water, however, may have been used to flush the blood passage, or it may have afforded the water supply to the lower part of the city south of the Sanctuary wall.

In the western passage a duct is sunk in the floor, eighteen inches wide, and the same in depth. Similar ducts are cut in the floor of the Great Passage under the Single Gate and in the Old Aqueduct, found near the Conaculum.

The central section of the south wall, between the Triple and Double Gates, contains only two courses of large marginal drafted stones above ground. The masonry above is formed of small stones, some of which are plain dressed, and some have drafts with rough projecting faces. About midway between the two gates three courses below the surface were bared, but the rock was not reached. The stones exposed are similar in size and dressing to those at the Wailing Place, and all the underground masonry seems to be in situ.

iv. The Great Course.

As the rock of Moriah comes to the surface at the sill of the Triple Gate, it follows that no course of masonry under this level could run through from end to end of the south wall. On a level with the ridge of the rock we can trace the bed of a colossal course of masonry running continuously from the south-east angle westwards as far as the Double Gate, a distance of about six hundred feet. It is distinguished by the name of the

Great Course, and also the Master Course. The stones are immense blocks, being about six feet high, while the drafted courses below are little more than three and a half feet high on an average. They are also finely finished, with plain picked faces, and drafts three inches wide round the margins.

The Engineers noticed that the Great Course is not quite horizontal, since there is a fall of thirty inches from the Triple Gate to the south-east corner, a distance of a hundred yards. The outer lines of spires and columns, when perfectly straight, appear from some optical delusion to be slightly convex, and in order that they may appear straight, the outer surface must be made slightly convex. The Greek architects of the golden period of the building art, in striving after rectitude in their exterior lines, made provision or allowance for this optical illusion, and consequently in the Parthenon and other temples all the exterior surfaces are slightly convex. The rock of Moriah, on which the south wall rests, is, generally speaking, of a semicircular shape, and therefore the wall was constructed, as Tacitus expresses it, in modo arcis. On account, therefore, of the peculiar nature of the ground, it is probable that a fall from centre to flank was aimed at in the level of he Great Course, to avoid offending the eye. This Master Course has been found to be on a level with the sills of the Double Gate, the Triple Gate, and the Golden Gate; and it is possible that in the original masonry it extended as far along the east wall as the

last-named gate. At present it turns round the southeast angle, and runs along the east wall for twenty-four feet.

The corner stone of the Great Course at the southeast angle is a gigantic block, twenty-six feet long, over six feet high, and seven feet wide. It forms the seventh course from the ground, and is twenty-three feet above the surface. It is on a level with the floor of the vaults inside the walls, and consequently more than a hundred feet above the foundation stone at this corner. This colossal stone is composed of hard limestone, and weighs over a hundred tons, and is therefore the heaviest though not the longest stone visible in the Sanctuary walls.

It is questionable whether in this nineteenth century, with all our boasted mechanical appliances, a mammoth stone like the above could be hoisted to an elevation of a hundred feet. For seventy feet west of the south-east corner, the Great Course is continuous, and then there is a gap as far as the Single Gate. There is only one stone in its original position between the Single and Triple Gates, but the course runs continuously with little interruption between the Triple and Double Gates. Although diligent search has been made, no trace of the Great Course can be found west of the Double Gate, the masonry of this part being only plain-dressed, without any bevelling or marginal drafted work. The general conclusion to be deducted from the presence and extent of the Great Course seems to be that all the masonry in situ from the south-east corner to the Double Gate

belongs to one period, and indicates a unity of design in construction, while the masonry extending westwards from the Double Gate is different in character, and belongs to some other period.

v. The Double Gate.

The Double Gate, called also the Huldah Gate, because it is thought to be the Huldah Gate of the Talmud, is a very prominent feature in the south wall, and is situated about a hundred yards from the south-west angle. The gate consists of two entrances, now built up, separated by a pier six feet wide. The whole width is forty-two feet, each entrance being eighteen feet wide-the same width as Barclay's Gate, south of the Wailing Place. Unfortunately the exterior of the gateway is almost entirely concealed by the city wall on Ophel Hill, abutting on the south wall at this point.

Only six feet of the eastern entrance can be seen from the outside, and in the built-up masonry is a grated aperture, by looking through which a long vaulted passage can be seen inside the Haram Area. The pier between the entrances is six feet wide and fourteen deep. It is composed of large stones, like those at the Wailing Place. Over the entrances are two large lintels, with broad drafts and fine worked faces. The jambs on which the lintels rest, on the outer side, are made up of stones Over each lintel is a

plainly worked, without drafts.

relieving arch surmounted by a classical cornice. Im

mediately under the lintels are two highly ornamented arches, that form no part of the wall, but have been inserted subsequently, and made to adhere by means of metal cramps. These architectural decorations, and the character of the details, which are classical, show that they are a little more modern than the decorations of the Golden Gateway, and older than the incised decorations of the age of Justinian.

Julian, surnamed the Apostate, became Emperor of Rome in 361 A.D., about a quarter of a century after the death of his uncle, Constantine the Great. Julian was educated to be a Christian, but he afterwards embraced Paganism, and became a bitter opponent to Christianity. In order to falsify the prediction of Christ, he encouraged the Jews to rebuild their Temple at Jerusalem. Large sums of money were collected for the purpose, a vast concourse of Jews assembled at Jerusalem, and an immense mass of material was brought together for the work. The work was pushed on for six months, both with vigour and enthusiasm, but, according to historical accounts, flames of fire belched forth from beneath, and consumed many of the workmen. Thus the work was suddenly brought to an end, and Julian's designs frustrated. The ornamental adjuncts inserted in the masonry of the Double Doorway belong to a period shortly after the time of Constantine, and we may therefore be morally certain that they form part of the hurried work of the Emperor Julian.

Adjoining the castern relieving arch, and therefore