3-021-500 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

The Explorations at Jerusalem: gallery at the Golden Gate: column and rough wall, 1869. 'The Golden Gate was the eastern gate of the Temple; it is called the Eternal Gate, and has many other names besides. It is a gate in the Haram Wall; and, on account of a tradition about the second coming of the Messiah, it has been built up by the Mohammedans...The first object of this excavation is to see how far down the foundation of the Haram Wall is at this gate. The door-sill is at present about the level of the ground outside; but if the wall is founded on the rock...it will be important to discover how the door was reached...A shaft was sunk down to the surface of the rock, and a gallery has been carried on close to it, so that it rises as it proceeds towards the base of the wall. Our Illustration represents the first hopeful sign that was met with. It is a portion of the solid rock cut perpendicular, and hollowed out so as to leave a small portion of stone like a little pillar, or like a handle; the idea is that it was for tying horses to...horses or asses could not be allowed to pass into the sacred inclosure...a rough wall was met with, and, partly resting on this, was found the base of a column. The wall is built of small rough stones'. From "Illustrated London News", 1869.