Jebusite Walls. This name and age I assign to those that are built of unsquared stones of different sizes, some of which are fastened together by tenon and mortise; the interstices being filled with small stones. (See [Note III.])
Walls of David. By this name I indicate those walls whose stones are of considerable size and rudely squared, and which present some trace of irregular rustic-work, and are always fastened by tenons of stone or clamps of iron.
Walls of Solomon. (See Plate X.) Walls of Solomon I call those that are composed of large blocks of stone, that have not all the same breadth and height, and whose rude rustic-work, about two inches in relief, is surrounded by a flat band of from two inches to two inches and a half. They are fastened together by tenons and mortises in the stone itself, or by cubical pieces inlaid, of a different stone from the block itself, and contain no cement. The various layers of stone one above the other are in one vertical plane, and diminish in thickness the higher they rise; but the vertical joinings of the stones of any layer do not correspond with any regularity with those of a higher or lower layer (Fig. 1): this kind is especially found in the basement of the east wall of the Haram.
By the wall of Nehemiah I mean that which presents many blocks of the same character with those of the walls of Solomon; but these are joined together in an irregular manner, that is to say, the several layers are not formed of stones of equal heights, some stones appear to be turned upside down, in some the rustic-work is mutilated in places, many are placed aslant, and lastly, not a few shew the holes where the clamps have been (that is, the side is put in front); and besides, there are mixed with these small stones which appear with a portion of rustication, which shews that the large stones of the old wall have been broken in order to place them more carefully in their position. I assign them to Nehemiah, because the Bible informs us (Neh. iv. 17, 18, vi. 15), that he conducted the work in the midst of alarms, the workmen being all armed, so as to render the walls fit to sustain the assaults with which their enemies were threatening them every moment. Accordingly to this they owe the irregularity with which they were formed (Fig. 2). What I have described may be observed in the east wall of the Haram towards the southern end.
Herodian walls I judge to be those which present large squared blocks, polished with accurate exactness, and joined together without cement, but with the most delicate care: they have a rustication, much wrought, standing two or three lines in relief, and surrounded by a band of about an inch and a half wide. In these walls the sizes of the stones diminish regularly as they rise higher from the ground, and the vertical joinings of alternate layers correspond exactly throughout, and are at the middle points of the stones which separate the two layers; lastly, every layer is an inch and a half in rear of the preceding. Walls of this kind are found at the S.E. corner of the Haram, and in its western enclosure towards the south (Fig. 3).
The Roman walls are formed of fine squared stones, well wrought, joined by means of cement. They may be seen on the south and at the south-west corner of the Haram (Fig. 4).
The walls built by the Crusaders, or by the old Arabs (Saracenic work), reveal themselves at once by the economical proportion of the stones, by the excellent way in which they are joined, and sometimes by their being formed of rows of different colours, red, white, and black (Fig. 5).
The Arab walls of the present day are distinguished by their miserable appearance.
Note VI. At the first entry of Omar into the city he was conducted by the Patriarch Sophronius to visit the Holy Sepulchre. Whilst he was lingering there, mid-day struck, whereupon the Khalif went out to perform his devotions, and retired to the place where afterwards the little mosque was built;—a remarkable instance of moderation on the part of the Khalif, seeing that, if he had prayed in the Christian church, it would by Mohammedan law have been converted into a mosque. It is owing to this that the sons of Islam have left it to the Christian worship. The adjoining minaret was built by the Mohammedans at the expense of the Christians in the 13th century.