A hand has been discovered carved into the wall of the Old City of Jerusalem, in the formidable moat. The photo on the moat wall is from the article on Medivalists.net, below.
The moat itself is a huge defensive structure that would have been incredibly daunting to any would-be Crusader… P.S. The Templars participated in the 2nd Crusade, not the first, however, the first Grand Master of the Templars, Hugues de Payens, had participated in the First Crusade of 1099.
The moat is 10 meters wide and in places 2 to 7 Meters deep. For you Imperial Measurements holdovers, me included, 10 meters equals over 32 feet!
Care was taken to carve a Keystone around the hand. The stone mason whose identity is unknown, was not just leaving his mark…
He had to remove the rough stone surface in order to form the Keystone. This was no doodle done out of boredom… This would have taken time and skill, placing reverence on both the Keystone and the hand. The palm resting on the wall itself.
The purpose? Was it to give thanks for taking the city? Was it an intention to do so? Had it been done in later years as a protection against Saladin’s army?
Islam forbids any depiction of God. In this case, it would not be the Hand of God in Islamic culture. But it could be that of one of its skilled residents. It may even be that of a Jewish resident of the city before it was taken by the Crusaders prior to the First Crusade. I don’t think it had been carved by the inhabitants of the city pre-1099, but it is certainly a blessing.
The Hand of God plays a significant role in the Smith Cove Cross found on Oak Island. The lead ore was found to have been mined in Medieval France in the Gard region. The mine fell out of use in the mid 1300’s –
Note on the cross, a long, raised vertical line that culminates in a hand at the foot of the cross. The same exact design elements are found in Royston Cave.
Had the individual who carved the hand been to Royston Cave, England? The Templar presence in the area is undisputed. The Templars spread their culture far and wide, leaving carved witnesses of their passage. Hoping we will follow them…
I cover Royston Cave extensively in my new book: Oak Island’s Mysteries of the Map: House of Rochefoucauld, Templar Statue, Royston Cave.
Royston was a major Templar center in England, just 50 miles north of London Temple and the capital of its kings. The cave is at the crossroads of an ancient Celtic road heading east-west and a Roman road heading north out of London going to York.
Though we don’t know the identity of the hand on the wall of Jerusalem, be it a man of Islamic descent or European; The Keystone played a significant, symbolic role and practical role for European architects and Templarism and its presence swayed my opinion that the carving was a skilled builder brought in from Europe.
The open hand with a heart in the palm, of Royston Cave, is that of peace and love, bestowing an illumined gift to the Initiate in a secret place of veneration and worship, hundreds of years old. Though the concept of love and peace during the crusades seems unrealistic, it was a time of great violence on all sides. Sadly, it was the norm of human behavior.
The Smith Cove Cross, The Curse of Oak Island, History Channel copyright
The top photo, The Long Arm of God and the healing power of the Dove of the Holy Spirit. Photo by Gretchen Cornwall
Please visit the Royston Cave website for their fantastic 3-D Virtual experience! https://www.roystoncave.co.uk/vr
I suggest you study it while reading my new book:
Signed copies by Gretchen: https://gretchencornwall.com/shop/
I was delighted to share my findings in the cave with Marty & Alex Lagina and Charles Barkhouse. A repeating and thus important image is the human hand, often with a heart carved into the palm, raised in greeting/blessing.