iii. Changes in the City during the Apostolic Age. — While there was nothing to equal the great building achievements of Herod the Great, activity was by no means stayed during the interval between the Death of Christ and the Destruction of Jeru- salem (c. A.D. 30-70). This we judge from the fact that it was not until c. A.D. 64 that operations in the courts of the Temple were at an end. Even then the cessation of work involved about 18,000 men. To prevent disafiection and privation, they were transferred with the sanction of Agrippa II. to the work of paving the streets of the city (Jos. Ant. XX. ix. 7). Reference has already been made to the building of the Third W^all during the reign of Agrippa I., and this was necessitated by the growth of the suburb Bezetha, or New Town, lying north of Antonia and the Temple on the N.E. ridge. The Lower Aqueduct, which brought water to the Temple enclosure from a distance of 200 stadia, is ascribed to Pontius Pilate during the years preceding his recall and was in a way re- sponsible for his demission of office (A.D. 36). Several palaces were built at this time — all over- looking the Tyropceon : that of Bernice, near the Palace of the Hasmonseans (see below) ; of Helena, Queen of Adiabene, who was resident in Jerusalem during the great famine (Ac 11'*); of Monobazus, her son ; and of Grapte, a near relative. Agrippa II. enlarged the Hasmontean Palace, which was situated on the S.W. Hill near the bridge over the Tyropceon, and when finished overlooked the sanctuary. Tliis was a cause of friction, and led to the building of a screen within the sacred area [Ant. XX. viii. 11). Most of these notable buildings were destroyed or plundered during the faction fights on the eve of the siege [BJ II. xvii. 6, IV. ix. 11) and during its course (VI. vii. 1).
While stone was freely used in construction, it ought to be realized that timber also played a large part — much more so than at the present day (Merrill, Anc. Jerus., pp. 136, 150, 152). The Timber Market was in Bezetha, the new suburb. For ordinary building purposes wood was lirought from a distance, but during the siege the Romans availed themselves of the trees growing in the environs, totallj' altering the external aspect of the city. Still more fatal to its beauty was the havoc Avrought by fire within the Temple area, and in the various quarters of the city after the victory of the Romans, and most of all in the execution of Titus's order to raze the city to the ground. In spite of Josephus's testimony, all writers are not
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of one mind regarding the extent of tlie ruin. Thus Wilson says of the ' Upper City ' at least : ' Many houses must have remained intact. The military requirements of tlie Koman garrison necessitated some demolition ; but tiiere is no evidence that a plough was passed over the ruins, or that Titus ever intended that the city should uever be rebuilt' (Golgotha, p. 52; cf. Merrill, Anc. Jerus., p. 179).
iv. Sacred sites pertaining to the Apostolic Age. — For this department of our subject we must call in the aid of tradition, in so far as this appears to be in anj' measure worthy of credence. The sites to be dealt with are mostly suggested by the narrative of the Book of Acts.
(a) The Ccenaculum. — Outside the present S. city wall on the S.W. Hill lies a complex of buildings, which since the 16th cent, have been in Moslem possession and are termed en-Nebi D&'ud. Under- ground is supposed to be the Tomb of David, but this part is not open to the inspection of Christians. Immediately above this is a vaulted room (show- ing 14tli cent, architecture), which is now identified with the 'large upper room' in which the Last Supper was held, where Christ appeared to His disciples, in which the early Christians assembled, and where the Holy Ghost was given. It is supposed to be the house of Mary, the mother of John Mark. According to a later tradition — which probably arose from a confusion of this Mary with the Mother of Jesus — this is also the scene of the death of the Virgin. Here also Stephen was thought to be martj'red (still later). The earliest tradition with which we are here concerned dates from the 4th cent. A.D., being preserved by Epiphanius [de Mens, et Pond. xiv. [Migne, Pair. Grceca, xliii. col. 259 ff.]; cf. Wilson, Golgotha, p. 173) :
' He [Hadrian] found the whole city razed to the ground, and the Temple of the Lord trodden under foot, there being only a few houses staiidin<r, and the Church of God, a small building, on the place where the disciples on their return from the Mount of Olives, after the Saviour's Ascension, assembled in the ujiper chamber. This was built in the part of Sion which had escaped destruction, together with some buildings round about Sion, and seven synagogues that stood alone in Sion like cottages.'
Since then there have been many changes in the buildings themselves and in their owners, but the tradition has been constant. What it is worth still awaits the test, but, as Stanley says : ' there is one circumstance wliich, if proved, would greatly endanger the claims of the "Ccenaculum." It stands above the vault of the traditional Tomb of David, and Ave can hardly suppose that any resi- dence, at the time of the Christian era, could have stood within the precincts of the lioyal Sepulchre' [Sinai and Palestine, new ed., London, 1877, p. 456). It may be noted that the Tomb of David is now sought, although it has not been found, on the S.E. Hill, Avhere, in the opinion of most, the ' City of David,' or Zion, lay (Paton, Jericsalem, p. 74 f.). From the language of Ac 2-^ the tomb was evidently in the neighbourhood of Jerusalem (cf. Ant. xili. viii. 4, XVI. vii. 1, BJ I. ii. 5). Sanday is prepared to give the tradition aVtout the Ccenaculum ' an unqualified adhesion ' [Sacred Sites of the Gospels, p. 78), and proceeds to argue the matter at length (pp. 78-88). His argument is contested by G. A. Smith [Jerusalem, ii. 567 ti".), whose opinion is that 'while the facts alleged (by Dr. Sanday) are within the bounds of possibility, they are not very pro- bable' (p. 568). Wilson is more favourable, and thinks that here 'amidst soldiers and civilians drawn from all parts of the known world, the Christians may have settled down on their return from Pella, making many converts and worshipping in a small building [see Epiphanius, as above] which in happier times was to become the " Mother Church of Sion," the " mother of all the churches " '