Hi all. I’ve been away over Christmas visiting family.
I found these sites regarding the Manger and the availability of marble in the Holy Land. One is the New Advent Catholic encyclopedia and the other is an Israeli archeological site. If you click on the second site, you will see pictures of marble caves in the Holy Land which have been carved and polished for tombs and other purposes. This was not just limestone but marble as well.
I don’t know if the relics preserved at St, Mary Major are the actual crib but they certainly would reflect what was in use at the time. I agree that wood suitable for seige engines would have to be more substantial than that needed to make a crib or a cross. Also, 10 miles is really not all that far when you think about it.
The transport of stone in ancient times was not just via water but also over land using wagons- after all, it had to get from the quarry to the boats for water transport and then from the boats to the building sites. There was also a large slave poplulation available to do the heavy lifting and shifting. Here is a site about ancient transport technology:
transportarchaeology.wordpress.com/
I hope this helps.
newadvent.org/cathen/04488c.htm
Crib
The crib or manger in which the Infant Saviour was laid after his birth is properly that place in the stable or khan where food for domestic animals is put, formed probably of the same material out of which the grotto itself is hewn.
II. The relics of the crib that are preserved at St. Mary Major’s in Rome were probably brought there from the Holy Land during the pontificate of Pope Theodore (640-649), who was himself a native of Palestine, and who was well aware of the dangers of plunder and pillage to which they were exposed at the hands of the Mussulmans and other marauders. We find at all events that the basilica erected by Liberius on the Esquiline first received the name of Sancta Maria ad Praesepe under Pope Theodore. During the pontificate of Hadrian I the first altar was erected in the basilica, and in the course of succeeding centuries the place where the relics are preserved came to be visited by the devout faithful from all parts of the Christian world. At the present time the remains of the crib preserved at St. Mary Major’s consist of five pieces of board which, as a result of the investigation conducted by Father Lais, sub-director of the Vatican Observatory, during the restorations of 1893
were found to be taken from a sycamore tree of which there are several varieties in the Holy Land. Two of the pieces, which like the other three, must have been originally much longer than they are at present, stood upright in the form of an X, upon which three other pieces rested, supported by a sixth piece, which, however, is missing, placed across the base of the upper angle of the X. We may conclude from this that these pieces of wood were properly speaking mere supports for the manger itself, which was probably made from the soft limestone of which the cave was formed. The rich reliquary, adorned with bas-reliefs and statuettes, which at present contains the relics of the crib was presented by the Duchess of Villa Hermosa in 1830. Pius IV (1559-65) restored the high altar upon which the relics are solemnly exposed for the veneration of the faithful yearly on the eve of Christmas.
http://www.archaeology-classic.com/Israel_E/Maresha.html
The Bell Caves
Today, however, it is clear that most of them were quarries, which supplied building materials to the cities of the Coastal Plain and to Bet-Guvrin itself. El-Muquadasi, a 10th century Arab historian, wrote of Bet-Guvrin: **“It is a land of richness and plenty, and in it are many marble quarries…”.**Quarrying was carried out through a narrow opening, and the perimeter of the pit broadened during the operation. This was done for several reasins: to ensure the pit against collapse, to prevent the limestone from drying out, to protect the quarrymen from climatic hazards and to provide them with a clear rounded contour for their progress, both safe and wasy to quarry. The stone blocks were raised and removed from the cave by means of ropes. From the inscriptions, in Arabic, it is obvious that these were Christians fluent in Arabic. Most of the quarrying was done from the 7th to the 10th centuries A.D.
Got an awful head cold and for the first time in years, laryngitis… for me that is a penance, not being able to speak. And I was gonna call my daughter and future sil too.
Maybe the Holy Spirit decided I shouldn’t speak so as to put my size 11 foot in my mouth again, LOL.
microwave ovens!