Swimming in Wool?

 __By Tiffany Amber Stockton__

In July, I shared about a 150+ year-old piece of wedding cake in the Library of Congress. Since it's still summer, and folks are out at the beach, or the lake, or even running through sprinklers and swimming in back yard pools, I'm highlighting swimwear fashions this month.

Would You Swim in Wool?

Humans have almost always loved the water, but jumping in with style took some time to figure out. :) In fact, swimwear actually dates back to ancient Rome. Isn't that crazy? The history of swimsuits is all about changing fashions and shifting ideas of modesty.

Before bathing suits, folks wore bathing dresses. These knee-length, wool garments were more about looking proper than actually swimming. They even included corsets and bloomers! Umm...no thank you! Then again, these costumes weren't really for taking a dip in the ocean. They were designed for strolling by the sea. They were heavy, itchy, and far from practical.

The first iconic swimsuit was a red wool one-piece. Before Farrah Fawcett’s red swimsuit there was the Jantzen “Red Diving Girl” one-piece. Introduced in 1920 by Jantzen Knitting Mills, this wool suit was a game-changer. The diving girl logo, featuring a woman in a red suit mid-dive, made swimwear feel more functional than fashionable.

Have you ever seen the movie, Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken? It's all about Sonora Carver and diving girls on horseback. I even gave a brief nod to Doc Carver's traveling show in my story for Blue Ribbon Brides. The elastic stitch in the suits the girls wore made it comfy, even in thick wool, and started a swimwear trend that has now lasted more than a century.

However, two-piece swimsuits actually date back to ancient Rome. In Sicily, a mosaic featuring "Bikini Girls" was discovered. These women, dressed in what looks like modern two-piece swimsuits, are shown dancing, running, and playing. I don't know if they swam in these outfits or used them as workout gear, but they certainly showed a lot of skin for those times.

Speaking of two-pieces, did you know the modern bikini was the brainchild of an automotive engineer? Louis Réard, a French engineer turned fashion designer, created a daring two-piece suit with just four triangles of fabric in 1946. Four triangles?! Without a doubt, a conversation piece, and likely the cause of many scandals. At first, only a nude dancer was brave enough to model it, but within a decade, stars like Brigitte Bardot and Marilyn Monroe made the bikini an everyday staple, thanks to changing social norms after World War II.

Finally, let's not forget about men's swimwear. Today, men’s swim trunks as solo bottoms are the norm, but back in the early 20th century, it was all about one-piece swimming costumes. Going shirtless at the beach was quite controversial, and it was even illegal in some places. In 1935, 42 men in Atlantic City were arrested for swimming without shirts as part of a protest. To be honest, there are some men who shouldn't go shirtless, but that's a whole other story. :) By 1937, the laws started to change, and men ditched the one-piece suits for the types of swim trunks we see everywhere.

NOW IT'S YOUR TURN:

* What kind of bathing swimwear do you don when you enter the water?

* Have you ever gone swimming in your regular clothing? What about in *less* than that? :)

* Are you unfazed by the current swimwear fashions, or would you rather see more modest wear?

** This note is for our email readers. Please do not reply via email with any comments. View the blog online and scroll down to the comments section.

Come back on the 9th of each month for my next foray into historical tidbits to share.

For those interested in my life as an author and everyday gal, what I'm currently reading, historical tidbits, recommended reads, and industry news about other authors, subscribe to my monthly newsletter. The latest edition was just sent out last week. Receive a FREE e-book of Magic of the Swan just for subscribing.

BIO

Tiffany Amber Stockton has embellished stories since childhood, thanks to a very active imagination and notations of talking entirely too much. Honing those skills led her to careers as an award-winning, best-selling author and speaker, while also working as a professional copywriter/copyeditor. She loves to share life-changing products and ideas with others to help improve their lives in a variety of ways, but especially from the inside out.

Currently, she lives with her husband and fellow author, Stuart Vaughn Stockton, along with their two children, one dog, and three cats in southeastern Kentucky. In her 20+ years as a professional writer, she has sold twenty-six (26) books so far and has agent representation with Tamela Murray of the Steve Laube Agency. You can find her on Facebook and GoodReads.

Wedding Traditions New & Old: Part Two

__By Tiffany Amber Stockton__

In May, a few wedding traditions received the spotlight focus. May and June remain the most popular months of the year for weddings, and along with them, the anniversaries celebrating that special day, so let's look at some more traditions and how they got started.

WEDDING TRADITION ORIGINS: PART TWO

I often find it fascinating to see which traditions make it into modern-day wedding ceremonies. It's also fun learning about other customs or family honors included in the planning or actual event in some way. A key area where you might find this lies with the wedding party itself.

For ancient Romans, having a bridal party meant adhering to Roman law. It required 10 male witnesses to vouch for a couple, while a bride’s female companions would prepare and escort her to the ceremony.

In many cultures, bridesmaids acted as incognito bodyguards for a bride. They would dress or style their hair in similar fashion to the bride to prevent kidnappers and thieves from making off with a bride’s dowry or the bride herself.

As for groomsmen? Beyond helping the groom get ready, some of their historical roles included safeguarding the bride, preventing others from intervening in the wedding, or even kidnapping an unwilling or unwitting woman and forcibly bringing her to the groom. Yes, that did happen!

Once the bride stood with the groom, they would speak their vows and exchange rings. Of course, a groom receiving and wearing a ring didn't step into the socially acceptable ring until around the time of WWII. A brief attempt to popularize the men's engagement ring occurred in the 1920's, but cultural norms about masculinity and marriage struck down that ad campaign rather quickly.

Women, on the other hand, have worn engagement and wedding rings for centuries. They served as a gesture of betrothal or visible sign that a woman had entered into a marriage contract. Post-Depression, many couples could afford the cost of two rings, and they represented a romantic link between married couples separated during the war. Today, both bride and groom give and receive a ring.

Following the ceremony, attendees most commonly celebrate by showering newlywed couples with rice. Tossing grains has its roots in many cultures, with the kinds used differing by region. Ancient Romans thought wheat the best signifier of fertility, with rice taking up that role throughout Europe in the Middle Ages. Lentils, oats, peas, and other grains are popular alternatives throughout the world. Oh, and that theory about a bird's stomach exploding from expanding rice after consumption? Yeah. It's an urban legend. :)

Finally, we come to the cake. The earliest known wedding cakes baked by ancient Romans were made of wheat or barley, while cakes in Medieval England consisted of stacked spiced buns. Hmm, can you imagine how that tasted? Certainly not the decadent and sweet flavors seen today, and likely not ideal for smashing. *winks* However, infinitely healthier!

The multi-tiered wedding cake didn't appear until the early 1900s. Wedding etiquette of the time suggested happy couples who quickly started a family could save money by using their remaining wedding cake as a christening cake. The popularity of home refrigerators and freezers in the 1930s and '40s helped this tradition along. Queen Elizabeth II (then Princess Elizabeth) followed that advice and served a tier of her wedding cake at Prince Charles’s christening in 1948.

NOW IT'S YOUR TURN:

* What fond memories or memorable moments do you have from your wedding? If you haven't had one yet, what would you *like* to see happen?

* Did you save a tier from your wedding cake and freeze/preserve it in some way? If you did, how did it taste when eaten the second time around?

* So many people today are dismissing marriage and its sacred covenant. They're even reducing the intimacy shared to nothing more than self-serving physical pleasure. What can we do to help restore the sanctity of marriage?

** This note is for our email readers. Please do not reply via email with any comments. View the blog online and scroll down to the comments section.

Come back on the 9th of each month for my next foray into historical tidbits to share.

For those interested in my life as an author and everyday gal, what I'm currently reading, historical tidbits, recommended reads, and industry news about other authors, subscribe to my monthly newsletter. The latest edition was just sent out last week. Receive a FREE e-book of Magic of the Swan just for subscribing.

---

BIO

Tiffany Amber Stockton has been crafting and embellishing stories since childhood, when she was accused of having a very active imagination and cited with talking entirely too much. Today, she has honed those skills to become an award-winning, best-selling author and speaker who is also a professional copywriter/copyeditor. She loves to share life-changing products and ideas with others to help improve their lives in a variety of ways.

She lives with her husband and fellow author, Stuart Vaughn Stockton, along with their two children, one dog, and three cats in southeastern Kentucky. In the 20+ years she's been a professional writer, she has sold twenty-six (26) books so far and is represented by Tamela Murray of the Steve Laube Agency. You can find her on Facebook and GoodReads.

The Real History of Valentine's Day

By Jennifer Uhlarik

 

Valentine’s Day…leading up to every February 14, you almost can’t enter a store without being ambushed by banners and signs, “Don’t forget Valentine’s Day!” Store aisles are stuffed with heart-shaped candy samplers, boxes of cheesy Valentine’s cards for school kids, and even teddy bears and other plushies to commemorate another “day of love!” So…do you love this holiday, or hate it? I’ve been in both camps at various points in my life. 

·      Single, while most of my friends were in dating relationships—“Maybe I’ll have someone to celebrate it with next year…”

·      Dating my college sweetheart—“I LOVE IT! I love him! I love LOVE…”

·      Married, but not happily—“Meh…”

·      Single after a divorce—“Why the hey-hey do we even celebrate this stupid, over-commercialized “holiday…? It’s only meant to line the greedy greeting card and candy-makers’ pockets, am I right?”

·      Dating the man of my dreams—“Whoop whoop! The magic of February 14 has returned!”

·      Married to the man of my dreams— “Who needs to wait for February 14? Every day is a reason to celebrate our love…”

 

That said, do you know the history behind Valentine’s Day? It’s more than a random date chosen by greeting card companies, chocolatiers, or florists to sell their products. There are multiple St. Valentines in Christian church history, and there’s some question of whether their stories have been morphed into one. But while the details may be a bit muddled due to records being destroyed or lost to antiquity, the general consensus is that the origin of Valentine’s Day dates back to around A.D. 270 in Rome. 

 

Two years earlier, in A.D. 268, the Roman Empire covered much of the coastline of the Mediterranean Sea, and Rome had many enemies. The Goths were invading, and at the same time, the Alamanni were crossing the Alps with evil intentions. The newly ascended Emperor, Claudius II—a pagan man also known as “Claudius the Cruel”—was ready and willing to defend the homeland, but he needed to have a strong, resilient army at his disposal to fight the threats.

 

A coin with image of
Emperor Claudius II, aka
"Claudius the Cruel"

But he had a problem. Roman men weren’t willing to join him as soldiers to fight. After some deliberation, Claudius concluded that these men were not joining 

him because they didn’t want to leave their wives and children. So to combat this obstacle, he made the decision to ban weddings in Rome (whether it was a blanket ban for all citizens or only for the men of fighting age is unclear).

 

A Christian priest of the time, Valentinus (the Roman way of spelling Valentine), saw that the emperor’s ruling went against God’s law. After all, God had created marriage when he brought Adam and Eve together in Genesis, and He’d called that union good. So how could this man, Emperor Claudius, later ban the institution as evil. So Valentinus would meet couples in the woods and perform Christian marriage ceremonies for them.

 

As news of this reached those in power, calls came for Valentinus to be imprisoned, which he was. But Judge Asterius listened to the priest’s discussions of Jesus Christ, and he put Valentinus on the spot. The judge’s daughter was blind, so he brought the girl to his prisoner and told him to pray for her healing. Valentinus did, and she was healed that day. Three days later, the judge and his household were baptized, and afterward, Asterius released all the Christian prisoners.

 

Valentinus,
aka St. Valentine

With his freedom restored, Valentinus continued to preach of Jesus, but he was again imprisoned, this time being taken to Emperor Claudius himself. Claudius took a quick liking to Valentinus—until the priest encouraged him to believe in Jesus. Claudius staunchly refused and gave the order that Valentinus must either renounce his faith in Christ or he would be beaten with clubs and beheaded. Valentinus would not recant. So on February 14 in the year A.D. 270 (some sources say A.D. 269), the punishment was carried out. Valentinus was taken to the Flaminian Gate and beaten then beheaded.

 

Whether true or not, I am unsure, but there is an addendum to the above history
that says prior to his execution, Valentinus wrote to Judge Asterius’s daughter whom he’d prayed for and saw her blindness healed—and supposedly, he signed the letter, “From your Valentine.”

 

It is easy to see how this man was someone the Catholic church chose to celebrate. Sometime after his death (and after Emperor Claudius II’s death—which came in A.D. 270 also), a feast in honor of Valentinus was called every February 14^th. And over the years, his continued performing of weddings despite the Emperor’s ban, the apocryphal bit about his unusual signature line on a letter to a young girl, and more, morphed into the celebration of love we now know as Valentine’s Day. 

 

It's Your Turn: What are your feelings about this holiday? Does learning the history of its origin change your opinion of the day? If so, how?

 

Award-winning, best-selling novelist Jennifer Uhlarik has loved the western genre since she read her first Louis L’Amour novel. She penned her first western while earning a writing degree from University of Tampa. Jennifer lives near Tampa with her husband, son, and furbabies. www.jenniferuhlarik.com

 

AVAILABLE NOW

 

Love’s Fortress by Jennifer Uhlarik

 

A Friendship From the Past Brings Closure to Dani’s Fractured Family

 

When Dani Sango’s art forger father passes away, Dani inherits his home. There, she finds a book of Native American drawings, which leads her to seek museum curator Brad Osgood’s help to decipher the ledger art. Why would her father have this book? Is it another forgery?

 

Brad Osgood longs to provide his four-year-old niece, Brynn, the safe home she desperately deserves. The last thing he needs is more drama, especially from a forger’s daughter. But when the two meet “accidentally” at St. Augustine’s 350-year-old Spanish fort, he can’t refuse the intriguing woman.

 

Broken Bow is among seventy-three Plains Indians transported to Florida in 1875 for incarceration at ancient Fort Marion. Sally Jo Harris and Luke Worthing dream of serving on a foreign mission field, but when the Indians reach St. Augustine, God changes their plans. However, when Sally Jo’s friendship with Broken Bow leads to false accusations, it could cost them their lives.

 

Can Dani discover how Broken Bow and Sally Jo’s story ends and how it impacted her father’s life?

 

Can We Know For Certain Where Jesus's Apostles Peter and Paul Were Incarcerated Before Execution?

By Donna Wichelman

The average tourist visiting Rome may not know, heading north from the Forum to the Pantheon, that they have just walked past one of this century’s most fascinating archaeological finds. My husband and I would have missed it if it hadn’t been for good friends who’d visited Rome the year before we did.

The ancient site is the Mamertine Prison, known in Italian as the Carcere Mamertino or the Tullianum in antiquity. Located near the Forum, the Colosseum, and Palatine Hill, the site has yielded some of the most astounding information about the antiquity of Rome.

The Renaissance Church of San Giuseppe dei Falegnami was constructed in the sixteen century atop the prison—one reason the Tullianum below is so easy to miss. Evidence suggests two of Jesus’s apostles, Peter and Paul, were incarcerated there before execution.

Mamertine Prison, Rome, Italy

Photo 272678690 / Mamertine Prison © Robert309 | Dreamstime.com  

The city of Rome was established in 753 B.C., but the archaeological findings around the Mamertine Prison suggest the structure, about the 17th – 14th century B.C., is older than the city of Rome itself. Its stones became part of a wall on the northeastern slope of the Capitoline Hill, the most important of seven hills on which Rome was founded since it was the religious and political center and the site of most of Rome’s temples.

Sometime later, the inhabitants constructed a round building with walls over three meters (9 feet) thick and dug deep into the earth to create an artificial spring that appears to have been a cultic center of worship. Evidence of human remains, animal sacrifice, and fruits and grains offered to a deity exist.

The Forum with the Mamertine Prison Left and Central: iStock Photos

The Mamertine Prison or Carcere Tullianum has long been considered the oldest prison in Rome, constructed by Ancus Marcius between 640-616 BC. It consisted of a dungeon divided into two dank cells on top of one another. Archaeologist Patrizia Fortini, who led the archaeological dig, said in an article published by Haaretz on April 8, 2016, “The lowest [cell] encased the spring and was accessible only through a tight opening, still visible today, used to lower prisoners into what must have seemed like a dark and foul-smelling antechamber to Hell.”

Mamertine Prison Cell Showing the Tight Opening: Donna's Gallery 2014

I must admit that walking down into the dank enclosure made me feel claustrophobic, and I wondered how anyone could have survived there for any length of time. It would have seemed better to die than live like a caged rat in a hellhole. I imagine most prisoners felt the same.

According to academic researcher and teacher of ancient and medieval history, Matthew A. McIntosh, “Incarceration in…the Tullianum was intended to be…temporary…. Located near the law courts, the Tullianum was used as a jail or holding cell for short periods before executions….” (See link here.) Those unfortunate enough to be imprisoned there knew it was their last stop before execution. Some more highly-visible offenders, such as the Jewish Revoltist Simon Bar Giora, were paraded publicly before being led to the slaughter.

Most historians believe the prison’s position overlooking the Forum symbolized the Republic’s power and the Emperor’s right to impose the law in the most formidable fashion. Indeed, prisoners received the most heinous punishments during their internment. Physical abuse, verbal terrorizing, and starvation were common. Such treatment is reminiscent of how the Roman soldiers taunted and abused Jesus in the hours leading to his crucifixion.

Another View of the Prison Cell: Compliments of Dreamstime

We can be reasonably certain that Jesus’s Apostles, Peter and Paul, were incarcerated at the Tullianum. For one thing, The Carcere Tullianum held those deemed the vilest offenders against the Roman empire. Nero, arguably the most treacherous of the twelve Roman emperors, terrorized Christians because they would not bow to his claim of absolute power. Only God deserved such worship, their faith said. Nero would have treated them as enemies of the state and a threat to the empire. With its position near the law courts, the Tullianum would have been the most likely place Nero would have kept Peter and Paul until their execution.

Moreover, the site of the Mammertine Prison has been a focal point of Christian worship since the early centuries of Christianity. Patrizia Fortini and her team found frescoes and other evidence that associated the site with the veneration of Peter and Paul from the 7th century. It’s plausible that such a tradition has a basis in reality.

The prison hosted numerous historical figures considered enemies of Rome or a threat to the Roman way of life. Some more highly-visible offenders include:

• Gaius Pontius, a Samnite commander during the Second Samnite War, defeated the Roman legions at the Battle of the Caudine Forks in 321 BC but was eventually captured and executed by Fabius Rullianus. 
• Eumenes III of Pergamum, aka Aristonicus, rebelled against Rome in 132 BC and was defeated in 130 BC.
• Vercingetorix, leader of the Gauls during the Gallic War, was executed at Caesar’s Triumph in 46 BC.
• St. Peter performed baptisms in the spring at the bottom of the pit before being crucified.
• Simon bar Giora, a Jewish Revoltist, was captured in Judea and brought to Rome to be paraded publicly before being led to the slaughter in 70 AD.

Donna worked as a communications professional before turning to full-time writing. Her short stories, essays, and articles have appeared in various inspirational publications, and she has two indie-published novels published on Amazon.com--Light Out of Darkness and Undaunted Valor, Books One and Two of The Waldnesian Series. 

Weaving history and faith into stories of intrigue and redemption grew out of her love of history and English literature as a young adult while attending the United World College of the Atlantic—an international college in Wales, U.K. She loves to explore peoples and cultures of the world and enjoys developing plots that show how God’s love abounds even in the profoundly difficult circumstances of our lives. Her stories reflect the hunger in all of us for love, forgiveness, and redemption in a world that often withholds second chances.

They Put the Stuffing Where??

By Kathy Kovach

Who was the first to do that?

A question I often ask myself, especially when the subject makes little to no sense. Who was the first to open a clam and thought, Yummy! I’ll bet that slimy membrane is tasty. I’m going to suck it right out of there. Or frog legs. Hey, Buford. Pass me one of them croakin’ toads. I’ll bet them legs taste just like chicken. And don’t even get me started on Rocky Mountain Oysters. Look it up.

Who was the first to take a turkey and cram food in . . . there? The answer surprised me, and no, it wasn’t the pilgrims or their indigenous guests. There’s no evidence of stuffed food on the first Thanksgiving.

Apicius: de re Coquinaria
Amazon Link

The earliest recipe came from a Roman cookbook around the first century AD. It was created by a chef named Apicius and entitled, Apicius: de re Coquinaria, (culinary art). Among a wide variety of ancient recipes are several for stuffed game and domestic animals. It’s like Apicius became hyper-focused and grabbed everything that wandered by the kitchen. Chicken, rabbit, pig, dormouse.

Dormouse.

Whatever would fit into a rodent? In most of his dishes, Apicius mainly used vegetables, herbs, nuts, chopped liver, and brain.

Brain.

Among other organs. And I thought giblets in my mother’s stuffing were gross.

Another succulent delight also dates back to the ancient Romans. Stuffing an animal with an animal. This technique is called engastration.

Engastration.

Could any cooking term be more unappetizing? Ok, spatchcocking comes to mind. Precisely why I don’t cook.

Turducken

One such engastration recipe called for a cow stuffed with a pig stuffed with a goose stuffed with a duck stuffed with a chicken. The practice has continued to this day, the most notable being the turducken, or a turkey stuffed with a duck stuffed with a chicken, all deboned. Cajun chef Paul Prudhomme claimed to have invented this combination in the 1970s. I remember when this one hit the news. I thought it was a joke. However, it is, apparently, quite tasty. The English version is gooducken, replacing the turkey with a goose.

I can’t pin down when bread was first used as a base for stuffing. Stale bread seems to be the most popular, or cornbread. I wonder if it had to do with the “waste not, want not” mentality. My mother would set out slices of bread the day before to dry. Rice was used in Mediterranean dishes.

Somewhere in the mid-19th century, the term for stuffing was changed to dressing. Many attribute it to the delicate Victorian sensibilities who found the former word crude. (No matter what you call it, sweetheart, the food still goes in . . . there.) The two terms wrestled for dominance until they finally found their footing, albeit as soft as the fluffy substance itself. Stuffing is now more referred to as the blend actually cooked in the cavity. Dressing is normally baked in a casserole and served as a side dish, although many still use the words interchangeably.

I have no problem eating stuffing that came out of the bird, although I tend to flick the offending giblet pieces to the side. I also am fine with homemade dressing prepared in a casserole dish.

I wish I could share my mother’s recipe, but alas, I only have mine to share.

Enjoy!

Titanic: Legacy of Betrayal

A TIME-SLIP NOVEL

A secret. A key. Much was buried on the Titanic, but now it's time for resurrection.

Follow two intertwining stories a century apart. 1912 - Matriarch Olive Stanford protects a secret after boarding the Titanic that must go to her grave. 2012 - Portland real estate agent Ember Keaton-Jones receives the key that will unlock the mystery of her past... and her distrusting heart.

To buy: Amazon

Kathleen E. Kovach is a Christian romance author published traditionally through Barbour Publishing, Inc. as well as indie. Kathleen and her husband, Jim, raised two sons while living the nomadic lifestyle for over twenty years in the Air Force. Now planted in northeast Colorado, she's a grandmother—and soon-to-be great-grandmother—though much too young for that. Kathleen has been a longstanding member of American Christian Fiction Writers. An award-winning author, she presents spiritual truths with a giggle, proving herself as one of God's peculiar people.

Website
Blog With A Giggle
CraftCinema

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The Temple That Herod Built

Dana McNeely

Herod the Great was known as a ruthless king who eliminated any threat to his power. The Bible records his slaughter of all male children under the age of two after the three Magi visited the Christ child and returned to their country by another route. In my post of May 27th, I wrote how he executed members of his family, even his beloved wife Mariamne. 

The Builder

But Herod was also known for magnificent building projects such as the Greco-Roman city of Sebastos, several fortified palaces (including Masada), and the sea-side city, palace, and artificial harbor at Caesarea Maritima. His most famous project was his rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem, a project which faced serious opposition from the Jews.

Reconstruction of the Temple of Herod - Painting in Brooklyn Museum by James Tissot

Building a Legacy

Because of his many atrocities during his reign, Jews feared Herod would defile the temple by entering the holy places. They also worried he would raze the old temple and never rebuild it, leaving them without a temple at all. At this point wanting to both appease the Jews and improve his legacy, he took measures to reassure them on both counts. He trained over a thousand priests in building techniques so they could work in the holy places. And he assembled all necessary building materials and workers before starting the project.

A potentially confusing fact is that both Herod's temple and the temple it replaced, which was built after the Jews returned from exile, are known as the second temple. This is because the old temple was still standing when Herod began renovations, as opposed to Solomon's temple, which was merely rubble. But more than replacing the temple itself, Herod massively expanded the platform on which the temple stood.

Temple at center, Royal Stoa and Hulda Gates at left via WikimediaCommons

Innovative Engineering

Because the larger facility would not fit atop Mount Moriah's existing platform, Herod needed to adapt to the north-south slope of the bedrock. To accommodate a much larger, level platform, Herod did two things. At the top end where the bedrock was higher, he leveled it off. At the south end, he built a series of underground arches, or vaults, and enclosed the entire support structure within a wall.

Jerusalem Temple Underground Supports (AKA Solomon's Stables) via WikimediaCommons

These underground arches still support the south side of the structure. They are now called Solomon’s Stables, although they had nothing to do with Solomon, who built the first temple. The name came from the crusaders. The Knights Templars used this area for stabling their horses. Knowing the first temple was in this area, they christened the area Solomon’s Stables.

Jesus and the Moneychangers

Running around north, east, and west sides of the platform, Herod built beautiful porches with soaring columns and tiled roofs. During religious holidays and feasts, thousands of pilgrims sheltered there from the sun and rain. On the south side, he built a two-story structure called the royal stoa, a giant building similar to a basilica but open on one side, used for public meetings or business. Some historians consider this the likely location where Jesus removed the moneychangers, because they were overcharging poor devout Jews.

The Holyland Model of Jerusalem showing the Royal Stoa - via WikimediaCommons

The two Huldah gates, which would be at the bottom left of the image above, led from the city below and served as entrance and exit to the temple proper, which was situated in the center of the massive platform. Each gate had two massive doors and a set of steps. The right narrower set of steps led to an underground passageway decorated with carved stone and stucco that under the Royal Stoa and up into the temple mount. When emerging onto the platform, one would face the temple building in the middle of this open, paved platform. another double gate, covered with gold, that opened into the temple building itself.

By Ariely - Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org

Although no archeological remains exist of the temple building itself, the Holyland Model depicts a guess of what it might have looked like based on comparisons with earlier temples and historical descriptions. In front would the altar for animal sacrifices. In front of that was the open "Court of Women" which both men and women could enter. This all would be surrounded by a fortification wall. This was as far as women could go, as they could not enter where sacrifices were offered. Note the high fortification wall surrounding the temple buildings in the model.

Although there are no remains of the actual temple building, there are remains of something connected with it.

Keep Out! Under Penalty of Death

A low wall or fence surrounded the high fortification wall. A part of this fence survived, including two inscriptions on the fence prohibiting Non-Jews from entering the temple itself, although they could go onto the platform and into the public areas such as the Stoa or Basilica. The inscription reads:

"No man of another nation is to enter within the fence and enclosure around the temple. And whoever is caught will have himself to blame for his death which will follow."

The historian Josephus writes about this low stone wall and its inscriptions.

"Proceeding across this [the open court] toward the second court of the temple, one found it surrounded by a stone balustrade, three cubits high and of exquisite workmanship; in this at regular intervals stood slabs giving warning, some in Greek, others in Latin characters, of the law of purification, to wit that no foreigner was permitted to enter the holy place, for so the second enclosure of the temple was called."

Paul's Arrest 

Interestingly, the inscribed warning appears connected to Paul's arrest, recorded in Acts 21, when Paul was accused of bringing a Greek into this temple area. The Jews were aroused by this seeming sacrilege and tried to kill Paul, but the Romans intervened and took him to Caesarea, another of Herod's building projects.

Further Resources

A picture is worth a thousand blogs, so I want to include the following videos to expand upon my descriptions.

A fascinating YouTube video produced by The City of David Institute for Jerusalem Studies relates history while showing animated 3-D videos.

The Temple - Herod's Crowning Glory

A well-done video by Bible History Online.

Herod's Temple - Interesting Facts 

The Great Courses: Holy Land Revealed, Professor Jodi Magness, Ph.D.

RAIN ~ Whispers in the Wind Book 1

Aban yearns to join the priesthood of Ba'al, unlock the power of the rain god, and hear the deity's voice. But first, he must survive a perilous initiation ceremony.

When the mysterious prophet Elijah interrupts the rites, overturns the idol, and curses the land with drought, Aban must choose a side in Yahweh's war against the Ba'als - and it may cost him his life.

Book 2, WHIRLWIND, December 2022.

Dana McNeely dreamed of living in a world teeming with adventure, danger and romance, but she had a problem - she also needed a lot of peace and quiet. She learned to visit that dream world by stepping into a book.

Inspired by the Bible stories of Elijah, Dana wondered about the widow of Zarephath and her son. Who were they? What was their life, before? How did the boy change after he died, saw the other world—and came back?

Those questions led to Dana writing RAIN, in which she built her dream world of adventure, danger, and romance. Peace and quiet, however, have remained elusive.

No stranger to drought, Dana lives in an Arizona oasis with her hubby the constant gardener, two good dogs, an antisocial cat, and migrating butterflies.

Learn more about Dana and her books at her website: DanaMcNeely.com

Newsletter subscribers receive a free book: https://bit.ly/danasnews

Where Did Soap Come From?

We take beautiful handmade and even manufactured store-bought soap, in all it’s shapes and fragrances, for granted. But where did it come from?

Although scholars believe that soap was first made in ancient Mesopotamia, I like to think that perhaps even when Adam and Eve offered sacrifices to God and put out the fire after, that water poured over the ashes mixed with fat and they somehow noticed what was left was a good cleaning substance. Who knows? 

Pears' Soap ad, 1886, {PD}
Wikimedia Commons

There is evidence from 2500 BC that soap was made in ancient Babylonia. Vessels containing the substance, along with a recipe were found in that area. But legend has it that soap came from ancient Rome when sacrifices were offered at the top of Mt. Sapo and the ashes and fat from the pagan sacrifices flowed down the mountain and into the Tiber River where women washed their clothes. The women found that where the substances mixed washing their clothes became easier and the idea of soap was born and named Sapia after Mt. Sapo. 

The ancient Egyptians also used a soap-like substance for bathing on a regular basis, while the Romans only used it to treat skin conditions and apparently—laundry. 

Ivory Soap wrapper, circa 1800s, [cc]
Wikimedia Commons

Sadly, once the Roman Empire fell, the use of soap regularly somehow fell out of favor. For hundreds of years, people of the European continent lived in filth and endured plagues. Then, soap making began in earnest in England in the 16th century. Queen Elizabeth I is said to have bathed every four weeks whether she needed it or not. Unfortunately, soap making was heavily taxed and manufactured soap was available only to the well-to-do. It wasn't until the mid-nineteenth century that this tax was lifted.

In the 7th century they made soap from beech tree ashes and tallow from goats. The French began creating soap using olive oil as the fat portion. During the reign of King Louis the XIV, in 1688, the recipe of this "Marseilles" soap was officially recognized. Fragrances were later added and these soaps were enjoyed by the royals. 

Castile Soap

• CC BY-SA 3.0, 2013, Wikimedia Commons

Then, in the late 18th century, the French chemist, Nicolas Leblanc figured out how to make an alkali from common salt, called soda ash. Since alkalis were important to the manufacturing of not only soap, but many other items, this chemical process was a critical discovery. 

1922 soap ad, {PD} Wikimedia Commons

In the 19th century United States, rural homemakers still utilized a process used by Colonial settlers. Leeching lye from ash water and determining the correct strength was a long process for the soap-maker. Ashes had to be collected for months from wood fires. They were placed in a barrel on top of a filter made from natural materials and rain water was poured over the ashes and the liquid was drained from a hole in the barrel and collected. Lye was considered the right strength when a feather placed in it began to dissolve! When the hogs were butchered, leftover fat was used to combine with the lye to make soap.

During that century milder soaps were made and a clear division began between harsher laundry soaps and bathing soaps. And Louis Pasteur suggested that washing with soap with prevent the spread of germs.

Marseilles soap

CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.or

During the Great War, soap was in high demand for cleaning wounds and caring for victims of the war, but the natural supplies weren’t available en masse. This led to German scientists creating the first synthetic ingredients to use in creating soap. After World War I and until the 1930s, soap was manufactured in a hot process called kettle boiling in huge vats. By the 1930s, synthetic ingredients were used to create laundry detergent by the Tide company. 

Much of today’s soap comes from synthetic ingredients, though they may contain added natural ingredients such as aloe or vitamin E oil. They are often made through a cold process method developed by Proctor and Gamble rather than the hot method. Thankfully there is a current resurgence in natural, handmade soaps that can often be found in the health food store or your local farmer’s market. 

• A collection of decorative soaps, {PD}, 2006
•                Wikimedia Commons

I only scratched a little lather off the the topic of the history of soap, but now I have a better idea of the intensive process and work needed to make this substance that helps us stay clean. Next time I wash my hands or take a shower I can be thankful for the wonderful variety of soaps available so readily to me today, especially with having sensitive skin!

Kathleen Rouser is the award-winning author of Rumors and Promises, her first novel about the people of fictional Stone Creek, Michigan, and its sequel, Secrets and Wishes. She is a longtime member in good standing of American Christian Fiction Writers. Kathleen has loved making up stories since she was a little girl and wanted to be a writer before she could even read. She longs to create characters who resonate with readers and realize the need for a transforming Savior in their everyday lives. She lives in Michigan with her hero and husband of 30-some years. Connect with Kathleen on her website at kathleenrouser.com, on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/kathleenerouser/, and on Twitter @KathleenRouser.