of it when the agents of Hadrian heaped earth upon it and erected a Temple of Venus thereon; an operation of no difficulty, since they had only to cover up an opening in front of the cliff1. But the rock of Calvary at E still stands up fifteen feet above the pavement, and it appears likely that in its original state this rock was part of a little swell of the ground that jutted out from the slope of Sepulchre Street, and probably always formed a somewhat abrupt brow on the West and South sides. This would afford a convenient spot for the place of public execution. For the south-western brow of the rock has just sufficient elevation to raise the wretched sufferers above the gazing crowd, that would naturally arrange itself below and upon the sloping ridge opposite (at M), which formed a kind of natural theatre with respect to the brow of Calvary. The ground immediately to the West of St Stephen Street (GI) appears at present to have accumulated. In its original state I have supposed it to have sloped down gradually eastward from the brow of Calvary and the little isthmus, FE, which connected that hill with the main slope of Sepulchre Street. It must be remembered that the city wall, GI, formed the West boundary of St Stephen Street, according to the accounts of those who defend the authenticity of the present Holy Sepulchre, and with which I concur. The ground, however, between the Chapel of Helena (A) and this wall, is higher than St Stephen Street, and is bounded by an abrupt descent, described as a 1 Fabri (p. 326) imagines that the opening of the outer cave of the Sepul chre looked to the south, which is not impossible, and not inconsistent with the view I have given above of the original state of the ground. bank of earth (not of rock), which shews its South face behind a certain tannery in Palmer Street (at N), and its eastern face between the Chapel of Helena and the street, and upon this bank is erected the Coptic Convent, formerly the Convent of the Canons of the Sepulchre. The part of the street of St Stephen occupied by a deserted bazar, is arched over (from H to I, and the raised ground is so much higher than the street at this point, that the garden-surface is carried over these arches without interruption, so that this end of the street appears like a tunnel or excavation. But this accumulation is plainly the natural result of the form of the ground, which sloped downwards to the wall, and, occupied by buildings that have fallen into decay, would necessarily become heaped up in the corner, so as to admit of being levelled and formed into gardens2. X. THE BASILICA OF CONSTANTINE. EUSEBIUS relates that Constantine, being desirous to do honour to the place of our Lord's Resurrection, at Jerusalem, commanded an House of Prayer to be erected on that spot. For that certain impious persons That this ground is an accumulation, is evident from Schultz's description of the ruined portal, (which I shall presently shew was the great porch of Constantine's Basilica,) for he tells us that the pillars are half-buried in the ground, and that the bank of earth upon which the Abyssinian monastery stands VOL. II. rises behind them. 8 The work of Eusebius is so well known, that it is unnecessary for me to do more in this place than give such a mere abridgment of his narrative, as may serve to introduce the description of the Basilica, which I shall translate at length. 16 (acting, as other authorities inform us, under the orders of the Emperor Hadrian',) had formerly resolved to consign to oblivion that Salutary Cave, and had therefore with much labour brought thither a vast quantity of earth, with which they filled up and levelled the whole place, and having paved it with stone, they thus concealed the Holy Cave beneath this heap of materials. They proceeded, moreover, to erect thereon a temple of Venus, and offered there their sacrifices. But the Emperor Constantine commanded that not only the buildings and the statues should be taken down, but that their materials, and even the earth which had been heaped up there, should all be carried away to a great distance, because they had been defiled with the blood of the profane sacrifices. When this was done, it was discovered, contrary to all expectation, that the Sepulchral Cavern existed unharmed beneath. Then the Emperor ordered a magnificent House of Prayer to be erected round about the Salutary Cave, and wrote letters to the governors of the Eastern provinces to forward the work, and amongst others, a letter (A. D. 326) to Macarius, the Bishop of Jerusalem, which is given at length by Eusebius, in which he expresses his joy and gratitude and admiration that the Token of our Saviour's most Holy Passion, for so many years hid under the earth, should now so gloriously appear; and confessing this to be miraculous, he declares his firm determination that that Holy Place which he had disburthened of the vile idol, should be ornamented with magnificent structures 2. 1 p. 71. Holy City, Vol. 1. p. 240. Vol. II. 2 Writers who are interested in proving the authenticity of that wondrous relic which is known by the name of "the true Cross," endeavour to shew He then exhorts the Bishop to provide all things necessary to enrich the beauty and excellence of this Basilica. He tells him that he has confided the substructures and decoration of the walls to Dracilianus, the deputy prefect, and to the president of the province, and has desired them to furnish workmen and artificers, and every thing that the Bishop may wish for, desiring moreover to be informed by him what columns and marbles may be requisite. And for the inner roof, which may be panelled, or otherwise ornamented, he suggests that if panelled, it should be gilt. Eusebius in the next place presents us with a description of the buildings, which, like most written. descriptions of architectural works, is exceedingly difficult to understand: for the writer was unacquainted with architecture, and hence great obscurity and want of precision prevails throughout. It can only be made tolerably intelligible, by a comparison with the site, and by considering the arrangement of other buildings of Constantine. I will first endeavour to translate the description, and then to explain it. that Eusebius meant to allude to it in this letter, by the phrase "the token of the Passion,” (τὸ γνώρισμα τοῦ ἁγιωτάτου ἐκείνου πάθους.) But when this solitary sentence is compared with the entire narrative before and after this place, it must be concluded that, however ill-chosen the expression may ap pear, no other is meant by it than the Cave. For it is clear, throughout the previous narrative, that when the first design of erecting a Martyrium upon this spot was conceived, it was not supposed that the Cave itself had remained uninjured, and that the discovery of it was so unexpected that its preservation was deemed miraculous. The Emperor's letter is written in accordance with these feelings, and with the previous history; and in the description of the buildings which follows, the whole arrangement is made subservient to the Cave, and there is not a word or allusion to the Cross, or even to Calvary. I believe therefore that the "token of the Passion" in this place is the Cave, which, as the scene of the crowning event of the Passion, may well have been termed one of the witnesses to it, by a florid writer like Eusebius. Book III. Of the Life of Constantine. Ch. 34. Of the Holy Sepulchre. FIRST, the Emperor's magnificence decorated the Sacred Cave itself, as the head of the whole work, with choice columns and great decoration, and ornamented it in every possible manner. Ch. 35. Of the Court and Cloisters. He then proceeded to set in order an extensive space open to the sky, which he paved with polished stones, and enclosed on three sides with long cloisters1. Ch. 36. Of the Walls and Roof of the Basilica, and of the ornaments and gilding. On that side of the court which was situated opposite to the Cave, and towards the rising sun, was placed the Basilica: an admirable work, raised to a mighty elevation, and extensive in length and breadth. Its interior was lined with many-coloured marbles, and the outer surface of its walls decorated with polished and closelyjointed masonry, as handsome as marble itself. The roof with its chambers was covered with lead, to protect it from the winter rains. The inner roof was decorated with sculptured panels, and extended like a vast sea over the whole Basilica; and being gilt with the purest gold, caused the entire building to shine as if with rays of light. Ch. 37. Of the Double Aisles on each side and of the three Eastern Doors. Moreover on either side, double piers of double porticoes, above and below ground, extended the full length of the temple, and their ceilings were gilt. Of these porticoes, those in front were sustained by enormous columns; those within, by square pilas 1 μακροῖς περιδρόμοις στοῶν: the Greek stoa, and the Latin porticus, appear to be best rendered in English by the word cloister. Tepidpoμos, a construction that admits of free passage round about a building, is introduced here to shew that the stoa or cloisters 3 διττών στοῶν ἀναγείων τε καὶ καταγείων δίδυμοι παραστάδες, |