Roberts, David; Croly, George: The Holy Land: Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt, and Nubia (Band 1) (London, 1842)

. -





F®W1T^AEM @W ®&W&<

The whole country of Galilee possesses a solemn interest from its connexion with the earlier periods of
our Lord's human existence. The scene of his first miracle, and made conspicuous by his frequent return,
and frequent displays of power and benevolence, the soil becomes eminently sacred, and the mind approaches
its contemplation with the reverent solicitude and grateful homage due to the birth-place of Christianity.

The Fountain in the Sketch is traditionally the same from which the water-pots in the miracle were
filled. The water is remarkably copious and pure; and as there is no other fountain within a considerable
distance, the inhabitants of the village regard its sacred claim as beyond all question.

The large sculptured stone near the fountain is a Roman Sarcophagus, now used as a watering-trough
for cattle, a purpose for which similar reliques are frequently employed in Palestine. At this Fountain
the Christian pilgrims rest and taste the water, as a sanctifying ceremonial previous to their entering
Cana. The women of the village are constantly seen here, in groups, bearing jars of the same material
and same dimensions with those described in Holy Scripture.1

But the claims of the existing Cana have been strongly disputed by late and learned authority. It
is contended, that the site of the village in which the miracle was performed, is Kana-el-Jelil (Cana of
Galilee), a ruin on the Northern side of the Plain El-Buttauf; N.JE. from Nazareth, and about three
hours distance. The chief reasons are its unaltered name, and its having been regarded as the true site
by authorities altogether earlier than those of its competitor, and traceable up to the sixth century.2

Roberts's Journal. 2 Biblical Researches, iii. 208.