The stoning of St. Stephen and the conversion of St. Paul are two great events of the New Testament which lend additional interest to the explorations now being carried on at the ancient City of Damascus. Damascus lays claim to being the most ancient city in the world and its appearance sustains the claim. Unlike Jerusalem and many other ancient cities, it has never been completely destroyed by a conqueror. The Assyrian monarch, Tiglath Pileser, swept down on it, 2,700 years ago, but he did not succeed in wiping it out. Other cities came into being long after Damascus, they flourished, faded and passed away; but Damascus still remains much the same as in the early time. Among the famous places which have been identified in this ancient city is the house of Ananias the priest and the place in the wall where Paul was let down by a basket is pointed out. The scene of the conversion of St. Paul is shown and also the "Street called Straight" referred to in Acts IX:II.
Jerusalem, birthplace and cradle of Christianity, offers a vast and interesting field to the archaeologist. One of the most remarkable of recent discoveries relates to the building known as David's castle. Major Conder, a British engineer in charge of the Palestine survey, has proved that this building is actually a part of the palace of King Herod who ordered the Massacre of the Innocents in order to encompass the destruction of the Infant Saviour.
The tomb of Hiram is another relic discovered at the village of Hunaneh on the road from Safed to Tyre; it recalls the days of David. Hiram was King of Tyre in the time of David. The tomb is a limestone structure of extraordinary massiveness Unfortunately the Mosque of Omar stands on the site of Solomon's Temple and there is no hope of digging there. As for the palace of Solomon, it should be easy to find the foundations, for Jerusalem has been rebuilt several times upon the ruins of earlier periods and vast ancient remains must be still buried there. The work is being pushed vigorously at present and the future should bring to light many interesting relics. At last the real site of the Crucifixion may be found with many mementoes of the Saviour, and the Apostles.
Professor Flinders Petrie, the famous English archaeologist, has recently explored the Sinaitic peninsula and has found many relics of the Hebrews' passage through the country during the Exodus and also many of a still earlier period. He found a remarkable number of altars and tombs belonging to a very early form of religion. On the Mount where Moses received the tables of the law is a monastery erected by the Emperor Justinian 523 A.D. Although the conquering wave of Islam has swept over the peninsula, leaving it bare and desolate, this monastery still survives, the only Christian landmark, not only in Sinai but in all Arabia. The original tables of stone on which the Commandments were written, were placed in the Ark of the Covenant and taken all through the Wilderness to Palestine and finally placed in the Temple of Solomon. What became of it when the Temple was plundered and destroyed by the Babylonians is not known.
Clay tablets have been found at Nineveh of the Creation and the Flood as known to the Assyrians. These tablets formed part of a great epic poem of which Nimrod, the mighty hunter, was the hero.
Explorers are now looking for the palace of Nimrod, also that of Sennacherib, the Assyrian monarch who besieged Jerusalem. The latter despoiled the Temple of many of its treasures and it is believed that his palace, when found, may reveal the Tables of the Law, the Ark of the Covenant, the Seven-branched candlestick, and many of the golden vessels used in Israelitish worship.
Ur of the Chaldees, birthplace of Abraham, father and founder of the Hebrew race, is a rich field for the archaeologist to plough. Some tablets have already been discovered, but they are only a mere suggestion as to future possibilities. It is believed by some eminent investigators that we owe to Abraham the early part of the Book of Genesis describing the Creation, the Tower of Babel and the Flood, and the quest of archaeologists is to find, if not the original tablets, at least some valuable records which may be buried in this neighborhood.
Excavators connected with the American School at Jerusalem are busy at Samaria and they believe they have uncovered portions of the great temple of Baal, which King Ahab erected in honor of the wicked deity 890 B.C. When the remains of this temple are fully uncovered it will be learned just how far the Israelites forsook the worship of the true God for that of Baal.
The Germans have begun work on the site of Jericho, once the royal capital of Canaan, and historic chiefly from the fact that Joshua led the Israelites up to its walls, reported to be impregnable, but which "fell down at the blast of the trumpet." Great piles have been unearthed here which it is thought formed a part of the original masonry. One excavator believes he has unearthed the ruins of the house of Rahab, the woman who sheltered Joshua's spies. Another thinks he has discovered the site of the translation of Elijah, the Prophet, from whence he was carried up to heaven in a fiery chariot.
Every Christian will be interested in learning what is to be found in Nazareth where Jesus spent his boyhood. Archaeologists have located the "Fount of the Virgin," and the rock from which the infuriated inhabitants attempted to hurl Christ.