Talk:Zedekiah's Cave

Freemasonry and this cave

I have read the single source used so far to create this article - outdated thought it is. However, since there seems to be some disagrement as to how to actually read the source (I feel that the IP editor is reading a lot more into it tha tit actually says), I have backep up my edits with other sources which are - as far as I can tell - reliable. Nowhere online have I found any indication that meetings have been held in the cave anually from the 1860's. Nowhere online have I found any indication that meetings have been held in the cave by Masons from outside Israel - at least not since Israel got a Grand Lodge in 1953. In fact, pretty much every reference I've found of the cave and freemasonry is the tired old anti-masonic drivel. WegianWarrior (talk) 13:19, 9 May 2008 (UTC)

Here is another source:

"This cave has special meaning for Freemasons in general, and for Mark Master Masons and the Royal Arch in particular. Starting in the days of the British Mandate, the cave was used for the ceremony of Mark Master Masons. This was temporarily suspended between the years 1948-1968. The impressive ceremony of the consecration of the Supreme Grand Royal Arch Chapter of the State of Israel was carried out in the caves in the spring of 1969, and ever since then, the Mark degree has been performed in the caves on the average of once a year." (Herman, Israel J. (1989), “King Solomon's Quarries”, The Israeli Freemason.)

Please don't delete this material again. (BTW, there hasn't been anything anti-Masonic in the article.) 140.139.35.250 (talk) 17:34, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

While some Freemasons may think the cave is "definitely Solomon's Quarry", others may disagree. This it may have significant meaning for some, but it does not have much meaning for others. Please balance this. Blueboar (talk) 19:52, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

Our Masonic Hall here in Albany NY has a large block from the quarry, presented in 1896. It had been the intention to carve it as the cornerstone but it wasn't strong enough and wouldn't have gone well with the brown granite used in the rest of the structure. Saxophobia (talk) 10:28, 13 April 2009 (UTC)

Length of the Cave

I don't know where they get that 650 foot length from, but when a friend and I explored the cave we walked for 30 minutes straight back and never reached the end, and decided to turn back because we were afraid of getting lost. There's the main cave, but to the left in the back are long tunnels which split off every 100 yards or so, and don't seem to end. I would like to find a real map of how far back they extend. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.6.244.2 (talk) 22:45, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Distances underground seem much longer than they really are, especially to the unfamiliar... Valerius Tygart (talk) 18:15, 15 January 2012 (UTC)

Apparent Contradiction in al-Muqaddasi's Account

The quote makes it clear that the historian found the account (of the quarry being where people slain by Moses lie) to be nothing but made up legend and that the cave is merely a quarry. Yet, the section in the article ends by saying that al-Muqaddasi felt the cave was the place the supposed slain men were kept. Which is true? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.206.29.205 (talk) 08:19, 21 August 2014 (UTC)

Yes, the source is poorly reported. I'll fix it. Zero^talk 12:10, 21 August 2014 (UTC)