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Problem for Archaeologists
Jerusalem
Street Jerusalem is one of the most famous of Palestinian Cities
and would be the first place to start in an archaeological dig as
it is the Capital city of David and place of Jesus' crucifixion.
There has never been any problem finding and identifying the site
of the city, the problem has been in excavations. The work of archaeologists
is hindered by a number of things. First over the years the city
has been destroyed and rebuild more than forty times. The debris
of the city is pilled up in some places as deep as seventy feet
to the Old Testament level going back to the time of Melchizedek
in Genesis 14. Then the city is occupied with modern buildings and
cemeteries which make it impossible to excavate the sites. Then
the temple mount is occupied by Moslems who will not allow any digging
on their property. All of these factors have made excavations difficult.
In some cases archaeologist have dug under the modern structures
to examine the ancient sites.
The purpose of this topic is to give an overview
of the work of archaeology in Jerusalem and so many of the able
men who worked on the city will only be mentioned. Men such as Robertson,
Warren, Wilson, Bliss, Guthe, Schick, Clermont-Ganneau, Parker,
Weile, Macalister, Duncan, Crowfoot, Myer, Sukenik, and Kenyon to
only mention a few. Today much work is being done around the walls
of Old Jerusalem and the temple mount.
Dr. Edward
Robinson
Excavations
were carried out in 1838 which uncovered an arch which was part
of the Temple area. The arch was forty-two feet wide with some stones
as much as twenty six feet long. This arch connected the temple
area with the hill across the valley. Later Charles Warren was excavating
on the valley side and discovered the support for the arch. It was
twenty three feet below the surface.
Sir. Charles
Wilson
Josephus,
the Jewish historian indicated that the outer court of the Temple
could be entered on the western side by four gates. One had been
discovered by Robinson but another was located by Sir Charles Wilson.
This arch was more complete and similar in construction to the earlier
arch.
Joseph Barclay
In
1852 while walking his dog, Barclay's dog discovered a cave under
the wall near the Damascus Gate. It was a limestone cave about seven
hundred feet in length. Stones had been cut out of the rock and
it was believed to be Solomon's quarry, used to build the temple.
1 Kings 6:7 This he thought would explain
why there was no noise in cutting the stones.
Captain
Charles Warren
In 1865
Warren and Wilson drilled seven holes in the Tyropeon Valley. They
went down ninety feet and brought up many important finds. They
discovered beautifully hued stones from the period of Herod the
Great. They brought up pieces of pottery, lamps and pavement. In
one of the shafts they discovered the Signet of Haggai, the son
of Shebaniah. Haggai 2:23
Three other shafts made near the temple showed
that the massive stones dated back to Solomons time. One cornerstone
was calculated at weighing 100 tons. Warren began uncovering the
wall of David around Ophel which subsequent archaeologist have carried
on. In 1867 Warren sank a shaft 143 feet just east of the Golden
Gate and then burrowed along the wall of the old City. He tried
to chisel his way through the wall but only managed to get 5.5 feet
so he dug 55 feet toward the temple mount until he was stopped by
a cave-in. This is known as Warren's Tunnel and Warren's Wall.
Warren's Shaft
Warren also uncovered a vertical shaft which had been cut out by
the Jebusites to gain access to water during a siege. This has become
known as Warren's Shaft. David's men may have entered into the city
of Jerusalem to capture it through this shaft. 2
Samuel 5:8
Dr. Conrad Shick
While
some of his students were wading in the Pool of Siloam in 1880,
they noticed markings on the wall at the water level. Upon further
inspection they were identified as ancient writings, similar to
the characters of the Moabite stone. The inscription has become
known as the Siloam Inscription and reads
'Now this is the story of
the boring through; while the excavators were still lifting up their
picks, each toward his fellow, and while there were yet three cubits
to excavate, there was heard the voice of one calling to another,
for there was a crevice in the rock, on the right hand, And on the
day they completed the boring through, the stone-cutters struck
pick against pick, one against the other; and the waters flowed
from the spring to the pool, a distance of 1000 cubits. And a hundred
cubits was the height of the rock above the heads of the stone-cutters.'
Hezekiah's Tunnel
The inscription was written by King Hezekiah about 702 B.C. when
he brought water into the city from the spring of Gihon at the threat
of the invasion of the Assyrians. 2 Kings
20:20 The length of the tunnel was 1770 feet. The amazing
point is that they dug from opposite directions but met 'pick to
pick'. This would have been the script that Isaiah and others wrote
their prophecies in. The inscription has since been cut out and
is on display at the Istanbul Museum.
Clermont-Ganneau
In
1871 an inscription was discovered which was once a part of Herod's
Temple. It marked the boundary of the outer court where the gentiles
were prohibited from entering. It read
'No stranger is to enter
within the balustrade around the Temple and enclosure. Whoever
is caught will be responsible to himself for his death, which
will follow.'
Copyright ©
1995 David Graves & Jane Graves, Electronic Christian Media
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