The Temple’s Rubble and Its Soil Carried Far Away

Nor did the emperor’s zeal stop there. He gave further orders that the materials of what had been destroyed, both stone and timber, be carried off and thrown as far from the spot as possible, and this order too was quickly carried out. But the emperor was not satisfied with having gone this far. Once more, on fire with holy eagerness, he directed that the ground itself be dug up to a considerable depth, and that the soil that had been defiled by the foul impurities of demon worship be carried away to a far distant place.