caused a greater vibration. I spun around the dark vault, striking against one side and another, but so gently as to receive no injury. The excursion was soon finished; and though I had not penetrated so far as I had hoped, yet a sense of safety more than counterbalanced my feeling of disappointment; and I was happy to find myself again above ground, beneath the open heaven.

"The impression which I have brought from the visit is, that this excavation was not originally a well. What connexion with a mere well have artificial recesses and chambers in the rock? It has a more general resemblance to some of the spacious sepulchral excavations without the city. The wall, whose remains I noticed in the larger opening, I supposed at the time had been only a covering for the passage; but I am now inclined to the belief, that here was formerly chamber arched and stuccoed like the one opposite; that its floor and doorway have been cut down to make a passage for the water, and perhaps a portion of its arch with its pillars used to form the present irregular covering of the channel; and that the area between the chambers has been hollowed into a basin for the water. This thought did not occur to me during the examination; and I do not submit the opinion with confidence. And if the passage extends further, it must be fully explored before any just conclusion can be come at.

"I am sorry thus to increase doubt, where I had hoped to throw light. The principal thing that I conceive I have done, is to demonstrate the impossibility of a satisfactory examination, except when the water is at the lowest point, near the close of the dry season."

Thus far Mr. Wolcott. It is indeed greatly to be regretted, that an enterprise so intrepidly undertaken, should not have been crowned with more success. The result is, unquestionably, to increase our doubt and perplexity. If the excavation were originally a well, how are we to account for the chambers and the later walls of masonry and the ceiling of columns,

* Yet the well of Job, far down in the valley below, has traces of ornamental arches in its masonry; and an Arabian writer describes it as having in its lower part a grotto_or chamber walled up, from which the water strictly issues. See Bibl. Res. I. pp. 491, 492.-R.

which certainly could not have been laid when there was water in the passage? Or if it were not originally a well, whence comes the present copious volume of water? Future researches may perhaps decide the question, if made in the month of September or October.

The distance of the well from the adjacent entrance of the Haram, Mr. W. found, by measurement, to be 124 feet; instead of 135 feet, as given in the Researches, Vol. I. p. 509. This error was mine; and probably arose from the fact, that the distance was measured only by paces; which ought indeed to have been mentioned.

Aqueduct from Solomon's Pools. The account of this aqueduct, so far as we saw it, is given in the Bibl. Researches, Vol. I. pp. 514 sq. Unfortunately, under the pressure of such a multiplicity of objects, and not then being fully aware of its antiquity and former importance to the city, we neglected to inquire out its course after entering the city, or its point of termination in the Haram. When afterwards the subject came up, in preparing the work in Berlin, I keenly felt this deficiency; which, of course, could there be supplied only by the conjecture, that the aqueduct was carried along within the city under the eastern side of Zion, and that it probably passed into the Haram over the mound which we noticed at the north-east corner of the same hill. It is gratifying to find this point rendered certain by the examination of Mr. Wolcott, writing under date of Jan. 25th.

"We were one day examining the remains of the arch in the western wall of the Haram, when we passed to the opposite side of the valley, near where the bridge may be supposed to have terminated. A few feet north of this spot, we observed a passage, eight or ten feet high at its entrance, though soon contracting, cut in the solid rock, which here forms the [perpendicular] western side of the Tyropoeon and the eastern brow of Zion. On approaching and entering it, we perceived occasional cavities in the bottom, broken through the earthern pipes of an ancient aqueduct, which we recognized as the one that connected the Pools in Bethlehem with the Temple. Supposing that a passage, thus opening into the valley, and visible to every passer by, was already well

*Bibl. Res. I. p. 514, comp. p. 393.

understood, we examined it no further at this time.* But on turning to the Researches, I perceived that the course of the aqueduct within the city was apparently unknown to any traveller; and found, on enquiry, that it was also unknown. to the Frank residents. I observed, moreover, that in the published Plans of the city, the directions assigned to it were conjectural and mistaken. We then decided to explore it thoroughly; and first traced it without the walls. Its course is marked not only by the stones with which it is built, but also by occasional openings into the pipes. Both of these indicate the very spot where it passes under the city wall, about one hundred feet west of the point designated on Catherwood's Plan (which takes it into the valley), and perhaps three hundred feet east of that marked in the Plan which accompanies the Researches. It is directly south of the passage which we had seen cut in the rock; to which we traced it at intervals within the city. The section in the rock extends fifty feet or more, which I passed through; and the aqueduct is then supported for an equal distance by a wall of masonry fifteen feet high against the face of the rock, when it again passes into the hill and beneath the dwellings which cover it. A small passage is built with stones over the pipes; and its cobwebs had never been disturbed. I entered with a light one hundred feet; but chose not to proceed further alone. Mr. T. and myself together, afterwards penetrated forty feet beyond; and were then stopped by some modern masonry under which the pipes continue. The passage is very narrow, and some parts of it we crawled through with great difficulty. But it would have well repaid further toil, if we could have reached the ancient reservoirs of the temple. Our general course had been north-west, (?) and we had now traced the aqueduct four or five hundred feet within the city along the side of Zion, and bearing towards the ridge which crosses the Tyropoeon; through which it evidently passes into the Haram, as suggested in the Researches. The street which leads down directly from the southern end of the Bazars to the Haram, terminating in its principal western entrance, is on the summit of this ridge, descending towards the Haram the whole distance."

* I have a distinct recollection of this opening; but we did not examine it further, probably for the same reason.-R.

Mr. Wolcott suggests, that this last remark may serve to correct the general statement made in the Researches (Vol. I. p. 394) as to the western entrances of the Haram, viz. that they all are reached by an ascent, and some of them at least by steps." This does not hold true of the entrance from the street passing across the mound.*

Tombs of the Judges. The account of these in the Researches (Vol. I. pp. 527, 528,) was not drawn up from any minute examination or any measurements of our own. The description of the first and largest room is correct so far as it goes. As to the rest, Mr. Wolcott gives the following as a more exact description; beginning immediately after the quotation from Sandys respecting the side of the room "cut full of holes in manner of a dove-house."

"The upper crypts open out into regular arches, or arched recesses, three feet deep, each including three or four. On the east and south sides of the ante-chamber, doorways lead to two other apartments, each about eight feet square; the former of which has crypts on three of its sides like those in the ante-room, and the latter has only the lower rows with nothing but the arched recesses above. At the south-west corner of the ante-room, a few steps lead down through the floor to an irregular apartment, about twelve feet square under it, without niches. A similar passage in the northeast corner of the ante-room leads down eastward into a room

In the Researches (I. p. 393) it is said that this mound "is probably rubbish, the accumulation of ages; though the houses. in the vicinity prevented us from ascertaining whether it extends quite across the valley." This last remark, as it stands, may seem unintelligible; since one of the chief streets passes over the whole length of the mound into the Haram. But in passing down this street, one is not usually aware of the mound at all; and the other street which crosses it from north to south, we traversed only once, and did not then note, that the top of the ridge was occupied by a street. At that time we had no suspicion of the nature of the mound, or of its connexion with the aqueduct; all this occurred to me afterwards at Berlin; where, of course, I had only imperfect notes of an imperfect observation. Hence the mention of the houses; which it now appears have nothing to do with the matter.-R.

five feet square; from which there is a passage eastward into a still lower apartment ten feet square, differing from the others in having on three sides the upper tiers of crypts alone with the arched recesses."

It is suggested in the Researches, that there may perhaps be passages down from the remaining corners of the large room. Mr. Wolcott ascertained that there is none in one of these corners, and probably none in the other. His more accurate description explains the statements of Cotovicus and Doubdan, referred to on p. 528, note 1.

Tomb of Helena. This mausoleum, heretofore commonly known as the Tombs of the Kings, is fully described, and its connexion with Helena vindicated, in the Bibl. Researches, Vol. I. pp. 528-538. Our own fruitless attempt at further examination, as also that of Irby and Mangles, are there detailed. A renewed attempt is mentioned by Mr. Wolcott.

"A quotation in the Researches from Irby and Mangles, seemed to give encouragement that there might be another set of apartments connected with the tomb, and another entrance. Mr. Tipping accordingly hired two workmen to clear away the rubbish again from the opposite end of the portico, assisted by our man Yûsuf, who was also with the party which you employed. The work was done in a few hours. We found the block which the first party describe, over the supposed entrance. On reaching its upper surface, Yûsuf said that this was as low as you excavated. It is an irregular stone, three or four feet square, and seems to have been broken away from the front of the portico. We removed it, but found no opening beneath it; and laid bare the rock for several feet, without discovering any trace of a passage. None probably ever existed. This supposition is confirmed by the appearance of the rock, which on this side is less firm and compact, and less suitable for excavation, than the opposite portion; as is apparent from the face of it, both in the portico and in the court."

At the eastern end of the broad trench on the south of the court of this tomb, forming an approach to its entrance,† a small opening is visible in the face of the rock, leading into an excavated chamber. This we entered so far

* Vol I. p. 533.

+ Ibid. p. 529.