tion of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ being the chief corner stone; in whom all the fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temp Lord."

1 Ephesians ii. 19–21.

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CHAPTER VI.

THE ANCIENT WATER SUPPLY OF JERUSALEM.

THE vast cisterns beneath the Temple Hill obtained their chief supply of water in ancient times from the hill country of Judea; and in this chapter the author desires briefly to describe what remains he saw of the ancient water system when in Jerusalem. On passing Rachel's Tomb on the Bethlehem road he left the main route, and followed on the right side the path that leads into the mountainous district. The hill-tops were bleak and bare, and seemed to be composed entirely of grey rock; but the valleys often smiled with ripening corn, and blooming wild flowers in many places carpeted the limestone slopes. Numerous flocks of goats supply the natives with milk, and the joyous humming of bees among the wild flowers recalled that primitive description of Canaan which speaks of it as a "land flowing with milk and honey." On reaching the summit of the mountain flank, a plateau was crossed, and presently there came in sight an extensive battlemented castle. This is a Saracenic building, probably erected in Crusading times, designed both as a defence against the enemy and a hospitable khan for native wanderers.

142 ANCIENT WATER SUPPLY OF JERUSALEM

It is now kept by a solitary Arab, who spends his time in attending to numerous hives of bees. along under the cool shade of the west wall, and the corner, a gladdening sight burst upon the in the valley were seen three large open cisterns as Solomon's Pools. They were brimful of water, and reflecting as they did the blue of less sky, formed a pleasing contrast to the st tops of this thirsty land.

Solomon's Pools are situated at the head of called Wady Urtâs, and their direction is nearly west. They differ in size, but they average four feet in length by two hundred and twenty feet in and their average depth seems to be from tw thirty feet. It will thus be seen that their su area extends over about seven acres, and that capable of holding a vast quantity of water. E is in the form of an oblong, although a little wi western end.

About two hundred yards north-west of the Pool, standing in an open field, is a small build covers the entrance to a spring called the Seale tain. From this spring the pools derive the supply, and it is well worthy of a visit. The circul ing, resembling the mouth of a well, is usually with a large flat stone. Twenty-five steps cut in lead down to a vaulted chamber forty-five feet twenty-five feet wide. Adjoining this is a chamber, and both are covered with ancien

arches. The water at four points issues from the side of the hill, and by means of small ducts is collected in a basin, thence it is carried along a vaulted passage towards the Pools, The flow from the spring is not uniform, and during the dearth of water at Jerusalem in 1870, it was observed, strange to say, that the supply at the Sealed Fountain was more abundant than usual. This fountain is only six miles distant from Jerusalem as the crow flies, and Captain Warren has proved that the altitude of the spring is two hundred feet higher than the area of the Noble Sanctuary. It could thus supply water to the highest point of the Holy City, and in fact could carry it nearly to the summit of the Mount of Olives. The Sealed Fountain formed part of the water system of King Solomon, and probably is alluded to in Canticles iv. 12, where the holy spouse is likened to a spring shut up-a fountain sealed." According to tradition, King Solomon shut up these springs, and kept the door of them sealed with his signet, to the end that he might preserve the water for his own drinking in their natural freshness and purity.

The conduit from the Sealed Fountain to the Upper Pool was partly explored by Captain Warren, who describes it as a large subterranean passage. After passing along with difficulty for five hundred feet, he found the obstacles so great that it was impossible to proceed further. The water and mud stood two feet deep, and a number of bats driven down the passage flapped about in a frantic manner, put out the

candles, and got entangled in the explorer's hair, so that Captain Warren, after stamping the Engineers' mark on the stone wall, was obliged to retreat. The passage, however, has been found to terminate in a vault situated at the north-west corner of the Upper Pool, and over this vault, on the surface, is a small building with a pyramidal roof. The vault has been found to measure twenty-five feet by five feet, and in appearance resembles the well-known souterrain under the Convent of the Sisters of Zion, at Jerusalem.

It has now been ascertained that in the subterranean vault the stream from the Sealed Fountain is joined by another stream of water flowing from the south, and deriving its supply from a valley on the Hebron road, called Wady Arrûb, a place about six miles south of Solomon's Pools. The water of this latter stream is collected chiefly from the rocks in the valley of Wady Arrûb, and conducted through a rock-bored tunnel four miles long, which passes beneath the bed of another valley called Wady Byar, and thence on towards the Sealed Fountain. At the junction above indicated the aqueduct tapped all the water from the Sealed Fountain, except a scanty overflow conveyed through a square duct into the Upper Pool. This aqueduct, known as the High Level, though by the Arabs called the Aqueduct of Unbelievers, is one of the most remarkable works of ancient Palestine.

With the increased water of the Sealed Fountain, the High Level passes along the northern side of Wady