279 
of Edinburgh , Session 1867-68. 
above the level of the present aqueduct, what is no doubt the 
remains of Solomon’s original aqueduct from the pools of Etam. 
This he has penetrated 250 feet in one direction, and 200 in the 
other. Often the explorer had to wriggle through lying on his 
back, at others to crawl on hands and knees. In parts it is built of 
masonry, in parts cut out of solid rock, and generally of a semi- 
cylindrical shape ; but in many parts it has the peculiar shoulders 
only before noticed under the triple gateway, and recently dis- 
covered also in the channel leading to Tekoah from Etam, almost 
certainly Solomonic in date. In part of the passage he could 
stand upright, it being 10 or 12 feet high, with the remains of two 
sets of stones for covering, as shown in Mr Piazzi Smyth’s work on 
the G-reat Pyramid; the stones at the sides being of great size, 12 
feet by 6. This channel cannot be so late as the Roman period ; 
it is evidently of the most ancient construction. It is built in little 
spaces, as if the work had been commenced at two or three points, 
and had not been directed properly. The plaster is still in good 
preservation. This channel must have been of great consequence, 
both from the distance it is driven under ground, and from the 
well-cut shafts which lead to it. The main supply of Jerusalem 
was probably obtained by it, as it is perfectly concealed from any 
besieger. 
In the Muristan a system of tanks has been discovered 53 feet 
below the surface. Four have already been examined, from 50 to 
68 feet long and 17 feet wide, with a flight of twenty-five steps down 
the side, with water in some, hard mud in others, and the plaster as 
fresh and impervious to water as if just constructed. 
Most interesting have been the explorations of the Virgin’s 
Fountain under Ophel. Lieutenant Warren discovered in the 
channel from this fountain a passage branching from that to Siloam 
of the most extraordinary character. For 50 feet the tunnel runs. 
Then for 17 feet more is the new passage, opening upon a shaft 
6 feet by 4, and 42 feet high, to the landing in a wide cave some 
30 feet high in its slope. After creeping along for 40 feet, a 
passage was discovered 8 feet wide, and from 3 to 4 feet high, cut 
in form of a depressed arch out of rocks. After following this for 
40 feet more, a wall of rough masonry was found across it. From 
this wall the passage rises at an angle of 45°, still cut as before 
VOL. vi. 2 o 
