Here, about four-fifths of the way along the east face of the rock and roughly four feet off the ground, a part of the rock wall has been carved out and some kind of stone mechanism slotted inside. The face of the mechanism is weathered, certainly, but not like the natural rock around it: this was once a block of dressed masonry. And set inside the block are four smaller square blocks, each a little larger than a human hand. They are arranged in a diamond formation, and each one has a Hebrew word decorating it. You don't need much Hebrew to recognize those words. They are the four cardinal directions: north, south, east, and west.
Sam reaches out and gives "west" an experimental prod, and it yields under the pressure.
"They're…they're buttons!" gasps Sam.
"Look, there," says Esme breathlessly. "In the space between the buttons—the middle of the diamond. Is that text?"
She's right. The text is so faded and weathered that you'd barely noticed it, but something was once inscribed there. The writing is not fully legible, but then Esme has a brainwave. She drops her backpack, takes out her journal and a pencil, rips out a page, and begins to take a rubbing of the text.
Soon enough, Esme's labor pays off. You have ten lines of legible ancient Hebrew writing taken right off the rock face!