of Edinburgh, Session 1879 - 80 . 
485 
Thirdly , The levels of the various courts can easily be deduced 
from the Talmudic account of the Temple; and as the floor of the 
Temple is fixed at the level of the Holy Hock, the levels of the 
surrounding areas may be compared with those of the present 
enclosure. In every case the result is satisfactory The Court of 
the Priests ought, on the present theory, to have been 2432 feet 
above the Mediterranean and an observation of the rock at exactly 
that level has been obtained within its area, the level being only a foot 
beneath the present flat surface of the court round the dome of the 
rock. The Court of the Women should have a level 2429, and it is 
almost certain that the rock is nowhere above (nor very much below) 
that level within its precincts. The Court of the Gentiles should be 
2411 above the sea, which is the average level of the present surface 
outside the platform or court round the Dome of the Rock. Several 
other exact results might be given, but the preceding will be suffi- 
cient to show how well the ancient Temple may be fitted to the 
ground surrounding the Holy Rock. 
Fourthly , There were no cisterns within the limits of the inner 
courts of the Temple ; and none of the great cisterns which exist 
in so many other parts of the Sanctuary enclosure come within the 
limits of the courts according to the present restoration. 
Fifthly , A subterranean gallery leading to a subterranean bath- 
house ran northwards from the great gate Moked on the north-west 
side of the Priests’ Court ; and such a gallery with an adjoining 
vaulted chamber is found in exactly the required position according 
to the present restoration.* 
It should be noted that the arrangement of the courts which has 
been followed is that given in the Talmud, which agrees fully with 
the more general account of Josephus ; and that the cubit is 
assumed to have been about 16 inches in length, — a determination 
which, as I had occasion to notice in a former paper, is based from 
a comparison of Talmudic accounts with existing monuments, 
especially the Galilean synagogues and the masonry of the rampart 
walls of the Sanctuary above described. 
If the above views should be found tenable, discoveries of the 
* The identification of these vaults with the passages mentioned in the 
Talmud, is due to Colonel Warren, whose plan of the Temple is, however, 
somewhat different from that proposed in this paper. 
