109 'vjOLGOTHA AND THE Holy Sepulchre BY THE LATE MAJOR GENERAL SIR C.W.WILSON K.CB., Etc, Etc., Etc. CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Cornell University Library The original of tiiis book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/cletails/cu31924028590499 """"'"'" '""'"' DS 109.4:W74 3 1924 028 590 499 COINS OF ROMAN EMPERORS. GOLGOTHA AND THE HOLY SEPULCHRE BY THE LATE MAJOR-GENERAL SIR C. W. WILSON, R.E., K.C.B., K.C.M.G., F.R.S., D.C.L., LL.D. EDITED BY COLONEL SIR C. M. WATSON, R.E., K.C.M.G., C.B., M.A. f,-f (».( Published by THE COMMITTEE OF THE PALESTINE EXPLORATION FUND, 38, Conduit Street, London, W. igo6 All rights reserved. HAKKISON AKD SOSS, PIUSTEH5 IN OBMNAEY 10 HIS MAJliSTV, ST MAHTIX'S LAK'li, LOSDOiV, W.C. CONTENTS. PAGE Introductory Note vii CHAPTEE I. Golgotha—The Name ... 1 CHAPTEE II. Was there a Public Place op Execution at Jerusalem in THE Time of Christ? 18 CHAPTER III. The Topography of Jerusalem at the Time op the Crucifixion 24 CHAPTER IV. The Position of Golgotha—The Bible Narrative 30 CHAPTER V. On the Position op certain Places mentioned in the Bible Narrative—Gethsemane—The House of Caiaptias —The Hall op the Sanhedein—The Pr^torium ... 37 CHAPTEE VI. The Arguments in Favour op the Authenticity of the Traditional Sites 45 CHAPTER VII. The History op Jerusalem, a.d. 33-326 49 Note on the Coins of JElia 69 CHAPTEE VIII. The Attitude of the Early Christians towards Golgotha and the Tomb 72 CHAPTEE IX. The Identification of the Traditional Sites with Golgotha and the Tomb in the Eeign of Constantine 80 CHAPTEE X. Theories with regard to the Positions op Golgotha and the Tomb 103 CHAPTEE XI. The Ancient Walls op Jerusalem 121 1. General Eemarks. 2. The City Walls in a.d. 70. 3. The Walls of the Eoman Camp, a.d. 70-132. 4. The Walls of ^lia Capitolina. APPENDICES. PAGE Appendix I.—List of Authors and Authorities referred to ... 149 Appendix II. —List of Important Dates 156 1. Historical Dates. > 2. Dates of Early Authors arranged Chronologically. Appendix III. —Evidence of Early Christian Writers with regard to the Origin of the Place-name Golgotha 159 Appendix IV.—Extracts from Greek and Latin Writers relating to the History of Jerusalem, A.D. 33-326 167 Appendix V. —Extracts from Greek and Latin Writers descrip- tive of the Circumstances under which the Holy Sepulchre was brought to Light ... ... 179 Appendix VI.—Eeferences to the Tomb and Cross by Eusebius and Cyril ... ... ... ... ... ... 197 Appendix VII.—General Gordon's Views with regard to the Position of Golgotha ... ... ... ... 199 Appendix VIII. — Dr. Eobinson's Views with regard to the Position of the Third Wall of Jerusalem 203 ILLUSTEATIONS. Coins of the Eoman Emperors, Titus, Hadrian, and Constantine Frontispiece Portrait of the late Major-General Sir C. W. Wilson, K.C.B. ... vii Plate I.—Mosaic in the Apse of the Basilica of S. Pudenziana, Rome 15 Plate II. —Hillside with cultivated terraces, ending in scarps with rock-hewn tombs ... 26 Plate III.—Tombs with terrace gardens in front. No. 1. Near the "Tombs of the Judges,'' Jerusalem. No. 2. "In the Valley of Hinnom " 36 Plate 1. Mount of Olives as seen IV.—No. The from Jerusalem ; the Garden of Gethsemane in foreground. No. 2. David's Tower ; probably the site of the Prsetorium 38 Plate V.—No. 1. The Barracks at the north-west corner of the " Haram ; probably the site of Antonia. No. 2. The Ecce " Homo arch ; a relic of Hadrian's city of JEAia, 42 Plate VI.—Coins of Eoman Emperors. No. 1. Hadrian. No. 2, Diadumenian. No. 3. Hadrian. No. 4. Antoninus Pius. No. 5. M. Aurelius and Verus 70 Plate VII.—Coins of Eome and Judaea. No. 1. Coin of First Eevolt. No. 2. Coin in which tax was paid. No. 3. Coin of Second Eevolt. No. 4. Coin of Second Eevolt. No. 5. Medal of Vespasian. No. 6. Coin of Domitian 71 Plate VIII.—El Edhemlyeh; "Jeremiah's Grotto" and "Skull Hill" 115 Plate IX.—Part of the Mosaic of Madeba, showing the walls, gates, and main streets of Jerusalem 118 PAGE Figure 1. —Tombstone from Gaza ... ... ... 16 Figure 2.—Coin of Pontius Pilate, A.D. 32-33 49 Figure 3. —Coin of the Emperor Hadrian, founder of the colony of^lia 61 Figure 4. —Coin of the Emperor Antoninus Pius, with turreted bust of the city ... 63 Figure 5. —Inscription fovmd at east end of Church of Holy Sepulchre ... ... ... ... ... ... 67 " Figure 6. —Plan of ground near Jeremiah's Grotto " ... ... 108 Figure 7. — Section tlirougli " Jeremiah's Grotto " and the Quarries ... ... ... ... ... 110 Figure 8. —Plan of the Ancient Walls on the northern side of Jerusalem ... ... ... ... 125 Figure 9. —Plan showing alternative lines of the second wall ... 131 Figure 10.—Camp of the Tenth Legion at Jerusalem ... ... 144 Figure 11. — General Gordon's sketch of " Skull Hill " and churches ... ... ... 200 Figure 12. —Sketch by General Gordon, illustrative of the relative position of sites at Jerusalem 201 Plan of Jerusalem At end of volume From a Photograph by Messrs. Maull and Fox Majoe-Geneeal Sie Chaeles W. Wilson, K.C.B., K.C.M.G., F.R.S. INTRODUCTOEY NOTE. When the late Major-General Sir Charles Wilson was engaged upon the Ordnance Survey of Jerusalem in 1864-5, he made a' plan of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the buildings surrounding it, which was published on the scale of aJ-o. His attention was naturally attracted to the question of the validity of the traditional sites of the Holy Sepulchre and of Golgotha, and he collected, in the years that have elapsed since the date of the su.rvey, a mass of information bearing upon this very interesting subject. Much of this information was included in a series of articles entitled " Golgotha and the Holy Sepulchre," which Sir C. Wilson contributed to the Quarterhj Statement of the Palestine Exploration Fund in the years 1902-4. These articles he decided to republish in book form, so as to render them more easily accessible to those who were interested in the study of the question. He recast and 'extended the original papers, thus adding much to their value, and had commenced printing the book when attacked by the illness which terminated in his much to be lamented death. With the permission of Lady Wilson, the Executive Com- mittee of the Palestine Exploration Fund decided to complete the publication of the work. It is possible that, had Sir C. Wilson lived, he might have added to it further, but fortu- nately the MS. was nearly complete, and notes that he had prepared enabled it to be put in the form in which it is believed he intended to publish it. The Conimitt^e feel little doubt that the book will prove of great value to students of the question, and the numerous references will be of assistance to those who wish to consult the original authorities. C. M. Watson. GOLGOTHA AND THE HOLY SEPULCHRE. CHAPTER I. Golgotha—The Name. Christ, according to St. Matthew, was led out for crucifixion to " a place called Golgotha, that is to say, the place of a skull "; ^ Mark has, " the place Golgotha, which is being interpreted, the place of a skull"; and John, "the place called the place of a skull, which is called in Hebrew Golgotha"; Luke, a Greek, writing in Greek for Gentile readers, has simply "the place which is called the skull." ^ It is clear from the above that Christ was crucified at a known spot, with a distinctive name—"the skull," or "the place of a skull." What was the origin of this curious place-name ? Golgotha^ is the Greek transliteration (the second I being dropped out) of the Aramaic GulgMta which corresponds to the Hebrew Gulgdleth. The Greek equivalent of the Hebrew word is Kpaviov (kranion), the Latin, calvaria, and the English, skull. The Bible gives no explanation of the origin of the word, and we have to trust to tradition and to the speculations of those Christian writers who have referred to the subject.* In ' All quotations from the Bible are, unless otherwise stated, from the Revised Version. * El's T6trov \ey6iieyov ToXyoBa oj iaTi \fy6iJ^yos Kpaviov tStos (Matt, xxvii, iart Kpaviov riiros xv, 33) ; iirl ToKyoBa rhov, o iieB€p)i.Tivev6fievov, (Mark 22) ; 'X^pdiari ToKyoBa els rbv Keyifievov xparlov rotror 8 \iyiTai (John xil, 17) ; inl rbv TtJiroy rbv KaKov^evov Kpaviov (Luke xxiii, 33). ' According to Nestle (Zeitschrift dea Deutschen Palaatina Vereins, xxriii, p. 40) the correct form is probably Gagoltha. * The place-name " Golgotha " is not foimd, apparently, in the writings of Clement, Irenaeus, Ignatius, Justin Martyr, or in those of any Q-reek writer before the, time of Origen (a.d. 185-233). A — considering the latter it is necessary to bear in mind the relative opportunities possessed by Greek and Latin authorities for acquiring local information. Some of the Greek writers were born in Palestine, whilst others lived in the country for many years in close contact with the people. Several of the Latin writers had no local knowledge, and, excepting Jerome and Eufinus, few of them resided for any length of time in Palestine. Allowance must also be made for those shades of thought and feeling which distinguished the Greek from the Eoman, and for the differences between eastern and western tendencies and superstitions.