to amplify and embellish all those particulars, which might in any way contribute to the honour of his people, or to the glory of his subsequent protectors. Josephus has left us two descriptions of the temple and its appendages; one in his Antiquities, where he narrates the reconstruction of the Naos or body of the temple by Herod the Great; and the other in his Jewish Wars, just before the account of its destruction by Titus. The latter is the most minute and consistent; and I therefore follow it here, introducing only occasional circumstances from the other. The temple, according to this account, stood upon a rocky eminence in the eastern part of the city, on which at first there was scarcely level space enough for the fane and altar; the sides being everywhere steep and precipitous. Solomon built first a wall around the summit; (probably in order to gain space for the body of the temple;) and built up also a wall on the East, filled in on the inside apparently with earth, on which he erected a portico or covered colonnade. The temple itself was thus left naked on three sides. In process of time, however, the whole enclosure was built up and filled in, quite to a level with the hill, which in this way was enlarged; a threefold wall being carried up from the bottom, and thus both the upper enclosure and the lower [parts of the] temple constructed. Where these last were the lowest, they built up three hundred cubits; and in some places Nor yet was the whole depth of the founda more.3 1) Antiq. XV. 11. 3, seq. B.J. V. 5. 1-6. Comp. Antiq. VIII. 3. 9. 2) The word to, threefold, used here in connection with walls built up from the bottom of the hill, cannot well refer to any thing else than the three walls built up on the three sides of the hill, which are said to have been left open by Solomon. If this form of expres sion is not very exact, neither is that which is indicated by xxi (circle) in the same connection; for there is abundant evidence, that the enclosure was not a circle, but a quadrangle. 3) So I must venture to understand the τούτου τὸ ταπεινότατον of the original, in connection with the τὸ κάτω ἱερόν before it ; mean tions visible; for to a great extent they filled in the vallies with earth, desiring to level off the abrupt places of the city. In the construction of this work, they used stones of the size of forty cubits. These stones, (according to the other account,) were bound together with lead and iron into a compact mass, immoveable for all time. The enclosure thus constructed was a quadrangle, measuring one stadium on each side, or four stadia in circumference. In another place the circumference, including the fortress Antonia, is given at six stadia.1 The interior of this enclosure was surrounded by porticos or covered colonnades along the walls; and the open part was laid or paved with variegated stones." This was a great place of resort for Jews and strangers; and became at length also a place of trade and business. It is sometimes called by Christian writers the Court of the Gentiles.-Near the middle of this court, an ornamented wall or balustrade of stone, three cubits high, formed the boundary of a smaller enclosure; which neither foreigners nor the unclean might pass. Within this an inner wall, forty cubits high from its foundation, surrounded the second or inner court; but it was encompassed on the outside by fourteen steps, leading up to a level area around it of ten cubits wide; from which again five other steps led up to the interior. This wall on the inside was twenty cubits high. The principal gate of this second court was on the East; and there were also three upon the northern side, and three upon the South. To these were afterwards ing, not the part where the top of these walls was lowest, but the part where the foundations, or the ground on which they stood, was lowest. Taken in this sense, the expression is not unnatural; though till greatly exaggerated. In the VOL. I. 53 other sense, it is perfectly unintelligible. pp. 1) Joseph. B. J. V. 5. 2. 3) Matt. xxi. 12. Luke xix. 45. added three others for the women, one upon the North, South and East. On the West there was no gate.' Within this second court, was still the third or most sacred enclosure, which none but the priests might enter; consisting of the Naos or temple itself, and the small court before it, where stood the altar. To this there was an ascent from the second court by twelve steps. It was this Naos, or the body of the temple alone, which was rebuilt by Herod; who also built over again some of the magnificent porticos around the area. But no mention is made of his having had any thing to do with the massive walls of the exterior enclosure. We have already seen, that on the West side of this great outer court, four gates led out into the city; the southernmost of which opened upon the bridge connecting the area of the temple with the Xystus on Mount Zion. Josephus relates also, that there was a gate in the middle of the southern side of the same enclosure. Further than this, our present object does not require us to enter into a description of the temple or its appurtenances. If now, with these accounts before us, we turn our eyes upon the present similar area of the grand mosk of Omar, it would seem to be hardly a matter of question, that the latter occupies in part or in whole the same general location. But how far there exist traces which may serve to mark a connection between the ancient and modern precincts, or perhaps establish their identity, is a point which, so far as I know, has 1) Antiq. XV. 11. 5. B. J. V. 5.2. 2) Antiq. XV. 11. 5, ult. B. J. V. 5.4. 3) Antiq. XV. 11. 3. B. J. I. 21. 1. When Josephus here says that Herod enlarged the area around the temple to double its former size, he probably refers to the adjacent fortress Antonia, as mentioned above at the close of the preceding paragraph. 4) See above, pp. 412, 413. Jos. Ant. XV. 11. 5. never been discussed. It is to this point mainly, that our inquiries will now be directed. The area of the great mosk is an elevated plateau or terrace, nearly in the form of a parallelogram, supported by and within massive walls built up from the vallies or lower ground on all sides; the external height varying of course in various parts according to the nature of the ground, but being in general greatest towards the South. The area or court within these walls is level; exhibiting on the North of the mosk, as we have seen, and probably around the same, the surface of the native rock levelled off by art.' The general construction therefore of this area, does not differ from that of the ancient temple. The length of this enclosure on the East side, measured externally along the wall, is 1,528 English feet or nearly 510 yards; the breadth at the S. end is 955 feet or about 318 yards.2 Neither the western side nor the northern end is accessible externally; yet the latter may be measured approximately along the parallel street. Its length is thus found to be not far from 1,060 feet, or perhaps 350 yards; the breadth of the area being here some yards greater than on the South. The direction of the eastern side, taken from the S. E. corner, is due North by compass; and that of the southern side, due West. The course of the western wall at its S. end is likewise due North. Beyond the area towards the North, the eastern wall of the city deviates slightly from the magnetic meridian towards the East.-From these measurements it is apparent, that the extent of the present area is much greater than that assigned by Josephus to the ancient one. 1) See above, p. 361. 2) Ali Bey gives the interior length of the enclosure at 1,369 Paris feet; and the interior breadth at 845 Paris feet. Travels II. p. 215. The S. E. corner of the enclosure stands directly on the very brink of the steep descent, and impends over the Valley of Jehoshaphat; which, as we have seen, is at this point about 130 feet deep; while just North the ground rises some 20 feet more. The height of the wall at this angle we judged to be at least 60 English feet. Further North as the ground ascends, the wall is less elevated above it. The brow of the valley also advances a little, leaving a narrow strip of level ground along the wall, which is occupied by the Muslim cemetery already mentioned. Towards the Gate of St. Stephen, this level brow widens to about 100 feet, and continues of this breadth along the city-wall northwards. The Golden Gate on this side is not opposite the middle of the area; but at some distance further North. On the northern side, the area is skirted for nearly half its breadth by the deep pool or trench usually called Bethesda, and vaults connected with it. At the N. E. corner is a place of entrance, and a way leading to it from St. Stephen's Gate along the city-wall. Further West and near the middle, are two other entrances from the Via dolorosa. At the N. W. corner stands what was formerly the governor's house, now converted into a barrack, and probably occupying in part the site of the ancient fortress Antonia. From the roof of this building is obtained a commanding view of the interior and the edifices of the court.3 The western wall is mostly hidden by the houses of the city, except near its southern end. There are 1) There are here fifteen courses of very large stones, having an average thickness of more than three feet. Above these to the top is at least fifteen feet more.-The wall, I since learn, was measured at this point by Mr. Catherwood. The actual height is sixty feet to |