THE TRAVELS OF BISHOP ARCULF IN THE HOLY LAND.
TOWARDS A.D. 700.
WRITTEN FROM HIS DICTATION, BY ADAMNAN, ABBOT OF IONA.
Arculf, the holy bishop, a native of Gaul, after visiting many remote countries, resided nine months at Jerusalem, and made daily visits to the surrounding districts. He counted in the circuit of the walls of the holy city eighty-four towers and six gates, the latter being distributed in the following order:—the gate of David on the west of Mount Sion, the gate of the valley of the Fuller, St. Stephen's gate, Benjamin's gate, the little gate leading by a flight of steps to the valley of Jehoshaphat, and the gate called Tecuitis; of which, the three most frequented are, one to the west, another to the north, and a third to the east. That part of the wall which, with its towers, extends from the gate of David over the northern brow of Mount Sion, which overlooks the city from the south, to the precipitous brow of the same mountain which looks to the east, has no gates.
The city itself begins from the northern brow of Mount Sion, and declines with a gentle slope towards the walls on the north and east, where it is lower; so that the rain which falls on the city runs in streams through the eastern gates, carrying with it all the filth of the streets into the brook Cedron, in the valley of Jehoshaphat. On the 15th of September, annually, an immense multitude of people of different nations are used to meet in Jerusalem for the purpose of commerce, and the streets are so clogged with the dung of camels, horses, mules, and oxen, that they become almost impassable, and the smell would be a nuisance to the whole town. But, by a miraculous providence, which exhibits God's peculiar attachment to this place, no sooner has the multitude left Jerusalem than a heavy fall of rain begins on the night following, and ceases only when the city has been perfectly cleansed.
On the spot where the Temple once stood, near the eastern wall, the Saracens have now erected a square house of prayer, in a rough manner, by raising beams and planks upon some remains of old ruins; this is their place of worship, and it is said that it will hold about three thousand men[14]. Arculf also observed many large and handsome houses of stone in all parts of the city, but his attention was more especially attracted by the holy places.
The church of the Holy Sepulchre is very large and round, encompassed with three walls, with a broad space between each, and containing three altars of wonderful workmanship, in the middle wall, at three different points; on the south, the north, and the west. It is supported by twelve stone columns of extraordinary magnitude; and it has eight doors or entrances through the three opposite walls, four fronting the north-east, and four to the south-east. In the middle space of the inner circle is a round grotto cut in the solid rock, the interior of which is large enough to allow nine men to pray, standing, and the roof of which is about a foot and a half higher than a man of ordinary stature. The entrance is from the east side, and the whole of the exterior is covered with choice marble to the very top of the roof, which is adorned with gold, and supports a large golden cross. Within, on the north side, is the tomb of our Lord, hewn out of the same rock, seven feet in length, and rising three palms above the floor. These measurements were taken by Arculf with his own hand. This tomb is broad enough to hold one man lying on his back, and has a raised division in the stone to separate his legs. The entrance is on the south side, and there are twelve lamps burning day and night, according to the number of the twelve apostles; four within at the foot, and the other eight above, on the right-hand side. Internally, the stone of the rock remains in its original state, and still exhibits the marks of the workman's tools; its colour is not uniform, but appears to be a mixture of white and red. The stone that was laid at the entrance to the monument is now broken in two; the lesser portion standing as a square altar, before the entrance, while the greater forms another square altar in the east part of the same church, covered with linen cloths.
To the right of this round church (which is called the Anastasis, or Resurrection,) adjoins the square church of the Virgin Mary, and to the east of this another large church is built on the spot called in Hebrew Golgotha, from the ceiling of which hangs a brazen wheel with lamps, beneath which a large silver cross is fixed in the very place where stood the wooden cross on which the Saviour of the human race suffered. Under the place of our Lord's cross, a cave is hewn in the rock, in which sacrifice is offered on an altar for the souls of certain honoured persons deceased, their bodies remaining meanwhile in the way or street between this church and the round church. Adjoining the church of Golgotha, to the east, is the basilica, or church, erected with so much magnificence by the emperor Constantine, and called the Martyrdom, built, it is said, in the place where the cross of our Lord with the other two crosses were found by divine revelation, two hundred and thirty-three years after they had been buried. Between these two last-mentioned churches, is the place where Abraham raised the altar for the sacrifice of his son Isaac, where there is now a small wooden table, on which the alms for the poor are offered. Between the Anastasis, or round church, and the basilica of Constantine, a certain open space extends to the church of Golgotha, in which are lamps burning day and night. In the same space between the Martyrdom and the Golgotha, is a seat, in which is the cup of our Lord, concealed in a little shrine, which Arculf touched and kissed through a hole in the covering. It is made of silver, of the capacity of about a French quart, and has two handles, one on each side. In it also is the sponge which was held up to our Lord's mouth. The soldier's lance, with which he pierced our Lord's side, which has been broken into two pieces, is also kept in the portico of the Martyrdom, inserted in a wooden cross. Arculf saw some other relics, and he observed a lofty column in the holy places to the north, in the middle of the city, which, at mid-day at the summer solstice, casts no shadow, which shows that this is the centre of the earth[15].
Arculf next visited the holy places in the immediate neighbourhood of Jerusalem. In the valley of Jehoshaphat he saw the round church of St. Mary, divided into two stories by slabs of stone; in the upper part are four altars; on the eastern side below there is another, and to the right of it an empty tomb of stone, in which the Virgin Mary is said to have been buried; but who moved her body, or when this took place, no one can say. On entering this chamber, you see on the right-hand side a stone inserted in the wall, on which Christ knelt when he prayed on the night in which he was betrayed; and the marks of his knees are still seen in the stone, as if it had been as soft as wax. In the same valley, not far from the church of St. Mary, is shown the tower of Jehoshaphat, in which his tomb is seen; adjoining to which little tower, on the right, is a separate chamber cut out of the rock of Mount Olivet, containing two hollow sepulchres, one, that of the aged Simeon the Just, who held the child Jesus in the temple, and prophesied of him; the other of Joseph, the husband of Mary. On the side of Mount Olivet there is a cave, not far from the church of St. Mary, on an eminence looking towards the valley of Jehoshaphat, in which are two very deep pits. One of these extends under the mountain to a vast depth; the other is sunk straight down from the pavement of the cavern, and is said to be of great extent. These pits are always closed above. In this cavern are four stone tables; one, near the entrance, is that of our Lord Jesus, whose seat is attached to it, and who, doubtless, rested himself here while his twelve apostles sat at the other tables. There is a wooden door to the cave, which was often visited by Arculf[16].