1. What was the extent of the city on the north before the destruction of A.D. 70?
2. What was the line of the second wall, which bounded the city on the north, in those early times before there was any third wall, or any need of one?
3. What was the line of the south wall in Nehemiah’s time, and again in the time of the siege by Titus?
4. Which is the true Mount Zion or City of David?
5. On what spot did the Temple itself stand within the Haram enclosure; and what were the limits of its courts, first in Solomon’s day, and secondly, after they were enlarged by Herod?
6. Does the Church of the Holy Sepulchre stand upon the true site of Calvary?
7. What is the probable site of the royal sepulchres where David and so many other kings lie buried?
[Authorities and Sources:—Smith’s “Dictionary of the Bible.” “Survey Memoirs,” Jerusalem volume.]
3. Excavations at Jerusalem.
In the beginning of 1867 Lieutenant Warren, R.E. (now Colonel Sir Charles Warren), began his work of excavation in Jerusalem, assisted by several corporals of sappers, and employing native Arabs as labourers. Scores of shafts were sunk through the accumulated rubbish, and were always carried down to the natural rock. In cases where the miners came upon artificial structures—arches, aqueducts, cisterns, or other works of man—they were carefully explored and measured, and plans of them made to scale. It was considered important to examine the underground masonry of the Temple rampart; but as the walls are regarded as sacred, and it was desirable not to offend the susceptibilities of the inhabitants, this was accomplished by sinking shafts at a distance from the wall and driving lateral galleries. Sometimes when an unsympathising Turkish official came to inspect the works, a twist was given to the rope as he descended, and so, having lost his bearings, he could not be sure that he gazed upon the foundations of the Temple when they were really shown to him. The work was continued until the year 1870, and the results are recorded in the Jerusalem volume of the Memoirs. Let us now glance at some of the more striking discoveries on all the four sides of the Haram.