Zedekiah's Cave
Alternative name | Solomon's Quarries |
---|---|
Type | Quarry |
Site notes | |
Public access | Yes |
Zedekiah's Cave, also known as Solomon's Quarries, is a 5-acre (20,000 m2) underground meleke limestone quarry under the Muslim Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem that runs the length of five city blocks. It was carved over a period of several thousand years and is a remnant of the largest quarry in Jerusalem.[1]
Names
In addition to Zedekiah's Cave and Solomon's Quarries, this site has been called Zedekiah's Grotto, Suleiman's Cave, the Royal Caverns (or Royal Caves or Royal Quarries), and Korah's Cave. The Arabic name Migharat al-Kitan (or "Cotton Cave"), has also been used; the cavern is thought to have been once used as a storage place for cotton.[2]
Geography
The entrance to Zedekiah's Cave is just beneath the Old City wall, between the Damascus and Herod Gates, about 500 feet (150 m) east of the former. Beyond the narrow entrance, the cave slopes down into a vast 300-foot-long auditorium-like chamber. Drops of water, known as "Zedekiah's tears", trickle through the ceiling. Beyond the "auditorium" are a series of artificial galleries hewn by ancient stonecutters into chaotic, sometimes bizarre, patterns and formations. Paths give access to every corner of the quarry system, which takes at least 30 minutes to explore thoroughly. Chisel marks are visible in many sections and in some galleries huge, nearly finished building blocks destined for some long-ago structure are locked into the rock where the stonecutters left them centuries ago. In a few places the stones are marked by Arabic, Greek, Armenian and English charcoal and engraved graffiti (e.g., "W. E. Blackstone Jan. 1889"). Several plaques explaining some of the myriad legends associated with the site have been mounted on the cave walls. From entrance to the farthest point, the cave extends about 650 feet (200 m). Its maximum width is about 330 feet (100 m) and its depth is generally about 30 feet (9.1 m) below the street level of the Muslim Quarter, although there are several lower levels and blocked tunnels too.
History
Only the mouth of the cave is natural. The interior was carved over a period of several thousand years.
Suleiman the Magnificent (1494–1566), the Ottoman sultan who built the present walls around the Old City, also apparently mined the quarry, ultimately sealing it up around 1540 because of security concerns. In 1854 the American missionary James Turner Barclay followed rumors of a cavern near the Damascus Gate, and, apparently with the help of his dog, discovered the entrance.[5] Barclay and his two sons returned secretly at night and explored the cave.[5]
In the mid-1880s, the cave was occupied by a German religious sect that was eventually evacuated by the German Consul in Jerusalem after many of the group fell ill from living in the damp, unsanitary conditions.[6]
In 1873, French archeologist
Some minor quarrying occurred in 1907 when stone was obtained to be used in the Ottoman clock tower over the Jaffa Gate.[8] Otherwise, the site was not frequented again until the 1920s, when it began to be something of a tourist attraction. In the late 20th century, the East Jerusalem Development Corporation carried out restorations of the cave. In the mid-1980s, The Jerusalem Foundation built paths and installed lights throughout the cavern, facilitating tourist access.
In 1968, a resident of East Jerusalem contacted the
The cave reopened to the public in 2023 after three years of renovation and the installation of an audiovisual show.[9]
Archaeology
Excavations were conducted in 2000 and 2002 for the purpose of determining the periods of use.[10] The wall generally attributed to the Ottoman era was found to have been constructed earlier, in the Mamluk period (13th century).[10] A small number of fragments from the Iron Age were uncovered, but most remains were from the Roman and Byzantine periods.[10] Further excavation in 2011 found an area that had been closed off for the use of quarry workers, probably in the late Islamic period.[11]
Biblical associations
According to local lore, the cave served as a quarry for
In the 10th century, Muslim geographer and writer
The cave was also said to be the hiding place of
Freemasons
Masonic ceremonies have been held at the cave since the 1860s. According to
The Freemasons of Israel consider it one of the most revered sites in Masonic history.[1] According to the Supreme Grand Royal Arch Chapter of the State of Israel, the site "has special meaning for Mark Master Masons and the Royal Arch Masons in particular". Starting in the days of the British Mandate (1920s), the cave was used for the ceremony of Mark Master Masons. Although this practice was temporarily suspended between the years 1948 and 1968, the impressive ceremony of the consecration of the Supreme Grand Royal Arch Chapter of the State of Israel was commenced again in the spring of 1969, and ever since then the Mark degree has been performed in the caves once a year on average.[15] On May 10, 2015, a Masonic initiation was held in the cave on the occasion of a visit of Masons from the Grand Lodge of California to the Grand Lodge of Israel.
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Friedman, Thomas L., "Quarrying History in Jerusalem", The New York Times, 1 December 1985
- ^ Har-El, Menashe (2004), Golden Jerusalem, Jerusalem: Gefen Publishing House
- ^ Flavius Josephus, The Jewish War, V:4 and 147
- ^ Numbers Rabbah II
- ^ a b Barclay, J[ames] T[urner] (1858). The City of the Great King: or, Jerusalem as it Was, as it Is, and as it Is To Be. Philadelphia: James Callen and Sons. pp. 458–468.
- ^ Vester, Bertha Stafford (1950), Our Jerusalem: An American Family in the Holy City, 1881–1949, Doubleday & Company, Inc.
- ^ Friedman, Thomas L., “Quarrying History in Jerusalem, The New York Times, 1 December 1985
- ^ "Jerusalem Clock Tower". Madain Project. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
- ^ Zedekiah’s Cave: One of Israel’s oldest quarries reopened
- ^ a b c Zelinger, Yehiel (2007). "Jerusalem, 'Zedekiah's Cave'". Hadashot Arkheologiyot. 119. Israeli Antiquities Authority: 479–480.
- ^ Zelinger, Yehiel (2012). "Jerusalem, Zedekiah's Cave, final report". Hadashot Arkheologiyot. 124. Israeli Antiquities Authority.
- II Kings XXV, 4; JeremiahXXXIX, 4–5 and LII, 7–8.
- S2CID 143466227.
- ^ The Grand Lodge of the State of Israel
- ^ Herman, Israel J. (1989), "King Solomon's Quarries", The Israeli Freemason