1890.] Archeology and Ethnology. 97 
of carved marble; while lower down were found pieces of ancient 
pottery and glass, the latter partly decayed and iridescent, together 
with broken icons, images or idols, in zerra cotta, one being the upper 
portion (from the head to the waist) of a figure of Ashtaroth, the god- 
dess of that serene people, the Zidonians. ‘This was in the red burnt 
clay similar to that of the Moabite idols. 
The work of excavating being continued, on clearing away the 
débris that choked the fifth arch or porch westward of the apse, in 
the crypt beneath the church already mentioned, the remains of a 
painting or fresco were revealed upon the plaster of the wall in the 
rear. This discovery was made just before Easter, or about April 18, 
1889. The fresco represents an angel, as if descending into and 
troubling the water, which latter is depicted by conventional, zigzag, 
and wavy lines of an olive-green shaded with black, more suggestive 
of Egyptian hieroglyphics than of modern art, and surrounding the 
figure on every side, The right hand of the angel was shown as up- 
lifted ; but this has been carefully destroyed, probably by the Mos- 
lems (after their manner) in the early days of their power. So also 
the face of the angel, which has been battered so as to be completely 
obliterated. The glory or nimbus above the head, painted an orange- 
yellow, still remains, but little injured. The edge of the pool appears 
to be indicated by a broad red line enclosing the painting, and having 
an occasional rectangular projection into the water, perhaps represent- 
ing steps, or the piers for the porches. On the east side of this fifth 
barreled arch (the wall extending at right angles) are the remains of 
another figure, also in fresco, much defaced, and supposed to represent 
the Saviour. Above the head, evidently intentionally mutilated, is a 
portion of the nimbus, and, in the lower outer corner of the painting, 
part of a blue robe. 
It is to be regretted that these frescoes, the colors of which were 
quite bright when first uncovered, have since greatly faded, so that 
the blue is now a dull ashy gray. The reds and yellows, though 
_ lowered in tone, preserve their hues somewhat better, however. 
To recapitulate: It will be perceived from my brief account that 
the remains described consist of four tiers of structure. First, the 
Turkish houses built upon the rubbish covering the ruins ; next, the 
small church with apse; beneath this, the crypt with five porches, 
containing the frescoes; and fourth and last, underneath all, the pool 
itself, cut in the solid rock, and with five arches of well-preserved 
masonry. This last, from the historical and other evidence, I have 
not the slightest doubt is the Piscina Probatica—the veritable Pool of 
Bethesda. Henry GILLMAN, Jerusalem, Palestine, April 24, "89. 
Am. Nat,— January—7. 

