SOLOMON'S STABLES.

Gisborne Times, Volume LXVIII, Issue 10737, 7 November 1928, Page 5

SOLOMON'S STABLES.

AN INTERESTING DISCOVERY

The famous stables ”6f ' Solomon have been- unearthed in Palestine, bearing’ out an indication given;. ' in the Old Testament that the’ great Hebrew monarch was a dealer ;in thoroughbreds,- states the “Christian Science Monitor.” This anhouheement was cabled from : Armageddon by the Oriental Institute of the 'University of Chicago and made . public by Dr. James Henry Breasted, director. Dr. Breasted, an ..outstanding authority on Oriental history, pronounced the find “of the greatest historical importance.” ;y CV The establishment covers over half an acre in the town site of Armangteddon, reported Mr. P..L. O. Guy; field director for the' institute,* who uncovered it. The stables ..of 3000 years .ago can be visualised from "the 1 ' ruins, according to his..'tatementG The stalls were arranged in double’' rows. The horses, above twelve..to. the row, stood facing each other with a passage between the two rows of' heads for the grooms. Mangers and hitching posts equipped the front of each stall. The original tie boles ict halter straps remain. ' • #• Tho discovery will enable , histor-’ ians to reconstruct, hazy pages of the past, according to - Professor Breasted. “Few people are aware; ho said, “that Solomon, true to the instincts of his race, was .not only an Oriental. sovereign,; bu b; likewise a successful merchant, whoseavdealings extended into the neighboringkingdoms about Palestine.. Not the least of his act ities was his'.enter-, priste as a horse dealer, ; v. . ■ ‘“'His marriage to the, daughter or Pharaoh of Egypt gave him- close connection with the Egyptian .courtand he therefore enjoyed inside opportunities for securing tho finest Egyptian horses. The ancient record of the Old Testament v states, ‘And the horses which Solomon had brought out of Egypt ; and tho King’s merchants received them fin: droves, each drove at a price.’.’. ' > • The Mgiddo expedition ; isAitr its third year. It is digging, ii; a-mound which contains several layers of cit--ies dating from different centuries;: Earlier excavation a in Upper layers revealed scattered buildings .hut now for the first time tho archaeologists have come upon a stratum which reveals a well-laid-out town, ,-dt.iis hoped, that remnants of .one .of Sol-, omon’s temples will be found. The expedition is working on aufive-year' , programme., . ’ '*'•'