Discoveries Proving the Accuracy of the Bible Narrative: The Walls of Jericho Recent discoveries made by the Palestine Excavation Fund, proving the historical accuracy of many passages in the Old and New Testaments, were the subject of an interesting lecture by Capt. H. Holmes, Royal Artillery, at the Town Hall on Thursday. The excavations were shown with views of the Iloly Land on some excellent lantern slides.
Capt. Holmes said that since the passing of the Turkish regime, discoveries had made enormous headway, particularly in the Philistine cities and in and around Jerusalem. So much indeed had been accomplished that nowadays from the time a traveller left the coast the whole country was' full of wonder. {ncidentally, since the British as-*sumed control of the country, roads and railways had been constructed on a large scale, especially the former which were scarcely existent in the old days.
In Jerusalem foundations of the walls built by Nehemiah had been found, also some exquisite mosaic Soars outside the present walls. In a convent in the vicinity, some ten feet below the present roadway, were seen the marks of chariot wheels and a pavement mapped out for the games played by Roman soldiers. It was estimated that this spot was close to where was situated the Roman judgement seat, Burtpine or tHe TEMPLE.
A remarkable discovery had been made shortly before the war by a man walking just beyond the Damascus Gate. He was chasing a rabbit to earth. The hole in the vicimty where the rabbit had disappeared proved to be one of the entrances to the great quarry of Solomon, with a vertical shaft at the other end close to the precincts of the Temple, whence the stone was conveyed to build it. This find coincided completely with the biblical narrative of the exact method of the construction of the Temple. Some of the tiles prepared by the workmen of Hiram were found. Many were "*'most perfect specimens corresponding to the frieze discovered—near the Temple.
Three officers of the R. E. happened to be bathing in a pool close to the old fortress of David, which was never captured by the Prophet and remained a constant thorn in his side. Underneath the water one of the officers found a shaft which from an open cave led by steps to the top of the fort. No one until then had ever understood the meaning of the expression in the Bible, "He that getteth up by the gutter." In this spot was the identical gutter through which the hero of the story went and as a reward for his daring feat rose to
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.