of Edinburgh, Session 1879 - 80 . 
493 
wall only existed in the time of Christ; but the third wall was 
built only ten years after the Crucifixion. It seems difficult to 
believe that the suburb, in the short period, had extended itself over 
120 acres, so as nearly to double the area of Jerusalem. It seems 
more probable that at the time of the Crucifixion the site now shown 
as Calvary was already, if not within the walls, at least far within the 
limits of the existing town. 
To state briefly the objection, raised first in the eighth century and 
repeated by various writers in almost every succeeding age, the site 
now shown as representing Calvary is so nearly in the middle of 
Jerusalem, that it seems impossible, on any reasonable reconstruc- 
tion of the ancient city, to suppose that at the time of the Cruci- 
fixion it was outside the border of the inhabited town. 
One of the strong arguments in favour of the genuineness of the 
site has always been found in the existence close to the Holy 
Sepulchre of an indisputably ancient Jewish tomb. I propose to 
inquire, therefore, in conclusion : — First, What is this tomb, and 
how is its presence inside Jerusalem to be understood h Secondly, 
If the site of Calvary was not in reality where it is shown, where 
it is likely to have been 1 
As regards the tomb, it is a chamber cut in rock, with nine kolcim 
or graves, of which three are placed at a lower level, sunk in the 
floor of the chamber. The fact that the graves are hohim, that is 
longitudinal tunnels, running in from the sides of the chamber, so 
that the body lay with its feet towards the chamber and its head 
away from it, and that they are not loculi , or graves placed sideways 
on the walls of the chamber, proves not only that the tomb is Jewish, 
but that it belongs to an early Jewish period previous to the time of 
Christ. 
We are informed by the Talmudic writers that all the tombs were 
outside Jerusalem, except the tombs of the nine kings of Judah, and 
another tomb of the prophetess Huldah. Josephus tells us that the 
graves of these kings were hidden, so that even those standing inside 
the monument could not see them. The site of the Tombs of the 
Kings has long been anxiously sought, for the present traditional 
site is recognised as having been invented in the fifteenth century. 
The ancient tomb above described answers all the requirements of 
the tombs of the kings. 
