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CHAPTER I.

THE ROYAL QUARRIES.

EVERY traveller who makes a sojourn in Jerusalem should visit the Royal Quarries. They are vast caverns, reaching far underneath Bezetha, the northern hill on which the Holy City is built, and not only do they throw light upon the stonework of the Temple, but their vastness at once impresses the mind with some adequate idea of the gigantic character of the sacred edifices that once crowned the summit of Moriah.

About one hundred and fifty yards east of the Bab-alAmud, or Damascus Gate, the wall has been built on a rugged rock fifty feet high. At the foot of this rock is an entrance to a cave, so low that it can only be entered by stooping. The passage for some distance is nearly blocked up with an accumulation of earth, partly swept in by the wind. While the ceiling is high enough to allow the visitor to stand upright, a light is struck, and the traveller is furnished with a long lighted taper; and thus provided, he follows a native guide, and explores the hidden recesses that reach far into the bowels of the earth, beneath the northern hill of Jerusalem.

The

Near the entrance the stratified rock is seen overhead and on each side, and this, combined with the fact that fragments of the rock lay scattered around, suggests that the entrance at least is part of a natural cave. The floor, however, seems to be composed of accumulated earth and sand, and soon it deflects from its horizontal position, and becomes a steep descent. The size of the cave increases rapidly, and a glance at the great rocks around shows that it is no longer a natural cave, but an underground place excavated by the hand of man. rock is no longer stratified, but has been cut away with sharp tools, and rises up perpendicularly from floor to ceiling. Dark tunnel-looking cuttings diverge in various directions, and colossal masses of rock, which were rough hewn and left as columns to support the roof, are seen. Walking cautiously, lest his feet should stumble into some dark abyss, the visitor comes to the edge of a precipice that threatens to put a stop to his explorations, but at length, by means of some rude steps cut in the rock, he descends to a lower level.

On raising a shout the deep sepulchral sound of the human voice shows that the traveller has penetrated to the midst of mammoth caves, and the dim glimmer of the candles only serves to make the surrounding darkness more visible. By igniting a magnesium light, the effect gained is truly wonderful. The ramifications of the subterranean quarries are seen to run in all directions; the rocky pillars left to prop up the roof resemble the massive columns of a Norman Cathedral, while nave

and rude aisles end in darkness. The stone walls, rocky roof and rugged archways, prostrate blocks, earthen mounds, sharp precipices, rock-cut steps leading to dark amphitheatres, and above all the weird appearance of fantastic shadows cast by the bright light, form a spectacle never to be forgotten. Amid the silence and darkness, a continual dropping of water can be heard, and such parts of the roof as have been exposed to the action of water are covered with sparkling stalactites, while the percolation of water has caused sections of the rock to be encrusted with a glistening coat of carbonate of lime.

On making a close inspection of the stone, it is found to consist of a hard limestone, which when polished is almost as pure and beautiful as marble. Of such a character is the stone referred to by the Psalmist, when he expresses the wish that our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; that our daughters may be as corner stones, polished after the similitude of a palace." Large fragments of quarried stones lie around in wild confusion, and several massive blocks half cut still adhere to the wall.

There are deep niches here and there in the rock, which turned out on closer examination to be perpendicular cuttings, or incisions made in cutting the stones. These niches are from three to six inches wide, and seem to have been made by means of a pick or some such instrument with a long handle. The incisions were made to the required depth, both from the front of the rock

1 Psalm cxliv. 12.

and from behind, while similar cuttings were also being made at the top and bottom, before the block was separated from the native rock. The process must have been slow and simple; but it was ingenious, and the stones when severed would be then roughly cut and squared. On the side of each cutting, and on the edge of each halfcut block, is a tiny cup-shaped hollow, evidently designed to hold oil and wick to give light to the mason. The smoke has blackened the white limestone ceiling, as well as the front and side of the stone, and the cunning workman was evidently in the habit of turning the wick round, so as to throw light into the incision. Indications are found also of wooden wedges or planks employed to remove the stones when cut from their original position. In some places the marks of the pick and chisel are so clear and fresh in appearance, that one has little difficulty in imagining that King Hiram's skilled quarry-men are still engaged in cutting the stones, and have only retired from the quarry for their usual mid-day meal.

In a retired corner, some distance from the main thoroughfare of the quarry, may be seen a well or basin scooped out of the rock, designed to collect the water that percolates through the roof and fissures of the limestone walls. On the floor around the basin Dr. Barclay found fragments of pottery scattered about, as if the drinking vessels had been suddenly dashed out of the hands of the workmen, who had come to the well to quench their thirst. Remains of human skeletons have been found in various parts, but as neither sepulchral