The Tomb Of Hiram.

THE TOMB OF HIRAM .

LONDON , SATURDAY , JUNE 27 , 1863 .

By BED . ROBEBT MOBEIS . I have found but few objects in my Palestinian reseai'ches of so much interest to my inind , botli in a Masonic and archasological point of view , as the great monument standing * six miles east of

Tyre , and designated by the natives Kabr Hairctm , "the Sepulchre of Hiram . " Travellers through Syria and Palestine have so rarely taken this route ( from Tyre to Jibnin ) that until 1833 there was no allusion to it in their books so far as I can

discover . " Monro , " vol . ii . p . 25 , gives the earliest account of it , but his notice is brief . Thomson , in his frLand and Book , " is more diffuse . Robinson , in "Bibical Researches , " vol . iii . pp . 385 , et seq , goes out of his actual cold and dull

manner , and really gets up a little animation , while referring to Kabr Hairam . Shall I quote him ? : —

" We came ( June 23 rd , 1840 , ) to one ofthe most remarkable monuments of antiquity yet remaining in the Holy Land . It is an immense sarcophagus of limestone , resting upon a lofty pedestal of large hewn stones , a conspicuous ,

ancient tomb , bearing among the common people the name of Kabr Hairan , " Sepulchre of Hiram / ' * The sarcophagus measures twelve feet long by six in height and breadth ; the lid is three feet thick and remains in its original position ; but a hole

has been broken through the sarcophagus ( also the superincumbent stone or lid , R . M . ) at one end . The pedestal consists of three layers ( four layers , R . M . ) of the like species of stone , each three feet

thick ( but see my exacfcer measurement , R ,. M . ) . the upper layer pi ' ojecting above the others ; the stones are large and one of them measures nine feet in length . This grey weather-beaten monument stands here alone and solitary bearing the

marks of high antiquity . " During my itineracy among sacred scenes , I have visited this spot so memorable for the tradition that associates it with one of our ancient Grand Masters . On the first occasion , April ISth

, I had no assistant , save some natives , who knew as little of my language as I knew of theirs . Nevertheless , I made all the measurement wanted and took occasion of the inspiration of the hour to

draft a few lines with which I will not torture your readers at present . Ou the second visit , May 22 , I had the valued aid of my associate , D . W . Thomson , Esq ., with whom I verified and corrected my former measurements , and noted down every

important fact connected with this ancient relic . The sepulchre of Hiram stands directly in the prolongation of the ( original ) island and ( present ) isthmus of Tyre upon a spur of the Lebanon at exactly the distance from that city that " lends

enchantment" to the view . Originally , when Tyre was the metropolis of this coast , perhaps of the world , and the whole plain east of it was covered with the splendid edifices of Palac-Tyrus , hose ruins now compose the basis of the isthmus ,

the view from the top of this monument must have been grand in the extreme . Even now it tempts one to linger many an hour while the spirit drinks in the scene , upon which , however , I cannot , at this time , expatiate . Suffice , that if

this is the tomb of the Tyrian monarch , as I devoutly believe , it would be difficult to find a location so well adapted to it upon all this splendid mass of hills east of Tyre .

To describe the monument itself is the chief purpose of this article , and this I do the more minutely because no author has done it justice . Bro . the Rev . H . B . Tristam in his recent

admirable work upon the Holy Land deserves to be studied both in his photograph view aud letterpress upon this subject , but it was not within the scope of his plan to enter into particulars . . . . The builders first laid down a substructure of grout

or concrete made of rounded pebbles in fine white lime about six inches deep . Upon this they imposed the first stratum of stones whose dimensions I cannot give , as the whole layer , save a portion of one stone , is hidden under the earth that one

however is 4 ft . long hy 2 ft . lOin . high , and extends some 8 in . beyond the first stones of the tomb proper . The first layer of stones is composed of four blocks . Eor want of drawings I find it difficult

to describe it . Say a stone , N . and S , for the eastward of the monument ; another in the same situation at the west end ¦ and two abutting each other in the centre , to fill up the space between . The whole covers an area of 19 ft . from east to

west , and Sit . 6 in . from north to south . The height of this layer is four feet . The second layer is composed of five blocks , covering the same surface , and is 2 ft . lOin . in height . Great pains