Jichus ha-Aboth (1537, a tract) describes the Haram area: ‘An admirable and magnificent edifice, attributed to king David on whom be peace. Near the door is a little window in the wall ; they pretend that it extends to the cavern : it is here that the Jews pray, as they are not allowed to go into the interior’ (PE£/ St, 1882, p. 212).
The only Europeans who had visited the Haram enclosure during this century before 1867 were the Spaniard Badia (Ali Bey), travelling as a Moslem (1807) ; Giovanni Finati, the Italian servant of Mr. Bankes (1816); and the servant of Mr. Munro
(1833). Ali Bey is said to have entered the cave through an iron door in the north side of the Haram at the bottom of the steps; but this was only the popular account in Hebron in 1867, and
cannot be relied on.
200 MACHPELAH
In 1834 Ibrahim Pasha was let down into the eayern from the mosque, but was quickly brought up again, he being suddenly smitten with the impropriety of looking on another man’s wife. In 1862 the cenotaphs of the patriarchs were visited by the Prince of Wales, accompanied by Dean Stanley (see a full account in Lectures on the Jewish Church, p. 483 ff.). In 1864 they were visited by Mr. James Fergusson, who gives additional infor- mation in Appendix J, ‘The Holy Sepulchre.’ In 1867 the present writer was shown the iron door which is said to lead into the caves. It is situated on a level with the street at the bottom of the steps leading up to the mosque at Jawaliyeh, at the north-west entrance to fie Macao It probably leads to the tomb of Joseph outside the Haram. This door, the guardians of the mosque stated, had not been opened for 600 years (Recovery of Jeru- salem, p.41). In 1882 they were visited by Princes Albert Victor and George of Wales, Canon Dalton, Sir Charles Wilson, and Captain Conder, and complete information is given about everything except the cave itself (SWP iii. 305).
The space containing the traditional caves of Machpelah is enclosed by a magnificent quad- rangle of masonry 197 ft. in length and 111 ft. in width, measured externally, called the Haram. The length lies ΝΟ. and S.E., the breadth lies N.E. and 5... The walls are of one class of ROLY throughout, as in the original construc- tion. The stone is of grey limestone, very hard, and akin to marble. The whole character of the masonry is similar to that of the lower portion of the Haram wall at ‘the Wailing place,’ Jerusalem. The courses of stone average 3 ft. 7 in. in height, the longest stone visible being 24 ft. 8 in. in length. There is a slight batter in the walls; that is to say, each course stands back about 4 in. from the course below, as at the Wailing place, Jerusalem.
At the height of about 15 ft. (i.e. level with the floor of the mosque or church within) portions of the wall 7 ft. wide are set back about 10 in. by means of a batter, leaving 16 pilasters on the longer faces and 8 on the shorter face. These pilasters are 3 ft. 9 in. wide each; the angle pilasters are each 9 ft. 6 in. wide—the space be- tween the pilasters roe 7 ft. This wall, with per is continued up for about 25 ft., making a
eight of 40 ft. from the ground on the western side and 25 ft. above the pavement within. The wall and pilasters have a simple projecting cap or coping at thetop. These pilasters are similar to two at the N.W. angle of the Haram wall, Jerusalem, which are 4 ft. 6 in. wide, with an interval of 6 ft. and set back of 8in. The thickness of the Haram wall of Hebron is 8 ft. 6 in., counting from the intervals, or 9 ft. 4 in. from the face of the pilasters. On the top of this old masonry, which is all in situ, is an Arabic wall of recent date.
From the west on the north and south of the enclosure (along the shorter faces) steps run up to the level of the floor within, and a passage at this level runs round the eastern and longer face. This passage leads to the mosque Jdwaliyeh, situated immediately N.E. of ἀπ παι There was originally no opening on the eastern face, but a doorway at a distance of 93 ft. 7 in. from the south-east angle has been knocked through the Haram wall. So that the passage on the eastern face now leads on one side to the Jéwaliyeh mosque, and on the other side to the interior of the Haram, 15 ft. above the roadway to the west.
There is no positive information as to what there is below the level of the passage to the east of the Haram, but the general impression was that the rocky surface rises to the east, the Haram wall on the eastern side being built on the rock or at the level of the passage. Dr. A. Paterson, in a recent
MACHPELAH
communication to the present writer, entirely confirms this view.
Conder’s account, however (PZ F'St, 1881, p. 267), seems to settle this question. ‘We visited the eastern side of the enclosure, and found ourselves on the housetops almost level with the cornice of the old wall. We here found a mosque, called e/- Jdwaliyeh, with a large dome. There is also a third entrance to the enclosure on this side, and the old wall appears to be almost as high here as on the west, although the mountain called e/- J@abireh rises very suddenly behind the Haram on the east. It would appear, therefore, that the rock beneath the Haram platform, in which the