Who built these structures? They are very likely the surviving work of Canaanite tribes. Herr Schumacher assigns those of the Hauran to the same period as the subterranean cities.
There is a curious archæological note in Deuteronomy, which speaks of the bedstead of Og, the king of Bashan, a bedstead 9 cubits long by 4 cubits wide. The passage had very much exercised the ingenuity of commentators, and some of them supposed it to refer to a sarcophagus of basalt. The Bible indeed speaks of a bedstead of iron; but basalt is a material which resembles iron in appearance, and which is actually known by the name of iron among the Arabs, while a stone coffin might allowably be spoken of as a bed or bedstead. But Conder says there is no basalt at Rabbath, and thinks it doubtful if Og was likely to be buried in a sarcophagus at all. He is disposed to render the words as Og’s strong throne, instead of “iron bedstead.” A memory of Irish dolmens suggested to him a possible connection between Og’s throne and some rude stone monument which tradition might have indicated as a giant’s seat, just as in Ireland dolmens are the “beds of Grain and Diarmed,” and connected with legends of giants. It was, therefore, very striking to find a single enormous dolmen standing alone in a conspicuous position near Rabbath Ammon, and yet more striking that the top stone measured 13 feet (or very nearly 9 cubits of 16 inches) by 11 feet in extreme breadth.
If we look for a coffin or a bedstead rather than a dolmen, it is very striking to find that parallels exist both for bedsteads and coffins of the same gigantic dimensions. Dr Erasmus Wilson, describing the coffins and mummies found at Deir-el-Bahari, says that, “the coffin of Queen Nefertari is gigantic in stature, measuring with its feathered crest 13 feet long. It is made of cloth-board and modelled into the shape of a statue, resembling, with arms crossed upon the chest, one of those architectural columns which are denominated Caryatides.” Still more remarkable is the bedstead of the Babylonian god Bel, described by Mr George Smith in his account of the “Temple of Bel.” After some description of the principal buildings, he says, “In these western chambers stood the couch of the god, and the throne of gold mentioned by Herodotus, besides other furniture of great value. The couch is stated to have been 9 cubits long and 4 cubits broad (15 feet by 6 feet 8 inches).” These are exactly the dimensions assigned to Og’s bedstead.
Before leaving Moab it was Major Conder’s privilege to stand where Moses stood, and view the landscape on all sides. There can be no doubt about the identification of Mount Nebo. It was ascertained by Canon Tristram; it has been confirmed by Conder, who finds the field of Zophim close by; and Sir Charles Warren discovered the ruins of the ancient city of Nebo at its foot. Moreover, it retains the name Neba, and from the summit you obtain the celebrated “Pisgah view” (Deut. xxxiv. 1–3). Naphtali, Gilead, Ephraim, and Manasseh, Judah, and the Negeb, or “dry land” south of Hebron, are all in sight, with the plains of Jericho “unto Zoar.” But, according to Conder, the Mediterranean Sea is not visible from Nebo, being hidden throughout by the western watershed of Judea and Samaria. Dr Tristram says, in his “Land of Moab,” “Carmel could be recognised, but we never were able to make out the sea to the north of it; and though it is certainly possible that it might be seen from this elevation, I could not satisfy myself that I saw more than the haze over the plain of Esdraelon.” But even if the waters of the “great sea” in the Bay of Haifa could be seen distinctly from Mount Nebo, the fact would hardly be relevant, for Deut. xxxiv. points rather to the sea south of Joppa. It is sufficient, however, that from no other summit can you get so extensive a prospect as from Mount Nebo.
Conder’s work was abruptly stopped. Even when the party went out in 1881 there was great excitement in the East. A Moslem Messiah was expected to appear in the year 1300 of the Hegira, and the war in Egypt was brewing. The British Government had served Conder with a notice that any expedition he might take out would be at his own risk, and they could not be responsible for the consequences. After fifteen months, during which the work was carried on at great risks, the Sultan heard that English captains were surveying the land, and sent orders for them to cease. In the same year Mr Rassam’s researches in Mesopotamia were stopped. Finally, Conder and his party left Syria on a steamer crowded with refugees from the Alexandria massacres.
[Authorities and Sources:—“East of the Jordan.” By Selah Merrill. London: Bentley & Son, 1881. “Across the Jordan.” By Gottlieb Schumacher. Bentley & Son, 1886. “The Jaulan.” By G. Schumacher, Bentley, 1888. “Abila,” “Pella,” and “Northern Ajlun.” By G. Schumacher. London: Palestine Exploration Society, 1888, 1889. “Palestine.” By Major Conder. London: George Philip & Son, 1889. “Heth and Moab.” By Major Conder. Bentley & Son, 1883. “The Land of Moab.” By Rev. Canon Tristram. London: John Murray, 1873. “Unexplored Syria.” By Burton and Drake. London: Tinsley Brothers, 1872.]
CHAPTER III.
JERUSALEM.
Ever since the days of David Jerusalem has been the chief city of Palestine, and although so small a city now that it would go conveniently into Hyde Park—and perhaps never much larger than at present—it has been the theatre of great events, and it claims an attentive study. Small as it was, it stood upon several hills, which were more or less easy to defend by fortifications, and offered some choice to the monarch desirous of building a palace, a tower, or a temple. The variety of local features, of hill and ravine and water-course, finds frequent mention in the history, and is sometimes so much intertwined with the events related, that it becomes necessary to look at the topography before we can hope to understand the narrative. For instance, when David wrested the city from the Jebusites:—