They consist of the remains of a fortress of immense strength, in the midst of an irregular rounded enclosure, encompassed by a very ancient and strong wall. This outer wall was built of large squared stones uncemented. It has been mostly thrown down; but on the northern side it is still several feet in height, running along the southern bank of the water-bed of the Wady which comes down from the E. N. E. In the other quarter also it is still distinctly to be traced. Along this wall on the inside, towards the West and Northwest, is a row of ancient massive vaults with fine round arches, apparently of the same age as the wall itself. These are now nearly covered by the accumulated rubbish; yet some of them still serve as dwellings for the inhabitants. The northern wall of this exterior enclosure, representing the diameter from East to West, measured six hundred feet; and the other diameter cannot be much less. The character of this wall and of these vaults, leaves no doubt that they are of Roman origin. In the midst of this area stands an irregular castle, the lower parts of which seem to be as ancient as the exterior wall; but it has obviously been built up again in more modern times. Indeed, an inscription over the gate-way shows that it was last repaired by the Turks in A H. 958,1 (A. D. 1551,) nearly ten years after the present walls of Jerusalem were built. The northern and western sides alone are regular; the former measured one hundred and ninety-two feet, and the latter one hundred and ninety-five feet. The gate was now shut up; and the court within planted with tobacco, so far as there was room among the heaps of stones and rubbish. The walls are so far broken down, that we could clamber over them and enter without diffi 1) I follow here the Journal of my companion; my own pencil notes made on the spot have A. H. 948. culty. The interior of the castle was full of arches and vaults; and the people told us of a church with pictures in the southern part, now shut up and indeed buried beneath the ruins. Several small marble columns were strewed around. The area of the enclosure, outside of the castle, is occupied partly by the modern hovels of the village; partly by patches of tobacco and vegetables; while in the northern and eastern quarters, it is confusedly covered with heaps of stones, the materials of ancient walls and structures. The situation of this fortress was low, on a point between two Wadys, one coming from the E. N. E. and the other from the S. S. E. Back of the village the ground rises into hills, which must have overlooked the fortress. The ancient town appears to have extended for some distance along the open valley towards the N. E. In this part are still remains of the former wall and dwellings. Just by the village on the West, in the other Wady, is a large public well, around which cattle and flocks were collected for watering. Twenty minutes from the village, in the direction S. 28° E. are seen the ruins of an ancient church, bearing the name of Santa Hanneh (St. Anne), situated on higher sloping ground near the head of the southern Wady, northeast of its water-course. In following up the Wady to this spot, we passed two other wells. One of them about half way, was quite large; flocks and herds were gathered around both; while men and women were drawing water and filling for them the many drinking troughs, presenting an animated scene of oriental pastoral life. Of the church, only the eastern end is standing, including the niche of the great altar, and that of a side chapel, built of large hewn stones of strong and beautiful masonry. The foundations remain throughout; and there are subterraneous vaults, with windows on the north side. Indeed, the edifice stood on round arches; which with the foundations seem nearly of the same character and antiquity as the fortress itself. In the Wady near by are the ruins of an ordinary village. Southwest of the church, on the other side of the Wady, rises a truncated Tell of a chalky and singular appearance. We had been told of a fountain near the church, which became dry for a part of the year; but it turned out, that our informant meant only a well at some distance northeast, where men were drawing water for their flocks. This we found to be fifty-two feet deep, dug mostly in the solid rock, and apparently ancient. There is another on the slope of the hill S. W. of the church, which was now dry.2 In returning to the village, as we passed one of the wells where the people were watering their flocks, a man called out to us: "Do not be long," that is, in coming to take possession of the country. Here, as elsewhere, we were supposed to be in search of our hereditary estates. Such expressions we often heard; and this desire for a Frank government or Frank protection we found to be universal in Syria, among both Christians and Muhammedans; not excepting even the Bedawîn. On this ground we were everywhere well received.3 Here at Beit Jibrîn the people were kind and communicative. The Sheikh of the village was understood to be absent, and we did not now see him. Beit Jibrîn is a village of moderate size, the capital of a district in the province of Gaza, beginning just West of Beti Nettîf, called the district of the 'Azazeh. 1) The only allusion I find to this church is in Gaufr. Vinisauf, Iter Hierosol. Regis Richardi, etc. V. 44, in Gale Scriptores Historiae Angl. Tom. II. p. 375. See further on p. 361, Note 1. 2) From the hill just E. of Santa Hanneh the following bearings 3) See also at Ma'in, p. 196 above. It takes this name from an ancient family of Sheikhs, formerly hereditary lords of Beit Jibrîn, and of great power in these parts, being one of the three chief families of the Keisîyeh. Having been leaders in the rebellion of 1834, some of the family were beheaded, and the rest compelled to remove to Tell es-Sâfieh. Another family, called the house of 'Amleh, resides at Beit Ûla; and a third, the house of Ibn 'Omar, at Dûra in the mountains of Hebron. The two former families were head Sheikhs of the lower Keis (el-Keisîyeh etTahta) in and near the plain.-These families of Sheikhs form a species of hereditary nobility; but they are here less ancient and less exclusive, than those of the Druzes in Mount Lebanon. There are also smaller families of less powerful Sheikhs. Such was the result of our inquiries and observations at Beit Jibrîn on this our first visit. The question now naturally arose, Whether all this presented any ground for regarding this spot as the site of the ancient Eleutheropolis? The ruins certainly seemed to be sufficiently important to warrant such a conclusion; ruins worthy of the Roman name, and of a powerful city. Further, in travelling hither from the well where we had halted, we had by a winding road passed over the anticipated distance of two and a half hours, within which we had supposed Eleutheropolis must lie. Still, this distance might apply just as well to some place lying more to the Northwest; and I had in some way received the groundless impression, that the city in question lay actually in the plain We concluded there itself, and not among the hills. fore to make still further examination; and as, notwithstanding all our inquiries, we could hear of no spot, where there could be the slightest hope of finding the object of our search, unless perhaps at Tell esSâfieh, we determined to bend our steps that way.— We felt ourselves constrained to push our researches further, because the site of Eleutheropolis could not be fixed at this place, without making it identical with another ancient city, whose name has been preserved; an identity of which, as yet, no one had ever dreamed. Indeed, whatever might be the fact in regard to Eleutheropolis, there could be no doubt upon our minds, that in Beit Jibrîn was to be recognised the Betogabra of Ptolemy and the Peutinger Tables, and the Beigeberin (an episcopal city) of the ecclesiastical Notitiae of the subsequent centuries.' This place is marked in the said Tables at sixteen Roman miles from Askelon, a distance considerably too small; since from the construction of our maps it appears, that the actual distance cannot be less than about twenty geogr. miles. An early legend of the life of Ananias names it "Betogabra of Eleutheropolis;" which, however the phrase may be regarded, implies at least that these places were not far remote from each other.3 Such is the amount of all the notices respecting the ancient city under this name, down to the time of the crusades. In the twelfth century, the crusaders found on this spot an ancient site in ruins, called by the Arabs 'Bethgebrim;" here they built up again a fortress upon the former foundations, to guard against the incursions 1) Ptolemy Baitorasoa. Tab. Peut. Betogabri. See Reland Palaest. pp. 461, 421, 222, 627.—Josephus mentions a large village Bragis (Betaris) in this region, which Rufinus read Βήγαβρις (Begabris) in his copy. Reland suggests that this may have been the same place, which is not improbable; p. 626. Joseph. B. J. IV. 8. 1. 2) It would seem probable that an X may have been dropped in the Peutinger Tables; the origin al reading having been perhaps XXVI Roman miles. 3) Acta Sanctor. Jan. Tom. II. pp. 613, 614. 4) Urbem veterem et dirutam ..Arabice Bethgebrim;" Will. Tyr. XIV. 22. This writer gives its distance from Askelon at twelve miles; meaning apparently Italian miles of 60 to the degree; which falls short even of the sixteen Roman miles of the Peutinger Tables. See Note 2, above. |