Tent Work in Palestine: A Record of Discovery and Adventure

by C. R. Conder

I do not see how we can hesitate in applying to this “rock site” the names given by Josephus. The southern, higher, and larger hill must be the Upper City, the “Mountain Fort” of Zion; the knoll north of it is Acra (which is identified by the Septuagint Version with Millo), the site of the Lower City; the broad valley between is the Tyropœon; the second valley is the Hasmonean; the third hill is Bezetha, north of the Temple.

The existence of the narrow saddle at the head of the valley, as will shortly appear, is an important indication. The fact is proved by no less than ten distinct observations, made in sinking the foundations of three large buildings, and the rock is here found to be slightly higher than the top of the Acra knoll.

The conformation of ground in Jerusalem is not radically different, even now, from that existing before the rubbish accumulated. David Street is indeed forty feet above the bed of the Tyropœon, but it still is reached from the southern hill by a steeply sloping street with steps. The ground falls away east of the Acra knoll to the Hasmonean Valley on somewhat the same line which the rock beneath it follows, and it again rises into the third hill on the north-east. Thus any observer from the roofs will see in modern Jerusalem a very fair reproduction of the ancient city beneath; the main features are the same, but the differences of level, in the hills and valleys, are less marked.

Such being the rock site, Josephus’s description of the walls is easily followed. The first wall embraced only the Upper City, and in its north-west corner were the Royal Towers, which formed the fortress of that part of the town. The north line of the wall is that most important to define, and it can scarcely be doubted that a line from David’s Tower (where Hippicus and its two companions are placed in almost every plan) towards the Haram will represent the First Wall. Remains of towers have been found along this line, and, as above noticed, it is the line of the northern crest of the hill of the Upper City. As to this there is but little dispute between various authorities, nor is there any radical difference of opinion as to the line on the south and west sides of the Upper City. The valuable excavations made in 1874 by Mr. Maudslay have thoroughly opened up the great scarp which formed the south-west corner of ancient Jerusalem. Captain Warren’s adventurous shafts have shown where the great wall joined the Temple. The line between these points might be traced without much difficulty, by simply following out the work already done.

From the first wall the second had its start, and here the difficulty arises, and here also the real value of the rock-levels is most noticeable. Can the wall be drawn to exclude the traditional Calvary, or must it of necessity include that spot? The answer, I think, may be given without hesitation, and the present site of the Holy Sepulchre will probably be discarded by any unprejudiced inquirer, if the following facts are taken into consideration.

The description of Josephus is tantalising from its brevity; but one word seems wanting—a word which must be supplied by the rocks themselves.

“The second wall took its beginning from the Gate Gennath, which belonged to the first wall. It encircled the north quarter of the city, and reached as far as the Tower Antonia” (B. J. v. 4, 2).

The word rendered “encircled” cannot well be construed with any other meaning. The wall had no angles, as had the first and third, it therefore required no lengthy description. The second wall started from the first wall, and running in a curve enclosed the Lower City, and terminated at the north-east corner of the Temple.

The one statement wanted is that which should fix the Gennath Gate, which, as is generally admitted, was somewhere in the north face of the wall of the Upper City.

Now, as we have seen above, a great valley separates the Upper City from Acra, and a second valley runs southwards on the west side of the upper hill. No military man will suppose for a moment that the wall of a fortress could have been constructed in a deep valley and commanded from without by high ground immediately near. The wall must have stood on the high ground, and must have included one valley and excluded the other. Thus we are confined to a very narrow limit—to that saddle of rock at the head of the Tyropœon, which connects the great peninsula of the Upper City with the Acra knoll, for this little saddle is the only place where the rampart could protect the lower ground east of it, and command the valley to the west.