The buildings on the east of the barrack, between it and the first passage leading up to the Temple, may belong either to the age of Saladin or of Solyman I.; the Arabs attribute them to the latter. They have been greatly altered within and without, and therefore do not present any distinctive features. Their foundations rest upon the rock, which on the south side is one or two feet below the level of the _Haram_, but on the north from 14 to 18 feet lower down, being at the bottom of the valley which I have already mentioned.
On the left of the passage going up to the _Haram_ is a bath now disused, inside the buildings. During my examination of it I discovered the eastern conduit, which starts from inside the gallery. Its course from this place to the pool of Bethesda cannot be followed, as it is stopped up by rubbish; it is vaulted but not founded upon the rock.
Facing the little passage mentioned above, on the north, are the remains of an ancient building[294], commonly called a bastion of the tower Antonia. It rests upon the rock, and is doubtless of considerable antiquity, but certainly not Jewish work. The stones composing it are small and bevelled at the edges, so that the part projecting from the wall is like a thin slice cut horizontally from a pyramid: they are laid with mortar, and do not appear to belong to an age remarkable for the splendour of its work. This place is about a stadium from the north-west angle of the _Haram_, and therefore, besides being in too low a situation, cannot have been included in the tower Antonia, if we accept the dimensions of the fortress given us by Josephus.
The north side is terminated on the east by the Pool of Bethesda[295]. This, I believe, was made by Herod the Great, at the same time as the Antonia, from the valley or ditch defending the north side of the Temple. It has obviously undergone great alterations and greater injuries. Porticoes were built upon its south wall by Solyman I.; on the others are Arab houses in the meanest style, most of which are now in ruins. It is nearly filled with soil and rubbish, which are covered with creepers and shrubs. By this time it would probably have been quite full, if I had not preserved it[296]. At its west end are two arches, almost choked up with earth, and overgrown by vegetation. I forced my way into them, and saw two more arches, built of small stones, and obviously of Arab work; the northern of these was the termination of the eastern conduit from the great gallery. With much difficulty I traversed it for a distance of 72 feet, and found it vaulted in the same way as the one I have described below the bath. Tradition asserts this place to be the Pool of Bethesda, at which our Saviour healed a paralytic[297]. I shall notice it again, in describing the various works connected with the supply of water to the city.