground
against Israel. In the mountains but one invincible stronghold remained,
and that was Jebus, never once taken — never, the Jebusites thought,
likely to be taken ; and possibly we may add, one that never would have
been taken if Joab, the son of Zeruiah, and Araunah the Jebusite had
not lived, and that perhaps at the same time.
The first act of David on being made king over Israel was to attack
Jerusalem (i.e., Jebus) with all his forces. The city in the valley fell
into his hands, but the impregnable fortress on the hill above it baffled his
most vigorous assaults. So secure, indeed, did its defenders deem them-
selves that, placing their lame and blind upon the walls, they defied David,
saying, "Except thou take away the blind and the lame, thou shalt not
come in hither."
Somehow David got to know how the Jebusites obtained their supply
of water. There was evidently no chance of taking the stronghold by
ZrON, THE CITY OF DAVID. 131
assaulting its walls. "Would any form a forlorn hope and try the
desperate expedient of one by one first pushing through the horizontal
water-channel, at the imminent risk of being drowned, then of scaling
the perpendicular shaft, when one stone dropped from the top would
probably be certain death, and afterwards of penetrating into the fortress
through the narrow passage, which two or three could easily hold against
a hundred ?
Desperate indeed the attempt seemed, but there was no alternative
plan ; David therefore issued a proclamation to his army that whoever
first got up the " Gutter," or Tzinnor, which was the name of this aque-
duct or subterraneous passage, and smote the Jebusites, should be com-
mander-in-chief.
Great was the reward offered, but immense was the risk. David had
plenty of heroes about him, who were not easily to be deterred from
venturing on the most hazardous exploits ; but, eager as they were to
grasp the prize, one only attempted this most daring feat. That one
(and sacred history justly records his name) was Joab.
He was a man of boundless ambition, who could brook no rival. The
supreme command of David's army was the object on which his heart
was set. This and his life he now staked on one tlirow. He made the
venture and won.
Sacred history relates but the simple fact that "Joab the son of
Zeruiah went up first and was chief."
It might seem idle, therefore, to speculate how the deed was per-
formed ; how he drew off the water in the channel, or got through it
without ibeing drowned ; how he scaled the rocky shaft without falling ;
how he clambered through the low passage (and perhaps at last opened
the gates to his comrades) ; and in all this how he escaped the notice of
the Jebusites.
The second Joab, an Englishman, ten years ago found it no pleasant
work to follow the track of his predecessor even in time of peace. One
cannot read the account of his ascent of the Tzinnor (" Jerusalem Re-
covered," pp. 244 to 247) without coming to the irresistible conviction
that Joab never performed such a feat without aid from within — i.e.,
that] some confederate among the Jebusites helped him in what was
nevertheless a dangerous exploit. That such were to be found is clear
from the ^history of Jericho and Bethel; while, again, great as was
Joab's valour, his craft was greater. Who, then, was this traitor among
the Jebusites ? With whom did Joab tamper about the secret surrender
of the stronghold of Zion ? What " bucksheesh " was given for the
betrayal of the impregnable fortress ?
Years'after this, at the close of David's reign, we find a Jebusite (a
man of rank, too, it is probable), by name Araunah, actually in posses-
sion (strange to say) of the threshing-floor just outside the city of
David ; nor only of the threshing-floor, which was naturally the common
property of the city, but also of lands adjacent, which he sells to the
king for the enormous sum of 600 shekels of gold by weight.
132 Ai.
How any Jebusile came to be left in possession of so mucli valuable
property in such a situation the sacred history does not tell us.
Josephus says, " Araunah was not slain by David in the siege of
Jerusalem, because of the good-will he bore to the Hebrews, and a
particular benignity and affection which he had to the king himself."
I have no doubt it was something particular, yet not particularly credit-
able to Araunah, though, fortunately for him, we have no Jebusite
accouxvt, nor, indeed, any professed account at all, of the transaction,
otherwise there might be a revulsion of poj)ular feeling as to his nol)le
character. Araunah was the (but 721/ de mortuis nisi bonnrn) one who lost
nothing when Zion fell, neither life, nor goods, nor, so far as we know,
even character.
One word in the Hebrew (Tzinnor), followed by Captain Warren's
wonderful discovery of the secret passage leading from the Virgin's
Fount, has enabled us to understand a most obscure and baffling passage
in the Old Testament, and to follow the very track by which the adven-
turous Joab gained access to the stronghold of Zion.
Who will say that a great discovery is not recorded in chapter ix. of
"Jerusalem Eecovered " ? Who will question about the Bible being
the most accurate and truthful of all books ?
W. F. BlRCH-
AI.
Lieut. Kitchener's suggested identification of Ai with Kh. Haiy,
ouo mile east of Mukhamas, has much to recommend it.
1. Ai was on the east of Bethel (.Josh. vii. 2) and of Abram's tent
(Gen. xii. 8). As the orientals call every wind an east wind which
blows from any point between east and north and east and south
(Jahn, Antiq., p. 17), this extensive meaning of east favours equally any
position for Ai in any degree east of Bethel.
2. " The Israelites pitched on the north side of Ai; now there was a
valley (Hebr. gai) between them and Ai. . . . (13) Joshua went that
night into the midst of the valley (Hebr. emck) " (Josh viii. 11-13).
With Ai placed at et Tell or Kh. Haiyan, Lieut. Kitchener well ob-
serves on the peculiarity of a force after approaching the city from the
cast crossing an almost impracticable valley, to be rccrossed the next
day. The valley north of ct Tell might suitably be described as the
fjai, but we have also to find another wider valley answering to emeJc ;
for the two different words cannot here well mean exactly the same
valley. The " iihiin to the north of Kh. Haiy" would, however, just
fcuit the expression emeh ; and possibly the gai may be a ravine inter-
posed between the liers in wait and Ai, unless the gai was the bed of a
watercourse in the emclc (see 1 Sam. xvii. 2, 3, 40).
3. As all the men of Bethel assisted Ai, it is strange that the former
AI. 13
o
city was not taken at the same time, for the Israelites would be close to
it, if Ai = Et Tell or Kb. Haij-an. That the two cities were not takeu
together seems clear from Josh. xii. 9, 10.
4. But putting Ai at Kh. Haiy, where it commanded the road into
the interior, its capture becomes essential to further progress.
5. From the order of the names, Michmash, Ai, Bethel, in Neh.
xii. 31, it is natural to look for Ai between the other two, but in Neh.
vii. 31, 32 they are classed differently. "The men of Michmas, 122.
The men of Bethel and Ai, 123." Clearly there is no geographical order
here. Probably, however, the places are grouped in Neh. vii. according
to other considerations. In verse 29 the three Gibeonito cities, Kirjath-
jearim, Uhephirah, and Beeroth are joined together ; Gibeon (25th v.)
being, as it seems likely, not the town of that name in Benjamin, but
some Gibeah in Judea. So likewise the political connection first seen
existing between Bethel and Ai (in Josh, viii.) may have led to these
two places being always named together (Josh, xviii. 22, 23 ; and Neh.
vii., xii. above). In Esdras v. 21 the two places are curiously welded
into one — viz., BT]To\iai, though Michmash was afterwards built between
them, a possible origin of the apocryphal (BeniAoua) Bethulia.
6. If Sennacherib invaded Judfea from the east, as did Joshua, then
he would naturally come to (Ai) Kh. Haiy, and we escape the difficulty
of having to account for his diverging from the central north road, so
as to get to et Tell or Kh. Haiyan.
7. The theory that all the places in Is. x. 28-32 (except Jerusalem)
are visible from Geba is unaffected by Kh. Haiy being Ai. I may
rather say it receives a finishing touch from the identification. Lieut.
Kitchener ascertained, on the revision of the survey, that not only et
Tell was visible from Geba, but also Kh. Haiy. Taking Mignon {i.e.,
the precipice) in Isa. x. 28 to be the hill forming the north cliff of the
passage of Michmash, the proper order of the names with Aiat et Tell
or Kh. Haiyan ought to be Aiath, Michmash, Migron ; but with Ai at
Kh. Haiy the order as seen by a spectator from Geba would be exactly
as in Isaiah, Aiath, Migron, Michmash. Supposing Geba to be the
centre or axle of a wheel, and straight lines drawn from it to the
various places named (Isa. x. 28, 29, 30, 31) to be the different spokes,
all the places will be found to be named exactly in geographical order,
without one exception. This is the perfect result given by the new map.
I may add, on the same authority, that Anathoth is visible from Geba,
and so also must be Laish, since the relative heights are Geba, 2,220 feet ;
Anathoth, 2,225 feet ; and a mile farther south, Laish, 2,390 feet. As to
the other places I have no further information.
It seems to me highly desirable for Kh. Haiy to be visible from the
site of Abram's encampment on the east of Bethel, and I should think
it certainly is. W. F. Biech.
134
LIST OF PHOTOGEAPHS TAKEN IN GALILEE, WITH
DESCEIPTIONS.
I. KiiVat Tihmn, the Crusading Castle of Toron.— The view is taken
from the south-west across the pool of v/ater near the village, and gives
a view of the whole of the western side of the fortress. The existing
walls are Arabic work built by Dhahr el 'Amr, but the foundation and
some of the interior vaults of Crusading masonry still remain. The
entrance is seen on the right, and the whole of the hillside was formerly
faced with smooth-dressed stones at a steep angle. The castle still
forms the residence of the governor of the Belad el Beshara, a consider-
able district in the centre of Northern Galilee.
Hugues de St. Omer, Prince of Tiberias, founded the castle about the
year 1107, in order to protect the road from Tiberias to Tyre. After
the death of that prince the castle Avas given to a fiimily who took
their name, De Toron, fz'om it, and of whom there are still descendants.
The place was taken twice by the Mahommedans — -first in 1187, by
Saladin, and secondly, in 1219, by the Sultan Melek Mohadam, who
destroyed it. It was rebuilt in 1229, and became a cause of dispute
between the Teutonic knights and the heirs of Philip de Montfort, who
by his marriage had obtained the right of lordship over the castle.
II. KiiVat Kureiii, the Crusading Castle of Montfort. — This castle
was situated in the hills to the north-east of Acre, on the southern
cliffs of the Wady el Kurn, in which there is a fine stream of water.
Like many other Crusading castles, its site was chosen on a narrow
rocky ridge, separated by deep valleys with steep sides from the sur-
rounding country.
The view is taken from the south-west, and is the first photograph
taken of this castle.
On the east the narrow rocky ridge was cut artificially into a deep
ditch, thus defending the most vulnerable part of the fortress. On this
side of the castle the keep was situated, built of immense blocks of
stone, beautifully dressed and drafted. This masonry resembles the
larger work in the western tower of the castle of Banias.
The rock below the castle was faced with large masonry, as can be
seen on the right of the picture below the keep.
The ridge was not cut away to receive the castle, the outer walls were
built some little way down the slope, the same as at Belfort and Banias.
Thus a solid building was formed, the core being of natiiral rock. In
this enormous cisterns were excavated, and on it the upper stories rested
firmly.
The photograph shows how the castle was built in steps, the highest
on the right being the keep, the next the barracks and dwelling-places
of the garrison, at the extremity of which was a large chamber with a
centre octagonal column that can be seen in the view. This was pro-
bably the chapel. The next step was a courtyard defended by bastions
rnOTOGRAPIIS TAKEN IN GALILEE. 135
and looplioled towers. From that the hill falls steeply 5G0 feet to the
valley below.
The first account in history of this fortress, in 1229, relates how the
Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, Herman de Salza, by a treaty
with the Lords of Mandelec, became possessed of the fortress of Mont-
fort. The castle was rebuilt, and received the name of Stai'kenburg.
It was designated as the treasury of the Order, and the grand treasurers
became guardians of it. Four of their names are known :
Helmerich, 1223 a.d.
Conrad, 1240 a.d.
Jean de Nifland, 1244 a.d.
Jean de Saxe, 1270—1272 a.d.
The Sultan Melek ed Dhahr Bibars made an tmsuccessful attack upon
the fortress in 1266. In 1271 he returned, and was successful. The
Arabian historian, Ibn Ferat, describes the siege minutely, and relates
how the castle was taken in stages, first the lower courtyard and so on.
The Sultan destroyed the castle, and left it probably in very much the
condition it now is in.
III. EitVat esh ShuMf, Crusading Castle of Belfort.— Situated high
on the precipitous cliffs, 1,500 feet above the Eiver Litany, this castle
is one of the most prominent and finest remains of Crusading times in
the country. A little over two miles to the south, the river makes a
curious bend at right angles and cuts through a deep gorge to the sea
a little north of Tyre, forming the northern boundary of the survey.
The view is taken from the east, showing the Eiver Litany and the
precipitous hill on which the castle is placed.
The form of the castle itself was determined by the site ; it is long
and narrow and in two portions ; the lower of these is built on a terrace
overhanging the precipice, the upper portion on the top of the ridge of
rock.
The southern and western points are protected by deep ditches cut in
the rock, and the scarp was faced with blocks of dressed stone ; on
the southern side there are two round towers that form a prominent
feature, as the facing has been carried round symmetrically, gradually
increasing in size towards the base.
The entrance was from the south, opening from the village that
formerly occupied a plateau of rock at that side of the castle, and was
protected by an outwork built by the Knights Templar ; it led into the
lower court of the castle, and from this a narrow ascent, cut out of the
rock, had to be followed, entirely commanded by the upper works. This
led to a gate at the southern end ; on passing this obstacle, an entrance
was obtained to a large court or "place desarmes; " from this a vaulted
passage led to the upper fortress, and after that the keep, which was
massively built on the top, might hold out for some time.
The masonry is very massive drafted Crusading work, with eome
Saracenic patching, which has mostly fallen to ruins.
The Arabian historian, Muhammed Ezz ed din Shedad, relates that
M
136 PnOTOGEAPHS TAKEX I>'^ GALILEE.
the Kiirat esli Shukif was taken by Fulke, king of Jerusalem, in 1139.
At that time it was in the possession of the Emir Shehab ed Din. It
was made over to the Lord of Sidon, and from that time the title was
Lord of Sidon and Belfort. In 1192 Saladin besieged this castle, and
as the siege" seemed likely to be long, and success was uncertain, he
resorted to a ruse. He demanded an interview with Count Raynauld
of Sidon, who was defending the fortress, and sent his ring as a
guarantee of safe conduct ; when the count came he was seized and
imprisoned, and as he would not give up the fortress he was taken in
front of the walls and tortured ; but, instead of counselling the
defenders to surrender, he ordered them to hold out to the last. The
count was sent to prison at Damascus, and after two years' siege the
castle surrendered with the condition of their lives and the liberty of
Count Raynauld.
In 1240, a treaty with Salah Ishmael, Prince of Damascus, gave back
Belfort to the Crusaders, but the prince had to come himself and besiege
the castle in order to carry out his promise. It was then rebuilt and sold
to the Knights Templar.
The castle was finally taken by the Sultan Bybars Boudoukay the
2Gth AprQ, 126S.
IV. KuVat Subeibeh, or KiiVat Nimrud, Crusading Castle of Banias. —
This castle was situated at the extreme north-east of Palestine proper,
overhangino; the town of Banias, thi3 Panium of Josephus and the
Csesarea Philippi of the New Testament. It must have been within
sight of this castle that the Transfiguration of Our Lord took place.
The site of the castle is a narrow rocky ridge, with deep valleys on
the northern and southern sides. It is certainly the largest and best
preserved ruin of its class in the country; it measures 1,450 feet east
and west, by an average width of 360 feet. The only approach to the
castle is from the east, by a narrow pathway amongst the steep rocks
that rise to the castle ; this path leads along the southern front past
the keep, and then enters by a Crusading gateway in a square tower.
The view is taken from the south-east, and on the right are the ruins
of the citadel, which is still in a fair state of preservation, many
vaulted chambers and passages being still perfect. The wall was
defended by round towers and strongly built of drafted stones, the
bosses left rough, on which there are a number of masons' marks. At
the western and north- western side there was another citadel of very
much larger stones, beautifully dressed and drafted; some of these
measure 8 to 10 feet long by about 4 feet square. In this the most
ancient portion of the castle, the pointed arch was everywhere
employed.
There are a number of Arabic inscriptions cut on more ancient work,
detailing how different princes rebuilt portions of the castle ; but very
little Saracenic work remains, the old ruins holding out better than
the patching attempted by these princes. The earliest dates from
625 A. II., equivalent to 1227 A.D., and details how Melek el Azis
rnOTOGRAPHS TAICEN IN" GALILEE. 137
Murad ed Din, nepliew of Saladin, i-ebuilt the eastern portion of tlie
castle. Immense cisterns supplied the gai-rison with water.
There is no history of the castle before the time of the Crusades ; it
then followed the fortunes of other fortresses in Palestine. It was
conquered by Nur ed Din, prince of Damascus, when the town of Banias
fell into the hands of the Saracens (" William of Tyre," Book XV.,
ch. viii.).
V. Ktd'af Hunin, Crusading Castle of Chateau Neuf. — This castle was
situated in an indentation of the hills overhanging the Jordan valley,
and with Belfort, Toron, and Banias, protected the northern and eastern
frontier of the Crusading kingdom.
The view is taken from the north-west, and shows the castle and
village of Hiinin. The castle consists of a large courtyard sm-rounded
by walls defended by round towers. On the north-eastern side there
was a place des armes overhanging the steep descent of the hill. The
whole of the north-western portion was taken up by a square citadel,
surrounded by a rock-cut ditch of considerable dimensions, and showing
excellent workmanship. The older portion of the masonry shows drafted
stones, with rough bosses, and some without draft, as at Tibnin. The
citadel was reached by a drawbridge communicating with the courtyard
in the interior. The castle has been much destroyed and rebuilt by
Saracenic workmen, and their work is also ruined and mixed up with
the original masonry in hopeless confusion. A Crusading gateway leads
into the village. There is very little history of this castle. An Arab
historian, Ansel Jelil, relates that after the battle of Hattin, Saladin
detached a chief to invest the castle of Hunin. The garrison were
reduced by famine and surrendered. It was probably built about the
same time as Toron, and seems to fulfil the required position of the
Crusading castle of Chateau Neuf.
VI. KiiVat Jiddin. — A Saracenic castle built by Dhahr el 'Amr during
his rebellion against the Turkish Government. Some parts of the castle
are still in a fair state of repair, though now it is entirely deserted and
is rapidly falling to ruin. The castle shows some good Saracenic
masonry, and was protected by a wall with round towers on the eastern
side.
The view is taken from the north.
VII. Large Synagogue at Kefr Bir'im. — This is the most perfect
example of the facade of a Galilean synagogue remaining in the country.
The south front is almost in a perfect condition, as shown in the photo-
graph. The history and date of these synagogues, with some descrip-
tion of the peculiar porch of this synagogue, which resembled the gate
Tadi in Herod's Temple, as described in the Talmud, are given in another
paper in this Quarterly, on " Synagogues of Galilee."
VIII. Central Doorway of Ditto. — This view shows the mutilated
remains of the sculptured Pascal lambs that once decorated the main
entrance to the synagogue, also the finely-cut representation of a ^^ne
and grapes over the doorway.
138 PHOTOGEAPHS TAKEN IN GALILEE.
IX. Gateway of Small Synagogue at Kefr BirHm.—ThXs fine gateway
stands alone, the rest of the synagogue having disappeared. Major
Wilson, R.E., was able, by means of excavation, to trace the walls of
the building, and to show that this synagogue, unlike the majority, had
only two rows of columns {Quarterly Statement, No. 2, April, 1869). The
square Hebrew inscription on the lintel has been read by the late Mr.
Emanuel Deutsch, " Peace be upon this dwelling-place." The remains
of sculptured figures of lambs are still traceable, though much mutilated,
on the lintel.
The gateway measures 11 feet high, and is 5 feet broad; the lintel is
9 feet 7 inches long, by 2 feet 9 inches by 2 feet 6 inches deep.
Both doorposts have been much shaken, but that on the left in the
view has been shifted bodily in, as can be seen by the mouldings. How
the gateway stood under this treatment, which was probably caused by
earthquake, is a marvel.
X. Synagogue at Meiron.— Next to Kefr Bir'im the facade of this syna-
gogue is the most perfect remaining specimen in Galilee. It was built
on a rocky ledge, the west side and floor being excavated out of the
rock. Traces of the position of the pillars in the building are still to
be found on the floor. From this a plan of the building has been con-
structed. The eastern and southern walls, built on unstable made-up
gi'ound, have been entirely destroyed by time.
Meiron was an early sacred place to the Jews after the destruction
of Jerusalem by the Romans. It is the traditional burial-place of
Shammai and Hillel, and later the great Rabbi Simon Bar Jochai was
buried here. Pilgrimages are made to his tomb by Jews in all parts of
the world, and the scene of one of these annual meetings is described in
my report from Meiron {Quarterly Statement, July, 1877).
The principal gateway is 14 feet high to the top of the lintel, and
6 feet wide. The lintel is 4 feet 2 inches high.
XI. Lintel of Synagogue at Nebratein.—On. this lintel is seen the
Jewish form of the seven-branch candlestick, and a Hebrew inscription
somewhat difficult to decipher. The remains of the synagogue are
traceable, and on the pedestal of one column there is a carved re^jre-
sentation of a hare, an unclean animal to the Jews.
XII. Newly Discovered Synagogue at ,Sw/sa/.— This is one of the two
newly discovered synagogues found during the course of the survey
last year. The remains seen in the photograph consist of a sculptured
lintel built in over the doorway of the modern mosque of the village,
and surmounted by a carved niche surrounded by ornameutedvoussoirs.
The lintel measures 5 feet long by 1 foot 8 inches high, and on it two
rams' heads are sculptured on either side of a wreath with surrounding
ornamental scroll work.
It appears probable that this lintel formerly belonged to one of the
smaller of the three doors common to these synagogues ; the niche is
placed over it as it probably was in the original building, but the
ornamented voussoii'S probably came from the larger doorway, as they
PHOTOGRAPHS TAKEN IN GALILEE. 139
do not fit round the niclie. The probable voussoirs of the smaller
doorways are seen built into the wall on the left.
With such an ornamental lintel for the side doors, the great one of
the central doorway, if found, would probably be very elaborate.
XIII. Colonnade at Belat. — On the top of a high wooded ridge in the
wildest part of Galilee are the ruins of what must have been a noble
temple. The remains of sixteen columns are apparently in situ, and
some of them still bear an architrave. The original building was
formed of a double row of twelve columns, 16 feet apart, and with a
varying intercolumnar distance of from 6 feet to 8 feet ; the total
length being 99 feet 11 inches. This is suri'ounded by a wall at a
distance of 7 feet. The columns and architrave make a total height of
l-i feet. The entrance was probably on the eastern side, where two
columns are squared on the outside. The direction of the colonnade is
within 12 degrees of north and south, and the end columns are doubled
like those in synagogues. The view is taken from the southern end.
The architrave shows no signs of mouldings, and the capitals and
pillars have an archaic form ; they are very much weathered by
exposure.
The origin of this singular ruin is discussed in the paper on
" Synagogues of Galilee" in this Qnurterhj.
XIV. Masonry Tomb at Kades. — This is probably a Roman tomb.
Four massive piers supported arches, and may have been surmounted
by a dome. In the spaces under the arches masonry loculi are built.
The building measures 35 feet square, and a plan has been published
{Quarterly Statement, No. 3).
The view is taken from the south-east, and shows the moulded door-
way and niche on the right.
XV. Temple of the Sun at Kades. — The view is taken of the eastern
facade of the temple. The great doorway and two smaller doorways
are seen with their ornamented lintels and doorposts. On the left is a
small niche, with traces of a robed figure cut in it, and in a cor.-e-
sponding position on the right there is a small hole leading into a recess
in the wall, by means of Avhich oracles might be given or money passed
through to the interior. The ornamental lintel lying in front in the
photograph shows the winged delineation of Lhe sun as at Baalbek.
The building forms a rectangle, 63 feet by 75 feet, and one of the door-
posts standing is a monolith measuring 15 feet high. The view is
taken from the south-east.
XVI. Ditto. — This photograph of the front gives a better view of the
ornamentation on the doorpost, and also shows a large Corinthian
capital, that probably surmounted one of the two enormous columns
that formed the portico of the temple, like those in Syria. It is taken
from the north-east.
XVII. Hirani's Tomb. — This tomb is situated in the low hills
running down to the sea on the east of Tyre.
It is the traditional tomb of Hiram, king of Tyre, in the daya of
140 PHOTOGRAPHS TAKEN IN GALILEE.
Solomon, but is unlikely to be tbe real place of sepulchre of that
monarch. The number of sarcophagi in this part of the country is
very large, and there must have been formerly many monuments
equalling, if not surpassing, the iDresent one. This, however, is the
most perfect tomb of this kind existing, and gives some idea of the
grandeur of this mode of burial.
The sarcophagus, cut out of a solid mass of limestone, is placed
on a base 9 feet 8 inches high, formed of three courses of whitish lime-
stone in large blocks. The upper course, projecting 6 inches all round,
makes a platform 9 feet 9 inches by 14 feet 2 inches ; on this the
sarcophagus, measuring at its base 7 feet 9 inches by 12 feet 2 inches,
stands. The lid is made with a ridge, and is 3 feet 7 inches high in the
centre.
Immediately on the north side of the monument, two flights of a few
rudely-cut steps lead to the door of an artificially-made cavern, 8 feet
wide by 10 feet long. The view is taken from the south-east, and
shows the Freemasons' mark that some too enthusiastic member of the
craft has lately scratched on this monument.
XVIII. Cathedral at Tyre.— The cathedral occupies the south-east
corner of the modern wall of Tyre. It is now in ruins ; only the eastern
portion with the three apses remains. The northern one of these is
the most perfect.
The inside dimensions of the church were 214 feet long by 82 feet
wide; the central apse has a diameter of 36 feet. The transepts project
15 feet, and have side chapels in them with small apses made in the
thickness of the wall.
The masonry is small, of soft stone, fixed in strong cement, and having
some masons' marks.
In the interior there are magnificent monolithic columns of red granite,
measuring 27 feet long. They were probably taken from some ancient
temple, and show the form of double column peculiar to synagogues. One
of these, and fragments of others, are to be seen in the foreground of the
photograph. The rest of the interior decorations appears to have been of
white marble.
The windows of the apses are ornamented on the outside by zigzag
tracery.
The cathedral, according to M. de Vogue, was Crusading, dating from
the latter half of the twelfth century. It probably occupies the site of
the church built by Paulinus, and consecrated by Eusebius 323 AD., in
which the bones of Origen and the Emperor Frederic Barbarossa were
buried. Some excavations were attempted in 1874 to find these tombs,
but without success.
XIX. The Source of Jordan. — The great spring at Banias has from an
early date been allowed to bo the real source of the River Jordan. The
water gushes out of a cave situated in the face of a cHfi" of limestone
rock about 100 feet high. Earthquakes have shaken down great frag-
ments of rock, so that the base of the cliflf has been blocked up and the
THE LAND OF MIDIAN AND ITS MINES. 141
cave almost entirelj' mined. The water now finds its way througli this
mass of stones by different channels, uniting immediately below the d'jbris,
and forming at once a strong stream that irrigates the surrounding
gardens and makes Banias the most beautiful place ia Palestine. By
this stream stood the ancient Panium of the Greeks, and here Herod
erected a temple in honour of Augustus. There are three votive niches
in the face of the rock, one of which is visible in the photograph. They
were once much higher above the ground than now. Two of them bear
Greek inscriptions, in one of which " Priest of Pan " is mentioned. This
was also the site of Caisarea Philippi of the New Testament, and it has
been suggested that this rock was intended in our Lord's words, " Upon
this rock I will build My church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail
against it " (Matt. xvi. 18).
XX. rahstine Survey Camp at Banias. — The magnificent olive trees
formed a delightful shade, while the trickling stream of water led through
our camp, making everything cool and delightful. Under the roots of
these great trees we found remains of tesselated pavement in different
coloured mai'bles, showing that some ancient building once occupied
tliis site. A hundred yards to the east of our camp was the great source
of Jordan, clear and sparkling, and delightfully cold.
H. H. Kitchener, Lieut, R.E.
THE LAND 0^ MIDI AN AND ITS MINES.
ReprinUd from the " Times."
Alexandria, April 27//i.
The return of Captain Burton and his party from the Land of Midian
at the beginning of this week is already known by telegraph in England.
The object of the exx^edition was to examine into the mineral wealth of
the country, which hitherto has been very little visited by travellers,
and is only imperfectly known to geographers. Yet the minerals of
Midian were known both in Biblical and classical times. Everybody
remembers how Moses, when he fled from the face of Pharaoh, dwelt in
the land of Midian and married the priest's daughter ; aiad how, not-
withstanding this alliance, the children of Israel, after the Exodus,
vexed by the wiles of the Midianites, made war upon them and slew
their kings, and burnt their cities and their goodly castles, and spoiled
them of " gold, silver, brass, iron, tin, and lead," and " jewels of gold,
chains and bracelets, rings, earrings, and tablets ; " and now Moses
ordered the wrought jewels of gold to be brought into the tabernacle as
a memorial. It is equally well known, too, how theEomans long after-
wards again worked the mines whence these metals were dug, and many
are the traces of their work which Caj)tain Burton has recently found.
Yet next to nothing is now known of the country, its wild wastes of
142 THE LAND OF MIDIAN AND ITS MINES.
rock, its barren valleys and precipitous mountains, its vase lialf- worked
mines, its ruined cities, and its wandering and savage population. That
it lies to the east of the Eed Sea, that it belongs, for some mysterious
reason, to Egypt, is about all ninety-nine out of every hundred people
know about it. Captain Burton's two expeditions will have at least
one good result— they will instruct the people. Thanks to his Icindness,
I am able to give a sketch of his recent doings, and even my summary
will prove the land to be at least as interesting as many countries
which have long been the happy hunting-field of enterprising travellers
of all nationalities.
The expedition left Suez December 10th, ISTT, and returned there on
April 20, 1878. During four months of hard travelling and voyaging
upwards of 2,500 miles, they only lost one soldier, who died of fever.
They brought home some 25 tons of geological specimens to illustrate
the general geological formation of the land ; six cases of Colorado and
Negro ore ; five cases of ethnological and anthropological collections —
such as Midianite coins, inscriptions in Nabathean and Cufic, remains of
worked stones, fragments of smelted metals, glass and pottery ; upwards
of 200 sketches in oil and water colours, photographs of the chief ruins,
including catacombs, and of a classical temple, apparently of Greek art ,
and, finally, maps and plans of the whole country, including 32 ruined
cities, some of whoso names can be restored by consulting Strabo and
Ptolemy, besides sketches of many atdiers, where perambulating bands
like the gipsies of ancient and modern times seem to have carried on
simple mining operations.
Among the specimens are argentiferous and cupriferous ores from
Northern Midian,and auriferous rocks from Southern. There are collec-
tions from three turquoise mines, the northern, near Aynuneh, already
worked ; the southern, near Ziba, still scratched by the Arabs ; and the
central, until now unknown, save to the Bedouins. There are, moreover,
three great sulphur beds, the northern and the southern, belonging to the
secondary formation (now invaded by the trap granite), and the central,
near the port of Mowilah, of pyretic origin. Eock salt accompanies the
brimstone, and there are two large natui-al salt lakes. The whole of the
secondary formation supplies fine gypsum, and in parts of it are
quarries of alabaster, which served to build the ruins of Maghair,
Sheoayb, Madiama (of Ptolemy), and el-Haura (Leuke Kome), the
southernmost part of western Nabathea.
The term Midian, popularly derived from Medan, the Hebrew, is
really the Old-Egyptian " Madi," a word which occurs in many papyri,
whose plural is Madian, or Madina. The modern tribes that hold the
land confine " Madyan" to the strip of maritime country between the
coast Ghauts and the sea, from the fort of Allabah (lat. 29deg. 30min.)
to Mowilah (lat. 2"deg. 32min.). Captain Burton calls this country
Northern Midian, and he applies the term Southern Midian to the tract of
about similar size stretching south from Mowilah to the greatWady Hamz
(lat. 25deg. 55min. losec), where Egypt ends, and the Hedjaz, the Holy
THE LAND OF MIDIAN AND ITS MINES.
143
Land of the Moslems, the capitals of whicli arc Mecca and Medina,
begins. He also divides the country into two mineral districts: the
northern, with Maknii as its port, has not been much worked ; the
southern, with Wedj as its harbour, shows extensive traces of ancient
scientific labour. But he describes the whole as affording great mining
capabilities to modern science. These [conclusions he arrived at by-
dividing his four months' exploration into three several excursions —
northern, central, and southern.
The caravan consisted of eight Europeans, three Egyptian officers
of the staff and two of the line, 25 soldiers and 30 minors, 10 nudes,
and about 100 camels. The northern excursion commenced atMowilah,
the port of arrival in Midian. They revisited the country covered by
Captain Burton's expedition last year, the story of which will be told
in his forthcoming book, " The Gold Mines of Midian," which I must
not anticipate. After reinspection of the ancient workings 'of the
precious metals, passing the traditional site of Moses' Well, they
marched upon Makna, the port, and spent a week digging into and
extracting the veins of silver v.-hich thread the quartz, carelessly
cupeled specimens yielding 15 to 20 per cent, of silver. The hill is
within a few minutes' walk of the coast, and by means of Mr. Haddan's
cheap tramways it would be easy to ship the ore in the harbour.
Leaving Makna they rounded the windy Gulf of AUabah, and the
incorrectness of the British hydrographic chart very nearly shipwrecked
the party on tbe reefs off the island Tiran. They reached Mowilah again
on February 3rd.
The second expedition followed and was directed to the iidand region
east of Mowilah. The object was to determine the longitudinal breadth
of the metalliferous country. A double chain of ghauts subtends the
coast, and a succession of valleys cut through these heights. Beyond
the ghauts a rough and precipitous pass, terrible for loaded camels,
leads to the Hisma, a plateau some 4,000 feet high, of new red sandstone,
which is in reality the western wall of the Nejd, or great central
uplands of the Arabian peninsula, and is remarkable for the beauty of
its brick-red precipices and castellations. East of the Hisma lie the
dark lines of the Marreh, the basaltic and doubtless volcanic regions
whence the miners of old brought the rough mill-stones that served for
their first grindings. But here the expedition reckoned without its
hosts, the Maazeh, a semi-Egyptian tribe, who received them apparently
with friendliness, but all the while were preparing for attack, murder,
and plunder. The trap, however, was badly set for an old traveller.
Captain Burton guessed the coming danger, and was able to beat a
hasty retreat without bloodshed. The expedition, altering its plans,
then turned to the south-east. They passed through the lovely Wady
Daumah, once teeming with fertility, now laid waste by the Bedouin,
" the fathers of the Desert." They discovered the ruins of the city of
Sheewak (the Souka of Ptolemy), which, with its outl>^ng suburbs, its
aqueducts carefully built with cement, its barrages across the village
1-44 THE LAXD OF illDIAX AXD ITS MES'ES.
heads, its broken catacombs, its furnaces and vast usines, covers some
four miles. Here and elsewhere the furnaces were carefully searched.
The Colorado quartz-ore and the chloritic greenstone, used as flux,
showed what ore had been treated ; but so painstaking were these old
miners, that not the minutest trace of metal was left to tell its own
tale. Sheewak was evidently a city of workmen, probably of slave
workmen. A few miles to the south lay Shaghab, the ruins of which,
far superior in site and construction, suggested the residence of the
wealthy mine-owners. Here the expedition turned west. The country
was barren, roadless, and very thinly inhabited, but they came upon the
ruinous traces of mining operations at every stage. March 5th they
arrived at the flourishing little port of Ziba (Zibber on the hydro-
graphic chart), built with the remnants of some older town. Near Ziba
was found the southernmost of the turquoise mines. Its natives have
leamt the art of promoting the growth of pearls by inserting a grain of
sand into each oyster.
The third, or southern excursion, which Captain Burton was enabled
to undertake by the dispatch of a second ship and another month's food
from Suez, proved by far the most interesting to mineralogist and
archfBologist alike. Gold mining evidently here takes the place of silver
and copper extracting, and the vast traces of the labours of the scientific
old miners in shafting and tunneling teach exactly their modus operandi.
The Marreh, or volcanic district, which they inspected, extends as far as
Yembo, and possibly as far as Medina, the Holy City. It is covered
with ruins of mining Avorks, and the expedition found gold threading
and filming the basalt, which led them to believe this district to be the
focus of the mineralogical outcrop. Meanwhile, M. Marie, the mining
engineer, proceeded to the southern deput of sulphur, and discovered a
third hill distant only two miles from a navigable bay. He secured
specimens of this rock and also of chalcedony, the material of the finely-
engraved seals and amulets worked by the natives. He found, and the
whole party afterwards visited, an outcrop of quartz, in mounds, hillocks,
and gigantic reefs, called " Abel Marwah," and the disused works, of
great extent, were surveyed. The caravan, now guided by the Balizy
tribe, which claims some of the old mining districts, left the port of
Wedj March 23, and visited the ruins of Um el Karayyat (" Mother of
Villages "), where the remains of mining operations lie scattered about
in aU directions. In parts the hill of snowy quartz had been so well
burrowed into that it has fallen in. All the shafts and passages were
duly explored. The precious metal was extracted from the rose-coloured
schist veining the quartz, and specimens of free gold appeared. The
next march showed the Um el Kharab ("Mother of Desolation"), in
which an extensive vein had been worked, and pillars of quartz left
standing between roof and floor. Travelling through a land once rich
and prosperous as mining could make it, now the very picture of dreary
desolation, the travellers reached the plain El Beda (Bedais of Ptolemy).
Here the hills of red porphyry were covered with religious inscriptions
THE LAXD OF MIDI.^:X AND ITS MIXES. 145
in the Cufic and modern Arab cliaracters ; nothing Nabathcan, occurred.
On April 8, after traversing another quartz country, the expedition reached
their Ultima Thule, the Wady Hamz, the great gap worked by water
in the maritime mountain chain which forms the highway for pilgrims
returning from Medina, and constitutes the frontier between Egypt and
the Hedjaz, which belongs to Turkey. Here a pleasant surprise awaited
the party. On the southern brink of this wild watercourse was the site
of a beautiful little temple, built of white and variegated alabaster, dug
from neighbourmg quarries. The foundations alone were left, and a
few years ago the place was a tumulus into which the Arabs dug for
treasure. The "Wady had washed away the northern wall, and the
adjacent bed was strcAvn with fragments of columns, bases, and capitals,
all of alabaster, and cut in the simplest and purest style of Greek art.
Can this be a vestige of that ill-fated expedition in which ^Uus Gallus
was foiled by the traitor Nabathsesus ?
This closed the expedition. The party returned to Suez, and arrived
in Cairo the 21st of April. They received a most courteous welcome
from his Highness the Khedive. Specimens of their ores will be sent to
Paris and London ; the rest will be analysed in Cairo by a local com-
mission, while the curiosities of all kinds will be exhibited first in Cairo
and then sent to the Paris Exhibition. So ends the story. After all
allowances made for the traveller's love of the scene of his labours, it
must be admitted that the Land of Midian is a wonderful place. As
one hears of the mines that are spread over the country, with their
shafts and their tunnels, theii' furnaces and their barrages, the towns of
workmen, and the cities of mine owners, one begins to understand why
" all King Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, none were of silver,
it was nothing accounted of in the days of Solomon." And when one
reads of the mines that are yet unworked, with their quartz and their
Colorado ore, one feels tempted to ask why the Khedive at Cairo, like
Solomon at Jerusalem, should not "make silver and gold as plenteous
as stones." But hitherto brilliant prospects for Egypt have turned out
very grey-toned realities. So we Egyptians are content once more to
possess our souls in patience until the cool and cautious capitalists of
Paris and London put their hands into their pockets, pay the Khedive
a handsome royalty, and turn the Land of Midian into a limited liability
company. One thing is certain. This dead country of Midian, thus
suddenly brought back to Hfe, is no fabulous land, where all the world
can go and pick up gold and silver. Its development will need capital
as well as science, and Egypt must, therefore, be content with a royalty
and leave the risk and the work to foreign skill and enterprise.
146
THE STONE OF BETHPHAGE.
The recent discovery of the " Stone of BetLpbage" has created con-
^•iderable interest among Biblical students. Three months ago, on
starting for a tour through the Holy Land, I was requested to inspect
this monument and furnish a few details to the Quarterhj Statement oj
the Palestine Exploration Fund.
Accordingly, on arriving at Jerusalem, I made inquiries respecting
the stone, and was astonished to find that even the guides of the city
had not heard of the discovery. Mr. Shapira, of Moabite pottery fame,
was the first to assure me that the discovery was no cunningly devised
fable; and he moreover informed me that the site of the monument was
somewhere on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives. Dr. Chaplin
further indicated the exact locality ; and thus fortified with topographical
knowledge, I set out with much pleasure to gaze upon the precious
relic. Passing out of the Holy City by David's Gate, I followed the
course of the walls by Mount Zion and the Temple Hill, then crossing
the valley of the Kedron, I ascended by the village of Siloam to the
spot on the Bethany road where Christ wept over Jerusalem. From
this point I climbed the south slope of Olivet, and after reaching the
Carmelite Nunnery near the summit of the ridge, I followed the
mcuntain path which runs due east along the side of the hill for about
half a mile. Here Olivet proper ends, and is separated from the high
lands above Bethany by a deep valley, while the path is continued
over a ridge of limestone rock which spans the valley, and forms a kind
of natural bridge. Before reaching the ridge we turned to the left into a
field of corn, and after searching in vain for some time, at length I came
upon some old foundations and a huge square block of limestone rock.
Fortunately Mr. Shapira with his daughter approached the stone
ju&t as we were about to examine it, and proved of great assist-
ance by their valuable suggestions in deciphering the faded paintings.
The frescoes are upon the whole well executed, and are evidently the
workmanship of skilful hands ; the perspective of the figui-es is accurate
and the colouring vivid.
That on the north side is akeady much defaced, in consequence of
exposure to the weather and the rough handling of the fellahin. It is
therefore fortunate that drawings have been made by Captain Guillemot,
otherwise many interesting details would have been lost for ever. The sub-
ject of the picture is the master of the house at Bethphage granting per-
mission to the two disciples to take the ass and colt to Christ. The animals
occupy the centre, and the heads especially are drawn and coloured with
much care. Nine or ten persons were originally depicted, but many
of them are now well-nigh obliterated. The figures of the two
apostles— probably SS. Peter and John — are on the right hand ; one,
holding the bridle, is leading away the ass, while the other, stand-
ing by the head, has his right hand raised, and is represented as
THE STONE OF BETIiniAGE. 147
saying to tlie owner, " The Lord hath need of him." The figure in the
foreground, and consequently the most prominent, is the master of the
house, who, with outstretched hands, is granting permission to the dis-
ciples to take them away. At first this prominent figure "was thought
to be the Saviour, but on further consideration it became evident that
this could not be the case, first, because the Saviour was not at Beth-
phage when the colt was taken ; and secondly, a comparison of the
picture with the fresco on the south side of the stone revealed the fact
that, while the figure under consideration has no hair on the face, the
Saviour depicted on the latter wears the Pauline tonsure, and conse-
quently has a large beard. The figures in the background represent
those spoken of by St. Mark: "And certain of them that stood there
said unto them. What do ye loosing the colt ? " At the bottom of the
IDicture a well-executed face, looking downward, caused us much trouble,
but from an inspection of Captain Guillemot's drawing, it is the face of
a person who has just loosened the ass, and with the binding chain in
hand, still retains a stooping posture.
In the background is the house at Bethphage, and the back door
near to which the colt Avas tied. The place is evidently the courtyard
or back part of the house, in accordance with the text of St. Mark xi. 4 :
" Kat eupov Tov rrooKov SeSe/jLiPOV irpos ttji/ Ovpav e^oo eiriTOv a,iJ,<f)65ov," "And they
found the colt tied by the door witliout, at the hack of the house," not
" where two ways meet," as the English version translates it. Ai-ound
the courtyard is a wall with a battlemented corner ; and it is worthy of
notice that leading up to the courtyard is an inclined sloping battle-
mented wall, suggesting the idea that the house, and consequently
Bethphage itself, occupied an elevated position. The monument itself
is near a level spot on the side of a hill, from 50 to 100 feet above the
valley immediately below.
The fresco on the south side, facing Bethany, is the raising of Lazarus.
And here the artist has shown his skill, not only in the arrangement of
a complicated subject, but also in the superior finish of the details.
Unfortunately the figures on the left side of the picture, including that
of the Saviour, are much defaced, and the bottom part is well-nigh
obliterated.
Christ, standing on the left side, has come to the tomb; Mary has
fallen at His feet ; Martha, on her knees, remains in a suppliant posi-
tion. A third woman, perhaps Mary Magdalene, sits in front, looking
in the same direction as the Saviour. Jesus has said, " Take ye away
the stone," and a well-executed figure occupying the right coi-ner is
carrying away the huge stone taken from the mouth of the cave. The
command, " Lazarus come forth," has been given by Him who had just
said, " I am the resurrection and the life," and Lazarus, bound hand
and foot with grave-clothes, is stepping forth from the sepulchral
chamber.
On the west side of the stone, facing Jerusalem, it is said that the
subject was a representation of the triumphal entry of Christ into the
148 THE STOXE OF BETHPHAGE.
Holy City on Palm Sunday, and there is no reason for disbelieving tliat
tliis was the case ; but at present the picture is so sadly marred that it
is scarcely possible to trace the outline of a single figure. In the centre
of this face a large niche, with a semicircular head, measuring two feet
by one, has been cut deep into the stone. It seems to have been done
subsequently to the fresco, but for what purpose it is difficult to say.
On the east side, which is probably the front of the stone, the picture
contains about a dozen figures, all of whom, with one exception, are
standing close together, as an attentive audience, listening to the person
who, standing by himself, is addressing them with earnest mien. The
compact arrangement of the figures made us at first conclude that the
representation of a multitude was the ruling idea of the artist, and since
other two of the frescoes are subjects connecting with Palm Sunday,
we very naturally supposed that these constituted the multitude that
followed the triumphal procession and cried, "Hosanna to the Son of
David." On more minute examination, however, it was noticed that
they bore no palms in their hands, and their faces were not turned to-
wards the right, as they would have been had this picture been a con-
tinuation of the subjects on the north and west sides of the monument.
Captain Guillemot suggests that the subject may be the blessing of the
restoration of tljis little sanctuary. This may be so, but it ought to be
observed that the figures are not looking out from the stone, but seem
for the most part turned towards the speaker, who, judging from his
demeanour, is neither praying nor praising, nor uttering a benediction,
but fervently addressing an attentive audience. This being so, I
would suggest that the picture represents the first scene in the Ascen-
sion— namely, the part where, having led out the disciples as far as to
Bethany, Christ, before leaving His desponding apostles, is addressing
to them words of comfort and assurance. This suggestion seems to
acquire additional force from the consideration that the four frescoes,
namely, the Loosing the Colt, the Raising of Lazarus, the Triumphal
Entry, and the Ascension, are the four most striking events in the life
of the Saviour that occurred near the spot where this monument stands.
Moreover, as the Triumphal Entry faces Jerusalem, and the Raising of
Lazarus faces Bethany, I would further suggest that the artist designed
each of the four frescoes to face the scene of the picture, and therefore,
that while Jerusalem is situated towards the west, and Bethany towards
the south, that the traditional site of Bethphage was on the compara-
tively level table-land north of the stone, and the traditional site of the
Ascension was the spot across the valley fronting the stone, where the
road winds round the grassy mound towards the village of Bethany.
The monument has already been named the " Stone of Bethphage,"
and it is said to mai-k the spot where the village of Bethphage stood.
Some there are who undervalue such an archseological discovery, while
others, in their ardent zeal, rush too hastily to conclusions, and in their
anxiety to find the site of the long lost village, they give loose reins to
their wishes, and conclude that this monument must needs mark the
THE STONE OF BETHPHAGE. 149
site of Bethphage. Until such time a,s the public are in possession of
the promised publication of Captain Guillemot on this recently dis-
covered monument, it seems desirable not to indulge too freely in bold
conjectures, and therefore my remarks will rather be of a suggestive
than exhaustive nature, and will deal mainly, if not solely, with data
already furnished. First, then, it seems to me that there is nothing in
the frescoes themselves that tends to prove that the stone marks the
site of Bethphage. It is true that the picture on the north side repre-
sents the loosing of the colt, an event that occurred at Bethj)hage ; but
if from the existence of such we conclude that the stone marks the site
of Bethphage, then by parity of reasoning we might pronounce the site
to be Bethany, because the south face represents the raising of Lazarus ;
or Jerusalem, because the side facing the west represents the triumphal
entry of Chriat into the Holy City. Beside the frescoes, however, s'ome
inscriptions were also found painted on the stone. oSTo traces of such
inscriptions were visible when we examined the monument six weeks
ago, and I am therefore sorry to think that such have been obliterated.
I had been informed that one inscription was, "Hie est Bethphage,"
and this seemed to establish the fact, not indeed that the stone neces-
sarily marked the Bethphage of the Gospels, but that such was the tra-
ditional site in the days when the inscription was inscribed on the stone.
On looking at the drawings of the mutilated inscriptions as furnished
by Captain Guillemot, I am disappointed in not being able to find the
words " Hie est Bethphage." There are, indeed, the words, " Hie est,"
and only part of the initial letter of the following word, now obliterated.
And although it is impossible from our present data to say what that
word was, yet, as the fragment of this initial letter is certainly not a part
of the letter B, we are morally certain that the word was not Beth-
phage. The word Bethphage does certainly occur in juxtaposition with
that of Hierosolyma (a medieval name of Jerusalem) in an inscription
found on a difEerent part of the stone, but until the import of such
inscription is better known than it is at present, the mere occurrence of
the name Bethphage no more proves the spot to be Bethphage than the
name Hierosolyma proves it to be the site of Jerusalem.
James King.
Scal^ - -^JT «/ «t«. //K-Zi £tf rf y/fi^
»•</-•/■■•
Quarterly Statement, October, 1878.]
THE
PALESTINE EXPLORATION FUND
NOTES AND NEWS.
Ou Tuesday, SepteiiiLer lOtli, Lieutenant Kitchener formally handed orer to.
the Committee the whole of the maps and :nemoirs Gomplete. His linal report, read
to the Committee at the time, -will be found further on (p. 174). The -work
thus completed consists, first, of twenty sheets, each with its memoir, prepared by
Lieutenant Conder, ami, seconelly, of six, _ each with its memoir, prepared by
Lieutenant Kitchener. There are also the special plans, surveys and drawings,
•made by both officers ; there are the pen-and-ink sketches and water-colour drawings
made by Lieutenant Conder, and Lieutenant Kitchener's photographs. In addi-
tion to all this there are the three sheets of the smaller map prepared by
Lieutenant Kitchener, according to the instructions of the Committee.
On Tuesday, September 19th, Lieutenant Kitchener started for Cyprus to
commence the survey of the island, to the command of which he has been
appointed by the Foreign Office.
The Committee, at their meeting of September 10th, passed the following
/•esolution : ' ' That the Committee desire to express their grateful thanks to
Lieiitenant Kitchener for the way in which h-e brought the Survey of Western
Palestine to a successful termination, and congratulate him on his appoiniment
to the very important work of a similar nature which has been entrusted to him
by the Secretary of. State for Foreign Aflairs."
The Quartcrlfi Statcmsnt for 1878, therefore, closes with the completion of the
Survey of "Western Palestine, the history of which was commenced in the Quar-
terly Statement of January,1872. The Survey has taken seven years to complete.
The sheets of the map have been placed in the hands of the most competent judges,
and are stated to Ije in every respect equal to the best work possible in map-
making. The year 1879 will be the year of publishing. It is j^roposed that the
regular subscriptions should be devoted to this purpose. It is needless to explain
that a large part of the scientific memoirs and special plans, wliich must be
published, can hardly be expected to pay the expenses of publication. Probably
156 NOTES A^y'D XEWS.
in the January Qiutrterly Statement we may be prepared -n-itli a prospectus ot
time, price, &c.
In Lieutenant Conder's book, " Tent Work in Palestine," an opportunity has
been afforded of turning oyer the leaves, so to speak, of the memoirs. The book,
though published in a bad season, and not at the best time of the year, has done
very -well. It is satisfactory to record that the general opinion of the press has
been very favourable, and that its sale has already justified the Committee in
their confidence in the author.
. The sale has, in fact, left, at the present mament, little more than a hundred
copies in the hands of the publishers. Those subscribers who want to have the
earliest and library edition should therefore send their names to the office without
any delay.
By an oversight in the July Qv,artcrly Statement, the editor omitted to
mention that the illustration, •" Jewish Sjmagogue at Sufsaf," was supplied bj-
the kindness of the editor of the Builder, where it first appeared.
On p. 176 will be found the prospectus of the proposed expedition to Galilee.
This has been ali-eadysent to the General Committee, and- circulated privately to
a limited extent. A first list of subiscribers has been obtained, and is here pub-
lished. The amounts are iii some cases jn'omised, in others already paid. The
prospectus itself has been printed in large numbers, and copies can be had
on application to the Secretary. It is illustrated with a wood-cut of Tel Hum,
the proposed principal site for excavation.
Marquis of Bute.' : '...£50 0 0
Samuel Morley, Esq., M.P :.... 50 0 0
Lord Clermont ^ 25 0 0
John Edward Wilson, Esq '... 25 0 0
. W. Hepworth Dixon, Esq 10 10 0
John MacGregor, Esq ' 10 0 0
Lord Talbot de Malahide 5 0 0
Rev. Canon Lightfoot 5 0 0
W. M' Arthur, Esq., M.P. 5 5 0
W. Atkinson, Esq .5 0 0
J. Braithwaite, Esq 5 0 0
• Fritz Eeis.s, Esq ' 5- 0 0
Right Hon. Stephen Cave, M.P 2 2 0
Rev. F.W. Holland..... -2' 2 0
Rev. W. F. Birch 2 2 0
F. L. Hausberg, Esq 2 0 0
MissErskiue 2 0 0
Rev. Dr- Ginsbui-g 2 0 0
Miss Mends ..••. 0 10 0
Per Hon. Sec. for Chelmsford ....• • i 5 0
The list AVill remain open. Subscribers can, if they please, devote their amounts,
or any portion of t^hem, to this special fund.
NOTES AND NEWS. lo7
The small map of Galilee wliich forms the frontispiece to this number and
illustrates the prospectus of page 176 shows the country which will be the field of
operations of the new expedition. The western side of the lalce has been already
surveyed bj» Lieutenant Kitchener. The eastern side is almost unknown. The
map itself is a portion of the reduced map on the three-eighths scale, the hill
shading being omitted.
This is the first specimen of the reduced, map published. It is noteworthy that
it contains about iive times as many names as any other existing map of this
portion of the country, ami this, although one half the map belongs to the
unsurveyed part of Palestine.
At the meeting of the British Association in August three "^lapers of interest
to readers of this Journal were read : one by Lieutenant Kitchener, on the Survey
of Galilee ; one by the Eev. F. W, Holland, on his recent journey to Sinai ; and
one by Captain Burton, on hi^ last expedition to Iilidian. We reproduce the first
(p. 159), and hope, when the others are published, to present extracts from them.
We have to regret the death of the Eev. Samuel ;j.Iartin, a member of the
General Committee froni the foundation of the Society, and "of General; Cameron, •
R.E., the Director of the Ordnance Survey at Southampton. General Cameron
had only just joined the General Committee, but had on various occasions
show-n his appreciation of the work and rendered gi'eat help to the Committee.
The. death of that great geogi-apher, Herr Petermann, also a member of this
Committee, is announced at the moment of going to press. His contributions
to Biblical geography deserve a special notice, which we hope to give next
quarter.
The income of the Fund from all sources, from June 27tlrto September 19tli,
137S, was £814 5s. 4d; The expenditure was as follows : — Exploration,
£219 13s. 6d. ; ofilce expenses, £172 14s. lid. ; bills, £68 Is. 6d.
It has been asked whether, since the Survey is finished, the Quartcrhj State-
ment will be discontinued. The completion of the Survey does not mean the
completion of the work of the Society, as reference to the original prospectu.s
will show at once. And there is, inore thaii ever, need of a periodical devoted
to the special line of research which is the raison d'etre of this QuartcrJij Statenicat.
It wiU therefore be continued as long as the Society exists and there is work of
the kind which it represents to be done and reported.
The first number of the Journal of the new German Association has been
received. A summ:u-y of its contents will be found on page 201. We .shall receive
• and exchange the numbers regularly, and propose to transfer to our own columns,
with due acknowledgment, whatever new intelligence and matter of interest the
Journal may contain. Under the vigorous management of the Executive Com.-
mittee elected to carry on the Association it ought to prove successful.
158 KOTES AND NEWS.
Several cases have been at various times discovered of postage stamps being
lost on their way to the office. The only way to avoid such loss is to send money
by P. 0.0. or by cheque, in every case jJayablc to the order of Walter Bcvnit, Esq.,
and crossed to Coutts and Co., or the Union Ban!:, Charing Cross Branch.
The ninth thousand of " Our Work in Palestine " is now ready (price 3s. 6d.),
and may be ordered of booksellers. This book carries the work down to the
commencement of the Survey, but does not embrace il. Ganneau's discoveries
nor the results of the Survey itself.
The following are at present Representatives and Lecturers of the Society, in
addition to the local Hon. Sees. : —
Archdeaconry of Hereford : Eev. J. S, Stooke-Vaughan, Wellington Heath
Vicarage, Ledbury.
City and neighbourhood of Manchester: Rev. 'W. F. Birch, St. Saviour's
Rectory.
Lancashire : Rev. John Bone, St. Thomas's Vicarage, Lancaster.
London : Rev. Henry Geary, IG, Somerset Street, Portmau Square ; and Mr.
C. Stuart Lockhart (address at the office).
Xorwich : Rev. "\V. P. Greeny.
Suffolk : Rev. F. C. Long, Stow-upland, Sto\\Tnarket.
Peterborough : Rev. A. J. Foster, Farndish Rectory, Wellingborough.
Worcester : Rev. F. W. Holland, Evesham (Member of General and Executive
Committee, and one of the Hon. Secretaries to the Fund).
Gloucester and Bristol : Mr. John Brion (address at the office).
Diocese of Rii>on : Pi,ev. T. C. Henley, Kirkby Malham Vicarage.
Xorth Wales : Rev. John Jones, Treborth, Bangor.
Yorkshire, Durham, and the North : Rev. James King, 13, Paradise Terrace,
Darlington. JMr. King has recently returned from the Holy Land ; communi-
cation's for lectures, &c., can be sent to the Office at Charing Cross.
Irelaitd.— Rev. G. J. Stokes, Blackrock, Dublin.
Scotland.— Rev. R. J. Craig, Dalgetty, -Burntisland.
The Rev. Horrocks .Cocks, 19, Edwardes Square, Kensington, has also kindly
ffered his services among the Nonconformist churches.
While desiring to give every publicity to proposed identifications and other
theories advanced by officers of the Fund, the Committee beg it to be dis-
tinctly understood that they leave such proposals to be discussed on their own
juerits, and that by publisliiilg them in the Quarterly Statement tlie Committee
do not sanction or adopt them.
-Annual subscribers are earnestly requested to forward their subscriptions for
the current year when due, at their earliest convenience, and without waiting for
application.
SURVEY OF GALILEE. 159
The Committee are always glad to receive old numbers of the Quarterly State-
■mcnt, especially those wliich have heen advertised as out of priut.
Attention is called to the statement already advertised, that subscribers to
the Fund are privileged by the publishers to receive both the " Literary Remains
of the late Mr. C. F. Tyrwhitt Drake," and the " Underground Jerusalem " of
Captain Warren, at reduced rates. The former book will be sent for ten
.shillings, the latter for sixteen shillings, postage paid. But letters asking for
tliem must be sent to the oificc at 11 and 12, Charin" Cross onlv.
Cases for binding the Quarterly Statement are now ready, and can be had ou
application to Messrs. E. Bentley and Son, 8, New Burlington Street. They
are in green or brown cloth, with the stamp of the Society, uniform in
appearance with "Our Work in Palestine," and are sold at the price of
cighteenpence.
Lieut. Kitchener's Guinea Book of Biblical Photographs can be bought at IMr.
•Stanford's establishment, 55, Chai'ing Cross. It contains twelve views, with a
.short account of each. They are mounted on tinted boards, and handsomely
bound.
SUEVEY OF GALILEE.
A Paper read Iff ore the Geograplikal Section of the British Association hy
Lieut. H. H. KixcnENEn, E.E., F.E.G.S.
Ladies and Gentlemen, — I appear before you to-day as the repre-
sentative of the Palestine Exploration Fund, an association which, as many
of you are aware, was formed several years ago under the patronage of
Her Majesty, and of many great functionaries in Church and State, for the
purpose of exploring the Holy Land. The great work on which, the
Society has been occupied for the last seven years is a map of Palestine
on the model of the Ordnance Survey of England and L-eland.
This map of Palestine from Dan to Beersheba on the 1-inch scale has
now been completed, and will shortly be published. It was oommenced
by the Palestine Exploration Fund sending out Major Stewart, II. E., and
a party of noncommissioned officers at the end of 1871. Major Stewart
was invalided home after a very short period of service, during which he
had, however, established a base line on the plain near Eamleh ; this
base line was over four miles long, and was calculated with considerable
accm-acy. Mr. -Tyrwhitt Drake had then charge of the party until the
arrival of Lieutenant Conder, in July, 1872. ' The work then proceeded "
regularly, the tria"ngulation being carried southwards to the hill country,
and then northas far as the plain of Esdi-aelon, on which another base
line was measui-ed. The calculations and measurements of this check
base agreed most satisfactorily, and proved the accuracy of the whole
triangulation. In November^ 1874, 1 joined the party, and after a year's
work in the plain of Philistia, when commencing the survey of Galilee,
DiAtRAM
SKEwirto TKt: WORK ocriE
PALESTINE
IB77.
I SURVEYED IS77
£SS^ REVISED 1877
SURVEY OF GALILEE. IGl
we were met at Safed with a fanatical attack from the natives. As after
this we all sufFej-ed severely from fever, and chftlera was spreading rapidly
all over the country, the party Avas withdrawn. After eighteen months of
plotting and fair-drawing the work we had done, Lieutenant Condor's
health not allowing him to retjirn to the coimtry, I was entrusted with
the command of an expedition to finish the Survey of Galilee. My
party consisted of t'hreo noncommissioned officers of the Iloyal Engineers,
appointed from the Ordnance Survey. I left in January, 1877, and by
the end of February my men had joined me at Haifa, and everything
was ready for an active campaign.
On the 27th of Febrna^y work was commenced. The survey of the
Plain of Acre occupied one noncommissioned officer, while the other
two and myself were employed in taking up the line of levels between
the Mediterranean and the Sea of Galilee, for whicli a special grant had
been received from this Association. After discovering our former bench
mark at Mejdel the levelling went on swimmingly, almost too much so
while ci-ossing the swampy plain and the Kishon swollen by the winter
rains. A paper on the sviccessful completion of this line of levels was
read by Major Wilson at the last meeting of this Association.
The weather was hardly settled at this time ; storms of wind and rain
made our tents no very pleasant abode. On the 8th of March the levelling
and surveying were completed,, and we marched across the country to
Hattin, breaking the journey for one night at Nazareth.
Hattin is a village of some importance, well situated for our work. The
natives proved civil and obliging. Our camp consisted of five Egyptian
tents, seven little Arab horses, seven mules, four Europeans, ten
natives, and two bashi-bazouks with their horses, attached to us by
the Government. . . _
From this camp we had to pick up the old triangulation-points which
had been left on the withdrawal of the party in 187-5. The cairns we
had built wei'e all destroyed, but after a careful search we found th.e
broad arrows cut on the rock under where the cairns had been, and were
thus able to carry on the triangulation from a base of 25 miles, and other
calculated liue^ from 8 to 12 miles long ; < subsequently, after carrying
the triangulation round the country, as will be described, the calculated
length of this base was only 66 feet different from the measurement we
had started with, or a little more than 2 feet in the mile of possible
error. On our scale, this error in 25 miles is only the thickness of a
pencil line.
The triangulation. took eight days from, this camp, as the old cairns
had to be rebuilt, and new ones erected in the northern country. By
thus doing the triangulation and survey of the ground from each camp,
we were able to keep both going together ; and the strength qf my party
was not sufficient to adopt any other method. While observing from
the top of Mount Tabor I examined three chapels recently unearthed by
the Eoman Catholic monks; they date from Crusading times, when this
was supposed to be the Mount of the Transfiguration, and the three
DIAGRAM
C" TRIANCULATION
NORTHERN 'PORTION
OF SURVEY OP
PALESTINE
CELrorT
tltSY QAHY
SURVEY OF GALILEE. 1G3
cliapels are mentioned in old chronicles of that time. The massive
fortifications on the top of the mount, enclosing tlicso later remains,
were probably those erected here by Joscphus in order to resist the
Roman armies under Vespasian ; they consist of a solid wall built of
large drafted stones, flanked at intervals by square towers enclosing a
large rectangular space that occupied the whole of the top of the hill.
Looking down on the broad plain of Esdraelon stretched out from our
feet, it is impossible not to remember that this is the greatest battle-
field of the world, from the days of Joshua and the defeat of the might}'-
host of Sisera, till, almost in otir own days, Napoleon.the Great fought the
battle of Mount Tabor; and here also is the ancient Megiddo, where
the last great battle of Armageddon is to be fought.
The country surrounding our camp was formed of decomposed basalt
and the ashes and debris thrown from the volcanoes that once occupied
this region ; in some places the black basalt rock crops out, but the
general colour of 'the ground is a deep red. Immediately above our
camp was one of these extinct volcanoes ; it is called the Kurn Hattin,
or Horns of Hattin, being two peaks on the top of a steep mountain,
having between them the crater of an extinct volcano ; it-will ever be*
remembered as the scene of the final struggle of the Crusaders after the
fatal battle on the plain below. On the top was the king surrounded
by his nobles, with the chiefs of the great Orders of the Temj)lars and
the Hospitallers, hemmed in on all "sides by the seething masses of the
Saracen host under Saladin. Thrice the heights were stormed and thrice
the besiegers were driven back with immense slaughter, till at last,
worn out by thirst, fatigue, and the hopeless task of holding out
against such odds, the brave Remnant surrendered and the Christian
power in the country ceased to exist. Curiously enough, we found the
plain just below still retains a reminiscence of this scene; it is called
the Plain of Burnus, the Arabic designation of Count Rainaud of
Chatillon, Seigneur of Kerak, who had caused the war by plundering a
convoy of Moslem pilgrims, among whom was the mother of Saladin ;
he was killed immediately after the battle by the hand of Saladin himself.
During our triangulation we found some little difficulty from the
natives, who thought we were magicians, with power to find hidden
treasure under the ground, and that our cairns were marks to remember
the places by. It was. an unfortunate idea, as the result was that in
tlie night time our cairns often disappeared, and the natives groped
through any earth to the rock below, hoping to forestall us. After
making the offenders rebuild the cairns on one or two occasions these
annoyances ceased.
On the completion of the triangulation, the levelling had to be talcen
up from the last point on the line. The bench mark was found without
difficulty. It was most fatiguing work dragging the levelling staves
and heavy instruments over the rough country, and when the descent
below the sea-level, in a steep narrow gorge, was attained, it was
extremely trying ; however, in seven days' work, IG^ miles were
164 SXJUTEY OF GALILEE.
accomplislied and tile seashore .was readied, giving a depression of
682 feet 6 inches below the Mediterranean.
The survey of the detail had then to be done. Our process was very
well suited to this open and barren country. From the lixed triangula-
tion-points a number of supplementary angles were taken to every
village, hill- top; prominent tree,-or important object in view; as this was
done froni every point when these lines were plotted, we had intersections
■fixilig these objects. Practically almost every place of importance was
fixed in this way.
The surveyor then started with this diagram of fixed points, and by the
interpolation of the angles taken with his prismatic compass was able to
fix his own position at any point on paper ; he then sketched in by eye
the detail that was in his close vicinity, and by going through the same
process all over his work the detail was obtained with considerable
accuracy. The heights of all places of importance were taken by ane-
roids, besides the calculated heights of all the triaugul.ation points. These
aneroids were checked morning and evening with a standard barometer'
kept in camp. The slopes of the hills were taken by Abney's level,
,and on returning to camp in the evening a report was made of all
ruins, villages, and water-supply* in the work of the day. The
nomenclature was written down in Arabic by a well-edncated scribe
kept for that purpose. Each surveyor had a guide with him, who gave
the names of the different places. , The surveyor wrote them down as
near as he could to the sound, and on returning to camp he repeated them
in front of the guide and the scribe. The guide then pronounced the
names correctly, and the scribe wrote it down from him. I afterwards
transliterated the Arabic in accordance with Robinson's method, and the
proper spelling was thus obtained and written on the map.
Every possible check on the veracity of the natives was employed by
asking numbers of people independently the names.
Dishonest guides were dismissed, and as these people are peculiarly
susceptible oi sarcasm, the offenders were not happy when they were
laughed out of camp for not knowing their own country as well as we
knew it.
One of the great values of the map is the number of unknown names
it has made public ; thus on this part of the survey 2,770 names were
•collected, only about 450 of which are to be found on the best existing
map of the coiintry.
Another is the accuracy of these names, taken down from the natives
in a manner never attempted before, and the result has been to throw a
vast light on the ancient nomenclature of the country and the origin of
the races that inhabit it.
The survey of the detail took five more days, and on the 27th March
"we were able to move camp to Tiberias, with the assurance of having no
obstacle of a technical nature to hinder our work. Our camp was
pitched along the shores of the sea, and as the Governor had already
received a reprimand from the Pasha of Acre for not answering a letter
of mine, we were well received by the officials.
SURVEY OF GALILEE. 165
The scenery of the lake is decidedly monotonous, l:ftit there is a great
charm in that dry and thirsty land in having a vast expanse of fresh
water spread out before the eyes, and at night the effect of the moon in
Eastern brightness shining on the calm lake was exceedingly beautiful.
During the survey of the shores we made one considerable discoveiy:
the site of ■ Sennabris, mentioned by Josephus as the place where
Vespasian pitched his camp when marching on the insurgents of
Tiberias. The name Sinn en Nabra still exists, and is well known to
the natives ; it applies to a ruin situated on a spur from the hills that
close the southern end of the Sea of Galilee ; it formed, therefore, the
defence against tin invader from the Jordan plain, and blocked the gi'^iit
main road in the valley.
Close beside it there is a large artificially-formed- plateau, defended
by a water-ditch on the south, communicating with Jordan, and by
the Sea of Galilee on the north. This is called Kh. el Kerak, and is, I
have not the slightest doubt, the remains of Vespasian's camp described
by Josephus. It is just like another Eoman camp found near Jenin,
where an army was camped. Thus we have an example still in the
country of the military precision of those irresistible conquerors. This
Kh. el Kerak has been identified with Tarichece, but, as Major Wilson
has i^ointed out, that site must be sought to the north of Tiberias.
The finding of Sennabris, the place where the Eoman host encamped
before marching on Tiberias and Tarichese, clearly proves that the latter
place could not have been anywhere near the southern end of the lake.
The next point of interest on the shore is the hot springs of the
Hammam, three copious springs burst out of the rock, with a tempera-
ture of 140 deg., and containing a considerable quantity of sulphur.
Baths have b3en built, and they have been famous for ages for the cures
of rheumatism and other disorders. They are constantly used by the
natives, who often come-from long distances to benefit by them.
The ruins of ancient Tiberias with its sea-walls and scattered
columns extend nearly as far south as these springs, and it may be
fairly supposed that the modern site of the town is situated to the
north of the ancient place.
The next point of interest is the site of Tarichese, an important towr-
on the seashore. We know that it could not have been far from
Tiberias, on the northern side, also that.it was strong to the south, but
had a plain to the north, for Vespasian, attacking from the south,
sent his cavalry under Titus round the town to attack the Jews on the
open grotmd, where he routed them, and entered the town with the
fugitives. A ruined site was found answering to all these qualifica-
tions at Kh. Kuneitriah, situated on the top of a steep round hill
rising abruptly from the seashore. This was, in my opinion, the
citadel of Tarichsea ; the town itself was probably on the plain to the
north, along the seashore, where there are traces of ruins and springs
of water.
Passing the ruin and the plain beyond, the path leads along the side
1(35 ■ SURVEY OF GALILEE.
of the steep slope of the hills, with rocky cliffs towering above, and the
sea almost directly below; turning a corner, the Plain of Gennesareth
lies spread out before ns,with the cluster of ruined hovels of the village
of Mejdel in the foreground. A fine stream of water irrigates this
portion of the plain from Wady Hamam, the narrow gorge through which
the levelling had been brought down, with cliffs 1,000 feet high on
either side. In those on the southern side are the romantic caves of
the brigands who were subdued by Herod the Great by letting down
n-angsof soldiers on platforms from above on the despairing defenders :
these, sooner than be taken captive, slew one another with their swords.
I, explored the caves, which consist of galleries at different heights
conducted along the face of the precipice leading to different sizedcham-
bers ; some appeared natural, while others were artificial ; there were
spacious halls, small sleeping-places, and some enormous stables, all
cut out of the solid rock. Water was brought by a long aqueduct,
cut in the face of the precipice, and poured down into cisterns inside
the fortress. The place has been since occupied by Ai-ab marauders,
who have built walls to defend the outside of the galleries and round
towers at different elevations on the face of the rock, to bring a flanking
fii-e on the entrance, which was reached by a long flight cf basalt steps.
Now all is ruined, and only forms the resting-place of the eagle and
the vulture ; but in the bright future that seems to be about to dawn
on that land, what a delightfully cool retreat this would make for the
owner of the fair plain stretched out 1,000 feet below.
Beyond Mejdel on the Plain of Gennesareth, and round the northern
shores of the lake, are the most interesting sites of all ; Capernaum,
Chorazin, and Bethsaida. The country here has been so carefully
examined by Major Wilson -that the survey was not able to throw much
new light on the question of these sites, the solution of which
must be sought underground. I am sorry I ccmnot agree with Major
Wilson on the position of Capernaum at Tell Hum, but would rather
place it at Kh. Minyeh on the plain, believing the fine remains of Tell
Hvim to be the relics of the known grandeur of the ancient Bethsaida.
The clearing ^^p of this intensely interesting question by means of ex-
cavation is one of the objects to be attained by the future expedition
that the Palestine Exploration Fund intends sending out as soon as
sufficient funds are available.
On the 4th April our camp was moved to Khan Jubb Tusef, situated
on the great Damascus road, and some distance from any inhabited
village. The country round is occupied by wandering tribes of Bedouin
Arabs with their goat flocks ; to the east it is a mass of basalt which
has flowed over the country, and down to the shores of the lake ; to the
west we had the limestone hills of Safed.
I visited the extensive ruins of Kerazeh, the ancient Chorazin, and
was struck with the jn-ecision and minuteness of the ornamentation of
ihc niches of the ruined synagogue cut out of the hardest basalt, and
remaining as fresh and sharp as they were when new.
fiURVEY Oi' GALILEE.
167.
On tlio lOtli we marcliccl to Safed, tho scone of our conflict with the
natives on a former occasion. Mr. Eldridge, the British Consul-
General for Syria, had kindly arranged that I should be well re-
ceived, and the arrival of H.M.S. Torch at Acre, of which I was
informed by telegram, made it certain that I should not be molested
on this occasion. The governor of Safed, with a score of soldiers
and followers, came out half way to my camp to meet me, and we
rode into the town in a triumphal procession. I remained six
days, and was much annoyed by the continual visitors I had to
receive. The most interesting of these was Aly Agha, the cause of
our former impleaoantness. Now he came as a ruined, humble man,
after undergoing his term of imprisonment, to beg for forgiveness. I was
glad to be able to remit a small portion of the fine, some £(50, that had
not been paid, on account of their good behaviour on this occasion.
TJnfortmiately our standard barometer was broken on the journey to
Safed. I had to send to our store at Haifa for a duplicate one to be
brought on foot.
The country was natitrally very much excited about whether there
would be war or not. and I was very pleased to learn on the very
best Turkish authority that peace was assured, Bismarck having
been dismissed. Unfortunately, next day a cipher telegram from
Mr. Eldi'idge»warned me that war was declared and advised a retreat.
I visited a Mohammedan sacred place in the town called the Mukam
Benat Yakub, or the sacred j)lace of the daughters of Jacob. Many
legends were attached to the j)lace. I was shown without difficulty into
the little mosque and then into a large square cave, which had originally
been a tomb of some importance. Two I'ows of recesses for sai-cophagi
lined the walls. Here tradition relates that Jacob and his children
lived, and that when he was old and blind they brought him Joseph's
coat, and the smell of it- at once cured him. On regaining the outer
mosque I saw a small door with a green curtain hanging ovei' it and
incense burning in front ; this I was told was the tomb of the seven
daughters of Jacob. There they were said to be aU as in life, their
beauty unimpaired, but it was too sacred to be approached by any
but a true believer. I insisted, and was then told that these beautiful and
holy maids were very quick to take offence, and devoured any one who
came too near their place of rest. However, after a little persuasion
I pushed the sheikh aside and squeezed through the hole, being nearly
stifled with the bad incense. After a drop of some feet I found
myself on the floor of a cave that opened into another. I explored
the caves, one of which had been a tomb; the roof had fallen in,
probably in the earthquake of 1838. No recumbent Semitic beauties
awaited me, and I was very glad to get out into the fresh air again.
Our next camp was at Meiron, where we were received very cordially,
owing to the governor of the district, who accompanied us thus far,
informing the villagers that if we were not well treated ia every-
thing he would come next day and burn the village down.
o
168 SURVEY OF GALILEE.
From this camp the trianguLitioii Vequirecl a considerable amount o£
attention. The Jebel Jermuk, the highest peak in Galilee, reaching an
altitude 3,930 feet, had been observed from the south, but now it was
necessary to ascend and obsex've from it ; this was accomplished, and
the triangulation was thrown well forward to the north, but I clearly
foresaw that the triangulation woi^Jid not allow of our descending
to the low, unhealthy Huleh marshes as early in the year as I had
hoped .to do, and another two or three ca,mps must intervene before we
got that critical portion of the survey accomplished.
The village of Meiron is a famous Jewish place of pilgrimage, for
there Rabbi Shamai andHillel and the great SimeonBenJochai lie buried.
The rocks around are honeycombed with ancient tombs, and there
still remains an almost perfect facade of an ancient synagogue, dating
pi'obably from the second century after Christ.
The great pilgrimage of the year came off while we were there, on
the 30th April, and lasted three days. The Jews arrived in thousands
on foot, on donkeys, camels, or mules ; some came from great distances —
it was said some even came from England ; and yet it was a very bad
year, owing to the distitrbed state of the country. The governor
arrived to keep order, and a guard of soldiers protected the roads.
This was no unnecessary precaution, as the first day they brought in
an Arab they had shot while rifling some stragglers on the line. In
the evening the ceremonies began in the large modern building that
.contains the tomb of Rabbi Simeon Ben Jochai. The whole place was
turned into a fair — feasting, dancing, and singing went on all night ;
great torches were lighted over the tomb and lit up the motley crowd ;
into these torches, or rather braziers, the devotees cast embroidered
scarves, silks, and dresses. The chief rabbi sells by auction the right to
light up these fires, and is said to clear £200 in one hight.
The men kept up an incessant din with rude instruments and
singing ; they ran round and round in circles, holding each other's
hands and occasionally throwing np their arms ; they were all dressed
in dirty long dressing-gowns and huge felt hats. Lit up by the
blazing torches they had the most grotesque appearance. The contrast
between all these intensely- excited Jews, some of them apparently
intoxicated, and the solemn, unmoved serenity of the Turkish Governor
and officials, sitting on their mats smoking, was very striking.
The women occupied the upper chambers of the building, and seemed
.more devout ; some of them were engaged in prayer. They have a
firm conviction that these pilgrimages insure their having children.
The principal results of the survey of this district were the discovery
of three dolmens. During the course of the survey eight dolmens were
discovered, and as these are the first that have been noted in Palestine, it
adds a new -district to those already known to possess these rude stone
monuments, and may be a connecting link between the ancient
inhabitants of Europe and India.
Thp remains of two synagogues, unobserved hitherto, were discovered.
IJUliVEY OF GALILEE. 1G9
one at Siifsaf and the other at el Jish. These add considerably to our
knowledge of these interestiuf? buildings, and the discovery -of the
Roman eagle • engraved in relief in the synagogue of el Jisli adds
new proof that these buildings are due to Roman influence over a
subjugated people. The eleven specimens that remain to us of these
buildings were carefully examined and j)lanned during the course of the
survey where it was possible to trace the original work.
On the 3rd of May I moved camp to Dibl, a Christian village. I
had received a telegram from the Society directing me to take steps for
the safety of the party, and I th'erefore attached four bashi-bazouks
to the expedition as guards. AVe thus formed a large party, quite
capable of resisting any small fanatical rising ; and as most of the
vcung men had been drafted away in the conscription, I had no fear of
ti sreneral massacre of the Christians.
The inhabitants of Dibl were packing their few portable articles, and
preparirig for flight to Tyre, when we arrived.
Our greeting was most enthusiastic, as they at once determined not
to desert their village and crops, and to remain under our protection.
There are a good many Christian villages in this part of the country
quite distinct from the Moslems. A Christian village can be known
from a distance by the greenness of its vineyards and fields, in striking
contrast to the barren desolation surrounding most Moslem villages.
The terrible fatalism of their religion destroys the country. " If God
■wills that fi'uit trees or vineyards should grow they "will grow," says the
Moslem, as he sits and sttiokes.
These Christians are perfectly distinct from the Levantine mongrel
race of Greeks who inhabit the towns on the seacoaet. They^re poor,
honest, and very religious, though not very intelligent ; their creed is
either Maronite or Greek, generally a mixture. The Maronite priests
marry, and are looked up to as the father of their flock, and their
director and representative in all cases of difficulty. It was soon spread
through the neighbouring Christian villages that we had arrived, and a
deputation of the priests came to me for advice. I recommended them
to remain quietly at their villages, and to warn their people not to get
into any dispute with the Moslems.
They were very anxious to buy arms and defend themselves, but that
course might have led to what they most dteaded. I am glad to say
that our influence in the countrj' at this crisis caused these poor
Christians to remain in theii" villages, which if they had deserted would
have been seized by the Moslems, and would undoubtedly have led to a
grave disturbance.
I must also bear testimony to the stringent orders sent from? Con-
stantinople to the Turkish govei'nors and officials to protect these
Christians, and to put down any attempt to drive them out of the
country. There was more cause to fear this, as' the ignorance of the
people led them to believe the war was one of religion — Moslem against
Christian, instead of Turk against Russian.
170 SUEVEY OF GALILEE.
Every evening after sunset a bell was beaten in the village, and all
the male population -went to the poor chapel, where there was a short
service ; after this they came and sang and danced in front of our tents,
sometimes for hours together.
One evening about eighty Bedouin Arabs with their wives and families
arrived. Their chief's son had been ill, and they had taken him three
days' journey to the tomb of the famous prophet Joshua ; this was sup-
posed to have cured him, and they were now returning joyful after their
pilgrimage. I had a goat killed in their honour, which made us the
best friends, and they kept up dancing and singing round fires in front
of our tents all night. The men went through the usual war dance,
imitating the attack and defeat of an enemy, to the accompaniment of
clapping hands ; but what was more curious was later in the evening,
when two of the prettiest women were called out by their husbands, and
went through a peculiar and very graceful dance with swords ; they were
unveUed, and looked quite handsome by the fire-light. Having rewarded
them with lumps of sugar, I left them singing songs in our honour.
Next morning they were all gone, having left pressing invitations for
us to visit them. Two days later the chief came to thank me for the
medicine I had given his boy.
The triangulation and survey of the country took twelve days; a number
of curious ruins were visited, and special plans and photographs were
made.
The country to the west was rugged and rocky, covered with brush-
wood, and occupied by Arab tribes. Deep ravines and gorges carried
the winter rains down to the sea, and in many parts of this wild country
a European had never.been seen before.
To the east the country was more open and cultivated ; there are not
many springs, but numbers of rock-cut cisterns and large pools for
collecting the winter rains at almost every village.
On the 16th camp was moved east to Kades, and from the camp a
good deal of the plain of the Huleh and the low country was surveyed.
The ruins of the Temple of the Sun were planned and photographed.
On the plain below our camp the Arab tents stood exactly as those of
Heber the Kenite did on the eventful day when Jael, his wife, slew
Sisera, the captain of Jabin's host.
On the 24th we were aga'in marching northwards, and having pitched
our camp at Taiyebeh the triangulation was carried to our most northern
point, the great Cnisading Castle of Beaufort. We were here in the
neighbourhood of the four Crusading castles which defended the northern
f.ontier of the kingdom, Beaufort, Toron, Hunin, and Banias. From
a study of the masonry of these buildings, and after comparison with
others in different parts of the country, I am led to suppose that they
are none of them older than Crusading times, except a portion of Banias,
which appears to be slightly older work; and, therefore, that none of them
date, as most travellers assert, from Phcenician or even Roman times.
At Toron, or Tibnin, as it is now called, the governor of the district
SUIIVEY OF GALILEE. . 171
still resides, in the castle which lias been rebuilt by the Saracens on the
old foundations.
On the 2nd of June camp -was moved to Bauias, the ancient Ctosarea
Philippi of the New Testament, and the Panium of Joscphus.
Our triangulation was liere successfully closed on this side by observ-
ing from the castle.
This was the ancient acknowledged source of the Jordan springing
out of the cave of Pan in the face of a precipitous rock, and rushing at
once in a strong stream through the tangled groves of luxuriant vegeta-
tion to the plain below, there to be joined by its rivals in modern
writings, the Leddan and the Hasbany.
I think our map will bring back the wavering allegiance to this ancient
source.
The Hasbany has a less flow of water than either of the other two
streams, and joins them alter their junction, when they form a mighty
stream. How, then, can it be followed as a source of the Jordan ? When
the other two divide into almost equal streams, the longest course leads
to this fountain of Banias, the true source of the Jordan.
This leads us to a consideration of the most interesting geographical
feature in Palestine, the great depression of the Jordan valley, which is
merely a continuation of the great valley extending through Syria,
dividing the Lebanon from the Anti-Lebanon, and down which the
Leontes and Jordan rivers flow. I approach this portion of my subject
with considerable diifidence, as advancing what, as far as I know, is a
new theory for the solution of the physical geography of that region.
Should it receive the support of geographical scholars it will be an
additional scientific result of the Survey of Galilee.
There is little doubt that, as Canon Tristram lias pointed out before
this Association on a former occasion, the great depression of the valley
was caused by a fault, and the sliding down of the strata, and that it
was once an immense lake. This is proved by the ancient shore -lines
found at different elevations along its course.
The general supposition is, that it has been a continuation of the Gulf
of Akaba, and that the gentle rising of 130 miles has cut oil the Dead
Sea from the ocean. It is curious that on this raised land there is
still a well-defined valley having a fall, and showing the channel of a
water-course, as far as we know, the whole way. Considerable volcanic
action was observed in the north, and a volcanic outbreak was found
exactly in the bed of the valley of the Leontes, at the bend of the
river; it has been mentioned previously by Canon Tristram, who
noted the way the basalt had flowed down the western side of the
Hasbany. We know that these volcanic outbreaks belong to a, late
period of geological time. ' What then would have been the eff'ect before
this outbreak in the bed of the river? The Leontes, instead of being
forcibly turned off .at right angles to its com-se in that most extra-
ordinary bend which makes it cleave through the rocks to the sea,
would have flowed into the mighty lake which then covered the plain,
172 • SURVEY OF GALILEE.
and over the soutliern boundary along the Arraba, wbicli still sliows
sigiis of its presence, to the Gulf of Akaba. The only supposition re-
quired in this theory is a more abundant supply of water, and of that
the countx-y gives striking proof. The extraordinary evidences of the
action of glaciers on the rocks, the deep water-courses cut through
hundreds of feet of solid limestone, now dry, speak of a former age of
rushing torrents.
Thus this volcanic outbreak in tbe Merj Ayun is the key to the present
formation of the valley ; a very slight cutting through it would again
turn the Leontes into its former course down the Jordan valley and into
the Dead Sea. The saltness of the Dead Sea may be accounted for by the
great natural cliffs of rock-salt found at its southern extremity, and
by the many salt springs that are found in that region continually pour-
ing bi-ine into its waters. These cliffs of rock-salt at the Khashm TJsdun
are a natural crystalline formation, and cannot, therefore, have been
deposited by an evaporating sea.
The foi'mation of the lakes is accounted for by the silting up of the
plain by the di'bj-is brought down from the hills in the winter torrents.
The great river, the Tarmuk, which drains the whole of the Hauran,
joins the Jordan immediately south of the Sea of Galilee, and formed
the southern shore of that sea by tho debris it brought down. There
are a succession of streams south of this, bringing down debris from
both sides of the valley, some large as the Zerka and the Farah, a,nd
thus a continuous plain was formed down to the Dead Sea ; but along
the shores of the Sea of Galilee there ai-e no watercourses of im-
portance, except where the Hamam and Rubadiyeh streams form the
Plain of Gennesareth. *
The northern shore of the sea is formed by a volcanic outbreak,
which nearly blocks the valley. This is the only part in the course
of the Jordan where it is shut in between rocky banks. To the
north of this, another broad plain is formed by the dShris washed
down in the great valleys from the west, driving the little lake of- the
Huleh into the north-east corner, where no streams, except those from
the north, can reach it. Thus protected, the marsh and lake of the
Huleh is only being filled up from the north by the debris brought
do-\vu by the Jordan itself, which is gradually forming a plain out of
these beds of Papyrus.
Banias was extremely hot and unhealthy at this time of year, and
though our camp was most delightfully situated under broad spreading
olives, with water running from the source' of the Jordan between
our tents, still I was not sorry when, on June 10th, the work was
finished, and we were able to leave without any ill health. The
eastern portion of the survey being thus finished, we had to march
across the country and carry the suiwey south, along the seashore.
On the first day wo marched to Taiyobeh, and the next arrived at oui-
new camp at Marakah. The country round was very difficult, and
proved a very severe piece of work. First the triangulation was well
SUKVET OF GALILEE. . 173
completed along the northern boundary ; the stations being permanent
objects, so that in future, perhaps not very distant now, we may extend
it over the northern almost unknown country east of Sidon. When,
however, the survey of the detail began, we found what an unpleasant
country we were in ; very deep -wadies cut through the soft white chalky
limestone, and the banks were so steep that when travelling north or
sputh it was a continual case of sliding down one side of a valley to
scramble up. the other, a very fatiguing process. The country was
crowded with villages and ruins.
On the 22nd camp was moved to Nakurah ; here we suffered con-
siderably from the heat, particularly at nights, and the mosquitoes added
to the unpleasantness.
From the Ras en Nakurah I took the last round of observation angles
which closed the triangulation of the whole of Palestine: these joined
very well on our base, and the check calculations have proved its accuracy.
On the 2ud of July camp was moved to Yanuh, our last station;
here we were completely surrounded by the work already done, and
were able to make rapid progress.
On the 11th July we all arrived at HailFa once more, safe and well,
after completing the survey of 1,000 square miles of country. The whole
expenditure was £900, and taking £100 as the cost of the fair drawing,
we may claim to have produced a 1-inch survey at the cost of £1 a
square mile.
After four weeks' rest in the Lebanon, the field was taken again on
the 23rd August with a reduced party, as my sergeant had been obliged
to return to England on accoirnt of ill health. A long march led to
the Soath country, and we surveyed 340 square miles in the desert round
Beersheba. This completed 'the survey of Palestine, but the early portion
required revision, and from 10th October to 22nd November we revised
1,700 square miles. The party, haviug completed all it was sent to
perform, then returned to England.
I l^ave now told you what has been done. Let me say a very fen-
words on what it is proposed to do next.
As soon as funds are available, an expedition will start to explore the
.sites of the most sacred scenes of the New Testament history : the
northern shores of the Sea of Galilee, where undoubtedly Capernaum,
our Lord's own city, Chorazin, and Bethsaida still exist,
In"addition to this the expedition will make a thorough survey of the
unknown country forming the eastern shores of that sea on the same
scale and with the same accuracy as the present Survey.
If this great Association 'considers that what we have accomplished
has added largely to the scientific knowledge of an ancient country, let
me hope they will show their satisfaction in the results wo have obtained
bj' helping us in the renewed efforts in the same direction.
Let me add one more result we hope to obtain. "VVe hope to rescue
from the hands of that ruthless destroyer, the uneducated Arab, one of
the most interesting ruins in Palestine, hallowed by the footprints of
174 EEPOKT OF LIEUTENAKT KITCHEXEE.
our Lord. I allude to the synagogue of Capernaiim, -wliicli is rapidly
disappearing owing to the stones being burnt for lime.
Ought we not to preserve for ourselves and our children buildings so
hallowed, so uTiique ? Let us hope that if this expedition succeeds it may
be the means of leaving some footprints in the sand of time —
" Footprints that pcrliaps another
Sailing o'er life's solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, may take heart again."
Major Wilson, C.B., F.R.S., observed that Lieutenant Kitchener bad
omitted to mention, thi-ough modesty, tbo difficulties he had to
surmount owing to tbe country being at war. From private informa-
tion he bad received from the consuls in Palestine be could assure the
meeting that the tact and energy displayed by Lieutenant Kitchener in
protecting tbe Christian population had greatly tended to tbe preserva-
tion of peace in that country.
Canon Tristram pointed out the great value tbe map displayed would
have on the Biblical knowledge of the future, and boped that not only
tbis Association, but allwbo took an interest in the work, would help in
tbe renewed efforts that were about to be made by tbe Society.
The Chairman, Sir "Wyville Thomj)son, said that he felt sure that
such a project would not fail for want of funds. He boped tbat tbe
Association would be able to assist tbe work by a grant, and he felt sure
that tbe meeting would unanimously pass a vote of thanks to Lieutenant
Kitchener for bis interesting paper.
EEPOET ON THE COMPLETION OF THE WOEK.
Me. Chaieman AXD Gextlemex, — It is with great regret tbat I leave
tbe service of tbe Palestine Exjjloration Fund after a period of four
years' work. I beg to tender to you and to the other members of tbe
Committee who are not present on this occasion my best thanks for tbe
universally kind and indulgent way in which I have been treated, particu-
larly during the time I was in command of the Survey of Palestine in
that country. During tbat very critical period when Turkey was at
war the confidence placed in me by the Committee enabled me to carry
out the survey in my own way, when, bad it been necessary to apply
home for detailed directions, I should very probably not have succeeded
in the enterprise.
I strongly recommend to the Committee to adopt the same course-
with any brother oflB.cer who may be sent out in a similar position, and
I. feel sure that tbe Committee will not find their confidence misplaced
in any officers of tbe corps of Eoyal Engineers who may hereafter carry
on their work.
• . KErOrvT OF LIEUTEZn^VNT kitciienek. 175
In handing over to the Committee the completed survey of Western
Palestine, I beg leave to state what they have now in hand.
1st. A completed survey, 1-inch scale, of rather more than (j,()()0
square miles, prepared for publication with hill shading by the Ordnance
Survey department.
2nd. Twenty-six volumes of Memoirs — viz., twenty by Lieutenant
Conder and six by myself, comprising the notes made by the survey
party while at work.
3rd. A reduced map prepared by myself in accordance with your
instructions for the engraver, with coiTected photographs to enable the
* printer to proceed.
4th. A number of photographs taken by me.
oth. A number of special plans by Lieutenant Conder and myself.
A few of these are not fair drawn, but all are in such a state that they
can be rapidly finished without further instruction.
With regard ,to publishing the reduced map, I have asked for and
received black impressions of the hills, from which the engraver can
work, and I shall be glad to correct the proofs.
With regard to the publication of the Memoirs, a considerable number
of plans and sketches, in addition to those now in your hands, will pro-
bably have to be drawn from Lieutenant Conder's and my own note-
books. An editor with a thorough knowledge of the subject is necessary,
as it may be thought desirable to comprise the results of Major Wilson's,'
Major Warren's, Captain Anderson's, and M. Clermont Ganneau's in-
vestigations, so as to make a complete publication up to date in every
respect. This will be no light task, and in some cases the observations
of different officers may not be found exactly to agree. A year's work
for a capable man would, in my opinion, be necessary to .produce a
thoroughly good and permanent result.
The maps I hope will be published early next year, the Memoirs a
year later.
I cannot conclude without mentioning the excellent services of
Sergeant Armstrong and Corporal Brophy, who havv3 served the Com-
mittee longer than any other non-commissioned officers.
Sergeant Malings and Corporal Sutherland are also deserving of
great credit for the way they performed their work under me.
I shall at all times be ready to serve the Committee to the best of my
ability, and beg again to thank them for their many kindnesses.
H. H. Kitchener, Lieut. E.E.
176
PEOSPECTUS OF THE PROPOSED EXPEDITION TO SK\
•OF GALILEE.
After the surveyor, the archaeologist ; after the theodolite, the spade.
The great Survey of Palestine, west of the Jordan, having been.brought
to a successful conclusion, the Committee are enabled to turn their
attention to that examination of certain special districts -which was
contemjjlated in the original prospectus of the Society, and hasJoeen
ill ways kept in view. One great object of the Survey was to furnish
that solid geographical knowledge without which the Historian and
Commentator, as well as the Geologist and Mineralogist, work in the
dark. That object is now attained. The ground has been cleared, the
opportunity for a close examination gained. We have a real grasp of
those districts in the Holy Land which are connected with the Life and
Labour of Our Lord. The Survey is one means to the great end of
Biblical illustration. For six years we have been engaged in work on
the surface : we now propose to work beneath it.
Foremost amongst those special districts is the Sea of Galilee. A
special examination of these shores will produce results of the greatest
value. The work might be confined to a limited period ; its cost might
fall Avithin a stated sum ; and it would furnish materials for a mono-
graph to be published without delay.
Our present knowledge of the Lake district may be briefly summed
up. The western shore has been surveyed and the level of the sea
accurately determined by Lieutenants Conder and Kitchener in the
great Survey on a scale of one inch to a mile. Captain Anderson made
a reconnaissance of the Eastern shore in 1866 ; tentative excavations
were conducted at one or two points in the same year by Major Wilson.
On the plain of Gennesareth there are many mounds, remains, probably,
of towns and villages in which our Lord taught. These require exami-
nation. On the Eastern shore there are the sites of Gergesa (Khersa)',
Gamg,la (El Husn), the still unidentified Hippos, and Gadara (Umm
Keis), which have never been thoroughly explored.
The main interest, however, gathers round the three towns of Caper-
naum, Chorazin, and Bethsaida. The controversy with regard to the
sites of the three Gospel cities is still open. Capernaum has been
variously placed at the Eound Fountain, at the mounds of Minyeh, and
at Tel Hum. The advocates of the first-named site, the Round Fountain,
maintain that it is the Capharnahum of Josephus, and point to the- fact
that the coracinus is still found in it ; on the other hand, its opponents
argue that there are no ruins nearer the fountain than Abu Shusheh,
which is on the hills some distance off; that no tradition has ever been
connected with it ; that the fountain does not now, and never could have
irrigated any considerable portion of Gennesareth ; and that the
fountain of Ain et Tabigah, once carried at a high level by a remarkable
EXPEDITION TO SEA OF G^VLILEE. 177
piece of engineering into the Plain of Gennesareth, is more likely to bo
the fountain mentioned by Josepbus. In favour of the mounds of
Minyeh, it is urged that the old Eoman road which crossed the Jordan
at Jisr Benat Yaktib left the shores of the lake at this point ; that the
name of Capernaum might very well be taken from the Tabigah
fountain, the waters of which were carried along the face of the hill
above the mounds by a rock-hewn conduit ; that the mounds in them-
selves are evidence of the former existence of a place of some size ; and
that Talmudic doctors (see Conder's " Tent Work in Palestine," vol. ii.,
p. IS-il speak of Capernaum as the city of Minyeh. Against the site, it
is agreed that no traces have been found of old buildings, or of any
tombs of a distinctively Jewish character ; and that in the excavations
of 1S66 nothing ,but modern masonry and pottery was found at the
lowest depth (12 feet) reached; while the earlier Christian traditions
favour Tel Hum rather than Minyeh.
The advocates of Tel Hum point to the existence of ruins covering a
large extent of ground, including those of an undoubted Jewish
synagogue, which appears to be the earliest of its kind in GalUee ; the
existence of a remarkable Jewish tomb of white stone beneath the
basalt ; and of another tomb, apparently one of a group, constructed in
masonry on the plan of the rock-hewn tombs ; the similarity in the
name— "Mount of Hum" for "Village of Nahum;" early Christian
tradition, the fact that the synagogue has been included in the scheme
of a later building, probably an early Christian church ; traces of an
old road leading to Kerazeh (Chorazin) ; the fountain at Et Tabigah,
which, on the hypothesis that Minyeh is not an old site, is near enough
,to have given its name to the place. Against Tel Hum it is argued that
it is too far from the fountain of Tabigah ; that there are no traces of a
Eoman road in the neighbourhood, or of any piers on the shore ; and
that the apparent similarity of the name is not real, because one of the
radicals in the word Nahum has disappeared, and the modem name
simply means " black mound." To show the diversity of opinion on the
subject of Capernaum, it may be mentioned that Dr. "Wilson (" Lands
of the Bible "), Mr. Hepworth Dixon (" The Holy Land "), Sepp, Eitter,
Major Wilson (" Eecovery of Jerusalem"), Dr. Bonar, and Dr. Socin
("Baedeker's Handbook"), either pronounce strongly for, or incline in
favour of, Tel Hum ; while Dr. Eobinson,* Canon Tristram, IMr. Mac-
Gregor, Lieutenant Conder (" Tent AVork in Palestine "), and Lieutenant
Kitchener, advocate the claims of Khan Minyeh.
Chorazin, in the same way, has been placed at Minyeh, Tabigah, Tel
Hum, and Kerazeh. Bethsaida, or the two Bethsaidas, at Minyeh, Ain
et Tabigah, Tel Hum, Et Tell, and the mouth of the Jordan. Taricheae,
at Kerak, south of Tiberias, while later investigations seem to show that
it was really north of that place. *
It is proposed to make an exact and exhaustive examination of the
Lake District in the following respects : —
1. Excavations Avill be carried out at Minyeh, Tel Hum, Kerazeh, and
178 ZION, THE CITY OF DAVID,
the monnds at the mouth of the Jordan. Minor excavations, according
to the discretion of the officer in command, will be made at Ain et
Tabigah, Tel Oreimah, the tombs to the north, the mounds of
Gennesareth, Abu Shusheh, Mejdel, Ain el Fuliyeh, Irbid, Tiberias,
Kerak, Umm Keis, Kalat et Husn, the ruins at Khersa, and tombs near
it, Et Tell, the ruins in the Batiheh, and such other mounds and remains
as are found on the borders of the lake.
2. The Eastern shores will be completely surveyed and mapped, and
the ruins examined.
3. The remarkable synagogue of Tel Hum, which, if that plsice be
Capernaum, is the synagogue in which our Lord taught (John vi. 59),
will be cleared to the foundations ; every remaining stone, and every
fragment of its broken columns and architecture collected, and care will
be taken to prevent further destruction.
4. Whatever additions can be made to the already large store of
information in the hands of the Committee as to nomenclature, legends,
and traditions will be collected. The geology of the district will be
thoroughly examined, especially with reference to the formation of the
Jordan valley, and former volcanic disturbances ; notes will be taken of
the meteorology, the botany, and zoology, of the district ; casts will be
taken of inscriptions ; localities will be photographed ; plans will be laid
down on a conveniently large scale.
5. As regards the best time for working, the party should be in the
field early in December, and work continuously till the end of March,
after which field work becomes impossible on account of the growth of
thistles and the thick vegetation. The expedition should consist, ■ if
possible, of two officers of Eoyal Engineers, an Arabic scholar, a
geologist and naturalist, and two non-commissioned officers of Royal
Engineers. The whole expense of the expedition should not exceed
£2,500. For this comparatively small sum a detailed and scientific
examination may be made, and questions which have disturbed the
Christian world for centuries may be finally set at rest.
It is sought to raise this amount by a special eff'ort (independently of
annual subscriptions).
Promises of donations or cheques may be sent to the Secretary, at the
Society's Office, 11 and 12, Charing Cross.
ZION, THE CITY OF DAVID.
WHEEE WAS IT? UOW DID JOAB MAKE HIS WAY INTO IT? AND WHO
IIELrED nlM ?
(N.B.— I am indebted to Lieut. Conder's " Tent Work in Palestine " for the
annexed plan of Jerusalem. The positions mentioned in this paper corresponil
with the plan as follows) : —
ZIOX, THE CITY OF DAVID. 1T9
lu the Paper In the Plan
A is a falloj honniXiag tliQ " Upper City " on the
west and south from "Hippicus" to near
"Siloam."
B is a vaUcy hounding Jerusalem on the east,
from " Comer Tower" to " Siloam."
C is the rrt7Zc(/ marked "Tyropreon Y." and ex-
tending to Siloam.
I) is the "Upper City."
E is at "Acra."
F is at "B (Antonia)."
G is at the place of letter "II,"
Enrogel, or The Virgin's Fount is at "Gihon."
Araunah's Threshing-floor is at "A (Temple)."
Ix answering these questions we shall use the Bible, and utilise two
of Captain Warren's wonderful discoveries at Jerusalem.
Two valleys, A, B, claim to be the Valley of Hinnom ; three positions,
D, E, F, have been advocated as the site of Zion, the city of David. It is
proposed to show that another valley, C, is the true Valley of Hinnom ;
another position, G, the true city of David ; and, lastly, that tbe
"Gutter" was the secret passage above the Virgin's Fount, discovered
by Captain "Warren, up Avhich Joab climbed with the aid of Araunah.
The Valley (Hebr. Gai) of Hixxom.
" The border went up by the valley of the son of Hinnom unto the south
side of the Jebusite, the same is Jerusalem" (Josh. xv. 8 ; xviii. 16 ; Xeh.
xi. 30).
A. The valley west and south of the upper city of Josephus, "Wady er-
Kababy, has been generally taken to be the Valley of Hinnom This line
puts Jerusalem entirely in the tribe Benjamin; but while " Jebusi, which is
Jerusalem," is reckoned to Benjamin in Josh, xviii. 28, some part of it
must have been in Judah, for after the list of its cities (Josh. xv. 63) it
is added, " As for the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the
children of Judah could not drive them out, but the Jebusites dwell
with the children of Judah at Jerusalem unto this day."
Again in Judg. i. 3-8 Judah, contending for his lot, comes to Jerusa-
lem and takes (or had taken) it, setting the city on fire, yet still (i. 21)
" the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites that inhabited
Jerusalem, but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in
Jerusalem unto this day." Apart from Josephus's remark that the
lower city was taken and the upper was not, these passages alone show
that Jerusalem was partly in Benjamin, partly in Judah.
Therefore it is impossible for valley A to be the Valley of Hinnom.
B. The valley (Hebr. Nachal = Brook) of the Kidron is accepted as the
Valley of Hinnom (Jerusalem Eec, p. 307) to suit Arabic accounts, and
(Jer. xix. 2, Auth. Ver.) East Gate as the translation of Ilursith Gate. To
this view is the fatal objection that it sets aside any distinction between
" Gai" and "Xachal," by taking the tvv-o words, to^ describe the same
180 ZIO]Sr, THE CITY OF DAVID.
valley, while Gesenius under Oai observes, " The Hebrews appear to have
discriminated between this and several other words tisually rendered
valley {Naclml, EmeJc), for to the same place they uniformlt/ apply the
game name."
Therefore B is not the Valley of Hinnom.
0. The valley running through the city, called, in part at least, by
Josephus the Tyropceon Valley, passing through the Pool of Siloam
(so called), and now to a great extent filled up, as discovered by Captain
Warren. *
As there are no other valleys, either A or B or C must be the valley
required. It has been demonstrated that neither A nor B is suchi
Therefore C is the Valley of Hinnom.
If this -identification be not correct, then the valleys of Jerusalem are
in a state of inextricable confusion; but for it to be satisfuctonj it must
rest, not on the faults of A and B, but on the merits of C, which are as
follows. We have — •
1. Just the boundary required between the two tribes, giving the
south-west hill and one side of the valley to Judah.
2. A valley of a character suiting the name {Gai) ravine.
3. Possibly a link of connection between the " valley gate " (Old Test.)
and Gennath Gate (Jos. Wars, v. 4. 2), taking the "Gai" to bend
towards the Jaffa Gate.
Gennath =: (?) Ge-hennath Gate = Gate of the Valley of Hir.nom =
Valley Gate (2 Chron. xxvi. 9 ; Neh. ii. 13 ; iii. 13).
4. Jer. xix. 2 in our favour, translating Harsith gate either (Targum)
Dunrj gate, or (Thrupp) Pottery gate, or even East gate (A.V.).
Thus the apparently mysterious silence of the Bible about the great
central valley is simply explained by its identification with the Valley of
Hinnom.
But what becomes of the west and south valley ? Is it not almost as
mysterious that it, too, should not be named in the Bible ? Most
opportunely Jer. xxxi. 38-40 gives us just what we want. Here, obvi-
ously, a circuit is described round the city. In this the Valley of
Hinnom, of course, could have no place, and so it is not found ; but the
west and south valley occurs in the words, ' ' the whole valley of the dead
bodies," where valley is not (Hebr.) Gai or Nachal, but Emeh {JS^'S.. ,
Koixds, and A. V. often Dale).
With what wonderful precision is the Bible now seen to speak, Avhen
we treat it on the reasonable principle that the same name is never
given to any but the same valley — i.e., when we accept as an axiom, in
regard to Jerusalem, that Nachal = Eastern valley ; Gai = Central valley ;
Emek=West and South valley.
This distinction has not been just invented to suit a new theory,
though it suits exactly the topography of Jerusalem. Gesenius long
since noticed it, Lewin aj)proved of it, Williams "had misgivings" in
disregarding it. We only insist on its riyid application, confident that
it is the Z;f_^ to Jerusalem.
ZION, THE CITY OF DAVID. • 181
Armed, now, with Gesenius's canon, * we rusli fearlessly into tlie
valleys, exploding errors and blowing away difficulties right and left.
Gai. — They bury Adonibezek in the earth {yfj edTTTova-., Jos. Ant., v.
2. 2). As LXX. (Josh xv. 8) has ytjs '?a(pafiv, apparently for Gm', by
error for Emek RepTiaim, so Josephus may mean that Adonibezek was
buried in the Gai, doubtless the burying-place of the early kings of
Jebus, as afterwards of the kings of Judah.
Emek. — (1) Absalom's pillar (2 Sam. xviii. IS) was in the hiiufs dal"
{Emek). Josephus adds, two furlongs from Jerusalem, which suits well
Wady er-Eababy.
(2) The king of Sodom, Melchizedec, and Abram, met at the valley of
Shaveh, which is the kings dale [Emek, again). As the great north road
passed near Jebus, it is reasonable to accept the opinion of Josephus,
and to identify the Valley of Shaveh with this Emek (Jer. xxxi. 40).
(3) The Valley (Emek) of Jehoshaphat (Joel iii. 2, 12) or decision
{id. 14). Thrupp (p. 214) says "the allusion to the Avinepresses points
to where the king's winepresses stood (south-east of Jerusalem), and the
metaphor of the harvest conducts us further westward to the cornfields of
the Plain of the Eephaim,"andso concludes thatthe ravine of the Kidron
cannot be exclusively intended. We may assert that the valley intended
isno other than the " EmeJc "or the Kiiufs Dale, whose eastern and western
limits are thus exactly marked by Joel.
(4) Isa. xxii. 1-7 possibly may not refer to Jerusalem (Spk. Comment. \
Our key,, however, passes smoothly the two wards " valley {gai) of
vision" and " the choice of thy {emeh) valleys" — e.g., the King's Dale
and the valley of Eephaim.
(5) Jer. xxi. 13 (commonly applied to Jerusalem), "lam against thee,
O inhabitant of the valley {emek) and rock {fzur) of the plain {mishor),'^
&c. "But," an objector says, "the inhabitants of Jerusalem never
dwelt in the emeh, and the mishor is an expression only used of the
upland downs east of the Jordan. Your key won't move now." That is
bad. But patience! "We have found another near Og's iron bedsteal,
and it turns, beautifully. (See note on Eabbah.)
Nachal (1), Jer. xxxi. 40. " All the fields (Hebr. Sademoth) unto the
brook (Nachal) Kidron." This reading, compared with 2 Kings xxiii. 4,
fields as distinguished from hrook {id. 12) suggests that the proper name
of the valley from (near) the Virgin's Fountain southwards, was not
Nachal but Sademoth ; and tjierefore possibly the king's pool (Neh. ii. 14)
was (or was near) the Virgin's Fountain, froA. which point he went up
by the hrook.
(2) " Hezekiah (2 Chron. xxxii. 4) stopped the Irook (Nachal) that
ran (Heb. overflowed) through the midst of the land."
What he stopped .was doubtless the Virgin's Fountain {i.e., Enrogel),
from which the stream issuing might well, on account of its irregular
action, be said to overfloiu ; for this word Avould exactly describe its
character.
(3) "Manasseh (2 Chron. xxxiii. 14-) built a wall without the city of
18 2 • ZIOX, THE CITY OF DAVID.
David, ontlie west side of GiHon, in the vaUvy " (Nachal). The import-
ance of tliis passage cannot be overrated. Here the mention of Naclial
fixes the wall on the east side of Jerusalem, and not on the west, which
I wrongly adopted in Quarterhj Statement, 1877, p. 203. Next, the
mention of Gihon (a descriptive word= fuuntain-head) fixes the particular
jiart of the Kidron ravine, viz., near the VircjiiiS Fountain, which, being
the only spring in the Nachal, must be the one alluded to under the
title of Gihon. This passage at once sweeps us right into the question
of the true site of Zion, the city of David ; for here a wall built on the
wpst side of the Virgin's Fount was outside the city of David — i.e., the
Virgin's Fount was en the east side of Zion. But again the company
(Xeh. xii. 37, Quarterly Stateinent, 1877-, p. 199), about to enter the temple
from the south, ascends the Ophel hill (so called) by " the stairs that go
down from the city of David." This gives us further its west or
poijth-west boundary. On the north we have as a limit Araunah's
threshing-floor, afterwards the site of Solomon's temple.
Thus, begirt on every side, Zion falls, a second Sedan, and another
great enigma is solved, for we see that the city of David stood on the
eastern hill, on its southern part, commonly called Ophel (G), having
the Virgin's Fountain [i.e., Enrogel or Gihon in the Nachal) at its eastern
base.
■ So strange will this position for Zion seem, that I must quote the
words of Capt. Warren, who, fixing his Zion at E, says (Jer. Eec,
p. 304), "The principal difficulty I find — but this is common to all
theories — is that in the book of Nehemiah the" city of David, the house
of David, and the sepulchre of David all appear to be on the south-east
side of the hill of Ophel, near the Virgin's Fount or Enrogel, and yet
such a position for Zion appears at first sight to be out of the question."
Since, however, 2 Chron. corroborates Nehemiah, it is best at once
candidly to own that -v^-hat the Bible here seems to say, it 7-eaUi/ says.
But if more Biblical evidence is wanted, here it is. Ophel (lit., the
Ophel), in reference to Jerusalem, means always the hill or locality
south or south-east of the temple. An apparent exception has been
Micah iv. 8, " Thou, O tower of the flock, the stronghold [Ophel) of the
daughter of Zion." Place Zion at D, E, or F, and what has Ophel to do
with it ? But with Zion at O, as required by Chronicles and Nehemiah,
the connection could not be closer, and the uniform use of the word is
preserved.
As the south part of th'e eastern ridge formed the stronghold of Zion,
it is obvious that the higher portion to the north, the site of the temple,
might naturally be called Mount Zion.
So far as I know, Josephus never mentions Zion, and ftnly once the
fity of David (Ant. vii. 3. 2). 1 Maccabees (a trustworthy authority)
mentions Mount Zion as the site of the temple or sanctuary, but never
Zi(i)i, for it uses instead the term the cify of David.
In the historical passages of the Hihle Zion=: Stronghold- of Zion^ City
of David, or G, south of the temple, Avhile Mount Zion never occurs.
ZIOX, THE CITY OF DAVID. 18^
In the poetical and prophetical passages both Zion and Mount Zion seem
to have at times a widei* meaning, but not alvvaj'S ; e.g. —
(1) Micah iii. 12, " Zion shall be plowed as afield, and Jerusalem shall
become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of the
forest." Here it seems to me that Zion is simply the city of David,
(2) Psa. xlviii. 2, " Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth,
is Mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King."
What does this mean geographically ?
Compare Isa. xiv. 13, "I will sit also upon the mount of the
congregation {i.e., Mount Zion) in the sides of the north,^' and
Ezekiel'xl. 2, "He set me upon a very high mountain, by which tvas
as the frame of a city on the south.'' '
Lightfoot (Chor. 22) renders it, "The joy of the whole earth is Mount
Sion, on the north side." He quotes Aben Ezra, "Mount Sion is on
the north side of Jerusalem;" Lyranus, "Mount Sion is in the north
part of Jerusalem." On Ezekiel he quotes Kimchi, " The temple was to
be built on a mountain, as before, and the city of Jerusalem is near it
on the south ; " and Lyranus again, " The temple was in the north part^
but the city in the south part." Lightfoot then adds, " Behold ! reader,
Zion on the north part in the Psalmist, and the city on the south part
n the Prophet! " On his map, however, he places Mount Zion at E.
Thrupp (p. 12) says, "Mr. Fergusson, following the Eabbies and
Lightfoot, places Zion north of the temple (I) " Here is a strange eiTor;
but it does not belong to the Eabbies and Lightfoot, for they (as wa
have seen) place Mount Zion or the temple on the north of the city,
which makes all the difference between right and wrong. Thus the old
translation of Psa. xlviii. 2 exactly suits the position of the city of David
at G, as proved above. The three rival sites, D, E, F, are all disqualified
from being Zion by the evidence produced from the Bible, especially by
2 Chron. xxxiii. 14, since it would have been trifling and useless tc
have described a wall just west of Enrogel, as being outdde the city ol?
David, if the latter had been at D, E, or F, but with Zion at G the
precision of the passage is perfect.
Some writers, however, adopt a combination. For instance, F is
extended southwards to take in part or wh'ole of G. But the inter-
position of the temple between F and G is fatal to the notion that, in
the time of David, both F and G were in the city of David, while an
intermediate spot, the future site of the temple, was exterior to it.
Others prefer following Josephus, who says David named Jerusalem
the city of David, and so they give the title of Zion, the city of David, to.
all four, D, E, F, G.
Josephus is not to be blindly followed, being at times inconsistent
with himself. He ventures to say (Ant. vi. 12. 3) that the cave of
AduUam was near the city of Adullam, and that the exploit of drawing
water from the well of Bethlehem took place when David was at
Jerusalem, although it is stated (2 Sam. xxiii. 13, 14; 1 Chron. xi. \o, 16)
that, the three captains "went to David, to the cave of Adullam, and
P
184 zioy, Tnn city of david.
0
David was then in the hold." JosepTius has no claim to settle the
question before iis.
All the Biblical evidence that I know of, which at all helps rs
to fix the position of Zion, the city of David, requires it to be at G.
1 Maccabees entirely agrees with the Bible. So does Josephus, except
on' those points in which he differs 'from 1 Maccabees. It has been
commonly thought that in the topography of Jerusalem we might
elucidate the Bible by Josephus ; the truth is, we have to elucidate
Josephus by .the Bible. His evidence and that of 1 Maccabees is given
below. (See"Acra.")
• The Gutter (Heb. TzinIs^oii).
The only reason for building the fortress of the Jebusites on the com-
paratively wealc hill, G, was, so far as I can discover, because the
spring called Enrogel was at its foot. Just eleven years ago Captain
Warren discovered a secret passage cut in the rocl^ and leading down to
the spring from the hill above, evidently made to enable the inhabitants
in ancient times to draw water without having to come out of the city.
The passage is described in Jer. Eec, p. 251. (See illustration.)
The capture of the fortress is tkus described in the Bible : —
2 Sam. V. 8. " David said on that day, "Whosoever gctteth up to the
fjutter, and sniiteth the Jebusites, and the lame and the blind, that arc
hated of David's soul, he shall he chief and captain."
1 Chron. xi. 0. " David said, Whosoever smiteth the Jebusites first
shall be chief and captain. So Joah the son of Zeruiah ^oent first up,
and was chief."
Tzinnor has for centuries been another crux. Eecently, when the
topography of Jerusalem has been more studied, to get a meaning out of
the expression, the word by one has been translated precipice — "the
cliff or portcullis which Joab climbed; " by another the ;'a?;i7?e,by which
the stronghold was begirt. The word only occurs in two places : here,
translated (A.V.) gutter, and Psa. xlii. 7 ivater spouts, iistuL-u (Vulg.).
Vatablus renders it canales ; Junius, emissarium ; Poole, tubus aquse ;
Bochart, alveus ; Patrick, '" Whosoever cuts o^ fheiv pipes of water ; or
their cisterns into which the water fell." The Speaker's Commentary,
" The wafer course — the only access to the citadel was where the water
had worn a channel — some understand a subterranean channel."
On this point, however, the intuition of Kennicott is perfectly marvel-
lous. He observes: "Most interpreters agree in making the word
signify something hollow, and in applying it to water — so we have in
Josephus (Ant. vii. 3. 1) Sia rwv vTTOKii,ix4uoiv (^apayyoi;/— subterraneous cavities.
Jebus was taken by a stratagem." Ho cites a similar occun'ence from
Polybius : "Eabatamana, a city of Arabia, could not be taken, till a
prisoner showed the besiegers a subterraneous passage, through which
the besieged came down for water." He adds, " This fortress of the
.Icbusitcs seems to have been circumstanced like Eabatamana, in having
ZIO^^ THE CITY OF DAVID. 185
also a subterraneous passage." Accordingly, he gives tliis as an amended
translation :
" David said, Whosoever smiteth the Jebusitos, and through the auMcr-
raneous passage reacheth the lame and blind."
Hence the conclusion is irresistible that the secret passage leading
from the hill of Ophel to the Virgin's Fount is none other than the long-
lost Tzinnor which Joab gallantly scaled on the way to fame.
Captain Warren's account of his own ascent is enough to convince us
that it is extremely improbable, or rather impossible, that Joab ever
climbed the rocky shaft without aid from mthin.
Both David and Joab were extremely fertile in artifices, and with the
story of Eahab and Bethel in mind, we might well expec£ a helping
hand Avould be found among the Jebusites and a large bakhshish given
in return. Some one must have betrayed Jebus, and the preservation of
Araunah after its capture, and his subsequent possession of great wealth,
create an overwhelming suspicion that, he Avas the man. England is
prejudiced in his favour. Let some one at El Kuds decide.
The simplest explanation of one Hebrew word, followed by one of
Captain AVarren's remarkable discoveries, has enabled us to understand a
most obscure passage in the Old. Testament, and after 3,000 years to
trace the very track by which the adventurous Joab gained entrance to
Zion.
Who will say that the Palestine Exploration Fund has not done good
work ? Who will question about the Bible being the most accurate and
truthful of all books ?
ACRA.
According to 1 Mace. i. 33, the city of David being*rebuilt became
the Acra, the adjacent temple site being therein called Mount Zion.
Afterwards, in Josephus, Acra {aKoa.) seems to have been used as
the name of all that part of Jerusalem which was south of the temple ;
and of that alone, for I am not aware of a satisfactory proof that any
part of Jerusalem north of the'upper city and west of the temple is ever
referred to by Josephus as Acra or the lower city. He rather calls it the
suburb = Parbar. (Ant. xv. 11. 5.)
The famous passage in Wars v. 4. 1 seems to be easily explained by
this position of Acra, which thus has a deep vaUeij on the outside.
The Tyropoeon Valley seems to me to extend from about Ptobinson's
arch southwards, dividing the eastern hill from Acra as defined above.
The temple is on the thirdhill, " naturaUu loiuerthan Acra'' (see below),
which hill was parted by a broad valley, not from Acra, but from the
upper city = the other city, Ant. xv. 11. 5, in about the line of Wilson's
Arch.
So far as I can see this is the theory of 01shausen(Thrupp, p. 403), and
it is not to be " easily overthroivn."
The lowering of Acra named by Josephus has been a crux. In the
passage above it does not seem to me that the filling up of the
18 3 ZION, THE CITY OF DAVID.
Asmonean Valley has necessarily auythiag to do with the levelling of
Acra. As to the latter, so different is the account of Josephus from
that in the Maccab. that we are at liberty, if not bound, to reject both his
statements, (1) that Acra was lowered — an exploit of which 1 Maccab.
knows nothing. Indeed it is stated (xiv. 37) that Simon "placed
Jews therein and fortified it (Acra) for the safety of the country and the
city," and three years after, when, according to Josephus, the Acra had
been levelled, Antiochus (xv. 28) alleged against the Jews, "Ye with-
hold Joppe and Gazara, with the tower {aKpa) that is in Jerusalem."
It is not said in reply that the tower {i.e., Acra) had been razed. And (2)
that Acra was naturally higher than the temple hill, as inconsistent
with such passages as 2 Sam. xxiv. 18, &c., and contrary to 1 Mace,
vii. 32, 33 ; for Nicanor having lied into the city of David, after-
wards went tip {aui^ri) to Mount Sion. Josephus, on the contrary
(Ant. xii. 10. 4), says " he went doivn from the citadel imto the
temple " (aurw KariSvTi J/c rrjs a/cpaj els rh Up6v). The ])assage is evidently
both corrujjt and wrong, yet it is used to show that the upper city
or market-place was called Acra (Thrupp, p. 56), and also that the Acra
was above the temple, and therefore to the north of it (Lewin, p. 325).
Though the northern position for the Maccab. Acra has been fixed
upon to suit the statements of Josephus, who says that the Acra was
higher than the temple, it fails to satisfy two other of his statements,
(1) that " the temple was the highest of all the buildings, now that the
Acraj as well as the mountain whereon it stood, were 'demolished ; " and
(2) that "the Asmonjeans levelled the summit of Acre and reduced its.
elevation, in order that the temple might be seen above it in this
direction."
Williams, takmg no account of Ophel, states, "any site for Acra is
liicjher than the temple site;" and the (E) position for Acra required
no levelling for the latter reason, since the ridge slopes eastwards.
Only the southern position for Acra satisfies these two statements.
Possibly some little levelling may have taken place south of cisterns
7 and 8 on plan, Jer. Rec, opp. p. 8.
Further, Josephus seems to me to have been misunderstood by (1) its
being overlooked, that " upper" and " lower" are only relative terms,
and (2) by its being assumed accordingly that lower city throughout his
writings must mean the same place.
(a) In Ant. v. 2. 2 the city of David is spoken of as ^ KOLrvtrepQev
TToAis ; the city below, in the Valley of Hinnom, as ?; Kara.
(b) In Ant. vii. 3. 1, the city of David becomes ^ aKpa (a term it
retained till the time of Josephus) ; and the other part he names as
before.
(c) Wars V. 4. 1. He divides the city into two parts, built on hUls of
different altitude, and so naturally calls one the upper city and the other
the lower city. When he speaks now of the loftier south-west hill, he
calls it 7] avcc ttSkis (adding that David called it cppovpiov) — and the
city of David being in comparison lower — he now calls rj ko-tw ■k6ms. It
n i» .) ) ii Q
/ION, THE CITY OF DAVID. 187
will be observed that while he ai)plies the name aKpa to the upper
oity of David's siege, he tells us that David called the city which he
subsequently built on the south-west hill, not aKpa, but (ppovptov. &Kpa
is a fixed term, tHe loiuer city a variable term.
Virgin's Fountain.
(1) There is overwhelming evidence that the Virgin's Fountain is the
Enrogel of Joshua. Eiblical Diet., Ganneau, Quarterly Statement, 1870,
p. 251.
(2) In 2 Chron. xxxiii. 11 it is Gihoii in the Nachal.
(o) In Isa. viii. <> it is the -waters of Shiloah that go softly. Thrupp,
-•irguing for another object, says (p. 140), "The water of SLloah could
not with any propriety have been used as a symbol of the house of David
had the fountain not been situate within the city." The stream, how-
ever, flowed from Zion, and by help of the Tzinnor, "it was. the
property of the city in the event of a siege," words applied by Thrupp to
Jiis fountain of Siloah.
As it watered the king's garden which was in the Nachal (Song of
Sol. vi. 11), the stream miglit easily have been dammed up so as to
make —
(4) The Jcin<r$ pool (Neh. ii. 14), or Solomon's Pool (Jos. W. v. 4. 2),
nnless the Fountain itself was so called.
As Adonijah was feasting near Enrogel, the Gihon of 1 Kings i. 33
•could not be GUion (2). Indeed, Thrupp says a more accurate rendering
is, " Bring him down, and then lead him iqt to Gihon," which would
exclude Gihon (2) as the scene of Solomon's anointing, but would allow
of a position either north or (as I think) west of Zion, near the Valley
Gate, at the Dragon^ s Spring, possibly near the position of the Serpent's
Pool of Josephus, and the Fons Sioa of Marinus Sanutus (Jer. Eec, p. 29).
May not the identity of Gihon (2) with Siloah (3) have led the
Chaldaic Paraphrast, confusing the two Gihons, to translate Gihon by
Siloah in 1 Kings i. 33 and 2 Chron. xxxiii. 14, and the Mishna to call
Siloah, Gihon?
(o) The old pool (Isa. xxii. 11) or, at any rate, one just below in the
2si"achal.
(6) The brook that ortrflowed (2 Chron. xxxii. 4).
(7) Supposing JouVs Well to be a genuine name, we must allow that
it deserved to be attached to Enrogel after his great exploit there.
SiLOAii, Siloah.
A thread of error may, I think, have been woven into the argument
{Quarterly Btatcnunt, 1877, p. 199) through the assumption that "the
Pool of Siloah is admitted to be the Pool of Siloam, so considered now."
Thrupp endeavours to prove that the Pool and Fountain of Siloam were
Tivithin the city.
On the assumption that one place only is referred to as Siloah or
188 ZION, THE CITY OF DAVID.
•Siloam iu the Bible and Josephus, I still hold to the traditional site.
But it seems to me that there are weighty reasons for concluding that
three different places are thus alluded to :
1. The waters of Shiloah (Is. viii. 6). The whole import of the passage
appears to me to make this the Virgin's Fount =:(probably) the Pool of
Siloam (John ix.).
2. The Fountain of Siloam (Josephus) =z that so called now, the name
passing down with water from (1).
3. The Pool of Siloah (Neh. iii. 15) = a pool within the city, near
Eobinson's Arch.
The fact that the present Pool of Siloam is just below the level of the
aqueduct from the Virgin's Fount seems to make it certain (as sug-
gested by Lieut. Conder) that both were made at the same time— i.e., by
Hezekiah.
This, therefore, is the pool that was made between the two walls
(Neh. iii. 16; Isaiah xxii. 11 ; ditch=pool). But to have made this pool
with the large one existing just below would have been labour lost.
Therefore it seems neither of these was the Pool of Siloah (Neh.), which
must accordingly be looked for elsewhere.
Lightfoot (Chron. 345) asserts that there is a distinction in the Hebrew
between Siloah (Neh.) and Shiloah (Isa.), so slight, indeed, that pre-
viously he had overlooked it, but that it is recognised in the LXX. by
their different translations.
This distinction seems also to be preserved in Josephus. He calls the
fountain of Siloam l,i\a)d/j., but in one passage he uses the word 2i\oa.
He says (W. ii.,. 16. 2), «'The Jews persuaded Neopolitanus to walk
round the city as far as Siloam {/xexpi rov 2iAoa). So he walked round
and then xomt up to the temxjU"
Ecclus. xlviii. 17. " Ezekias fortified his city and brought in M;a<er
into the midst thereof." Thrupp (101) reads ela-fiyayeu els /xia-ov ainwy
rhv Tdy, and adds rwy may be another form for Tiiiv. Alex. MS. reads-
(as Eng. V.) not ray but liSccp.
The Mishna say, " Now Siloam was in the midst of the city."
. The position of the present (so-called) Pool of Siloam hardly suits
these passages, but the former existence of a pool (called Siloah, Neh.
2tAoS Jos.) in the Valley of Hinnom somewhere near Eobinson's arch
would very well suit the walk of Neopolitanus and do away with
certain difficulties.
It may be the lower pool (Isa. xxii. 9), formed by the junction of
waters brought down the valleys running from the Damascus and Jaffa
gates —
(a) By a conduit from the north ;
(6) By a conduit from the upper outlet of Gihon. " Hdfeekiah brought
it straight down to the west side of the city of David." (2 Chron. xxxii.
30). The present Pool of Siloam cannot so well be said to be on the west
side of the city of David, as on the south.
(2) It enables us to place the sepulchres of David in the position
E.UJBAII OF THE CUILDllEN OF A:a:-IOX. 1 H;i
approved by Major Wilson, not so fifr down in the Valley of Hiunom as
Ave must do if the present Siloam is Siloah.
(3) We may also draw the line of the wall of Nehemiah (as proposed
by Lieut. Conder) across Ophel, if such be necessary, instead of bringing
it down to the present Siloam.
This doubt as to the exact position of the Pool of Siloah (Neh.) of
course unsettles the position I endeavoured to fix for the sepulchres of
David. Thrupp (p. 164) just notices a legend placing the tomb of the
kings near the fountain of Siloam.
The Two W^^J-LS.
1. As the wall (2 Chron. xxxiii. 14) was an additional wall in the
Kidron Valley, the words of Josephus, 5(a Kapr^pas (pdpayyos, might be
applied to this part, and so on this side Zedekiah may have escaped.
2. Or, since the ditch or pool of Hezekiah (Isa. xxii. 11) might have
to be defended by a new fortification, two walls — the forerunners of the
lo7ig walls of Athens — may have been run" down to the present Pool of
Siloam, and between them the escape made.
3. Or, since the diverting of the waters of Enrogel would prevent the
easy irrigation of the king's gardens in the JSTachal, fresh gardens may
have been made in the Valley of Hinnom and Tophet, use being made of
the water from the lower pool (that of Siloah), placed as above (3). The
escape might then have been made by the fountain gate and through
these gardens. W. F. Bircti.
EABBAH OF THE CHILDEEN OF AMMON.
The Eabatamana of Polybius, afterwards Philadelphia, now Amman,
deserves special notice.
A. It was situated in the plain {mishor) "east of the Jordan, and con-
sisted of two parts, the city and the citadel. "The city lay in two
narrow valleys ; these uniting become one, which has a good supply of
water and pools large and deep enough for a swim " (Q. S., 1872, p. 65).
See Jer. xlix. 3, 4. " Cry, ye daughters of Rabbah. . . . Where-
fore gloriest thou in the valleys, thy flowing valley " {emek, in each case).
Crowning the heiyht {?=z'H.ehr. TzuK = rock) on the north-west, the
shoulder between the two valleys, rose the citadel, holding a com-
manding position over these valleys (= emeJc) and the covmtry round
(== misJior),^' id. 65.
How perfectly do these characteristics suit Jer. xxi. 13, 14 {eiaek'o,
above). Our key fits exactly, and makes it certain that the prophet
refers to Eabbah. Besides (Jer. xxi. 13), " Who shall come down to
us? " is the very question repeated (Jer. xlix. 4), " Who shall come unto
me ? " and the king of Babylon Avas advancing against both Eabbah
and Jerusalem (Ezek. xxi. 20, 21) though he took the latter first.
Jeremiah prophesies (xxi. 12-14) that the gate of mercy was still open
to Jerusalem, but not to Eabbah.
190 KOTES OX THE POSITION OF TAEICHEiE.
Thus the topograpliical heij is useful in rightly applying misapplied
prophecy.
B. Eabbah, as Polybius relates, was taken (b.c. 218) through its
Tzinnor being revealed to the enemy.
In 2 Sam. xii. 26-28, " Joab fought against Eabbah of the children
of Ammon, and took the royal city. And Joab sent messengers to
David, and said, I have fought against Eabbah, and liave talcen the city
of waters. Now therefore gather the rest of the people together,
and encamp against the city and take it."
Some think the words in italics should be translated, " / liave inter-
cepted or cut off the waters of the city" Houbigant gives, it " ei aquas ah
urbe Jam derivavi." This agrees with Josephus, who says, rwv re vSaTcni/
avTovs airoTe,uv6/xevos, and adds that the Ammonites besieged in the
citadel " depended only on one small well of water, and this they
durst not drink of too freely, lest the fountain should entirely fail
them."
Joab might have beeen poetical, but it was more fit in a military
despatch to say, "/ have cut off' the loaters tuhich supplied the town,"
(Junius) than to describe the "royal city" as " the city of waters."
Joab coidd never forget the Tzinnor of Jebus. It is not likely, then,
that he would be over-hasty to say he had cut off the waters from the
city, merely because he had possession of the stream or pool in the
valley, but if there was a Tzinnor or gutter at Eabbah, and if with or
without the help of some unpatriotic Ammonite (? Shobi, the son of
Nahash) Joab found it and stopped it, he miaht safely speak of an
mcending surrender in his pressing message to David.
The words of Josephus are just the account we should expect from
a person knowing but a part of the true case.
Here is a nice bit of excavation for our American cousins. " Biblical
discovery in Philadelphia " would do for a sensational heading. With
a Tzinnor found at Zion, another cropping up at Eabbah, I would ask,
"What next?" Was not there a Tzinnor at Samaria, to enable it to
endure a three years' siege? W. F. Bmcn.
NOTES ON THE POSITION OF TAEICHEiE.
The following notes on the position of Taricheoe may prove of value
to those interested in the topography of the Sea of Galilee. The city,
though not noticed in the Bible, appears to have been only second in
importance to Tiberias, and was regularly besieged by the Eomans.
Tarichea3 is apparently not noticed in the Talmud, and thus it is fi-om
Pliny and from Josephus only that we obtain any indications of its
position.
Like Tiberias, Taricheoe was situate on the shore, with cliffs rising
above it. It was washed on some sides by the sea, and strongly fortified
on the land side. Before the city there was a plain. (B. J. iii. 10. 1).
NOTES ON THE POSITION OF TARIClIE.E. 191
One fni-tbGi- important indication we obtain from the Life of
Josephus, in which he says that Tarichea) was thirty furlongs from
Tiberias (Vita, 32). .
The town was walled, and contained a hippodrome. Its position was
•one of special strength, because surrounded partly by the sea, so that
during the tieges the place could never be completely invested, and
provisions and reinforcements could be— and were— brought into it by
sea.
Tarichefc was apparently, as will be seen, in sight of a certain place
called iSinnabris. This is another most important indication. The
western shore of the Sea of Galilee is bowed outwards, and presents a
steep wall of precipice above a narrow shore line. Tiberias lies in a
recess, and cannot be seeu from the south end of the lake west of Jordan ;
while the line recedes yet further in the neighbourhood of Mejdel.
Sinnabris is also mentioned as being thirty stadia from Tiberias
(B. J. iii. 9, 7), and an important statement is made by Josephus that the
Roman camp there constructed could " be easily seen by the innovators.''
The name Sinnabris occurs in the Talmud, under the form Sineberii,
as fhat of a place in Galilee, but without any notice of its position.
The name Avas heard first by Rabbi Schwartz as still existing near the
Sea of Galilee. In 1872 I received from the Eev. Mr. Zeller, of Naza-
reth,-alist of villages and ruins in Galilee, and to my delight found
the name Sin-en-Ndbreh put down by the native scribe as that of a
place near Tiberias. I pointed this out to Lieut. Kitchener, and he
was fortunately able to ascertain the exact position of the place and to
verify the existence of the name among the peasantry.
Sinnabris has thus been fixed at a ruin on the road leading from
Tiberias to Beisan. It is close to the ruined site of Kerak, and west
of the road, being situate on a spur of the cliff, while a wall runs from
it to the sea (see P. E. F., Quarterly Statement, July, 1877, p. 120).
The ruin of Kerak appears (as seen from the hills in 1874, and as
described by Lieut. Kitchener) to have been that of a considerable
town. It consists of a large plateau, partly artificial and projecting
into the lake. Only a narrow entrance is left on the west by which the
plateau could be reached ; the lake and the Jordan surround it on the
other sides, and a broad waterditch forms a further protection to the
site.
These two sites, Sinnabris and Kerak, which are thus close together,
are just about thirty stadia from the ruins of ancient Tiberias, which we
learn from the Talmud did not exactly occupy the same position as
modern Tiberias. (Tal. Jer. Megilla, i. 1.)
With regard to the identification of Sinnabris Ave can have no doubt.
The name exists, the distance agrees, the direction is that in which the
thirty stadia should be measured — namely, on the way from Boisan to
Tiberias, for Vespasian, when camping at Sinnabris, was advancing from
Scythopolis or Beisan to Tiberias.
The site cannot, however, be said to be " easily seen " from Tiberias,
192 NOTES 0:N the position of TAllICnE-"E.
as a wall of rocky cliff projects between the two. Thus we are led to
suppose that it was the " innovators " of Taricheis — the other revolted
town which Yespasian was advanciug to attack — who were overawed
by the camp at Sinnabris.
The site of Kerak in every way agrees with the description of Tarichese
by Josephus. It is a, large site, and was evidently once a place of
importance. It lies beneath the cliffs, and is washed by the lake. It
has on the south a plain — the broad, flat Jordan valley, and it is thir-ty
stadia from Tiberias.
It has, howev.er lately been proposed to look for Tarichese north ofr
Tiberias. Major Wilson places it at Mejdel, which is rather more than
three miles (or not more than twenty-eight stadia) from Tiberias. Lieut.
Kitchener proposes the ruin of Kuneitriyeh (" the little arch"), which
stands on a hill-top, with a steep slope descei^ding into the lake, and
which is only two miles, or sixteen stadia, from Tiberias.
Neither of these sites seem to me admissible, for the following reasons,
which I submit to the consideration of the readers of the Quarterh/
Statement : —
1st. The situation does not agree in either case with the descrip'tion
of a site washed by the lake on several sides and situate at the bottom
of a mountain.
2nd. In the case of Kuneitriyeh the distance does not agree with that
noticed by Josephus.
3rd. "VVe have a definite statement of Pliny's that Tarichese was at
the south end of the lake, or just where the site of Kerak is now found.
(See Quarterly Statement, October, 1877, p. 181.) PHny is an authority
who cannot be lightly set aside without some very strong counter
evidence.
4th. It seems further clear from the narrative of Josephus that
Vespasian in his attack on the revolted cities Tiberias and Tarichetje
established two camps, one against the one, the other against the other.
Sinnabris was his fu'st camp, and his second was at the hot baths south
of Tiberias (B. J. iv. 1, 3). Both of these sites are well known, and
both are south of Tiberias. There is in the narrative of Josephus no
account, so far as I have been able to find, of any third camp north of
Tiberias. The- second camp — that at the hot baths — is described as
being between Tarichece and Tiberias (B. J. iii. x. l),*and thus the
words of Josephus fully agree with the statement made by Pliny that
Taricheaj was south of Tiberias. The distance and the character of the
site, with the proximity of Sinnabris in full view, all seem to point
definitely to the important site of Kerak as being the ancient Tarichese.
I am not aware that I have omitted anything' which could lead to a
contrary conclusion, for Vespasian was evidently well able to leave
Taricheaj in his rear iu advancing on Tiberias after he had established a
strong post in the commanding situation occupied by Sinnabris as now
identified. C. E. Coxder.
193
THE ITINERAEIES OF OUE LOED.
The following is a scheme of oiiv Lord's travels, derived from a careful
and repeated examination of the Gospels. The capitals denote that this
is His first coming to the place during the ministrj^ as far as appears
from the narrative. J. means a direct journey ; S. a more or less
lengthened sojourn ; T. an itinerating sojourn, or tour ; V. a voyage.
I have added a f«\v references in the case of the least definite para-
graphs— not full ones, but just enough to indicate the allusion. No. 7
is specially interesting as informing us of a long day's journey ; and
Nos. 14, 18, 21, are so ou account of the problems they present.
" Bethania," it will be observed, denotes Bethany by the Jordan, the
Bethabara of our En^^ish version.
I have ventured to insert Bethany in No. 24, believing that Luke x.
38-42 refers to this visit to the neighbourhood of Jerusalem.
1. Beth.:V2s'i A and neighbourhood to Can A. J.
2. Cana to Capernaum. J.
3. Jerusalem and Judsea. S. Passover.
4. Jerusalem to Sychem. J.
5. Sychem to Cana. J.
6. Galilee ; Nazareth, &c. ; with Capernaum as head-quarter.'*. T.
Luke iv. 14 to vii. 10, and parallels.
7. Capernaum to Nain. J.
8. Galilee; Capernaum as head-quarters. T. Luke vii. 18 to viii-
21, and parallels.
9. Capernaum to G^U)AEA. V.
10. Return. Y.
11. As No. 8. Matt. ix. 10 to xi. 1 ; Luke viii. 41 to ix. G. T.
12. Jerusalem. S. A Feast. John v.
13. Capernaum to near Bethsaida. T. Passover. John vi„ and
parallels.
14. Return. V.
15. As No. S. John vii. 1 ; Mark vi. oG to vii. 23. T.
16. To "the coasts of Tyre and Sidon." T. Mark vii. 24, and
parallels.
17. To "the coast of Decapolis." T. Mark vii. 31, and parallels.
18. From the east of the Lake to between Magdala and Dalma-
NUTHA. Y. Mark viii. 10, and parallels.
19. From the west of the Lake to near Bethsaida. Y.
20. Thence to the '" villages of C^sarea Philippi." J.
21. Thence to the*IMouNT of Transfiguration — i.e., Hermon. J.
22. Thence to Galilee. J. Mark ix. 30.
23. As No. 8. Matt, x^'ii. 22 to xix. 1 ; Luke ix. 43 to x. 16. T.
24. Jerusalem and Betii^iny. S. Feast of Tabernacles.
25. St. Luke's long episode. T. Places for the most pai't unknown.
26. Jerusalem. S. Feast of Dedication.
194 ON THE SITE or AI.
27. To Bothania. J. John x. 40. ,
28. To Bethany. J. John xi. IT.
29. To Epheaiji. J. and S. John xi. 54.
30. Ephraim to Jekiciio. J.
31. Jericho to Bethany. J
32. Bethany by Bethphage and the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem.
The Triumphal Eide. T. H. Guest.
ON THE SITE OF AI.
I HAVE long felt insuperable difficulty in accepting as the site of Ai
the spot known as et Tel. The fact that it is due south of Beitin, or
Bethel, seems to me quite decisive against it. Mr. Birch, in the July
Quarterly Statement, while advocating another southern site, quotes the
authority of Jahn to show that orientals call any wind an east wind
that blows from any point on the eastern side of a meridian. But I fail
to see the bearing of this on the question. We have to do with geogra-
phical statements of a very distinct nature (Gen. xii. 8 ; Josh. vii. 2)—
statements expressly intended to make themselves intelligible. And it
is important to observe that the historical writers of the Old Testament
do not as a matter of fact iise the term Dip, east, in the loose popular
sense above mentioned. The utmost latitude we can assume in inter-
preting their designations of this and the throe other cardinal points of
the compass must be, I think, limited to -within four points, right or
left. May I venture to plead for another site to be identified with the
Ai of Abraham and Joshua, and to examine the case for Eummon, the
" Eock Eimmon " of Judges xx. and xxi. ?
(1) Of course there is at the outset the obvious objection of the total
difference of name. But is this fatal? Dean Stanley (as quoted with
approval by Lieutenant Kitchener in the January QuarterJij Statement)
did not hold such an objection decisive against Michmash.
Indeed I am not sure that a different name has not been occasionally
a veil to obscure what lies before our very eyes ; and I may just refer
in passing to Mr. Birch's exhaustive ai'ticle on the identification of Nob
(Jan., 1877) as a parallel instance to the present identification erf Ai.
(2) We must observe that the two names Ai and the Eock Eimmon
are not contemporaneous, or used by the same writer. The two Eim-
mons of Joshua are unquestionably distinct from the modern Eummon
and the Eock Eimmon. The latter appears in the last two chapters of
the Book of Judges, some time after the utter destruction of Ai, but
while Phineas, the son of Eleazar was still alive (xx. 28).
(3) The name of Ai, " a heap of ruins," was one not unlikely to be
dropped. There were many spots with the same name. Dean Stanley
mentions three ("Sinai and Palestine," p. 119, note 4), and there waa
one beyond the Jordan (Jer. xlix. 3). And in modern times we know
of Haiyan, Haiyeli, and Haiy, hereabouts (Lieut. Kitchener, April
ON THE SITE OF AI. 195
number). After the conquest, moreover, there would be many a
" Ruined He;ip," and perhaps the nation wouTd gladly lay aside the
memory of that one which was the scene of their first defeat and of an
inglorious victory. The name of the "Pomegranate Rock" would
readily offer itself to describe the spot.
(4) It is in favour of this view also that the name Ai no more appears
in history, and very doubtfully, if at all (Isa. x. 28) in prophecy, until
the times of the restoration, when man's knowledge was derived from
books, not from tra(Jition or usage, and antiquarian research was the
fashion of the age.
Thus far I have been trying to anticipate some of the priacipal objec-
tions to the view. May I now point out how exactly it meets the
requirements of the narrative ?
(1) It is due east from Beitin, and thus corresponds exactly to the
description in Gen. xii. S ; Josh. vii. 2 ; as well as Josh. viii. 9, to be
referred to by-and-by.
(2) In Josii. xii. 9, Ai is described as beside (Heb. l?'2) Bethel. "The
idea is that of near distance, of being just off from, the propc ahessc ah
.... aliqua re." (Gesenius, Gram. p. 220).
(3). In Josh. vii. 2 it is beside (Heb. OV) Bethaven. This indication
is of little value until we knov/ where Beth-aven was. But, taking it
as identified with Deir Diwau, the description is sufficiently near. But
the passage should probably be rendered thus : " And Joshua sent men
from Jericho to Ai, which, tor/ether loith Bethaven, is on the east side of
Bethel." The Vatican Septuagint omits the clause, '• beside Bethaven,"
altogether.
(4) The identification of Ai with Rummou renders the narrative o£
the capture of the place very clear and intelligible. The Israelites are
encamped in the " plain " of the Jordan, the '^^TV of viii. 14, and close
by Jericho, vii. 2.
An army about to attack Rummon would probably make its way
along the road which runs from Ain Duk to et Taiyibeh, and so make
its appearance on the north of the threatened place. Xow we find
(viii. 11) that Joshua did lead his main army to a camp on " the north
side of Ai, with a valley (Heb. «^a, ravine) between them and Ai. The
Septuagiut reads, " and as they wero going they came opposite the city
on the east," a clause which is strikingly in harmony wi^h the sup-
posed route. The ravine may be identified with the upper part of
Wady Rubeiyeh, the encampment being about south south-east of et
Taiyibeh.
During the night Joshua had prepared his ambush, which (v. 9)
"abode between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of Ai." Exactly so
situated we find a wady above the Wady E^ Sik, and in continuation of
it, under the names of Wady El Muteh and Wady El Ain. Here they
were bidden, while scattering themselves as far as necessary for conceal-
ment, not to go far from the city (v. 4)."
196 ON THE SITE OE KIEJATH-JEAPJJI.
For this ambusli must do the work of destioiction. The main army-
came forth only to show themselves, and then by a feigned retreat to
challenge the people of Ai to a second pursuit.
As soon, then, as the latter perceived that the Israelites were gone by
the way they .came, into the midst of the valley (Heb. p'^V, v. 13),
the wide lower land over which they had passed, they started in pm'suit.
There was a feint of battle " before the plain" (Heb. ~?7>.i:j "'^.^^), in
immediate sight of the open expanse of the low lands by the Jordan.
The Israelites made as if they were again beaten, and fled by the way
of the " wilderness." The sequel is well known, and further details
have little to bear upon our present question. Ai was made " an heap
(Heb. "7^) for ever, even a desolation unto this day." And if Eummon
be the spot, its very name is gone.
I fear this article is too long already, and designedly omit, on this
account, the discussion of any farther collateral and incidental
questions. T. H. Guest.
ON THE SITE OF KIEJATH-JEAEIM.
The exact position of Kirjath-jearini is of great importance for the
right understanding of several Biblical naiTatives. Fortunately we
have several statements as to its position relatively to known places.
Thus Jud. xviii. 12 tells that it lay east of Beth-shemesh ; and from
1 Sam. vi. 21, vii. 1, we learn that in relation to that same place it lay
'•' up," and was on, or by, a hill (Gibea). These indications lead us to
look for it at the head of the great valley of Surar, in which Beth-
shemesh lies.
Chesalon (Kesla) lies up eastward from Beth-shemesh, and we know
from Josh. xv. 10 that Kirjath-jearim must be sought still farther east,
or south-east.
Again, Psa. cxxxii. 6, though obscure, manifestly implies that the ark
whUe at Kirjath-jearim, or when on its way thence to Sion (2 Sam. vi.),
was near Bethlehem Ephratah.
Further,, the description in Josh xv. 8-10 of the boundary of Judah
tells us that it ran up from the ravine of Hinnom to the top of the
.mountain lying west of that ravine and at the north end of th^ valley of
Eephaim ; that thence it, reached along from the top of the ridge to the
fountain of the water of Nephtoah, and went out to the cities of Mount
Ephron, and reached to Kirjath-jearim, whence the border cui:ved
westward to Mount Seir, and passed over to the north shoulder of Har
Jearim, which is Chesalon.
Of this boundary line the extremities,' Hinnom and Kesla, are known.
. A curious feature of it appears in Josh, xviii. 1-5, where the southern
boundary of Benjamin (and northern of Judah), while traced from the
west eastwards, is said to go from Kirjath-jearim tvestward. The cities
ON TIIK SriE ur KIXIJATII-JEAHIM. 197
of Moimt Ephron, or the last of the group, must therefore have lain to
the south or south-east of Kirjath-jearim. The line could not have gone
to the north-iuest, or it would have formed the western, not the southern
boundary of Benjaniin, and the borders of Judah and Benjamin would
have touched to the west of Kirjath-jearim, contrary to Josh, xviii. 14.
' Just such a line would be described if we trace the boundary of Judah
from the valley of Hinnom, due westward, and not up by the north- '
west side of Jerusalem, sweeping around the valley of Rephaim so as to
enclose it, coming thus near UacheVs Sepulchre (1 Sam. x. 2),
and thence westward a little, then stretching back in a north-easterly
dii-ectio'n towards Ain Karim, and so out westward by Kesla.
Or it might be drawn, I think, so as to exclude the valley of Rephaim,
giving that to Benjamin. The boundary would then run by the Wady el
Werd, and Eachel's tomb would be literally on the border of Benjamin.
The identification of Lifta with Nephtoah is no doubt conclusive
against such a proposal, if it could be relied on. But does not Lifta
rather represent Eleph of Josh, xviii. 28 ? And though the proposal to
identify Nephtoah and ISTetophah has been condemned, there is not a
little to be said for it. Xephtoali is only named in Joshua xv. 9, xviii.
lo, while ISTetophah does not occur earlier than 2 Sam. xxiii. 28, 29.. We
read only of "the shining of the water of Nephtoah," not of a town of
that name. There was a Wady Beth Netophah, and presumably " a
water " in the wady of the same name. Netophah was applied to a con-
siderable district: there were "villages of the Netophathites " (1 Chron.
ix. 16, Neh. xii. 28). It lay not far from Bethlehem .(1 Chron. ii. 54,
Neh. vii. 26, Esd. v. 17, 18) ; and the form of the name Anetophah
has been recognised in Autubeh, to the north of Bethlehem, while Beth-
Netophah has been identified with Beit Nettif some miles to the west.
Notably the name of Netophah is found in the Greek both as NeTojcpa.
and Ne^ura, illustrating the very transposition of consonants required ;
while the change of Teth for Tau in the Hebrew cannot be accounted
of much moment, considering the age of the record in Joshua, and that
flie " t " — sometimes "th" — disappears altogether in " Nehopas," yet
another form of Netophah.
As to the Valley of Eephaim, it is not certain where precisely it lay,
whether to the north or south of the boundary line, though probably
to the south. From 2 Sam. xxiii. 13 we gather that at least its southern
extremity 'lay west of Bethlehem, and so interposed betAveen it and
Adullam. The statement of 1 Sam. x. 2 may perhaps thus be explained ;
it is certainly precise as to the sepulchre of Eachel being on the border
of Benjamin, while the description in Gen. xxxv. seems to fix it pretty
conclusively. It would scarce be counted strange if the boundary here
made even "some detour to enclose the birthplace of Benjamin in the
inheritance of his children.
May not Ain Karim preserve the sound if not the site of Kirjath-
jearim. It is written in Ezra ii. 25, ^Arivi {2JossibI}/ that is the correct
reading in Josh, xviii. 28, where, as in 1 Sam. vii. 1, we find it linked
198 ox THE SITE OF KIKJATn-JEAiaM:.
■wifh a Giherf^. "When the "city of the woods" became a ruin, the
'• well" would remain ; and as the neighbouring Beth-shemesh became
Ain Shetns, Kirjath 'Arim would become Ain Karim. That the Ain should
take this Caph sound is nothing unusual. The proposed identification
of Ain Karim with Rehp.in is a possible one, no doubt ; but, if accepted,
it would surely throw the boundary of Benjamin too far south to -admit
of locating Kirjath-jearim at Kuriet el Enab. And as the proper name
of that place is simply Kariet [Quarterly Statement, 1876, p. 80), it is
more probably Kirjath of Josh, xviii. 28. Ain Karim has been identified
also with Kerem of LXX., Josh. xv. 59, and with Bethcar, so that it seems
yet undetei'mined.
Since the probability of Ain Karim being the site of Kirjath-jearim
had occurred to me, I have met with the interesting announcement in
the Januarj' number of the Statement, p. 19, of the discovery of Kliurhet
'Erma, " a ruin on the brink of the great valley two miles south of Kesla
or Chesalon." Here mau he the true site of Kirjath-jearim ; and the
boundary may not have "reached along" so far north as Ain Karim.
This is a matter to be judged of only on the spot, or by one intimately
acquainted with the contour of the ground ; but I venture to suggest
that the boundary line should go thus, much farther south than is
usually drawn, by the Wady Bitir down into the Wady Surar.
Such a line would fit the Biblical narratives. The men of Beth-shemesh
would send the ark up the valley eastward, as its easiest road back to
Shiloh. There is no trace of any road ever having led over to Kuriet el
Enab. When, after its resting there, it was removed to Sion, it would
Ijass not far fromEphratah (Psa. cxxxii. 6), and of it, as there, David
must have kno\\ni as a boy at Bethlehem, and so would naturally
describe one going out to seek the lost ark coming on its track, so to say,
"hearing of it " there. Again, it is more than probable that the gathering-
of Israel to Mizpeh (1 Sam vii.) was to the neighbourhood of the ark :
that this was the place where Samuel judged Israel, and where Saul
found him in the land of Zuph, whence he retm-ned by Eachel's sepulchre
(1 Sam. ix. 11, 25 ; x. 2).* 3IifjJit not this he recognised in Soba ? Placing;
Mizpeh here, we could better understand the story of Israel's victory
when they drove the Israelites to below Beth-car. Beth-car (or Bethchor)
seems to be identified in the narrative with " Shcn " (1 Sam. vii. 11, 12) ;
for which we should rather read Ha-shen, X)robably for Ashan. The
LXX. read Yasan, and the Peshito, Syriac, and Arabic versions render
both words (Smith's Dictionary) by Beth-jasan. That they were two^
names for one place, or the names of places so close as to be practically
.one, is also rendered more than probable by their conjunction in Chor-
ashan, 1 Sam. xxx. 30, as a district not far from Ziglag, somewhere south
of Beit-jibrin and east of Gaza. If Ha-shen is the Ashan of Josh. xv.
38, this must have been its locality. If the defeated Philistines were
* Compare 1 Sam. i. 1, where we have Zophim and Zupli connccteil with
Ephrath in Samuel's ancestry. The freiueut connection of Mizpeh and Zophim
or Zuph is well known.
NOTE ON GAZA.
199
chased down the valley past Gatb, Ebenezer, which was set up
between Mizpeh and Beth-car, might be sought for in that neighbour-
hood ; and the locality of the earlier battle, when " the ark of God was
taken," would be fixed thereabouts, for the Israelites pitched in Ebenezer
(1 Sam. iv.) and the Philistines in Aphek.
This suggested removal southward of all those scenes in Samuel's life
which follows the abandonment of Neby Samwil for Soba as the Mizpeh
of 1 Samuel (not the Maspha of later times) seems to accord better, not
only with these narratives, but also with vii. 16, as the places of judg-
ing are more equally distributed; with xv. 12, which implies that
Samuel's house was not very far from Carmel; with viii. 2, as his sous
at Beersheba were not so removed from him as otherwise might seem ;
and we would thus understand why David clung so tenaciously to a
neighbourhood, hostile and treacherous to him (as KeUah), because
of Samuel's frequent presence there.
July, 1878. Archibald Hendebson.
NOTE ON GAZA.
While the Survey was being carried on from Gaza three sunken
pillars were found, marking the angles of a racecourse or exercising-
ground for horses, called Merdan ez Zeid. It was situated to the east
of the town, in the level country beyond el Muntar, and is supposed to
have been Md down by the Saracens'about 700 years ago.
The pillar at the south-west corner was found to bear an inscription ;
it was of grey granite 18 inches in diameter. The inscription was con-
siderably worn by time, and partially covered by the ground.
Mr. W. D. Pritchett has lately informed me of the discovery of a
fourth pillar, exactly completing the rectangle, but only showing a few
inches above the ground after the winter rains, and also inscribed.
The letters were filled with a red pigment, of which traces remain
throughout. The rugged line shows where the stone was broken off
with the portion probably bearing the date.
The inscription is 14i- inches long by 12 high.
M. Clermont Ganneau, to whom this inscription has been submitted,
reads it as follows : —
+ ToC Kvplov 7} yrj koI to
7rA.i7pco/xa avrrjs
fTrl 'A\e^dv5pov
5£0K($f ou eVAa =
K(ii<pT] TO, iiSe(a)-{e = )
Tons xf- vepiTiov
He remarks : The first two lines appear to belong to a religious
formula, a Biblical text; it is found in the commencement of
Psalm xxiv., " The earth is the Lord's, and all that thez-ein is." The
inscription gives the exact text of the Septuagiut version.
Q
200 GEEMAX ASSOCIATIOIs".
The rest of tbe inscription relates to a work done under the Deacon
Alexander, the facing with stonjs of the groundwork of some
monument.
An inscription found at Ayun, in Nabatea, mentions an exactly similar
work emiDloying even the same word eirXaKcidr], meaning "has been faced."
The modern Arabic term Belateh, meaning "to pave with flags of stone,"
is in common use among the Arabs. The inscription is dated of the
year 600, in the month Peritios (February), dating from a local era
much used at Gaza, and employed in many other inscriptions of that
place.
It is possible that the date may be read of the year 640. In the first
case, the date XM, where the M is not a numerical figure, but the initial
of the word fj.r]v6s = month.
In the latter case, the superimposed line would extend over the XM,
forming one date.
As there is no sign of this horizonal bar this must remain an open
question for the present.
M. Ganneau also remarks on the peculiar form of the Alpha in
'A^e^dvSpov and in SiaKovov.
H. H. K.
THE GERMAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE EXPLORATION
OF PALESTINE.
We have received from Herr Baedeker the first number of the Journal
of the new German Association, with a copy of their rules.
The Journal opens with a preface written by Professor E. Kautzsch, in
which the writer, after thanking the supporters of the undertaking, and
explaining the necessity of establishing a German Society for the
Exploration of Palestine, gives a* sketch of the origin of the new
Association.
It was in the summer of the year 1876 that Dr. Zimmermann, Dr.
Socin, and Professor Kautzsch met together to consult on the best way
of founding such a society. It seemed to them that the co-operation of
influential men might be best obtained by personal and individual
effort in introducing the subject by letter. This was accordingly done.
The answers received proved more encouraging than was at first antici-
pated. A year was spent in preliminary arrangements, and on Sep-
tember 28th, 1877, the Society was at last definitely constituted. At a
meeting held for the purpose a General Committee was elected, rules
and statutes were read and approved, and an Executive Committee was
chosen from the general body.
The following is a list of the General Committee : — Baron von Alten,
Herr Karl Baedeker, Dr. A. Berliner, Dr. A. Briill ; Herr Briining,
German Consul- General in Syria; Dr. F. DeUtzsch, Dr. O. Fraas, Eev.
GERMAN ASSOCIATION. 201
C. Furrer, Dr. J. Gildomeister, Herr Guthe, Dr. E. Kautzsch, Dr. O.
Kersten, Dr. H. Kiepert, Prof. A. W. Koch, Field-Marshal Count von
Moltke ; Freiherr von Munchhausen, German Consul in Jerusalem ; Dr.
F. W. M. Philippi, Eev. D. Reinicke, Dr. C. Sandreczki, Herr C. Schick,
Dr. A. Socin, Dr. F. A. Strauss, Dr. Ph. "WollF, Dr. C. Zimmermann.
It will be remarked that the list is a tolerably representative one. It
includes, besides the honoured name of Von Moltke, those of many-
travellers and writers on Syria familiar to the readers of the Quarterly
Statement, such as Freiherr von Mimchhausen, German Consul in Jeru-
salem, Dr. Sandreczki, Herr Schick, Dr. Socin, and Dr. Zimmermann,
besides other names familiar to those who read German contributions to
Biblical illustration, such as Von Alten, Baedeker, Kiepert, Fraas, &c.
The Executive Committee consists of : — Herr H. Guthe, Dr. E.
Kautzsch, Dr. O. Kersten, Dr. Albert Socin, Dr. C. Zimmermann.
Herr Carl Baedeker is publisher and treasurer. Dr. Kautzsch is
editor. There are at present about 186 members.
The rules state that the object of the Society is to promote the
scientific exploration of Palestine in all branches of science, and to
create a more general interest in the work.
The object of the Society is to be attained by : —
1. The publication of a Journal.
2. Scientific research in Palestine itself.
The Journal is to appear quarterly, or, in double parts, half-yearly.
.Its contents are to be : —
1. Scientific discussions on topographical, ethnographical, natural
history, historical and archaeological questions connected with the
exploration of Palestine and the neighbouring countries so long as they
promote a knowledge of the Bible.
2. Summaries and reviews of home and foreign literature bearing on
the subject.
3. Statistical and political information on the present state of modern
Palestine.
Scientific research in Palestine itself will be accomplished : —
1. By union with Germans settled in Palestine to obtain the benefit
of their services in carrying out the objects of the Society.
2. By urging travellers in Palestine to take a scientific interest in
certain defijiite questions.
3. By the accumulation of means for independent expeditions to
Palestine in the name and at the cost of the Society.
Members of the Society to subscribe ten marks (10s.) and receive the
Journal of the Palestine Association gratis. Larger subscriptions are
much wished for to enable independent expeditions to be sent out.
The business of the Society to be managed by a Committee of at least
eighteen members. For all important business, and especially for the
expenditvire of money, except office and correspondence expenses, a
resolution* of the General Committee is necessary. The conduct of
current work and the execution of the resolution of the General
202 GERMAN ASSOCIATION.
Committee are entrusted to an Executive Committee of five members.
The responsible editor is necessarily a member of the Executive
Committee.
Tiie oflicers of the Society perform their duties gratis, and office and
correspondence expenses are charged to the funds of the Society. The
editor only is to receive remuneration for his trouble, the amount to be
fixed by the first Ordinary General Meeting.
The Society holds a General Meeting at least every other year, if con-
venient, in connection with the German Oriental Society. Members
present at the meeting have the power, by a majority of two-thirds, of
passing resolutions which are binding on other members of the Society.
The General Meeting appoints Members of the General and Executive
Committees.
Leipzic is selected as the home of the Society and the place of
publication of the Journal. The editor is not obliged to live in Leipzic.
The Executive Committee publish a statement of the business and of
the accounts in the first number of -the Journal in each year. Accounts
to be audited by two auditors, selected from the General Committee by
the Executive Committee.
Subscriptions to be paid, free of charge, to the Treasurer of the
Society.
As regards communications to the Journal, preference will be given to
original matter from Palestine itself, as well as to unedited records of
pilgrimages, and notes from works on Palestine that are little known or
not easily accessible. The secondary matter will consist of memoirs on
topography, natural history, ethnography, statistics, numismatics, and
inscriptions.
Great stress is laid on the effort to make the Journal scientific rather
than popular, and the chief aim of the Society is to obtain for means
the support of a German expedition to Palestine. Members are re-
quested to use their best efforts to obtain subscribers.
A short note draws attention to the great importance of a correct
transliteration of modern Arabic names for the use of those who do not
know that language, and a list of equivalents for Arabic letters is
given.
Herr Schick contributes a paper on some recently- discovered graves
near Jerusalem and on the ruins at the north-west angle of the city.
1. A little below the aqueduct from Solomon's pools, on the slope of
the Hill of Evil Counsel, and about 335 metres south-west of the
modern Aceldama, a tomb was discovered which presents some pecu-
liarities. A flight of nine broad steps leads down to a chamber, the
v/alls and vaulting of which are of masonry. In the face of the
chamber there is an opening 0"54 m. wide and 0'61 m. high, closed by a
stone slab or plug kept in position by a stone roller I'lOm. long and
O'TOm. diameter. From the opening two steps lead down to the floor
of the tomb chamber, which is rook-hewn and contains 9 kokim.
2. About 200 m. north of this grave is another, hewn out of the rock
GERMAN ASSOCIATIOX. 20o
■vdiicli appears never to have been completed. Tile arrangement of the
kokim, as shown in the plan and section, is somewhat peculiar.
3. Another tomb at Khirbet Sabha, near the aqueduct from Solomon's
pools, before reaching Sur Baher, is of somewhat novel construction.
Nine steps lead down to a vaulted chamber of masoniy, whence a small
opening provided with a stone door gives access to the tomb chamber.
On either side of the doorway is a " kok " in masonry; on the west
side are eight kokim in two tiers of four each, also of masonry ; on the
east are eight masonry kokim in two tiers, and behind these five kokim
cut out of the rock ; on the north side tv/o masonry, and behind thorn
four rock-he^vn kokim.
A somewhat similar arrangement of masonry kokim is to be found
in the so-called tomb of St. John in Samaria.
Herr Schick, in another paper on Ancient Remains in the North-West
City Wall of Jerusalem, describes traces of an older wall than the
present, and shows that the existing city wall, at several points, is
built within the older one. He then argues that the thii-d wall of
ancient Jerusalem followed the course of these remains, and supports
his argument by the fact, pointed out by Consul Rosen, that beyond
this limit the red virgin soil is found. An interesting description is
given of the recent discoveries at Goliath's Castle, of the form of the
ditch in front of the city Avail, and the various ruins and fragments of
masonry which have been uncovered in this locality. Herr Schick is of
opinion that the Tower Psephinus stood on the groimd now occupied
by a small mosque, and he ascribes some portions of Goliath's Castla
to a period as early as that of the kings of Judah. The paper is illus-
trated by plans and sections, and draws attention to some points not
hitherto noticed.
The first number of the Journal closes with a very valuable article by
Professor Socin on recent Palestine literature, which is almost ex-
haustive of the subject and of the greatest use for purposes of reference.
It is needless to say that we wish every success to the new Society, and
that we shall send them all our publications. The Fund, indeed, has
become a subscribing member. Should any of our subscribers wish to
join the German Association, their names will be received by the
Secretary at Charing Cross, or may be sent direct to Herr Baedeker,
Leipzig.
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