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  • The Masonic Magazine
  • Jan. 1, 1876
  • Page 45
  • THE SITE OF SOLOMON'S TEMPLE DISCOVERED.
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The Masonic Magazine, Jan. 1, 1876: Page 45

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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

“The Masonic Magazine: 1876-01-01, Page 45” Masonic Periodicals Online, Library and Museum of Freemasonry, 25 March 2023, masonicperiodicals.org/periodicals/mmg/issues/mmg_01011876/page/45/.
  • List
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Title Category Page
Untitled Article 1
Monthly Masonic Summary. Article 2
THE HONBLE MRS. ALDWORTH. Article 3
THE ORIGIN AND REFERENCES OF THE HERMESIAN SPURIOUS FREEMASONRY. Article 4
THE MASONIC SIGN. Article 6
AN INDIAN MASONIC WELCOME TO OUR GRAND MASTER. Article 7
LIGHTS AND SHADOWS OF SCOTTISH FREEMASONRY. Article 8
BYE-LAWS OF THE YORK LODGE: No. 236. Article 10
EARLY MEETINGS OF THE GRAND LODGE OF ENGLAND. Article 14
CURFEW MUST NOT RING TO-NIGHT. Article 16
THE FREEMASONS AND ARCHTECTURE IN ENGLAND. Article 17
WOMAN'S CHOICE —THE STORY OF A HERO. Article 18
UNDER CURRENTS. Article 23
THE LAST WISH. Article 25
NOTES ON THE OLD MINUTE BOOKS OF THE BRITISH UNION LODGE, NO. 114, IPSWICH. AD. 1762. Article 25
AN ORIGINAL TOAST, Article 30
SONNET. Article 30
A WORD TO THE WISE. Article 31
CONTEMPORARY LETTERS ON THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. Article 32
THE NEW YEAR. Article 35
THE WIDOW'S STRATAGEM. Article 36
NOTES ON LITERATURE, SCIENCE, AND ART. Article 39
ADDRESS OF THE V. H. AND E. SIR KT. COL. W. J. B. MACLEOD MOORE, Article 43
THE SITE OF SOLOMON'S TEMPLE DISCOVERED. Article 45
Review. Article 48
SONNET. Article 49
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.

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

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