The great Haram enclosure at J. presents, at its foundations, magnificent drafted masonry of Gr. character, on the S., W., and E. The dressing of the stones is found nowhere else except at Hebron, and on the arch of the Tyropoeon Bridge, but in general character this masonry resembles that of the royal towers, and of the palace of Hyrcanus, built in A.D. 176 at Tyrus in Gilead. The stones average 3J ft. in height, but on the S. wall a ' master course ' 7 ft. high runs W. for 600 ft. from the S.E. angle. The longest stones measure 24 and 39 ft. The whole of this masonry is dressed smooth on face and draft, excepting at the base of the W. wall for 20 ft., under an ancient pavement near the TyropcEon Bridge, and on the E. waU N. of the Golden Gate, where the head of a cross valley exLsts inside the wall. Probably, In these cases, the rough-faced stones were never visible above the surface. On the E. wall, at the base, are masons' marks in red paint, and two or three Phocn. letters which have forms of a late period. The TyToj>a>on Bridge, crossing to the upper city from the W. wall close to the S., consistea of two spans. Beneath the old pavement under the bridge an older voussoir has been found, lying in a rock aqueduct, and evidently belonging to an older bridge. The N. side of the Haram is partly bounded by the ^eat block of rock on which the citadel of Antonia stooil, and east of this the N. wall presents none of the original masonry, but ii built in the later Uom. or ByzJint. style. Nor is there any angle in the old E. wall at this point. The smooth ma-sonry which occurs above the drafted was built later than the time of Hadrian, — probably by Justinian, — and the upper part of the rampart is Arab work. The original drafted
* Till* Stloun tiMcripUon, now removed ftnd preMrred la fra^iM'iite \a the SUinttoul MusiMini, must not be confuted with an tllt'^'iltlo text tn I'htBn. ch*nu!t«n (now In the Hrlt. Ua«.) toiitui in tlio viltHf;e of 8tlo&m. Tlie words BMh Baai hAre been rc*d CO the Uttvr. &nd it nuj lodloftt« (ha rituAtlon of am «f Solomon'! tem|'l« on OUt«w
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JERUSALEM
JERUSALEM
masonry is attributed by de Voeiii to Ilerod the Great — an opinion very generally accepted ; and no remains of earlier work in tlie l/aram are known. Tlie enclosure is an oblong, with right angles on the S.W. and N.E. The S.E. angle measures 92^°. The S. wail is 92"2 ft. long, tlie N. 1042 ft., the W. lUOl ft., and the E. 1U42 ft. The area included is aliout 35 acres. The Tyropocon Bridge appears to be of the same age witii the ancient wall, and the older voua.soir may have belonged to the bridge broken down by I'ompey (Jos. Ant. XIV. iv. 2; Wars, I. vii. 2). In the S. wall there are two ancient gates, which answer to the two liuldah Gates of the Mishna (Middoth i. 3) : they apjiear to have been originally both double, with two inner passages having a total width of 40 ft. (30 cubits), the roofs supported by great column.s, and jiresenting Hat domes. The domes of the W. gate remain intact, presenting a semi-classic design of colter pattern, intertwined with a >-ine in low relief. This work is attri- buted by Ferjjuson the architect to the time of Herod. The lintels of the entrances were formed by huge blocks 18 ft. span. The E. gate (now called the Triple Gate) was altered later, — probably by Justinian.^and the passages leading N. from these gates seem probably also to belong to this later period. The vaults in the S.E. corner of the Ijaram are also later restorations, but remains of a more ancient vaulting are found, by an ancient window, on the E. wall in these vaults.
On the W. there were four entrances to the enclosure, the S. being at the Tyropoeon Bridge. The ne.xt is a subterranean gate with a pa.ssage leading up from the level of the valley. The third was connected mth a causeway which appears to be ancient, but which is not noticed by Josephus. The last, to the N., is now converted into a cistern, but the original passage pierced the wall, and belonged to a gate on or near the level of the valley. These gates seem therefore to answer to the Parbar or ' suburb ' gates of the Mishna, and to the four entrances noticed by Jos., on the W. side of the Temple (Ant. XV. xi. 5), of which the first led to the royal S. cloister, the second to the suburb (irpoa.i7T(iop), the third also to the suburb, and the fourth to the ' other city,' by a descent of steps into the valley.
Within the IJaram there are no known remains of the ancient Temple, except the great rock-cut vaults and cisterns, of which the largest towards the S. — called the Great Sea — is supported on rock pillars, and capable of holding three million gallons. On the N. the scarp of Antonia rises 30 ft. above the flat rock surface of the inner court, and the block of rock measures 140 ft. N. and S. by 350 ft. E. and W. The fosse to the N. was converted later (before A.D. 333) into a 'twin pool,' by walls and vaulted roofs, and this is identified in the 4th cent. A.D. with Bethesda. In A.D. 70, however, the twin pools had probably no existence. On the W. ^ararn wall the present writer, in 1873, discovered, close to Antonia, the existence of projecting piers of the ancient masonry above the level of the inner court, resembling those which adorn the wall of the Hebron 5aram, which consists of masonry like that of the Jems, en- closure. In other parts the wall does not reach this level, but it appears probable that the same arrangement existed, at the same level, on the other faces of the enclosure. These remains, together with 40 observations of the level of the rock surface, visible in tanks or vaults, or at the foot of the wall, are the only antiquities known to remain which enable us to understand the area and position of the Temple enclosure, and of Antonia as restored by Herod the Great.