Palestine Exploration Fund - Quarterly Statement for 1894/Notes on the Quarterly Statement for October 1893
NOTES ON THE OCTOBER "QUARTERLY STATEMENT."
By Major C. R. Conder, RE., D.C.L., &c.
P. 260. The Jerusalem cross which, with four crosslets, the Latin Kings of Jerusalem adopted as arms {or on argent) is heraldically a "cross potent," sometimes explained as "croix potence" (gallows cross) from the gallows-like ends. I was struck in Moab by finding, at Hesban ("Memoirs Eastern Survey," p. 119), a stone, apparently a lintel of the Byzantine age, with two designs, one of a St. Andrew's cross, and another of a cross in a frame, with four crosslets, which might be an older form of the cross potent, the frame being afterwards broken at the corners. I do not remember another instance of a cross with crosslets on such a lintel stone. The Greek cross is very common on Byzantine buildings. A somewhat similar cross ✠ occurs often on Greek texts from Bashan and Syria.
P. 290. The graveyard noticed by Herr von Schick, east of Jeremiah's Grotto, contains tombs apparently of Crusaders; but there seems to have been an older Jewish cemetery here, of, perhaps, Roman or Byzantine times. The text with the golden candlestick, refering to Jacob of Cappadocia and his relatives, is clearly Jewish; but the letters have forms not older than about the fourth century A.D. The same refers to the tomb of Judas, son of Johanah, with the palm branch, which was an early funereal emblem of both Christians and Jews. Several other texts in Greek, referring to the tombs of Jews, are already known in north Syria and in Bashan. The Greek characters of the first and second centuries A.D. had not assumed the uncial forms of these texts, and dated inscriptions leave no doubt as to the history of the Greek character in Syria.
P. 295. The Latin text from Jaffa probably refers to Richard, Lion Heart, dating about 1191 A.D. The text reading XΡΗΣΤΕ for the name of "Christian," is interesting, and may belong to the fourth century. It is probably older than the establishment of Christianity (326 A.D.), since it bears the spelling under which the Christians concealed the name of their faith, and has no cross. Several other examples are given by Waddington. It is evidently a Christian tombstone. The Patristic literature contains several allusions to this word.
P. 298. The round tower examined by Herr von Schick, on the knoll where I had supposed towers to have been erected, now proves to have the Roman opus reticulatum, which occurs also on the Jericho aqueduct. At this spot I have always supposed the "Women's Towers" of the third wall, to have stood, because of the distance from the tomb of Helena of Adiabene (Joseph. "Ant.," iv, 3 j 5 "Wars," ii, 2), as noted in my "Handbook to the Bible," p. 352.
P. 301. The Jewish cemetery, about the Christian era, was not in the valley of Hinnom, but mainly on the north of the city. The tomb of Helena dates about 50 A.D., and there is a tomb with a Hebrew text in the large cemetery round the so-called "Tomb of the Judges." The tombs in the Hinnom Valley are Christian tombs, in some cases as late as the ninth century A.D., as shown by their inscriptions. They were mainly cut for the monks of the Church of St. Sion, as recorded in the texts.
P. 307. Herr Baldensperger's further paper shows that the Questions issued by the Fund are capable of receiving very exact answers. The fellahin differ from the Arabs: (1) In never praying facing the east; (2) In visiting the tombs on Thursday. The Arabs only visit tombs when passing. The idea of the Mahdi lighting Satan at Lydda is inherited from an ancient Jewish belief, noticed in the Talmud, which points to the same site for the contest. The fellahin seem to confuse Ed Dejjâl with Dejjan or Dagon. The old custom of the female Nazerite, noticed in the Mishnah, seems also to survive (p. 317) in a distorted legend. The sprinkling of blood is also observed by the Arabs of the desert; and a story of the Moabite Arabs (see "Heth and Moab") speaks of Antar's mother hung up by her eyelashes.
P. 330. There is only one Stone of Proclamation noticed in the Mishnah ("Taanith," iii, 8); it was a stone on which men stood to proclaim lost property, and had no connection with any trial.