The Site Of Solomon's Temple Discovered.

THE SITE OF SOLOMON'S TEMPLE DISCOVERED .

" So Joshua sent men to measure their country , and sent Avith thorn some geometricians , who could not easily fail of knowing the truth , on account of their skill in that art . "— " Jew . Antiq . " v ., 1 , 21 . We have much pleasure in reproducing from our admirable American Contemporary—Scribner ' s Monthly—the folloAving account of the Temple , interesting to all Freemasons : —

THE PKOBLEH STATED , —KIVAL SITES OF THE TESIPLE . THE Temple site is now known as the Haram ash Sharif . It is at once the most sacred and the most ancient , and within its walls are concentrated the most important legends of JewMoslemand Christian . To

, , the Jews , the Holy Hill , Avithits Inclosure , Avas more than Rome ' s citadel was to the Romans . It was the stronghold of their religion and sacred history , somewhat as Rome has been to the Catholic Church . This Noble Sanctuary is the site of e \

'erything most dear to the Jew . Here Avere chanted in the First Temple the songs of Zion , and all that the prophets foretold of glory and dishonour , of victory and defeat , of promise and penalty , were drawn to a focus on the hill of the Temple , comprising an area confined Avithin the limits of the Haram . It is at present the most

beautiful spot in the Avhole city without exception . It has all the outward appearance of a private park . The great Dome of the Rock rises in its midst , surrounded with cypresses and olive trees , marble fountains , arches , domes , cupolas , and graven pulpits , Avhile the great Dome itself rests upon a

broad platform of Jerusalem limestone . The Sakhra is the rocky pinnacle or apex of the rocky spur forming the surface and foundation of the Haram , and the difficulty has been to place it in the Temple Area so that this crown of the mountain

shall not stand in the way of the pavements and courts . In fact theorists have not known where to place this uprising rock ; it stands in the way of every theory yet proposed . It has ever been a mystery why it Avas permitted to exist at all Avhere the rock was cut to suit a platform level and foundation , and its existence is the standing problem of to-day among Temple

theorists—much more so , in fact , than the site of the Temple itself , for its existence unsettles every other problem , and makes any theory of the site of the Temple an impossibility , Avhich does not first settle the problem of its own existence and site . It would seem at first sight as if

Solomon ' s plan would have necessitated its removal in order to level down the rook for the foundations of the pavements and courts . Why , then , was it left ? Why not cut doAvn to the foundation or platform level ? It stands so much in the

way that there is barely level space enough on Avhich to place the Temple pavements without an immense filling in of earthy material , or else of vaults and substructures , no matter where you place the Temple Area . It could not be placed

anywhere without being upon a slope of the mountain , or in a valley . The rock , in the north-east quarter of the Haram , is 162 feet below the croAvn of the rock ; the south-Avest quarter is 150 feet lower , and the south-east quarter is 163 feet below the Sacred Rook . This is a concise statement of the problem to be solved . Our illustration of the rival

theories which now occupy the field will give , better than any lengthened description , the different arrangement of the Haram Area proposed by Dr . Porter , ( who agrees with Dr . Robinson ) , Messrs . Williams , LeAvin , Fergusson , Warren and Beswick . The plans will also give a defmiteness to

the reader ' s conceptions which no mere words can convey . Mr . BesAvick ' s plans and discoveries have never before been published , and Avhat we now make known is but a mere outline of what he proposes to publish in a work on which he is UOAV engaged .

THE METHOD ADOPTED IN FIXING THE SITE . The preceding statement will have prepared the reader for a clear understanding of the main difficulties in fixing upon the exact site of the Temple Area and its boundaries , and of the merits of the rival

theories Avhich have been proposed as solutions of this most interesting and hitherto most difficult problem in Jerusalem topography . The discovery of this site Avas made by Mr . S . Beswick , C . E ., of New York city , who , after making the subject of Jerusalem topography a specialty for sevoral