RUINS OF JERUSALEM. 529 



kind in the church of the holy sepulchre ; nothing (hat can be re- 

 conriled with the history of our Saviour's burial. In ord< r to do 

 away this tearing inconsistency, it is affirmed that Mount Calvary 

 was levelled for the foundations of the church ; that the word opt;, 

 mons, doos not necesssarily signify a mountain, but homttiima a 

 small hill; that the sepulchre of Christ alone remained after this 

 levellino; had taken place, in the centre of the areaj and that tuis 

 was incased with marble ! not a .s) liable of which is suppoi ted by 

 any existing evidence oHer*d in the contemplation of what is now 

 called tiie Tomb. Let us therefore proceed to describe what really 

 remains. 



\Ve came to a goodly structure, whose external appearance re. 

 sembled that of any ordinary Roman catholic church. Over the 

 door we observed a bas-relief, executed in a' style of sculpture 

 meriting more attention than it has hitherto received. At first 

 sight, it seemed of higher antiquity than the existence of any place 

 of Christian worship ; but, upon a nearer view, we recognised the 

 history of the Messiah's entry into Jerusalem the mil titude strew, 

 ing palm branches before him. The figures were very numerous. 

 Perhaps it may be considered as offering an example of the first 

 work in which pagan sculptors represented a Christian theme. En. 

 tering the church, the first thing they shewed to us was a slab of 

 white marble in the pavement, surrounded by a rail. It seemed 

 like one of the grave-stones in the floor of our English churches. 

 This, they told us, was the spot where our Saviour's body was 

 anointed by Joseph of Ariinathea. We next advanced towards a 

 dusty fabric, standing, like a huge pepper-box, in the midst of the 

 principal aile, and beneath the main dome. This rested upon a 

 building, partly circular, and partly oblong, as upon a pedestal. 

 The interior of this strauge fabric is divided into two parts. Hav- 

 ing entered the first part, which is a kind of ante-chapel, they shew 

 you, before the mouth of what is called the sepulchre, the stone 

 whereon the angel sat : this is a block of white marble, neither 

 corresponding with the mouth of the sepulchre, nor with the sub- 

 stance from which it must have been hewn ; for the rocks of Jeru. 

 salem are all of a common compact limestone. Shaw, speaking of 

 the holy sepulchre, says, that all the surrounding rocks were cut 

 away, to form the level of the church; so that now it is a grotto 

 above ground : but even this is not true ; there are no remains 

 whatsoever of any ancient known sepulchre, that, with the most 



TOt. VI. 2 M 



