Well of Souls

This article is about the cave in Jerusalem. For the novels by Jack Chalker, see Well of Souls series.

"The Cave beneath the Holy Rock, Jerusalem". Watercolor over pencil on paper, Carl Haag, 1859

The Well of Souls (Arabic: بئر الأرواح, romanized: Biʾr al-Arwaḥ; sometimes translated Pit of Souls, Cave of Spirits, or Well of Spirits), is a partly natural, partly man-made cave located inside the Foundation Stone ("Noble Rock" in Islam) under the Dome of the Rock shrine on the Temple Mount (Haram al-Sharif) in Jerusalem.[1] During the Crusader period, it was known to Christians as the "Holy of Holies",[2] referring to the inner sanctum of the former Jewish Temple, which, according to modern scholarship, was probably located on top of the Foundation Stone.[2]

The name "Well of Souls" derives from a medieval Islamic legend that at this place the spirits of the dead can be heard awaiting Judgment Day,[3] although this is not a mainstream view in Sunni Islam. The name has also been applied to a depression in the floor of this cave and a hypothetical chamber that may exist beneath it.

  1. ^ Ritmeyer, Leen; Ritmeyer, Kathleen (1998). "The Ark of the Covenant: Where It Stood in Solomon's Temple". Secrets of Jerusalem's Temple Mount. Illustrations by Leen Ritmeyer. Washington, DC: Biblical Archaeology Society. pp. 91−110. ISBN 978-1880317525.
  2. ^ a b Ritmeyer, Leen; Ritmeyer, Kathleen (2006). Secrets of Jerusalem's Temple Mount (Updated & enlarged ed.). Biblical Archaeology Society. pp. 101–104. ISBN 978-1880317860.
  3. ^ Prag, Kay (2002). Israel and the Palestinian territories. Blue Guides series. London, England: A. & C. Black. pp. 124−125. ISBN 978-0393322491.