Page:History of Art in Sardinia, Judæa, Syria and Asia Minor Vol 1.djvu/205

Materials used in the Wall of the Enclosure. 187 communication between Moriah and the west hill, the most popu- lous quarter of the city. Great changes had intervened since the days of the monarchy. Then the old ramps leading to the sacred precincts had seemed well enough, but now they were deemed too long and too steep, and were replaced by causeways ; whilst stately cloisters, such as graced the terrace of the temple, had been unknown to former generations. The dispositions in the eastern wall were somewhat different ; for here the deep incline of the ground was unfavourable to radical changes, so that the wall of Solomon seems to have been pre- served. That this side was the work of the second king of Judah, we have on the formal statement of Josephus, from whom we quote : " King Solomon built the temple, the wall on the east face, and a porch on the terrace." Again he writes, that on the com- pletion of the great buildings erected by Herod, the people, fearing that the eighteen thousand hands which would thus be thrown out of employment might break out in open rebellion, petitioned Herod Agrippa to order the wall and porch of Solomon to be pulled down. The inane request was not complied with, for the king knew too well that, though he might destroy, it would be no small matter to rebuild a wall of such enormous strength. 1 The site where we might expect to find Solomon's structures is occupied by Arab tenements. Nevertheless, the massive stones roughly cut, seen near the Golden Gate, may possibly have been in the primitive wall. But until fresh light is thrown on this vexed question, we may be excused if we refuse to see primitive stones in the " rusticated " blocks unearthed at the north-east and south- west angles ; and we can say that we have no acquaintance with the typical work of the second king of Judah. The domain of ancient civilization presents no parallel which, like Jerusalem, has had its past inquired into with such passionate and searching enthusiasm. Here science and dilettantism have often been united to fervent belief. Countries like Germany, America, and England, where the Bible is universally read, have been foremost in this field of inquiry, because they were always sure of the support of the general public deeply interested in all matters connected — even in a remote degree — with biblical events. No private individual, however wealthy, could have defrayed the enormous expenses represented by the researches and excavations 1 Bell, Jud., V. v. 1 ; Ant. Jud., XX. ix. 7,