Gate, and therefore one-third of the wall stands on the eastern slope of the mount, while about two-thirds stands on the western slope. The rock falls rapidly from the ridge on each side, and is eighty feet below the surface at the south-east corner, and ninety feet deep at a point near the south-west corner.

Though the present surface along the wall is nearly level, yet an enormous accumulation of débris conceals the natural features of Moriah, and hides from view the greater part of the masonry. To remove this rubbish would be an immense labour, but if it were removed from the solid wall, there would be exposed to view an enormous mass of masonry, rising in some parts from the rock to the height of one hundred and fifty feet. From nine shafts sunk along the wall, it appears that all the stones below the present surface have marginal drafts, and, moreover, that all the underground masonry is in its original position. From the Double Gate to the south-east corner-a space which comprises twothirds of the length of the south wall-the stones underground have finely-dressed faces from the surface down to the rock. From the Double Gate extending westwards to the south-west corner, the stones rising from the rock to a considerable height upwards have rough projecting faces. The Great Course, or Master Course, fully described above, can be traced from the southeast corner as far as the Double Gate, and therefore it appears to be co-extensive with the fine-faced underground masonry; but no vestige of it is found

westward of the Double Gate, although a careful search was made for it in this section of the wall. These discoveries tend to show that the whole of the south wall does not belong to one period of construction, and the general opinion is, that the masonry eastward of the Double Gate possesses a high antiquity, extending back to the days of the Jewish monarchy, and probably is the work of King Solomon, while the stone-work westward of the Double Gate is the work of Herod, when that monarch enlarged the Courts of the Temple.

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CHAPTER IV.

THE WEST AND NORTH WALLS OF THE TEMPLE AREA.

THE west wall of the Noble Sanctuary runs almost due north and south, and is over one thousand five hundred feet long. The most striking features in this wall are, the remains of Robinson's Arch, the Jews' Wailing Place, and Wilson's Arch, each of which must in succession engage our attention.

The ancient masonry still seen above ground at the south-west angle, and extending about fifty feet on each side of it, may be classed among the finest and best stone-work in the Sanctuary wall, and it has also the appearance of being in its original position. The wall at the angle is fifty-eight feet above the present surface, and many of the blocks are of colossal dimensions. Around this corner is a large open space overgrown with cactus bushes, extending from the Haram Area to the precipitous slope of Zion opposite, a distance of above a hundred yards.

i. Robinson's Arch.

Thirteen paces north of the south-west corner three courses of large stones project from the Sanctuary wall. One stone is of colossal dimensions, and measures thirty

eight feet nine inches, while it weighs over ninety tons. This is the longest, though not the heaviest, stone yet met with in the ancient masonry of Jerusalem. About forty years ago the same projecting stones were examined by Dr. Robinson, the distinguished American Biblical scholar, who spent many years in the investigation of the antiquities of the Holy Land. On mentioning the existence of the bulging blocks to a friend at Jerusalem, they both came to the natural conclusion that the stones were the sole vestiges of an ancient arch that formed part of a bridge or causeway across the valley.

In ancient times Mount Moriah was separated from Mount Zion by a valley or rugged ravine, called by Josephus the Tyropoon Valley. On one side of the ravine rose the massive walls of the Temple, while on the other rose the slopes and terraces of Zion, surmounted by the palace of the Kings of Judah. The valley is well nigh filled up now with the débris of the city-the rubbish of many sieges—and, at the present time, presents to the eye the appearance of a plain. In days of old, however, the ravine was spanned by bridges or viaducts, the most noted being Zion Bridge, which seems to have formed a means of communication between the Palace Hill and the precincts of the Temple.

The Royal Engineers made a thorough examination of the projecting stones. It was found that the three courses spring from an offset projecting fifteen inches from the wall, which forms a kind of pier or buttress for the colossal stones. The offset is nearly on a level