Warren had often to dig in people’s gardens, or to mine under their houses, or sink shafts near to their sacred places, and it required much tact to deal with the prejudices of the Mohammedans, and to satisfy all claims for compensation. In the neighbourhood of Jerusalem a piece of garden ground may belong to one man, be rented by another, while a dozen people claim an interest in the crops that grow upon it. Sometimes Warren’s labourers have been dragged before the judges and threatened with imprisonment, or told that they shall be sent to do forced labour on the Jaffa Road. When Warren was working at the Virgin’s Fountain there was much commotion among the people of Siloam. Work was to be resumed in the morning; but one cantankerous sheikh, taking it into his head that Englishmen had no business out of their own country, effectually stayed proceedings by sending a bevy of damsels to the Fount to wash. On one occasion a Turkish officer of Engineers, dressed in full uniform, approached, in no friendly spirit, to examine one of the shafts. If he had chosen to give an adverse report the work would have been stopped. He knew that Warren was in command, but he marched magnificently past him without deigning to notice him, and was going straight for the head of the shaft. But Warren passed on rapidly before him, threw over the ladder which some lady visitors had been using, blew out the light, and descended by a rope. The Turk, hearing a crash, and seeing Warren disappear in the darkness, was afraid that something terrible had occurred, which he did not wish to be responsible for, and lost no time in turning his steps away. But, after all, when we consider that the Sanctuary at Jerusalem is as sacred to the Mohammedans as the precincts of Westminster Abbey to ourselves, it is marvellous how much Sir Charles Warren succeeded in effecting, and with how little friction he did it.
[Authorities and Sources:—“Quarterly Statements of P. E. Fund.” “Recovery of Jerusalem.” Sir C. Warren. “Tent Work in Palestine.” Major Conder.]
4. Jerusalem as it was.
The Hills and Valleys.—Sir Charles Warren was the first to point out the necessity of ascertaining the depth of the rock below the present surface, in as many places as possible, and of referring all the measurements to one fixed datum, the level of the sea. In the study of the ancient topography the original appearance of the ground is the first consideration, for although a certain amount of soil may always have existed, still the ancient surface must have conformed far more closely to that of the rock than does the present.
To this work very great attention has been given, first by Warren himself, in his exploration of numerous tanks and sinking of scores of shafts; next by Herr Schick, who, in his professional capacity of architect, has measured the position when sinking foundations for houses in every quarter of Jerusalem. Contours had also been given in the Ordnance Survey conducted by Sir C. Wilson in 1864. At length Conder was able to take all the data and send home a plan of rock levels for the entire city. From this he also prepared a reduced shaded sketch of the original rock site of the town. The sketch is here reproduced, and by the help of it the reader will find it comparatively easy to understand Josephus’s description, as well as the reconstruction of the ancient city which will be attempted in this section.
Josephus says—“The city of Jerusalem was fortified with three walls, on such parts as were not encompassed with unpassable valleys, for in such places it had but one wall. The city was built upon two hills, which are opposite to one another, and have a valley to divide them asunder, at which valley the corresponding rows of houses on both hills end. Of these hills that which contains the Upper City is much higher and in length more direct. Accordingly it was called the Citadel (φρούριον) by King David, but it is by us called the Upper Market Place. But the other hill, which was called Akra, and sustains the Lower City, is curved on both sides (ἀμφίκυρτος).[25] Over against this was a third hill, but naturally lower than Akra, and parted formerly from the other by a broad valley. However, in those times when the Maccabees reigned, they filled up that valley with earth, and had a mind to join the city to the temple. They then took off part of the height of Akra, and reduced it to be of less elevation than it was before, that the temple might be superior to it. Now the Tyropœon Valley, as it was called, and was that which we told you before distinguished the hill of the Upper City from that of the Lower, extended as far as Siloam.” (Wars, v. 4, 1.)
ROCK SITE OF JERUSALEM.
(By favour of the Palestine Exploration Fund.)