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Title: Proceedings of the expedition to explore the northern coast of Africa, from Tripoly eastward : in MDCCCXXI. and MDCCCXXII., comprehending an account of the Greater Syrtis and Cyrenaica; and of the ancient cities composing the pentapolis
Author: Beechey, Frederick William, Beechey, Henry William
Language: English
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*** Start of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "Proceedings of the expedition to explore the northern coast of Africa, from Tripoly eastward : in MDCCCXXI. and MDCCCXXII., comprehending an account of the Greater Syrtis and Cyrenaica; and of the ancient cities composing the pentapolis" ***
TO EXPLORE THE NORTHERN COAST OF AFRICA, FROM TRIPOLY EASTWARD ***
=PROCEEDINGS OF THE EXPEDITION=
TO EXPLORE THE
=NORTHERN COAST OF AFRICA,=
FROM
=TRIPOLY=
_EASTWARD;_
IN MDCCCXXI. AND MDCCCXXII.
COMPREHENDING AN ACCOUNT OF
=THE GREATER SYRTIS AND CYRENAICA;=
AND OF THE ANCIENT CITIES COMPOSING
=THE PENTAPOLIS.=
* * * * *
BY CAPTAIN F. W. BEECHEY, R.N., F.R.S.,
AND
H. W. BEECHEY, Esq., F.S.A.
* * * * *
LONDON:
JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE-STREET.
* * * * *
MDCCCXXVIII.
LONDON:
Printed by WILLIAM CLOWES,
Stamford-Street.
=DEDICATION.=
TO
THE RIGHT HONOURABLE
=THE EARL BATHURST,=
AND
THE RIGHT HONOURABLE
=THE LORD VISCOUNT MELVILLE,=
&c. &c. &c.
MY LORDS,
We beg leave to submit to your inspection our account of the
Proceedings of the Expedition to which we had the honour of being
appointed by your Lordships; and to express our best thanks for
the flattering encouragement which it receives from the sanction
of your Lordships’ names.
A book of travels in countries so interesting as those to which our
researches have been directed, would once have been considered,
however indifferently it might be written, as a tribute of more
than ordinary value to its patrons. But so much has been effected,
during your Lordships’ administration, for the advancement of
science and general knowledge, that a traveller of our own times
appears before the public, unassisted by the presence of that
little cloud of mystery through which he would formerly have been
seen to so much advantage; and his work must no longer depend for
its attractions upon wonders which have ceased to be marvelled at;
or hair-breadth escapes, which have now become familiar, and no
longer excite an awe, almost amounting to reverence, for those
who return to tell of them. Our book will, however, possess the
advantage of novelty; for the country through which we have passed
is, even in the present day, little known to the general reader;
and its remains have never been described with sufficient accuracy
to make them properly intelligible. We confess that our narrative
will chiefly be found acceptable to those who are interested in
the description of antiquities, and have pleasure in tracing the
connexion between the past and the present in countries described
by ancient poets and historians. We must even allow that those
parts of our journal which have been considered by some as the
most entertaining, are those which we should spare with as little
regret as the public would probably experience in parting with
them. Such as our work is, however, we submit it, respectfully,
to the attention, as well as to the indulgence of your Lordships;
and shall be happy if the little tribute which we offer to private
worth and public desert, may be found in some measure deserving of
the honour which patronage so distinguished has conferred upon it.
If our researches have enabled us to contribute any matter of
interest to that large and valuable fund of public knowledge,
which has accumulated so considerably during your Lordships’
official career, it will be read with some feeling of internal
satisfaction by those who afforded us the means of acquiring it;
and we ourselves shall look back with pleasure upon labours which
have not been unattended by advantage. If it might have chanced
(as we have reason to believe) that, at a moment when economy had
been less imperative than it was at the period of our Expedition,
we could have extended our researches farther; we feel convinced,
at the same time, that your Lordships would also, at a period
more auspicious than that which we allude to, have enabled us to
prosecute them with greater effect.
With these impressions, we have the honour to remain,
My Lords,
Your Lordships’ grateful and obedient Servants,
HENRY W. BEECHEY,
FREDERIC W. BEECHEY.
_Harley-Street, June,_ 1827.
CONTENTS.
* * * * *
INTRODUCTION xix
CHAPTER I.
Arrival of the Expedition at Tripoly; pleasing appearance of
the Town from the Sea — Friendly Reception of the Party
by the Consul — Interview with the Bashaw, who promises
his protection and assistance — Appointment of the Escort
— Visits to some of the Mahometan Residents in Tripoly —
Sidi Mahommed d’Ghies — Preparations for the Journey —
Adoption of the Costume of the Country — This precaution
recommended on the experience of the Party — Visit from
the Arab Escort — Description of their principal, Shekh
Mahommed el Dúbbah — Sketch of the Shekh’s former Life
— Friendly attentions of the European Residents of Tripoly
— Arrival of Dr. Oudney and Lieutenant Clapperton Page 1
CHAPTER II.
General Description of Tripoly; its Castle and Port — The
Buildings of Tripoly commended by Leo Africanus — Present
Condition of the City — Its existing ancient remains —
Burial-ground of the Ancient City — Sepulchral urns of glass
discovered there by Mr. Consul Warrington — Remarks of Leo
Africanus on the soil and level of Tripoly in the fifteenth
and sixteenth Centuries — Accumulation of soil since that
period — Advance of the Sea, mentioned by Leo Africanus,
still observable on the Coast of Northern Africa — These
appearances adduced in confirmation of Major Rennell’s
remarks on the Lake Tritonis and the Lesser Syrtis —
Historical Sketch of Tripoly — Its actual state and improved
condition under the present Bashaw — Abolition of Piracy,
and partial discontinuance of the Slave Trade 12
CHAPTER III.
Departure of the Expedition from Tripoly — Passage through
Tagiura — Fertile appearance of the latter — Its Mosque,
and actual remains — Tagiura considered as the site of
Abrotonum — Existence of a Salt-water Lake at Tagiura,
consistent with Strabo’s account of Abrotonum — Present
tranquil condition of the Country in this Neighbourhood
contrasted with its dangerous state in the time of Consul Tully
— Sand-heaps to the eastward of Tagiura — Remarks on their
formation, and on the accumulation of Sand in other places —
Dangers of the Sand-storm considered — Passage over the Sandy
Tract to the eastward of Tagiura — Arrive at Wady Ramleh —
Stormy weather at that place — Take leave of our European
friends who had accompanied us from Tripoly — Continuance
of the gale — Arrive at Wady’m’Seyd — Attempt to pass,
without success, across the Sand-hills to the Coast — Arrive
at Guadigmata — Position of Graphara, as laid down by Scylax,
considered — Ancient remains discovered by Captain Smyth
in the neighbourhood of Wady’m’Seyd and Abdellata —
Remarks on these, considered as the remains of Graphara —
Scuffle with the Arabs at Sidy Abdellati — Remains at that
place indicative of an ancient military station — Cross the
range of Selem — Extensive view from its summit over the
fertile plains of Lebida and Jumarr — Rains still continue
— Distress of the Camels — Meet with the English Consul
on his return from an Excursion to Lebida — Report of a
troop of marauding Arabs lying in wait for our Party 33
CHAPTER IV.
Arrival at Lebida — Remarks on its position and resources
as compared with those of Tripoly — Short account of the
City and its remains — Allusion to the African Tribe Levatæ
(or Levata) by Procopius — The same Tribe mentioned by Leo
Africanus — Suggestions of Major Rennell on the resemblance
between the terms Levata and Libya — Former position of
this Tribe near the Coast confirmed by Procopius — Remarks
on the term Lybia — Visit from the Shekh of Lebida —
Violent Storm at that place retards the advance of the party
— Intrusion upon the premises of a celebrated Marábūt
— Dangerous consequences of this intrusion predicted by our
escort — Departure from Lebida — Remains of the Aqueduct,
and of the Causeway mentioned by Strabo — Arrive at the River
Cinyphus, now Wad’ el Kháhan — Remarks on the River and
the Morass in its immediate Neighbourhood — Observations on
the faulty position of the Cinyphus in the Maps of Cellarius
— This position probably suggested by some remarks of Pliny,
Ptolemy, and Mela — Extreme fertility of the region of the
Cinyphus — Remarks on this district, and that of Byzacium
— Suggestions of Signor Della Cella with respect to them —
Present appearance of the region of the Cinyphus consistent
with the description of Herodotus — Neglected condition of
the district under the Arabs — Account of Lebida and its
remains by Captain Smyth 50
CHAPTER V.
Arrival at Zelīten — Description of the Village and
District of that name — Harbour of Zelīten — Remains
in its Neighbourhood probably those of the Cisternæ Oppidum
of Ptolemy — Tomb of the Marábūt Sidy Abd el Salám —
Respect shewn to it by our party in passing before it —
General appearance of these Structures — Arab credulity and
superstition — Leave Zelīten — Remains between it and
Selīn — Arrive at Selīn, the Orir, apparently, of Signor
Della Cella — Proceed to Zoúia — Ports called by the
Arabs Mersa Gusser and Mersa Zoraig — Arrive at Mesurata,
the Western Boundary of the Greater Syrtis — Description of
the Town and District of Mesurata — Account of them by Leo
Africanus — Visit from the Shekh of Mesurata — Splendid
Costume and Equipage of the Shekh compared with that of our
Bedouin Guide, Shekh Mahommed el Dúbbah — Allusion to the
report mentioned at the end of the Third Chapter — Great
demand for Medicine at Mesurata — Considerate conduct of
Mr. Campbell — Speedy success of his treatment in many
difficult cases — Miraculous cure of a young Arab woman by
an itinerant Sherif and Marábut — Detention of the party
at Mesurata — Observations on Cape Mesurata, considered as
the Cephalus Promontorium of Strabo — Remarks of Signor
Della Cella on this subject — Alterations proposed by
that gentleman in the punctuation of a passage in Strabo
descriptive of the Promontory — Actual appearance of
the Promontory sufficiently consistent with the account of
Strabo — Well-founded Remarks of Signor Della Cella on the
extension of the Gharian Chain, &c. — Extensive View from
the Sand-hills at the back of Mesurata — Singular contrast
presented by the view over the dreary wastes of the Syrtis
compared with that over the plain of Mesurata — Hot wind,
and swarm of Locusts accompanying it — Alarm of the Arabs
of Mesurata — Precautions adopted by them on the occasion
— Destructive consequences (mentioned by Shaw) resulting
from the visit of a flight of Locusts which he witnessed —
Remarks of Pliny on the same subject — Arrival of the Camels,
and departure from Mesurata 81
CHAPTER VI.
Entrance of the Syrtis — Extensive Lake, or Marsh, described
by Strabo — Remarks of Strabo compared with the actual
appearance and extent of the Marsh — Remains considered as
those of the ancient Naval Station, described by Strabo, at
the Mouth of the Lake — Appearance of another Station more
to the northward — Gulf of Zuca — Remarks of Signor Della
Cella connected with it — Resemblance of the names Zuchis
and Zuca — Non-existence of the Gulf of Zuca in the Greater
Syrtis — Error of D’Anville and modern Geographers on this
point — Remarks of Signor Della Cella on the terms _Marsh_
and _Lake_, as applied to the body of water mentioned by
Strabo — Dimensions of the existing Marsh — Alleged danger
of crossing it — Insulated spots in several parts of the
Marsh, corresponding with the accounts of Strabo — Arrival
at Sooleb — Appearance of Pasturage in this Neighbourhood
— Liberality of Shekh Mahommed — Cause of it ascertained
— Sooleb occupies the place assigned in modern Charts to
the Gulf of Zuca — Continuance of the Marsh — Remains near
Mahada called Kusser el Jébbah — Story connected with them
related by the Dúbbah — Unwillingness of our Arab Guides
to cross the Marsh — Cause of this ascertained — Narrow
escape of two of our party — Nature of the Soil in this
Neighbourhood — French Inscription left by the Boats of the
Chevrette — Another left by the Barge of the Adventure —
Arrive at Mahàd Hassàn, probably the Turriss Hassàn of
Edrisi — Remains at Mahàd Hassàn — Arrive at Giraff,
where the Marsh terminates altogether — Refractory conduct
of our Camel-drivers — Improvement in the appearance of
the country — Arrival at Zaffrān — Grateful verdure of
its Pasturage — Remains at Zaffrān considered as those of
Aspis — Their nature and appearance described — Port called
Mersa Zaffrān considered as that of Aspis — Difficulties
attending this position — Remains on the Beach — Supposed
Date of the Buildings at Zaffrān — Remarks connected with
them — Castles mentioned by Leo Africanus — Construction
of the Forts at Zaffrān 113
CHAPTER VII.
Remarks on the City of Sort, or Sert, of Edrisi and other
Arab Geographers — Description of it by Leo Africanus —
Position of Sert, on the authority of Abulfeda — Zaffrān
considered as Asna — Remarks of Major Rennell on these Places
— Remains at Medīnét Sultàn considered as those of Sort
— Columns and other Remains described by Signor Della Cella,
in the Neighbourhood of Zaffrān — Train of Argument adopted
by the Doctor on this occasion — Remarks of the same Writer
on the Tower of Euphrantas, and the Town of Charax, as laid
down by Strabo — Nature of the Inscriptions on the Columns
alluded to by Signor Della Cella — Formidable Appearance of
the Coast at Zaffrān — General Appearance of the Country in
its Neighbourhood — Species of Crocus abounding there —
Obliging Treatment of our Party by the Arabs of Zaffrān —
Arrival at Medīnét Sultàn — Description of its Remains
— Further Remarks on the Tower of Euphrantas — Arrival at
Nehīm — Aukward Situation of Shekh Mahommed el Dúbbah —
Visit of the Dúbbah to our Tent — Object of it discovered
— Departure of Shekh Mahommed, well pleased with the result
of his Visit 150
CHAPTER VIII.
Leave Nehīm — Arrive at Boosaida — Shekh Hamed Shakshak
— Return of Shekh Mahommed — Revival of the Report
above mentioned — Motive for renewing it — Discharge our
Mesurata Camel-drivers — Treaty with the Dúbbah for others
— Interested conduct of Shekh Mahommed — Commencement of
another Salt-Lake at Sharfa — Easy mode of shifting Quarters
practised by the Arabs — Their manner of travelling —
Termination of the Lake — Arrive at Shegga — Remains of
Forts observed there — Other Remains in its neighbourhood
— Abundant Pasturage at Shegga — Fortress of Bengerwàd
— Peculiarities of its Position — Bengerwàd considered as
the Castle of Euphrantas — Objections to this supposition
— Reasons in favour of it — Leave Wady Shegga — Cross
a Tract of Red Sand — Spacious Bay at Ras Howeijah — Good
Anchorage probably found there — Remains of an ancient Town
near Ras Howeijah considered as those of Charax — Trade
of Charax alluded to, as mentioned by Strabo — Further
reasons for placing the Tower of Euphrantas at Bengerwàd —
Allusion to the barter of Silphium at Charax — Emendations
of Strabo’s Text proposed by Signor Della Cella — Arrive
at Hudīa — Alleged Origin of this Name as applied to the
place in question — Hudīa lately infested by a formidable
Band of Robbers — Precautions of our Arab Escort to prevent
any Attack — Rigorous Measures of Mahommed Bey apparently
very necessary — Remarkable Hill of Gypsum at Hudīa
— Celebration of Christmas-day by our Party at Hudīa —
Fortress at Mahirīga — Arrival of a party of Pilgrims from
the Westward — Disturbance at Linoof — Apparent causes of
it — Ill behaviour of the Dúbbah — His sudden change of
Conduct, and artful Manœuvres — Remarks on Arab Character
— Satisfactory Termination of the Disturbance — Arrival
at Mukhtár, the Boundary of the Districts of Syrt and Barka 178
CHAPTER IX.
Barren and desolate appearance of the Country in the
Neighbourhood of Muktáhr — Sulphur Mines at Kebrīt —
Extensive Marsh near Muktáhr — Arrive at Sachrīn, the
southernmost Point of the Gulf — Singularly desolate and
comfortless Appearance of it — Examination of the Coast
from the Heights of Jerīa — Extreme Difference of its
Outline from that laid down in modern Charts — Suggested
Causes of this Error — Accumulation of Sand on the Beach in
this Neighbourhood — Alarm of Signor Della Cella in passing
it — Causes of this Accumulation considered — Character
of the Country at the Bottom of the Gulf — Observations of
Signor Della Cella respecting it — Allusion of the Doctor
to the Expedition of the Psylli — Remarks on the Latitude of
this part of the Gulf — Monuments of the Philæni — Record
of their Patriotism by Sallust — Various Positions of the
Philænian Altars by the Ancients — Boreum Promontorium and
Oppidum of Cellarius — Suggested Causes of their Position
by this Author in the Bottom of the Gulf — Observations on
the Nature of the Soil of the Greater Syrtis — Allusion to
the March of Cato across it — Island called Bushaifa at the
Bottom of the Gulf — Gradual Improvement in the Appearance
of the Country — Arrival at Braiga — Remains observed
there — Harbour of Braiga — Heaps of Sulphur lying on
the Beach there for Embarkation — Salt Lake and Marsh at
Braiga below the Level of the Sea — Well-constructed Forts
at Braiga — Braiga considered as the Site of Automala —
Contest between the Avarice and Conscience of the Dúbbah
— Its termination in favour of the latter — Arrival
at Tabilba — Excavations and Remains there — Tabilba
considered as the Maritimæ Stationes of Ptolemy — Arrive
at Ain Agàn — Chain of Salt Lakes and Marshes said to
extend two Days to the South-eastward — Island of Gàra,
probably the Gaia of Ptolemy — Wells of sweet Water, two
Miles to the North-east of Shiebah — Abduction of a Lamb
from an Arab Shepherd by our Party — Consequences of this
Measure — Departure of the Dúbbah in search of his Camels
— Arrival at Carcora — Two Boat Coves observed there
— Springs of Fresh Water within a few feet of a Salt Water
Lake — Arrive at Ghimēnes — Forts and Remains there —
Excavated Tombs in the Neighbourhood — Change of Weather
experienced — Wasted Condition of our Horses from Fatigue and
want of Water — Hardy Constitution of the Barbary Horses —
Treatment of them by the Arabs — Improved Appearance of the
Country in approaching Bengazi — Singular Fences of Stone
generally adopted in this part of the Country — Causes of
their Erection — Position of Bengazi — Fertile Appearance
of the Country about it — Arrival at Bengazi — Friendly
Reception of our Party by Signor Rossoni, the British Resident
there — Establish ourselves in the Town for the rainy Season 209
CHAPTER X.
OBSERVATIONS ON THE GULF AND SHORES OF THE GREATER SYRTIS.
The Dimensions of the Gulf, according to Ancient Writers,
considered, and compared with those resulting from the
Observations of the Expedition — Difference in the Statements
of the several Writers quoted — Reasons why a Difference
may be expected in their Accounts — Observations of Major
Rennell on the Measurements of the Ancients — Ptolemy’s
Outline of the Gulf more correct than any hitherto given
— Number of Square Miles of Error in modern Charts of the
Greater Syrtis — The Ideas of Ancient Writers (Herodotus
excepted) with respect to the Nature and Resources of the
Syrtis (the _Territory_, not the _Gulf_ of the Greater Syrtis
is here meant) more erroneous than the Dimensions which have
been assigned to the Gulf itself — The General Character
of the Syrtis not that of a Sandy Plain — Incorrectness
of the Arab Accounts of what is termed by them the Desert
of Barka — Account of Herodotus considered — Apparent
Accuracy of his Statements — Inferences drawn from them
— Ancient Accounts of the _Gulf_ of the Greater Syrtis,
dimensions excepted, very correct — Accumulation of Soil on
the Shores of the Gulf accounted for — Apparent Elevation
of the General Level of the Syrtis — Advance of the Sea on
the Northern Coast of Africa — Appearance of the Coast at
Alexandria and Carthage consistent with that of the Shores
of the Greater Syrtis and Cyrenaica — Observations of Major
Rennell and Dr. Shaw on the Elevation of the Coast of Tunis,
and the Advance of the Sea in that quarter — Observations
of Lucan on the Level of the Greater Syrtis — Dangers of
the Navigation of the Gulf of Syrtis considered — Inset
into the Gulf still existing to a great extent — Flux and
Reflux of the Sea mentioned by Strabo and Mela considered
— Remarks on the Derivation of the term _Syrtis_ 254
CHAPTER XI.
The Rainy Season sets in at Bengazi towards the middle of
January, and continues with little interruption till the
beginning of March — Miserable Condition of the Town during
that period — Construction of the Houses — Improvidence of
the Arabs — Dirty state of the Streets — Swarms of insects
which infest them — Position of Bengazi — Description of
its Harbour — Castle of the Bey — Visit to Bey Halīl
— Friendly Reception of our Party by his Excellency —
Occupations and arrangements during the Rainy Season — The
Shekh el Belad Mahommed — Jews of Bengazi — Trade of the
Town — Produce of the Environs — Wretched state of the
Bullock Vessels — Mahometan Inhabitants of Bengazi —
Alarm of the Lower Classes during our residence there —
Confusion resulting from it — Mob collected at our door
on this occasion — Narrow Escape of Mr. Giacomo Rossoni
— Friendly Conduct of our Mahometan Acquaintance — Parley
with the Arabs — Dispersion of the Mob — Prejudices of the
Arabs respecting the Treatment of Diseases — Fatal Effects
of this species of Folly at Bengazi — Prevalent Diseases in
Bengazi and its vicinity — Singular cause of Alarm among a
Party of Arab Shekhs — Arab notions of decorum and propriety
contrasted with those of European Nations — Bengazi supposed
to occupy the Site of Berenice and Hesperis — Existing
Remains there — Little regard manifested by Turks and Arabs
for the relics of Antiquity — Probable Limits of Berenice
— Quarries, and singular Chasms in its Neighbourhood —
Gardens of Hesperides — Position of the Gardens according
to Scylax, Pliny, and Ptolemy — Conjectures of Gosselin and
others respecting them — Circumstances which appear to favour
our position of the Gardens — Lakes and Subterranean Caverns
in the Neighbourhood of Bengazi, (or Berenice) — Concealed
Body of Water observed in one of the latter — Examination
of the Caverns — Remarks of the Bey respecting it — The
Subterranean Stream in question considered as the River Lathon,
or Lethe — Testimonies of the Ancients on this point —
Supposed Communication of the Subterranean Stream with the
Lake adjoining the Harbour of Bengazi — Signification of the
term _Lathon_ alluded to — Further Remarks in confirmation
of our suggested Position of the River, and of its probable
Communication with the Lake above mentioned — Remarks of
Strabo and Cellarius on the subject — Temple of Venus, and
Lake Tritonis of Strabo — Remarks on the name _Berenice_
— Total ignorance of the Arabs of Bengazi with respect to
the former celebrity of their City — Pleasing little Fable
of Kazwini, on the changes which take place in the Nature
and Appearance of Places, and the little knowledge which
remains, after a lapse of time, of their former Condition,
even on the spots where they existed 281
CHAPTER XII.
Remarks on the Soil of Bengazi and the Country in its
Neighbourhood — Distinction of Sex in the Palm-tree, &c.,
noticed by the Ancients and by Mahometan Writers — Persian
Anecdote of a Love-sick Date-tree — Remarks of Shaw on
the Propagation and Treatment of the Palm — Arab Mode of
cultivating the Sandy Tracts in the Neighbourhood of Bengazi
— Journey to Carcora — Completion of the Coast-line from
that Place to Bengazi — Return to Bengazi, and Departure
for Teuchira and Ptolemeta — Description of the Country
between Bengazi and these Places — Remains observable in
this Track — Correspondence of the Tower called Gusser el
Towēl with that of Cafez, mentioned by Edrisi — Probable
Site of Adriane — Arrival at Birsis — Remains in its
neighbourhood, at Mably (or Mabny), considered as those of
Neapolis — Hospitality of the Arabs of Birsis — Remains
of Teuchira — Position of the City — Quarries without
the Walls covered with Greek Inscriptions — Teuchira a
Town of Barca — Walls of the City repaired by Justinian
— No Port observable at Teuchira — Mistake of Bruce in
confounding Teuchira with Ptolemeta — Good Supply of fresh
Water at Teuchira — The excavated Tombs of the ancient City
used as Dwelling-houses by the Arabs of the Neighbourhood
— Indisposition of our Chaous (or Janissary) — Route
from Teuchira to Ptolemeta — Remains at Ptolemeta — Port
and Cothon of the ancient City — Other Remains observable
there — Ptolemaic Inscriptions — Picturesque Ravines
in the Neighbourhood of Ptolemeta — Position of the City
— Remains of Bridges observed there — Advantages of its
Site — Extreme Drought at Ptolemeta, recorded by Procopius
— Reparation of the Aqueducts and Cisterns by the Emperor
Justinian — Existing Remains of an extensive Cistern at
Ptolemeta, probably among those alluded to by Procopius —
State of the Town, its Solitude and Desolation — Luxuriant
Vegetation which encumbered its Streets when the Place was
first visited by our Party — Change of Scene on returning
to it in Summer-time 339
CHAPTER XIII.
OBSERVATIONS ON THE CITIES OF TEUCHIRA AND PTOLEMETA.
Actual Condition of the City of Teuchira — Perfect State
and great Strength of its Walls — Suggested Period of their
Erection — Mode in which they are constructed — Gates
of the City — Narrow Passage communicating with them —
Probable Advance of the Sea at Teuchira — Line described by
the Walls — Estimated Circuit of them according to Signor
Della Cella — Greek Inscriptions cut in various parts of
them — Suggestions of Signor Della Cella respecting them —
Actual Nature of the Inscriptions — Excavated Tombs in the
Quarries of Teuchira — Egyptian Names of Months generally
adopted by the Inhabitants of the City — General Nature
of the Plans of the Tombs — Some of the Bodies appear to
have been burnt, and others to have been buried entire — No
Difference appears to have obtained at Teuchira between the
Modes of Burial adopted by its Greek and Roman Inhabitants —
Encumbered State of what are probably the earliest Tombs —
Solitary instance of a Painted Tomb at Teuchira — Remains
of Christian Churches, and other Buildings within the Walls
— Disposition of the Streets — Remains without the Walls
— No Statues, or Remains of them, discovered by our Party
at Teuchira — Remarks on the Wall of Ptolemeta — Remains
of a Naustothmos, or Naval Station, observed there — Other
Remains of Building on the Beach near the Station — Further
traces of the City-Wall — Dimensions of Ptolemeta — Remains
of Theatres found there — Description of the larger one —
Ruins described by Bruce as part of an Ionic Temple — Other
Remains in the Neighbourhood of these — Remarks on the Style
of some of the Buildings of Ptolemeta, as contrasted with those
of Egypt and Nubia — Probable Date of its existing Remains 367
CHAPTER XIV.
JOURNEY FROM PTOLEMETA TO MERGE.
Departure from Ptolemeta — Romantic and Picturesque
Appearance of the Road — Luxuriant Vegetation which
adorned it — Arrive at the Summit of the first Range —
Bedouin Tents on the Plain above — Pleasing Manners of their
Inhabitants — Character of the Scenery on the Summit of the
Lower Range — Beauty of the Route continues — Arrive at
the Plain of Merge — Character and Position of the Plain
— Our Camel-Drivers refuse to proceed — Artful Conduct of
Abou-Bukra — Appeal to Bey Halil — Projected Mission to
Derna — Abou-Bukra comes to Terms, and brings his Camels for
the Journey — Pools of Fresh Water collected in the Plain
of Merge — Use made of them by the Arabs — Prevalence of
a Virulent Cutaneous Disease among the Arab Tribes of Merge
and its Neighbourhood — Remains of a Town at one extremity
of the Plain — Remarks on the District and City of Barca —
Testimonies of Strabo, Pliny, Ptolemy, and Scylax, respecting
the Port of Barca — Remarks on the Position of the City of
that Name — Arab Accounts of Barca — Edrisi, Abulfeda,
&c. — Unsatisfactory Nature of the Accounts in Question —
Mode of reconciling the Arab Accounts of Barca with those
of Scylax — Suggested Position of the Ancient City —
Peculiarity of Soil attributed to Barca — Observations on
its Produce and Resources — State of Barca under the Arabs
— Decay of the Ancient City after the building of Ptolemais
on the Site of its Port — The Barcæans remarkable for
their Skill in the Management of Horses and Chariots —
Their Country formerly celebrated for its excellent Breed
of Horses — Degeneracy of the present Breed — Account
of Barca by Herodotus — Other Accounts of its Origin —
Siege and Plunder of the City by the Persians under Amasis
— Subsequent state of the City till the building of Ptolemais 386
CHAPTER XV.
JOURNEY FROM MERGE TO CYRENE.
Departure from Merge — Deep Marks of Chariot-wheels on
the Stony Road indicative of an ancient Track — Valley of
Bogràta — Ancient Wells observed there — Valley of Hareebe
— Beauty and Luxuriance of the Country continue — Roses
of the Cyrenaica mentioned by Athenæus as celebrated for the
excellence of their Perfume — Oil (or Ointment) of Roses
made at Cyrene in the time of Berenice (probably the Daughter
of Magas) — Difficulty and Danger of some Parts of the Road
— Apprehensions of our Arab Conductors — They appear to
have been groundless — Arrive at Margàd — Bad State of
the Road continues — Quarrel between Abou-Bukra and one of
our Servants — Consequences of the Quarrel — Departure of
Abou-Bukra — Continue our Route alone and succeed in finding
the right Track — Return of Abou-Bukra and his people —
Satisfactory Termination of the Disturbance — Oppressive
Sirocco Wind — Nature of the Country on approaching Cyrene
— First Appearance of a Plant resembling the Daucus, or
Wild Carrot — Resemblance of this Plant to the Silphium,
as expressed on ancient Coins — Points in which it differs
from it — Remarks on the Silphium as mentioned by ancient
Writers — Testimony of Herodotus, Arrian, Theophrastus,
Pliny, Athenæus — Bill of Fare of the Kings of Persia,
stated by Polyænus to have been discovered in the royal
Palace by Alexander the Great — Silphium mentioned in this
among other articles of Food — Description of the Plant
by Theophrastus and Pliny — Celebrity and Scarcity of the
Silphium and of the Extract from it — Extraordinary Cause
of the first Appearance of the Silphium in the Cyrenaica,
as mentioned by Pliny on the authority of Greek Writers —
Effects produced by the Plant on the Sheep and Cattle who
were allowed to eat it — Similar Effects produced by the
Plant observed by the Expedition on Camels — Extraordinary
Medicinal Qualities imputed to the Silphium by Pliny — The
use of it recommended by the Roman Naturalist as a sovereign
remedy for almost everything but the Tooth-ache — Fatal
Consequences recorded by Pliny, of applying it in the Case
last mentioned — Silphium offered by the People of Cyrene
to their first King Battus, as the most valuable Production
of their Country — State in which the Plant observed by the
Expedition most resembles the Silphium on the Coins of Cyrene
— Partition of the Road from Merge to Cyrene — Extensive
Traces of Building observed along the ancient, or lower Road
— Approach to Cyrene indicated by innumerable Sarcophagi
and Tombs — Position of these along the sides of the Roads,
as observable at Pompeii and other ancient Towns — Frequent
Traces of Chariot-wheels still observable along the Roads,
deeply indented in the rocky Soil of the Place — The earlier
Tombs distinguished by their simplicity and good taste —
The later by a more ornamented and less perfect style —
Busts and Statues scattered everywhere about among the Tombs
— Difference of Style and Character observable in these
— Remains of an Aqueduct — Fountain of Cyrene 405
CHAPTER XVI.
Description of the Fountain — Excavations which enclose it
— Sculptured Tablet discovered at the entrance of one of
the Chambers — Early Character of its Style — Beautiful
Bas-Relief in white Marble discovered near the Fountain —
Indications of Porticoes in front of the excavated Chambers
— Greek Inscription cut over one of them — Remains in
front of the Fountain — Aqueduct above it — Peripteral
Temple, probably of Diana — Female Statue discovered there
— Position of Cyrene — Delightful View from the Town
— Excavated Galleries and Tombs — Nature and Style of
the Tombs — Variety displayed in the disposition of their
Interiors — Remains of Painting discovered in them — Suite
of what appear to be Allegorical Compositions, painted on the
Metopes of one of the Doric Tombs — Practice, at Cyrene,
of painting the several Members of Architecture — Remarks
connected with this Practice 424
CHAPTER XVII.
Arrival of Captain Smyth at Derna — Our Party set out
from Cyrene to meet him — Remains of Ancient Forts, and
Sarcophagi observed on the Journey — Marks of Chariot-wheels
in the Stony Track indicative of an ancient Road — Barren
Appearance of the Mountains which rise at the back of Derna
— Perilous Descent from their Summit to the Plain below
— Exhausted condition of our Horses in accomplishing it
— Arrive at Derna, where we found the Adventure, and wait
upon Captain Smyth — Description of the town of Derna —
Ravages occasioned by the Plague there — Prompt Measures
of Mahommed Bey in subduing it — Some Account of Mahommed
Bey — Civility and attention received by our Party from
Signor Regignani the British Agent at Derna — Take leave of
Mr. Tindall, who sails on board the Adventure — Departure
from Derna on our road to Apollonia — Gradual increase of
Vegetation observed on the Route — Thickly-wooded Ravines and
dangerous Passes on this Road — Beautiful Stream at Elthroon
— Arrive at El Hilal — Capacious Harbour at that place —
Ancient Remains observed there — Arab Encampment at El Hilal
— Dishonest Conduct of our Chaous — Arrive at Apollonia
— No Water to be found there — Begin to dig a Well in
order to procure some, our stock being wholly exhausted —
Bad Success of this attempt — Continue our Journey to Cyrene
— Miss the Path over the Mountain, and lose our way among
the Thickets and Underwood — Inconvenience of this mistake
to all Parties — Find the right track, and at length reach
the Fountain of Apollo — Rencontre of our Servants with some
female Inhabitants of the Mountain — Singular position of the
Caves which they lived in — Gain intelligence at Cyrene of
a Spring in the neighbourhood of Apollonia — Set out again
for that place — Description of the Road — Architectural
Remains, and beautiful appearance of the Country through
which it passes — Meet with an Hyæna in the dusk of the
evening — The forest much infested by these animals and
Jackalls — Peculiarities of both — Arrive at Apollonia,
and find the Springs described to us — Other Caves in the
Mountain — Unwillingness of their Inhabitants to admit us
— Description of the City of Apollonia 467
CHAPTER XVIII.
Observations on the Position of Ras Sem — Remarks of Bruce
connected with this place — Difficulty of reconciling the
several positions assigned to it — Extravagant Stories
related of its Petrifactions, supposed to be those of Human
Beings — Fallacy of these Statements as recorded by Shaw —
Report of Petrified Remains at Ghirza made to Captain Smyth by
Mukni (Bey, or Sultan, of Fezzan) during the progress of his
Excavations at Lebda — Journey of Captain Smyth in search
of the objects described to him — Description of the actual
Remains at Ghirza — Monumental Obelisk discovered there,
and Tombs, combining a mixture of the Egyptian and Grecian
styles of Architecture — Indifferent Taste and Execution
of these Remains — Veneration in which they are held by
Mahometans of all classes, who suppose them to be Petrified
Human Beings of their own persuasion — Geographic Position
of Ghirza determined by Captain Smyth — Further Observations
on the Remains at Apollonia — Return of our party to Cyrene
— Account of that City continued 501
CHAPTER XIX.
Historical Sketch of Cyrene — Its Foundation by a
Lacedæmonian Colony — Dynasty of the Battiades, or Family
of Battus — Cession of the Country to Ptolemy Lagus — And
afterwards to the Romans by Apion, the last of the Ptolemies
who possessed it — Cyrene becomes a Roman Province, and is
united in one Government with Crete — Illustrious Persons who
were natives of Cyrene — Tenets of the Sect of Philosophers
termed Cyrenaic — Decay of the City and its final Desertion
in Christian times after the Transfer of the Bishopric to
Ptolemeta — Return of the Expedition to Bengazi, and its
subsequent Departure for Malta 558
LIST OF PLATES.
CHAPTER
1. Solitary Palm-Tree at Arar, remarkable as being the
only Tree in the Greater Syrtis VI.
2. Formidable Appearance of the Coast at Zaffran _ib._
3. Remains of an Ancient Bridge at Ptolemeta XII.
4. Remains of an Ancient Mausoleum at Ptolemeta _ib._
5. Remains of an Ionic Building at Ptolemeta (Vignette) _ib._
6. Remains of an early Christian Church at Ptolemeta _ib._
7. Singular Position of Two Inhabited Caves in the
Neighbourhood of Apollonia XVII.
8. Position of the Amphitheatre, the Fountain of Apollo,
and some other Remains at Cyrene XVI.
9. Elevation of the Internal Façade of an Excavated
Tomb at Cyrene _ib._
10. Suite of Allegorical Figures painted on the Metopes
of One of the Excavated Tombs at Cyrene _ib._
11. Partial View of the Tombs on the Heights of Cyrene _ib._
12. Architectural Front of One of the Doric excavated
Tombs at Cyrene XVIII.
13. Entrance to the Fountain of Apollo at Cyrene (Vignette) XVI.
LIST OF CHARTS AND PLANS.
General Chart of the Route I.
Chart, showing the Difference between the Coast Line of
former Charts, and that obtained by the Expedition X.
Plan of the Port and Neighbourhood of Bengazi XI.
Plan of the City of Teuchira XII.
Plan of the City of Ptolemeta _ib._
Plan of the City and Environs of Cyrene XV.
Plan of the City, on a larger Scale _ib._
Plan of the Town of Derna and of the Port of Zaffran XVII.
Plan of the Port and City of Apollonia _ib._
INTRODUCTION.
* * * * *
In offering to the Public an account of the mission, the proceedings
of which will form the subject of the present Narrative, it may be
proper to state briefly the circumstances which gave rise to it,
and the objects to which its inquiries were chiefly directed.
When Captain Smyth visited the Northern Coast of Africa, in the year
1817, he had many opportunities (during the course of his Survey)
of obtaining information connected with the state of the country
and the points most deserving of notice which it presented. The
exertions of this active and intelligent officer procured at Lebida
the matter for the only plan which we have of that city and its
antiquities, while his journey to Ghirza made us acquainted with
the actual nature of those remains, so important in Arab estimation,
the account of which is given at the latter part of our narrative[1].
Captain Smyth had proposed to extend his journey eastward;
for the friendly disposition of the Bashaw of Tripoly had been
diligently cultivated by himself and Colonel Warrington, His
Majesty’s Consul-general at the Regency, and the whole tract of
country between Tripoly and Derna was open to the researches of
the English. Circumstances, however, prevented him from doing so,
and on returning to England he submitted the information which he
had been able to collect to the Admiralty, and suggested that a
party might be advantageously employed in exploring the Greater
Syrtis and Cyrenaica, as well as the country to the eastward of
Derna as far as Alexandria and the Oasis of Ammon.
Many spots of more than ordinary interest were comprehended within
the limits of the Syrtis and Cyrenaica: some of these had been the
favourite themes of mythology, haunts in which the poets of Greece
and Rome had loved to linger; and others had been celebrated in
the more sober language of historians whose fame is less perishable
than the objects which they describe. But whatever might once have
been the state of a country placed before us so conspicuously in
pages which are dear to us, there had not in our own times been
any opportunity of ascertaining its actual condition. The name of
Cyrene was familiar to classic ears, but no one had visited its
remains; the “secret springs” of Lethe and the Gardens of the
Hesperides had almost been confounded with the fables of antiquity;
and the deep and burning sands, overspread with venomous serpents,
which were supposed to form the barrier between Leptis Magna and
Berenice, had rarely been trodden since the army of Cato had nearly
found a grave beneath their weight[2].
The outline of this extensive Gulf (the Greater Syrtis), the coast
of which was as formidable to the vessels of the ancients as its
sands were supposed to have been to their armies, had never been
accurately laid down in modern charts, and the contradictory
statements of its form and peculiarities appeared to call for
minute investigation. There were many geographical points to be
determined in the space between Tripoly and Bengazi, and remains of
several ancient towns (besides Cyrene) were known to exist in the
Pentapolis, of which no plans had hitherto been made. Under all these
circumstances it appeared to Captain Smyth that, as he was himself
about to sail in the Adventure to finish his survey of the northern
coast of Africa, it might so be arranged that a party on shore
should proceed simultaneously along the tract of country mentioned,
communicating from time to time with his vessel as occasions might
offer in the course of their route. The views of His Majesty’s
Government were at this period favorable to the cause of research;
and the labours of many skilful and enterprising men had been,
since the peace, advantageously directed to various points of
interest, from the sultry plains of Fezzan to the borders of the
Frozen Ocean. It was therefore not long after the plan in question
had been submitted to the Admiralty and the Colonial Department,
that it was acceded to by Earl Bathurst and Lord Melville; and the
means of carrying it into effect were referred to the consideration
of one of the heads of the Admiralty, whose well-directed ability
had often been manifested in the promotion and arrangement of
similar undertakings, and whose exertions in the cause of science
and discovery are well known and highly appreciated[3].
Accordingly, when the necessary dispositions had been made,
Lieutenant Beechey was appointed on the part of the Admiralty to
undertake the coast line from Tripoly to Derna,—if practicable, as
far as Alexandria; and Mr. Tyndall, a young gentleman on board the
Adventure, was directed to assist him in the survey. Earl Bathurst
appointed Mr. Beechey to examine and report on the antiquities of
the country, and Mr. Campbell of the Navy was soon after nominated
to accompany the expedition as surgeon. The party was embarked on
board His Majesty’s Ship Adventure, and sailed from England early
in July with Captain Smyth, proceeding directly to Malta: there they
were joined by Lieutenant Coffin of the Navy, who had come out in
the Adventure, and who handsomely volunteered his services on shore,
which were accepted without hesitation. A short time was sufficient
to complete the few remaining preparations, and the expedition left
Malta for Tripoly.
We have already said that it had been in contemplation to extend
our journey farther to the eastward, and to examine the country
between that place and Alexandria, in which it seemed probable that
interesting remains might be found. We had in that event proposed
to return by Siwah, and along the track of Horneman to Augila;
from which place we should have re-entered the Greater Syrtis, and
explored some of the more inland parts of it in the course of our
journey back to Tripoly. Circumstances, however, which it will not
here be necessary to explain, prevented our going farther eastward
than Derna, and limited the period of our stay in the Pentapolis to
a much shorter period than we had originally calculated upon. Our
work has in consequence assumed the form of a Journal, and has
become more contracted on points of unquestionable interest, and
more diffuse in matters which would otherwise have been omitted,
than it would have been in the character which we wished it to have
taken. We do not, however, mean to apologize for having done less
than we might have done under the circumstances in which we were
placed; or to underrate the value of the matter which we have been
able to lay before the Public: the materials which we had to work
upon are in themselves sufficiently interesting to call for the
attention of those who read for information, and the labour which
has been employed in collecting them (during the whole course of
a long and fatiguing journey) has not been thrown away upon trifles.
We have given to the world (we may say with the greatest accuracy)
an extensive tract of coast which has been hitherto unsurveyed,
and of which our best charts afforded a very imperfect outline,
as will appear by a reference to the maps at the head of the work.
We have obtained the plans of towns and places, (rendered
interesting by antiquity, and by the rank which they hold in the
pages of history,) of which we have hitherto had no details; and
have described, or made drawings of every object of note which
has presented itself on the field of our operations. In fact,
whatever may be the merit of our work in other respects, or the value
attached to our exertions, we are satisfied ourselves with the matter
acquired and with the labour and diligence which has been employed
in collecting it; and it is because our materials are worthy of more
attention than we had time and opportunities to bestow upon them,
that we regret we are not able to offer them to the Public in a more
complete form than we have been able to give them. Had it been in
our power to employ excavation, on a more extensive scale than we
did, and to bestow as much time upon every object worth attention
as its importance appeared to demand, our work could have been a
more perfect one; that is to say, it would have treated of art,
and its details more exclusively (we mean the details of sculpture,
architecture, and painting,) than it does in the shape which it at
present assumes. We might also have given additional interest to
our narrative by introducing more plates than we have been able to
insert; but our number has been (we believe necessarily) limited, and
we may add that the selection of those which appear might have been
better if we had known, before the drawings went to the engraver,
that we should have been obliged to leave out so many of them.
Something should be said to account for the delay which has taken
place in publication since the work was first announced. We may
state that, so far as we are ourselves concerned, more than three
parts of the MS. was finished at least two years ago; and that the
remainder was only kept back because it could not be completed till
the first portion was printed.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 1: The plan here alluded to of the City of Lebida was
obligingly placed at our disposal by the author, and we wished to
have had it engraved for the work; but, in consequence of being
obliged to limit our number of plates to much fewer than we had
originally anticipated, this plan, with some others of our own,
have been omitted.]
[Footnote 2: The poetical account of this tract of country by Lucan
is well known to the readers of ancient literature, and we shall
have occasion hereafter to advert to it in speaking of the actual
appearance of the Syrtis.]
[Footnote 3: A little before this period, an expedition undertaken
by the Bashaw of Tripoly against his eldest son Mahommed, now Bey
of Derna, afforded to Signor Della Cella, an Italian gentleman
residing in Tripoly, the opportunity of visiting the Syrtis and
Cyrenaica in the capacity of physician to the Bashaw’s second son,
who at that time commanded the expedition against his brother.
The account of this journey was published at Genoa soon after the
return of Dr. Della Cella; and the interest which uncertainty had
given to the country through which he passed was increased by his
animated description of its remains. But the opportunities which were
afforded to the Doctor were not sufficient for the accomplishment
of his object; and although his pen described the extensive ruins
which he witnessed, the reader had to regret that the shortness of
his stay prevented him from examining them with attention.]
We subjoin the errata which we have been able to detect in a hasty
perusal of the Narrative after the whole was printed off. There may
possibly, however, be others which have escaped us. The few errors
which occur in some of the passages quoted from foreign languages,
we have not thought it necessary to include in this list, since
the proper readings will be obvious to all who understand them,
and it will be unnecessary to point them out to those who do not.
Page
52, _for_ who has obligingly, _read and_ who has, &c. (Note.)
65, _for_ this range, _read_ the range.
292, _for_ ti stan bono, _read_ ti sta bono.
293, _for_ a te. _read_ été.
397, _for_ its site should be _fixed, read_ looked for.
397, _for of_ the accounts of the city of Barca, _read_ if the
accounts, &c.
471, _for_ at the roadstead, _read in_ the roadstead.
[Illustration: _Coast line of the Gulf_ OF THE Greater Sertis,
_BY Capt. F. W. Beechey, R.N._
_J. & C. Walker Sculpt._
_Published as the act directs, April 1827, by J. Murray, Albemarle
St. London._]
NARRATIVE
* * * * *
CHAPTER I.
Arrival of the Expedition at Tripoly; pleasing appearance of
the Town from the Sea — Friendly Reception of the Party by the
Consul — Interview with the Bashaw, who promises his protection
and assistance — Appointment of the Escort — Visits to some
of the Mahometan Residents in Tripoly — Sidi Mahommed d’Ghies
— Preparations for the journey — Adoption of the Costume of
the Country — This precaution recommended on the experience of
the party — Visit from the Arab Escort — Description of their
principal, Shekh Mahommed el Dúbbah — Sketch of the Shekh’s
former Life — Friendly attentions of the European Residents of
Tripoly — Arrival of Dr. Oudney and Lieutenant Clapperton.
In the beginning of September the Adventure sailed from Malta, and
in a few days we made the African shore, at about the situation
assigned to Tripoli Vecchio. Running down to the eastward, we
soon discovered the place of our destination, and on the morning
of the 11th, cast anchor in the harbour of Tripoly. The town makes
a respectable appearance from the sea; it is surrounded by a high
wall, strengthened with bastions, above which are distinguished
the mosques and the baths, whose white minarets and cupolas form
no unpleasing contrast with the dark tints presented by thick
groves of palm-trees, rising in varied groups, from the gardens
at the back of the town. The different coloured flags which were
hoisted to salute us on the castle of the Bashaw, and the houses
of the several consuls, floated gaily in the clear atmosphere and
bright sunshine of a Mediterranean climate; and the whole together,
viewed under favourable impressions, gave to Tripoly an appearance
of much more interest and importance than it was afterwards found
to have deserved.
The reception which we experienced from Mr. Warrington, the British
Consul-General at Tripoly, was friendly and attentive in the extreme;
and, on our landing, the consulate was assigned to us as a residence,
which he obligingly left at our disposal. The arrival of our party
was now signified officially to the Bashaw, who appointed a day
to receive us; being at the time indisposed, on account of the
operation of _burning_, which he had undergone as a cure for the
rheumatism[1]. His Highness was provided with a skilful European
physician, who had been for some time attached to his person and
to the court; but the prejudices of his country were too strong to
be overcome by reason, and the remedies of Dr. Dicheson gave way
to the popular superstition.
On the day appointed for the interview, we proceeded to the
palace of His Highness, accompanied by the Consul and Captain
Smyth. The streets through which we had to pass, on our way to
the Castle, were by no means fit approaches to a regal abode;
they were encumbered with the rubbish of houses fallen into ruin,
and with the superfluous produce of those which were yet standing;
while swarms of little naked and dirty children, and numerous groups
of hungry, half-starved dogs, almost blocked up the little space
which was left for our passage. The dust which was unavoidably
raised in our progress, together with the heat of the sun, and the
myriads of gnats and flies which assailed us in every direction,
were no grateful additions to these inconveniences; and we were
heartily glad to find ourselves before the gates of the Castle,
where a part of the Bashaw’s guard was drawn out in due form to
receive us. After paying our respects to the Kechia[2], (who was
seated at the end of the skeefa, or entrance hall,) we were ushered
along a dark and narrow passage, so irregular and uneven under foot,
that we were in danger of falling at almost every step[3], and
having passed at intervals several Tchaouses and soldiers, who were
barely discernible through the gloom, we found ourselves at length
in a spacious apartment, where a motley crowd of Christians, Turks,
Arabs, and Jews, were assembled to wait His Highness’s leisure.
We had not been long here before it was announced to us that
the Bashaw was prepared to receive us; and, on approaching the
presence, we found His Highness seated, with all due solemnity,
at the farther end of the apartment, attended by his third son,
Sidy Ali, by Reis Moràt[4], who acted as interpreter, and by other
principal officers of the Court. A formidable line of well-armed
black soldiers were ranged along the walls of the room, who stood
exactly like so many statues, each with a loaded blunderbuss, held
with the muzzle pointed downwards; and close to the Bashaw’s person
was a trusty black slave, who held in readiness His Highness’s
pistols. The introduction of armed soldiers into the presence-chamber
of a Sovereign was rather a novel sight to Europeans, and may be
taken as an example of the extremely barbarous state in which the
Regency of Tripoly, with all its recent improvements, must still
be admitted to remain.
The High Admiral, Reis Moràt, in the name of our party, made known
to the Bashaw the friendly disposition of the King of England towards
His Highness; in testimony of which he was requested to accept
the present of four brass field-pieces, with their accoutrements,
which we had brought with us on board the Adventure; and he was
then requested to extend his protection to our party in their
passage through his extensive dominions. Every assistance was freely
offered on the part of the Bashaw, who expressed himself, in return,
highly satisfied with the friendly assurances of His Majesty; and
the necessary preliminaries being satisfactorily arranged, tea[5]
and lemonade were served with all due decorum, and our party took
leave of His Highness. The guns were brought up the same afternoon,
close under the balcony of the palace, and the Bashaw appeared
at the window to inspect them, with some of the officers of his
court; various manœuvres were gone through to the admiration and
astonishment of the spectators, under the direction of the gunner
of the Adventure, and the cannoniers acquitted themselves so highly
to the satisfaction of His Highness, that he sent a sword to the
gunner, in token of his approbation, and a bag of dollars to be
divided among the crew.
In our interview with the Bashaw it had been finally arranged
that our party should be escorted as far as Bengazi, by an Arab
Shekh who presided over the district of Syrt, and was called Shekh
Mahommed el Dúbbah; at Bengazi we were to be consigned to Hadood,
Shekh of Barka, who was to conduct us as far as Bomba, beyond which
his authority ceased. As Bomba, or its immediate vicinity, may be
considered as the eastern limit of the Regency, we were informed
that, in our progress from that place to Alexandria, we must depend
upon the protection of the Bashaw of Egypt. We had foreseen this
circumstance before our arrival in Tripoly, and a letter had been
written from Malta to Mr. Salt, His Majesty’s Consul-General in
Egypt, requesting him, in the name of the British Government, to
make the necessary arrangements with His Highness the Viceroy for
our passing from Derna to Alexandria; and we afterwards received a
firman from Mahommed Ali, which he considered would be sufficient
to ensure our advance.
These preliminaries settled we began to make preparations for our
journey, and consulted with the most intelligent natives in Tripoly
on the best means of forwarding the objects of the Expedition.
We found them on all occasions particularly obliging, and always
ready to afford us every information in their power. From Sidi
Mahommed D’Ghies, in particular, the same well-informed native
who had been of great service to Mr. Ritchie and Captain Lyon, as
well as from his son[6], a most excellent young man, we received
at various times much useful advice, and always the most friendly
and cordial reception.
At the house of Sidi Mahommed, we were one day introduced to one of
the most respectable Mahometan traders to Timbuctoo; who offered to
ensure our arrival at that place, and our return in perfect safety
to Tripoly, provided we would place ourselves entirely under his
directions; allowing, of course, for ill health, as well as for such
accidents as could not be foreseen, and may happen to any one in
travelling across the desert. As Timbuctoo, however, formed no part
of the object of our mission, this offer was naturally declined; and
we merely mention it here as one which may be worth consideration,
should any future traveller decide upon attempting this journey by
way of Tripoly.
Our next care was to provide ourselves with the dress of the country,
which was strongly recommended to us by our Mahometan friends,
and which, indeed, on the former experience of one of our party,
we had before proposed to adopt. The opinion of Colonel Warrington
was in favour of the European costume; but as we supposed it to have
been founded on the experience of journeys in the neighbourhood
of Tripoly only, within the immediate range of the Bashaw’s
authority, and in places where the natives are more accustomed to
the dress; we thought it most advisable to adopt the advice of
our Turkish friends, which we knew to be formed on an extensive
acquaintance with the prejudices, manners, and customs of the Arabs:
this opinion, besides, had the additional recommendation of being
quite in unison with our own; and it is probably not unknown to
some of our readers that a similar coincidence has usually its
weight in decisions of much more importance. The experience of our
journey through the Syrtis and Cyrenaica confirmed us still more
decidedly in our former opinion; and as the propriety of adopting
the Turkish costume has occasionally been questioned and denied,
we will venture to add our testimony in its favour to that of all
the most experienced travellers in Mahometan countries with whom
we have ever been acquainted; so far, at least, as the adoption of
it is in question, in places where the principal persons in power,
and the bulk of the population are Mussulmen. If it were only on
the score of convenience, we should in most cases recommend it;
and it is certainly the best calculated to prevent interruption,
and all the numerous annoyances arising from idle curiosity and
the prejudices of an ignorant people.
On our return, one morning, from a visit to the Bazar, where we
had been making some purchases necessary for our journey, we found
our apartment occupied by the Bedouin Arabs who had been appointed
by the Bashaw to attend us to Bengazi. They had been ranged by our
servant on chairs round the room, on which they did not appear to
sit much at their ease; and some of them had relinquished their
exalted situation for the more convenient level which the chairs
themselves occupied, that safe and comfortable position, the ground:
here they squatted themselves down with true Arab dignity, and soon
found themselves much more at home. There was little in the dress
of these swarthy personages by which one might be distinguished
from the rest. An ample baracàn, fastened in the usual Arab manner,
partially displayed the large, loose sleeves of a cotton shirt, more
remarkable than usual for its whiteness; a piece of distinction which
is, by Arabs, considered necessary only in towns, and on visits of
more than ordinary ceremony: from a leathern belt was suspended a
case of the same material, containing a brace of long pistols, near
which hung a leathern pouch for powder and ball, and a smaller one
which served as a pocket or purse. A red, or white cap, (for some
had one, some the other,) and sandals of camel’s hide, fastened
with thongs of leather, completed the whole costume. One only wore a
turban; and, on closer investigation, the pistol-cases and pistols
of the person so distinguished appeared to be in better order than
those of his companions. But no difference of attire was necessary to
mark out Shekh Mahommed el Dúbbah from those who accompanied him. A
venerable length of beard, in which white was partially blended with
gray, gave an air of patriarchal respectability to his appearance;
and a singular mixture of energy and complacency displayed the wild
and daring spirit which animated him half subdued by the composure
of age, and the decorum which it was necessary to observe on the
occasion: a well-acted smile was playing on his lips, with which his
voice and his manner, when he addressed us, corresponded; but his
large full eye, though its lustre was dimmed by age, was never for
a moment at rest; and wandered unceasingly from object to object,
with a wildness and rapidity very different from the vacant stare
of curiosity so conspicuous in the faces of most of his party.
Shekh Mahommed was at this time nearly sixty years of age, and had
early been very formidable as a robber in the district of Syrt. The
circumstance of his being the head of a Maràbut tribe, joined to the
natural intrepidity of his character, had given him great influence
over the Arabs of his neighbourhood; and the daring character of
his exploits soon obtained for him the appellation of El Dúbbah,
or the Hyæna.
At a more advanced period, when the rigorous measures of the
Bashaw seemed likely to reduce the Arab tribes to subjection,
Mahommed, finding it probably more to his interest, went over to
His Highness’s party; and from his knowledge of the country, and
the interest which he possessed, was enabled to render him very
essential service: he was in consequence established as Shekh of
Syrt, a district of more than two hundred miles in extent. We were
glad to find that Shekh Mahommed was as eager as ourselves for an
early departure from Tripoly; he soon began to enumerate all the
various disadvantages which were to be expected from travelling
in the rainy season over the low and swampy regions of the Syrtis;
and drew such pictures of them as would have determined us to set
out immediately had our movements depended upon ourselves. But
the delays of the tradesmen, who furnished our supplies, and many
others, which could neither be foreseen nor prevented, retarded the
movements of the Expedition; and it was not till the morning of the
5th of November that we were able to set out on our journey. It
may well be imagined that the attractions of Tripoly are neither
very great nor very numerous; and our stay there had been attended
with a good deal of trouble and vexation in making the necessary
arrangements for our departure: but the friendly attentions which
we had invariably received from many of its principal European
inhabitants, as well as from several of its Mahometan residents,
greatly contributed to enliven the monotony of a Moorish town;
and it was not without feelings of sincere regret that we took
leave of our little circle of acquaintance. This had latterly been
increased by the arrival of Dr. Oudney and Lieutenant Clapperton,
of the navy, who were commissioned by Government to make researches
in the interior of Africa; and who were to proceed to Bornou,
by way of Morzouk, as soon as the preparations could be completed
which were necessary for so tedious a journey.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 1: The practice of cautery is well known to be generally
adopted, and confidently depended upon, by the Arabs and Moors,
as an effectual remedy for almost every disorder. The custom may
be traced to a very remote period, and is alluded to by Herodotus,
(Melpomene, 187,) as peculiar to the Libyan Nomades, the early
inhabitants of a considerable part of the coast of Northern
Africa. The remedy is indeed too indiscriminately applied, but is
not, however, unfrequently productive of good effects. We were
assured by a man at Bengazi, that he had been cured three times
of the plague by the mere application of a hot iron to the tumours
which attend the disease; and if we might judge from the dreadful
scars which remained, his attacks were by no means slight ones.]
[Footnote 2: This officer holds the second place in the Regency, and
is invested with the supreme power whenever His Highness is absent.]
[Footnote 3: Tully observes, “We entered these gloomy passages,
which always seem as if they led to some dreadful abode for the
purpose of entombing the living.”]
[Footnote 4: Reis Moràt, we believe, is a Scotchman, and was
formerly mate of a merchant vessel; but having embraced the Mahometan
faith, and entered the service of the Bashaw, has now, through his
naval skill and abilities, arrived at the head of his profession,
and is much considered by His Highness.]
[Footnote 5: Tea is very generally used by the higher classes
throughout the Regency of Tripoly, and coffee but rarely.]
[Footnote 6: This young man, who is the second son of Sidi Mahommed
d’Ghies, and is also named Mahommed, is an admirable example
of true devotion to the religion of his country, united with the
more extended and liberal feelings of Europeans. He daily visits
the public school where young boys are taught to read the Koran;
and superintends the charitable distribution of food which the
bounty of Sidi Mahommed provides for the poor who daily present
themselves at his gate. Besides his acquaintance with the English
and French languages, he is able to converse with the slaves of the
family in several languages of the interior of Africa; and when it
is considered that Mahometans in general seldom trouble themselves
to speak any language but their own, this proficiency is greatly to
his credit; we should rather, perhaps, say, to the credit of his
father, under whose eye he has been hitherto brought up, and who
is himself well acquainted with the French, and we believe with
several other languages. The elder son of Sidi Mohammed was in
England while we were at Tripoly, and must be remembered by many
of the first circles in London.]
CHAPTER II.
General description of Tripoly; its Castle and Port — The Buildings
of Tripoly commended by Leo Africanus — Present condition of
the City — Its existing ancient remains — Burial-ground of
the ancient City — Sepulchral urns of glass discovered there by
Mr. Consul Warrington — Remarks of Leo Africanus on the soil
and level of Tripoly, in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries
— Accumulation of soil since that period — Advance of the
sea, mentioned by Leo Africanus, still observable on the coast
of Northern Africa — These appearances adduced in confirmation
of Major Rennell’s remarks on the Lake Tritonis and the Lesser
Syrtis — Historical sketch of Tripoly — Its actual state and
improved condition under the present Bashaw — Abolition of Piracy,
and partial discontinuance of the Slave Trade.
The town of Tripoly has been built on a foundation of rock, and
is washed, to the northward, on two sides, by the sea; while
the remaining parts, those to the southward and westward, are
bounded by a large sandy plain, which is notwithstanding partially
cultivated[1].
The form of the town is very irregular, but it is completely
surrounded by high and thick walls, which appear to have been once
very strong. They are now falling fast into ruin; yet wherever
any part of the old work is seen, through the mud and irregular
fragments of stone, with which the ravages of time have been
partially concealed, it appears to be solid and good[2]. The walls
are besides provided with ramparts, on which are planted a number
of guns quite sufficient to make themselves tolerably respected,
were it not that the impertinent interference of rust, and the
occasional want of carriages for the guns, might contribute to
prevent their effect. The castle is built at the south-eastern angle
of the city, close to the water’s edge; and may be said to connect
the line of ramparts along the beach with that which encloses the
town to the southward. The walls of the castle are unusually high,
and have been fortunately made to incline a good deal inwards:
we say fortunately, for so bad is the state of repair, in which
the exterior is kept, that without this convenient inclination to
the centre, they would not probably be standing at all. Yet they
are certainly of considerable thickness; and it is owing to the
very unworkmanlike manner in which the building has been from time
to time augmented, for we ought not to call it repaired, that its
strength has been materially diminished[3].
Appearances, however, are by no means disregarded; and the surface of
His Highness’s castle and residence (for the building is both one
and the other) displays a bright coating of plaster and whitewash
over the unseemly patchwork beneath it.
The city walls and ramparts are for the most part disguised under a
cloak of the same gay material; and the whole together, viewed under
an African sun, and contrasted with the deep blue of an African sky,
assumes a decent, we may even say, a brilliant appearance. It must,
however, be confessed that this is much improved by distance; for
a too close inspection will occasionally discover through their
veil the defects which we have alluded to above; and large flakes
of treacherous plaster will occasionally be found by near observers
to have dropt off and left them quite exposed.
Leo Africanus has informed us that the houses and bazars of Tripoly
were _handsome_ compared with those of Tunis. How far this epithet
might have been applicable at the period here alluded to, we are
not ourselves able to judge; but we must confess that the beauty
of the existing houses and bazars of Tripoly did not appear to
us particularly striking: and if the comparison drawn by Leo may
be still supposed to hold, we do not envy the architects of Tunis
whatever fame they may have acquired by the erection of the most
admired buildings of that city. The mosques and colleges, as well as
hospitals, enumerated by our author, must have been very different
from those now existing to entitle them to any commendation; and the
rude and dilapidated masses of mud and stone, or more frequently,
perhaps, of mud only, here dignified by the appellation of houses,
do not certainly present very brilliant examples either of taste,
execution, or convenience. Indeed, if we consider the actual state
of Tripoly, we might be authorized, perhaps, in disputing its claims
to be ranked as a city at all; and they who are unaccustomed to
Mahometan negligence might imagine that they had wandered to some
deserted and ruinous part of the town, when in reality they were
traversing the most admired streets of a populous and fashionable
quarter. This want of discernment, however, is chiefly confined
to Europeans; for the greater part of the Mahometan inhabitants of
Tripoly are strongly convinced of its beauty and importance; while
the wandering Arab who enters its gates, and looks up to the high
and whitewashed walls of the Bashaw’s castle, expresses strongly
in his countenance the astonishment which he feels how human hands
and ingenuity could have accomplished such a structure.
Of the ancient remains now existing in Tripoly, the Roman arch we
have already alluded to, with a few scattered fragments of tesselated
pavement, and some partial ruins of columns and entablatures, here
and there built into the walls of modern structures, are all that
we were able to discover[4].
The harbour is formed by a long reef of rocks running out into
the sea in a north-easterly direction, and by other reefs at some
distance to the eastward of these, all of which make together a
very good shelter. In the deepest part, however, there is very
little more than five and six fathoms water.
At the extremity of a rocky projection to the northward, forming
part of the first-mentioned reef, are two batteries, called the New,
and Spanish, forts; and to the westward of these, on an insulated
rock, is a circular one called the French fort. Besides these,
there are two others on the beach to the eastward, which, with
the New and Spanish forts, would prove of considerable annoyance
to hostile vessels entering the harbour. The forts are in better
condition than the walls and ramparts, which we have already stated
to be very much dilapidated, and the guns very little attended to.
The mosques and baths of Tripoly, with its coffee-houses, bazars,
&c., as well as the manners and customs, dresses, prejudices,
and other peculiarities, of the people who are in the habit of
frequenting them, have been so amply, and so well described in other
publications, that we need not here attempt any account of them[5].
We may, however, be allowed a few words on the peculiarities of
soil, at present observable in the neighbourhood of Tripoly, as
contrasted with those which appear to have existed in the fifteenth
and sixteenth centuries.
It has been observed by Leo Africanus, (who flourished during the
pontificate and under the protection of Leo the Tenth,) that there
was at all times a scarcity of grain in Tripoly, and that the country
about it was incapable of cultivation; but it will appear from the
passages which we have quoted below, as well as from the actual
state of the place, that it is merely the want of rain (which is
occasionally experienced) that now prevents the soil in question
from producing good crops very regularly[6].
When we inquire into the cause of this difference, a more interesting
result will be afforded by the inquiry than any which relates to
the quantity of corn produced at Tripoly. We find, for instance,
that the lands to the southward of Tripoly (we mean those in the
immediate neighbourhood of the town) were subject, in the time of
the African Geographer, to be overflowed for some extent by the sea;
while the same parts are now above the level of the water, which
never reaches high enough to cover them[7]. “All the country about
Tripoly” (says Leo Africanus) “is sandy like that of Numidia;
and the reason of this is, that the sea enters freely towards the
southward, (entra assai verso mezzogiorno,) so that the lands which
ought to be cultivated are all covered with water. The opinion of
the inhabitants,” he continues, “with respect to this _riviera_,
is, that there was formerly a considerable tract of land extending
to the northward; but that for many thousand years the sea has
been advancing and covering it; which is observable,” he adds,
“and known to be the case, on the coast of Monasteer, as well as
at Mahdia, Sfax, Gabes, and the island of Girbe; with other cities
to the eastward, whose shores have but little depth of water; so
that one may walk a mile or two into the sea without being up to
the waist. Wherever this occurs,” (continues Leo) “such places
are said to be considered as parts of the _soil_ overflowed by the
sea;” (that is, not within the original bounds of the latter,)
“and the inhabitants of Tripoly,” he tells us, “are of opinion,
that their city stood formerly more to the northward; but that owing
to the continual advance of the sea it has been gradually extended
in a southerly direction; they also declare,” says our Author,
“that remains of houses and other buildings may still be observed
under water[8].”
From this account, contrasted with the actual appearance of the place
in question, we must either suppose that the level of the lands
here alluded to, which are those in the _immediate_ neighbourhood
of Tripoly, is higher, at the present time, than it was in the age
of Leo, or that the sea has retired since that period. For although
the soil of Tripoly still continues to be sandy, there is now no
part of it, as we have stated above, overflowed to the southward of
the town[9]. As we cannot suppose that the sea has retired since the
time of the author in question—(for we shall hereafter point out
several instances on the coast, between this part of Northern Africa
and Alexandria, in which it rather appears to have gained)—we must
conclude that, since the age of Leo Africanus, the land alluded to
has been rising in a greater proportion than the sea.
This elevation of soil is, at the same time, by no means
inconsistent with the rise of the waters already mentioned; for, as
the coast is here sandy, we may venture to conclude, that the sea,
notwithstanding it continued to rise, threw up, from time to time,
a sufficient quantity of sand to raise the level of the country
above it; and we shall thus have an additional confirmation of
what appears to be actually the case on the coasts of the Greater
Syrtis, and Cyrenaica, as well as of the ingenious conjectures of
Major Rennell with regard to the Lake Tritonis and the Lesser Syrtis.
It is well known that Tripoly, after the destruction of Carthage,
became a Roman province; and that on the conquest of a great part
of Northern Africa by the Vandals, it passed into the hands of those
barbarians, from which it was rescued, in the reign of Justinian, by
the valour and abilities of Belisarius. The rapid and extraordinary
progress of Mahometanism, soon after the death of its founder,
involved Tripoly, together with the whole of Northern Africa, in the
general wreck of civilization and Christianity: since that period
it has remained, with few exceptions, in the hands of its Moslem
conquerors, passing successively from the government of the Caliphs
to the tyranny of Morocco, Fez, Tunis, and the Porte. After the
erection of the walls of the town, already mentioned as the work of
Dragut, Tripoly became the secure resort of most of the Corsairs who
roved under Turkish colours; and from that port they continually make
attacks and descents on the opposite shores of the Mediterranean.
After the death of Dragut, the Porte continued to send Governors to
Tripoly under the titles of Sangiac and Bashaw; and the castle was
garrisoned by Turkish troops while the Moors inhabited the city. At
length, in the year 1714, it was finally rescued from the oppression
of the Turks by the great-grandfather of the reigning Bashaw; who,
having contrived to assassinate the whole of the garrison, took
the reins of government into his own hands, and obtained the title
of Hamet the Great. From that time to the present it has remained
under the government of the Moors, although the supremacy of the
Grand Signor is still acknowledged, and tribute is paid to the Porte.
We may say, in allusion to the actual state of Tripoly, that
it appears to be making some advances towards civilization, and
is beginning to feel the good effects which result from a state
of security and tranquillity. Indeed, when we reflect upon its
deplorable condition at the time of the accession of Sidi Yusuf,
and look back upon the horrors of civil discord and contention to
which it had been for more than eight years exposed—impoverished at
the same time by indiscriminate extortion and plunder, and subjected
during the period of these heavy calamities to the dreadful effects
of famine and plague—we may venture to assert that the present
state of Tripoly is far better than might have been expected. It
is now secure under the protection of an established government,
property is respected, and commerce is improving; its markets are
well supplied, its manufactures are encouraged, and its population
appears to be increasing[10].
A considerable portion of the revenue of Tripoly was formerly drawn
from the plunder obtained by her corsairs; and a very lucrative
branch of her commerce consisted in the traffic of slaves. The
humane interference, and the decisive measures, of England, have
contributed to check, if not quite to abolish, these execrable
sources of profit. Piracy, so far at least as we were able to learn,
has been wholly superseded by commerce; and when the Tripolines find
that it is more to their interest to give up their traffic in human
kind than to continue it, we may hope to see this also relinquished.
It may, however, be added (we fear) that _till then_ such a
consummation must not be expected, however devoutly it may be
wished. Indeed, we cannot reasonably expect that it should; for the
feelings which result from a high state of civilization will never
be found to precede civilization itself: and humanity, however
strongly we may believe, or may wish to believe, it is implanted
in the breasts of all mankind, has not often been found to weigh
very heavy against the scale in which interest, or inclination,
has been opposed to it.
GEOGRAPHICAL REMARKS ON THE TOWNS AND DISTRICT OF TRIPOLY.
The town of Tripoly has been usually considered to occupy the
site of the ancient Oea; one of the cities which, with Sabrata
and Leptis Magna, the Tripoli Vecchia and Lebida of modern times,
composed the three principal towns of a district which took from
them the appellation of Tripolis.
At what precise period this tract of country assumed the title
of Tripolis does not appear to be clearly ascertained; but we may
probably conclude that it acquired it in the reign, either of Titus,
or of his successor Domitian; soon after the building of Sabrata
and Oea, which may be supposed to have taken place before the middle
of the first century[11].
It seems to be still more uncertain when the name of the _district_
was bestowed upon the _cities_ of Tripoly; for although Tripoli
Vecchia (which we have already called Sabrata) has been said to
be the first which assumed it, there does not appear to be any
other proof in favour of this supposition, (at least we are not
ourselves acquainted with it,) than that which may be inferred from
the epithet _vecchia_, by which this town has been for centuries
distinguished. Both cities appear to have flourished together
under the Romans; and were in all probability destroyed at the same
time, in the Saracen invasion of the country. As Sabrata, however,
continued to remain in ruins, while a new town sprung up on the site
of the ancient Oea, the name of Tripoly may have, perhaps, been first
assumed by the latter; while Sabrata, from the circumstance of its
being in ruins, was distinguished by the epithet which it retains.
We are not aware of any proof that either Sabrata or Oea had changed
their names before their destruction by the Saracens; and as no town
appears to have been erected on the ruins of the former, there was
no necessity for distinguishing it by another. When a new town arose
on the ruins of Oea, it is probable that the appellation by which it
is at present known to the Moors, and which is merely a corruption of
the Roman term for the district[12], was the first name which either
town assumed after the loss of those which formerly distinguished
them. Tráblis would have been known to the nations of Europe as
the same name with that of Tripolis; and they would naturally have
written the term like that of the district, whenever there might
have been occasion to mention it. Supposing this to be the case,
we may fairly assume, that the name of Tripolis was never given by
the ancients at all to either of the cities in question; and that
it is only, in fact, since the Mahometan conquest that the name of
the district has been applied to them.
This appears to be more probable when we consider that the title
of—_The district of the three cities_—as Tripolis must be
translated, would be a very unappropriate term for a single town,
although it might be well applied to a department. Such an objection,
however, would by no means appear to the Mahometan invaders of
the country, who may certainly be imagined to have been ignorant
of the language from which the word in question is compounded; and
they would discover no reason why the former name of the district
might not be a proper one for their new town.
We have not been at the pains to search minutely into this question,
which would probably receive light from the writers of the Lower
Empire; and we offer the conjectures which we have hazarded above,
in the absence of more decided information. At the same time,
however, it may here be remarked, that the propriety of adopting
the word Tripolis, which appears in the printed copies of Ptolemy,
is questioned on very good authority. In support of this assertion
we need only refer our readers to the Fourth Book of Cellarius,
(chap. 3,) where the question is amply discussed; and as the
adoption of this reading, instead of that of Leptis Magna, which
appears to be decidedly the proper one, would create an endless and
unnecessary confusion in the geography of that part of the country
which lies between Tripoli Vecchia and Lebida, we have thought it
not irrelevant to allude to it[13].
It is perhaps the more necessary that we should do so, as Signor
Della Cella has availed himself of the reading above mentioned,
and of a passage which he has quoted from Pliny, to identify the
modern town of Tripoly with Neapolis; which is too evidently the
same town with Leptis Magna (or Lebida), to admit of any similar
arrangement[14].
We have by no means any wish to detract from the merits of this
gentleman, who deserves every credit for the spirit of inquiry which
has led him to encounter the fatigues and privations of a journey
like that which he has accomplished. He is the first European who
has crossed the Greater Syrtis since the occupation of Northern
Africa by the Romans; at least he is the only one that we know of,
since that period, who has published any account of such a journey;
and he is therefore entitled to the merit of having afforded us
the only information which has been given for many centuries of
an interesting and extensive tract of country. But as we shall
frequently have occasion to refer to his work in the course of
the present narrative, we trust that we shall not be suspected of
undervaluing its merits, because we may sometimes find it necessary
to point out what we conceive to be its errors.
In considering the modern town of Tripoly as Oea, one difficulty
will however present itself: Oea is no where mentioned as a port,
that we have been able to discover; whereas Tripoly must always have
been one. But as many cities are mentioned as ports by one writer,
while they are merely styled cities by another, this objection
may readily be waived. Garapha is by Ptolemy styled λιμην,
by Scylax πολις, by Pliny, Oppidum; Abrotonum is by Strabo
called πολις, by Scylax πολις και λιμην, by Pliny, Oppidum:
Leptis Magna is rarely mentioned as a port, although it is
well known to have been one; and many more examples might be
adduced by those who would take the trouble to collect them.
What is now called modern Tripoly has been said by some writers to
have been built by the early inhabitants of Northern Africa, under
the name of Tarabilis or Trebiles; and the same authors have stated
that the Roman term of Tripolis is derived from the name which
they bestowed upon it. We have already noticed the improbability
of this latter supposition; and we may now venture to add, that
there appears to be no proof of any town having been built upon
the site of modern Tripoly before the erection of the city of
Oea. Leptis Magna is known to have been built by the Phœnicians,
on the authority of several writers of antiquity; but the other
two cities composing the Tripolis have always been considered of
Roman origin, and no mention is made of any other having ever been
assigned to them in works not comparatively modern.
Leo Africanus, who may be supposed to have compiled his account of
Africa from the authority chiefly of Mahometan historians, has given
his testimony in favour of the native origin of Tripoly, while he
states that Tripoli Vecchia was built by the Romans. “Questa,”
(Tripoli Vecchia) says the African geographer, “è una città
antica edificata pur da’ Romani;” but of the other town he
states, “Tripoli fu edificata da gli Africani, dopo la rovina
della Vecchia Tripoli”—without any allusion whatever to the
circumstance of its having been originally a Roman city.
Whatever may be the earliest authority for this supposition, it
appears to be evidently founded on an imperfect knowledge of the
place; for if there were even no reason for supposing Tripoly to
be Oea, we must still have allowed it Roman origin; or at least
we must have admitted it to have been in existence at the time
when the Romans held the country. The Roman arch, which has been
given in the work of Captain Lyon, is sufficient to establish this
circumstance; and the inscription which it bears, also given in the
same publication, and mentioned in the Memoirs of Consul Tully[15],
refers this edifice to the time of Marcus Aurelius. In stating
that Tripoly was built by the Africans, _after the ruin of Tripoli
Vecchia_, we might have imagined that Leo only meant to allude to
its re-construction under the Mahometans; but from the circumstance
of his having just before mentioned Tripoli Vecchia, as a city which
was built by the Romans, it seems to be probable that, had he been
aware of them, he would equally have noticed the pretensions of
modern Tripoly to a higher antiquity than he has assigned to it.
Tripoli Vecchia was destroyed, under the caliphate of Omar,
by the Saracen invaders of the country. The city was pillaged,
after a siege of six months, and its inhabitants either slain or
carried prisoners to Egypt and Arabia. This is stated by Leo; and
here we have a date for the destruction of the city of Sabrata,
which appears to have never been rebuilt: but _how long_ after the
occurrence of this event Modern Tripoly first appeared on the ruins
of Oea we have not been informed by our author. And it seems to be
evident that he considered the African town as the first which had
been raised upon the spot.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 1: _Three_ sides of the town of Tripoly are said, in
Tully’s Memoirs, to be washed by the sea, which is certainly not
now the case.]
[Footnote 2: The noted corsair Dragūt is said to have been the
author of this defence, and two forts which were situated near the
sea are also attributed to this person.
But Leo Africanus, who flourished at the same period with Dragūt,
at the beginning of the 16th century, has mentioned the walls
of Tripoly as being high and handsome, though not very strong;
and as the existing walls of the town, if they be really those of
Dragūt, bear all the appearance of having once been very solid,
we may perhaps suppose that those mentioned by Leo were standing
before the present ones were constructed.
The greatest length of the city, including the walls, may be said to
be about 1360 yards, and its extreme breadth about a thousand yards.]
[Footnote 3: The happy confusion of buildings which surmount the
walls of the castle, raised at various times for the convenience
and accommodation of the royal family, together with the little
world which is contained within its limits, have been well, and
correctly described in Tully’s Memoirs.]
[Footnote 4: To the eastward of the town, however, on a tract of
rocky and elevated ground, is the burial-place of the ancient city;
where the researches of Mr. Consul Warrington have brought to light
some very interesting objects; particularly several large sepulchral
urns of glass, the most perfect we have ever seen.]
[Footnote 5: We allude principally to the works of Consul Tully and
Captain Lyon, and to Blaquiere’s Letters from the Mediterranean.]
[Footnote 6: “In our way home” (says the artless and amiable
writer of Tully’s Memoirs) “we passed through a street noted for
its corn-wells, or rather caverns, dug very deep into the earth. They
are situated on each side of the street, at about thirty yards’
distance. They were designed for magazines to lay up corn in, where
they say it will keep perfectly good for an hundred years. Happy
were it for the inhabitants of this country if these caverns were
filled now as they were _formerly_ when the country was _so rich
in the produce of corn_, that it was from hence exported to many
parts of the world, and prized almost above any other. The barley
when sown here yields twice as much as it does in Europe. When
it grows properly, they reckon thirty and thirty-five ears for
one an ordinary produce; while in Europe fourteen or fifteen is
considered as a good return.” In dry seasons, however, which
frequently occur, the case appears to be far otherwise. “The
times are so much altered now,” (continues the authoress above
mentioned,) “that corn is imported at an immense expense. This
melancholy change is attributed _to the want of rains_, which have
failed for several years past. There have not been more than one
or two good harvests for thirty years. If cargoes of wheat do not
soon arrive from Tunis, the state of this place will be dreadful
beyond description.”—_Tully’s Narrative_, p. 49.—Again,
the same writer says, p. 67, “It has been ascertained by the
Bashaw to-day, that there is only barley for sale at two bazars,
or market-places, left in the place. _A few years since the barley
here grew so favourably, that it produced in return three times as
much as in any part of Europe. Such quantities of it were exported,
that Tripoly was enriched by its sale;_ but the failure of rain
has left the country for several years without one good harvest.”
This account is consistent with the above, and we have here some
idea of what may be meant by the word _formerly_, in the passage
first quoted, which is certainly somewhat indefinite.]
[Footnote 7: Part of the sandy plain to the south-eastward is,
however, occasionally flooded during the prevalence of strong
northerly gales, and there is a tract of marshy ground, to the
westward of the town, between the cultivated parts and the sea.]
[Footnote 8: (Leo Africanus in Ramusio, p. 72.)—With respect to
the former extension of Tripoly to the northward, here mentioned
by the African geographer, the observation is certainly in some
degree correct, and consistent with the present appearance of other
parts of the coast of Northern Africa; but we must at the same time
observe that the town could scarcely have projected any farther
to the northward than the sites of the French and Spanish forts;
for beyond these we get into five and eight fathoms water.]
[Footnote 9: We must, however, confess, that we cannot altogether
understand, why the loss of the ground in the immediate neighbourhood
of Tripoly, said by Leo Africanus to have been flooded in his days,
should have necessarily occasioned to the inhabitants of the town so
great a scarcity of grain as that mentioned by this geographer. For
the high grounds immediately beyond the parts which were overflowed,
must at all times, we should conceive, from their rocky foundation,
have been placed above the level of the sea at its greatest height,
and might therefore have been cultivated as we find them to be
at present; and the Gharian mountains, as well as the country of
Tagiura, both of which are still very productive, are mentioned
by Leo as places highly cultivated at the period of the overflow
alluded to.
We may remark on this subject—that the coincidence of the former
with the present state of the last-mentioned places, appears to be
the more worthy of notice, from the circumstance of our finding the
actual produce of other districts, both in Tunis and Tripoly, very
different from what it appears to have been in earlier periods. Among
other examples, in proof of this assertion, we may notice the
great difference which has taken place in the produce and soil of
Byzacium. This district was formerly much renowned for its fertility;
and we are informed by Pliny that one grain of corn from the Byzacium
was sent to the Emperor Augustus, which yielded four hundred shoots;
and that three hundred and forty stems had been afterwards sent to
Nero, produced equally from a single grain of corn[a]. But whatever
be the cause of the change which has taken place, we find the
soil of the Byzacium to have greatly fallen off from its former
extraordinary fertility; in proof of which we need only extract
the following observations from Shaw’s Travels in Barbary.
“The many parts which I have seen of the ancient Byzacium, or
winter circuit, fall vastly short in fertility of the character
which has been attributed to them by the ancients. For such as
are adjacent to the sea coast are generally of a dry, sandy nature,
with no great depth of soil in the very best portion of them. This is
called the Sahul, and is planted for the most part with olive-trees,
which flourish here in the greatest perfection. Neither is the
inland country in a much better condition.”]
[Footnote a: Misit ex eo loco Divo Augusto procurator ejus, ex uno
grano, (vix credibile dictu) quadringenta paucis minus germina,
extantque de ea re epistolæ. Misit et Neroni similiter CCCXL
stipulas ex uno grano.—_Nat. Hist._ l. xviii. c. 10.
Again (lib. v. c. 4.) Ita (Byzacium) appellatur regio CCL. M. P.
circuitu, fertilitatis eximiæ, cum centesima fruge agricolis
fœnus reddente terra.]
[Footnote 10: Before we take leave of Tripoly it may be proper to
recommend, for the information of those who may hereafter visit
that country, the useful precaution of not subjecting themselves to
the fluctuation which is usual in the exchange of the place. Money,
in Tripoly, is in the hands of a few; and its possessors, who are
by no means unacquainted with the most profitable methods of laying
it out, are not at all times particularly remarkable for a liberal
treatment of strangers. We found the exchange get more unfavourable
as our demand for money increased; and having been obliged to make
some comparatively heavy payments in Spanish dollars, the value
of them rose in proportion as it was known we had occasion for
them[a]. In order to remedy, or rather to prevent impositions of
a similar nature, it would be advisable for travellers to take
with them, in Spanish dollars, the amount of the sums they may
have occasion for in Tripoly; for even if the exchange should be
good on their arrival there, it would most probably lower as they
were known to have occasion for money. Should this be inconvenient,
bills might be drawn on Malta, and the money in _Spanish dollars_[b]
forwarded by the first secure vessel which might be sailing from
that port to Tripoly.]
[Footnote a: It must, however, be observed, in justice to the house
of Messrs. Beaussier and Co., that we experienced a more liberal
treatment from them than from any other house in Tripoly.]
[Footnote b: The _Spanish_ dollar is the coin in most general
request in the northern and inland parts of Africa.]
[Footnote 11: We find both these cities mentioned by Pliny; and one
of them (Oea) by Pomponius Mela, while nothing is said by Strabo
either of the cities or the district. Pliny died A.D. 79; Mela is
supposed to have flourished about the middle of the first century,
and Strabo in the reigns of Augustus and Tiberius. We may infer, from
the silence of Strabo on the subject, that neither Sabrata nor Oea
existed in his time; and as Pliny, though he mentions both cities,
appears to have been unacquainted with the name of the district
in question, we may also perhaps infer that it was bestowed upon
it after his time. What is stated by Cellarius on the subject of
Tripolis, appears to confirm this opinion: for he tells us that he
knew of no one before the time of Solinus, who made any mention in
Africa of the name[a]; and that _he_ only applied the term to the
district, and not to any particular city.
Solinus is known to have written after Pliny, towards the close of
the first century; and we may therefore, perhaps, conclude, that
the district called Tripolis, received that appellation between
the times of Pliny and Solinus.]
[Footnote a: Nec qui ante Solinum, non antiquissimum scriptorem,
mentionem vocis Tripolis in Africa fecerit succurrit nobis; qui vero,
non urbem, sed trium oppidorum regionem intellexit.—(Lib. iv.
cap. 3. § 18.)]
[Footnote 12: Tráblis, the Moorish name of the town, is not,
however, properly a _corruption_ of Tripolis; it is merely the same
word articulated through the medium of Arab pronunciation.
Some authors have imagined an early African name _Tarabilis_, or
_Trebilis_, from which the Roman name Tripolis was derived; but
this is merely imaginary, since the meaning of Tripolis clearly
points out its origin to be Greek.]
[Footnote 13: In hoc tractu autem, post Cinyphum fluvium, prima
Ptolemæo est Νεαπολις (Neapolis) de qua, in editis, exstat, ἡ καὶ
Τριπολις (quæ etiam Tripolis vocatur): in Palatino autem codice nihil
de Tripoli legitur, sed ἡ καὶ Λεπτις μεγαλη (quæ, Neapolis, etiam
Leptis Magna dicitur.)—Geog. Antiq. lib. iv. cap. 3.
It may be added, in support of the reading in the Palatine
manuscript, that Neapolis is mentioned by Ptolemy immediately after
the Cinyphus, which lies to the _eastward_ of Leptis Magna; so that
the geographer, in passing, as he does, from east to west, must be
supposed to have omitted Leptis Magna altogether, if Neapolis be
not intended to denote it.]
[Footnote 14: This reading of Ptolemy, as will appear from the passage
which we have quoted above from Cellarius, is contradicted by the
Palatine manuscript; and must be rejected on the authority of Scylax and
Strabo, and even of Ptolemy himself.—(See the Fourth Book of Cellarius).
The passage of Pliny is not so easily disposed of. After mentioning the
city of Sabrata, this author observes, in speaking of the country which
lies between the Great and Lesser Syrtis, “Ibi civitas Oensis, Cynips
fluvius ac regio, oppida, Neapolis, Taphra, Abrotonum, Leptis altera,
quæ cognominatur magna.”—(Hist. Nat. lib. v. cap. 5.) Here we find
Neapolis mentioned immediately after Oea, and distinguished from Leptis
Magna. “Io crederei,” says Signor della Cella, “che sia piu conforme al
vero, l’ammettere che Tripoli degli antichi geografi debba riconoscersi
nelle rovine che trovansi a ponente de Tripoli tuttora chiamato Tripoli
Vecchio. Pare che l’abbandono, qualunque ne fosse la cagione, di questa
città, desse luogo alla formazione di quella che attualmente ne porta
il nome, e che in quell’ epoca fu chiamata _Tripoli il nuovo_, o la
nuova città, e da’ Greci Νεαπολις. In questa opinione consente la
vera lezione di Tolommeo, ove leggesi Νεαπολις ἡ καὶ Τριπολις. (Neapoli
che dicesi anche Tripoli.) Ho detto la vera lezione di Tolommeo, perchè
io ho per apocrifa quella adottata dal Cellario, dove in vece di
Τριπολις, avendo sostituito Λεπτις, tutto rimane alterato e confuso.
Con Tolommeo concorda Plinio che ha per due città diverse Neapoli e
Leptis Magna, e tra queste due tramette Gaffara e Abrotano; e Plinio,
per le cognizione che poteva attinger nella città, e ne’ tempi ne’ quali
scriveva, merita sopra ogni altro credenza intorna alla geografia di
questa parte dell’ Africa.”—(Viaggio da Tripoli, &c. p. 41.)
It will not here be very evident how the modern town of Tripoly
can, on the authority of Pliny, be supposed to be the same with
Neapolis. For Tripoly is identified by the best authorities with Oea;
and Neapolis is mentioned, in the passage alluded to, as situated
between Oea and Taphra, (the Graphara and Garapha of Scylax and
Ptolemy.) But supposing it to be, as Signor della Cella has stated,
that the decay of the “_Tripoli_ degli _antichi_ geografi”
had really given occasion to the building of the present one,
under the title he has conferred upon it of Neapolis; it follows
that the former city must have borne the name of Tripolis in the
time of Pliny, who, so far from knowing any town of that name,
does not even recognise the district under the title.
It must, however, be confessed, that the introduction of Neapolis,
in the situation which Pliny has assigned to it, is by no means
very easily accounted for. At the same time it is certain, that the
position in question is directly in opposition to the authority
of Strabo, as well as to that of Scylax and of Ptolemy; who, all
of them, identify Neapolis with Leptis Magna, as will be seen by
a reference to Cellarius. This author, who insists very properly
upon the authority of Strabo, &c., that Neapolis is Leptis Magna,
supposes, with Hardouin, that Pliny has adopted the passage above
quoted from Mela, whom he censures for having brought together places
so distant from each other. But Mela is evidently speaking of the
country to the westward of the _Lesser_ Syrtis; of Leptis Parva,
and the Neapolis Colonia of Ptolemy, situated near the extremity
of the Mercurii Promontorium, in the vicinity of Clypea; so that,
although the towns and cities which he enumerates do not come in
the proper succession, they all of them belong to the part of the
country which he is describing; and not, as Cellarius imagines,
to both sides of the river Triton, which would have made a much
more serious confusion. It is therefore less easy to imagine whence
Pliny has derived his Neapolis, or what is his authority for the
order in which he places the other cities of the district; if indeed
he intended them to be in order at all, which from his mention of
Oea (the civitas Oeensis) conjointly with the river Cinyphus[a],
we might probably be authorized in denying. We find _Abrotonum_
also introduced by Cellarius, instead of _Acholla_, in the passage
which he has quoted from Mela: the proper reading is—Hadrumetum,
Leptis, Clypea, _Acholla_, Taphrure[b], Neapolis, hinc ad Syrtim
adjacent, ut inter ignobilia celeberrimæ.]
[Footnote a: The Taphrure of Mela must not be confounded with
Pliny’s Taphra, which is the same with Graphara or Garapha.]
[Footnote b: Mela has however done the same (ultra est Oea oppidum,
et Cinypus fluvius, per uberrima arva decidens . . .) and the
difficulty is increased by what follows—_tum_ Leptis altera,
&c.; both accounts are very confused, and open to much discussion,
but this is not the place for it, and we have already perhaps said
too much upon the subject.]
[Footnote 15: Or rather of a female relation of Consul Tully,
to whom the work in question is attributed.
It is observed in the same work, “When this arch was built,
there were few habitations nearer this place than Lebida, the
Leptis Magna of the ancients;” and farther on, “the Romans
strayed to the spot where Tripoly now stands, to hunt wild beasts;
and under this arch they found a welcome retreat from the burning
rays of the sun.” But the arch was erected after the middle of
the _second_ century; and both Sabrata and Oea were extant in the
time of Pliny, who flourished in the middle of the _first_,—the
conclusion is obvious.]
CHAPTER III.
Departure of the Expedition from Tripoly — Passage through
Tagiura — Fertile appearance of the latter — Its Mosque, and
actual remains — Tagiura considered as the site of Abrotonum
— Existence of a salt-water lake at Tagiura, consistent with
Strabo’s account of Abrotonum — Present tranquil condition of
the country in this neighbourhood contrasted with its dangerous
state in the time of Consul Tully — Sand-heaps to the eastward of
Tagiura — Remarks on their formation, and on the accumulation of
sand in other places — Dangers of the sand-storm considered —
Passage over the sandy tract to the eastward of Tagiura — Arrive
at Wady Ramleh — Stormy weather at that place — Take leave of our
European friends who had accompanied us from Tripoly — Continuance
of the gale — Arrive at Wady’m’Seyd — Attempt to pass,
without success, across the sand-hills to the coast. — Arrive
at Guadigmata — Position of Graphara, as laid down by Scylax,
considered. — Ancient remains discovered by Captain Smyth in the
neighbourhood of Wady’m’Seyd and Abdellata. — Remarks on these,
considered as the remains of Graphara — Scuffle with the Arabs at
Sidy Abdellati — Remains at that place indicative of an ancient
military station — Cross the range of Sélem — Extensive view
from its summit over the fertile plains of Lebida and Jumarr —
Rains still continue — Distress of the camels — Meet with the
English Consul on his return from an excursion to Lebida — Report
of a troop of marauding Arabs lying in wait for our party.
On the 4th of November our arrangements were completed, and we were
able to send the greater part of our baggage to the tents which
had been pitched in a garden without the town; on the following
morning we took a final leave of Tripoly, and set out on our journey
to Tagiura.
Our party consisted of three Europeans, who acted equally as
interpreters and servants, a Tchaous, or janissary, belonging to the
Bashaw, Shekh Mahommed el Dúbbah, with five other Bedouin Arabs, and
three Arabs of Tripoly to look after the horses, making altogether
(ourselves included) eighteen.
After passing through the Messeah, or cultivated district in the
neighbourhood of Tripoly, and along the large Salt Marsh, mentioned
in Tully’s Memoirs, which was now completely covered with water,
we entered the scattered villages of Tagiura. They are surrounded
by gardens, yielding abundant crops of corn, fruit and vegetables,
and shaded by thickly-planted date and olive-trees, which are
equally valuable to the inhabitants. We find Tagiura described
by Leo Africanus as a country containing a good many villages,
or hamlets, and many gardens of date and other fruit trees; and
its present general appearance is probably little different from
that which it presented in the time of this geographer.
In consequence of a considerable emigration from Tripoly, this
country (he adds) became “assai nobile e civile;” but we
must confess that there are at present very little remains of its
importance, or extraordinary civilization; unless a large mosque,
of some apparent antiquity (highly reverenced by its Mahometan
population) and the good-humoured hospitality with which we were
received by the natives, may be considered as examples of both.
The people, however, appeared to be contented and happy, and
greeted us with many friendly salutations as we passed through their
highly-cultivated country. Some Roman columns, which are said to be
in the interior of the mosque, would seem to point out its vicinity
to an ancient site[1]; and if we must necessarily consider Tagiura
to occupy the position of any ancient town, we should suppose it
to stand on that of Abrotonum.
But it will be found, upon inquiry, that there are considerable
difficulties attendant on such a conclusion. For Abrotonum is stated
by Scylax to have been two days’ sail from Leptis Magna[2]; and
the distance between Tagiura and Lebida (already identified with
Leptis Magna) is no more than 59 miles.
The mean rate allowed by Major Rennell, for the sailing of the
vessels of the ancients, is 35 miles per day; so that the distance
between Leptis Magna and Abrotonum should, at this rate, be 70
miles. It is true that the rate of Nearchus, in the Red Sea and
in the Persian Gulf, as estimated by the same author, is no more
than 22½ and 30 miles; but this was occasioned by circumstances
not attendant on voyages in general, and must be considered (says
the Major) as an unusually low rate.
Another difficulty arises from the mention of Abrotonum as a _port_,
as well as a city, in the passage we have quoted from Scylax;
for Tagiura cannot be said to possess one.
It will here immediately occur to the reader, that Tripoly has a very
good port; and that the distance of that town from Lebida will answer
remarkably well with the distance of Scylax in question: for Tripoly
may be estimated at 67 miles from Lebida, which will be within three
of the 70 miles mentioned as the distance between Leptis Magna and
Abrotonum. Both these circumstances together will therefore appear
very strongly to favour the supposition that Tripoly is Abrotonum;
while a third, which we have already mentioned, _viz._, that Oea
is not stated to be a port by ancient writers, (at least, not that
we have been able to learn,) will contribute to strengthen the idea.
These facts would undoubtedly make it seem very probable that Modern
Tripoly is the Abrotonum of Scylax; but then the authorities of
D’Anville and Cellarius, and these are no slender authorities,
concur in placing that town on the site of Oea, as which we have
accordingly considered it[3].
We will not pursue the question further; but will leave our readers
to judge how far Abrotonum may be placed at Tagiura under the
circumstances which we have already stated; merely adding, that the
fertile plains of Tagiura are admirably calculated for the position
of a town, and that many a pleasant day has been spent among their
villages and gardens by the European inhabitants of Tripoly, who
often make parties to visit them.
We may at the same time contrast the present quiet state of Tagiura
with that in which it was found by Consul Tully a short time before
the accession of Sidi Yusuf. It was then considered necessary,
in visiting this place, although during what were called tranquil
times, that the party of the Consul, amounting to upwards of forty,
should be increased by the addition of several of the Bashaw’s
Chaouses; and it was afterwards reported to His Highness, that he
had had, notwithstanding this prudent precaution, a very narrow
and fortunate escape.
We found the roads to, and through, Tagiura in most places inundated
by the heavy rains which had fallen before the commencement of our
journey; a circumstance which, if it did not expedite our travelling,
had certainly the good effect of rendering it more pleasant, by
cooling the atmosphere and preventing the sand from flying. This was
the more fortunate, as the gardens to the eastward of the town are
bounded by a dreary tract of sandy desert, which we were obliged to
cross. The approach to it was indicated by numerous hillocks of sand
accumulated about the date-trees on the outskirts of the villages,
leaving their heads exposed, at various heights above the sand,
while some of them scarcely appeared above the summit. Judging
from the present appearance of Tagiura, we should imagine that
many gardens, situated on its eastern limits, have been completely
overwhelmed by these heaps.
Any object which is stationary would arrest the progress of sand
borne towards it by the violence of the wind; and the low enclosures
of Arab gardens in exposed situations might in a few years disappear
altogether.
We are not, however, inclined to attribute quite so much to the
overwhelming properties of sand, as many other travellers have done;
and we do not think that the danger of being actually buried will
appear, on consideration, to be altogether so great, to those who
are crossing sandy deserts, as writers of high respectability have
asserted. The sand which encounters a body in motion, would pass it,
we should imagine, without accumulation; and the quantity which
might even be heaped upon sleepers could scarcely be more than
they might easily shake off in waking. We shudder at the dreadful
accounts which have been recorded of whole caravans, and whole
armies, destroyed by these formidable waves of the desert; and
when our pity is strongly excited by such relations, we are seldom
inclined to analyze them very deeply. But a little reflection would
probably convince us that many of these are greatly exaggerated:
some, because the writers believed what they related; and some,
because they wished their readers to believe what they might not
be quite convinced of themselves.
In fact, we think it probable that they who have perished in deserts,
from the time of the Psylli and Cambyses to the present, have died,
as is usual, before they were buried, either from violence, thirst,
or exhaustion[4].
The idea in question has, however, become very general; and we
can neither attribute much blame to the reader who believes what
is related on respectable authority, or to the writer who simply
informs us of what he himself considers to be true. To him whose
only view is to excite interest by exaggeration, we may, at least,
say it seems to be superfluous: for the hardships and dangers of a
journey over the sandy desert may be fully sufficient to satisfy the
most adventurous, and to exhaust the most robust, without calling
up the airy forms of imaginary horrors, to lengthen out the line
of those which really present themselves[5].
But if the desert have terrors peculiar to itself, it has also its
peculiar pleasures. There is something imposing, we may say sublime,
in the idea of unbounded space which it occasionally presents; and
every trifling object which appears above its untenanted surface,
assumes an interest which we should not on other occasions attribute
to objects of much greater importance.
The little romance which its stillness and solitude encourage,
is at the same time grateful to the feelings; and one may here
dream delightfully of undisturbed tranquillity and independence,
and of freedom from all the cares, the follies, and the vices of
the world. Whenever the wind is cool, without being too strong,
the purity of the air is at once refreshing and exhilarating; and,
if his stock of water be not very low, the traveller feels disposed
to be well pleased with every thing[6].
Such was precisely the feeling with which our party entered upon
the tract of sandy desert before them. We were glad to escape from
the continual din and bustle which had attended our preparations at
Tripoly; and the very absence of harassing workmen and tradesmen was
alone a source of real satisfaction: the coolness of the sea-breeze
was unusually refreshing, at least, we persuaded ourselves that it
was so; and the anticipation of an interesting journey was acting
very strongly upon our minds.
After quitting the cultivated grounds of Tagiura, the traveller is
left to pursue his course (in going eastward) as his experience or
his compass may direct—there being no indication whatever of any
track in the sands of the wide plain before him. As our principal
object, in this part of our journey, was to obtain a correct
delineation of the coast, we pursued our route along the margin of
the sea; which from Tagiura to Cape Sciarra takes the form of a bay,
at the head of which lies Wady Ramleh. It was late in the afternoon
of the sixth when we reached the Wady, and came up with the party
who had preceded us in advance with the camels and heavy baggage.
Wady Ramleh, or Rummel (as it is sometimes pronounced, which
signifies, in Arabic, sandy river, or sandy valley), is a small,
but constant stream of pure water, which finds its way across the
desert from the mountains to the southward. The bed of the stream
is much below the surface of the soil; and judging from its width,
and the steep banks which confine it, we should conclude that at
the periods when the freshes come down from the mountains, Wady
Ramleh may be swelled into a considerable body of water. Here our
day’s journey finished, and we pitched our tents near the stream,
making them as comfortable as a stormy night would allow of for the
friends who had accompanied us from Tripoly[7]. On the following
morning the rain fell in torrents; and as the prospect afforded by
the weather was not very inviting, we would not allow our companions
to stray farther with us from home; but took our leave of them,
as we flattered ourselves, with mutual regret, and they retraced
their steps towards Tripoly, while we continued our journey to
the eastward.
The wind had by this time increased to a violent gale, and we were
very soon wet to the skin: but although such a state may not appear
to be at all times an enviable one, it was in fact very much so
on this occasion; for the clouds of sand which would have been
hurled in our faces by the wind, had the surface of the desert
been less wet, would have proved a much greater annoyance. With
this reflection we pursued our journey very contentedly, and our
Arab friends, composing Shekh Mahommed’s escort, appeared to be
equally well satisfied; for they soon began to open the several
budgets of songs with which an Arab is never unprovided, roaring
them out to the full extent of their well-practised and powerful
lungs, till they fairly drowned the noise of the gale.
At 10 A.M. we passed through Wady’m’Seyd, a small stream somewhat
inferior to Wady Ramleh, and soon entered upon the extensive plain
of Jumarr. Wady’m’Seyd may be termed the eastern limit of the
long sandy tract which stretches from thence far to the westward, and
passing to the southward of Tripoly, is bounded, in that direction,
by the Gharian mountains.
The sandy nature of the ground to the westward of Wady’m’Seyd
had latterly led us away from that part of the coast, and we now
endeavoured to regain the beach; but the sands were so soft that
our horses sank up to their saddle-girths, and our utmost efforts
to reach it were unavailing: we were in consequence obliged to
give up the attempt, and leave this portion of the coast line
incomplete. Among the sand-hills we found several patches of rocky
ground strewed with fragments of pottery, but no vestiges of building
were discernible. The plain of Jumarr, from the excellence of its
soil, would no doubt be extremely productive; but notwithstanding
this advantage, and its vicinity to the metropolis, a small part of
it only is cultivated, and but few Arab tents were to be seen. The
Gharian range may here be considered to be about seven miles from
the coast; and the heavy rains and torrents from the mountains have
made several large ravines in this neighbourhood, which crossed our
path in their passage to the sea: the most considerable of these
are Wady Terragadt and Wady Booforris. Soon after four o’clock
we reached Guadigmata, where we found a small Arab encampment,
and pitched our tents for the night.
It is in the neighbourhood of Guadigmata, between that place and
Wady’m’Seyd, that we must look for the Graphara of Scylax. For as
that city is described by the geographer as being midway between
Abrotonum and Leptis Magna, that is, a day’s sail from each—Guadigmata
being 26 miles from Lebida, and the whole distance from Lebida to
Tagiura 58½—it follows that the site of Graphara might be fixed three
miles to the westward of Guadigmata; which would place it at 29 miles’
distance from each of the cities in question, or half way between
Lebida and Tagiura [8].
There are, however, no remains to the westward of Guadigmata
(between that place and Wady’m’Seid) that we could perceive
in our route; but two miles beyond Guadigmata there are some
remains of building on a rising ground to the eastward of it,
which are too much buried under the soil to allow us to give any
satisfactory description of them. Two large upright stones, which
seem to have been the jambs of a gateway, are all that are now
standing; and not even the ground plans of other parts of these
remains could be obtained without excavation. We learnt, however,
from Captain Smyth that, in the neighbourhood of Wady’m’Seyd,
there is a small boat-cove resembling an ancient cothon; and near
it the ruins of several baths with tesselated pavements; which
must have been situated on that part of the coast which we were
not able to visit, for the reasons mentioned above. To the eastward
of these, another small port was also discovered by Captain Smyth
(formed by a point of land between the Wadies of Ben-z-barra and
Abdellata), at which the produce of the country is shipped off in
the summer. The mouth of the Abdellata is described by this officer
as forming a picturesque cove, and he observed on its left bank
(a little way inland) a village consisting of troglodytic caverns,
excavated in the sand-stone rock; many of which being furnished
with doors, are used by the natives instead of the usual matamores,
or subterranean storehouses, as granaries.
The former of the ports here described may possibly have been that
of Graphara required; but as there are more extensive remains in
the neighbourhood of that at Abdellata (or Abdellati), which we
shall presently have occasion to mention, we will not venture to
fix it as such decidedly.
On the day after our arrival at Guadigmata, the weather proving
still very bad, we did not proceed on our route; but spent the day
in examining and securing our baskets of provisions many of which
we found to have been wet through, and in making those other little
arrangements which, notwithstanding all precautions, are usually
found to be necessary a day or two after the commencement of a
long journey.
We continued our route on the following morning, and found the
country beyond become gradually hilly, and the road to be again
intersected by Wadys, or ravines, extending themselves from the
mountains to the sea[9]. By four we had arrived at Sidy Abdellàti:
so called from a celebrated Marábut, whose tomb, surrounded by
gardens and date-trees, stands conspicuous on the banks of one of the
Wadys. The country about it is everywhere well cultivated, the wells
are numerous, and the hills were covered with sheep and goats; but
notwithstanding the numerous flocks in our neighbourhood, we found
considerable difficulty in procuring a single lamb for our party.
While we were here a disturbance took place which had, at one time,
assumed rather an alarming appearance. Our camel-drivers had allowed
their beasts to stray over the cultivated grounds of the neighbouring
Arabs, who came to demand remuneration, or to revenge themselves,
in the event of not obtaining it, upon the owners of the camels[10]:
the latter, together with our Arab escort, formed a tolerably strong
party, and thinking themselves in a condition to do so, did not
hesitate to resist the demand; a scuffle accordingly took place,
in which many blows were exchanged, baracans torn, and knives and
pistols brought into action. The arrival of Shekh Mahommed put
an end to the fray before any serious consequences had ensued,
and he satisfied the assailants by reprimanding the camel-drivers,
and promising to make them keep their animals within bounds. We
were ignorant ourselves of the cause of the disturbance, and seeing
our party suddenly attacked, we naturally ran to their assistance,
which certainly would not have been the case had we known they
had been the aggressors. This made us more cautious afterwards,
as we found that our drivers took advantage of the strength of the
party to improve the condition of their camels.
The most conspicuous character in this disturbance was a trusty
black slave of our conductor the Dúbbah, who appeared to have
inherited from his master the art of raising his voice above that
of every other person. Having had his pistols wrested from him, he
was so hurried away by the violence of his passion as to seem quite
unable to give it sufficient vent; and had just raised his knife to
plunge it into an Arab, when he was prevented by one of our party,
who presented a musket at him and deprived him of his weapon;
for although he was fighting on our side, we were not of course
desirous that he should proceed to such unjustifiable extremes.
The remains of some strongly-built forts, of quadrangular forms,
occupying the heights which command the road, sufficiently point
out Sidy Abdellàti as an ancient military station; and indeed,
had we found there no vestiges of antiquity, we should have been
induced from the nature of the ground to look for some indications
of fortification; since the advantages of position, of soil, and
of water, which it possesses, are too great to have been overlooked
by the ancients.
About the tomb of the Marábut which we have mentioned above, there
are frequent traces of building; and the tomb itself is constructed
with the fragments of more ancient structures; while the beach
and its neighbourhood are strewed with a quantity of pottery and
glass. These ruins, although they now, with the exception of the
Marábut and the forts, consist only of loose stones and imperfect
ground-plans, appear to be more indicative of the site of an ancient
town than those which we have mentioned at Guadigmata; and, if
Graphara could be placed so near as twenty miles to Leptis Magna,
they might probably be considered as its remains. The quadrangular
forts which we have just mentioned as occupying the heights of Sidy
Abdellàti, might in that case have belonged to a station attached
to the town; and the port discovered by Captain Smyth at Abdellata
(mentioned above) may then be taken as the one intended by Scylax.
Without carrying the subject further, we may say, in conclusion,
that Sidy Abdellàti has undoubtedly been a strong military station,
whatever pretensions it may have to be considered as the site
of Graphara.
After leaving this place, the road led us, through the valley of
Selîn, to a tolerably wide stream called Neggázi, which, winding
between the hills, gave an unusual interest to the view. We continued
our route for a short time along its banks, and then ascended
the range of hills called Sélem, which branches off from the
Terhoona[11] range and extends to the sea. From the top of Sélem
there is an extensive view westward, over the plain of Jumarr,
as far as the sandy desert; and on the eastern side of the ridge
there is another view, equally imposing, over the plain of Lebida;
so that in spite of the torrents of rain which still continued to
deluge us, we could not help stopping occasionally to admire them.
From the summit of this range we noticed several remains of what
appeared to be towers, conspicuously situated on the peaks of
the hills to the northward; and which, from the strength of their
position, might have bid defiance to any attack that could be made
upon them: their situations appear to have been chosen with the
intention of their being easily distinguished one from another,
so as to answer the purpose of communication. The valleys of this
range are capable of the highest degree of cultivation, but their
fertility has only been partially taken advantage of by the Arabs of
the neighbourhood. In some of them we noticed vines and olive-trees
flourishing most luxuriantly between patches of ground producing
corn and vegetables. Descending on the eastern side of the range,
the road lies along the side of the mountain, and several ruins of
forts and tombs are conspicuous on either side of it: here also are
several remains of ancient wells, and we noticed one, in particular,
which had fragments of marble columns lying near it. During the
whole of this day the road was so slippery, in consequence of
the heavy rains, that our camels could with difficulty proceed:
they were continually falling under their burthens, and the alarm
which their unsteady footing occasioned them added greatly to the
distress of their situation. In the evening we pitched our tents in
a valley about a mile from Mergip tower, where we met the English
Consul on his return from an excursion to Lebida: he informed us
of a report which was in circulation at that place, of a troop
of marauding Arabs being in wait for our party two days south of
Mesurata. This report was corroborated by Shekh Mahommed el Dúbbah,
who seemed inclined to make it of some importance.
We suspected, from the Shekh’s manner, that he had himself
circulated this story to enhance the value of his protection; and
we were determined in consequence not to appear to believe it. As we
did not however think it right to omit some precautions, in the event
of the report proving after all to be true, we requested the Consul
to mention it when he returned to the Bashaw; who might then take
whatever measures he should judge to be necessary on the occasion.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 1: This circumstance is however by no means conclusive,
even supposing the columns to be as stated; for Leo Africanus
informs us that modern Tripoly was built from the ruins of Leptis
Magna, after the final destruction of that city: and the columns
in question might as easily have been brought from Lebida, as the
materials employed in building the town of Tripoly.]
[Footnote 2: Απο Νεαπολεως, της Καρχηδονιων χωρας, Γραφαρα πολις. Ταυτη
παραπλους ἡμερας μιας. απο δε Γραφαρων, Αβροτονον πολις καὶ λιμην.
Ταυτη ὁ παραπλους ἠμερας μιας.]
[Footnote 3: Supposing Tripoly to be Oea, we must look for Abrotonum
in some place as near to that city as possible; for the distance
given by Scylax from Abrotonum to Leptis Magna will become more and
more perplexing as we continue to place it farther to the eastward
of Oea. Tagiura, under this supposition, is the site we should allow
to Abrotonum; but the difficulties which we have stated are against
such a conclusion, and we confess that we are unable to reconcile
the contending authorities[a].
Neither Sabrata nor Oea (as we shall hereafter mention) appear to
have existed in the time of Strabo: the first town which is mentioned
by that geographer to the eastward of the Lesser Syrtis, after the
lake Zuchis, and the town of the same name (famous for its purple
dye and its salted provisions), is that of Abrotonum in question[b].
No distance is given by Strabo from Zuchis to Abrotonum; but the
mention of a lake much smaller than that of Zuchis, immediately
before Abrotonum, (as will be seen in the quotation below,) is
consistent with the idea that Tagiura might be the place of the city
intended; for we have stated that there is a lake a little to the
westward of Tagiura; and although it is of tolerable size, it is
nevertheless much smaller than that of Zuchis, which is estimated
by Strabo at 400 stadia.]
[Footnote a: In Ptolemy we find Abrotonum placed to the westward of
Oea; and in Pliny to the eastward of Taphra (or Graphara) neither
of which positions tend to simplify the matter in question.]
[Footnote b: Μετα δε την Συρτιν Ζουχις εστι λιμνη . . . καὶ παρ᾽
αυτην πολις ομωνυμος . . . ειτ᾽ αλλη λιμνη πολυ ελαττων· καὶ μετα
ταυτην Αβροτονον πολις, καὶ αλλαι τινες. (Lib. 17. κεφ. Γ. § 18.)
It must be recollected that Strabo is passing from west to east,
and that this is also the course of the Expedition.]
[Footnote 4: The Psylli inhabited the southern parts of the Greater
Syrtis, and are said to have been altogether destroyed by clouds of
sand which overwhelmed them in their passage to the interior. The
Nubian army of Cambyses is thought to have experienced a similar
fate.—_Vide_ Herodotus, lib. iv.]
[Footnote 5: We would not here be thought to allude to any particular
writer; but merely to the general practice, which has obtained in
all ages, of exaggerating the effects of the sand-storm in desert
travelling; which, without amplification, is sufficiently obnoxious
in its genuine native dangers and inconveniences.]
[Footnote 6: These solitary enjoyments are by no means overdrawn;
every traveller accustomed to desert journeys must have experienced
them: and the late lamented Burckhardt has frequently been heard
to declare, that his most pleasant hours in travelling have been
passed in the desert.]
[Footnote 7: Lieut. Clapperton, Mr. Carstenson, and some other
friends from Tripoly, had rode with us thus far on our journey.]
[Footnote 8: That is, if we suppose Tagiura to be the site of
Abrotonum, as we have ourselves already admitted, under the
difficulties stated above, and in the absence of more decided
information than we have been able to obtain on the subject.]
[Footnote 9: From Guadigmata, two ruins (Selma and Ipsilàta) appear
conspicuous on high and pointed hills at the distance of about seven
miles; they seem to have been watch-towers commanding the plain;
but our guides could only tell us they were _Gussers_, a name which
they applied indiscriminately to ruins of every description.]
[Footnote 10: These were the camel-drivers themselves.]
[Footnote 11: The Terhoona range is a branch of the Gharian.]
CHAPTER IV.
Arrival at Lebida — Remarks on its position and resources as
compared with those of Tripoly — Short account of the city and
its remains — Allusion to the African tribe Levatæ (or Levata)
by Procopius — The same tribe mentioned by Leo Africanus —
Suggestions of Major Rennell on the resemblance between the terms
Levata and Lybia — Former position of this tribe near the coast
confirmed by Procopius — Remarks on the term Libya — Visit
from the Shekh of Lebida — Violent storm at that place retards
the advance of the party — Intrusion upon the premises of a
celebrated Marábūt — Dangerous consequences of this intrusion
predicted by our escort — Departure from Lebida — Remains of
the aqueduct, and of the causeway mentioned by Strabo — Arrive at
the River Cinyphus, now Wad’ el Kháhan — Remarks on the river
and the morass in its immediate neighbourhood — Observations on
the faulty position of the Cinyphus in the maps of Cellarius —
This position probably suggested by some remarks of Pliny, Ptolemy,
and Mela — Extreme fertility of the region of the Cinyphus —
Remarks on this district, and that of Byzacium — Suggestions
of Signor Della Cella with respect to them — Present appearance
of the region of the Cinyphus consistent with the description of
Herodotus — Neglected condition of the district under the Arabs
— Account of Lebida and its remains by Captain Smyth.
On the following morning we continued our journey to Lebida, the
weather being still very bad. The road from Sélem to Lebida leads
close along the foot of Mergip-hill, on the summit of which are the
ruins of a tower of considerable height, which may be seen from a
great distance: at the foot of the hill are the remains of several
tombs, but none of those which we saw appeared to be in good style.
On emerging from the valley of Sélem a fertile tract of high ground
presents itself, which lies between the valley and Lebida; clusters
of olive-trees are scattered over its surface, and contribute with
the green turf on which they are planted to give it a very pleasing
appearance. From the summit of this appears the whole plain of
Lebida, stretching down, in a gentle slope, from the high ground to
the sea; and a more beautiful scene can scarcely be witnessed than
that which is presented by this fine tract of country. Thick groves
of olive and date-trees are seen rising above the villages which
are scattered over its surface; and the intermediate spaces are
either covered with the most luxuriant turf, or rich with abundant
crops of grain.
It must always afford matter for surprise to those who are
acquainted with this beautiful and highly-productive country, how
Tripoly could ever have been selected, in preference to Lebida,
as the metropolis of the regency. Placed in the midst of sand,
on the borders of an extensive desert, and situated almost at the
extremity of the country in which it stands, Tripoly appears to
enjoy scarcely any particular local advantage beyond the possession
of its port; while Lebida seems to unite in one beautiful spot all
the advantages of plenty, convenience, and security. It is probable
that the harbour and strong walls of Tripoly were the principal
causes of its adoption as the capital; and the sums of money which
would be necessary to rebuild and fortify Lebida, might have been
considered as more than equivalent to its local recommendations,
by a people who seldom look beyond the present.
But Lebida, once occupied, would be a much stronger post than
Tripoly could ever be made; and the good sense of the ancients was
conspicuously manifested in its selection as a principal town.
The city of Leptis Magna appears to have been comprehended within
little more than a square half mile of ground. It was situated close
to the sea, on the banks of a ravine now called Wady Lebda, which
might probably in the rainy season have assumed the appearance
of a river. When we passed through the place it was, however,
nothing more than a small stream, although too deep in some parts
to be easily forded; and it is probably dry, or nearly so, in the
summer. The inadequacy of this supply to the consumption of the
city may be inferred from the remains of an aqueduct communicating
with the Cinyphus, still existing, in unconnected portions, in the
space between the town and that river. At the back of the town are
several large mounds of earth, thrown up in the form of banks; which
are supposed to have been raised for the purpose of turning off the
water which might occasionally have threatened it from the hills,
and which the slope of the ground from the hills to the sea may
possibly have rendered very necessary[1]. The quantity of alluvial
soil brought down the Wady above mentioned by the winter torrents,
have, together with the accumulation of sand from the beach, nearly
effaced all traces of the port and cothon of Leptis Magna, which does
not indeed appear to have been at any time very capacious. The actual
remains of the city are still sufficient to be somewhat imposing;
but they are for the most part so deeply buried under the sand which
ten centuries of neglect have allowed to accumulate about them,
that plans of them could not be obtained without very extensive
excavations. The style of the buildings is universally Roman; and
they are more remarkable for the regularity and solidity of their
construction, than for any great appearance of good taste employed
in their embellishment.
A great part of the city has been constructed with brick; and
the material which has been used in the instances here alluded to
maintains remarkably well the high character which Roman brick has so
deservedly acquired. The remains of the stadium are perhaps the most
interesting, in speaking of the buildings which have been constructed
with stone; they have been partially excavated by Captain Smyth,
(to whose account we refer the reader) together with some other
buildings; but the task of clearing them entirely would be too
Herculean for limited means, and the same may be observed with
respect to other parts of Leptis Magna in general.
For our own part, however much we might have been inclined to remain
some time at Lebida, the necessity of our immediate advance precluded
the possibility of doing so; for the approach of the rainy season
made it absolutely necessary that we should cross the low grounds
of the Syrtis without delay: and it must be remembered that the
coast-line of the Syrtis and Cyrenaica was the principal object of
the Expedition.
Leptis Magna was built at an early period by the Phœnicians,
and was ranked, after Carthage and Utica, as the first of their
maritime cities. After the destruction of Carthage it flourished
under the government of the Romans, and was remarkable, as we are
informed by Sallust, for its fidelity and obedience[2].
After the occupation of Northern Africa by the Vandals, the walls
and fortifications of Leptis appear to have been dismantled or
destroyed[3]: they were probably afterwards restored under Justinian,
when the city became the residence of the Prefect Sergius; and we
find them, on the authority of Leo Africanus, to have been finally
demolished by the Saracens[4].
From that time the city appears to have been wholly abandoned; and
its remains were employed in the construction of Modern Tripoly,
as Leo has also informed us.
During the Prefecture of Sergius, who presided over the district of
Tripolis[5], Leptis Magna was attacked by a neighbouring African
tribe; and Sergius himself, after some previous successes, was
reduced to seek shelter within the walls of the city, to which alone
he appears to have been indebted for safety. A party of Moors, of
the tribe called _Levatæ_, had encamped under the walls of Leptis,
to receive from the governor the reward of past fidelity, and the
bribe for their future good conduct. Eighty of their deputies were
accordingly introduced into the town, and admitted to a conference
with the Prefect. On the statement of certain grievances of which
they complained Sergius rose to leave the tribunal; but one of
the suppliants detained him by the robe, while the rest of the
deputies pressed nearer to his person and urged their demands in
louder terms. Provoked at this insolence, an officer of the Prefect
drew his sword and plunged it into the Moor, and the death of this
imprudent offender became the signal for a general massacre. One
only of the Levatæ escaped from the city to bear the melancholy
news of the slaughter of his companions to the rest of the tribe
without the walls. They instantly took up arms and invested the
city; and though at first repulsed with great loss by a sally of
the Romans, they shortly after succeeded in defeating the Prefect;
and his general Pudentius, having incautiously exposed himself, was
cut off and slain in the field. Sergius retired with the remainder
of his army upon the city, and shut himself up within its walls;
but as he was incapable of continuing the contest with advantage,
he finally withdrew to Carthage, in order to claim the assistance of
his uncle, and induce him to march his army against the Moors[6]. The
result of the engagement which afterwards took place was fatal to
the cause of the Romans; for Solomon, who had so ably filled the
place of Belisarius, was slain in the field of Tebeste[7], and the
Prefect was once more compelled to seek safety in flight[8].
The tribe Levatæ, mentioned in the Narrative of Procopius, of which
we have just given the substance, has in later times been noticed
by Leo Africanus, and said to have inhabited that part of the desert
of Libya which lies between Augela and the Nile[9]. The same author
adds that they are of an African race; and we may further remark,
with respect to this tribe, that the appellation of Levatæ, by
which it was distinguished, has been supposed by Major Rennell
(in his illustrations of Herodotus) to have given birth to the
Grecian term Libya[10].
It will be observed that the suggestion of the ingenious author
quoted below, with respect to the retreat of the Levatæ into the
interior, is confirmed by the account of Procopius; who tells us
that “the Moors, called Levatæ, dwelt in the neighbourhood of
Leptis Magna[11];” and we have seen that they were found in the
time of Leo Africanus to have inhabited the parts between Augela
and the Nile.
With regard to the derivation of the term Libya, suggested by Major
Rennell, we may remark that Herodotus has himself derived it from the
name of a female native of Africa bearing the same appellation[12];
and it is probable that had there been any other tradition existing
in his time on the subject, it would have been mentioned with
that which he has recorded. The several tribes which in his æra
inhabited the northern coast of Africa have also been enumerated by
Herodotus; and no mention is made among these of any race of people
called Levatæ. It is evident also that his knowledge of Africa
was not confined to recent occurrences or to the actual state of
the country in his own time; for he has given us very clear and
minute details of events which took place several centuries before
that period, among which may be instanced the account which he has
transmitted of the first occupation of the country by the Greeks,
described in the Fourth Book of his Geography, and alluded to in
the passage above quoted from Major Rennell.
We may observe, on the ground of these objections, that, if
the derivation suggested be actually correct, it must, in all
probability, have taken place long before the period of Herodotus;
but there is at the same time no positive proof on their authority
that it may not have been possibly the true one.
On the morning after our arrival at Lebida the Shekh of the place
came to pay us a visit, and to offer his assistance in procuring
us coins and gems, which are constantly found among the ruins by
the Jews, who pay a consideration to the Bashaw for the exclusive
enjoyment of this privilege. The offer of our new friend was readily
accepted, and he himself very cordially entertained by his brother
Shekh, Mahommed el Dúbbah; but, his supper being eaten, we never
heard more of him or of the antiquities which he professed to
procure for us.
The effects of a heavy storm, which had occurred on the preceding
night, obliged us to remain at Lebida the whole of this day, in order
to dry our provisions and clothes; for we had no sooner pitched the
tents, on the evening of our arrival, than we were overtaken by a
violent storm of thunder and lightning, accompanied by continued
gusts of wind, which kept us employed during the greater part of
the night in attending to the tent-pegs.
In the mean time, the rain never ceased to fall in torrents, and soon
made its way, impelled by the force of the wind, through every part
of a good substantial canvass; one of our tents was completely upset,
and the whole of our party, with the better half of the baggage,
were wet through long before the dawn of day. Towards morning,
however, the storm died away, and the first appearance of the sun, in
a tolerably clear sky, was in truth a most comfortable prospect. As
it promised to be fine for the rest of the day, we soon spread out
our baggage to dry, and gladly availed ourselves of the delay this
operation occasioned to walk over the ruins of the town.
Our camel-drivers, however, who had been hired by the journey,
were not so well satisfied with this detention, and were urgent in
persuading us to advance: but a trifling bakshees[13] soon quieted
their remonstrances, and they made up their minds very contentedly to
the arrangement. We now began to measure a short base by latitudes,
in order to fix a few points with more accuracy; and it was necessary
to make use of the summit of a neighbouring hill for one extremity
of the base. This spot was the place of residence of a most devout
and highly-reverenced Marábūt, the admiration and the terror of
the people of Lebida; and as we were proceeding to ascend the hill,
our steps were arrested by the voice of the Tchaous whom the Bashaw
had commissioned to attend us. As soon as he came up, he began very
gravely to assure us, that the holy enthusiast would by no means
allow us to encroach upon his domains with impunity; and proceeded
to state that he would most certainly kill every person of our party
who should dare to ascend, and afterwards sacrifice him (the Tchaous)
himself, for having allowed us to intrude upon his retirement. It
may be imagined that none of us had any particular wish to offend
the holy personage in question; but the hill which he occupied
was unluckily the most convenient which could be selected for our
purpose; and we did not think it quite necessary to give up our
base on the grounds of so ridiculous an objection. The attempt was
accordingly made, and the base properly measured, without either of
the dreadful results which had been anticipated; and the parties,
on descending, received the serious congratulations of the Arabs
on having had, what they called, so unexpected and providential
an escape.
This formidable personage is the Marábūt mentioned by Della Cella
as having threatened to eat him alive; and the Doctor was assured,
by a black slave who stood near him, that he was perfectly capable
of fulfilling his extraordinary threat[14].
So much has been written on the subject of these knavish fanatics,
that we shall not here attempt any description of them: every book
of travels in Mahometan countries contains more or less notice of
the wondrous feats which are attributed to them, and of the no less
remarkable credulity of those whom they impose upon[15]. We may,
however, observe that the country between Lebida and Mesurata,
and more especially the neighbourhood of the last-mentioned place,
is much infested by these artful and unblushing pretenders to piety
and supernatural powers.
On the morning of the 15th we left the ruins of Lebida, and passing
between the gardens which are scattered over its plain, proceeded
on our road to Zeliten. About nine miles to the eastward of Lebida
is the stream called Wad’ el Kháhan, which we found to possess
more pretensions to the title of river than any which we had hitherto
seen. It appears to have its rise in the mountains to the southward;
and after spreading itself in shallows over a rocky bed, it falls
about twenty feet, and continues its course, though very slowly,
to the sea. The banks of Wad’ el Kháhan are in some places high,
sloping down to the water’s edge, and are covered with underwood,
among which a few trees may occasionally be observed to rise. The
verdure of its banks give it an agreeable appearance, and some
remains of building, which are seen here and there through the soil,
contribute to increase the interest of the stream.
By the side of the road, at about a mile and a half from where the
river empties into the sea, are the remains of the aqueduct mentioned
above, which supplied the city of Lebida; and other traces of
building are occasionally observable in its neighbourhood. Here also
may still be observed the same morasses which formerly characterized
this spot, and gave occasion for the construction of the causeway,
still existing, which is mentioned by Strabo as having been built
by the Carthaginians[16]. All these circumstances contribute to
point out Wad’ el Kháhan as the Cinyphus, and as such we may
reasonably consider it.
The morass is extremely dangerous to cross without a guide, and
two of our party, who were unprovided with one, experienced much
difficulty in crossing a small quicksand situated between the marsh
and the sea. There is another part of this quicksand, more to the
eastward, which it was wholly impossible to cross; our horses,
in attempting it, sank up to the saddle-girths, and the severity
of the Arab spur alone prevented them from sinking much deeper. We
may add that the exhalations which rise from the marsh appear to
be very unwholesome, for one of our Arab escort, who slept a short
time by the side of it, while we were making some observations,
was shortly afterwards seized with violent cold shiverings, and
every symptom of fever.
At the north-eastern extremity of the morass is the promontory
called Tabia Point, on which we found the ruins of what appears
to have been a tomb, and at the distance of about a quarter of a
mile from the shore may be observed a reef of rocks, which will
occasionally afford shelter for boats; the part thus protected is
called by the Arabs Marsa Ugrah, from its vicinity to the village
of that name. These rocks were above water when visited by Captain
Smyth in 1817; but, in consequence, probably, of the prevalence of
northerly gales, they were covered when we passed along the coast,
and cannot therefore at all times be depended upon for protection.
In considering Wad’ el Kháhan as the Cinyphus, which its position
with regard to Lebida, and the appearances already pointed out,
will very decidedly authorize us to do, one difficulty will be found
to arise. It is the impossibility of reconciling the distance from
the sea, of the nearest range of hills to the southward, with that
assigned by Herodotus to the Hill of the Graces, in which he affirms
the Cinyphus to have its source.
The Hill of the Graces is laid down by this geographer at 200 stadia
from the sea[17]; whereas the distance of the nearest range of
hills, to the southward of Wad’ el Kháhan, is little more than
four English miles from the coast; and we could perceive in this
range no aperture or break through which we might imagine that a
stream could have passed in its course from the southward to the
sea. We should certainly infer, from the appearance of this chain,
that the river must have had its source in it; and one of the hills
of which it is composed does certainly present an appearance of
three peaks, as we may imagine the Hill of the Graces did; but then
we must suppose that some mistake has been made, either by Herodotus
himself, or by his editors, in the number of stades above mentioned;
and, although it is possible that such an error might have occurred,
we have no greater right to dispute the passage in question, than
we have to challenge the accuracy of any other statement which is
received on the authority of the geographer. We mean, with reference
to the text itself, exclusive of local information; for the passage
is simply and clearly stated, without the least appearance of
ambiguity; and the habit of doubting every statement of an author
which does not coincide with our own ideas and observations, is
scarcely to be indulged without danger to the cause of truth.
We had determined on our return (among other things which we had no
time to examine minutely in advancing) to trace the river Kháhan to
its source, and thus decide the point beyond dispute; but unforeseen
circumstances prevented our returning by way of Tripoly, and the
promised examination never took place. We will not therefore venture
decidedly to assert that this stream does not rise to the southward
of the chain of hills above mentioned; but we should certainly
be surprised (from the view which we had of the range in passing)
to learn hereafter that it had been proved, by local observation,
to have its source in the mountains farther inland. We may observe,
at the same time, that the distance of the Terhoona[18] range
from the coast, as it is laid down by Captain Lyon, will answer
tolerably well to that of the 200 stadia at which Herodotus has
placed his Hill of the Graces from the sea; taking the stade of
this geographer at 732 to a degree, or 10¼ to a common English
mile, which is the mean allowed by Major Rennell to the stade of
Herodotus. There are, however, several other inferior chains of hills
(besides the one nearest to the coast) between the Terhoona range
and the sea; and we scarcely think it possible that the Cinyphus
(or Kháhan) could have found its way through these impediments[19].
In the chart of Cellarius, as Dr. Della Cella has truly observed,
we find the Cinyphus placed to the eastward of the Cephalas
Promontorium, in opposition to the testimonies of Strabo and
Ptolemy, and of most other writers of respectability. But it is
merely with a view to reconcile contending authorities that this
position has been assigned to the river; for it will be evident,
by a reference to the text of Cellarius, that it is not the one
adopted by himself[20]. It may be possible, also, (in addition to
the authorities of the Itinerary and the Augustan table which he
mentions) that Cellarius has been induced to place his Cinyphus
thus far to the eastward, in consequence of a passage in Pliny, and
of a remark which he has also quoted from Ptolemy. Pliny fixes the
country of the Lotophagi in the most southern recess of the Greater
Syrtis, and Ptolemy observes of these people, that they inhabited the
neighbourhood of the Cinyphus[21]. It becomes necessary, therefore,
in order to reconcile these statements, either to place the Cinyphus
nearer to the centre of the Gulf, or to move the Lotophagi nearer
to the Cinyphus.
Mela places the Lotophagi still further to the eastward than
Pliny, for he tells us that they are said to inhabit the country
between the Promontories of Borion and Phycus, which are both of
them in the Cyrenaica[22]; and this statement may be considered
as an additional reason for moving the Cinyphus to the eastward
of its actual position, if the observation of Ptolemy in question
be attended to. It is certain, however, that the position of the
Cinyphus, on the authorities of Strabo, Ptolemy, and Scylax, is to
the westward of the Cephalas Promontorium; Pliny places it in the
country between the two Syrtes, and Mela to the westward of Leptis
Magna[23]: there is therefore no sufficient authority for moving
the river to the eastward of the Cephalas; although it must be
confessed that the position of the Lotophagi, in the neighbourhood
of the river Cinyphus, is certainly very clear and decided.
We may observe, with regard to these eaters of the lotus, that they
have been so very differently placed by different authorities, that
it is scarcely possible to say in what part of the map they may,
or may not, be laid down; and this circumstance will serve to prove
how widely the lotus-tree must have been spread, at various times,
over the coast and country of Northern Africa.
The region of the Cinyphus has been celebrated for its extraordinary
fertility; Herodotus asserts that it yielded three hundred for one,
and other writers have concurred in extolling the richness of its
soil[24]. It is remarkable, however, that some authors who have
highly commended the soil of the Byzacium, have, at the same time,
omitted to notice the fertility of the region of the Cinyphus; while
others, on the contrary, who have recorded the extraordinary produce
of the district last mentioned, have failed to make any allusion
to the productive qualities of the Byzacium. This circumstance
has induced Dr. Della Cella to imagine that some of the writers
in question intended to include both these districts in one; and
in support of this idea he cites passages from Pliny and Strabo,
which appear to him decisive in its favour. Pliny says (it is
Dr. Della Cella who speaks) that “the people who inhabit the
Byzacium are called Libyphœnices[25];” it is therefore only
necessary to ascertain in what country the Libyphœnices dwelt,
to determine the position of the Byzacium[26]. And here, continues
the Doctor, is a very clear reply of Strabo to this desideratum of
ancient geography—“Upon the sea-coast, extending from Carthage
to the Cephalas Promontorium, and to the _Masselibii_[27], is the
territory of the Libyphœnices.”
But it will scarcely, we imagine, be thought absolutely necessary
to conclude, that, because Byzacium may have formed a _part_ of the
territory of the Libyphœnices, the _whole_ of the country inhabited
by these people must therefore be called Byzacium; for Strabo himself
has informed us that the Byzacians extended only to the _eastern_
limits of Carthage (that is, of Carthage Proper, or Zeugitana);
whereas the tract which he has assigned to the Libyphœnices
generally, comprehended the whole of the Carthagenian territory,
from the Cephalas Promontorium to the country of the Massæsyli. The
Massæsyli were a people of Numidia, and their district formed
the _western_ boundary of that country and Mauretania; so that
between them and the Byzacians (whom we may, surely, conclude
to be the inhabitants of the country from which their name is
derived) the whole of Numidia and Carthage Proper intervenes. The
Libyphœnices appear to have been the descendants of the Phœnicians
(or Carthaginians) and of the several native African, or Libyan,
tribes in their neighbourhood; so that Byzacium would naturally
be peopled by them to a considerable extent, without its being
necessary to infer from that circumstance that all Libyphœnices
were Byzacians.
We may add that Strabo does not seem to be aware of any fertility
in the soil of the Byzacium; for he continues to state (after
the passage above quoted from the Second Book of his Geography)
that all the country between Carthage and the _columns of Hercules_
is fertile—not including, of course, either the Byzacium, or the
region of the Cinyphus[28].
The extent of the territory which is supposed by Signor Della
Cella to have been included in the province of Byzacium, that is,
(as we have stated above) from the country of the Massæsyli, on
the western side, to the Cephalas Promontorium on the east, would
occupy a coast-line of no less than 700 miles, exclusive of its
limits in a southerly direction; and it will more readily be seen
how much this extent differs, from that of the actual Byzacium,
by comparing it with the dimensions which Pliny has given of the
country, in the passage which Signor Della Cella has partially
quoted above[29]. We shall there find that the district of Byzacium
was comprehended within a circuit of no more than 250 Roman miles;
so that it is difficult to imagine how Pliny could have intended to
extend its limits, either eastward or westward, to the points which
the Doctor has claimed for it: since the historian’s intentions
must have been sadly at variance with his assertions, had he really
meant to bestow upon Byzacium so much more than he has stated it
to contain[30].
The region of the Cinyphus has still the same peculiarities which
it has been stated to possess by Herodotus; there we still find
the rich and dark-coloured soil, and the abundance of water which
he mentions: but every thing degenerates in the hand of the Arab,
and the produce of the present day bears no proportion to that which
the historian has recorded. The average rate of produce of this fine
tract of country (so far, at least, as we could learn from the Arabs
who inhabit it) is now scarcely more than ten for one; and the lands
in the neighbourhood of Zeliten and Mesurata are the only places
cultivated to the eastward of the Cinyphus. The produce, in grain,
is principally barley, with a moderate proportion only of wheat;
but the date-tree and the olive are very generally distributed, and
their crops are extremely abundant. We were informed that there was
usually a considerable overplus of dates, olive-oil, and barley,
both at Mesurata and Zeliten; and that the Arabs of the western
parts of the Syrtis draw their principal supplies from the former
of these places.
The country to the west of the Cinyphus is, to all appearance,
equally productive (we should rather say equally capable of being
made so) with that which we have mentioned to the eastward. A
small part of this only, however, is cultivated, and we may observe
generally, of the region of the Cinyphus, that by far the greater
portion of that beautiful tract of country, from the eastern limit
of the Syrtis at Mesurata, to the edge of the sandy desert at
Wad’m’Seid, is now left in its natural state.
* * * * *
The following short account of the objects most worthy of notice
which presented themselves to Captain Smyth in the course of his
journey to Lebida in the year 1816, and the succeeding one, have
been extracted from his private journal, and obligingly placed
at our disposal by the author; and as we think they will not be
unacceptable to our readers, we submit them, without further comment,
to their notice.
The first principal point to the eastward of Tripoly is Ras al
Amra, a projecting low sand, with rocks close in, but possessing
a small boat-cove on its east side, resembling an ancient cothon:
near it are the ruins of several baths with tesselated pavements.
Beyond Ras al Amra there is another small port, formed by a point
of land between the wadies of Ben z barra and Abdellata, whence
the produce of the country is shipped off in summer. The mouth
of the Abdellata forms a picturesque cove, and on its left bank,
a little inland, is a village consisting of troglodytic caverns,
excavated in the sandstone rock, and many of which being furnished
with doors, are used, instead of the usual matamores, as granaries.
Here begins the tract generally called Zibbi, and the land, rising
gradually, exhibits a better, though still neglected, appearance,
being thinly planted with olive-trees, and here and there a vineyard.
In the vicinity of the Ganema river frequent vestiges of antiquity
announce the approach to a place once more prosperous; and in the
valley of Seyd-n-alli are the remains of some Roman fortifications,
called by the Moors, the Seven Towers, which from several local
indications I think must stand on the site of Quintiliana.
Leptis Magna is situated on a fine level district, of a light and
loamy soil, bounded by gentle hills. A great part of this plain
is laid out in fields of corn, pulse, carrots, &c., interspersed
with groves of olive, pomegranate, and date-trees, among which
are a few vineyards; but it is by no means cultivated with the
attention due to its susceptibility of improvement; and a great
portion of the produce is annually destroyed by the gundy rat, and
a species of jerboa, (probably the μυς διπους represented
on the Cyrenian coins) which greatly infest all the grounds, yet
no means are used to destroy them. The want of enclosures is also
greatly felt, the young shoots of the seed being protected from the
wind only by thinly-planted rows of the Scilla Maritima: however,
notwithstanding every disadvantage, the harvests are generally
satisfactory to the moderate expectations of these rude peasants.
Towards the higher grounds there is a good deal of pasturage,
where camels, horses, oxen, sheep, and goats are reared; but the
destructive method of the Arabs in impoverishing the land around
their dowars, till it becomes exhausted, without any attempt to
nourish or assist the soil, is everywhere visible, by the many bare
spots whence the tents have been shifted to more fertile situations,
which for the same reason soon become, in their turn, deserted also.
I first visited Leptis in May, 1816, to examine into the possibility
of embarking the numerous columns lying on its sands, which the
Bashaw of Tripoly had offered to His Majesty. The ruins had a very
interesting appearance, from the contrast of their fallen grandeur
with the mud-built villages of Lebidah and Legatah, and the Nomadic
tribes scattered around. The city, with its immediate suburb,
occupies a space of about ten thousand yards, the principal part of
which is covered by a fine white sand, that, drifting with the wind
along the beach, has been arrested in its progress by the ruins,
and struck me at the moment as having probably been the means
of preserving many specimens of art, which, from the numerous
pillars, capitals, cornices, and sculptured fragments strewed
around, I could not but suppose to have been extremely valuable,
more especially, since having been the birthplace of the Emperor
Severus, he might have enriched it with presents; besides which it
had been highly favoured for its adherence to the Roman interest
during the Jugurthine war. In addition to these circumstances,
the fact of Leptis once being sufficiently opulent to render in
tribute a talent a day, prompted me, on my arrival at Malta, to
recommend it as an eligible field for an extensive excavation.
On my return thither in January, 1817, I was surprised, on riding
over the ruins, to find that many of the most valuable columns,
which were standing in the preceding May, had either been removed,
or were lying broken on the spot, and even most of those still
remaining had had their astragal and torus chipped off. I discovered,
on inquiry, that a report had been circulated by the Tschaouses on
my former visit, of an intention to embark them for England; and
as it had long been a quarry whence the Arabs supplied themselves
with mill-stones, they had in the interval been busily employed in
breaking up the columns for that purpose, providing not only for
the present, but also for future supply. This extensive destruction
was prompted by the peculiar construction of the Moorish oil-mills,
they being built with a circular surface, having a gentle inclination
towards the centre, round which a long stone traverses, formed by
about one-third of a shaft.
On the 25th, however, having arranged my tents and instruments,
I commenced an excavation near the centre of the city with a party
of eight Arabs, whom I increased the following day to a hundred;
and as they quickly gained the use of the English spade and mattock,
the work proceeded with celerity. But I soon had the mortification
of perceiving, from numerous local evidences, that Leptis had
been completely ravaged in former times, and its public edifices
demolished with diligent labour, owing perhaps to the furious
bigotry of the Carthaginian bishops, who zealously destroyed the
Pagan monuments in every place under their control. Or it might
have been partly effected by the vengeance of the Barbarians for
the memorable treachery of the Leptitani. From whatever cause
it proceeded, the destruction is complete; most of the statues
are either broken to pieces, or chipped into shapeless masses,
the arabesque ornaments defaced, the acanthus leaves and volutes
knocked off the fallen capitals, and even part of the pavements
torn up; the massy shafts of the columns alone remaining entire.
With a view of gaining further information, I opened an extensive
Necropolis, but with little success. There were neither vases nor
lachrymatories, but only a coarse species of amphoræ and some
pateræ, with a few coins, neither rare nor handsome, mostly
brass, and principally of Severus, Pupienus, Alexander, Julia
Mammea, Balbus, and Gordianus Pius. A number of intaglios of poor
execution were picked up in different parts, as also some very
common Carthaginian medals, but nothing indicating high antiquity
or tasteful skill. Willing, however, to make as fair a trial
as possible, I continued excavating until the 12th of February,
when, having explored the principal Basilica, a triumphal arch,
a circus, a peristyleum, and several minor structures, with only a
strengthened conviction of the precarious chance of recovering any
specimens of art worth the labour and expense of enlarged operations,
I determined to desist.
In the course of the excavation I had an opportunity of observing,
that the period of the principal grandeur of the city must have been
posterior to the Augustan age, and when taste was on the decline;
for notwithstanding the valuable materials with which it was
constructed, it appears to have been overloaded with indifferent
ornament, and several of the mutilated colossal statues I found,
were in the very worst style of the Lower Empire. There are also
many evidences of the city having been occupied after its first
and violent destruction, from several of the walls and towers being
built of various architectural fragments confusedly heaped together.
Although there are several exceedingly fine brick and cementitious
edifices, most of the walls, arcades, and public buildings,
are composed of massy blocks of freestone, and conglomerate, in
layers, without cement, or at most with very little. The temples
were constructed in a style of the utmost grandeur, adorned with
immense columns of the most valuable granites and marbles, the
shafts of which consisted of a single piece. Most of these noble
ornaments were of the Corinthian order; but I also saw several
enormous masses of architecture, ornamented with triglyphs, and
two or three cyathiform capitals, which led me to suppose that
a Doric temple, of anterior date, had existed there. On a triple
plinth near them I observed a species of socte, used in some of
these structures as the base of a column, with part of the walls
of the Cella, surrounded by a columnar peristyle.
The city was encompassed by strong walls of solid masonry, pierced
with magnificent gates, and was ornamented with spacious porticoes,
sufficient portions of which still remain to prove their former
splendour. It was divided from its principal suburb to the east by a
river, the mouth of which forming a spacious basin, was the Cothon,
defended at its narrow entrance by two stout fortifications; and
branching out from them, may be observed, under water, the remains
of two large moles. On the banks of this river, the bed of which is
still occupied by a rivulet, are various ruins of aqueducts, and some
large reservoirs in excellent preservation. Between the principal
cisterns and the torrent to the westward of Leptis, some artificial
mounds are constructed across the plain, by which the winter rains
were conducted to the reservoirs, and carried clear of the city. On
the east bank of the river are remains of a galley-port, and numerous
baths, adjacent to a circus, formerly ornamented with obelisks and
columns, and above which are vestiges of a theatre. Indeed the whole
plain from the Mergip hills to the Cinyphus (now the river Kháhan)
exhibits unequivocal proofs of its former population and opulence.
Thus ended my unsuccessful research; but though no works of art
were recovered, many of the architectural fragments were moved
during the summer down to the beach, by Colonel Warrington, where
I called for and embarked them on board a store-ship for England,
together with thirty-seven shafts, which formed the principal scope
of the expedition, and they are now in the court of the British
Museum. Still we were sorry to find that neither the raft-ports
nor the hatchways of the Weymouth were capable of admitting three
fine Cipolline columns of great magnitude, that, from their extreme
beauty and perfection, we had been particularly anxious about.
* * * * *
On his return from a journey into the interior, in search
of the ruins of Ghirza, (to which we shall hereafter allude)
Captain Smyth observed three hills of moderate size in one of the
branches of the Messellata range; which, from their number, appear
to answer to the Hills of the Graces, considered by Herodotus as
the source of the river Cinyphus. The distance of this range from
the sea will not at all correspond (as we have already observed)
with the 200 stadia mentioned by Herodotus as the distance of the
Hills of the Graces from the coast; but, without relying too much
upon their triple form, which might be equally peculiar to other
hills, the circumstance of finding in these tumuli the source of
the only stream which will answer to the position of the Cinyphus,
should, we think, be esteemed as conclusive; and we may hereafter
consider the measurements of Herodotus, as given in the passage
which we have quoted above, to be decidedly (from whatever cause)
erroneous. We may however observe, that we have had, at various
times, so many opportunities of admiring the general accuracy of
the father of history, that we should rather consider this error
to have resulted from some mistake of the numbers, which may have
occurred in transcribing the manuscript, than from any incorrectness
on the part of Herodotus. We give the remarks of Captain Smyth on
this subject in his own words.
From Benioleet I went to the north-eastward, in hopes of finding
some remains of Talata, Tenadassa, and Syddemis, which were in the
chain of communication with the stations of the Syrtis, Cydamus,
and the Tritonis; but I met with only a few dilapidated towers,
and some uninteresting ruins, which from the situation were probably
those of Mespe. Thence we crossed the Messellata hills, and near the
centre of one of the ramifications observed three slight eminences,
which I am inclined to think must have been the Tumuli of the
Graces of ancient geographers, though, but for the coincidence
of the number, I should scarcely have remarked them. They are
about 340 feet in height, and nearly five miles from the coast,
thus differing in distance from the ancient account of 200 stadia;
but as the Cinyphus actually rises here, the early manuscripts may
have suffered from bad copyists.
The Cinyphus is now called the Wadie Khàhan, or weak river, in
allusion to its sluggish course in summer, though it is still, to
a little distance inland, a considerable stream, for this part of
the world. Its shrubby banks render the lower part of it extremely
picturesque, while both they and the sedgy marshes it has formed
towards Tabia point abound with game of all descriptions. Near the
high road from Sahal to Zeliten, the river contracts at once: here
stood an ancient bridge, of which vestiges remain; and adjacent is a
tolerable subterraneous aqueduct, running in the direction of Leptis,
with a ventilating aperture, at intervals of about forty yards.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 1: This is the opinion of Captain Smyth, who examined
the remains of Leptis Magna with attention (in the year 1817);
and who has obligingly favoured us with the plans and account of
it which are given at the end of the chapter.]
[Footnote 2: Nam Leptitani jam inde a principio belli Jugurthini ad
Bestiam Consulem et postea Romam miserant, amicitiam, societatemque
rogatum. Dein, ubi ea impetrata fuere semper boni, fidelesque
mansere; et cuncta a Bestia, Albino, Metelloque imperata gnavitur
fecerant.—(Bell. Jugurth. § 77.)]
[Footnote 3: At Gizerichus alia moliri non desiit. Nam, præter
Carthaginem, Africæ urbes nudavit omnes . . .—(Procop. Hist. Vandal.
à Grotio, Lib. 1. p. 17.)]
[Footnote 4: Questa città (Leptis M.) fu edificata da Romani
con mura alte di pietre grosse: la quale fu due volte rovinata
da Macomettani, e delle sue pietre e colonne fu edificata
Tripoli.—(5ta. parte, p. 72.)
Leo here alludes to the restoration of the city, and not to its
first erection by the Phœnicians.]
[Footnote 5: Bacchi (Solomonis frater erat) filios duos regendis
Africæ partibus misit Imperator; Pentapoli Cyrum, natu majorem,
Tripoli Sergium.—(Procopius, Hist. Vandal, Lib. 2. p. 119.)]
[Footnote 6: Solomon, the uncle of Sergius, was intrusted with
the command of the army by Belisarius, when that general left the
African coast, and governed with the title of Exarch. After his
death at Tebeste, Sergius was appointed by the Emperor Justinian
to succeed him, and rendered himself odious by his profligacy and
cruelties.—(See Procopius, Hist. Vandal., Lib. 2.)]
[Footnote 7: Now Tibesh, in the kingdom of Algiers.]
[Footnote 8: Such is the substance of this affair as related by
Procopius; and we may add, in the words of the eloquent Gibbon,
“The arrival of fresh troops, and more skilful commanders, soon
checked the insolence of the Moors: seventeen of their princes were
slain in the same battle; and the doubtful and transient submission
of their tribes was celebrated with lavish applause by the people
of Constantinople. Successive inroads had reduced the province of
Africa to one-third of the measure of Italy; yet the Roman emperors
continued to reign above a century over Carthage, and the fruitful
coast of the Mediterranean.” The state of Northern Africa, at
this period of the empire, is strongly painted in the observations
which follow.
“But the victories and the losses of Justinian were alike
pernicious to mankind; and such was the desolation of Africa,
that in many parts a stranger might wander whole days without
meeting the face either of a friend or an enemy. The nation of the
Vandals had disappeared; they once amounted to an hundred and sixty
thousand warriors, without including the children, the women, or
the slaves. Their numbers were infinitely surpassed by the number
of the Moorish families extirpated in a relentless war; and the
same destruction was retaliated on the Romans and their allies, who
perished by the climate, their mutual quarrels, and the rage of the
barbarians. When Procopius first landed, he admired the populousness
of the cities and country, strenuously exercised in the labours
of commerce and agriculture. In less than twenty years, that busy
scene was converted into a silent solitude; the wealthy citizens
escaped to Sicily and Constantinople; and the secret historian has
confidently affirmed, that five millions of Africans were consumed
by the wars and government of the Emperor Justinian[a].”]
[Footnote a: Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. vii. p. 353.]
[Footnote 9: Il resto de’ diserti di Libia, cio è di Augela
fino al Nilo, è habitato d’Arabi et da un popolo detto Levata,
che è pure Africano, . . .—(5ta parte, p. 72.)]
[Footnote 10: “The desert which separates Egypt from Lybia”
(it is Major Rennell who speaks) “is to be regarded as the proper
desert of Lybia: and it may be a question whether the tribe of
Levata, although _now_ found in the interior of the country, may
not have originally inhabited the sea-coast; and that the Greeks
denominated Africa (Libya) from them. This was the part of Africa
the nearest to Greece, and the first colonised by the Greeks; and
it is a known fact, that the Adyrmachidæ and Nasamones, who in
the days of Herodotus, inhabited the coast, were at a succeeding
period, found in the inland parts about Ammon and Augela. Mr. Park
saw a wandering tribe named Lubey, whom he compares, in respect to
their habits and mode of life, to gipsies[a].”]
[Footnote a: Illustrations of Herodotus, (p. 409.)]
[Footnote 11: Tunc Mauri, _Levatæ_ appellati, Leptim Magnam (_neque
enim longe absunt_) cum exercitu venere, &c.—(Hist. Vandal. ut
supra.)]
[Footnote 12: Ηδη γαρ Λιβυη μεν επι Λιβυης λεγεται υπο των
πολλων Ελληνων εχειν τουνομα γυναικος αυτοχθονος. (Melp. §
μεʹ.) It may be at the same time remarked, that some writers
have derived the term Libya from the Arabic word لوب (Lūb) which
signifies thirst, and might therefore be without impropriety applied
to a dry and sultry region. We may add that לביא (Libȳa) is the
Phœnician, or Hebrew term for a lioness; and Libya is emphatically
the country of lions—the “leonum arida nutrix.” לובימ (Lubīm) is the
term used for Libyans in holy writ, and the common burthen of Nubian
songs at the present day is—o-sī, o-ēh, to Lūbătŏ—of which we could
never gain any other translation from the natives, than that it
applied to their own country. Lūbătŏ was occasionally pronounced
clearly Nūbătŏ, and it was sometimes impossible to tell which of the
two pronunciations was intended.]
[Footnote 13: Bakshees, or Baksheesh, is the Arab term for a gratuity
or pecuniary consideration.]
[Footnote 14: Il mio abito Europeo attirò subito lo sguardo del
Marabotto, il quale fattosi inanzi, con aria truce, accompagnò il
suo gesto minaccioso con parole ch’ io non intesi: ma un Nero che
aveva accanto, avendole fedelmente tradutte, portavano ch’ egli
voleva mangiarmi vivo. Il traduttore aggiungeva che il Marabotto
ne era capace, perchè questo complimento era stato talvolta fatto
da questa gente a qualche Ebreo!—(Viaggio da Tripoli, &c., p. 45).]
[Footnote 15: In the work of Capt. Lyon, in particular, a good deal
of curious matter connected with Marábūts will be found.]
[Footnote 16: Εξης δ᾽ εστι ποταμος Κινυφος· και μετα ταυτα διατειχισμα
τι ὁ εποιησαν Καρχηδονιοι, γεφυρουντες βαραθρα τινα εις την χωραν
ανεχοντα.—(Lib. 17. § 18.)
It must not be forgotten that the geographer is passing from west
to east; and we find the remains of the building alluded to above,
occurring immediately _after_ the river, in travelling in this
direction; which answers exactly to the position of Strabo’s causeway.]
[Footnote 17: Δια δε αυτων (Macarum) Κινυψ ποταμος, ρεων εκ λοφου
καλευμενου Χαριτων, ες θαλασσαν εκδιδοι. ὁ δε λοφος ουτος ὁ Χαριτων
δασυς ιδησι εστι, εουσης της αλλης της προκαταλεχθεισης Λιβυης ψιλης·
απο θαλασσης δε ες αυτον στάδιοι διηκοσιοι εισι. (Melp. ροεʹ.)]
[Footnote 18: The Terhoona range is a branch of the Gharian, and may be
reckoned, in the part opposite Lebida, to be about eighteen geographical
miles from the sea, on the authority of Capt. Lyon’s chart.]
[Footnote 19: It will be seen from the account of Lebida annexed,
with which we have lately been favoured by Capt. Smyth, that the
river actually takes its rise in the low range of hills above
mentioned, situated between four and five miles from the coast;
so that the distance of Herodotus is much too great.]
[Footnote 20: See Lib. 4. Cap. 3.]
[Footnote 21: In intimo sinu fuit ora Lotophagôn, quos quidam
Alachroos dixere, ad Philænorum aras.—(Hist. Nat. Lib. v. c. 4.)
The words of Ptolemy are—Περι αυτον τον ποταμον (Κινυφον) Λοτοφαγοι.]
[Footnote 22: Ejus promontorium est Borion, ab eoque incipiens ora quam
Lotophagi tenuisse dicuntur, usque ad Phycunta.—(Lib. i. c. 7.)]
[Footnote 23: Sed litore inter duas Syrtis CCL. M. P. Ibi civitas
Oeensis, Cynips fluvius ac regio . . . (Hist. Nat. Lib. v. c. 5.)
After mentioning the Lesser Syrtis, Mela observes—Ultra est Oea
oppidum, et Cinyps fluvius per uberrima arva decidens:_tum_ Leptis
altera, et Syrtis nomine atque ingenio par priori . . .—(De Situ
Orbis, Lib. 1. c. 7.)]
[Footnote 24: Αγαθη δε γη καὶ την Ευεσπεριται νεμονται· επ᾽
εκατοστα γαρ επεαν αυτη εωϋτης αριστα ενεικη εκφερει· ἡ δε
εν τη Κινυπι επι τριηκοσια. (Melp. ρϟηʹ.)
Scylax calls the region of the Cinyphus χωριον καλον—and Mela describes
the river—per uberrima arva decidens. Other authorities may be
added to these in support of the fertility of the district.]
[Footnote 25: Libyphœnices vocantur qui Byzacium incolunt.]
[Footnote 26: Plinio dice Libyphœnices vocantur qui Byzacium
incolunt. Si tratta dunque di sapere dove abitavono i Libifenicii
per sapere il sito della regione Bizacina. Ed eccole una chiarissima
risposta di Strabone a questo quesito di antica geografia: Sulla
marina che è da Cartagine fino al Cefalo, e fino ai Masselibii è
il territorio dei Libifenicii.—(Viaggio da Tripoli, &c. p. 48.)]
[Footnote 27: The Massæsyli seem here to be intended by Signor
Della Cella, as will appear from the passage in question.
Υπερκειται δε της απο Καρχηδονος παραλιας, μεχρι Κεφαλων καὶ
μεχρι της Μασσαισυλιων, ἡ των Λιβοφοινικων γη, μεχρι της
των Γαιτουλων ορεινης, ηδε Λιβυκης ουσης. (Lib. 17. § 19.)
The passage which follows from the Second Book of Strabo, fixes
the limits which he has assigned to the country of the Byzacii.
Υπερ δε ταυτης, καὶ των Συρτεων, Ψυλλους, καὶ Νασαμωνας, καὶ των
Γαιτουλων τινας· ειτα Σιντας, καὶ βυζακιους, μεχρι της Καρχηδονιας
. . . (Lib. 2. p. 131.)]
[Footnote 28: Πασα δ᾽ ἡ απο Καρχηδονος μεχρι στηλων εστιν ευδαιμων.]
[Footnote 29: Libyphœnices vocantur qui Byzacium incolunt. Ita
appellatur regio CCL. M. P. circuitu, fertilitatis eximiæ,
&c.—(Nat. Hist. Lib. v. c. 4.)]
[Footnote 30: The interpretation which follows (in this part of Signor
Della Cella’s work) of a passage which he has quoted from Scylax, and
the adoption which he there proposes of the word ποταμος instead of
πολις, do not seem to rest, we fear, on any better foundation.
(See Viaggio da Tripoli, &c., p. 48—9.)
The concluding words εστι δε ερημος, rather appear to relate to the
desert tract between Lebida and Tagiura, than to the country in the
neighbourhood of the Cinyphus.]
CHAPTER V.
Arrival at Zelīten — Description of the Village and District of
that name — Harbour of Zelīten — Remains in its neighbourhood
probably those of the Cisternæ Oppidum of Ptolemy — Tomb of the
Marábūt Sidy Abd el Salám — Respect shewn to it by our party
in passing before it — General appearance of these Structures
— Arab credulity and superstition — Leave Zelīten — Remains
between it and Selīn — Arrive at Selīn, the Orir, apparently,
of Signor Della Cella — Proceed to Zoúia — Ports called by
the Arabs Mersa Gusser and Mersa Zoraig — Arrive at Mesurata,
the Western Boundary of the Greater Syrtis — Description of the
Town and District of Mesurata — Account of them by Leo Africanus
— Visit from the Shekh of Mesurata — Splendid Costume and
Equipage of the Shekh compared with that of our Bedouin Guide,
Shekh Mahommed el Dúbbah — Allusion to the report mentioned
at the end of the Third Chapter — Great demand for Medicine
at Mesurata — Considerate conduct of Mr. Campbell — Speedy
success of his treatment in many difficult cases — Miraculous
cure of a young Arab woman by an itinerant Sherīf and Marábūt
— Detention of the party at Mesurata — Observations on Cape
Mesurata, considered as the Cephalas Promontorium of Strabo —
Remarks of Signor Della Cella on this subject — Alterations
proposed by that gentleman in the punctuation of a passage in
Strabo descriptive of the Promontory — Actual appearance of the
Promontory sufficiently consistent with the account of Strabo —
Well-founded Remarks of Signor Della Cella on the extension of the
Gharian Chain, &c. — Extensive View from the Sand-hills at the
back of Mesurata — Singular contrast presented by the view over
the dreary wastes of the Syrtis compared with that over the plain
of Mesurata — Hot wind, and swarm of locusts accompanying it
— Alarm of the Arabs of Mesurata — Precautions adopted by them
on the occasion — Destructive consequences (mentioned by Shaw)
resulting from the visit of a flight of Locusts which he witnessed
— Remarks of Pliny on the same subject — Arrival of the Camels,
and departure from Mesurata.
On our arrival at Zelīten, we found barley and oil in abundance,
and much cheaper than in the neighbourhood of Tripoly; we availed
ourselves, accordingly, of the favourable state of the market,
to replenish our supply of these articles with the produce of the
district of Cinyps. Herodotus thought it necessary to observe, in
describing the fortunate region here alluded to, that “it _rained_
in this part of Libya[1]”—and we had also, in this instance,
full reason to acknowledge the accuracy of the father of history:
for our stock of provisions was so much damaged by the rain which
had attended our passage through the country, that we found it
necessary to expose it a second time to the sun, before we ventured
to secure it more effectually in the baskets.
The village of Zelīten contains from three to five hundred souls
(as Shekh Benzahir, who presides there, informed us); and we were
indebted to him, besides, for the honour of a visit, and a present
(no less valuable) of some excellent Fezzan dates, which are thought
to be superior to those of the country. The _district_ of Zelīten,
he further informed us, which extends from Wad’ el Kháhan to
Selin, contains no less than fifteen villages and ten thousand
inhabitants. The houses are built with mud and rough stones, the
mud, on most occasions, preponderating, as it generally does in
Arab buildings; the roofs are formed of mats and the branches of
the palm-tree, on which is laid a quantity of earth. The villages
of Igsaiba, Fehtir, Irgīg, and Snūd, all smaller than Zelīten,
but built after the same fashion, may be said to be appendages to
that place. Each of these villages, as well as Zelīten itself, is
surrounded by plantations of date-trees and olives, and presents
a tolerable show of cultivation. The produce is more than the
inhabitants consume, and the overplus, together with straw mats
and earthern jars, manufactured in the place, are disposed of to
Bedouin traders, or carried to other markets for sale. There are two
springs of very good water near Zelīten, which supply a small pond;
and in this place the ladies of the place are accustomed to wash and
cleanse their wool, their clothes, and, occasionally, themselves,
before they fill their jars for home consumption.
The port called Mersa Zelīten is an insignificant cove, that would
scarcely afford shelter to a boat. It is formed by a few rocks
above water; may be about one hundred yards across, and appears
to have no more than five or six feet water in it. Here also are
two springs of good water, which would afford a constant supply,
if the Arabs would take the trouble of excavating a cistern, and
of protecting it from the surf. To the N.E. of the Mersa, at the
distance of from half a mile to three-quarters of a mile off shore,
the sea broke over sunken rocks: the cliffs are of sand-stone,
and about thirty feet in height.
The many ruins which exist in the vicinity of Zelīten, and the
frequent appearance of building-stones, and shafts of marble columns,
protruding through the mud walls of the village, contribute decidedly
to point it out as an ancient site, and it was probably the Cisternæ
or Cinsternæ Oppidum of Ptolemy; which is the first town mentioned
by this geographer after the Τριηρων ακρον—the Cephalas Promontorium of
Strabo—in the tract of country between that point and the Cinyphus.
Among the sand hills which almost surround the village, we found
several imperfect ground plans; and near the beach is the tomb
of a Marábūt, supported by marble columns, which however are of
very trifling dimensions: there also we noticed several fragments
of marble columns, and a considerable quantity of pottery and
glass. Among the sand hills are likewise some remains of Arab baths,
built of stone and cement; and about them are scattered the ruins
of walls and buildings, as though the village had once been there,
but having been deserted was gradually covered with sand.
Our tents at Zelīten were pitched upon the sand hills close to
the tomb of a celebrated Marábūt, called Sidy Abd el Salám,
much respected by all the Mahometan population[2]. The Arabs of our
escort were particularly desirous that we should show some marks
of attention to the remains of this holy personage, by passing
his tomb at a slow and solemn pace, and at a respectful distance;
and though it may be imagined we had no great faith in the sanctity
of this venerated Shekh, and as little in the miracles which were
attributed to him, we complied with their pious request. The tombs
of such Marábūts as have acquired any tolerable celebrity, present
a singular appearance, in the motley collection of votive offerings
and deposits which are displayed both within and without the holy
structures; and bundles of wood and long grass, ploughs, mats, jars,
and shreds of old garments, are seen mingled with rusty firelocks
and pistols, saddles, stirrups, and bridles, and chaplets of beads,
and rubbish of almost every description.
The more useful offerings of vegetables and fruit may be sometimes
observed in the collection[3]; and the appetite of a saint, who has
been dead fifty years, is often revived and miraculously exerted on
these very tempting occasions. A large portion of food very soon
disappears from the board of a living Marábūt, but the heaps
which are consumed by a dead one of any celebrity are perfectly
astonishing to unbelievers.
The credulity of the Arab has, however, no bounds; and it rather,
indeed, appears to increase, in proportion as the marvellous tale
which is related is more inconsistent and extravagant.
Marábūts are allowed the most unlimited freedom of access, from
the palace and presence of the sovereign, to the tent of the meanest
Arab; and their persons are considered as sacred and inviolable,
even after the commission of the most unjustifiable outrages. The
last-mentioned privilege is not confined to the living; for the
tomb of a Marábūt is as inviolable as his person, and affords
a sure sanctuary to the worst of criminals, in defiance of law
and authority[4].
To return to our subject, we may remark, in conclusion, that a very
considerable part of the population of Zelīten are Jews; and we
were informed that the manufactures of the place are chiefly in the
hands of these people: we found them uniformly civil, obliging, and
industrious, and though much persecuted by the Mahometan inhabitants,
they appear to support their ill fortune contentedly.
On the morning of the 18th we left Zelīten, and entered immediately
upon an extensive plain, for the most part overrun with squills
and brushwood. Two roads cross this plain, one to Mesurata, the
other to Benioleed: we took the former, as nearest to the sea;
and at the distance of a few miles beyond Zelīten, we observed
several scattered heaps of ruins on either side of the road; most
of these have been built on artificial mounds, with trenches round
them, and appear to have formed parts of a military position; but
everything was so much mutilated and buried, that much time would
have been necessary to make out their plans, which would scarcely
indeed have recompensed the labour of excavation.
At sunset we arrived at Selin, where the tents were pitched near
an ancient well, forty feet in depth, and containing a good supply
of sweet water. At the distance of about two hundred yards from
the well, we perceived upon a hill the remains of what appeared to
have been a fort; and many fragments of buildings were discernible
here and there in the neighbourhood. This place seems to be the
Orir of Dr. Della Cella, but we could perceive no traces of the
Mosaic pavement which he mentions, nor anything to mark the spot as
the site of an ancient city. The Doctor has fixed upon Orir as the
position of Cinsternæ; and the circumstance of its occurring (in
passing from west to east) immediately before the promontory which
forms the western boundary of the Greater Syrtis, would, in truth,
seem to favour the idea. But Zelīten appeared to us more adapted
for the site of a city, and the remains of that place had more
the character of parts of a town than those which were observable
at Selin. We should conceive that the ruins to the eastward of
Zelīten were those of a connected series of forts, and that no other
buildings had been attached to them than such as are usually found
in the neighbourhood of a military position. Cinsternæ, however,
was a town of so little importance, that whether its site be fixed
at Zelīten or Selin is a matter of very trivial consideration.
On the evening of the succeeding day we reached the little village
of Zoúia, which is somewhat resembling, but very superior to,
Zelīten. After quitting Selin we had divided our party, and
leaving the camels to pursue the direct road, we proceeded along the
sand-hills which flank the beach, and arrived at an inconsiderable
collection of hovels situated immediately on the coast. This place is
called Zoraig, and contains, we were told, about an hundred persons,
who cultivate just sufficient ground to supply themselves and their
families. They were, however, provided with several wells of good
water, which they distributed by means of troughs over the cultivated
ground. We here dismounted to partake of some dates and water, which
were cordially offered to us by an old man of the village; and we
soon learned from him that the Adventure had been there several days,
and that a party of the officers had been on shore. Two little ports,
if such they may be called, are here formed by reefs of rocks lying
off the village, and the natives have dignified them with the titles
of Mersa Gusser and Mersa Zoraig[5].
On the following day we entered Mesurata by a circuitous route shaded
thickly with date-trees, and enclosed between well-furnished gardens.
We had now reached the eastern boundary of the cultivated districts,
where they terminate on the margin of the Syrtis; and as this was
the place where we were to change our camels, we pitched the tents
in a garden near the town, and proceeded to make the necessary
arrangements.
The town of Mesurata is built with tolerable regularity; its
streets cross each other at right angles, and near the centre
stands the market-place, which, like most others in this country,
is half occupied by a pool of green and stinking water. The houses
are only one story high, and are built with rough stones and mud;
the roofs are flat, and formed with slight rafters, covered with mats
and a quantity of sea-weed, over which is laid a thick coat of mud,
smoothed and beat down very carefully. They are fortunate who can
mix a little lime with the mud which forms the outer part of their
roof; for without this addition it is wholly incapable of resisting
the heavy rains which assail it in winter, and a thick muddy stream
never fails to find its way, through the numerous mazes of sea-weed
and matting, to the luckless inhabitants below: the white-washed
walls are in consequence usually marked with long streaks of
this penetrating fluid, and present a singularly-variegated
appearance. The greater part of the town has been built upon a hard
rocky incrustation, about two feet in thickness; the soil beneath
is soft and sandy, and, being easily removed, is excavated by the
Arabs into storehouses for their corn and dry provisions. Some of
these have in the course of time fallen in, and the streets are in
such places not very passable.
The extent of the _district_ of Mesurata, according to the report
of its Shekh, is from Selin to Sooleb, a place in the Syrtis,
two days distant to the southward of the town; it consists of the
villages of Ghâra, Zoúia, Zoroog, Gusser Hámed, Gezir, &c.,
and is said to contain 14,000 inhabitants, including those of the
town of Mesurata; the population of the five villages which we have
just named amounts to about 1250 persons, supposing the estimate of
the Shekh to be correct, from whom this statement is derived. The
gardens, which extend from Zoúia to Marábūt Bushaifa, produce
dates, olives, melons, pomegranates, pumpkins, carrots, onions,
turnips, radishes, and a little tobacco and cotton; among these may
be mentioned the palma christi, which we frequently observed in this
neighbourhood. Many of the gardens are raised from six to eight feet
above the road, and are enclosed by mud walls, or by fences of the
prickly pear and wild aloe. The dates, which are of several kinds,
are in great abundance, and the olives yield a plentiful supply of
oil: these, with barley, which is also very abundant, are carried
to various markets for sale; for the home-consumption of the place
consists chiefly of dates and dúrrah, and the greater part of
the barley is exported. The principal manufactures of Mesurata
are carpets, the colours of which are very brilliant, straw mats,
sacks of goats’ hair, and earthen jars. The market is in general
well supplied with meat, vegetables, the fruits of the country, oil,
manteca, and salt; the latter is procured from some very extensive
marshes a few miles to the southward of the town[6].
Mesurata (or “Mesarata,” as some authors write it) has been
described by Leo Africanus as “a province on the coast of the
Mediterranean, distant about an hundred miles from Tripoly.” He
states it to have contained many “castles and villages, some on
heights, and others in the plain;” and adds that the inhabitants
were excessively rich, on account of their having no tribute to pay,
and the attention which they bestowed upon commerce. They were in
the habit (he continues) of receiving foreign wares, which were
brought to them by the Venetian galleys, and of carrying them to
Numidia, where they were bartered in exchange for slaves, civet,
and musk from Ethiopia; these they carried into Turkey, and made
a profit both in going and returning.
In the lifetime of the late Bashaw, Mesurata was in a very disturbed
state. The inhabitants had refused to receive Sidy Yusef, and it
was only by the assistance of Shekh Haliffe that they were at length
reduced to obedience[7]. The place is not now so flourishing as it
is stated to have been in the time of Leo, and its commerce appears
to be trifling.
Soon after our arrival, the Shekh of Mesurata, Belcázi, came to
pay us his visit of ceremony. He was accompanied by Shekh Mahommed
el Dúbbah, and attended by a train of mounted Arabs, tolerably
well armed with long guns and pistols. The splendid attire of Shekh
Belcázi, displayed to advantage by a large and handsome person,
threw far into the shade the less imposing costume and figure of his
companion. It consisted of three cloth waistcoats, richly embroidered
with gold, and a pair of most capacious crimson silk trowsers,
bound tight round his waist, which was none of the slenderest,
by many an ell of handsome shawl. Over this, notwithstanding the
heat of the day, he had thrown, in ample folds, a large white
barracan, and above this a heavy red cloth burnoos, the hood of
which was pulled over eight or ten yards of muslin rolled round
his head as a turban. The eyelids of the Shekh had been carefully
painted with the sable powder usually employed for that purpose, and
which is considered, even by men, in the regency of Tripoly, to be
absolutely requisite on occasions of ceremony. The tips of his fat
and gentlemanly-looking fingers were at the same time stained with
hénnah; and, as the dye had been recently and copiously applied,
would decidedly have made those of Aurora look pale.
While the Shekh had been thus minutely attentive to his own person,
that of his horse had been by no means neglected; for his bridle was
of crimson silk embroidered with gold, and his scarlet saddle-cloth
displayed a broad edging of gold lace: the saddle itself was of
rich crimson velvet, and the high back and pummel, which appeared
through the saddle-cloth, were also thickly embroidered with gold. A
broad band of gold lace was stretched across his chest, and a large
and thick tassel of crimson silk and gold (which might have served
a Grand Cross of the Bath), together with a numerous collection
of charms, were suspended from the neck of the animal. The large
gilt Mameluke stirrups, kept in constant motion by the rider,
flashed gaily in the beams of the sun, which were glanced off in
many a brilliant sparkle from this glittering assemblage of precious
metal. If Phœbus himself had appeared in all his splendour, mounted
on one of his gayest chariot-horses, he could scarcely have been
more an object of admiration and wonder in the eyes of the humble
and unassuming crowd of Arabs which had assembled to witness the
show, than Shekh Belcázi and his charger were on this occasion.
We dare not guess how the lady of our honest friend the Dúbbah
would have supported this splendid exhibition, in which her husband
was so completely eclipsed; but we thought that the eyes of Shekh
Mahommed himself did occasionally wander to the shining masses
by his side, with something like an expression of jealousy. If
it were so, however, the glance only found its way through the
_corners_ of the Dúbbah’s orbs of vision; for his head kept its
post with becoming solemnity, and was never once turned towards
those objects of his envy, to which all other eyes were so fully
directed. It must at the same time be allowed, that the toilet
of Shekh Mahommed had been much more attended to than usual. He
had made a temporary adjournment from his usual _only_ garment
to a white cotton shirt of very decent exterior, over which he
had carefully arranged a clean-looking white barracan; and he had
drawn from the innermost recesses of his saddle-bags a new white
burnoos of no ordinary texture, which he persuaded himself to
substitute for the old and coarse brown one he had hitherto worn
on the road[8]. His saddle-case was now observed to be of crimson
morocco, a circumstance with which we were not before acquainted;
for it had hitherto, on the journey, been turned inside out, or
more properly speaking, with the outer side in, to prevent it from
being soiled, and from fading in the sun. His saddle-cloth also,
which had hitherto consisted of a dirty piece of white flannel,
was now of bright scarlet cloth; and, besides the embroidered
covers to his silver-embossed pistols, he had carefully suspended
from different parts of his body a great variety of little bags,
of different colours and sizes: these were the repositories of
his powder and ball, and carried tinder, flints and steel, money,
nails, and tobacco, with sundry other little matters too numerous
to mention. By his side also hung a neat little smàat, or goat
skin, with the long black hairs left to ornament and protect the
outside; and which, properly speaking, was meant to hold water,
but which likewise served indifferently for holding milk, oil,
or butter, or any other substance which it might be necessary
to carry in it. We should state that, under all this variety of
ornament, Shekh Mahommed el Dúbbah sat with dignity upon his mare,
a recently-acquired present from the Bashaw, whose spirit had been
prudently roused on this occasion by the stimulus of an extra
feed of corn. The display of Arab horsemanship which concluded
the procession, received additional éclat from this precaution;
and the Dúbbah’s mare, after manœuvring her head to admiration,
first on one side and then on the other, and prancing, and pacing,
and rearing, to the delight of the assembled spectators, no sooner
felt the angle of the spur assail her sides, than she sprang forward
with a bound in advance of the party, and being suddenly pulled
up with a powerful bit, was thrown back upon her haunches within
a foot of our tent-cords. The old Dúbbah looked round to enjoy
the applause which he felt he had deserved, for his horsemanship
and his mare, from the crowd who had witnessed the exhibition;
and the two Shekhs alighted and entered the tent, each apparently
well pleased with himself.
Within they found everything arranged for their reception: the
dusty ground had been previously adorned with a mat, over which
had been spread some small carpets; and we had taken care to have
coffee and sherbet in readiness, which were served up as soon as
they were seated. Shekh Belcázi was introduced to our acquaintance
by the Dúbbah, who took care at the same time to inform us of his
rank and importance; accompanying his harangue with a profusion
of fulsome Arab compliments, which were received by Belcázi as a
matter of course, and appreciated by us as they deserved. As soon
as the usual salutations were over, and the coffee and lemonade
had been disposed of (though not before Belcázi had satisfied his
curiosity with regard to the several uses of every object in the
tent), we began to make arrangements for the number of camels which
would be necessary for our journey across the Syrtis. The Shekh of
Mesurata undertook to provide them, and freely offered his assistance
in any other way in which it might be serviceable to our party.
The camels could not be procured on the moment, but it was settled
that Belcázi should let us know the next morning how soon he
would be able to collect them. The Dúbbah, in his turn, now began
to expatiate upon the attention which _he_ would shew us when we
reached the district of Syrt, over which he presided as Shekh; and
to enumerate the various excellences of the fat sheep and lambs,
of the milk, and the butter, and the water we should find there;
assuring us that he would consider it his greatest pleasure, as well
as duty, to take care that we were well supplied with all these
valuable commodities. He then began to state the great advantage
of his protection, and how impossible it would have been for us
to cross the Syrtis without him. As we suspected that the report
which had been mentioned to us by the Consul was invented by our
worthy friend the Dúbbah, we took this opportunity of relating
it to the Shekh of Mesurata, and of asking his opinion with regard
to its probability. Belcázi shook his head, and very confidently
assured us that he did not believe there was any foundation for it
whatever: it was true, he confessed, that a few years ago such an
interruption might easily have occurred; but since the Arab tribes
had been reduced by the Bashaw, the communication between Mesurata
and Bengazi might be considered as tolerably certain.
Shekh Mahommed, however (whose large and round eyes had been
during this discourse very attentively fixed upon those of the
Shekh of Mesurata), still insisted upon the existence of this
horde of _sbandūt_[9]; and even asserted that he was himself well
acquainted with all their favourite haunts and retreats. Some of
his party, he added, had tracked their horses’ feet from the
well which they had recently visited, and had informed him that
their troop was very numerous. But he knew, he continued, all
the wells which they frequented, and would himself ride before,
to reconnoitre the ground when we arrived in the neighbourhood of
those places. He then assumed an air of amazing importance, and
putting one hand upon the head of a pistol at his side, and stroking
with the other his grey bushy beard, bade us not be alarmed at any
danger which might threaten us while we were under the protection
of the Dúbbah! We were now quite convinced that our valiant
old friend had himself been the author of the report, in order,
as we then thought, to enhance the value of his protection; and we
afterwards discovered the reason why he wished to have an excuse for
riding on occasionally in advance of the party. It was, however,
not our wish to hurt the old Shekh’s feelings by a disclosure
of these suspicions, and it was certainly not our policy to do so;
we therefore acquiesced in his remarks upon his own importance, and
assured him that it was really our firm belief that no _sbandūt_
would be daring enough to enter into his presence. After some little
further conversation with the Shekhs, from whom we obtained all
the information we could, we reminded Belcázi of his promise to
collect the camels, which we told him we wished to have as speedily
as possible, and he soon after rose to take his leave, and retired
with the formidable Dúbbah. On the following morning he sent his
son to say that we should have the camels in three or four days,
and we took the opportunity of making the youth some few presents,
with which he was highly delighted. In the evening we returned
Belcázi’s visit, and were received with a good deal of that easy
politeness, which the better classes of Turks and Arabs know so well
(when they choose it) how to practise. We here perceived that the
fashions of Tripoly had travelled eastward for green tea was served
up with the sherbet instead of coffee, very sweet, and very highly
perfumed. On taking our leave, we were again assured by the Shekh
that he would send us the camels very shortly; but although we had
every reason to be satisfied with Belcázi, so far as professions
and civilities extended, we had already seen enough of the Mahometan
character to know that his promises should not be depended upon.
We had scarcely been a day at Mesurata before the report of our
having a tibeeb (or doctor) in our party soon brought us a multitude
of visiters; and the demand for medicine became so extensive, that
the contents of twenty medicine-chests, such as that which we had
with us, would not have satisfied one-half of the applicants. By far
the greater number of those who presented themselves had nothing
whatever the matter with them; but there were still many cases
of real distress which required and obtained assistance. The most
prevalent diseases were those of the eye, and there were many very
alarming cases of dysentery; but Mr. Campbell’s attention and
medical skill soon began to produce very favourable symptoms, and as
much of the medicine as could possibly be spared was administered to
and distributed amongst those who required it. As is usual, however,
in barbarous countries, there were many simple beings whom it was
impossible to convince that the powers of medicine are limited,
and they were so fully persuaded of Mr. Campbell’s omnipotence,
that he soon found it useless to deny it. To meet this emergency he
found it better to make up some little harmless ingredients for their
use, and to tell them that the rest was in the hands of the prophet,
who had alone (under Allah) the power to cure them completely. With
this declaration, and the medicine together, without which they
would by no means have been satisfied, the petitioners used to
retire well pleased with their physician, and convinced that the
draught or the powders which they had received would infallibly
remove their infirmity, however incurable it might be.
A young woman, in the mean time, who resided near the tents, was
attacked, after eating a quantity of bazeen[10], with a violent
headache and pain in the stomach; and a celebrated Marábūt,
who had lately arrived at Mesurata, was called in to administer
his assistance. The holy man did not refuse to comply with the
summons; and when he made his appearance at the door of her tent,
Mr. Campbell, and such of our party who were near, were led
by curiosity to the same place; and taking up, unperceived, an
advantageous position, were able to understand, with the assistance
of the interpreter, the whole of the conversation which ensued.
The Shereef (for he claimed, or possessed, the distinction) was
no sooner made acquainted with the case than he assumed a most
mysterious air; and began by declaring to his suffering patient that
she was possessed by an _underground spirit_. He then proceeded to
state, as the cause of this misfortune, that before doing something
(which our party could not distinctly make out) she had omitted
to say Bismillah! (in the name of God) a form always used by good
and pious Mahometans to draw down a blessing upon whatever they
are about to do. This omission (he declared) had been the cause
of her dropping some water upon the head of the spirit’s child,
who was passing beneath her (under ground) at the time; and the
justly-enraged gnome had in consequence leaped into her, and was now
in the act of tormenting her for the crime. Our party of listeners
could hardly contain themselves at this most ingenious discovery
of the Shereef; but all the Arabs within the tent believed it most
fully, and the poor girl herself began to cry bitterly and to bewail
her hard fate and most unlucky omission. The Marábūt, however,
now bade her take comfort, and assured her that the case, though
undoubtedly a serious one, was not altogether without a remedy. He
accordingly called up a severe and commanding look, and, in a tone
of authority, ordered the spirit to leave her. As the pain still
continued without intermission, it was evident that this personage
was not inclined to obey; and the holy man then pronounced him a most
obstinate spirit, and told him that he knew of his having entered
the woman long before she had sent for his assistance: he added,
however, that he was determined to conquer him, and would not quit
his patient till morning. At the same time he acknowledged that the
task would be difficult, for he could clearly perceive that the woman
was wicked: he knew it (he said) by the breadth of her shoulders,
and the uncommon blackness of her large rolling eyes, which were even
larger and blacker than those of one of his own wives, whom he knew
to be a very sinful woman. In the morning it happened that the poor
girl was better, and the fame of the Marábūt was widely diffused;
but whether her recovery was owing to the holy man’s exertions,
or to a copious draught of medicine administered by Mr. Campbell,
we will leave to the decision of our readers.
During our stay at Mesurata, where we were detained several days,
in consequence of the non-appearance of the Shekh’s promised
camels, we took the opportunity afforded by the delay, of visiting
the places of most interest in the neighbourhood.
Bushaifa Bay had been stated by Captain Lautier to afford good
anchorage for shipping, and seemed in consequence to call for
some examination; but we must confess that it did not appear,
upon inspection, to deserve the character which that officer gives
it. Of the protection which may be afforded by breakers we cannot
venture to speak, Mesurata not boasting so much as a single boat,
but it is certain that the land does not give the shelter required,
as will be seen by a reference to the chart. On the point of the bay,
where is the best landing-place, there has formerly been a fort,
which is now entirely destroyed.
As we had arrived on the confines of the Gulf of the greater
Syrtis, the position of the promontory, which had been stated by
the ancients to form its western extremity, was a most important
object of inquiry. Between the town of Mesurata and the sea there
is a high range of sand-hills, rising far above the heads of the
tallest date-trees about them: and beyond these is a promontory of
soft sand-stone[11], which may be (at a rough estimation) about an
hundred feet above the level of the sea. This high land is divided
into three distinct heads, or capes, and is described by Captain
Lautier as having the appearance (from the sea) of three[12] hills in
the form of as many islands. The low ground at the back and to the
south-east of these capes is thickly covered with date-trees, but
their summits are now bare of wood and destitute of any vegetation:
the sand-stone in fact is fast crumbling away, and the height of the
promontory is every day diminishing. The appearance of this triple
cape coincided so well, in our estimation, with the description
given by Strabo of the Cephalas Promontorium[13], that we have not
hesitated to pronounce it the same with that headland. It does not
however form the precise point, or western extremity, of the gulf,
which is in fact a low rocky projection, scarcely above the level of
the sea, about four miles distant from the cape: but this point is
too low to be remarked from the sea, and Strabo, when he observed the
cape from his vessel, may well be excused for having overlooked it.
The Τριήρων ἄκρον, or Triærorum Promontorium of Ptolemy is no doubt the
same with the Cephalas of Strabo; and being laid down a little without
the gulf corresponds more exactly with the actual nature of the ground.
Strabo certainly describes his promontory as forming the beginning or
western extremity of the Syrtis; but the circumstance above mentioned
of his having seen it only from the sea, may be easily imagined to have
occasioned this little inaccuracy, if such it may indeed be termed.
We are at a loss to imagine what the promontory can be which Signor
Della Cella has identified with that of Ptolemy (and which he states
to have been _two hours_ distant from Mesurata) unless the Cephalas
itself be intended, or, in other words, the cape which we have
supposed to be the Cephalas[14]. For, with the exception of this,
there is no other high land which will in any respect answer to the
triple cape of Ptolemy; and this is not more than half an hour’s
ride from the town, and is not in the route which the army must
have taken in marching from Mesurata towards the Syrtis, as will be
seen by a reference to the Chart. At the same time, we can neither
persuade ourselves that Strabo would have instanced an accidental
range of sand-hills as a promontory; nor that the word υψηλη,
applied by this geographer to the Cephalas, can be supposed to mean
_distant_, or _deep_, instead of high, as Signor Della Cella has
imagined; notwithstanding the passage cited from Homer, which the
Doctor reads in favour of his argument[15].
When we consider that the cape which forms the Cephalas Promontorium
is, at least, as we have stated, an hundred feet high; and that,
from the soft quality of the stone, which is continually crumbling
away, it may have been in Strabo’s time considerably higher,
we may fairly conclude that the term υψηλη (or _high_) is not
quite so inapplicable to it as Signor Della Cella has asserted.
It is true that compared with high capes this elevation may appear
to be trifling; but it seems quite sufficient when contrasted with
the land about it, and particularly with the low and level surface
of the Syrtis. The highest parts of the Cape, as we have mentioned
above, are not at the present time wooded, whatever they may have
been formerly; but the land at its base, to the south and south-east,
is thickly covered with date-trees and olives: and, without allowing
so much for the changes which time might be supposed to have
produced, as would be readily granted to us by the most tenacious
of naturalists, we may venture to assert that this cape, under its
present appearance, answers sufficiently well to the description
of Strabo, to authorize its being identified with the Cephalas.
The observations, however, which Signor Della Cella has made on
the map of Northern Africa by Arrowsmith, respecting the extension
of the Gharian chain towards the Greater Syrtis, and the omission
of the low range which actually branches off from those mountains,
are certainly very correct[16]. For a minor branch of the Gharian
detaches itself from the chain, and runs down to the sea in the
neighbourhood of Lebida; and another part of the same range extends
itself from Lebida towards the Syrtis Major, gradually declining
as it approaches that place, both of which are omitted in the map
to which the Doctor has alluded[17]. The eastern extremity of the
Gharian chain appears also to be carried too near to the Greater
Syrtis, from no part of which (so far as our experience went)
could any portion of this chain be perceived.
We were unable to discover any remains of antiquity at Mesurata;
but its remarkable position between the fertile regions of the
Cinyphus, and the barren dreary wastes of the Greater Syrtis,
cannot fail to make it an object of more than common interest to
those who witness the singular contrast.
From the high range of sand-hills, which we have mentioned above,
between the town and the sea, an excellent idea may be formed of
this striking peculiarity of situation; and we often toiled up their
steep and yielding sides to enjoy the singularity of the prospect.
At the foot of these masses, to the southward, and to the westward,
are the varied and cultivated lands of Mesurata[18]: there are seen
endless groves of palm-trees and olives, among which are scattered
numerous villages and gardens, rich tracts of corn land, flocks of
sheep and goats, and everywhere a moving and busy population. To
the eastward[19], a tenantless and desolate waste, without a single
object rising from its surface, lies stretched in one long, unbroken,
line, as far as the eye can range. Not a single tree or shrub is
on that side to be seen; not a single house or tent, not a single
human being, or animal of any description.
In fact the effect of the Greater Syrtis, from this place, is that of
a dreary moor—a wide tract of level, waste land—without anything
to distinguish one part of it from another but the windings of a
marsh, which threads its dark surface, and is lost in different
parts of the unbroken horizon[20].
Two days before our departure from Mesurata, a strong scirocco
wind set in, and brought such myriads of locusts, that the air
was literary darkened by them. The inhabitants in consequence
remained out all night, keeping up a continued shouting and firing
of muskets and pistols, to prevent them from settling on the gardens
and cultivated lands. They who were not engaged in this occupation,
employed themselves in collecting the locusts which had been beaten
down, and carrying them off in baskets as articles of provision: so
great was the quantity collected on this occasion, that we observed
many asses, heavily laden with these insects, driven into the town
and the neighbouring villages. The destruction occasioned by a large
swarm of locusts can scarcely be imagined by those who have not
witnessed it; and the account which we subjoin of them, extracted
from Shaw, may not perhaps be unacceptable to our readers[21].
After this interesting description, the Doctor proceeds to
observe—“The locust, I conjecture, was the _noisome beast_,
or the _pernicious destructive animal_, as the original words may
be interpreted, which, with the _sword_, the _famine_, and the
_pestilence_, made the _four sore judgments_ that were threatened
against Jerusalem, Ezek. xiv. 21.”
“The Jews were allowed to eat them; and indeed when sprinkled with
salt, and fried, they are not unlike in taste to our fresh-water
cray-fish.”
“The Acridophagi[22], no doubt, were fond of eating them; in so
much as they received their name from thence.”—He further
adds—“The ακριδες, which St. John the Baptist fed upon in
the wilderness, were properly locusts; and provided they appeared in
the holy land during the spring, as they did in Barbary, it may be
presumed that St. John entered upon his mission, and that _the day of
his shewing himself unto Israel_ (Luke i. 20) was at that season[23].”
Pliny has informed us that the locusts lay their eggs in autumn,
which remain all the winter in the fissures of the earth, and come
forth in the shape of locusts in the following spring; being, at
first, without legs, and obliged to creep upon their wings. He tells
us that they invariably choose tracts of level country in which to
deposit their eggs, as being most full of crevices and fissures,
and hence, if it chance to be a rainy season, the eggs never come
to perfection; but, on the contrary, if the early part of the year
should be dry, vast numbers of these insects may be expected in
the summer ensuing.
Some writers (he adds) are of opinion that locusts breed _twice_
in the year, and that they perish as often; the first supply dying
in the heat of the summer, and the second immediately succeeding
them. The mothers die as soon as they have brought forth their
young, by reason of a small worm which breeds about the throat,
and ultimately chokes them. The same author informs us that _it is
said_ there are locusts in India so much as _three_ feet in length;
and that the people of the country use their legs and thighs for
saws, after they are properly dried! Pliny mentions, at the same
time, their flight across the sea, over which they are carried
by the wind, and where they usually fall, and perish in heaps;
although this is not always of necessity the case, as early writers
(he says) have remarked, because their wings are wet with the dew;
for they have been known to pass over extensive tracts of sea, and
will continue their flight for many days without rest. Locusts, he
adds, are gifted with the power of foreseeing an approaching famine,
and will take the precaution, on such an occasion, of transporting
themselves into distant countries. He mentions also the noise which
they make with their wings, and that they are sometimes mistaken
for flights of strange birds: that they darken the sun in their
flight, as if a heavy cloud had passed before it, and spread terror
and consternation wherever they make their appearance; eating up
everything which comes in their way, and even gnawing the very
doors of the houses. Italy, on this writer’s authority, was so
much infested with locusts from the opposite shores of Africa,
that the people of Rome, alarmed at the idea of their producing a
famine, had been often obliged to consult the books of the Sibyls,
to discover by what means they might avert the wrath of the gods
which they considered to be falling upon them. He tells us that
in the Cyrenaica there existed a law, obliging the inhabitants,
every third year, to wage a regular war with the locusts: on such
occasions they were ordered to seek out their nests, to destroy the
eggs and the young, and afterwards to proceed to extirpate such as
had already come to maturity.
A heavy punishment, at the same time, was inflicted upon those who
neglected this useful precaution, as though they had been guilty of
an unpardonable crime against their sovereign and their country. In
Lemnos, also, there was a measure established to regulate the
quantity which each man should kill; and every person was obliged
to give in his account to the magistrate, and to produce his measure
full of dead locusts[24].
It may easily be conceived, from these relations, what consternation
and dismay is excited among the inhabitants of a cultivated country
by the appearance of a large swarm of locusts. The mischief, however,
occasioned at Mesurata by those which we have mentioned above, was
not by any means so great, we are happy to say, as might have been
reasonably expected: and the Arabs of the place were soon as busily
employed in eating their formidable invaders, as they had at first
been in preserving their crops from experiencing a similar fate.
On the 2nd December, after repeated promises and disappointments,
our camels at length arrived; and having made suitable presents to
Shekh Belcazi and his son, we prepared to continue our journey. We
had few difficulties to encounter in our dealings with the people
of Mesurata; and we must confess that we found in their Shekh,
notwithstanding his occasional evasions, more openness and honesty
than are usually met with in the inhabitants of Mahometan countries.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 1: Υεται γαρ δηταυτα της Λιβυης.]
[Footnote 2: The saint and his tomb are thus mentioned by Captain Lyon:—
“This place (Zelīten) is particularly blessed in possessing the
remains of a great Marábūt, who is buried in a really handsome
mosque, ornamented with minarets and neat cupolas, and whitewashed
all over. His descendants are much respected, and are called Weled
el Sheikh, sons of the elder; they think themselves authorized to
be the most impudent, begging set of people in the whole regency
of Tripoly.” (P. 335.)]
[Footnote 3: It must be observed, that the opportunity of being
buried in a mosque does not offer itself to many Marábūts—their
tombs in general are small, insulated buildings, surmounted with
a single cupola, having nothing to recommend them, in point of
appearance, beyond the neatness and regularity which usually
distinguish them. They are commonly built on eminences.]
[Footnote 4: A criminal who may not be forced from a Marábūt, may,
however, be starved in his sanctuary; and this is often effected
by surrounding the tomb with troops, thus preventing the escape
of the prisoner, and the possibility of his being supplied with
food. An occurrence, however, took place at Bengazi in the year
1817, which serves to prove that this species of blockade is not
always sure to be effectual. Some Arabs of the Zoàsi tribe, who
had escaped from Bey Hamed after the massacre of their companions
in the castle, took refuge in the tomb of a celebrated Marábūt,
situated in the vicinity of the town. The Bey could not venture to
force the sanctuary which they had reached, but took every means
in his power to prevent their escape, or their communication with
any person without. He had closely blockaded the tomb with his
troops; and flattered himself that they must shortly perish with
hunger, or be reduced to the necessity of surrendering themselves
to the soldiers. In either case the object of the Bey would
have been accomplished, and he confidently waited the result;
while the anxiety of the people and neighbourhood of Bengazi,
who pitied the unfortunate fugitives, was raised to the highest
pitch. Every one was expecting some horrid catastrophe, for the
destruction of the prisoners, by famine or the sword, appeared to
be now inevitable; when the timely interference of the departed
Marábūt was miraculously exerted in their favour. On the third
day after their arrival at the sanctuary, to the astonishment of
the assembled spectators, a stream of water was seen to issue from
the tomb, and the ground all about it was observed to be strewed
with dates and other articles of food for the refugees!!!
It was clear that no other than the Marábūt himself could have
afforded this providential supply—(λεγομεν δε τα λεγουσι αυτοι Λιβυες,
we tell the tale as it was told to us)—for the place had been watched
day and night by the troops, who had been carefully and regularly
relieved; and every Arab of Bengazi and the adjacent country can
still testify the fact as it is stated!
The same story may be found in the work of Dr. Della Cella, who
informs us that the miracle took place during his residence at Bengazi.]
[Footnote 5: Mersa is the Arab term for a port or harbour.]
[Footnote 6: Some account of the government and resources, as well
as of the trade, of Mesurata, may be collected from the work of
Signor Della Cella, pp. 55, 6, 7.]
[Footnote 7: See Tully’s Memoirs, passim.]
[Footnote 8: A coarse brown barracan is on most occasions the only
habit of a Bedouin Arab; but as the rainy season was approaching, Shekh
Mahommed had allowed himself the additional covering of the old burnoos
we have mentioned. Shirts are seldom worn but on gay occasions.]
[Footnote 9: The term applied by the Arabs in the regency of Tripoly
to marauders of every description, and which is evidently corrupted
from the Italian.]
[Footnote 10: Bazeen (the composition and manufacture of which
is well described by Captain Lyon, p. 49) is the common food of
the lower classes of Arabs in the regency of Tripoly, and appears
to have been a very ancient one; for we find it mentioned by Leo
Africanus as being in use among the same people, in his account of
Tripoly.—(5ta parte, page 72.)]
[Footnote 11: Dr. Della Cella has confounded the sand-hills with
the promontory, the latter of which he asserts is composed entirely
of sand; they are however as distinct from each other as sand-stone
may be said to be from sand. The sand-hills are, besides, at some
distance from the sea, and the promontory immediately upon it.]
[Footnote 12: Il Capo Mesurata, a tre circa leghe di distanza,
si mostra sotto l’ apparenza di tre monticelli a foggia di tre
isolotti.—See Lautier’s Memoir, attached to the Viaggio da
Tripoli, &c., by Della Cella.]
[Footnote 13: Ειτ᾽ ακρα υψηλη και υλωδης, αρχη της μεγαλης
Συρτεως, καλουσι δε Κεφαλας· Lib. 17, § 18.]
[Footnote 14: Dopo _due ore_ di cammino giungemmo all’ estremità
del Promontorio che sporge in tre punte divise da seni di mare:
ond’ è che il nome di capo Triero con cui è chiamato da Tolommeo
ne esprime la forma.—Viaggio da Tripoli, &c., p. 60.]
[Footnote 15: The observations connected with the transposition of
the comma recommended by Signor Della Cella, are at the same time,
we must confess, rather singular: for it does not clearly appear
how the removal of a comma from a place which it never occupied, and
the insertion of it in a place where it always existed, can be said
to amend a defective passage. A comma is placed after υλωδης,
in all the copies of Strabo with which we are acquainted, but none
after ακρα although there might be without impropriety; and it
seems more consistent with the Doctor’s translation to suppose
that he meant exactly the contrary of what he has recommended;
that is to say, that his real intention was to remove the comma
from υλωδης, and place it after ακρα. We might then read,
by giving to υψηλη the sense which Signor Della Cella requires
for it,—“Then comes the promontory, which forms the _distant_
and woody extremity of the Greater Syrtis,”—instead of—“Then
(comes) the high and woody promontory, which is the beginning of the
Greater Syrtis.” We must, however, confess that we do not see any
difference in the sense of the passage in question, whether a comma
be placed after ακρα or not, provided that after υλωδης be allowed
to keep its place: but by the change which we propose, the Doctor’s
punctuation will at any rate correspond with his version, which,
as it stands, it does not.
We give the observations and the passage together in Signor Della
Cella’s own words.—“Con questa avvertenza io crederei doversi
intendere un passo di Strabone molto diversamente dal penso che gli
è dato da tutti i traduttori; parlando del Capo Cefalo, questo
geografo così si esprime—ειτ᾽ ακρα υψηλη και υλωδης, ακρη (αρχη of
course is intended) της μεγαλης Συρτεως—che tutti traducono—indi (viene)
il promontorio alto e selvoso, che è il principio della gran Sirte.”
“L’esattezza di questo illustre geografo puo esser salvata
_togliendo_ la virgola dopo ακρα e _transportandola_ dopo
υλωδης, e traducendo—quindi viene il promontorio, che forma
l’ alta e selvosa estremità della gran Sirte—dovendosi riputare
quell’ alto non all’ altezza del capo, che non quadra col vero,
ma alla _distanza_ che divide l’estremità della gran Sirte dal
suo fondo. In questo stesso senso la voce υψηλη trovasi spesso
adoperata da Omero per dinotare _gli sfondi del mare nelle terre_.”
. . . ως οτε κυμα ακτη
Εφ᾽ υψηλη οτε κινηστει Νοτος ελθων, &c.—(V. da Tripoli, p. 54.)
]
[Footnote 16: Sopra questa osservazione converra correggere la
bellissima carta di Arrow-Smith, ove la schiera de’ monti del
Goriano son disposti in maniera de far credere che tra il capo
Mesurata, ove in quella carta si pretendono è la piccola Sirte,
vi sia un’ ampia e non interrotta pianura. Ora, non solo da questi
monti si stacca un ramo che la interrompe, e viene a cadere scosceso
sul mare a Lebda; ma di più, il loro prolungamento fino al Capo
Mesurata è falso.—(p. 53-4.)]
[Footnote 17: In illustration of these remarks, we need only refer
our readers to the chart of the Expedition prefixed, which we may
add has been carefully made; but we must observe, in justice to the
compilers of those excellent maps which are published in the name
of Mr. Arrowsmith, that no blame can be reasonably attached to them,
either for the extension or the omission alluded to. They could only
avail themselves of the best authorities hitherto existing, and ought
not to be made responsible for more than these actually contain.]
[Footnote 18: The rocky land which we have mentioned, and the sea,
form the boundaries of the sand-hills to the northward.]
[Footnote 19: The south-eastward would be more correct, for the
coast there begins to trend to the southward.]
[Footnote 20: A more comfortless scene can scarcely be imagined than
is presented by the opening of this celebrated region, so little
known at any period of history. The opinion which the ancients appear
to have formed of it may be inferred from the description of Lucan,
in his account of Cato’s march across it (Pharsalia, book 9.);
but it will be seen, as we advance into the regions of the Syrtis,
that this description is more poetical than just.]
[Footnote 21: “Those which I saw, ann. 1724 and 1725, were much
bigger than our common grasshoppers, and had brown-spotted wings,
with legs and bodies of a bright yellow. Their first appearance
was towards the latter end of March, the wind having been for
some time from the south. In the middle of April their numbers
were so vastly increased, that in the heat of the day they formed
themselves into large and numerous swarms, flew in the air like
a succession of clouds, and, as the prophet Joel expresses it,
(ii. 10,) they _darkened the sun_. When the wind blew briskly,
so that these swarms were crowded by others, or thrown one upon
another, we had a lively idea of that comparison of the Psalmist
(Psalm cix. 23), of being _tossed up and down as the locust_. In
the month of May, when the ovaries of those insects were ripe
and turgid, each of these swarms began gradually to disappear,
and retired into the Mettijiah, and other adjacent plains, where
they deposited their eggs. These were no sooner hatched, in June,
than each of the broods collected itself into a compact body,
of a furlong or more in square; and marching afterwards directly
forward towards the sea, they let nothing escape them, eating up
everything that was green and juicy; not only the lesser kinds of
vegetables, but the vine likewise, the fig-tree, the pomegranate,
the palm, and the apple-tree—_even all the trees of the field_,
(Joel i. 12,)—in doing which _they kept their ranks like men of
war_, climbing over, as they advanced, every tree or wall that was in
their way; nay, they entered into our very houses and bed-chambers,
like _so many thieves_. The inhabitants, to stop their progress, made
a variety of pits and trenches all over their fields and gardens,
which they filled with water; or else they heaped up therein heath,
stubble, and such like combustible matter, which they severally
set on fire upon the approach of the locusts. But this was all to
no purpose; for the trenches were quickly filled up, and the fires
extinguished by infinite swarms succeeding one another; whilst the
front was regardless of danger, and the rear pressed on so close
that a retreat was altogether impossible. A day or two after one of
these broods was in motion, others were already hatched to march
and glean after them, gnawing off the very bark and the young
branches of such trees as had before escaped with the loss only
of their fruit and foliage. So justly have they been compared by
the prophet Joel (ii. 3,) to a _great army_; who further observes,
that _the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind
them a desolate wilderness_.”
“Having lived near a month in this manner, like a μυριοστομον ξιφος[a],
or _sword with ten thousand edges_, to which they have been compared,
upon the ruin and destruction of every vegetable substance that came in
their way, they arrived at their full growth, and threw off their
nympha-state, by casting their outward skin. To prepare themselves for
this change, they clung by their hinder feet to some bush, twig, or
corner of a stone, and immediately, by using an undulating motion, their
heads would first break out, and then the rest of their bodies. The
whole transformation was performed in seven or eight minutes; after
which they lay for a small time in a torpid, and seemingly languishing,
condition; but as soon as the sun and the air had hardened their
wings, by drying up the moisture that remained upon them, after
casting their sloughs, they re-assumed their former voracity, with
an addition both of strength and agility. Yet they continued not
long in this state before they were entirely dispersed, as their
parents were before, after they had laid their eggs; and as the
direction of the marches and the flights of them both was always
to the northward, and not having strength, as they have sometimes
had, to reach the opposite shores of Italy, France, or Spain, it
is probable they perished in the sea; a grave which, according to
these people, they have in common with other winged creatures.”]
[Footnote a: Psidias apud Boch. Hieroz. par. ii. p. 441.]
[Footnote 22: Diodorus has given a very interesting description
of the mode of catching locusts practised by the Acridophagi (or
locust-eaters), as well as of the dreadful consequences produced
by a too frequent use of them as articles of food.]
[Footnote 23: The time when we observed the swarm of locusts
alluded to above, was in the latter end of November; their course,
as Dr. Shaw has remarked, was, however, invariably towards the sea,
in which myriads of them were lost; and we have never seen a single
instance, on other occasions, where they did not take that direction,
however far they might have been inland.]
[Footnote 24: Nat. Hist. lib. xi. c. 29.]
[Illustration: Engraved from a Drawing taken on the spot by H. Beechey.
SOLITARY PALM TREE AT ARAR.
REMARKABLE AS BEING THE ONLY TREE FOUND IN THE LYOTIS.
_Published March 1827, by John Murray, London._]
[Illustration: Engraved from a Drawing taken on the spot by H. Beechey.
FORMIDABLE APPEARANCE OF THE COAST AT ZAFFRAN.
_Published March 1827, by John Murray, London._]
CHAPTER VI.
Entrance of the Syrtis — Extensive Lake, or Marsh, described by
Strabo — Remarks of Strabo compared with the actual appearance and
extent of the Marsh — Remains considered as those of the ancient
Naval Station, described by Strabo, at the Mouth of the Lake —
Appearance of another Station more to the northward — Gulf of Zuca
— Remarks of Signor Della Cella connected with it — Resemblance
of the names Zuchis and Zuca — Non-existence of the Gulf of Zuca
in the Greater Syrtis — Error of D’Anville and modern Geographers
on this point — Remarks of Signor Della Cella on the terms _Marsh_
and _Lake_, as applied to the body of water mentioned by Strabo —
Dimensions of the existing Marsh — Alleged danger of crossing it
— Insulated spots in several parts of the Marsh, corresponding
with the accounts of Strabo — Arrival at Sooleb — Appearance of
Pasturage in this neighbourhood — Liberality of Shekh Mahommed —
Cause of it ascertained — Sooleb occupies the place assigned in
modern charts to the Gulf of Zuca — Continuance of the Marsh —
Remains near Mahada called Kusser el Jébbah — Story connected with
them related by the Dúbbah — Unwillingness of our Arab Guides to
cross the Marsh — Cause of this ascertained — Narrow escape of
two of our party — Nature of the soil in this neighbourhood —
French Inscription left by the boats of the Chevrette — Another
left by the barge of the Adventure — Arrive at Mahàd Hassàn,
probably the Turris Hassàn of Edrisi — Remains at Mahàd Hassàn
— Arrive at Giraff, where the Marsh terminates altogether —
Refractory conduct of our Camel-drivers — Improvement in the
appearance of the country — Arrival at Zaffràn — Grateful
verdure of its Pasturage — Remains at Zaffràn considered as
those of Aspis — Their nature and appearance described — Port
called Mersa Zaffràn considered as that of Aspis — Difficulties
attending this position — Remains on the Beach — Supposed Date of
the Buildings at Zaffràn — Remarks connected with them — Castles
mentioned by Leo Africanus — Construction of the Forts at Zaffràn.
On quitting the groves and gardens of Mesurata for the wilds of the
Greater Syrtis, the first object which presents itself, in the level
tract of country already mentioned, is the extensive marsh described
by Strabo as occurring after the Cephalas Promontorium. It has not
now the character of an uninterrupted sheet of water, as it appears
to have had when seen by this geographer, but spreads itself in pools
over a wide tract of country, and communicates occasionally with the
sea. Many of these pools, are, however, some miles in extent, and
were they deep enough would deserve the appellation of lakes. When
we passed along the marsh the rainy _season_ had not commenced
although a good deal of rain had fallen, and it is probable that,
at the close of it, the greater number of the pools are collected
into much larger masses. While at Tripoly, Shekh Mahommed was
anxious for our departure chiefly on account of this morass, which
he represented as being very dangerous, if not wholly impassable,
after the long continuance of heavy rains. The dimensions given by
Strabo are three hundred stadia for the length, and seventy for
the breadth of the marsh, or lake, which he describes; and these
measurements correspond quite sufficiently with the appearance of
that which actually exists; its length, from Mesurata to Sooleb,
being little less than forty miles, and its breadth, from the sea
inland, from nine and ten to fifteen. It does not indeed finish
wholly at Sooleb, but is contracted in passing that place, to the
narrow limits of two and three miles in width, and then continues as
far as Giraff. The great body of the marsh may however be considered
as contained between Sooleb and Mesurata; for though it extends
much further in length and widens itself again after passing the
former place, there is no part where it presents so broad, and
uninterrupted a surface, as in the space comprehended within the
measurements of Strabo, beginning from the Cephalas Promontorium.
Strabo’s lake is stated to have enclosed several islands and to
have possessed an υφορμος or naval station, at the point
of communication with the Gulf[1]. Several insulated spots are
certainly still observable in various parts of the existing marsh;
but there are no remains of building which can be attributed to the
station mentioned, except those which occur in the neighbourhood
of Mesurata. At the distance of about nine miles from that place,
are the remains of a kind of causeway of singular construction,
extending inland to a length of three hundred and thirty paces from
the sea; and forming, with a rising ground on the opposite side
of it, what may be called a στομα or communication with the
Gulf. The ruins appear to be those of a landing-place; and consist
of a long causeway, or terrace, of about ten feet in breadth[2],
which widens itself at regular intervals into squares, from which
descend flights of steps on either side of the causeway. One end
of it is washed by the sea, which has undermined it considerably,
and the whole structure is now little more than a heap of ruins.
If this building have not been a landing-place or quay, we must
confess that we know not what use to assign to it; and, admitting
it to have been one, it immediately becomes evident that it must
have been connected with some station for shipping.
The general character of the land along this part of the coast,
which rises higher than the level of the lake or morass, would
prevent any communication between the marsh and the sea except
in this place and the one which we are about to mention. In this
place, particularly, such connexion seems formerly to have existed;
for here a passage still remains, through the higher land forming
the separation, by means of which the waters of the lake might have
emptied themselves into the sea, and on one side of this channel is
the structure in question which we have supposed to be a landing
place. The small vessels of the ancients might have entered this
passage, and have found sufficient shelter behind the high land[3]
which formed it; on the inner side of which they might also have
been hauled up when the current through the channel was too strong
for them to remain afloat[4].
Nearer to Mesurata, a little to the southward of the Marábūt of
Sidy Abou Shaifa, are the remains of what seem to have been a small
fort or station: its outer walls enclose a square of about an hundred
feet and there are vestiges of smaller walls within, which appear
to have divided it into several compartments. On the north-western
side there are some small blocks of stone, about two feet square,
which seem to have been the abutments of arches formerly supporting
the roof of the building; and which are about eight feet distant
from each other. These remains, forming at present nothing more
than an imperfect ground-plan, are situated on a low rising ground
close to the sea; and between them and point Abou Shaifa the lake
may have communicated with the gulf a little to the southward of
the point. There are also some slight remains of building in the
neighbourhood of this place, as well as in that of the causeway,
occupying the low range which runs along the coast: but from the
presence of the landing-place, at the communication first mentioned,
we should be disposed to adopt it in preference to that at Abou
Shaifa, as the στομα, or mouth, of the lake mentioned by Strabo.
Signor Della Cella, in stating that the lake or marsh which we
have mentioned, is the same with that laid down by D’Anville and
other modern geographers, under the title of Gulf of Zuca, or Succa,
has instanced the passage above quoted from Strabo in confirmation
of this opinion. But the Gulf of Zuca is represented as an inlet,
or creek, of not more than four miles across in any part of it;
while Strabo’s lake is in width more than double that distance,
and seems to bear no other resemblance to the gulf than that of
having a communication with the sea. If, therefore, the Gulf of
Zuca, as D’Anville himself has stated, be actually laid down on
the authority of Strabo, we should rather look for its origin in
another passage of this geographer which occurs before the one
we have quoted. In this passage Strabo describes a Lake Zuchis,
to which he attributes the peculiarity of a narrow entrance at
the point of communication with the sea; while he merely states,
in his description of the lake we have first mentioned, that it
emptied itself into the Gulf (of the Greater Syrtis).
The similarity of the names of Zuchis and Zuca and the narrow
width which is given to the latter would certainly appear to be
in favour of our suggestion; but then the Lake Zuchis is in the
_Lesser_ Syrtis, near the town of the same name which Strabo has
mentioned as being famous for its purple dye and its saltworks; and
in pointing it out as that intended by D’Anville, we must suppose
that this geographer has confounded the two passages of Strabo, and,
consequently, the two lakes, together. As this, however, appears
(at least to us) very probable, from the reasons which we have
mentioned above, we will submit to our readers the two passages
in question[5], on which our supposition is founded, and proceed
to consider the lake first alluded to as wholly distinct from the
Gulf of Zuca, to which it has really no sufficient resemblance to
authorize us in supposing them to be the same.
We may state at the same time, in positive terms, that no inlet now
exists in any part of the Greater Syrtis which resembles the Gulf
of Zuca in question; and that it might certainly be altogether
expunged from the charts, without the least impropriety; unless
indeed its position be shifted from the Greater, to the Gulf of
the Lesser, Syrtis.
It must be confessed, at the same time that the reasoning of Signor
Della Cella on the words λιμην and υφορμος does not appear to be very
satisfactory; for even if we allow that the precise meaning of υφορμος
may be open to conjecture, it seems evident that it implied a shelter
of some kind for vessels, whether or not it might be considered to mean
actually a port; which is the signification that we should be disposed
to attach to it in the passage of Strabo in question[6]. We do not,
either, see why the word λιμνη in the same passage may not be rendered
lake, as well as marsh; for it is certainly used in that sense in many
instances as well by Strabo as other Greek writers; and there seems to
be no reason why the marsh which we are describing may not have been in
Strabo’s time a lake, particularly as he mentions it to have had a naval
station (υφορμος) at its entrance, which could scarcely have been the
case had it been nothing more than a marsh.
As a general description of the marsh above mentioned, we should say
that it commences at Mesurata, and extends southward along the coast
as far as Giraff; occupying altogether a space of 101 miles by 15,
and narrowing towards its southern termination. A small part of the
marsh only was covered with water when we crossed it; but from the
alternate laminæ of salt and alluvial deposite as well as from the
numerous small shells principally of the trochus kind, which cover
its surface, it is evident that the sea at times wholly inundates
it. Our guides were always desirous that we should not deviate from
the track, and were constantly representing to us the danger there
was of sinking, with all the usual hyperbole of Arab description. As
we suspected, however, that they only made difficulties in order
to save themselves the trouble of attending us in our excursions,
we paid but little attention to their observations of this nature;
and continued to cross the marsh, whenever our duties rendered it
necessary that we should examine either the coast or the country
beyond it, taking no other precautions than those of keeping in such
places as appeared to ourselves to offer the firmest footing. The
crusted surface occasionally gave way under our horses’ feet,
and discovered hollow spaces of various depths underneath, at the
bottom of which appeared water: but as none of our party ever sank
in very deeply, we concluded that these hollows were too trifling to
be dangerous, and continued to cross the marsh wherever it seemed
practicable, till experience at length convinced us that a portion
of truth was mixed up with the exaggerated accounts of our guides,
and induced us to use more precaution.
Many insulated spots, both of earth and of sand, are conspicuous
in different parts of the marsh; and most of these places are
honoured with a name by their Mahometan visitors or occasional
inhabitants. The road, if such we may call it, either winds
along the margin of these little islands, or traverses them, when
necessary for greater security. The first of these which occurs,
after leaving Mesurata, is the little oasis called Towergah; lying
out of the track at a distance of seven or eight miles from the
coast: it has a village, and a considerable plantation of date-trees.
A little beyond this is said to be another small insulated spot
called Wady Halfa, where date-trees are also to be found; but this
was not in sight from the immediate neighbourhood of the coast. The
surface of the marsh, in the direction of these places, presents a
smooth, unvaried level, as far as the eye can reach, wholly destitute
of any vegetation; it consists entirely of an incrustation of salt
and alluvial deposit. In following the route along the coast, the
first rising ground which occurs, of any tolerable dimensions, is
Melfa[7]; where are the remains of an old, dilapidated Marábūt,
and occasionally a patch of vegetation, affording a scanty supply
to a few miserable-looking goats.
To this succeeds Sooleb, which we have already pointed out as the
southern limit of the marsh, according to the dimensions given
by Strabo; and where that part of the low ground, which could,
at any time, be covered with water, is too narrow to interfere
with the general character of the geographer’s lake. Sooleb has
the advantage of some tolerable pasturage, and is in consequence
occupied by flocks of sheep and goats, the property of several Arab
Shekhs, and which are chiefly tended by negro slaves, who dwell
in scattered tents with the animals confided to their charge. The
sight of a little vegetation was by no means unwelcome to us after
the dismal prospect afforded by the barren flats we had just passed;
and the dreary uncultivated wilds of Sooleb assumed, by comparison,
some appearance of interest, to which Salisbury plain or Newmarket
heath might perhaps be more justly entitled; and which a draught
or two of milk, that we were able to procure there, may probably
have in some degree contributed to heighten. This refreshment was
here more peculiarly welcome, as the water of Sooleb is too bitter,
brackish, and stinking, to be drank without the greatest disgust:
the purchase of a lamb, also, added meat to our board, which we had
not tasted since we left Mesurata. In addition to these luxuries,
we received a present from Shekh Mahommed, of a bowl of cuscusu,
and another of bazeen; and his liberality was equally extended to
the whole of our party.
We were at a loss, when the smoking dishes were ushered into
our tent, escorted by no less a person than the Dúbbah himself,
to conjecture what could possibly have occurred to occasion this
display of Arab munificence; but we soon learnt that Sooleb was the
northern limit of the district of Syrt, and that we had entered the
territory over which the Dúbbah presided; who had in consequence
taken these means of making us acquainted with the circumstance,
and of testifying his friendly disposition, together with his
magisterial importance.
After quitting Sooleb, which, we may here observe, occupies the
place assigned in modern charts to the Gulf of Zuca, we entered
again upon marshy ground, and continued our route to Maháda[8];
a tract of rising ground about forty or fifty feet above the level
of the marsh, and terminating in a declivity towards the sea, and
in perpendicular cliffs on its inland extremities. Near Maháda we
perceived the remains described in Della Cella as those of an old
castle. They are situated on a spot of rising ground surrounded by
a dangerous marsh, and can only be safely approached by following
the few narrow tracks winding along the edges of the hollows which
abound in it. This building is a _gusser_[9], or _kusser_, highly
venerated by the Arabs of the Syrt, and takes its name of Gusser
el Jebha from the son of a celebrated Marábūt, of whom Shekh
Mohammed related to us the following story.
Sinessah, a holy man of the neighbouring territory of Esha, possessed
of great influence and property, bequeathed to the inhabitants
of Esha and Sooleb, some three hundred years since, the privilege
of paying no tribute or duty: this charter, we were assured, has
continued to the present time, and is said to be still respected by
the Bashaw, and to extend itself to the posterity of these people,
whether they settle in their native places, or in any other part
of the country between Mesurata and Syrt.
Jebha, the son of this celebrated Marábūt, conceived the project
of establishing a convenient communication between the two lakes,
or marshes, or, more properly speaking, between the two parts of the
same marsh, and fixed upon the rising ground which is occupied by the
gusser as the spot best qualified for the purpose. He accordingly
made known this proposal to his friends, and conducted a little
party to establish themselves on the eminence.
But the people of Tówergah, aware of this intention, and jealous
of the colony about to be planted by Jebha, stole upon them in
the night, and attacking them unexpectedly, massacred the whole
of the party. To commemorate the project of the unfortunate Jebha,
and the tragical event which attended it, the little structure in
question was raised by the people of Esha, and called after the name
of their benefactors; while he, and the party which accompanied him,
were buried round the consecrated building. Gusser el Jebha consists
of three narrow, vaulted chambers, parallel and communicating with
each other, and which are entered by a door in the central one.
They are about twenty feet in length, and no more than five in
breadth, and are rudely constructed with unhewn stones arranged
with tolerable regularity. The cement is mud with a little mixture
of lime, and the vaulted ceilings are coated with plaster from the
spring of the arch upwards, and ornamented with a pattern raised
from the surface; the lower parts of the interior walls are at
present wholly bare, and do not appear to have been coated. The
outer parts of the building are now a mass of ruin, and the form
of the external roof is not to be ascertained; at least we were
not able to make it out.
A day or two before our arrival at Jebha, Chaous Mahmoud, one of the
Arabs of the Dúbbah’s party, had stoutly refused to accompany
us across the marsh; but after having been severely reprimanded,
and threatened with the loss of his pay, the punishment most dreaded
by an Arab, he consented to go, provided we would allow him to leave
his own horse with the camels, and take one belonging to our party.
This arrangement being acceded to, we trotted on in advance,
telling him to follow as soon as he was mounted; but he continued
to busy himself about the saddle and stirrups, making one little
difficulty after another, till we were nearly out of sight; and then,
mounting the horse which he had exchanged for his own, he galloped
round the marsh in another direction, to meet us as we arrived on
firmer ground.
On coming up with us he began to make excuses for his conduct, and
declared, like a true Arab, that his life was at our service, and
that he was ready to risk it for us on all occasions; but his horse,
he said, was his friend and companion, and he could not bear the idea
of losing him in the marsh, which he was certain he should have done
if he had rode him across it in the direction which we had pointed
out. His regard for our property had at the same time, he added,
prevented him from risking the horse he then rode, and not any regard
for his own personal safety, which was at all times indifferent to
him in the performance of his duty. Perceiving, however, that this
gasconade, delivered with all the vehemence which he could muster
for the occasion, was not producing the effect which he desired,
he called the Prophet to witness the truth of his assertions,
and swore that we had had a most miraculous escape in having been
enabled to reach the ground we then stood upon in safety. There
was nothing to be said against such solemn asseverations; and we
contented ourselves with telling him, in the language of his own
religion, that what is destined to happen cannot be averted; that
there was no occasion to fear, either for his horse or himself,
if the time of their deaths were not come; and that if the fatal
hour had really arrived, no precautions whatever could retard it.
At the same time we declared that the marsh, in our opinion, was
not so dangerous as he had represented, and that we thought he
might cross it, in most directions, without incurring the charge of
tempting Providence too far. Mahmoud shook his head as if he did
not believe it, but said no more upon the subject; and he perhaps
thought we were more obstinate than wise in having so often refused
to be regulated by his advice.
Repeated success will, however, at all times give confidence, even
under the consciousness of danger; and it is not to be wondered at
that we should so often have attempted the passage of the marsh,
believing, as we did, that there was little risk in doing so. But
an accident which occurred in the neighbourhood of Jebha convinced
us that more caution was necessary on these occasions; and we were
afterwards surprised, not only at our numerous escapes, but at our
want of penetration in not having sooner perceived the danger to
which the nature of the marsh had exposed us. It is probable that
the frequent attempts of our guides to excuse themselves from any
service of difficulty or exertion, had prepared us to distrust them
on all subjects equally, and to overlook dangers for no other reason
than because they were mentioned to us by them. Truth is so little
regarded by an Arab, that when his interest or his comfort will be
promoted by a breach of it, he is always prepared with a falsehood;
and it is difficult, even for those who are well acquainted with
his character, to tell when he is sincere in his assertions. One
of two things must necessarily result from this want of proper
feeling: they who place too much confidence in Arab sincerity will
continually be deceived and imposed upon, or they who distrust it
too far will on some occasions be liable to wish that they had been
less obstinate in their disbelief.
As two of our party were making their way across the marsh (a few
days after the conversation just related) to something which bore
the appearance of a ruin, the ground suddenly gave way beneath the
feet of the foremost horse, and discovered a hollow of ten or twelve
feet in depth, at the bottom of which appeared water. The animal, who
was galloping at the time, feeling the insecurity of his footing,
sprang violently forward with all the energy of terror, and by
this sudden exertion saved himself and his rider from destruction;
for it would not have been possible to extricate either from such a
place, had there even been more persons at hand to attempt it: the
ground continued to crack and break away for some distance farther,
as the horse galloped on from the hole, and a large aperture was
soon formed in the crusted surface of the marsh as the pieces fell
in one after another. The whole extent of the danger was not at
first perceived by the rider who had so narrowly escaped; but the
person who was following saw the chasm which had been made, and
wheeling his horse round in another direction was just in time to
avoid plunging into it. As this accident occurred near the middle
of the marsh, it was difficult to decide upon the best path to be
pursued, the surface being everywhere in appearance the same; but,
in order that the weight might be more equally divided, both riders
dismounted, and continued to lead their horses till they reached a
firmer place. This was however no easy matter; as the poor animals
were so terrified with their repeated stumbles, that they could
with difficulty be pulled along, and they trembled so violently
as to be almost incapable of keeping their legs, for the surface
frequently cracked and partially gave way in places which appeared
to be secure, and the parties were so often obliged to alter their
direction, that they almost despaired of being able to bring off
their horses. After much winding and turning, this was, however, at
length effected, and both horses and riders were heartily glad to
find themselves once more on firm ground. Nothing was said to our
guides of this accident, but it served to convince us that their
apprehensions of the marsh were not groundless, and we afterwards
took the precaution of dismounting when we had occasion to cross any
part which was considered to be dangerous. We found on examination
that many hollow spaces of considerable depth and extent existed
in various parts of the marsh; and that the crust of salt and mud
which covered them was sometimes no more than two inches, and an
inch and a half, in thickness.
These usually occurred in the most level parts, but as the crust
was everywhere in appearance the same, there were no means of
ascertaining where they existed, but by breaking the surface which
concealed them.
The water contained in these hollows was invariably salt, or very
brackish; it was usually clear, and was in some places deep:
the depth of mud below the water must also have been sometimes
considerable, and the vacant space contained between the outer
surface of the marsh and the water was in various instances observed
to be as much as twelve and fifteen feet in depth. We had no means of
ascertaining the depth of the water in the hollow alluded to above;
but the space between its surface and that of the marsh appeared
to be more than twelve feet, and, from the sound occasioned by the
fall of the pieces into it, its depth could scarcely have been less
than six or eight feet. In that part of the marsh which surrounds
the Gusser el Jebha the nature of these pits is very apparent; for
the ground being unequal, and overgrown with reeds and brushwood, no
crust has been formed over them, and their dimensions are therefore
easily ascertained. They are here very numerous, and it would be
scarcely possible to escape falling into them after dark, as the
paths which wind among them are sometimes not two feet in breadth,
and the edges of the pits are often concealed by the vegetation which
surrounds them; indeed many of these hollows are wholly overgrown,
and would not be perceived by a casual observer. In crossing to the
Gusser, we could not at first account for the obstinacy of our horses
in refusing to quit the path, which to us appeared to wind in a most
unnecessary manner, and made our ride five or six times as long as
it would have been if we could have crossed to the ruin in a straight
direction. But we soon found that the animals were more quick-sighted
than ourselves, and that the brushwood through which we attempted to
push them concealed pits of the nature already described, from many
of which we could in all probability have never been extricated,
had we persevered in the attempt to force our horses into them.
In our journey along the beach abreast of Maháda, we passed many
fragments of wrecks which the violence of the surf had thrown far
upon the shore; and observed a block of marble erected near the sea,
with the following inscription:—
LA GABORE DU ROI
LA CHEVRETTE
1821.
LAT. 31° 35′, LONG. 13° 18′.
This had evidently been placed by the crew of the Chevrette, which
had quitted Tripoly a few months before, to survey the gulf of the
Greater Syrtis; and we afterwards learned that one of the boats of
this vessel had been round it.
In order to compare longitudes with Captain Gautier who commanded
the Chevrette, an able and scientific officer, a base was measured
at this place, and reduced to the spot where the block of marble
was erected; both were then reduced to the conspicuous position of
Gusser el Jebha, and the comparisons were very satisfactory. A few
miles farther, we perceived a piece of timber placed upright on the
beach, and on examining it found some writing upon it in English,
which stated that, on the 24th of October, His Majesty’s ship
Adventure was lying eighteen miles to the northward of it. This we
knew must have been left by the barge of the Adventure, which had
been despatched by Captain Smyth, under the command of Mr. Elson,
to proceed along the coast as far as it might be practicable; and
we were glad to perceive, in these dreary and desolate regions,
some traces of our English friends. Our party was soon collected
round this old shattered post, and every one employed in searching
for more writing, with all the eagerness of an antiquary poring
over some valuable inscription. Nothing more was, however, to be
discovered, and we took our leave of it with an interest at which
we could not help smiling, when we looked at the ragged piece of
timber which had excited it. On the evening of this day we pitched
the tents at Jereed, a name bestowed by the Arabs upon some low and
barren hills of sand-stone, for everything with them has a name:
off this place lie some dangerous shoals, which broke, although
the sea was tolerably quiet[10]. As the wind was blowing on shore,
and the shoals beginning to shew themselves distinctly, we were
desirous of remaining a day at Jereed, in order to mark their
direction more minutely in the chart, particularly as it appeared,
from the erection of the post above mentioned, that Captain Smyth
had left the coast; but we found upon inquiry, that our horses
would in this event be four days without drinking, and we were
consequently obliged to proceed. We continued our route along the
base of a low ridge of hills, at the back of which we observed a
continuation of the great marsh, which was here very considerably
narrowed; and arrived in the evening at Mahad Hassan, a little oasis
which rises from the bed of the marsh, and consists of a few hills
partially covered with pasturage. In the valleys between these we
observed some wild olive-trees, and many remains of buildings were
scattered over the ground in all directions[11]. Mahad Hassan is
the first place after the long tract of marshy land which has any
appearance of an ancient site. Its remains consist of a number of
small quadrangular buildings, similar to the fortresses observable
at the different stations all the way from this point to Derna. They
are in a very dilapidated state, and it is difficult to say for
what purpose they were intended. They seem to be too numerous
and too close together to have been forts, though their form very
closely resembles them; and they are by no means well calculated
for dwelling-houses, unless we suppose it to have been necessary
that every family should have its castle, unconnected with that of
its neighbour, in which it was regularly intrenched. These little
structures occupy the plains as well as the rising ground, and
are in general from fifty to seventy and a hundred feet square;
their height cannot now be ascertained, even from a computation
of the quantity of rubbish with which each is surrounded, for the
Arabs remove the stones to different places in the neighbourhood
to build the rude tombs of their Marábūts and relations; many
of which are raised on the site of the buildings themselves, and
might sometimes be confounded with the original plan. Shrubs and
bushes have overgrown the greater part of these ruins, and rooted
themselves firmly in the masses of fallen stones, frequently at the
height of twelve and fifteen feet from the ground. None of them are
at present more than rude heaps of shattered stones, and the eye
in passing over the spot would scarcely detect any regular plan,
which is only indeed observable on attentive examination. Among
the buildings may be seen a few wells, in one of which we had been
told we should probably find a little sweet water, a luxury we had
not enjoyed since we left Arár, as the water in the marshy ground
is both salt and stinking. We were rather disappointed, however,
on reaching it, to find that we had been anticipated by our Arab
escort, who had rode on before on pretence of reconnoitring the
country, and of endeavouring to procure some provision. It was
evident at the same time, by the print of their horses’ hoofs,
that they had not been contented with allaying their own thirst, but
had satisfied also that of their horses, till the last drop of water
was expended. At Mahad Hassan we found an Arab tent, and managed to
procure a little milk from an old woman who dwelt in it with her
two sons. These people were the only living things we had seen,
jackalls, gazelles, and water-fowl excepted, since we quitted the
little encampment at Sooleb. Sixteen miles south of Mahad Hassan,
the marsh finishes at Giraff; we arrived there on the night of
the 11th, and pitched the tents upon some sand-hills bordering a
plain thickly covered with low brushwood, which extended as far
as the eye could reach, and from its green appearance seemed to
promise some signs of habitation. Our journey across the marsh had
been monotonous and uninteresting in the extreme; no objects had
appeared to enliven the scene, and no sounds were heard but the
voices of our own camel-drivers, and the tiresome unvaried songs
of our Arab escort, which usually consisted of no more than three
or four words, repeated eternally without any change of tone, and
apparently without the consciousness of the performers themselves.
The only sounds which broke in upon the stillness of the night were
the prayers of our friend the Dúbbah as he chanted them at intervals
in a low and drousy tone, and the howlings of his namesakes[12],
who prowled about the tents, occasionally mingled with the shriller
cries of the jackalls.
We had passed a tolerably comfortable night at Giraff, and were
preparing to proceed early on our journey the following morning,
when, to our no small surprise, we found that the camel-drivers
refused to load their camels, and, on inquiring the cause of this
strange behaviour, we were told they would not proceed any farther,
unless we paid them their wages each day in advance. As this had
not been our agreement with the Shekh of Mesurata, who had hired
them for us at that place, we refused to comply with this ill-timed
demand, for which there appeared to be no reason whatever. We well
knew the impolicy of paying Arabs in advance, which is in fact
giving up the best hold which can be acquired upon their conduct;
and had the demand been even made with a much better grace, we
should not certainly have complied with it. In the present case we
refused it most decidedly, and told the mutineers that we should
abide by our agreement and expected that they would keep theirs:
we added that we were determined at all events to proceed, and that
if they persisted in refusing to load the camels we should do so
without farther ceremony ourselves. They made no reply, but instead
of doing their duty, they all walked away together to a little
eminence a few yards distant, where they were presently joined by
all our Arab escort, with the exception of the Dúbbah; and began to
prime their guns very ceremoniously, charging such of them with ball
as did not happen to be already loaded. We took no other notice of
this Arab manœuvre than by having our own fire-arms in readiness,
and proceeded immediately to load the camels ourselves, in which we
were assisted by the Bashaw’s Chaous, the Dúbbah all the while
recommending us to comply with the demands of the malcontents. This
we told him, however, we were determined not to do; and reproached
him at the same time with the unfriendly part which he was himself
taking on the occasion. It here became evident how little dependence
was to be placed upon Shekh Mahommed el Dúbbah and his company,
and we were glad to have discovered this circumstance so early,
as it might prevent us from relying upon their co-operation,
in cases of greater importance. We did not much expect that the
Arabs would proceed to extremities, but our party, at all events,
was quite as strong as theirs, and we were determined to carry
our point. When the Camels were loaded, and we were about to drive
them off, the warmth of our opponents had abated; for an Arab very
easily makes up his mind to submission when he finds that the chances
are not greatly in his favour; and they followed our party without
offering further resistance, resuming by degrees their customary
occupations. A little beyond Giraff is a small ravine or wady, called
Ghebaiba, the banks of which present the only cultivation which is
to be found in this neighbourhood; and near it, on a little rising
ground, are the remains of some building, too much in ruin to admit
of any satisfactory description, and which bears the same name as
the wady. As we passed over the plain which occurs after Giraff,
the country began to assume a more pleasing aspect. Instead of
the dreary, level surface of the marsh over which we had lately
travelled, we now passed over a succession of undulating ground,
covered with pasturage, among which appeared flocks of sheep and
goats, and here and there an Arab tent. But the most welcome objects
which this change of soil afforded were the wells of sweet water
which presented themselves at Zaffran, near one of which we encamped
for the night; and after a few copious draughts, we soon forgot the
nauseous flavour of that which we had lately been drinking, which
nothing but necessity could have induced any one to swallow. We drew
plentifully from the wells, which were very deep, and allowed our
horses and camels to drink freely; a luxury which the poor animals
had not enjoyed since leaving Mesurata, as their allowance even of
the bad water had been necessarily limited, and for the last four
days they had been without any. This privation, though not unusual
in the Syrtis, was nevertheless severely felt by both horses and
camels; and their breath during these intervals, particularly that
of the camel, became extremely heated and offensive[13].
It is in this neighbourhood that we must look for the Aspis of
Strabo, which is mentioned by that geographer as occurring _after_
the lake, and for a port which he describes as the best in the
Syrtis. “After the lake (are his words) is a place (called) Aspis,
and a port (which is) the best of those in the Syrtis[14].” The
first remains of building which occur after Sooleb (where the great
body of the lake has already been said to finish) are those at Mahád
Hassan, which is evidently an ancient site. To these remains succeed
those of Zaffran, which are more important, and are placed in a
much more desirable situation. They occur immediately after Giraff
where the marsh finishes altogether, and are situated in a country
abounding with pasturage, and furnished with a plentiful supply of
sweet water. Zaffrán has been evidently a military station; and it
is there that we began to perceive more clearly the nature of those
numerous quadrangular buildings which are scattered in all directions
over the Syrtis, in passing from Sooleb to Bengazi. These structures
may be said to commence at Mahad Hassan; but they assume at Zaffran
the appearance of regular forts, and may there be considered as
the commencement of a chain of fortified posts extending itself
through the whole of the Syrtis[15]. They usually occupy the
higher grounds, although some of them are situated in the plains,
and are generally so placed as to have been originally seen from
each other. Indeed no opportunity appears to have been neglected
by the ancients of securing the advantages of pasturage and water
which occur in the regions of the Syrtis; wherever these exist we
find fortresses erected, or regular stations established, which
would materially contribute to facilitate the march of troops and
to prevent at the same time the predatory incursions of the Arabs
and the establishment of their tribes in these desirable positions.
If it be considered necessary to fix the sight of the τοπος
Ασπις at the _first_ place where remains of ancient building are
found, after the lake which is laid down by Strabo, we must place it
at Mahad Hassan; but if it must be identified with the port mentioned
with it, which does not seem, indeed, to be necessary, we are then
obliged to fix it at the first place where a port is to be met with,
after the termination of the marsh, and this will bring us to Mersa
Zaffran[16]. The little port of this name is the first which occurs
in passing eastward from the Cephalas Promontorium, and the remains
of building which are found there, on the beach, will authorize
the conclusion that it has been used as such by the ancients[17].
Its present appearance will however by no means entitle it to the
distinction of καλλιστος, (bestowed by Strabo upon Aspis,
or the port which succeeds it); for the Gulf of Syrtis, though ill
supplied with conveniences of this nature, has certainly ports of
more consideration than Mersa Zaffran.
We must at the same time recollect that the space required for the
vessels of the ancients was much less than would be necessary for
those of the present day, and the depth of water required for them
comparatively inconsiderable. The port at Zaffran is also much less
than formerly, and, like that at Lebida, nearly filled up with sand;
so that although it cannot now be considered as a good one (nor,
indeed, in the present acceptation of the term, as any port at all)
it may certainly have afforded very good shelter and accommodation
for vessels such as those of the ancients[18]. The remains on the
beach are constructed with larger stones than are usually employed in
the Syrtis, and, from what we could perceive of them, for the tops
only appear above the sand, have been built with more than common
attention to workmanship and regularity. Traces of building may
also be observed for nearly a mile from the Mersa to the eastward,
and the whole place is strewed with fragments of pottery. Several
stone troughs are lying on the beach, some of them in an unfinished
state; they do not appear to have been intended for sarcophagi,
as their lengths vary from five to eight feet; while their breadth
remains nearly the same, or from fifteen to eighteen inches. Had
our time and means allowed it we should have remained a few days to
excavate at Mersa Zaffran, and we had marked it as one of the places
to be examined on our return: there is little to remove but sand,
and it is by no means improbable that the results of excavation at
this place would be interesting. As Mersa Zaffran appears to have
been used as a port by the ancients, and is the first which occurs
after the marsh, we may fairly consider it as that mentioned by
Strabo with Aspis; and the remains at Zaffran are probably those of
Aspis itself, which we may conclude to have been a military post
from the nature of the buildings which are found there; although
the word τοπος applied to it by Strabo, does not necessarily
imply any idea of fortification. No place worth selecting for any
advantages which it might afford could, however, have been secure
without some fortification; and accordingly we find every desirable
position in the Syrtis provided with forts for its defence, which
ensured, at once, the possession of the local advantages and a
communication with the adjacent inhabited places.
It is difficult to fix any precise date to these buildings, but
we may perhaps conclude, with some appearance of reason, that
the greater number of them were erected by the Romans under the
emperors, who possessed, at various times, the whole of the north
coast of Africa, and kept open an extensive communication along
the shores of the Mediterranean, as well as with some parts of the
interior[19]. The quadrangular form of these structures is the same
as that used by the Romans in their stations and encampments; and
the small number of troops which was allotted by the empire for the
defence of Africa, made it peculiarly necessary that their garrisons
should be well intrenched[20]. It has been calculated that a square
of seven hundred yards was sufficient, according to the Roman method
of encampment, for containing a body of twenty thousand men; and
a square of one hundred feet would, at that rate, suffice for the
accommodation of nine hundred and fifty. The habitable parts of the
forts above mentioned very rarely exceeded a square of that size,
and this portion of the structure, in by far the greater number of
them, seldom amounted to sixty feet. As the nature of the country
rendered it necessary to lay up stores of provision, a part of
each fortress must have been set aside for that purpose, and it
is probable that the greater number of the forts did not contain
more than from fifty to two hundred men. The most perfect of those
now remaining may perhaps have been constructed in the time of the
emperor Justinian, when the victories of Belisarius and Solomon had
restored the Roman authority in Africa: for it would then have been
advisable to secure, by means of forts, the advantages which arms
had obtained. The privations which were experienced by the army of
Marcus Cato, in its march across the regions of the Syrtis, make it
appear extremely probable that no stations or resting-places, had
at that time been erected within their limits; and we may perhaps
also infer that the fortresses of Euphrantas and Automala were not
then available as places of accommodation. Should this have been
the case, some of the forts and stations now existing, in various
parts of the country in question, may be reasonably attributed to
the well-founded policy of the emperors Augustus and Hadrian.
A regular and uninterrupted communication was, under these
princes, beginning to be firmly established with all parts of the
Roman empire; and the intercourse which then existed between the
eastern and western parts of Northern Africa was much greater than
that which had obtained under the governments of the Greeks and
Carthaginians. The numerous native tribes who inhabited the coast
were perpetually at variance with their foreign invaders, and ever
ready to avail themselves of the slightest opportunity of harassing
their oppressors, or of recovering their ancient inheritance. It
must also be observed, that, however worthless and insignificant
the regions of the Syrtis might possibly appear, to the inhabitants
of more favoured countries, there are parts of them which must
always have been eagerly coveted by the wanderers of the desert
which bounds them to the southward; since the advantages which
they are occasionally found to afford, though consisting merely in
a little fresh water, and a few spots of scanty vegetation, would
naturally be objects of great attraction to those who had seldom
the opportunity of finding either. From the sudden, but unskilful,
attacks of these people, the forts and stations of the Syrtis would
have been sufficient defence; and they would also have been more
convenient for the troops than the usual Roman encampment, greatly
contributing at the same time, to facilitate the communication of
one part of the country with another, by ensuring a good supply of
water, and serving as depôts for stores and provisions. We must
not, however, venture decidedly to assert, that the Syrtis was
unprovided with buildings of this nature before the occupation
of the country by the Romans; for, without mentioning those of
Euphrantas and Automala, we find that castles were in use among
the natives of Northern Africa before that period; and if they are
known to have been previously erected in other parts of the coast,
they might equally have existed in the Syrtis[21].
Many buildings of this nature appear to have remained in a tenable
state long after the conquest of Africa by the Mahometans; for they
are frequently mentioned by Arab writers as having been occupied by
the natives; and wells still continued to be found within the works,
which could not be approached without the consent of the garrison.
An instance in point may here be given from Leo Africanus, who
tells us that three castles were accidentally discovered, far in
the desert of Libya, about eighteen years before the time when he
related the following story:—“The guide of a caravan (whose
name was Hámar) had missed the usual track, in consequence of a
complaint in his eyes; and there being no other person in the whole
caravan who knew the road they ought to take but himself, he went on,
upon his camel, in advance of the party, and at every mile they made
he caused a handful of sand to be presented to him, which he smelt,
and then continued his journey. In this manner the caravan continued
to advance till they came within forty miles of the castles above
mentioned, near which there were five or six little hamlets, and
a profusion of excellent dates. The guide then addressed himself
to those who were about him, and assured them that they were in
the neighbourhood of some inhabited place, but few of the party
believed what he said, for as they were at least four hundred and
eighty miles from Egypt, it was imagined, if indeed the assertion
should be true, that they must have moved back upon Augela.”
“On the third day, however, after this notice, they came in sight
of the three castles above mentioned; and the people of the place,
surprised and alarmed at the appearance of so many strangers,
retreated to the castles, where they shut themselves up, and refused
to supply the caravan with water, of which they were greatly in
need. As the wells were within the fortifications, there was nothing
left for the caravan, under these adverse circumstances, but to carry
the forts, and to supply themselves by force, or to continue their
journey across the desert, at the risk, perhaps the certainty, of
perishing with thirst. They soon determined to make an attack upon
the castles, which, after a slight engagement, they succeeded in
carrying; and having obtained from the wells as much water as was
necessary, they proceeded on their route across the desert[22].”
In many of the forts which we visited in the Syrtis, one or two,
and sometimes more, wells were still visible within the works
(although, for the most part, they were filled up with mud and sand,
or with the rubbish of the fallen materials of the buildings);
and it is probable that all of them were originally provided with
a convenience so essential to the garrison. In some cases we found
wells decidedly without the works, in places which appeared to be
wholly undefended; except we may suppose them to have been within
range of the archers and slingers from the walls, which did not
always appear to have been the case.
In such instances, however, we must not conclude that there were
originally no wells within the forts, because none are found there
at present; for a single century of neglect would in many cases be
sufficient to account for the disappearance of a well altogether.
We may observe with regard to the structure of these forts,
that some of them have the habitable part of the building (which
is always of a quadrangular form, and placed in the centre)
surrounded by a double wall of very solid work; leaving a space
between the walls, of ten, twenty, and thirty feet, sometimes of
more, in which wells are occasionally found, and which may have
served for the accommodation of the horses, sheep, or cattle of the
garrison. Others have been built in one solid mass, with sloping
sides, resembling the base of a pyramid, having only a square
space left in the centre for the accommodation of the troops and
the stowage of stores and provision. On these there is always a
platform, and sometimes two, the sides of which form a glacis at
a slope of from thirty to forty-five degrees, some of them being
steeper than others: it seems probable that a parapet originally
existed on the platforms of some of the forts, behind which the
troops might more securely encounter their enemies; but on most
of them there are now no traces of any defence of this nature,
and the platform is left exposed. The lower platform is usually
raised about ten and fifteen feet from the ground, and the upper
one about eight or twelve feet above that. Trenches are rarely seen
round the last mentioned buildings, but those enclosed within walls
usually possessed that additional defence. Both are constructed
with stone found in the neighbourhood, generally without any
cement, particularly the sloping ones, although a very good cement
may sometimes be observed in them: the most considerable forts
are built with large and regularly-shaped stones, while the more
unimportant are composed of stones of unequal forms and sizes, care
being always taken, however, to leave a smooth surface on the slope
of the glacis, in order to make the ascent more difficult. If we
suppose that the greater number of these fortresses were built as
defences against the attacks of the predatory natives, and not to
resist the regular siege of a disciplined army, it may certainly be
allowed that they were well calculated to afford security to their
garrisons on such occasions; but their resources must soon have
been exhausted by a continued blockade, the space enclosed being
inadequate to contain many stores or much provision. As, however,
there could scarcely have been any accommodation for horses or cattle
in the pyramidal-shaped forts, which are by far the most numerous,
more provision might certainly have been stowed in them than would
at first sight be imagined. From the extreme height of the habitable
part of these buildings in proportion to its breadth, we may conclude
that it possessed an upper story, or, it may be, two; for otherwise
a great portion of space would be thrown away: this fact, however,
from their ruined state, could not be properly ascertained.
The roofs were most probably arched, for no wood is to be found in
the Syrtis, and large blocks of stone could not always be procured,
and would at any rate have been less convenient to employ than
the small ones, which might be used in the arches[23]. From the
circumstance of finding no aperture in the sides of the buildings,
we may conclude that the light was admitted from above; and it
is by no means improbable that a space was left uncovered in the
centre for that purpose, this mode of building being common in
hot climates, and it would at all times have been easy to guard
against the inconvenience of rain, as the surface exposed would
have been inconsiderable.
No appearance of doors, or of apertures of any kind, is observable
in the sides of these structures; and they must either have been
entered from the top, or by some subterranean communication. There
are instances still remaining, in the eastern parts of the Syrtis,
of fortresses more difficult of access than these, where they who
entered have evidently been drawn up with ropes by the persons
already stationed above; and we may conclude, as no traces of any
subterranean entrance were discernible in the forts, which we have
just described, that they were entered in a similar manner. In the
walled forts we found entrances to the _outer_ works by means of
gates, but could in no instance discover any door in the habitable
part.
We often wished for an opportunity of excavating some of these
buildings, that we might be enabled to give their plans more
correctly; but, as it was important to secure the coast-line before
the rainy season set in, we did not think ourselves justified in
delaying the advance of the party any longer than was necessary
for the attainment of that object.
As a general remark, we may here observe, that, in passing from
west to east of the Greater Syrtis, the fortresses were found to be
more perfect as we advanced towards the Cyrenaica; their interest
may be said to begin at Zaffran, to increase at Medīnét Sultàn,
and to continue, from thence, in almost a regular progression,
to become stronger at every step that is made towards Bengazi.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 1: Εισπλεοντι δη την μεγαλην Συρτιν, ενδεξια μετα
τας Κεφαλας, εστι λιμνη τριακοσίων που σταδιων το μηκος,
εβδομηκοντα δε το πλατος, εκδιδουσα εις τον κολπον, εχουσα
και νησια και υφορμον προ του στοματος.—Lib. 17, § 20.]
[Footnote 2: The measurements are taken roughly, on account of the
ruined state of the structure.]
[Footnote 3: No part of this land can properly be called high—but
only by comparison with the lower level of the marsh.]
[Footnote 4: It was not, however, necessary, in places of this kind,
that the vessels should be drawn upon shore; for υφορμος is the term
here employed by Strabo, and the ορμοι, or υφορμοι, were somewhat
similar to our own docks, and consisted of walls parallel with each
other, between which vessels would be perfectly secure from wind and
waves, as well as from the effects of strong current.]
[Footnote 5: Μετα δε την Συρτιν (the Lesser Syrtis is here meant,)
Ζουχις εστι λιμνη σταδιων τετρακοσιων, στενον εχουσα εισπλουν,
και παρ᾽ αυτην πολις ομωνυμος πορφυροβαφεια εχουσα και ταριχειας
παντοδαπας·—(Lib. 17, § 18.)
D’Anville’s words are these—“Strabon parle d’un grand lac debouchant
dans la Syrte, et ce lac forme une _saline_ dont l’entrée est nommée
la _Succa_.”—(Géog. Ancienne, tom. 3, p. 70.)
The circumstance of there being saltworks in the Mesurata lake,
as well as in that of the Lesser Syrtis, will tend to strengthen
the idea of their having been confounded.]
[Footnote 6: We even fear that to make the reasoning of Signor Della
Cella at all consistent with itself, we must be obliged to suppose
that he has again stated exactly the contrary of what he appears to
have intended. His words are, “Quanto alla stazione che rimaneva
probabilmente alla sua imboccatura (meaning the mouth of the lake,
or marsh in question). Non può realmente dirsi che fosse _porto_,
servendosi Strabone della voce υφορμον per _porto_ e non di λιμνη (λιμην
is intended) la qual voce malamente trovasi tradutta da Buonacciuoli
per _molo_. Cosi passo e passo a conto di Strabone si è fatto un porto
e non è tosto mancato che le ha guarnito di molo.” (p. 75-6.) As
υφορμον, and not λιμην, is the word used by Strabo in the passage in
question, the deduction of Signor Della Cella may scarcely be made
without reversing the words as we have stated.
Strabo distinguishes between λιμην and υφορμος in the following
passage—speaking of the coast of the Cyrenaica from Apollonia
to the Catabathmos—ου πανυ ευπαραπλους και γαρ λιμενες ολιγοι και
υφορμοι και κατοικιαι και υδρειαι.—(Lib. 17, § 22.)]
[Footnote 7: Arar occurs before Melfa; but, though a good deal above
the level of the marsh, it cannot well be considered as an island,
but is rather a continuation of the little range of high land which
we have mentioned as running along the coast in the neighbourhood
of the causeway. It consists wholly of heaps of sand, overspread
occasionally with vegetation, and is remarkable as possessing a
tall and solitary date-tree, the only one to be met with on the
coast of the Syrtis, in a tract of more than four hundred miles.]
[Footnote 8: The noxious qualities of the night air in these swampy
regions were occasionally severely felt by our party; one of our
servants was seized with a fever while at Sooleb, and we were
apprehensive that he would not be able to proceed for some days;
but after being bled rather copiously he found himself better,
and was the next day in condition to travel with the camels. The
atmosphere after sunset was always very chilly in the Syrtis, and
there was usually a heavy deposit of dew; a very offensive smell
was also experienced in many parts of the marsh.]
[Footnote 9: Gusser is a term indiscriminately applied by the Arabs
to ruins of every description.]
[Footnote 10: Monsieur Lautier has some remarks upon this part of
the gulf, which do not appear to be very intelligible.—See the
account of his voyage in Della Cella, p. 216. These observations
are alluded to in the hydrographic remarks attached to the journal.]
[Footnote 11: Edrisi has mentioned a tower called Hassān, which
he places at four days’ journey from the western point of the
Syrtis—and Mahād Hassān is four days’ journey from Mesurata,
at the rate of between thirteen and fourteen geographical miles
per day.]
[Footnote 12: We have already stated that Shekh Mahommed was called
el Dúbbah, or the Hyæna.]
[Footnote 13: The camel has been known to go as much as ten days
without water, but they suffer very much from an abstinence of
three and four days.]
[Footnote 14: Μετα δε την λιμνην τοπος εστιν Ασπις, και λιμην
καλλιστος των εν τῆ Συρτει.—Lib. 17, p. 836.]
[Footnote 15: Buildings of the same nature are also found in the
Cyrenaica.]
[Footnote 16: Aspis is laid down in Ptolemy on the western side of
the gulf, at about sixty miles within the promontory of Triæorium;
but this distance would only bring us within nine miles of Jaireed,
and we have already stated that Mahād Hassān is the first place
in the Syrtis (travelling eastward) which can be considered as an
ancient site. Strabo’s lake finishes at Sooleb, but there are no
remains of building in the neighbourhood of that place, nor between
it and Mahād Hassān.]
[Footnote 17: The naval station above mentioned, at the junction of
Strabo’s lake with the sea, is not styled λιμην, but υφορμος; and we may
conclude from this circumstance that it was formed by art, and not by
any of those peculiarities of coast which usually constitute a fort.]
[Footnote 18: It is formed by a rocky projection, which appeared
to have been partly natural and partly artificial; and though its
inconsiderable size would not allow vessels in it to ride clear of
the surf in a gale of wind, yet in moderate weather there would
be quite sufficient shelter for them to load and unload; and in
the event of a gale they might easily have been hauled up on the
beach.—See the plan of Mersa Zaffrān annexed.]
[Footnote 19: The tower of Euphrantas is however stated to have been
a boundary fort under the Ptolemies; and the fortress of Automala,
at the bottom of the gulf, is mentioned by Diodorus to have been
in existence before the occupation of Cyrene by the first of those
princes.—See Strabo, lib. 17, and Diod., lib. 20.]
[Footnote 20: “With regard to Egypt, Africa, and Spain, (says
Gibbon, in describing the distribution of the Roman forces,) as they
were far removed from any important scene of war, a single legion
maintained the domestic tranquillity of these great provinces.”
“We may compute (says the same writer) that the legion, which was
itself a body of six thousand eight hundred and thirty-one Romans,
might, with its attendant auxiliaries, amount to about twelve
thousand five hundred men.”]
[Footnote 21: Λιβυων δε τοις ες πυργους και φρουρια (ἁ πολλα ην εν τῆ
χωρα) καταφευγουσιν.—Appian Hist. de rebus Punicis, lib. viii. p. 101.
Diodorus also speaks of their castles near the watering-places.—Lib.
iii. p. 128.
Τοις δε δυνασταις αυτων πολεις μεν το συνολον ουχ υπαρχουσι, πυργοι δε
πλησιον των υδατων, εις ους αποτιθενται τα πλεοναζοντα της ωφηλειας.]
[Footnote 22: Leo Africanus in Ramusio, quinta parte.]
[Footnote 23: Arched roofs are also common in the forts of the
Cyrenaica; but the sides both of the upper and lower stories, which
fronted the centre, were probably left open, after the manner
of galleries.]
CHAPTER VII.
Remarks on the City of Sort, or Sert, of Edrisi and other Arab
Geographers — Description of it by Leo Africanus — Position of
Sert, on the Authority of Abulfeda — Zaffrān considered as Asna
— Remarks of Major Rennell on these Places — Remains at Medīnét
Sultàn considered as those of Sort — Columns and other Remains
described by Signor Della Cella, in the Neighbourhood of Zaffrān
— Train of Argument adopted by the Doctor on this Occasion —
Remarks of the same Writer on the Tower of Euphrantas, and the Town
of Charax, as laid down by Strabo — Nature of the Inscriptions
on the Columns alluded to by Signor Della Cella — Formidable
Appearance of the Coast at Zaffrān — General Appearance of the
Country in its Neighbourhood — Species of Crocus abounding there
— Obliging Treatment of our Party by the Arabs of Zaffrān —
Arrival at Medīnét Sultàn — Description of its Remains —
Further Remarks on the Tower of Euphrantas — Arrival at Nehīm
— Aukward Situation of Shekh Mahommed el Dúbbah — Visit of
the Dúbbah to our Tent — Object of it discovered — Departure
of Shekh Mahommed, well pleased with the result of his Visit.
It is in the neighbourhood of Zaffran (if the measurements of Edrisi
be correct) that we must look for the remains of the city of Sort or
Sert. They are placed by this geographer at two hundred and thirty
Arabic, or two hundred and forty-six geographic, miles from Tripoly:
at least such is the distance given in the gross; for the detail (as
Major Rennell has already observed) allows no more than two hundred
and ten Arabic miles, or two hundred and twenty-two geographic.
The first distance, of two hundred and forty-six geographic miles,
would carry us seven miles beyond Zaffran, and within three of
Jedeed, which is ten miles to the eastward of Zaffran.
The distance in detail, or two hundred and twenty-two geographical
miles, would bring us within two miles of Jiraff, and fourteen
beyond Mahad Hassan; while the number of days allotted by Edrisi,
for the journey in question from Tripoly to Sort, which is eleven,
would give a distance (on the computation of Major Rennell) of two
hundred geographic miles only; and this would bring us within six
miles of Mahad Hassan, that is, six miles to the westward of that
place. These measurements, considered with reference to the places
enumerated, would induce us to place the city of Sort either at
Mahad Hassan, or at Zaffran, or perhaps in the neighbourhood of
Jedeed; for it is at these places that the greatest assemblage of
ruins may be observed.
To the westward of Mahad Hassan is the marsh, and at Jiraff there
are nothing but sand-hills. Between Jedeed and Shuaisha[1] there
are a good many scattered ground-plans, apparently of slightly-built
dwelling-houses (which seem to be those pointed out by Signor Della
Cella as the remains of the Charax of Strabo,) and many insulated
forts, and other scattered remains of building, may be observed on
the road from Jedeed to Medīnét Sultàn.
It appears, on the authority of Leo Africanus, that there was nothing
more remaining, in his time, of the city of Sort (or, as he writes
it, Sert,) than a few inconsiderable vestiges of the walls[2]; and,
if this statement is to be taken literally, it will scarcely be
possible to fix the site of the town with any accuracy in a tract
of country where ruins abound.
We will content ourselves with repeating, that it may either be
placed (upon the authority of the measurements stated above) at
Mahad Hassan, at Zaffran, or in the neighbourhood of Jedeed; but
if we are to fix it on the authority of Abulfeda, we must remove
it further eastward, to the neighbourhood of Medīnét Sultàn,
which is the spot we should ourselves prefer for it.
Abulfeda, in mentioning the remains of the city of Sort, informs us
that on the _west_ of them is a Gulf called Rodaik, or Rodakiah,
(apparently the same) says Major Rennell (with the Zadic Sinus of
Edrisi) near which stands the town of Asna, one hundred and two
Arabic miles, or one hundred and eight geographic, to the south-east
of the Promontory of Kanem.
The Promontory of Kanem may be considered as the western
extremity of the Greater Syrtis (say the Cephalas Promontorium
in the neighbourhood of Mesurata); and a distance of one hundred
and eight geographical miles from Mesurata would bring us within
five miles of Zaffran, that is, five miles to the west of it; for
Zaffran is one hundred and thirteen miles from Mesurata. According
to this measurement, we should be induced to place Asna at Zaffran,
in the absence of any ruins, as we have stated above, between that
place and Mahad Hassan[3].
The town of Asna is laid down by Edrisi at forty-six Arabic miles
from the city of Sort; and this distance added to the hundred
and eight above stated would bring us to the neighbourhood of
Medinet Sultàn, which is one hundred and fifty-one geographic
miles from Mesurata. If we suppose, with Major Rennell, that
forty-six has here been substituted for twenty-six, the latter
measurement would bring us to Shuaisha, where there are certainly,
as we have already stated, some inconsiderable remains, but not
apparently those of a town. About two miles south-east of Medinet
Sultàn are decided remains, of an ancient town, called Medina[4],
(the city) which from the circumstance we are about to mention,
we should be inclined to suggest as the most eligible position
(at least in our opinion) for the city of Sort.
The distance of Asna from the western point of the Syrtis, as
given by Abulfeda, is found to correspond sufficiently well with
that of Zaffran from Mesurata. Sort is stated to be situated to
the eastward of Asna, at a distance of forty-six Roman miles from
that place, according to the testimony of Edrisi; and the distance
of Zaffran from Medina (forty-seven M. P.) corresponds very well
with this statement, the latter place being, at the same time,
to the eastward of the former.
We may add that the term Sort, or Sert, is not known at the present
day to the Arabs as applied to any city or town; but is merely used
to designate the tract of country which lies between Sooleb and
Barca. The ruins of Medina are situated within this territory;
and supposing them to be actually the remains of Sort, we may
imagine that when this city lost its former name, it continued to
be distinguished as _the_ city, (the Medina) of the district to
which its name of Sort had been transferred[5].
This arrangement will place the city of Sort at least forty miles
to the eastward of its position according to the measurements
above stated from Edrisi: but a short distance in reckoning is
always preferable to a long one, and we should on that account
prefer taking the distance of Sort from Asna to reckoning it from
Tripoly as above. For the same reason the measurement of Abulfeda,
from the Promontory of Kanem to Asna, is more likely to be correct
than that of Edrisi from Tripoly to the city of Sort.
The Gulf of Rodaik (or Rodakiah) might have served to elucidate this
question had there been anything like it remaining; but it will be
seen, on a reference to the chart, that there is no appearance on
this part of the coast which can at all be considered as a gulf;
and this will of course equally apply to the Sinus Zadic of Edrisi.
We will not at present pursue this subject further, but leaving
our readers to judge, from the data already given, how far we may
be authorized in placing the city of Sort in the position we have
ventured to suggest for it, we will proceed to notice some remains
which are found in the neighbourhood of Zaffran.
In traversing this part of the Syrtis, Signor Della Cella discovered
a square column of tolerable height and placed upon a pedestal. It
was composed, he says, of sandstone, but so corroded by time that
the characters which entirely covered its four sides had become
altogether unintelligible. An hour afterwards he arrived at a second,
and, after a similar interval, at a third of these erections, all
equally covered with writing and so much decayed that, what with
the little time which he had at his command, and the state of ruin
in which the pillars were found, he could not succeed in putting
together a single word of their inscriptions. “Opposite to the
first of these columns” (he adds) “on the part next the sea,
rise the remains of a tower surmounted with a cupola, and this spot
is called Elbenia[6].”
The Doctor confesses himself at a loss to decide for what purpose
these pillars could have been erected; but suggests that, supposing
Zaffran to be Aspis, the ancient tower with a cupola which is near it,
and, “as Strabo says, συνεχης to Aspis,” must inevitably be the πυργος,
or tower named Euphrantas of that geographer. From this conclusion he
is induced to suspect that, as the tower of Euphrantas was the boundary
of the Cyrenaic and Carthaginian territory under the Ptolemies, the
three pillars above mentioned were erected to mark the limits of those
countries, as well as to record other matters which (he says) were
usually engraved by the ancients on objects of this nature.
Finding his courage rise at this happy coincidence of ancient with
what he terms modern geography, Signor Della Cella now assumes a more
decided tone, and taking boldly for granted what he has just advanced
on supposition, proceeds to deduce from it an unqualified conclusion;
and this leads him into his favourite practice of scepticism, for
which his deeply-rooted antipathy to all commentators and editors
seems to have given him a most decided partiality.
“Encouraged by this coincidence,” (are the Doctor’s own words)
“in my opinion, so plausible, of ancient and modern geography,
I no longer hesitate to believe that the ancient ruins which we
met with on the road, after three hours’ journey from Elbenia,
point out the spot which is called, by Strabo, Charax.”
Without attempting to give the least description of these ruins,
or any explanation of the reasons why he thinks they are those of
Charax, the Doctor all at once proceeds to criticise the passage
in Strabo, and to offer a new reading for the approbation of
his friend, the professor, on the subject of the silphium and
the liquor which was extracted from it. We do not pretend to any
skill in logic, but the train of argument here adopted by Signor
Della Cella does certainly appear to us a little extraordinary:
it seems to run thus—“If Zaffran be Aspis, the tower with
a cupola must be the tower of Euphrantas; and, as the tower of
Euphrantas was a boundary under the Ptolemies, the three square
pillars with the illegible inscriptions are also boundaries; and
the ruins which are met with three hours afterwards are those of
Charax, which Strabo says was used by the Carthaginians for a fair,
at which the juice of the silphium was exchanged for wine; and,
as I read in this passage, juice of the silphium, instead of juice
and silphium; or, as Buonacciuoli very badly translates it, ‘il
belgioino e il silfio.’—You will agree with me (he concludes,
addressing the professor) in this little alteration in the text of
the Grecian geographer.”
He then leaves the subject, records another march through a very
hot day, and describes a visit with which he was honoured by
the Bey in his tent, and the excellent supper which he made off
an ostrich’s egg, which His Highness in his munificence had
presented him with. The supper and the chapter finish together,
and the Doctor goes to sleep, without further discussion, as soon
as the meal is over.
The position of Zaffran, with respect to the marsh, and to the port
which bears its name, will perhaps authorize us to consider it as
the Aspis of Strabo; and we have already stated the reasons why we
think it not improbable that it may be: but the necessity for placing
Charax and the tower of Euphrantas in the positions assigned to them
by Signor Della Cella, does not seem, in our opinion, to be quite
so great as the Doctor has imagined. For the tower surmounted with
a cupola, which he has supposed to be the same with the tower of
Euphrantas, has no pretensions whatever to half the antiquity which
it would be necessary in that case to assign to it: it is in fact
nothing more than a rudely-formed Arab building, and never could,
at any time, have aspired to the title of tower, had it even been
built under the dynasty of the Ptolemies. It appears to have been
a dwelling-house, somewhat resembling the tomb of a Marábūt;
but being situated on the top of a range of hills overlooking
the road, it appears more important from below than could well be
imagined by those who might only have examined it closely; and it
is probable that the view of it which Signor Della Cella obtained,
and which suggested to him the analogy between it and the tower of
Euphrantas, was from the road in the plain below. It is certainly
somewhat singular that, in a place where several ancient forts may
be observed, the Doctor should have pitched upon an Arab building
as the boundary of the Cyrenaic and Carthaginian territory; but
had he even been willing to adopt one of the forts as the tower, it
would have been difficult to select any one from the number which
had more claim than the rest to that distinction; and there does
not, in fact, appear to be any building at Zaffran sufficiently
conspicuous to be considered as the structure in question.
It seems to us that the tower of Euphrantas should be looked for in
some commanding situation, which either occasioned its being built,
or selected as a boundary for the kingdoms we have mentioned; and
there seems to be no more reason for placing it at Zaffran than
at Medīnet Sultàn, where there are also many forts; except that
the term συνεχης, (following upon, or succeeding to,) which
Strabo uses to point out its position, would induce us to place it
as soon after Aspis as circumstances would seem to allow. At all
events, we do not hesitate in rejecting the “torre sormontata da
una cupola” as the tower of Euphrantas; and we should much rather,
if it be necessary to place this structure at Zaffran, select for
its representative one of the fortresses already mentioned, than
any building like that which is suggested by Signor Della Cella,
were it even of ancient construction.
There is another building which stands in a conspicuous position
on the same range of hills where the Doctor’s tower is situated,
and to which it is difficult to assign any use, unless we suppose it
to have been a sepulchral or other monument, built as a conspicuous
object merely. It occupies a square of about twenty feet, and could
have been little more at any time than a mass of solid stone and
cement, the space which is left in the centre being not more than
four or five feet square, and without any apparent communication
with the exterior. The height of the whole building appears to
have been about thirty feet, but little more than the basement
upon which it has been raised now remains; and this estimation
is made from a computation of the quantity of fallen materials,
and from the probable proportion of the height with the breadth
given. The basement itself is six feet in height, and composed
of well-shaped stones, some of which are five feet long, and from
twelve to sixteen inches in height and thickness: above this no more
than three feet of the superstructure now remain in any part; but
the base of a pilaster, which still appears in one of the angles,
proves that the exterior at least has been constructed with some
attention to architectural ornament. The outer part only of this
structure is _built_, the whole of the interior, with the exception
of the space mentioned in the centre, having been filled up with
unshaped stones deeply bedded in cement, the proportion of which
is much greater than that of the rubble thrown into it.
Were it not that the base of the remaining pilaster appears to be
a Saracenic imitation of the Greek, we should be disposed to allow
a greater antiquity to the building in question than it seems to
us from this circumstance to possess: for the stones employed in
it are of good size, very regularly placed, and well finished,
and the cement which has been used is excellent. Attached to this
tower, for such it may be called, although it never could have been
employed for military purposes, are the remains of a subterranean
storehouse for grain, the roof of which is raised about a foot from
the ground above it and composed of cement: between this and the
tower there is a sort of well, which appears to be the entrance to
the storehouse, but which was too much encumbered with rubbish to
allow of our descending into it. Some traces of walls attached to
the roof of the storehouse may be seen in the ground-plan annexed,
but we could not determine whether either these, or the souterrain
itself, were originally attached to the building.
No architectural remains could be perceived among the fallen ruins
of the tower by which we might have been enabled to fix the time
of its erection with more precision; and the base of the pilaster
which we have mentioned at the angle of the building, is the only
evidence of this nature which we could obtain.
To us this structure appears to be Saracenic; but if others should
be disposed to think differently, and to adopt it as the tower of
Euphrantas, the circumstance of its having (at least in our opinion)
been built as an object merely without any other apparent use,
might perhaps be considered by some persons, to favour the idea;
and we are a little surprised that Signor Della Cella did not adopt
it in preference to the building which he has pointed out.
With regard to the columns with the illegible inscriptions, which
the Doctor supposes to have been boundaries; we know of no other
objects which will at all answer to his description but those at
Hámed Garoosh; and our guides, as well as the Arabs of the place,
were obstinate in persisting that there were no others of any kind.
The columns at this place are “tolerably high,” and they are
also quadrangular, and have the advantage of a pedestal, as the
Doctor has remarked of his boundary stones. But then they are
not of sandstone, nor of any stone at all, that is, not of any
blocks of stone, but merely of small irregular fragments of stone,
put together with cement, with which they are cased, and which
gives them the appearance at a little distance of being formed of a
single piece. Then, instead of one, there are two upon one pedestal,
and unless we suppose that the Doctor saw them in one direction
only, when the two were in one, it is not easy to account for this
difference between his description and the reality. The characters
which are upon them do certainly coincide with those mentioned by
Signor Della Cella, so far as the circumstance of their being wholly
illegible is concerned; for they consist altogether of unmeaning
scrawls, and of some of those marks which are used by the Arabs
to distinguish their particular tribes[7], and have been scratched
for the amusement of those who may from time to time have stopped
to rest themselves in the shade which the pillars afforded.
It will be seen by the drawing of them, that these pillars are of
different sizes, although they may, perhaps, have been once of equal
height; and we will not venture to hazard any conjecture with regard
to the purpose for which they may have been erected: they cannot be
seen from the sea-shore, or the lower road, although they are but
a short distance from both; for notwithstanding they are placed
on a ridge of hills, they are so situated in the hollow in which
they stand, as to be indistinguishable from below. In rejecting,
however, the “torre sormontata da una cupola” as the boundary
established in the time of the Ptolemies, we may, perhaps, at the
same time, dispense with the columns which Signor Della Cella has
imagined to regulate the division; and it will not in that case be
of any great importance whether the square pillars at Hamed Garoosh
be or be not the same as those which the Doctor has mentioned. For
our own part we see no building whatever in this neighbourhood,
which answers to our idea of the tower of Euphrantas, either with
regard to its nature or position; and as we find other buildings
to the eastward of Zaffran which seem to us better calculated for
boundary towers, we are content to take a more extended sense of
the term employed by Strabo (συνεχης) than Signor Della Cella
thinks it prudent to adopt.
We cannot take our leave of Zaffran without noticing the very
singular and formidable appearance of the beach at this place and its
neighbourhood; and had we not ourselves beheld the extraordinary
scene which it presented, we should scarcely have believed it
possible that the force of the sea could, under any circumstances,
have raised the large blocks of stone which are piled up on this
part of the coast[8]. The occasional regularity in which these are
heaped one above another, induced us, on the first view of them, to
imagine that they had been intentionally placed there for the purpose
of a breakwater; but the long extent of the ranges soon proved the
improbability of this supposition and the idea was dismissed as
heartily as it had been entertained. Heaps of sand and sea-weed are
thrown up with these blocks of stone, and the roar and confusion
which a moderate gale of wind here occasions, are such as in other
places will seldom be found to accompany the most violent weather[9].
The general appearance of Zaffran is however by no means unpleasing,
although it is destitute, like the rest of the Syrtis, of the
advantages afforded by trees. The monotony of the flat and marshy
surface, so predominant in other parts, is here broken by hills which
are covered with verdure and overspread with a variety of flowers;
some of the valleys are partially cultivated, and the flocks
of sheep and goats which are scattered over the higher grounds,
together with the tents of the Arabs who inhabit the place, give an
appearance of cheerfulness and comfort to the scene which contrast
renders doubly agreeable.
The water which is found here, and which is excellent and plentiful,
contributes at the same time in no small degree to increase the
attractions of the place; and though the claims of Zaffran might be
humble, were it placed in a more favoured country, we may venture
to affirm that no traveller who reaches it will ever be disposed
to analyze too minutely its pretensions to actual beauty.
Zaffran is a place of some note in the district of Syrt; it affords
excellent pasturage, and furnishes large supplies of corn, wool,
and manteca. The name which it bears would lead us to imagine
that this place has been originally famous for its saffron;
Zaffran is the Arab term by which that plant is distinguished,
and we know that the northern coast of Africa has been noted for
the excellence of the saffron which it produced[10]. We could not,
however, perceive any traces of the plant properly so called; but
the whole neighbourhood of Zaffran is overspread with a species of
crocus from which saffron might very possibly be extracted.
The best saffron of our own times is that which is made from the
crocus, by selecting the pistils and carefully drying them in a
kiln; and the colour of the plant which we saw was well calculated
to suggest the idea that it might be usefully employed in a similar
way: it is a bulb, with a flower somewhat larger than the crocus,
and grows to a height of four or five inches. We had collected a
few specimens, but the nature of our journey did not allow of our
stopping to have them properly dried, and we afterwards found, on
unpacking them at Bengazi, that the damp had destroyed them, together
with some others which we had collected in passing through the Syrtis.
The inhabitants of Zaffran are Bedouins, as are also all those of
the other parts of the Syrtis; for there is not a single inhabited
town or village to be found between Mesurata and Bengazi. We found
them hospitable and obliging, and never entered one of their tents
without receiving a cordial reception: their simple fare of milk and
dates was always freely offered, and our horses were regaled with
a feed of corn which they usually found very acceptable. Fresh milk
was not always to be had, but they were never without a good supply
of léban (sour milk, or more properly butter-milk), and we were
seldom unwilling to alight from our saddles to take a draught of
this patriarchal beverage, which a long day’s hard riding through
a country without roads, and under the influence of an African sun,
made infinitely more palatable than will easily be imagined by
those who can spare it for their pigs.
We were often much amused on these occasions with the surprise which
our appearance created, and at the contest between ill-repressed
curiosity and the respect which our Arab friends were desirous of
shewing to their guests.
This struggle usually lasted till we had finished our repast, and our
hosts would then begin to draw a little nearer to the mats which they
had spread upon the ground for our seats; the women to examine our
dress more minutely, and the men to handle our sabres and fire-arms.
The white linen of which our turbans and under garments were
composed excited the greatest admiration in the former, while our
double-barrelled guns, and pocket-pistols with stop-locks, were the
objects of attraction to the latter. In a very short time the reserve
of both sexes would begin to wear away very rapidly, and the whole
family of our host would crowd round us indiscriminately each trying
to be heard above the other: one question after another poured in
upon us from all sides, and either nobody waited for an answer,
or the answer was given by half a dozen of the family at once,
each expressing a different opinion from that of his neighbour. At
length, when no satisfactory conclusion could be formed upon the
subject of their inquiry, they would wait to have the question
formally answered by ourselves; and the real use of every object
which excited their curiosity was generally so different from all
those which they had assigned to it, that the whole party, then
waiting in silent expectation for the result, would burst out all
at once into the loudest exclamations of surprise, and sometimes
into fits of laughter, which laid them rolling on the ground, and
left them scarcely strength to rise when we got up to take our leave.
Among the numerous objects of attraction, our compass, telescopes,
and watches, excited universal admiration; and the reason why the
hands of the latter should move round of themselves, and why the
needle of the compass should always turn to the northward, must
have been canvassed among them for many months afterwards.
Why a man or a camel could be seen distinctly through a tube,
when they could scarcely be seen at all, at the same distance,
without it, will afford equal matter for speculation: and the next
European who may visit the tents of our friends will probably hear
an account of these wonders so much disfigured by misrepresentation,
and so much exaggerated by the enthusiasm of Arab fancy, as will
lead him to doubt whether they ever saw what they are describing,
or to believe that they are telling him some whimsical story which
has no better foundation than those of the Hundred and one Nights
or the description of a Mahommedan Paradise.
We found the men of Zaffran active, healthy, and well made,
and the women pretty and well-behaved; the dress of the former
consists merely of a coarse baracan, with a red cap, and sandals
of camel’s hide.
The women wore a loose cotton shirt under the baracan, and instead
of the sandals were furnished with laced boots. They had as usual
a profusion of rude ornaments, and charms to avert the evil eye,
and were not at all anxious to keep their faces veiled or to avoid
the society of strangers. A small looking-glass and a few strings
of beads were received with delight by the fairer part of this
community, and a knife, with a few flints, and some powder, were
accepted very thankfully by the men.
Our Chaous, who sometimes attended on these occasions, never omitted
an opportunity of displaying his own knowledge, and took a large
share in the explanation of the different objects of attraction. He
never omitted to beg for an exhibition of our chronometer, that
he might have an opportunity of descanting upon the manner in
which we regulated it, which he used to say was done by _weighing
the sun_[11]; and poor Sala, our attendant on such occasions,
was always called upon to produce the quicksilver used for the
artificial horizon, which never failed to excite the astonishment
and delight which our dilettante Chaous had anticipated.
Having purchased a supply of corn for our horses, which is here
deposited, as is usual in Northern Africa, in cisterns or storehouses
which have been excavated by the ancients, we left Zaffran, and
continued our journey to Jedeed, where the tents were pitched for
the night. This mode of preserving corn is frequently alluded to by
ancient writers, and Varro has asserted that wheat thus preserved
will keep for fifty years, and millet for more than a hundred[12].
From Jedeed we proceeded on to Shuaisha, passing by Bennet Hadeed and
Hamed Garoosh, where are the remains of some forts, and a building
called by the natives Rumīa (or Christian), but which has nothing to
mark it as such, nor anything to recommend it to further notice. The
country from Zaffràn to Hamed Garoosh becomes gradually higher,
and in the valleys is well cultivated. We noticed many flocks of
sheep and goats, some oxen and camels, and found in all parts hares,
plovers, quails, curlews, wild-ducks, a few snipes, and a multitude
of jackalls, which latter were indeed, throughout the journey, our
constant companions. The evening setting in stormy, with heavy rains,
we were very late in reaching our tents, and having passed unexamined
some part of the coast, we remained at Shuaisha the whole of the
following day (the 16th) in order to complete it. Between Jedeed
and Shuaisha the coast is formed in small bays, and has some sunken
rocks very close in shore: at about a quarter of a mile from the
latter place, to the westward, we found the remains of a building
shewing itself through the side of the cliff which covered it; its
height from the foundation was about twenty-five feet, but its plan
could not of course be obtained without previous excavation. At nine
o’clock, on the 17th, we left Shuaisha, passed Marábut Duscarga
(the remains of an old fort), and in seven hours reached Medīnet
Sultàn, where we found a good supply of sweet water.
Medīnet Sultàn has been an important military position, as the
remains of several strongly-built fortresses still remaining there
attest; these buildings, like those at Zaffràn, are quadrangular,
and the foundations of strong walls, communicating with the forts,
are seen to cross them in various directions.
The plans of the buildings are more perfect than those of Zaffràn,
and are upon a larger scale; those of the walls, however, could not
be determined, and would require, from their ruined state, a very
long and attentive examination, before their original dimensions
and precise points of contact could be ascertained. We have given
the plans of two of the forts, one of which, though apparently very
perfect, is unprovided with any visible entrance. Two gates will be
observed in the outer works of the other, although none is apparent
in the habitable part of the building, which constitutes the most
important part of it.
Within a square, or rather quadrangular, inclosure, attached to
another of the same size, is a subterranean storehouse, or reservoir,
which has been first excavated in the soil, then formed with rough
stones, and lastly coated with an excellent cement, which is still
in a very perfect state. The descent to this souterain is by a
square well of trifling depth, which was so much overgrown and
encumbered, as not to be immediately perceived. Having with us the
means of procuring a light, we succeeded, without much trouble,
in descending into the chambers which are excavated on each side
of it, and in procuring the plan which appears in the plates. We
were in hopes to have found some inscription on the walls, which we
have already described as being very perfect, but nothing appeared
but a few rude and unimportant Arab scrawls. In the neighbourhood
of the military position, which we have noticed above, are the
remains of the town already mentioned, called Medīna, where there
are a number of wells and tanks in very good preservation; but the
buildings above ground are in so mutilated and ruinous a state,
as to render any satisfactory plan of them impossible, without a
great deal of previous excavation.
So little is mentioned by any writer (with whose works we ourselves
are acquainted) of the buildings contained in the Syrtis, that it
will for the most part be difficult to assign any other name to the
remains of forts and towns at present existing there, than those
by which the Arabs of the country now distinguish them. Charax is
pointed out by Strabo as occurring after the tower of Euphrantas;
but before the position of this town can be ascertained, it will
be necessary to decide upon that of the tower itself, which, in a
country presenting a continued chain of forts from one extremity to
the other, is by no means very easily established. The Philæni[13]
villa is also offered to our notice; but its position must depend
upon that of the Philænean altars, which we are told by Pliny were
merely of sand, and which we know were not remaining in the time
of Strabo[14].
Were it not that a more eligible position for the tower of
Euphrantas occurs further eastward, at a place called Bengerwàd,
in the neighbourhood of Houdea, we should have been inclined to
adopt Medīnet Sultàn as a port where the tower might very well be
looked for; and the circumstance of its being nearer to Zaffràn
(which we have already given our reasons for identifying with
Aspis) would certainly point it out as the more eligible position
of the two, so far as the meaning of the term συνεχης may be
concerned[15]. But the local advantages which the tower we shall
hereafter mention at Bengerwàd possesses (considered both as a
boundary fortress, and as a very conspicuous object), would certainly
induce us to give a greater latitude to the term in question, than
we should, under other circumstances, have ventured to allow; and
we have accordingly given this fortress the preference in fixing
the position of the tower of Euphrantas, or rather in suggesting a
position for it which there is so little authority for fixing with
accuracy [16].
At Medīnet Sultàn there is a sandy bay in which boats might
find shelter with particular winds; and a lake commences here,
apparently deep, which communicates with the sea in two places, and
extends itself along the coast to the eastward. We narrowly examined
the points of communication, in expectation of finding a passage
through them by which small vessels might have entered the lake;
it being probable, from its vicinity to the ruins above-mentioned,
that the lake might have been used as a port. But the nature of
the beach without, which was altogether stony, running out into
dangerous shallows impracticable for vessels of any kind, rendered
the existence of such a passage impossible. The coast between this
place and Garoosh is high, and the land terminates towards the
sea in cliffs, with a low sandy beach, and rocky points at the
foot of them; but from the wady eastward it lowers again, and is
marked only by sand-hills. Upon the lake we noticed a great many
flamingoes, with red bills and legs; the head and neck were white,
the primary feathers of the wings black, and crimson in the inside;
the secondaries and tertials were grey, and the under coverts
crimson: several coveys of snipes and curlews were also observed
along the lake, which, as well as all other lakes and marshes in the
Syrtis, is salt and unfit for use. On leaving Medīnet Sultàn we
continued our route along this low and marshy ground, which extends
itself as far as Nehīm, where our tents were pitched for the night,
near two wells of excellent water. There were no remains of building
that we could perceive along this track, with the exception of a few
stones on two little eminences, which had been rudely put together
for Marábut tombs. We learnt also from Shekh Mahommed, that the
country inland was equally devoid of interest, and unoccupied by
buildings of any kind. At Nehīm there is a sandy bay, into which
ships might send their boats, with almost all winds, for water,
at three wells which are situated near the beach.
At Hámmah also, a bay a few miles farther eastward, water may be
procured almost at all times, the sea being rendered smooth by a
shoal which stretches itself across the entrance of the bay. The
two bays may be known by a promontory situated nearly midway
between them, on which there are some ruins of an ancient fort
which formerly overlooked the cliff, but these are now too much
fallen to be perceived from the sea.
While we were pitching the tents, and all hands were employed, some
of our horses got loose, and Shekh Mahommed el Dúbbah, who had just
come up with us on his trusty mare, was violently assailed by them
on all sides. He called out most lustily for help, and in the mean
time exhibited uncommonly good horsemanship; wheeling about rapidly
in all directions, and making his mare kick out in the intervals,
to the no small amusement of our whole party, who were at first
too much overcome by laughter to give him any effectual assistance.
As the attack however began to grow serious, from the number and
impetuosity of our valiant Shekh’s assailants, we soon recovered
ourselves sufficiently to make a diversion in his favour, and
eventually to secure all the horses, though not before the Dúbbah
was quite out of breath, and had broken his gun in his defence.
The next morning he entered our tent with the fragments of his
ill-fated weapon in his hand; and after he had squatted himself down
as usual, and paid his two or three customary salams, and a variety
of fulsome compliments, which always preceded any request he had
to make, he began to expatiate upon his rencontre of the preceding
evening, and the address which he had shewn on the occasion: he
concluded by holding forth the shattered remains of his béndikah
(musket), and observing that the Dúbbah had now nothing to defend
himself with in case of an attack from the formidable bands of
robbers which he had always asserted to be lying in wait for us. As
we had no time to spend in trifling, and were not inclined to take
the hint by presenting him with one of our muskets, we suddenly
changed the subject, to the discomfiture of his hopes, and began to
make inquiries about the camels which he was to provide us with at
Boosaida, where we expected to arrive the next day. He replied that
he had already given directions about them, but that he thought it
would be better that he should proceed on in advance of the party,
to make arrangements for their being in readiness on our arrival;
he proposed in the mean time to leave his eldest son as his _locum
tenens_, who had lately come from the eastward to pay his respects
to his father.
This proposal being agreed to, we remained silent for a few moments,
in expectation that he would rise and leave the tent; we were
however disappointed, for the Dúbbah kept his post, and it was
evident that he had something more to ask. The customary toll
of a little brown sugar had already been allowed and accepted;
for Shekh Mahommed, though old, had not yet lost his relish for
sweets, and we usually indulged him when he visited our tent
with a few spoonfuls of his favorite dainty. His approbation had
also been extended, as usual, to the knives, pens, and pencils,
pocket-pistols, and powder-flasks, and other little things usually
lying about the tent, without any of them having been offered
to him: yet he still remained sitting, to our great annoyance;
for besides taking up our time, as we thought, very unnecessarily,
he was all the while colonizing our carpets and mats with the fleas
and other animals which escaped from his baracan; and this article
of his dress (which indeed was generally his only one) was at all
times sufficiently well provided with these residents to allow of
very extensive emigration. At last our patience was exhausted, and
our complaisance very nearly so; the watch was pulled out, and when
we had expressed our surprise that it should be so much later than
we had imagined, we ventured to ask of our white-bearded visitor
if it would not be better that he should set out in advance, as he
had himself so very prudently suggested. Upon this the Shekh rose,
to our great delight, and after paying his adieus with the air of
a man who was wholly occupied with other reflections, he took the
Doctor aside, and with a significant half-smile upon his countenance,
begged he would furnish him with the exhilarating medicine which
he had promised him on a former occasion. The secret was disclosed
which had so baffled our penetration; for the Dúbbah confessed
that as he was going home, from which he had been some time absent,
he was particularly desirous of assuming an animated and youthful
appearance in the presence of his young and handsome wife, who,
he was fearful, he said, had already began to fancy him a little
too old for her. He described this girl, to whom he had lately
been married, as uncommonly pretty and only sixteen years of age;
and concluded by saying he did not despair, Imsh Allah (please
God), that with the Doctor’s assistance, he might yet contrive
to make himself agreeable to her! Our chagrin was now succeeded by
a violent fit of laughter, which we freely indulged in at the old
Shekh’s expense, and which he bore very goodnaturedly: the Doctor
was not long in preparing the draught; and the Dúbbah had no sooner
deposited it in his old leathern pouch, as safely as a glass phial
could conveniently be put up with flints and steel, musket balls, old
nails and horse-shoes, which were usually observed to be assembled
there, than he mounted the gallant mare who had so well conducted
herself the night before, and brandishing his stirrups, rode off at
full gallop, well pleased with the result of his long-winded visit,
and anticipating all the wonderful effects of the cordial which
the Doctor had so considerately bestowed upon him.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 1: In this neighbourhood we must look for the Macomades
Syrtis of the Itinerary.]
[Footnote 2: Serte (says Leo) è una città antica, edificata,
come alcuni vogliono, da gli Egitti, e secondo altri dai Romani,
benchè siano alcuni da oppinione che ella fosse edificata da gli
Africani. Come si fu, hora è rovinata, e credesi che la distrussero
i Mahumettani; ancor che Ibnu Rachik, historico, dice dai Romani;
ne altro in lei si vede fuori che qualche picciolo vestigio delle
mura.—(L. Afr. in Ram., 5ta parte.)]
[Footnote 3: If Mahād Hassān may be taken as the _Turris Hasan_
(or Cosr Asan) of Edrisi, with which it appears to correspond,
we may fairly venture, perhaps, to place Asna at Zaffrān, that
place being thirty M. P. from Hasān, on the testimony of the
Arab geographer, and Zaffrān thirty geographic miles from Mahād
Hassān. The wells of Zaffrān are, at the same time, on the beach,
as those are said to be which Edrisi has mentioned at Asna.]
[Footnote 4: Medīna is the Arabic term for a city, and Medīnet
Sultàn, as it is termed by the Arabs, may be translated, royal city,
or city of more than ordinary distinction.]
[Footnote 5: The remains of Medīnet Sultàn are on a larger scale
than those of Medīna, and might on that account have been termed
Sultàn; but they are rather those of an important military station
than of a city, and we prefer taking Medīna as the position of
Sort for this reason.]
[Footnote 6: Viaggio da Tripoli, &c., p. 77, 78.]
[Footnote 7: We subjoin a few of these characteristic marks, with
the names of the tribe, to which they belong, attached. Some of them,
it will be seen, resemble Greek letters, and when they are well cut,
have a very knowing appearance.
Mogharbé, Ouarghir, Wéled Sulimàn, Orfilli, Wéled Ben-Miriam,
[Illustration]
Wéled Abou-Saif, Gedádfa, Hemámla, Zoazi, Zoeia,
[Illustration]
Hassoun, Gebshia, Name forgotten.
[Illustration]
]
[Footnote 8: The drawing annexed will give some idea of the manner
in which these blocks are disposed.]
[Footnote 9: The dangerous peculiarities of the Gulfs of Syrtis are
frequently noticed by the ancients; but the following passage from
Sallust seems to allude more particularly to the powerful action of the
surf, so conspicuous in the instance which we have just described.
Nam ubi mare magnum esse, et sævire ventis cœpit, limum, Arenamq:
et _saxa ingentia fluctus_ trahunt; ita facies locorum cum ventis
simul mutatur. Syrtes ab tractu nominatæ.—(Bell. Jugurth., p. 78.)]
[Footnote 10: The saffron of the Gharian mountains has been described
by Leo Africanus as the best in the world.]
[Footnote 11: Shaw observes that this expression is used in the
neighbourhood of Tunis, and indeed it is very common among the
Arab tribes in general.]
[Footnote 12: “Quidam granaria habent sub terris, speluncas, quos
vocant σειρους, ut in Cappadocia ac Thracia. Alii, ut in Hispania
citeriore, puteos, ut in agro Carthaginiensi et Oscensi. Horum solum
paleis substernunt: et curant ne humor aut aer tangere possit, nisi cum
promitur ad usum. Quo enim spiritus non pervenit, ibi non oritur
curculio. Sic conditum triticum manet vel annos quinquaginta: milium
vero plus annos centum.”—(De Re Rustica, i. 57.)
See also Cæsar (de Bell. Afric., cap. 25). “Est in Africa
consuetudo incolarum, ut, in agris, et in omnibus fere villis,
sub terra specus, condendi frumenti gratia, clam habeant, atque id
propter bella maxime, hostiumque subitum adventum præssarent.”]
[Footnote 13: The Φιλαινου κωμη (of Ptolemy) υφ᾽ ην οι ομωνυμοι βωμοι,
οριον Αφρικης—between which and Charax, his φαραξ κωμη, Ptolemy
has however laid down some inconsiderable places.]
[Footnote 14: Ου γαρ νυν ὁι φιλαινων μενουσι βωμοι αλλ᾽ ὁ τοπος
μετειληφε την προσηγωριαν·—(Lib. iii. p. 171.)
In intimo sinu fuit ora Lotophagon, quos quidam Alachroas dixere, ad
Philænorum Aras: ex harena sunt eæ.—(Nat. Hist., lib. v. c. 5.)]
[Footnote 15: It must be recollected that Strabo has described the
tower of Euphrantas as _contiguous to_, or _immediately succeeding_,
the port of Aspis, for so we must translate συνεχης, if we
take it in its strict and literal sense.]
[Footnote 16: Among the several towers which present themselves
at Medīna Sultàn, there is no one which could be pointed out as
more conspicuous in position than another; and were the tower of
Euphrantas to be fixed at this place, it would scarcely be possible
to select one of them as its probable representative.]
CHAPTER VIII.
Leave Nehīm — Arrive at Boosaida — Shekh Hamed Shakshak —
Return of Shekh Mahommed — Revival of the Report above mentioned
— Motive for renewing it — Discharge our Mesurata Camel-drivers
— Treaty with the Dúbbah for others — Interested Conduct of
Shekh Mahommed — Commencement of another Salt-Lake at Sharfa —
Easy mode of shifting Quarters practised by the Arabs — Their
manner of travelling — Termination of the Lake — Arrive at
Shegga — Remains of Forts observed there — Other Remains in
its Neighbourhood — Abundant Pasturage at Shegga — Fortress
of Bengerwàd — Peculiarities of its Position — Bengerwàd
considered as the Castle of Euphrantas — Objections to this
Supposition — Reasons in favour of it — Leave Wady Shegga
— Cross a Tract of Red Sand — Spacious Bay at Ras Howeijah
— Good Anchorage probably found there — Remains of an ancient
Town near Ras Howeijah considered as those of Charax — Trade of
Charax alluded to, as mentioned by Strabo — Further Reasons for
placing the Tower of Euphrantas at Bengerwàd — Allusion to the
Barter of Silphium at Charax — Emendation of Strabo’s Text
proposed by Signor Della Cella — Arrive at Hudīa — Alleged
Origin of this Name as applied to the Place in question — Hudīa
lately infested by a formidable Band of Robbers — Precautions
of our Arab Escort to prevent any Attack — Rigorous Measures of
Mahommed Bey apparently very necessary — Remarkable Hill of Gypsum
at Hudīa — Celebration of Christmas-day by our Party at Hudīa
— Fortress at Mahirīga — Arrival of a Party of Pilgrims from
the Westward — Disturbance at Linoof — Apparent Causes of it
— Ill-behaviour of the Dúbbah — His sudden change of Conduct,
and artful Manœuvres — Remarks on Arab Character — Satisfactory
Termination of the Disturbance — Arrival at Mukhtàr, the Boundary
of the Districts of Syrt and Barka.
On quitting Nehīm we proceeded along the edge of a marsh which
commences there, extending itself for several miles parallel with
the beach, from which it is separated by sand-hills, and in the
evening arrived at Boosaida. The whole of this tract (from Nehīm
to Boosaida) is very flat and uninteresting, and we could perceive
no remains there of any kind. At Boosaida may be observed the
ground-plans of small walls, apparently those of dwelling-houses,
between where our tents the spot were pitched and the sea; the
remains are however so few and inconsiderable, and so much mixed with
stones belonging to the soil, as to be wholly without any interest.
The country at Boosaida is somewhat hilly, and overrun with grass
and brushwood, a small part only being planted with barley. The
few Bedouins who inhabit it appear to have no other occupation than
that of tending their camels, sheep, and goats; and the women are
chiefly occupied in curing skins for containing water and manteca,
which is done by means of certain roots found in great quantities
in the neighbourhood. The Shekh, or principal man of the place,
was named Hamed Shakshak, who, in order to ensure our being well
supplied, for we ought not to suspect so obliging a personage of
any less praiseworthy motive, took care to usurp the sole right
and privilege of furnishing us himself with whatever we wished to
purchase; never forgetting, however, in the excess of his zeal,
to put a most unconscionable price upon everything. So careful had
this considerate person been in his manœuvres, that we could not
get even a draught of milk from the women in other tents, without
promising to keep it secret from Hamed Shakshak. As we had no wish
to embroil the honest inhabitants with their Shekh, we thought it
better to take no notice of this proceeding, especially as the time
we had to remain at Boosaida was short, and our demands were not
likely to be very great.
It was here that our agreement with the Mesurata camel-drivers
finished; and the day after our arrival we were rejoined by our
friend the Dúbbah, who had left us, as before stated, to make
arrangements for furnishing us with others. He entered our tent with
three large ostrich eggs wrapped up very carefully in the folds
of his baracan, (for this garment may be considered as a general
envelope for everything which an Arab thinks worthy of a cover,) and
having unfolded them, one by one, laid them down very solemnly and
ceremoniously, and with the greatest air of consequence imaginable,
on the mat upon which we were sitting. All this was of course
intended to enhance the value of the present, and we received it
accordingly with all due acknowledgments. The prelude being over,
Shekh Mahommed assumed a very mysterious air, and drew a little
closer towards us; then lowering his voice, which was not usually
one of the most gentle, he began to inform us (looking occasionally
round the tent, as if he feared to be overheard from without)
that a large troop of marauding Arabs were then at Kebrīt, having
recently arrived there from the neighbourhood of Cairo, and that
they were lying in wait for our party. There could be no doubt, he
added, of the truth of this statement, for one of his own sons had
just arrived from Cairo himself! On our asking him whether this son
had actually seen the Arabs in question, he replied that, as yet,
no person had seen them, but that the prints of horses’ feet, to
the number of sixty, had been observed about the wells near Kebrīt,
and that there could be no doubt whatever of the sinister intentions
of the party. “But fear nothing,” continued the Shekh, with
an air of greater importance, “while the Dúbbah is your friend
and conductor; for I will myself,” said he, “go on in advance,
and if I find the tracks of hostile horses about the wells, woe be
to the rascals upon their backs!” We had been trying very hard,
during this important communication, to keep as solemn a face as we
could, but the concluding bravado of old Shekh Mahommed rendered all
our best efforts unavailing; and we fairly laughed out, in spite of
ourselves, to the great discomposure of our valiant protector. The
old Shekh had often talked of similar interruptions which were to
be expected upon the road, but we could not, at first, upon the
present occasion, perceive his actual motive for introducing the
subject so formally and circumstantially. The next day, however,
we found there had been a competition between the Dúbbah and
our Mesurata camel-drivers, who were desirous of accompanying us
to Bengazi, and whom for their good conduct on most occasions we
should have been very willing to retain in our service. At any
rate, we wished the competition to continue till we had concluded
our bargain with one of the parties, as we knew that we should
otherwise be exposed to the extortion which is almost invariably
practised by an Arab when he knows there is no alternative but to
accept his proposals. Both parties, however, knew that we must,
under any circumstances, continue our route; and that it would not
be possible for us to do so without camels, whether we advanced or
returned. For this reason we had never made any positive promise
that we would take the Dúbbah’s camels at Boosaida, and we had
never given any notice to the camel-drivers of Mesurata that we
should not continue them if they wished to proceed with us farther.
Having reason to believe that his Mesurata rivals were willing
to go on with us to Bengazi, Shekh Mahommed now brought forward
his story of the robbers to deter them from accompanying us any
farther; for in the event of our being surprised and overpowered,
they would themselves have lost their camels as well as all they had
with them. Whether this story, which the Dúbbah had taken care to
have generally circulated, really frightened the men of Mesurata,
or whether they thought it imprudent to make an enemy of the old
Shekh at a distance from their own country, and in a part of his
own, did not very clearly appear; but they soon after came to us,
and declined proceeding any farther, alleging, at the same time, that
Shekh Mahommed had already engaged camels for us from his own people
in the neighbourhood, and that we should therefore have no occasion
for theirs. We told them that we had as yet made no bargain with the
Dúbbah, and that although we might wish to give him an opportunity,
as our friend and conductor, of making a fair profit of his camels,
we should certainly not accept them if we found that his demands were
unreasonable. Finding, however, that the men were really unwilling to
go on, under any circumstances, though they would not state precisely
the grounds of their objection, we settled our accounts with them,
giving each a few piastres in addition to what had been agreed for,
as an acknowledgment of their good behaviour, and they shortly after
set out on their return to Mesurata. Before their departure, however,
we sent for Shekh Mahommed, and told him the number of camels we
should have occasion for; stating, at the same time, the sum we
intended to pay him for them, to which, after some little parley,
he consented. The next morning he made his appearance in our tent,
and said that the camels would be brought to us immediately, but
that the men whom they belonged to, on estimating the weight of
our baggage, had refused to carry it so long a journey, unless
we would consent to take twenty-five instead of eighteen camels,
(the number we had mentioned to him on the preceding evening,)
and which was fully sufficient for the whole of our baggage. To
this proposal, however, we gave a very decided negative, and a long
parley, ensued in which the Dúbbah went through the whole gamut
of Arab vociferation, accompanying each tone with its appropriate
gestures, and expressing himself with an energy which almost amounted
to frenzy. The whole strength of the Dúbbah’s lungs, with all his
powers of gesticulation, were, however, unable to convince us that
his proposal was a reasonable one; although it must be confessed,
in justice to his logic, that no poissard ever screamed louder,
and that the most accomplished Neapolitan buffoon could not have
surpassed him in vehemence and variety of gesture.
The result was that we could come to no satisfactory terms; for
the Dúbbah was aware that our old camel-drivers were gone, and
thought we had no alternative but to comply with his demands: he
concluded by declaring, in the name of the Prophet, that we should
either have none at all, or else take the whole number of camels
which he had proposed, and went out of the tent as he delivered
his final resolve, fully satisfied that we should soon call him
back and agree to his unreasonable terms.
Had we done so he would soon have found some excuse for increasing
the number still further, and we should in all probability not have
been able to get away without twice as many camels as we had any
occasion for.
We were, however, determined not to submit to this imposition while
any means remained of avoiding it; and Shekh Mahommed had no sooner
left the tent than we ordered two horses to be saddled immediately,
and despatched one of our party, accompanied by the Chaous, to bring
back the Mesurata camel-drivers, who we knew could not have been far
advanced on their journey. The old Shekh now imagined that we were
going to send express to Tripoly to complain of his conduct to the
Bashaw; although such an embassy, had we waited for the reply, must
have detained us much longer than it would have been advisable to
delay the expedition for any point so comparatively trifling. As he
had however fallen into this error, and was evidently much disturbed
at the idea, we did not of course undeceive him; and when he had most
solemnly promised to abide by our decision on the subject in dispute,
he begged that we would allow him to recall the two horsemen, who
had already made some little progress: no sooner had he obtained
our permission to do so than he mounted his mare in all speed, which
he had contrived to have saddled in the interval, and riding after
the envoys as fast as he could gallop, overtook them as they were
nearly out of sight. By this time the day was half gone, and our
departure was consequently deferred till the following one, which,
as the weather turned out, saved us a good wetting. We left Boosaida
on the morning of the 22nd, and passing through Sharfa, stopped
for the night at Shedgane, having only made good twelve miles,
in consequence of the delays occasioned by the young camels which
the Dúbbah had provided for us, which were continually throwing
off their loads. The ground was besides so full of holes, made by
the Jerboa, that both horses and camels were continually tripping.
At Sharfa commences another salt lake which extends to Houeijah,
a remarkable promontory, taking the appearance at a distance
of a castle in ruins, and which may possibly be the cape called
Liconda. Between the lake and the sea is a narrow slip of land
occupied by a party of Arabs, who were so completely concealed among
the hills, that we were close upon them before we were aware that any
living soul was in the neighbourhood. The cattle of this place were
closely attended by the men, to prevent their ranging on the heights,
and, consequently, becoming visible to those who might be passing;
a manœuvre which they probably had adopted from supposing us to be
some of the Bashaw’s people, whose observation they hoped by such
means to elude, and thus escape the payment of the tribute which
in the event of their discovery would have been exacted from them
by the soldiers of His Highness. We were however received by these
people very kindly, and they brought us out milk and dried dates,
unasked for; in return for these attentions, we gave the men some
gunpowder, with which they were highly delighted, and presented
the women with some strings of beads of different colours, which
were accepted with many smiles of acknowledgment.
So well practised are the Arabs in eluding observation, from
the nature of the wandering life which they lead, and the little
security which there is for property in the country they inhabit,
that even those who are well acquainted with their usual haunts are
often unable to find them; and strangers might often pass within a
hundred yards of their tents, without suspecting there was a soul
in the neighbourhood. As the whole property of a wandering Arab
consists in his flocks and cattle, and the few little articles
contained in his tent, he has very little trouble in moving, and
half an hour after he has determined to leave the place of his
residence, no traces will remain of his late habitation, but the
ashes scattered about the hole in the earth which served his whole
family for a fire-place. His sheep and cattle are collected without
difficulty at the sound of his voice, or that of some part of his
family, while his tent, in the mean time, with all its contents,
the chief of which are his wives and his children, are packed up
in a few minutes on the backs of his camels, and ready to move
on with the rest. If he is not pressed for time, the women often
walk with the older children, and assist in driving the cattle;
and should he have no camels, which is very often the case, both
women and children are loaded to the utmost of their strength with
such articles as cannot be transported in other ways. But neither
women nor children on these fatiguing occasions exhibit any signs
of discontent or uneasiness; the length of their journey and the
weight of their burdens are borne with the greatest cheerfulness;
and the whole is considered as a matter of course, which their habits
of life have accustomed them to expect, and to support without any
other effects than the temporary fatigue of the exertion. If the
journey should be long, the tent is seldom unpacked till they have
arrived at the place of their destination, and the whole party sleep
very soundly on the ground, in the midst of their sheep and cattle,
till the first appearance of day-light summons them to rise and
take up their burdens, which have probably in the mean time been
usefully employed in affording them the luxury of a pillow.
On quitting the hills among which our late acquaintance were
encamped, we passed along the track of Ras Houeijah (the promontory
above mentioned), and were detained some time in consequence of
the lake having terminated in a swamp, which extended to the sea,
and in which our horses sank so deep as to render great caution
necessary. The land at the back of the marsh rises tolerably high,
and was better peopled than any part we had yet seen in the district
of Syrt. At about one o’clock we reached Wady Shegga, a large
fiumara so called, and having procured some brackish water a little
way up it, continued our route till we reached some Arab tents,
where we halted for the night. At Shegga we found the remains of some
forts, strongly and regularly built, and of the same quadrangular
form with those which we have already described. On a large mound of
rubbish we also observed a Marábut, rudely built with the stones
of fallen structures about it. In a valley belonging to the chain
of hills which runs at the back of Shegga are considerable traces
of small buildings, rudely put together with the unshaped stones
of the soil. They consist principally of strait lines and parts of
squares, built with very little regularity, and occupying both sides
of the valley. Traces of walls may also be still observed across
the valley, which is furrowed and torn up by the passage of torrents
rushing down in the rainy season from the hills, but which seems to
have formerly contained much more building than can be perceived in
it at present. The rain seems to have been also a principal agent
in destroying the buildings on the sides of the valley; but the
loss which has been sustained is scarcely to be regretted; since
neither these structures, nor those which occupied the centre of the
valley, could ever have been of any importance, although they have
certainly been very numerous. Before the entrance of the valley,
near the forts which have been mentioned, are also seen traces of
building, but which do not seem to have been much more important
than those which we have just alluded to. On the whole, nothing
more can well be collected from these remains, than that the place
has been formerly the site of a small town, which must always have
been a very miserable one. There is however a good deal of pasturage
in the neighbourhood, occasioned by the plentiful supply of water
from the hills, and we found ourselves surrounded on all sides by
flocks of sheep and goats, among which were also a good many camels.
At about two miles’ distance from the remains above described
(to the eastward) is a very remarkable projection of a high cliff
into the sea, on which has been built a strong and very conspicuous
fortress, constructed with large stones regularly shaped and put
together. The greater part of this building, owing to the cliff
having given way, is tumbled in ruins about the beach, and though
little of the ground plan now remaining can be satisfactorily made
out, yet it may well be inferred, from an inspection of the whole,
that this fortress has been one of considerable strength[1]. It
commands an extensive view, on both sides, over the sea, and
overlooks many remains of building which are scattered about the
plain at the back of it. At the foot of the eminence on which the
fortress has been built, is a ravine, which must at times be the
bed of a considerable torrent, and which, crossing the plain from
the mountains by which it is bounded, empties itself into the sea
at the base of the fort. The mountains, which here run parallel
with the beach, approach at the same time so closely to the sea,
that the plain which intervenes might be easily defended by means of
the ravine just described. Along this ravine are traces of strong
walls which have been constructed on both sides of it, and have
formerly extended from the sea to the foot of the hills; and which
must in their perfect state have formed, together with the ravine,
a very effectual barrier to the pass.
Such advantages of situation could not well have been overlooked
by the ancients; and there is little doubt that this position
was originally one of importance. It appears so well calculated,
both by nature and art, for the establishment of a boundary line,
that we have little hesitation in supposing the remains above
mentioned to have at some period defended the limits of the states
of Cyrene and Carthage; and it is accordingly here that we should
feel most inclined to fix the site of the Castle of Euphrantes. The
distance of this fort from Zaffràn, considered as Aspis, does
indeed seem too great for the literal meaning of Strabo’s term
συνεχης: but then the circumstance of its uniting a strong
boundary line with a very conspicuous position, seems to make
this place so very eligible a site for the castle in question,
that we cannot refrain from pointing it out to our readers as the
spot of all others which we could most wish should prove to be
really such. We know the πυργος Ευφραντας to have been a boundary
tower, since it is expressly said by Strabo to have been the limits
of Carthage and Cyrene under the Ptolemies; so far therefore the
resemblance between this fort and that of Strabo appears to be
sufficiently complete. Again, amongst all the fortresses with which the
Syrtis is filled, two only are mentioned in ancient history _by name_,
those of Euphrantas and Automala; and it would seem probable, from this
circumstance (at least it appears so to us), that these castles should
have been distinguished from others by conspicuous positions. Of all
the positions occupied by forts between Zaffràn and the point to which
we are arrived, there is no one which can be materially distinguished
from another but that of Bengerwàd, which we have just been describing;
and this is so remarkably conspicuous a position, from the height of
the eminence and its almost insulated situation on the beach, that it
must have been at all times an object of importance from the sea,
and could not fail to have been noticed by Strabo in his passage
along this part of the coast. It is probable that the position
of the Philænean Altars was not sufficiently well calculated by
nature for a boundary; and that this circumstance, rather than the
desire of increasing his territory in so unprofitable a district,
induced one of the Ptolemies to remove the line of separation further
westward to the castle of Euphrantas. In passing along the coast,
in a westerly direction, from the sandy tract where the monuments
of the Philæni[2] might be looked for, had they still been in
existence, the most eligible situation which would present itself
for a boundary post is certainly that of Bengerwàd; and this, as
we have stated, is so extremely well calculated for such a purpose,
that we can scarcely suppose it could have been overlooked by the
king of Egypt when he fixed the new limits of his dominions.
It will be unnecessary to trouble our readers with any protracted
discussion of a point which admits of no positive proof; and we will
leave others to decide, without further remark, how far the meaning
of the term employed by Strabo (συνεχης) may be extended,
in consideration of the reasons which we have alleged.
On leaving Wady Shegga we passed over a tract of red sand collected
in little hillocks about the plain, which were, however, as well as
the spaces between them, occasionally covered with vegetation. We
here saw some gazelles, hares, and jackalls, and a good many jerboas,
and fired at a snake about six feet in length, which the Arabs
told us swelled out when much irritated, and was very venomous;
he however escaped slightly grazed into a hole in the sand. This
was the only snake of any size which we had seen in the Syrtis;
it was of a very dark colour, and about as thick as a man’s
wrist. Immediately behind the promontory which we have mentioned
above, is a small sandy bay which the Arabs call a port, and which
might in former days have served as a landing-place for boats. This
Ràs (or head land), with Ràs Houeijah, forms a spacious bay,
in which good anchorage might probably be found close up under the
western shore. After passing Bengerwàd the coast gets lower, and
the road leads along an uninteresting flat between it and the hills.
Five miles from the Ràs, upon a sandy point, are the remains of
a small fort, and about three-quarters of a mile inland of it are
several large mounds of sand and rubbish, through which appear
occasionally parts of the walls and ground plans of houses. These
are evidently the remains of an ancient town, and the houses have
here been more concentrated than those of any town which we have
observed in the Syrtis; but they are now in so very incumbered a
state, that we could form no correct idea either of their number
or of their plans. It is probable also that excavation would here
be uninteresting, as the hand of time seems to have been fully as
much concerned in the destruction of this place as that of its most
inveterate enemies. Considerable traces of building may be observed
all the way from these remains to the wells at Hudea, and indeed
all the way from Bengerwàd; and immediately about the wells the
ground plans become more regular, as well as more numerous. There
is no doubt that the greater part of this tract has been formerly
inhabited, but the mounds which we have mentioned seem to us more
characteristic of a town than any of the other remains; and we will
venture to suggest them as those of Charax, described by Strabo as a
trading frontier-town, resorted to by the people both of Carthage
and Cyrene. It was at Charax that the Carthaginians exchanged
their wine for the silphium, and the liquor which was extracted
from it, (so we translate the passage, reversing the order)[3];
neither of which, from the value attached to these commodities,
were allowed to be exported from the Cyrenaica by individuals;
and were consequently disposed of with great caution and secrecy
to the traders of Carthage who assembled at Charax to treat for them.
As the identity of the fortress at Bengerwàd with the tower
of Euphrantas may scarcely, perhaps, be considered as decidedly
established; it will probably here appear strange that we should
point out the vicinity of the ruins above mentioned to Bengerwàd
as one of the reasons why we imagine them to be those of Charax.
But whether the tower of Euphrantas be placed at Bengerwàd or
not, we cannot consider that place as any other than a boundary;
and as Charax was evidently a frontier-town, and must be looked
for somewhere in this neighbourhood, we may assume the vicinity
of the remains in question to the only spot which we have met with
which may decidedly be termed a boundary, as a reason why they are
probably those of Charax. This once allowed, it will be the more
readily admitted that the ruin at Bengerwàd is very likely to be
that of the tower of Euphrantas; for Charax, as before stated, is
the first place which is mentioned by Strabo after that fortress,
and may therefore be identified with the first town to be met with
in passing from the tower to the westward. Here is however nothing
_certain_ but the existence of a boundary, and that of a town a
little to the westward of it; and it remains to be determined how
far the facts which we have stated may be received as proofs of the
positions which have been suggested for the tower of Euphrantas
and the trading town of Charax, both of which must be looked for
between Aspis and the bottom of the gulf, and to the westward of
the Philænean altars and the fortress of Automala[4].
In alluding to the sale of the silphium at Charax, which he places as
we have already stated at Zaffràn, Signor Della Cella has indulged
himself in his favourite practice of emendation, and has proposed
a new reading in the passage of Strabo which mentions this town
and its commerce[5].
“I will not speak to you of the silphium (says the Doctor) till
I arrive in the place which produces it . . . but I cannot conceal
from you that I have allowed myself to read, in translating this
passage of Strabo, οπον του σίλφιου, juice of the silphium, instead
of οπον και σίλφιον, juice and silphium.” “We know that from this
plant, peculiar to the soil of the Cyrenaica, the Cyreneans extracted
a most valuable liquid which was particularly celebrated in those
times. The juice of this plant alone was sold on account of the state,
and it was of this liquid only that the contraband trade consisted
which is mentioned by Strabo, and was carried on between the Cyreneans
and Carthaginians. If you will only reflect now (continues Signor
Della Cella, addressing himself as usual to his friend the Professor)
that the Cyrenean liquid is very often used by Strabo, and others
of the ancients, as a synonymous term for the silphium, you will
agree with me in the trifling alteration which is thus effected in
the text of the Grecian geographer.”
We must confess that the substituting the word _of_ for _and_, and
a genitive case for an accusative, appears to us to be hazarding
more than would be ventured upon by critics and commentators in
general; and it is to be feared, at the same time, that there is
scarcely more reason for the changes here proposed than there has
been hesitation in suggesting them. For the plant called silphium
was as much an article of commerce as the liquid which was extracted
from it, and we find them again mentioned as two distinct things
in the very next page to the passage of Strabo which Signor Della
Cella is so desirous of emending[6]. Pliny also distinguishes them
by separate names, calling the extract “laser,” and the plant
“laserpitium;” and many other authorities might be adduced to
the same effect: so that we may perhaps allow the passage of Strabo
to remain in the state in which it usually appears, without any
detriment to its genuine and proper signification.
For ourselves, we are content to believe that the plant laserpitium,
or silphium, was really sold, or rather bartered, at Charax, as
well as the liquor which was extracted from it. We will however
agree with Signor Della Cella in deferring any further remarks on
the silphium till we find ourselves in the country which produced
it; and will in the mean time proceed with our journey along the
shores of the Syrtis.
Soon after passing the several mounds which we have suggested as
the probable remains of Charax, we arrived at the wells of Hudīa;
a name which the Arabs suppose to have been given to this place in
consequence of the bad water usually found there, and which they
consider to be only fit for Jews; the Arab term for a Jew being Hudi,
and the Jews themselves little esteemed by Mahometans.
We will not however venture to attribute this origin to the term
by which the place is distinguished, although it is by no means
improbable that the name may have a reference to the persecuted
people who are here so contemptuously alluded to. We know that the
Jews were formerly very numerous in the Pentapolis, and we find
them described by Procopius as having once inhabited the country
on its western extremity[7]. Hudīa may in such case be the last
settlement they possessed in this neighbourhood, and the place may
very probably have received its appellation from that circumstance.
There being no other resting-place at less than a whole day’s
journey from Hudia, we pitched our tents for the night near the wells
above mentioned; about which we observed considerable remains of
building, of which nothing however now remains but the ground-plans.
Hudīa was a few years ago so much infested by parties of marauding
Arabs, that although they had been completely destroyed or dispersed
by the vigorous measures of the Bashaw, yet the dread which had
been created by their former depredations still continued to be
felt in the place which was once the scene of them. Decoy-fires
were carefully placed by our Arab escort, in various directions, at
the suggestion of Shekh Mahommed, and that worthy personage could
not resist from bestowing a few hearty curses on poor Morzouk,
our watch-dog, who he said was too fond of barking. He related
to us, looking round every now and then as he spoke, the massacre
which was made among the robbers by Mahommed Bey, the eldest son
of the reigning Bashaw, and which the number of piles of stones,
which marked the graves of these unfortunate people, too evidently
proved to have been very extensive. It appears, however, to have
been very necessary; and the consequence is, that the route is now
safe which was before its perpetration impassable.
Mahometan policy considers only the end without caring for the
means which may be used for its accomplishment, and the most summary
mode of getting rid of obnoxious persons is usually considered by
Mussulmen as the best. If we did not approve this indiscriminate
slaughter, we certainly experienced the advantages which resulted
from it, and we slept much more quietly among the tombs of the
robbers than we should probably have been allowed to do had they
never been occupied.
At Hudīa there is a remarkable hill, through which gypsum protrudes
itself in almost every part; it terminates in a conical mound of pure
gypsum, so smooth as to have the appearance of ice, the diameter of
the cone, at its base, being about thirty feet. We found the valleys
between the hills very fertile, producing, among other flowers, a
variety of wild geraniums, singularly mixed with a species of leek,
which flourishes there in great abundance. The water was collected in
a hollow between the hills, and having lately received a fresh supply
from the rains, was found to be tolerably sweet. Neither its flavour
nor its clearness were however much improved by the provident cares
of our Arab conductors, who began to wash their caps and baracans
in it before we were aware of their intentions; and it may readily
be supposed that these articles of dress, which were almost the
only ones that our friends possessed, and which had certainly not
been washed since they left Tripoly, could not be particularly clean.
With this water, however, we managed to commemorate Christmas day,
which occurred while we were at Hudīa, in a much better manner
(so far as conviviality was concerned) than we should have been
able to do, had it fallen a few days later, in the barren, rocky
country which ensued, where no water is to be found at all. It may
be imagined by some that conviviality and dirty water are by no
means compatible with each other; but when the necessaries of life
become luxuries they will always be appreciated as such; and there
are many occasions on which they who might think it impossible
to make merry without wine, would feel themselves both able and
willing to do so in a good hearty draught of muddy water.
Our route on the following day lay over a barren and rugged country,
which continues all the way from Hudīa to the confines of Barca,
where the soil begins gradually to assume a better appearance. In
the afternoon, as we passed Mahirīga, we observed the remains of a
quadrangular building occupying the summit of a low range of hills
which lay between our road and the sea. On a closer examination,
we found it to be different in plan from any building which we had
hitherto met with. At each of the angles there is a circular turret,
sloping down from the top, and becoming considerably wider at the
base. The sides of this building are constructed with well-shaped
stones of four and five feet in length, closely fitted together,
and fastened with an excellent cement; but the turrets were found
to be built of much smaller stones, not shaped or put together with
the same attention to regularity, and proved on near inspection
to be built _on_ to the outer walls and not into them. They may
therefore be considered as forming no part of the original plan,
and have probably been added at some early period by the Arabs. No
traces remain of the external roof of this building, but part of
an arched roof is still visible on the ground-floor within, which,
from its inferior workmanship, we should be inclined to attribute
to the same period at which the turrets were added. Traces of walls
are also seen in the inside of the building, which have formerly
divided it into chambers; they are composed of very small stones
and appear to be of later work than the exterior. This fortress,
for such it has originally been, is surrounded by a wall of four
feet in thickness, enclosing an area of twenty five feet between it
and the outer wall of the building, but there is no appearance of
any trench. The enclosed space is entered by a single gate in the
wall which surrounds it, but no appearance whatever of any entrance
is observable in the walls of the building; and we must therefore
conclude that there was some subterranean communication with it from
without, or that they who entered were drawn up with ropes by persons
already stationed in the fortress; as we have already observed to
be the case in other fortified buildings in the Syrtis. There are
traces of other walls about this building in different directions,
and the whole brow of the hill on which it stands appears to have
been formerly enclosed; below this, to the northward, is a well,
built in the soil, of not more than two feet square, which is now
filled up with rubbish to within five feet of the surface, and
near it are traces of another well, and some large building-stones
apparently little out of their places.
The present height of the turrets and outer walls of the fort are
about fifteen feet; and were it not for the dilapidated condition
of the former, the entrance would not be easy without a ladder.
In a ravine at Mahirīga we found some very good water, which was
particularly acceptable to a party of pilgrims from the westward,
by whom we were joined, on their journey to Mecca. They took up
their abode at night near our tents; and after repeating with
great solemnity the proper number of prayers, made themselves very
comfortable round a large fire, which the chilness of the nights
began to render very necessary; and which was the more severely felt
from being contrasted with the sultry heat of the day, occasioned
by a parching southerly wind.
After consuming with excellent appetites whatever they could procure
from our tents, they would lay themselves down in a circle round
the fire, with their feet as close to it as they could bear, and
sleep very soundly without any other covering than their bernusse,
till the next hour appointed for the performance of their customary
devotions. They were not the least discouraged by the length of the
journey before them, or the difficulties and privations which they
would necessarily have to encounter; but we uniformely found them
contented and cheerful, always offering their assistance, unasked
for, to our people, whenever it seemed to be necessary. Some of
them continued with us as far as Bengazi, and appeared to be very
grateful for the few piastres which we gave them there, to assist
in supporting them on the road to the Holy City.
We found a few Arabs who possessed some sheep and goats in the
neighbourhood of Mahiriga; but we could not prevail upon them to
part with a single animal from their flocks, although they knew we
were wholly without meat, and would themselves have been delighted
to obtain the money which they would have had in exchange for
it. We could not at the time account for this obstinate refusal;
but circumstances soon after convinced us that it was owing to the
intrigues of the Dúbbah.
We continued to travel after leaving Mahiriga over a country
equally barren and uninteresting with that to the westward of it,
and arrived at night at Linoof.
Early the next morning, as we were making the customary preparations
for continuing our journey, we perceived that our new camel-drivers
had all assembled together, and on being told to bring the camels
as usual, not one of them stirred from his place, the whole party
exclaming in concert, in no very conciliatory tones, hàt el
flūs, hàt el flūs, give us the money. Here was evidently one
of those concerted manœuvres which Arabs of all classes are so
skilful in practising; but we were at a loss to conjecture its
real cause, which is generally very different from the apparent
one. At Boosaida, where the camels were hired, we had arranged with
the Dúbbah that they should be paid for on arriving at Bengazi;
and the camel-drivers themselves, who (with the exception of one)
were all his own relations, had certainly understood and agreed to
this arrangement. But they were now in a place which was too well
adapted to their views to be passed without inventing some scheme for
extorting money, a practice which is seldom omitted by an Arab when
he thinks there is a proper opportunity for making such an attempt.
A more dreary and barren spot could scarcely have been anywhere
found than that which our friends here selected; it was at least
two days’ journey from any encampment, and wholly without produce
of any kind; if we except the rocks and stones of the soil, and the
jackalls and hyænas which sheltered themselves among them. It was
imagined that being here without any resource, unable to procure
either provisions or water, and far from any inhabited place, we
should necessarily be induced to comply with whatever demands it
might be advisable to make on the occasion. They could not really
have been anxious about their money; for they had seen the former
camel-drivers punctually paid, and well pleased with the additional
gratification which their general good conduct had induced us to
make them. But the opportunity was too tempting, and they could
not find it in their hearts to pass it over. It is true that had we
paid them every day, the supply of money which we had brought with
us from Tripoly, for the expenses of the road, would not certainly
have lasted us to Bengazi; and there were no means of obtaining
any more till our arrival at that place, where we had an order from
the Bashaw on the Governor of the town. Neither the camel-drivers,
however, or their relation the Dúbbah, were at all aware of the
present slenderness of our supply; and it was not because they
doubted our ability to pay them that they got up the scene which was
acted at Linoof, but because they thought the opportunity too good
to be lost, of getting what money from us they could. Whatever may
have been their object, we were determined not to comply with it,
and accordingly told them that although we should not have had the
least objection to comply with their proposal, had they made it
in a more proper manner, yet the insubordination and the insolence
which they had displayed upon the occasion had determined us at all
events to reject it. We reminded them also of the understanding with
which they were hired at Boosaida, to which none of their party could
plead ignorance, and declared that we should certainly abide by it,
whatever they might imagine to the contrary.
In order however to leave open a door for reconciliation, we told
them at the same time that their treatment depended upon themselves;
and that if they brought the camels immediately and conducted
themselves well for the future, we would pass over their conduct
on this occasion, and make them some little present at Bengazi, in
addition to the hire of their camels, as they had seen us do to the
men of Mesurata. All we could with propriety concede was, however,
of no avail; the men positively refused to bring the camels, and we
as positively refusing to be imposed upon, they all began to drive
them away, and then ranging themselves in a row, unslung their
muskets from their shoulders and began hammering their flints,
and priming them afresh; looking all the time as fierce and as
formidable as they could, as if they were resolved to carry their
point at all risks. A very little will convert a quarrel into a
fray, and it was certainly not our interest to begin one; we were
determined, however, not to be bullied, and as fire-arms had now
been brought forward as arguments, we were not long in producing our
own. We told our opponents, at the same time that we had no wish
to hurt any one of them, that we were quite determined we would
not be dictated to; and that if they persisted in not bringing the
camels, we should despatch one of our party, accompanied by the
chaous, to procure others from the Arabs of Barca; and in case they
refused to supply them, to proceed on with all speed to Bengazi,
where the Bey would not fail to provide them with as many as we
had occasion for. In the mean time, we said, we should load our
own horses, and go back to the Arab tents at Mahiriga, where we
should at least procure water, and would subsist on our remaining
stock of rice till the messengers returned with the camels. We now
threatened the Dúbbah with reporting his conduct to the Bashaw, who
he very well knew was our friend; but he appeared not to mind what
we said, and did not offer to interest himself in our behalf. Our
refractory camel-drivers still refused to bring their camels,
although they did not attempt to proceed further on the offensive
than the hammering and priming above mentioned; and nothing seemed
left for us, but to put our proposed plan into execution, however
ill-timed the delay might be to us, and however unpleasant might be
the annoyances which we should probably have been exposed to from the
Arabs to whose encampment we must remove, while at variance with the
Dúbbah and his relations. As there was, however, no alternative but
submission to the mutineers, or the immediate adoption of some plan
like that we have mentioned, we made up our minds at once upon the
occasion; and having concerted arrangements for despatching two of
our party to Bengazi, we were proceeding to put them in execution,
when matters began to assume a different aspect, and our project
very happily was rendered unnecessary.
The Dúbbah was the first who began to relent; he had probably been
reflecting upon our threat of reporting his conduct, and he very
well knew what an unfavourable footing he would stand upon with the
Bashaw, if he ventured so decidedly to disobey the injunctions he had
received from him when he was directed to conduct us to Bengazi. He
now came out of his tent, and going first to one of his party and
then to another, pretended that he was using all the means in his
power to induce them to relinquish their demands, and to bring
their camels to be loaded as usual; whereas one single word from
him would, at any time of the dispute, have been sufficient to put
an end to it altogether.
This farce was kept up, however, with all due solemnity; and as an
opening was now made towards accommodation, we left Shekh Mahommed
to manage matters in his own way, without letting him know we saw
through his manœuvres. It must be allowed, at the same time, that
the acting on both sides was excellent: some pretended they were
weighing the Dúbbah’s arguments very gravely, while others made a
show of not listening to them at all, and walked away towards their
camels as if to drive them away, the old Shekh following closely,
and holding them by the baracan, while he went through all the
manual of pantomimic persuasion. At last he made his appearance
in our servants’ tent, and told them very gravely that he had
succeeded in appeasing the malcontents, who had now agreed to drop
their demands, and to bring their camels to be loaded. He then went
through a long string of arguments which he had been obliged to
use to induce them to make these concessions, but all of which had
proved unavailing; and he promised at last (he majestically asserted)
laying his hand at the same time on his breast, to be answerable for
the money himself! Nothing, however, would do, till he fortunately
bethought himself of offering _in pledge_ the new gold-lace crimson
burnoose, which His Highness the Bashaw had presented him with on
his departure from Tripoly! All eyes, he observed, were fixed on it,
as he drew this precious object out of the bag; and when he unfolded
the eloquent garment, and displayed all the logic contained in its
rich folds, they had not a word more left to say on the subject,
but consented immediately to receive it in pawn, and to abide by
whatever he should decide.
It is scarcely possible for those who have had no dealings with
Arabs, to imagine all the trouble and exertions which they will give
themselves in getting up a performance of this nature; the whole
piece too is in general so naturally acted, that if the spectators
had no cause for suspicion, they would seldom perceive that the
acting was overdone, which is almost invariably the case in some
part or other of the play. We had been much accustomed to scenes of
the kind, but till the time when the Dúbbah began to interfere,
we never suspected that the parties were not in earnest, although
it was clear that they acted in concert. The good-humour with which
an Arab will bear his disappointment, when nothing after all is
gained by his stratagem, is another very prominent feature in his
character. He never appears to regret the trouble he has taken;
though it may have cost him whole days to plan his manœuvre,
and a great deal of personal exertion to put it in execution. He
bears no ill will to the persons who may have detected him; but will
relate the whole thing as an excellent plot, immediately after its
failure, and commend the penetration of those who have baffled his
best efforts to deceive them.
It was not worth our while to undeceive the old Shekh, by letting
him know that we saw through the whole of this manœuvre, and he
continued to give himself great credit for the mode in which he had
terminated it; he really believed that he had greatly ingratiated
himself with our party by having _pawned_ the new gold laced burnoose
above mentioned to extricate us from our _hazardous situation_,
and took every opportunity of making some pompous allusion to the
liberal part which he had acted. The camel-drivers returned to their
duty as usual, and we continued our journey to Muktahr, where we
arrived on the same day at sunset, just as if nothing had happened.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 1: A great quantity of broken pottery was found at this
place, and red earthen jars were observed protruding through the
sides of the cliff where it had fallen away; the floor and two sides
of a chamber, coated with excellent cement, were also remarked in
the side of the cliff near the sea; the other parts had fallen away
with the rock, and were scattered in ruin on the beach, which was
thickly strewed with remains of the fortress.]
[Footnote 2: We have already stated, on the authority of Pliny, that
the Philænean Altars were of sand; and as they must be looked for in
this neighbourhood, we have supposed them to have been erected in the
sandy tract which we shall shortly mention in our progress eastward
from Bengerwàd. For had they been raised on a spot where other
materials could have been easily obtained, it is not probable that
any so unstable as sand would have been used for the commemoration
of so noble an action as that which occasioned their erection.]
[Footnote 3: Ειτ᾽ αλλος τοπος Χαραξ καλουμενος—ω εμπορειω εχρωντο
Καρχηδονιοι κομιζοντες οινον, αντιφορτιζομενοι δε οπον και
σιλφιον παρα των εκ Κυρηνης λαθρα παρακομιζοντων·—Lib. xvii. p. 688.]
[Footnote 4: For, after mentioning Charax, Strabo adds—ειθ᾽ ὁι φιλαινων
βομοι, και μετα τουτους Αυτομαλα φρουριον, φυλακην εχον, ιδρυμενον
κατα τον μυχον του κολπου παντος· Here we find the fortress of Automala
placed in the innermost recess of the gulf, which is much farther
to the eastward than the point to which we are at present arrived.]
[Footnote 5: Page 79, Italian edition.]
[Footnote 6: Ομορει δε τη Κυρηναια ἡ το σιλφιον φερουσα, και τον οπον
τον Κυρεναιον, ον εκφερει το σιλφιον οπισθεν·—Lib. xvii. p. 837.
Pliny’s words are—Ab his proximum dicetur auctoritate clarissimum
laserpitium, quod Græci vocant silphion, in Cyrenaica provincia
repertum: cujus succum vocant laser, magnificum in usu medicamentisque,
&c.—(Hist. Nat., lib. xix. c. 3.)]
[Footnote 7: De Ædificiis, lib. v. p. 110-11. Par. fol. 1663.]
CHAPTER IX.
Barren and desolate appearance of the Country in the Neighbourhood
of Muktáhr — Sulphur Mines at Kebrīt — Extensive Marsh near
Muktáhr — Arrive at Sachrīn, the southernmost Point of the
Gulf — Singularly desolate and comfortless Appearance of it —
Examination of the Coast from the Heights of Jerīa — Extreme
Difference of its Outline from that laid down in modern Charts —
Suggested Causes of this Error — Accumulation of Sand on the Beach
in this Neighbourhood — Alarm of Signor Della Cella in passing
it — Causes of this Accumulation considered — Character of the
Country at the Bottom of the Gulf — Observations of Signor Della
Cella respecting it — Allusion of the Doctor to the Expedition of
the Psylli — Remarks on the Latitude of this part of the Gulf —
Monuments of the Philæni — Record of their Patriotism by Sallust
— Various Positions of the Philænian Altars by the Ancients
— Boreum Promontorium and Oppidum of Cellarius — Suggested
Causes of their Position by this Author in the Bottom of the Gulf
— Observations on the Nature of the Soil of the Greater Syrtis
— Allusion to the March of Cato across it — Island called
Bushaifa at the Bottom of the Gulf — Gradual Improvement in
the Appearance of the Country — Arrival at Braiga — Remains
observed there — Harbour of Braiga — Heaps of Sulphur lying on
the Beach there for Embarkation — Salt Lake and Marsh at Braiga
below the Level of the Sea — Well-constructed Forts at Braiga
— Braiga considered as the Site of Automala — Contest between
the Avarice and Conscience of the Dúbbah — Its Termination in
Favour of the latter — Arrival at Tabilba — Excavations and
Remains there — Tabilba considered as the Maritimæ Stationes of
Ptolemy — Arrive at Ain Agàn — Chain of Salt Lakes and Marshes
said to extend two Days to the South-eastward — Island of Gàra,
probably the Gaia of Ptolemy — Wells of Sweet Water, Two Miles
to the North-east of Shiebah — Abduction of a Lamb from an Arab
Shepherd by our Party — Consequences of this Measure — Departure
of the Dúbbah in search of his Camels — Arrival at Carcora —
Two Boat Coves observed there — Springs of Fresh Water within a
few feet of a Salt Water Lake — Arrive at Ghimēnes — Forts and
Remains there — Excavated Tombs in the Neighbourhood — Change
of Weather experienced — Wasted Condition of our Horses from
Fatigue and want of Water — Hardy Constitution of the Barbary
Horses — Treatment of them by the Arabs — Improved Appearance
of the Country in approaching Bengazi — Singular Fences of Stone
generally adopted in this part of the Country — Causes of their
Erection — Position of Bengazi — Fertile Appearance of the
Country about it — Arrival at Bengazi — Friendly Reception
of our Party by Signor Rossoni, the British Resident there —
Establish ourselves in the Town for the rainy Season.
The country which we travelled over after quitting Linoof was stony
and perfectly barren: no living creature made its appearance there,
with the exception of a single hyæna, and a species of wild bull
which the Arabs call Bograh-wash, both of which ran off on perceiving
us. Our route for the last two days had been over the rocky ground
a little inland, but the coast between Hudīa and Muktahr is low,
with sand-hills here and there almost the whole way; and has many
small bays formed between very low rocky flats, which are in most
parts not more than a foot above water.
Muktahr is the boundary of the districts of Syrt and Barca, the line
being marked by small piles of loose stones; and from here there is
a road branching off to some sulphur-mines called Kebrīt, which are
situated a day and a half to the southward. The sulphur is brought on
camels from these mines to Braiga, where vessels occasionally arrive
to receive it; and it is probably from that circumstance that the
part of the gulf in this neighbourhood is called by the Arabs, Giun
el Kebrit (Gulf of Sulphur). Near Muktahr is a remarkable table-hill
called Jebbel Allah, and an extensive salt lake (Esubbah Muktahr),
along the edge of which we passed for a few miles, and then crossing
a ridge called Jerīa, proceeded on a few miles further to Sachrīn,
where we pitched the tents for the night.
We had now arrived at the most southern point of the Gulf of
Syrtis, and few parts of the world will be found to present so
truly desolate and wretched an appearance as its shores in this
neighbourhood exhibit. Marsh, sand, and barren rocks, alone meet
the eye; and not a single human being, or a trace of vegetation,
are to be met with in any direction. The stillness of the nights
which we passed in this dreary tract of country was not even broken
by the howlings of our old friends the jackalls and hyænas, which
prowled about our tents in other parts of the Syrtis; and it seemed
as if all the animated part of creation had agreed in the utter
hopelessness of inhabiting it to any advantage[1].
Sachrīn may be said to be the bottom of the gulf, and it was here
more particularly desirable to ascertain the exact form assumed by
the coast in terminating this extensive bay. We proceeded therefore,
early on the morning after our arrival here, to the high land which
we have mentioned at Jerīa, for the purpose of comparing the actual
form of the gulf at this point with that which is assigned to it by
the geographers who have hitherto described it. A thick mist for
some time concealed every part, but it cleared off before noon,
and we had then an extensive view of the whole line of coast. We
had the various charts before us, and the opportunity which now
offered itself was as favourable as could possibly be wished. But how
different was the form which now presented itself to our observation,
from that which appeared in the authorities which we were enabled
to compare with it. Instead of the narrow and cuneiform inlet in
which the gulf has in modern charts been made to terminate, we saw
a wide extent of coast, sweeping due east and west, with as little
variation as possible; and in the place of the numerous ports and
sinuosities which appeared in the maps before us, we saw a shore
but very slightly indented, which offered no possible security to
vessels of any description.
The chart ascribed to Ptolemy is the only one we are acquainted with
which approaches to something like the actual form of the coast;
and every step which modern geographers have receded from this
outline has been a step farther from the truth.
It is difficult to say on what authorities the narrow inlet was
originally introduced which terminates the gulf in the charts above
mentioned; unless, indeed, the terms which have been used by ancient
geographers, in describing this part of the Greater Syrtis, may be
supposed to have occasioned the idea. The castle of Automala is
mentioned by Strabo as situated in the _innermost recess_ of the
gulf[2]. And Pliny speaks of the coast inhabited by the Lotophagi
(which he places in the Greater Syrtis) as being equally in the
_innermost_ part of the bay[3]. It may be possible that these terms
have induced the more recent geographers to consider the gulf
as terminating in an inlet, and to hazard, on their authority,
the introduction of that which is now in question in the absence
of any accurate survey. If such meaning can be supposed to have
been extracted from the term used by Strabo, his authority might
certainly have been safely relied upon by those who employed it
on this occasion without any reproach to their caution; since this
geographer himself visited the coast in a vessel, and may therefore
be supposed to have seen what he described. However this may be,
we can positively assert that no inlet whatever exists in the Gulf
of Syrtis; and that the direction of the coast at the bottom of the
gulf is, as nearly as possible, due east and west for a whole day’s
journey together; turning afterwards to the northward so slightly,
that this difference is scarcely perceptible to the eye. A large
tract of quick sand is also laid down by many in this part of the
Gulf of Syrtis; but we have traversed the sand and the sand-hills
which are found here, on horseback, in almost every direction,
and may safely affirm that they afford as good a footing as any
dry sand or sand heaps can be supposed to present. If any other
authority may be acceptable in proof of the extreme dryness of the
sand in this neighbourhood, we have only to cite that of Doctor
Della Cella to put everything like scepticism on this point at
rest. “Woe be to us,” exclaims this gentleman, (in describing
the sandy tract here alluded to) “if a sirocco, or southerly wind,
had unhappily overtaken us in this place, the whole army would have
been buried beneath the sands which the action of the winds here
raised up in waves no less formidable than those of the sea!”
Now if anything like moisture had really existed in the formidable
particles which caused the Doctor such alarm, he might have looked
in defiance at every point of the compass, without anticipating,
with so much well-described horror, the fatal consequences which
would have resulted to himself and the whole army, had the wind
been unfortunately to the southward.
The anticipation of this premature burial was occasioned by the
passage of Signor Della Cella and the army over a long range
of sand-hills thrown up on the beach in this neighbourhood; and
which are supposed by the Doctor to have been blown there from the
Great Desert to the southward. Of this latter circumstance we have
certainly some doubt; and can more readily imagine the “seven hours
and a half of real misery” endured by our traveller, “under
the influence of a burning sun,” in passing the sand-hills
here mentioned, than we can suppose these unwelcome impediments
themselves to have travelled from the desert in the interior. For
all the sand-hills which encumber the beach in these parts, as well
as all others which we recollect to have seen in the Syrtis, are,
in our opinion, blown up from the beach itself, and not from the
desert to the southward.
The tract of country, at the same time, which intervenes between
these sand-hills and the desert is perfectly clear from any
encumbrance of the kind; which could scarcely be the case if the
masses on the beach had passed over it in their passage from the
Sahara; but Signor Della Cella is further confirmed in his opinion
by the circumstance of his not having been able to perceive, though
he looked, he says, very attentively, any chain of high land in
the interior, between the sand-hills which he mentions and the
desert[4]. “In the tract of country which lies at the bottom of
the gulf” he saw nothing whatever but sand, and no hills whatever
but[5] sand-hills.
From this circumstance the Doctor derives a new proof that the
sand-hills have travelled from the southward; and in further proof
of the non-existence of any chain of hills in this quarter, he has
instanced the passage of northerly winds from the Mediterranean,
to find their equilibrium in the southern regions of Africa; which
passage they could not have effected, he supposes, if they had had a
chain of hills to get over in their journey! The Doctor then proceeds
to relate the expedition of the Psylli, as recorded by Herodotus,
in further support of his position[6]; but in telling us that when
these unfortunate gentlemen arrived on the confines of the desert,
they were all of them buried in the sands which there assailed them,
he does not express the surprise which might be expected at their
not having met with a similar accident long before they arrived
at that point; for this misfortune might assuredly have happened
with equal probability before they set out on their journey to
the southward, if the whole of the country, as we are informed by
the Doctor, consisted of nothing else, from the desert to the sea,
but the formidable red sand which at last put an end to them. The
fact is, however, that the “ampia depressione” which is stated
by Signor Della Cella to exist between the bottom of the gulf and
the great desert, is unfortunately interrupted by a chain of hills,
a little inland, of at least four or five hundred feet in height;
and we will venture to assert that, in the whole of the tract which
has here been described by the Doctor, there is no part where high
land does not intervene between the sand-hills and the desert
alluded to. We are sorry to place so substantial an impediment
in the way of the northerly wind, which the Doctor imagines could
not go to the southward to gain its equilibrium if such a bar were
placed in its route; but if the whole country from the sea to the
Niger were never again to be refreshed with this desirable breeze,
we must still be obliged to leave our hills where we saw them in
spite of so severe a misfortune. In stating that the level supposed
to exist between the bottom of the Gulf of Syrtis and the great
desert is not uninterrupted by hills, we must also observe that
these hills are not of sand, and that a great portion of marshy
and stony land is mingled with the sand which the Doctor states
to be exclusively found there. We must at the same time remark,
that the only part where the sand is red is in the neighbourhood of
the sulphur mines; and this peculiarity may be considered as wholly
occasioned by the nature of the soil where it is found. It is besides
of so fine a texture as to partake more of the nature of dust than
of desert sand, which is neither so red nor so light. It is not
raised up in large heaps like the sand on the beach, but scattered
over the surface in little hillocks, on which a scanty vegetation is
occasionally observable. In fact this substance has no resemblance
whatever either to the sand on the beach or to that of the desert,
and it ceases altogether with the soil which occasions it. How Signor
Della Cella could have confounded it with the sand heaps thrown up
on the beach we are at a loss to imagine; for these are considerably
whiter than the desert sand, while the light powder in question is
considerably redder. Besides, the sand-hills continue long after
this substance has ceased to appear; and in the parts where they
are found in the greatest masses there is not a particle of red
sand to be seen. At the same time that we differ on this point
with Signor Della Cella, we must also confess that his conjecture
with respect to the extension of the gulf to the southward is not
better founded than his remarks on the extension of the sand. For
it is somewhat remarkable, that while the shape of the bottom of
the gulf has been so very incorrectly laid down in modern charts
as it is found to have been, the latitude which has been assigned
to it by the same authorities is as near the truth as possible;
and we may safely affirm that the most southern part of the Gulf
of Syrtis does not approach at all nearer to the desert than it
is made to do in the charts alluded to by Signor Della Cella,
notwithstanding the confidence with which the Doctor maintains a
contrary opinion, on the authority of his friend Captain Lautier[7].
It is somewhere at the bottom of the Syrtis[8] that we must have
looked for the monuments erected to the Philæni, had they still
been in existence; it appears however, as we have before mentioned,
on the authority of Strabo, that they were no longer extant in the
time of that geographer. But if the pillars have disappeared which
marked the spot where the brothers were interred, the record of their
patriotism still exists in the pages of history; and the account
which has been given of this disinterested sacrifice by Sallust
may not perhaps be unacceptable to the reader[9]. “At the time
(says that historian) when the Carthaginians ruled over a great part
of Africa, the people of Cyrene were also powerful and opulent. A
sandy plain was on the frontiers of the two countries, the surface
of which was uniform and unbroken, and neither mountain nor river
appeared in it, by which the boundary of these kingdoms might be
determined; a circumstance which occasioned many frequent and bloody
wars between them. After various alternate successes and defeats,
they entered into the following agreement; that certain persons
deputed by each state should leave their home on an appointed day,
and that the place where the parties might meet should be considered
as the boundary of the kingdoms.”
“Two brothers, named Philæni, were appointed on the part
of Carthage, who contrived to travel faster than the deputies
from Cyrene, but whether this was occasioned by accident, or the
indolence of the Cyreneans, I have not been able (says the historian)
to ascertain.”
“Stormy weather (he adds) might undoubtedly occasion delays in
such a country, as well as it is known to do at sea: for when violent
winds prevail in level and barren tracts, the sand which is raised by
them is driven so forcibly into the faces and eyes of those who cross
them, that their progress is considerably impeded. So soon as the
people of Cyrene were aware of the ground which they had lost, and
reflected on the punishment which would await them, in consequence,
on their return, they began to accuse the Carthaginians of having
set out before the appointed time; and when a dispute arose on the
subject, they determined to brave everything rather than return
home defeated. In this state of affairs, the Carthaginians desired
the Greeks to name some conditions of accommodation; and when the
latter proposed that the deputies from Carthage should either be
buried on the spot which they claimed as the boundary, or allow
them to advance as far as they chose on the same conditions, the
Philæni immediately accepted the terms, and giving themselves
up to the service of their country, were buried alive on the spot
where the dispute had occurred. On the same spot two altars were
consecrated to their memory by the people of Carthage, and other
honours were also decreed to them at home[10].”
In the old map of Peutinger (as we have stated above) we find
the Philænean altars placed much farther to the westward in
the neighbourhood of the little Syrtis; but the authorities of
Ptolemy[11], Strabo, Pliny, and Mela, are sufficient to fix them
in the Greater Syrtis; and as they are expressly stated by Strabo
(lib. 17) to have occurred before Automala[12], in passing from
west to east, we must suppose them to have existed somewhere in the
tract of country just described, since the fortress of Automala is
laid down by that geographer in the bottom of the gulf[13]. There
is a difficulty in reconciling the accounts of Pliny and Mela on
this point; for the Philænean altars are mentioned by the former of
these writers as placed on the eastern boundary of the country of the
Lotophagi, which he lays down in the bottom of the gulf[14]. Mela may
be understood to assign the same position to the altars (although
something appears wanting in the text in this part to connect the
two sentences together)[15]; but then he makes the country of the
Lotophagi commence at the Borion (Boreum) Promontorium, and finish
at the promontory of Phycus (answering to Ras Sem), and this will
place the Lotophagi far in the Cyrenaica, and out of the Gulf of
Syrtis altogether, which finishes at the Boreum Promontorium.
It seems to be with the intention of reconciling these accounts
in some degree, that Cellarius has placed a Boreum Promontorium
and Oppidum in the bottom of the gulf. And he is indeed somewhat
justified in doing so, by the position assigned to a city called
Boreum (βοριον) by Procopius, which is mentioned by that
writer as the most western city of the Pentapolis, and distant about
four days from Augila. This is the city which we have mentioned,
in speaking of Hudīa, as having been inhabited by Jews of the
Cyrenaica; it was exempt from the payment of tribute and duties,
and was fortified at the same time with the adjacent country, by the
command of the emperor Justinian[16]. But the Borion Promontorium
is at the same time mentioned by Pliny as the eastern extremity of
the Gulf of Syrtis, as which it is also considered by Ptolemy and
Strabo; so that except we may allow that there were two places of
this name, we can see no mode of reconciling so many contradictory
statements. This accommodation, as we have mentioned above,
appears to have been intended by Cellarius, who has marked one of
his promontories at the eastern boundary of the gulf, and placed
the other at the bottom of it.
We cannot quit this subject without observing that the idea which
appears to have been entertained by the ancients of the soil of the
Greater Syrtis, is not confirmed by an inspection of the country
in question. Cato is described by Strabo as having marched his
army across the Syrtis through deep and burning sands[17], and
Lucan has given so exaggerated an account of the same march, as
to make his description almost wholly poetical[18]. Sallust also,
in his account of the Philæni, describes the “level and sandy
plain, in which these monuments were erected, without either river
or mountain by which they might be distinguished[19]”. But there
is no sandy plain of this description in the bottom of the Syrtis;
and, although there is no river, there are certainly mountains, if
hills of solid stone, of from four to six hundred feet in height,
may be entitled to that distinction.
It is true that the chain of hills at the bottom of the gulf run
in an east and westerly direction, and might not, on that account,
be well calculated for objects by which limits in the same direction
might be ascertained; but the account given by Sallust would lead
us to imagine (as it seems to have done Signor Della Cella) that
the place was without any inequalities of this nature whatever.
Again, if it be true that Cato marched his army over the sand-hills
which appear to have been so laboriously traversed by the army
which the doctor accompanied, it was certainly no very good proof
of the patriot’s generalship; for, with the exception of one
place, where the passage is occasionally impeded by marshy ground,
reaching close up to the foot of the sand-hills on the beach, there
could have been no occasion for crossing the sand at all, since the
country to the southward of it is clear [20]. The same may be said of
the whole tract of country in general, where sand-hills are found in
the Syrtis and Cyrenaica; the sand-heaps being confined to the beach
alone, and not overspreading the whole face of the soil. Indeed,
after passing the bottom of the gulf, the country at the back of
the sand-hills becomes very capable of cultivation, and affords, in
many places, an excellent pasturage. So that if we should consider
the Syrtis in general as a large unbroken body of sand, which the
ancients seem mostly to have done, we should certainly form a very
wrong idea of the nature of the country in question.
North-west of Sachreen, which may be considered as the bottom of
the gulf, at about a mile and a quarter from the shore, is a small
islet called Bushaifa, with breakers east and west of it; and to
the southward is a large marsh, with a ruin on a small rising ground
inland of it: from here a valley extends eastward between the high
land to the southward and some sand-hills on the coast. The road
lies tolerably close along the sides of these sand-heaps, which
in some places rise abruptly from the edge of the marsh, leaving a
very narrow path between the two. It was probably here that Signor
Della Cella and the army which he accompanied chose the passage
over the sand-hills in preference to that along the marsh at the
foot of them; or it may be possible that the water of the marsh
reached too close to the sand-hills when they passed, to allow of
any choice of road at all. We however found the path at the foot
of the sand-hills very practicable, although we were occasionally
obliged to pass singly along it. Had these sand-hills been capable
of suddenly detaching large masses from their summits or sides, we
might occasionally perhaps have been buried _pro tempore_ under their
weight, and might, in some places, have experienced considerable
difficulty in extricating ourselves at all; but we must confess
that we did not anticipate any very fatal effects from the action
of southerly winds; nor did we believe it very probable that an
avalanche of sand would seize the precise moment in which we were
passing under it to precipitate itself upon our heads. Two hours,
we should imagine, would fully suffice for the accomplishment of
the passage between the marsh and the sand-hills, at any season in
which it might be practicable; and if double that time be allowed
for the passage over the hills in question, when that below might
be impassable from the rise of the water in the marsh, we should
conclude it would be amply sufficient. As there is no other part
of the gulf in which it could, at any time, be absolutely necessary
to pass over the sand-hills at all, we are at a loss to imagine why
the army of the Bey, and that of his Roman predecessor, should have
given themselves so much trouble in crossing them. Immediately after
the marsh commences pasture land, and after five hours’ journey
from Sachreen, we arrived at a place called Gartubbah, where we
found some Arab tents, and established ourselves for the night.
The next morning we proceeded on to Braiga, where we were led to
expect, from the report of our Arab guides, that we should find
a harbour full as good as that of Tripoly. Braiga has been a
strongly-fortified post, as appears from the remains of several
well-constructed and spacious castles which have been erected
there. On the western point of the bay which constitutes the mersa
(or harbour) is some tolerably high land, on which one of the
forts has formerly stood; but which is now so much destroyed
and encumbered with rubbish, as to offer little interest on
examination. Along the same range of hills are other remains of
building, originally connected with this fort, part of which we were
induced to excavate, but found the chamber which we cleared to have
been merely a storehouse for grain, or a reservoir for preserving
water. It had been excavated in the rock, on the top of the range,
and may be considered as offering an excellent example of the durable
quality of the cement employed by the Romans in its formation[21]:
for the stone in which it had been excavated had crumbled away,
and left the cement with which the interior had been coated standing
upright in its original position, in defiance of the storms of wind
and rain which must have frequently assailed it from the sea.
We found some Greek and Roman characters traced in the interior,
and the representation of a ship and a palm-tree, of which copies
will be found annexed, together with plans of the forts and of the
chamber excavated. The surface of the cement on which these objects
had been sketched was as smooth and as perfect as it could have been
at any time, and we were in hopes, when we first saw the drawings,
that others would be found on further excavation, and probably some
inscription in Greek or Latin, by which we might have dated these
productions. No other drawings or letters however were found, and
we were obliged to content ourselves with taking copies of those
described, and in making the plan of the chamber.
The ground about this excavation, and, indeed, along the whole range,
was strewed with fragments of pottery and glass, among which we
found a brass coin of Augustus Cæsar in a very tolerable state of
preservation. While the excavations were going on in this quarter
(for the outer wall of one of the forts was also cleared a few feet,
in order to obtain the measurements of the gateway by which it had
been entered) the plan of the harbour had been completed, as far
as it was possible without boats, and the reefs were set down by
bearings and estimated distance. The best landing for boats was found
to be under the high point which we have mentioned to the westward,
on which the fort excavated had been built; and on the beach at
this angle were several heaps of sulphur, collected in equal-sized
masses for embarkation, which had been brought on camels from the
mines to the southward, and were said to belong to Mahommed Ali,
the Pasha of Egypt. South-west of this point there is a large salt
lake and marsh, which are evidently below the level of the sea,
as we perceived a stream of salt water oozing from out a porous
part of the rock on the sea-side, about eight feet above the level
of the lake, and running into it. The land at the east and western
extremities of the lake is so low, as to render it very probable
that it may once have communicated with the sea, and that the
point on which the fort stands may have been an island. If there
should prove to be sufficient water in the harbour of Braiga, it is
probable that good anchorage would be found there, with all winds,
behind reefs of breakers extending across the mouth of it: it may
be easily distinguished by the very high sand-hills at the back
of it, and by the ruin on the rocky point mentioned at its western
extremity. Among these sand-hills are some wells, in which the water,
though several hundred feet above the level of the sea, is perfectly
brackish. Beyond them to the southward is a hilly country covered
with verdure, in which a number of camels were feeding, and numerous
flocks of sheep and goats; but although we found ourselves in the
midst of such plenty, we were unable to purchase a single sheep, in
consequence of our friend the Dúbbah’s manœuvres. At Gartubbah,
which possessed the same advantages, we were equally unable to
succeed in a similar attempt. Among the green hills just mentioned
are several ruins of forts, of the same quadrangular form as usual,
and which have been built with large stones very regularly shaped;
so that Braiga may be considered as a military station, and must have
certainly been one of importance[22]. If it be necessary to give it
an ancient name, we should consider it as the site of Automala, which
was also a military station, according to the account of Strabo[23].
Automala, it is true, has been laid down by this geographer at the
innermost part of the gulf, which must be taken as the most southern
point of it; and the coast had already begun to bend to the northward
before we arrived at Braiga. But a place which would answer to the
description here given of Automala, could scarcely have disappeared
altogether; and there is no place of any kind at the bottom of
the gulf before the occurrence of Braiga. The coin of Augustus,
which was found among the ruins of Braiga, would afford some proof
of its having existed in the time of that emperor, and the form
and solidity of the buildings which are found there sufficiently
point it out as a fortified position. No fortified place is however
mentioned to have existed in this neighbourhood, except Automala;
and if Braiga may not be considered as the remains of that fortress,
it has been wholly overlooked by the ancient authorities, and we
know of no name which can be properly bestowed upon it.
We should be the more inclined to consider the fortifications
of Braiga as those which are mentioned at Automala, from the
circumstance of their vicinity to other remains, which answer
extremely well to those of the _maritimæ stationes_ laid down in
the map of Ptolemy. In this map, the stations are placed a little
to the northward of Automala, with no other place intervening;
and the position of Braiga with regard to Tabilba, which answers
precisely to the _maritimæ stationes_, is exactly that assigned
to Automala in the order here adopted by Ptolemy.
Sachreen may undoubtedly be considered as the extremity of the gulf
in its present state; but a place which was only twenty miles distant
from it might well have been said to be situated in this recess, by a
person who viewed it from the sea, particularly when the outline of
this part of the gulf is considered at the same time. Braiga, from
the sea, must have, besides, been at all times very conspicuous; and
we can scarcely imagine that the fort which stands so high above the
beach there would have been unnoticed by Strabo, had it existed in
his time, which we may suppose with probability that it did. He has,
however, noticed only Automala; and it remains to be considered how
far we are really authorized in assuming these places as the same,
upon the data already before the reader[24].
Before we left Braiga, one of the Arabs of the place brought a
present of five lambs to the tents, and gave them in charge to
Shekh Mahommed el Dúbbah, who, thinking that this would prove a
most excellent opportunity of showing his generosity to the best
advantage, as well as his extraordinary influence with the Arabs
of the place, in being able to procure sheep when we could not
purchase them at all, made his appearance with great ceremony at the
entrance of our tent, with two of the lambs above mentioned. After
many compliments and professions of service, he offered the two
lambs as a present from himself, and begged we would do him the
favour to accept them. As we had lately found reason to be much
dissatisfied with the Dúbbah’s conduct, we did not choose to be
under an obligation to him; and having given him to understand the
reason of our refusal, declined accepting the lambs as a present,
but offered at the same time to purchase them. The old Shekh looked
disconcerted, as we intended he should be, and slowly retired
from the tent. And now began a parley between his avarice and his
conscience, which terminated at length in favour of the latter;
for, though not very tender on most occasions, this inward monitor
of our worthy conductor would not allow him to receive money for
what he knew was already our own, although it did not object to let
him take the credit of presenting it to us. The result was, that he
soon after paid us a second visit, bringing with him the two lambs
as before, but which he now acknowledged were intended as presents
to us, instead of to himself, as he assured us he had imagined:
he informed us, at the same time, that the Arab who brought them
was a shepherd belonging to the Bashaw, who wished to shew us what
attentions were in his power, and had presented us with the best that
he had. The other three lambs, he said, were really intended for him;
but we afterwards found, from the shepherd in question, that the
whole number had been presented to us. We also discovered that the
reason why we could not, on many occasions, procure sheep or goats
from the Arab tents which we passed on our journey, at which we had
often been surprised, was because two of our party, followers of the
Dúbbah, had usually gone before on pretence of reconnoitring, and
had strictly enjoined the Arabs not to sell us anything whatever. We
afterwards recollected, in confirmation of this manœuvre, that the
only times when we had been able to purchase sheep were those at
which we had accidentally been in advance of this worthy couple;
and the Arabs we chanced to meet seldom failed on these occasions
to ask us, of their own accord, whether we did not want a sheep or
a goat, some butter, manteca, or other articles of provision, which
they would have been able to furnish us with, and which they would,
in fact, have been glad to dispose of. We could assign no other
motive for this conduct on the part of our Arab guides, than the
wish of making us as dependent as possible upon themselves, that
they might either have an opportunity of showing their influence,
or of planning with more effect some scheme to impose upon us. Yet
the very same people who would take so much trouble to forward
their own interested views, at the expense of another, would in all
probability consider themselves greatly to blame, or at any rate
highly disgraced, if they suffered a hungry traveller, of whatever
creed or nation, to leave their own tents unsatisfied, should he
apply to them for relief. But such is the inconsistency of Arab
character; and it may perhaps be said, that he who should consider
them as a generous nation, because they practised this species of
hospitality, would be as much deceived in his opinion of them, as
he would be who should imagine that they have no liberal feelings,
because they are well skilled in selfish tricks and manœuvres.
On leaving Braiga, we travelled over a hilly country to the eastward,
and passed two interesting ruins of ancient forts, of which we
contrived to obtain plans. About noon we halted near a bold rocky
promontory, called by the Arabs Tabilba, on which are the remains
of a castle. On a hill just above it are the ruins of a very strong
fortification, which was connected with the castle by a wall of
five feet in thickness carried quite round the precipice on which
it stood. This was defended on the inland side by a fosse of thirty
feet in width excavated in the solid rock; and the rubbish extracted
from it was piled up to form a bank on the outer side. On the beach
are the remains of a wall remarkably well constructed, or it never
could so long have resisted the violence of the surf which beats
against it. It appears to have formed part of a landing-place or quay
which has originally been built in its immediate neighbourhood. The
interior of the rock on which the castle stands has been excavated
into numerous galleries and chambers, which seem to have answered
the purpose of barracks. Some of these are very spacious and very
well finished; but the dash of the sea, which now washes through
the exterior chambers, has completely destroyed their surface, and
has left them in parts so little foundation as to render it very
dangerous to enter them. In fact, the base of the rock in which
these excavations have been made is perforated like a honeycomb
by the continual action of the sea, which now washes through the
hollows with a roar which may be heard at a considerable distance,
and must in stormy weather be tremendous. In one of the chambers
were several Greek inscriptions which have been written with ink
on the walls; but they are now so indistinct, that we could not
succeed in copying more than a few words of one of them.
They are written in what may be called the running-hand of the
Greeks of the Roman Empire, and it is probable that one much
accustomed to this character might succeed, with the assistance of
a strong and steady light, and the frequent application of water
to the inscriptions, in making out more than we were able to do
with the little time we had at our disposal, and the light we
were able to procure. In other parts of the rock were excavated
tombs, some of which were entered by a quadrangular well, in the
manner of those common in Egypt. We found nothing in any of them
but scattered bones, from which we were not able to ascertain the
mode of burial adopted. There can be no doubt that great part of
the rock just described has already been washed away by the sea,
which has here gained considerably on the land; and several wells
are now observable some feet under water, which were of course
originally above its level.
In the wall fronting the south, we observed part of an arch
protruding itself from among the rubbish which encumbered it;
and found, on clearing it, that it had been constructed without a
key-stone, of square blocks, arranged so as to touch each other at
the bottom, and having the interstices above filled up with good
cement, which appeared to be more durable than the stone. We found
other examples of arches so constructed in different parts of the
Syrtis and Cyrenaica. The appearance of the top of the arch just
described had given us hopes of discovering an entrance to some
part of the fortification through the wall in which it was formed;
but we found to our disappointment, on clearing it from the rubbish,
that what we thought would prove the entrance extended no more than
three feet from the external surface; and that all farther advance
was prevented by a solid wall built across it, which appeared to be
part of the original structure. Among the rubbish we found a silver
coin, and several copper ones, so corroded that it was impossible
to ascertain their antiquity.
We should willingly have given a much longer time to the examination
of the ruins at Tabilba than the few hours we were enabled to
bestow upon it; but the lateness of the season left us no choice
on the subject, and we had already spent more time at Braiga than
we could well afford to employ in such researches. It must however
be confessed, that if we had doubted the probability of being able
to return and examine them with greater minuteness, we might have
been tempted to stay longer at many places in the Syrtis than we
should perhaps have been authorized in doing.
We have no hesitation in supposing Tabilba to be the site of the
_maritimæ stationes_ of Ptolemy. Its position corresponds so
well with that assigned to the naval stations in question, and its
remains are so well calculated to induce the belief that they have
originally been appropriated to the defence and accommodation of
a considerable number of men, that we cannot be sceptical on the
occasion. On either side of the promontory on which the castle has
been built is a small sandy bay, neither of which at present affords
any shelter for vessels, but from which the galleys of the ancients
might have been easily drawn up on the beach, when it might not
have been practicable for them to keep the sea.
This mode of sheltering their vessels was common to the Greeks and
Romans, to whom a port, such as in our days would be considered a
good one, appears to have been by no means necessary. We are told
indeed by Strabo, that this part of the coast was very sparingly
provided with ports and watering-places[25], and the harbour which
he calls the best in the Syrtis is now no harbour at all[26]. Mersa
Braiga is in fact the only port in the gulf which can at all be
considered as such, in our estimation of the term; and here the
shelter is only afforded by breakers, and could not prevent the small
vessels of the ancients from being driven on shore in stormy weather.
On the day after our arrival at Tabilba we continued our journey
along the coast, and proceeded to Ain Agàn, passing two ruins
of forts conspicuously situated on the hills. The beach in this
neighbourhood presents a very dreary prospect; but the scene is
much improved after passing the wady, and the country then begins
to be cultivated. Many flocks of sheep and goats soon presented
themselves to our view, and tents were scattered about in all
directions. We procured from the Arabs here a scanty supply of corn
for our horses, of which the poor animals stood very much in need;
but we were obliged to apply for it in a more decided tone than we
had hitherto found it necessary to assume on such occasions, as the
Arabs, though they had plenty, were not very willing to part with
it. There are some wells of brackish water at Ain Agàn, which is
however the best that this neighbourhood affords, and we were glad
to fill all our water-skins with it before we proceeded any farther.
A few miles from Ain Agàn is a remarkable hill, called Aàlum
Limàrish, the summit of which overlooks an extensive tract of
country, and Mersa Braiga may be plainly distinguished from it. To
the southward of Aàlum Limàrish we observed a chain of lakes
and swamps, which the Chaous informed us extended two days to the
south-eastward. They communicated with the wady at Ain Agàn, and
might once have joined the sea; the water in them is quite brackish.
To seaward we observed an island about a mile in length, with
breakers east and west of it extending a considerable distance; from
which we may infer that it was once much larger. The Arab name for
this island (which is Gàra) too much resembles that of Gaia, one
of those laid down by Ptolemy, to leave much doubt of their being
the same. Gàra is situated farther to the north eastward than the
island which we allude to in the map of Ptolemy, and is besides
nearer the coast; but the similarity of the names cannot here be
overlooked, and we do not hesitate to identify it with Gaia. At
about a mile from the shore, nearly opposite Aàlum Limarish, is
a remarkably white rock, about forty feet high, and steep on all
sides; it has breakers scattered about it, and should not be closely
approached till better known: beyond this rock, which is called
Ishaifa, we perceived the sea breaking heavily over another rock,
as much as four miles from the shore, which extends itself in reefs
towards Gàra. There are two other islands laid down by Ptolemy in
the Gulf of the Greater Syrtis; but one of these is placed in the
neighbourhood of Aspis, where we could perceive nothing whatever
like an island, and the other is laid down so far in the centre
of the Gulf, that we could not certainly have seen it had it been
still in existence. On coming abreast of Gàra, which lies about six
miles off shore, we had a good opportunity of observing it with our
glasses; it appeared to be covered with verdure, and we thought we
perceived some appearances of building upon it; it rises in white
cliffs from the sea, in some parts very abruptly, but the table-land
on their summits was green when we passed it. It was in vain that we
longed for some means of crossing over to this island, for there is
not a boat or a vessel of any description to be found from one end
of the Gulf of Syrtis to the other; but we consoled ourselves with
the idea that it would be visited by the officers of the Adventure,
which we afterwards found to have been the case. In passing by Ain
Agàn, the Shekh of the place paid us a visit; but as we found that
we could obtain no information from him, and he soon discovered that
there was little chance of getting any bàkshis from us, the visit
was not of very long duration. From Aàlum Limàrish to Sheibah,
the country is much encumbered with sand-hills, which are however
partially covered with vegetation; and finding we made but little
progress in passing among them, we kept along the beach, which
is hard and level as far as Rhout el Assoud, so called from its
dark colour. Near Sheibah we found the water tasted very strong
of sulphur, besides being brackish and stinking, but among some
sand-hills two miles beyond it there were several wells of sweet
water; a circumstance which it is essential to know, as the water
of Sheibah can scarcely be called drinkable, and there is no other
but that just alluded to at less than two days from the place.
On our way to Rhout el Assoud we passed several flocks of sheep,
but could not persuade the shepherd to part with a single one. As we
were now heartily tired of being so often refused what there seemed
to be no sufficient reason for withholding, we told the man that
we should act as the Bashaw’s people would on similar occasions,
if he did not think more considerately on the subject; which was as
much as to say, that if he would not part with his sheep voluntarily,
we should certainly make bold to take it without his leave; the only
difference being, that His Highness’s people would have taken the
animal without paying for it, while we were quite ready to pay the
full price of it. But the Arab, who had evidently been tampered with
by the Dúbbah, was steady in his decided refusal; and we were too
hungry to wait very long in endeavouring to reason him out of his
obstinacy. Besides, we had already proposed an alternative, and could
not with credit avoid putting our threat in execution. As neither
our dignity, therefore, nor our appetites, would allow us to discuss
with our obstinate Arab friend the propriety or impropriety of eating
his mutton against his will, we judged it better to dispense with
all such logical minutiæ on a subject where the parties were not
likely to agree, and, dropping the argument, we took up the sheep,
and tendered the money we had offered for it. Our opponent, however,
was still as obstinate as before in refusing to take our piastres,
though he saw a fat sheep take its departure from his flock, and
occupy a position upon our Chaous’s shoulders, while nothing
remained to him in lieu of it. We had no doubt, on our leaving
him, that he would change his mind before long, and told him,
in consequence, where we meant to pitch our tents, that he might
come for his money at his own leisure and convenience. But the
sheep was killed and eat, at least a good part of it, and still no
shepherd appeared; and we went to sleep in full assurance that he
would come the next morning before the camels were loaded. During
the night our Arab watch-dog kept up a continual barking, very much
to the annoyance of old Shekh Mahommed, who was always rejoiced to
have any opportunity of finding fault with poor Morzouk, whom he
frequently honoured with the titles of useless cur, noisy rascal,
and other equally flattering appellations. Our whole party, however,
were too much tired with the day’s exertions to pay any particular
attention to this warning; and indeed it must be said that our
shaggy young guardian was too much in the habit of employing his
nights in barking merely for his private amusement, to render any
further notice of him absolutely necessary, than that of lifting up
occasionally the canvass of the tent to throw a stick or a stone at
him, accompanied in general with some little verbal admonition. No
one, however, was kept awake on this occasion, so far as we have
been able to learn, but old Shekh Mahommed el Dúbbah; and we have
reason to believe that his opinion of Morzouk’s sagacity was not
quite so indifferent after this night’s alarm, as it had been
before its occurrence; for the first thing which he discovered on
turning out in the morning, which he usually did very early, was
that three of his camels were missing; and on summoning his people,
and searching everywhere in the neighbourhood, no traces whatever
could be seen of them, but the track of their footsteps in the sand,
with those of a man in their company.
It was impossible not to laugh when the fact became current that
some of the Dúbbah’s camels had been stolen, and we really
believe that every individual of our party, with the exception of
himself and his sons, were wicked enough to enjoy the circumstance,
and to consider it as an excellent joke. No sooner were the traces
observed by the Dúbbah of the man’s footsteps who had carried off
his camels, than he knew them to be those, at least so he declared,
of our obstinate friend the shepherd above mentioned. The man
certainly never made his appearance again while we remained in the
neighbourhood, and it is probable that he took this summary process
of paying himself for the sheep which had been so unceremoniously
transferred from his flock to our kitchen kettle.
Three camels were no doubt something more than a fair remuneration
for the loss of a single sheep; but then something was to be allowed
for the risk of the raid, and everybody owned that the camels had
been lifted in a very neat and expeditious manner, such as would not
have disgraced the keenest moss-trooper on record in the annals of
Border exploits. The animals had perhaps been supposed to be ours;
or it may be that the reaver was not particular as to property,
and had merely contented himself with taking as much as he could
carry off, without reference to the doctrine of retribution. Be
this as it may, the visitation had in reality fallen upon the head
of the proper person; for had it not been for the intrigues of the
Dúbbah, our obstinate friend would have been happy to sell us as
many sheep as we might have required of him; and we were all too
well convinced of this circumstance to regret the loss which the
old Shekh had sustained.
Our stock of provisions, both for ourselves and our horses, was by
this time so much diminished, that we had (we know not whether to
say luckily or unluckily) no absolute occasion for the camels which
were missing; and the remaining ones had little more to carry, in
addition to their former loads, than a collection of empty baskets
and boxes, which could now only serve to feed the flames or the
camels themselves[27]. There was in consequence no occasion for
delaying our advance, by seeking to replace the loss sustained;
and we continued to move on as usual, with no other motive for
discontent than the absence of old Shekh Mahommed, whom we sadly
longed to plague on his indifference to the summons which had been so
loudly and unceasingly given him by the “_useless_ cur Morzouk, who
_always_ barked without the slightest occasion.” But the Dúbbah
had taken horse before the camels were loaded, and was following
the tracks of his lost animals as fast as he could spur his old mare.
At a short distance from Rhout el Assoud, we observed, to the north
eastward, about a mile distant from the shore, six rocks connected by
breakers, under which there appeared to be good anchorage for small
vessels: the coast opposite them is low, and formed in shallow sandy
bays, some of which have rocks extending across their entrance, and
would afford protection for boats. At night we halted at Shohàn,
without having seen a single living object during the day. On
a hill near Shohàn are the remains of a Maràbut, overlooking
a large plain covered with brushwood. From this hill we could
perceive the ruins of two forts situated upon eminences to the
south eastward. On the following day, after travelling eight hours
along a plain, bounded by marsh and sand-hills towards the sea,
we reached Carcora, where we hoped to find the place described
by Captain Lautier on the north side of the bay, in which he
states that he discovered an ancient well containing many Greek
inscriptions[28]. All our researches, however, on this point were
unavailing; and the Arabs we met with about Carcora were all positive
in affirming that no such well existed. We had the more reason to
regret our failure, as the inscriptions (should they have turned
out to be legible) would most probably have given us names and
dates which might have been essentially useful to us, and could
scarcely have failed of being interesting. There are at Carcora
two coves which would serve for boats; they may be known by some
high sand-hills lying between them, and by two ruins situated upon
the hills inland nearly abreast of them[29]. With the exception
of these coves, there is nothing whatever of any interest on the
coast between Carcora and Bengazi. Inland, however, there are many
ruins of ancient forts, and considerable remains of building, which
become more numerous and interesting as they approach Bengazi. At
Ghimenes, which is a day’s journey to the northward of Carcora,
there are several interesting remains of ancient forts; some of
which are altogether on a different plan from those which have been
already described. They are built of large unequal-sized stones,
put together without any cement, and made to fit one into another in
the manner which has been called Cyclopian. Their form is a square,
with the angles rounded off, and some of them are filled up with
earth, well-beaten down, to within six or eight feet of the top;
the upper part of the wall being left as a parapet to the terrace,
which is formed by the earth heaped within it.
In the centre of the terrace we sometimes found the foundations of
building, as if chambers had been erected upon it; the roofs of
which, in that case, must have been higher than the outer walls
which formed the parapet; and a space seems always to have been
left between these central buildings and the parapet, in which the
garrison placed themselves when employed in defending the fort. An
opening like a window was observed in the parapet of one of the
Cyclopian castles at Ghimenes, which might have been used for
drawing up those who entered the fort, as there was no other mode
of entrance whatever. In fact there could scarcely have been any
communication between the upper and lower parts of these erections;
for the whole space between the walls was filled up with earth in the
manner already related, to within a few feet of the top. We noticed
near most of them a small rising ground, with one or two wells in
it, having remains of building about it; they were generally within
fifty yards of the fort, by which they were commanded.
The castles have most of them been surrounded with a trench, on the
outer side of which there is generally a low wall strongly built
with large stones. Some of the trenches which have been excavated
in the solid rock of the soil are of considerable depth and width;
and in one instance, occurring between Ghimenes and Bengazi, we
observed chambers excavated in the sides of the trench, as we find
to be the case in that which surrounds the second pyramid, and which
is equally formed in the rocky soil on which the building stands,
although of course on a much larger scale. The trench of the fort
here alluded to is about five-and-twenty feet in width, and its
depth about fifteen; the fort itself is an hundred and twenty-five
feet in length, and ninety in width, of a quadrangular form, and
in the centre of each of its sides is a quadrangular projection,
sloping outwards from the top, of twenty feet in length by twelve,
which appears to have served both as a tower and a buttress.
The measurements are here given in the rough, but they will be found
in detail by a reference to the ground-plan and elevation No. 9,
in the plate containing the details of some of the forts which have
been noticed in the course of the journey.
In some instances we found wells in the trenches surrounding the
forts, at others, within the outer walls; and more frequently without
the forts altogether, among traces of building in their immediate
vicinity. The remains of building last mentioned were sometimes very
considerable; but the ground-plans alone of these are now extant,
from which little more may be collected than that the chambers were
built in squares, ranged in line with some attention to regularity,
though differing a good deal in size. Tombs are occasionally found
excavated in the neighbourhood of such forts as are built on a rocky
soil; but we never were fortunate enough to find any thing in them
which could point out decidedly the mode of burial which had been
adopted. Some of these were entered by wells of different depths,
and others by approaches cut in the rock, sloping down from the
upper part of the door, like those in front of the Kings’ tombs
at Thebes.
The remains about Ghimenes and Imshaila may answer to those of
the Diachersis Præsidium of Ptolemy; but we are not aware of any
remains which may be pointed out on the coast as those of the Turris
Herculis, or of the Diarrhœa Portus, of this geographer.
When we had arrived within a day’s journey of Bengazi, the
weather, which had hitherto been very fine for the time of year,
began to show that the rainy season had commenced in good earnest,
and we congratulated ourselves in having escaped it so long; for
had the bad weather overtaken us sooner, it would effectually have
put an end to our researches, and obliged us to advance as fast as
possible upon Bengazi, the only place which could have sheltered us
between Mesurata and Derna. Indeed, it would have been difficult to
make any progress at all; for the ravines would, in a few hours,
have assumed the form of torrents, and the marshy ground have
become everywhere dangerous, and in most places wholly impassable;
our camels besides would have fallen every moment under their loads,
as they cannot keep their feet in slippery weather, and some of our
horses would certainly have sunk under the exertions which would
have been necessary to overcome these additional disadvantages. As
it was, we had been obliged to lead two of the horses for several
days before our arrival at Bengazi, and it would indeed be thought
extraordinary, by those accustomed only to the horses of Europe,
that any of them arrived there at all after the fatigues and
privations which they had endured. They had all of them been rode
through the whole of the day, over a country without any roads,
for more than two months successively, exposed to the heat of the
sun during the day, and without any shelter from the cold and damp
of the night; while at the same time, instead of having any extra
allowance to enable them to support this exertion, they were often
left, unavoidably, for more than four-and-twenty hours, without
anything whatever to eat or drink, and on one occasion were as much
as four days without a drop of water of any kind. It may therefore
be readily imagined that they were not in very excellent condition
before half the journey had been accomplished, and indeed it was
distressing to see the wasted carcasses which most of them presented
on arriving in the neighbourhood of Bengazi; but we may venture to
say that few, if any, European horses, under similar circumstances,
would have survived the journey which they performed at all; much
less have displayed the activity and spirit which never left them,
under so much fatigue and privation.
We were often amused, in spite of his forlorn condition, with the
spirit exerted on all occasions by an old white horse, which was
rode by one of our servants; he had belonged for many years to a
soldier of the Bashaw, and his face was well known to all the Arabs
of Bengazi, as a constant appendage to the army which came there
occasionally to collect the tribute. This fine-spirited animal,
before the journey was half over, had scarcely a leg to stand upon,
yet he never for a moment forgot his military habits, and would
arch his neck, and curvet, and throw himself back on his haunches
at the slightest application of the spur. No fatigue or exhaustion
could ever make him forget that he had once been a charger of
some consideration: even in walking he would lift up his legs, and
step out, with all the parade and importance of a horse trained at
Astley’s or the Circus; throwing his head about, at the same time,
from one side to the other, as if he took a delight in displaying
his long mane, and shewing himself off to advantage.
It may well be supposed that no exertions of our own were at any
time wanting to procure food and water for the weary animals who
had so amply deserved them; but we could only carry a certain
portion of corn with us from Tripoly, and when this was exhausted
we were obliged to depend upon occasional supplies from the Arab
tents we met with in our route, and the scanty pasturage which the
Syrtis afforded.
The distance at which some of the wells were placed from each other
was the occasion of our being often without water; and our horses,
though suffering greatly from thirst, would frequently refuse to
drink the water which we were glad to drink ourselves, when it
chanced to be more than usually brackish.
It often happened when they had been long without water, or were more
than ordinarily fatigued with the day’s exertions, that some of
them would refuse to eat at all, though they had been without food
the whole of the day, as well as all the night which preceded it.
They were never in the habit of being fed more than once a day,
which was in the evening, when we stopped for the night; so that if
they refused to eat their corn at that time, or before starting the
next morning, it was more than probable that they would get nothing
till the tents were pitched again, after sunset, on the evening
succeeding. Under these circumstances they would perhaps have to
trot hard the whole day, and occasionally to gallop, when we were
pressed for time; sometimes along the loose sand on the beach, and
at others up and down hill in every direction, wherever there was
anything to examine: all this often happened during a hot southerly
wind, and under a burning sun, which kept them in a continual fever,
without their appearing to sustain any particular inconvenience,
or to be more than usually exhausted at night[30].
The habit of feeding horses only once a day is common in Africa under
the most favourable circumstances. Their meal is after sunset, and
before their corn is given them they are generally allowed to drink
as much as they like. After this they get neither corn nor water
till the same time on the following day. Some of the Arabs make a
constant practice of obliging their horses to go two days without
drinking, in order to accustom them to support with a better grace
the privations they must occasionally be exposed to in the desert;
a mode of training which would probably have the same effect on
our English horses as that which is said to have resulted from the
well-known experiment of the Frenchman, who had just contrived to
make his horse do without food, when he was unluckily prevented
by the death of the animal from availing himself of so important
an advantage.
A few weeks’ repose in a comfortable stable at Bengazi was,
however, sufficient to restore most of our horses to their former
strength and condition; and they afterwards carried us in very good
style over the steep woody hills and rugged passes of the Cyrenaica.
From Carcora to Bengazi the country improves at every step, and
we soon found ourselves surrounded by extensive crops of barley
and abundance of excellent pasturage: this increase of produce
was naturally attended by a corresponding increase of population,
and numerous flocks and herds were everywhere seen where the soil
was not appropriated to cultivation. A great part of the country
from Ghimenes to Bengazi is encumbered by blocks of stone, placed
upright in long lines, which are crossed at right angles by others,
so as to form a complete labyrinth of inclosures. This peculiarity
appears to be occasioned by the nature of the soil, which, although
rich and excellent, is covered everywhere with a surface of stone
of various thickness, which it is of course necessary to break
up and remove, in order to cultivate the soil beneath it. To move
the blocks, which are taken up altogether from the ground, would
be an endless and perhaps a superfluous labour; and they have
accordingly been ranged in the manner we have mentioned, serving
at the same time as boundaries to property and as impediments to
the approach of an enemy. Before we were well acquainted with the
nature of these inclosures, we thought to pass in a straight line
across them to the several ruins which attracted our attention;
but after leaping our horses over some of them, and making them
scramble over others, we soon found the labour was endless;
and that the longest way about, as the old proverb teaches us,
was in reality the shortest way home. Instead of attempting,
in consequence, to advance any farther in a direct line to the
object of our inquiry, we sought for some path between the walls
which might lead us as near to it as possible. After some little
trouble, we discovered that long alleys were occasionally left in
different directions, serving as roads to the places of greatest
resort. These we afterwards found it most advisable to follow,
though they did not lead us quite in the direction we wished;
and having got as near to our object as they could carry us, we
had seldom many walls to scramble over before we reached the place
where it stood. It is probable that some of these walls are of very
considerable antiquity; for the soil in this neighbourhood could
not at any time have been cultivated without removing the crust of
stone from its surface; but we could not discover any inscriptions
upon them, though we often examined them with the hope of being
able to do so. We observed that in the vicinity of the forts the
walls were usually placed much closer together, and the inclosures
were in consequence smaller than in other parts.
The extensive plain in which the town of Bengazi is situated, is
bounded to the southward by the range of high land, on whose summit
Cyrene once stood so conspicuously; and the whole of the plain at
the foot of this range is covered with vegetation from the hills to
the sea. The sight, we believe, was refreshing to all parties; for
our very horses and camels appeared to partake of the pleasure which
we could not avoid feeling ourselves in contemplating so agreeable
a scene. One of our party was dispatched in advance to Bengazi,
accompanied by the Bashaw’s Chaous, to apprize the British resident
of our approach, and to concert with him such measures as might be
necessary for our accommodation in the town, where the violence and
long duration of the winter-rains would oblige us, we well knew, to
remain for some time. It was night before they reached the salt lake
by which Bengazi is nearly surrounded, and which it was necessary
to cross before they entered the town; the rains which had already
fallen had swelled it more than the Chaous had anticipated, and the
darkness of the night rendered it difficult for him to find the spot
at which it was necessary to ford it. After wandering about the banks
for some little time in uncertainty, and trying several plans without
success, they at length reached the opposite shore; though not before
their horses had plunged into several holes, from which they could
only extricate themselves by swimming. On the following day our
whole party arrived at Bengazi, and were received with every mark of
attention and politeness by Signor Rossoni, the British Vice-Consul,
to whom the necessary instructions from Mr. Consul Warrington had
already been forwarded. We found that Signor Rossoni was already
in treaty for the house of an Arab Shekh, one of the best which the
place afforded, and only waited our arrival to arrange the terms on
which we were willing to take it: these were soon settled, and we
took possession of our new abode the day after our arrival in the
town, and began to make ourselves as comfortable as circumstances
would allow, under the disadvantages of a rainy winter, at Bengazi.
Bengazi is allowed to have been built upon the site once occupied
by the town of Berenice, the most western city of the Pentapolis;
but before we proceed to describe this part of the Cyrenaica,
it will be proper to look back upon the tract of country already
before the reader, and, in taking a general view of the gulf and
shores of the Greater Syrtis, to bring together some of the most
prominent remarks of ancient writers respecting it.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 1: In this neighbourhood was the cave of the formidable
Lamia, so much dreaded by the children of the ancients. It is
described by Diodorus as situated in a deep valley formed in the
rocks which occur soon after Automala; that is, in passing from
east to west, for such was the course of the army of Ophellas,
which is stated by the historian to have passed it in their route
to join the forces of the tyrant Agathocles. The account which he
gives of this afflicted royal lady, whose misfortunes at length
rendered her so savage and remorseless, is such as to render it
probable (if the story may be relied upon) that she really at one
time existed in this part of Africa. At least the mode in which
the fabulous parts of her history are accounted for appears to
be sufficiently rational, and the place of her residence is very
decidedly pointed out.—(See Diod. lib. xx. p. 753—4.)]
[Footnote 2: Ιδρυμενον κατα τον μυχον του κολπου παντος·—Lib.
xvii. p. 836.]
[Footnote 3: In _intimo sinu_ fuit ora Lotophagon, &c.—Nat. Hist.
lib. v. cap. 5.]
[Footnote 4: Ho pure fatto attenzione in tutti questi giorni se
scorgera, _anche in distanza, alcuna schiera di monti che da ponente
si protendesse al levante_, onde riconoscere se la giogaia dell’
Atlante realmente si prolonga ne’ monti della Cirenaica, o bensì
se rimpetto al Golfo della Gran Sirte fosse interrotta. Ma nulla
ho osservato che possa confermare questa prolungazione. (P. 91),
Ital. edition.]
[Footnote 5: . . . Giacchè in quest’ ultimo recinto del Mediterraneo
non _ho visto che sabbie ne altri monti che di sabbie_. (P. 92.)]
[Footnote 6: The Psylli we are told by Pliny, on the authority of
Agatharcides, were so called from their King Psyllus, whose tomb
is said to have been somewhere in the Greater Syrtis. They were
remarkable for their power of charming serpents; and possessed some
innate quality of body which was considered to be destructive to
these reptiles; so much so that the very smell of them was supposed
to lull a serpent asleep. They had a singular custom of exposing
their children to the most venomous kinds of serpents, in order to
convince themselves of their legitimacy. If the serpents, on whom
the trial was made, did not fly from the children exposed to them,
it was concluded to be a proof of decided illegitimacy, since the
animals, they imagined, could not avoid doing so, had the infants
been really descended from this gifted tribe.
It has been observed by other writers, that the Psylli merely
cured the bite of serpents by sucking the poison from the wound,
and that they were therefore more indebted for their reputation to
their courage, than to any peculiar qualification of nature.]
[Footnote 7: Ed io inclino tanto più a credere quest’ ampia
depressione di suolo giungere fino al gran deserto, poichè per
quanto posso congetturare dal cammino fatto non sarebbe improbabile
che l’estremità del golfo si prolungasse assai più a mezzodì
di quel che trovasi nelle migliori carte, nelle quali non saprei
sopra qual fondamento è stata stabilita. È per me di qualche peso
la relazione del Cap. Lautier, il quale non navigò certamente
oltre il 30° 27′ 11″ di latitudine, ma da questo punto non
iscoprì il fondo del golfo, nè v’ era apparenza di prossimità al
continente. Ho ferma credenza che migliori osservazioni confermeranno
questa mia congettura.—(p. 94.)]
[Footnote 8: For Strabo tells us (lib. iii. p. 171), in alluding
to the custom practised by the ancients, of erecting columns on
particular occasions, that the monuments raised to the memory of
the Philæni were situated nearly midway in the Syrtis—at least,
such is the sense in which we must take this passage, to make it at
all consistent with the position allotted to the Philænean altars in
the seventeenth book. Although we may certainly read in the passage
we are about to quote, above mentioned, “midway in the country
_between_ the _Syrtes_”—for the Syrtes are here mentioned in
the plural—and this circumstance would otherwise rather tend to
confirm the position of the altars in the table of Peutinger (as
mentioned by Cellarius, lib. iv. cap. 3, sec. 3.) which is between
the two Gulfs of Syrtis. “At, in Peutingeriana tabula vetusta,
(says Cellarius) redactæ hæ aræ sunt fere ad minorem Syrtim,
ut dubitare possis de situ et positione ex tot auctoribus jam
descripta.” Strabo’s words are—και ὁι φιλαινων λεγομενοι
βωμοι, κατα μεσην, που, την μεταξυ των Συρτεων γην.]
[Footnote 9: Bell. Jugurth. (79.)]
[Footnote 10: Major Rennell has observed on this subject—“At the
date of Hannibal’s expedition to Italy, B. C. 217, the Carthaginian
empire extended eastward to the Philænean altars, which stood at
the south-east extremity of the Greater Syrtis. The story of the
Philæni, as it is told, is in some points very improbable. It
is said that the parties set out from their respective capitals,
Carthage and Cyrene, and met at the place where the altars afterwards
stood. Now the altars were situated at about seven-ninths of the
way from Carthage towards Cyrene; and the deception would have
been too gross had it been pretended that the Carthaginian party
had travelled seven parts in the nine, while the Cyrenean party had
travelled no more than two such parts of the way. Would either party
have trusted the other with the adjustment of the time of setting
out? Perhaps they mutually set out at the opposite extremes of the
territory in dispute, and not from their respective capitals.”]
[Footnote 11: That is, if we may read the passage in the third book
of Strabo, quoted above, in the sense which we imagine he intended;
if not, he contradicts himself.]
[Footnote 12: Ειθ᾽ οι φιλαινων βωμοι και μετα τουτους Αυτομαλα φρουριον,
φυλακην εχον, ιδρυμενον κατα τον μυχον του κολπου παντος.—Lib. xvii.]
[Footnote 13: We have adopted the positions assigned by Strabo to
these places, as being more exactly defined; and because it may
be presumed that he saw the objects which he describes, with the
exception of the altars of the Philæni, which he has stated to
have been no longer extant in his time.]
[Footnote 14: Nat. Hist. lib. v. cap. 5.]
[Footnote 15: Ejus promontorium est Borion, ab eoque incipiens
ora quam Lotophagi tenuisse dicuntur, usque ad Phycunta (et id
promontorium est) importuoso litore pertinet. Aræ ipsæ nomen ex
Philænis fratribus traxere, qui contra Cyrenaicos missi, &c.—De
Situ Orbis, lib. i. cap. vii.]
[Footnote 16: Vide Procopius (De Ædificiis, lib. v.)]
[Footnote 17: . . . ωδευσε δε πεζος εν αμμω βαθεια και καυμασι.—Lib.
xvii. p. 836.]
[Footnote 18: Pharsalia, lib. ix.]
[Footnote 19: Ager in medio arenosus, una specie; neque flumen, neque
mons erat, qui finis eorum discerneret, &c.—(Bell. Jugurth. 79.)]
[Footnote 20: The water is, however, more frequently found among the
sand on the beach than elsewhere; but it scarcely seems necessary
that the whole extent of the sand-hills should be traversed by the
army on this account. Their guides must have known where the water
was to be found, without the necessity of traversing so many miles
of sand-heaps in search of it.]
[Footnote 21: We have already assumed that the greater number of
the forts in the Syrtis have, in our opinion, been constructed by
the Romans.]
[Footnote 22: A few miles inland of Braiga, at a place called
Attallàt, are the remains of a castle, whose outer walls are still
standing to a considerable height; it is a quadrangular building,
surrounded by a trench; and within it we observed the remains of
an arch constructed without a key-stone, in the manner of one at
Tabilba, which we shall allude to in describing that place.]
[Footnote 23: Αυτομαλα φρουριον, φυλακην εχον, &c.
It appears, upon the authority of Diodorus Siculus, that the fortress
of Automala was already erected when Cyrene was first occupied
by the troops of Ptolemy Lagus: for the army which was led by his
general Ophellas to the assistance of the tyrant Agathocles, then
at war with the Carthaginians, pitched their tents, we are told,
in the neighbourhood of Automala, having consumed eighteen days in
their march to that fortress from the Cyrenaica.
Οκτω και δεκα μεν ουν ημερας οδοιπορησαντες, και διελθοντες
σταδιους τρισκιλιους, κατεσκηνωσαν περι Αυτομαλας.—Lib. xx. p. 753-4.
If it could be positively ascertained from what point of the
Cyrenaica the army of Ophellas set out on their journey across the
Syrtis, we should have the position of Automala sufficiently well
ascertained; but the historian merely states, that when everything
was prepared for the expedition, Ophellas set his army in motion,
without mentioning the precise point from which they set out,
and that the distance which they accomplished in eighteen days,
as far as Automala, was three thousand stadia. Had there been any
point in the bottom of the gulf which could be decidedly fixed upon
as the μυχος, or innermost recess of it, in which Strabo has
placed Automala, there would be no occasion for any other evidence
of its position; but the coast is so straight at the bottom of the
gulf, that it is not possible to fix with accuracy upon any one
point which may be taken as the μυχος in question. Sachreen is
certainly the most southern point, but the difference of latitude
between this place and the other parts of the coast which form the
bottom of the gulf is so trifling, that it can scarcely be said to
amount to anything at all.
Braiga is the nearest place to Sachreen where any remains are found
which will answer to Automala, and that is twenty miles distant
from it, in making the circuit of the coast.]
[Footnote 24: It may be added, that the forts in the neighbourhood
of Braiga and Tabilba, erected among the hills a little inland, are
very interesting, and much more perfect than usual. A fortnight or
three weeks might be very profitably and agreeably spent in making
out the interior ground-plans of these buildings.]
[Footnote 25: Εχει δε το μεταξὺ διαστημα και λιμενες ου πολλους,
υδρεια δε σπανια.—Lib. xvii. p. 836.]
[Footnote 26: That of Aspis—καλλιστος των εν τη Συρτει.]
[Footnote 27: It must be observed, that an old wicker-basket is
by no means an unsavoury dish for a hungry camel, and the animals
in question had already dined off much tougher materials; for the
date-stones which we had occasionally given them, in the absence of
other tenderer meat, were eaten up with a relish which left little
room for doubting the speedy disappearance of hampers and baskets,
whenever we might afford to serve them up as entremets.]
[Footnote 28: Nel fondo di questo seno v’ ha un pozzo di acqua
dolce, ove si attinge a una grandissima profondità, sopratutto in
estate. È rotondo, con una scalinata interna, per la quale vi si puo
facilmente discendere. Ad ogni dieci scalini vi si trovano scolpite
inscrizione in Greco. Furono impiegate nel mese di Settembre ottanta
tre braccia di corda per attignerle l’ acqua.—(Della Cella:
Viaggio da Tripoli, &c. p. 220-21.)]
[Footnote 29: At the foot of the sand-hills at Carcora there are
some springs of fresh water, remarkably sweet and good, within a
few feet of an extensive salt-marsh, and on the same level with
it. The circumstance is worthy of remark, although there are other
instances of similar occurrences.]
[Footnote 30: The horses, when we stopped, were ranged in a line
along a thick cord, to which their fore legs were fastened; and
a smaller cord was passed from this to one of their hind legs,
to prevent them from kicking one another.]
[Illustration: _CHART_
_Shewing the difference between the coastlines as delineated in
former charts and that obtained by the late Survey the shaded line
representing the latter made in 1821 & 1822._
_By Captn. F. W. Beechey R.N._
_J. & C. Walker Sculpt._
_Published as the act directs, April 1827, by J. Murray, Albemarle
St. London._]
CHAPTER X.
OBSERVATIONS ON THE GULF AND SHORES OF THE GREATER SYRTIS.
The Dimensions of the Gulf, according to Ancient Writers,
considered, and compared with those resulting from the Observations
of the Expedition — Difference in the Statements of the several
Writers quoted — Reasons why a Difference may be expected in their
Accounts — Observations of Major Rennell on the Measurements of the
Ancients — Ptolemy’s Outline of the Gulf more correct than any
hitherto given — Number of Square Miles of Error in modern Charts
of the Greater Syrtis — The Ideas of Ancient Writers (Herodotus
excepted) with respect to the Nature and Resources of the Syrtis
(the _Territory_, not the _Gulf_ of the Greater Syrtis is here meant)
more erroneous than the Dimensions which have been assigned to the
Gulf itself — The General Character of the Syrtis not that of a
Sandy Plain — Incorrectness of the Arab Accounts of what is termed
by them the Desert of Barka — Account of Herodotus considered —
Apparent Accuracy of his Statements — Inferences drawn from them
— Ancient Accounts of the _Gulf_ of the Greater Syrtis, dimensions
excepted, very correct — Accumulation of Soil on the Shores of the
Gulf accounted for — Apparent Elevation of the General Level of
the Syrtis — Advance of the Sea on the Northern Coast of Africa
— Appearance of the Coast at Alexandria and Carthage consistent
with that of the Shores of the Greater Syrtis and Cyrenaica —
Observations of Major Rennell and Dr. Shaw on the Elevation of
the Coast of Tunis, and the Advance of the Sea in that quarter —
Observations of Lucan on the Level of the Greater Syrtis — Dangers
of the Navigation of the Gulf of Syrtis considered — Inset into
the Gulf still existing to a great extent — Flux and Reflux of
the Sea mentioned by Strabo and Mela considered — Remarks on the
Derivation of the term _Syrtis_.
In considering the dimensions which have come down to us of the
Greater Syrtis, those allotted to it by Strabo (in the seventeenth
book) are so singularly inconsistent with each other, that there
appears to be no possible mode of reconciling the measurements
he has given of its diameter, with those which he has in the
same place ascribed to its circumference, without material
alterations in the text. “The circumference of the Greater
Syrtis” (observes the geographer) “is about nine hundred and
thirty stadia[1]; and its diameter, at the bottom of the Gulf,
is one thousand five hundred stadia: the breadth of the entrance
(or mouth) is about the same[2]:” that is, about fifteen hundred
stadia. Here we have a circumference considerably less than its
diameter, and no way of getting rid of a difficulty so formidable
to mathematicians, without making such decided alterations in the
text as no sober-minded editor would hazard[3]. Various readings
have been given, by different commentators, of this passage; but
it will be useless to compare their several merits; since both the
measurements in question will be found to be no less inconsistent
with the truth than they have been seen to be with each other. For
the actual circumference of the gulf of the Greater Syrtis may
be estimated at four hundred and twenty-two geographic miles, and
its diameter at two hundred and forty-six[4]: so that it would be
necessary to alter both the circumference and diameter given by
Strabo before any use could be made of his dimensions; and then the
measurements must be taken on the authority of the commentators,
since they would be no longer those of the geographer. In short,
the difficulty appears to be scarcely surmountable; for though it
is evident that the passage is not as Strabo left it, we have no
sufficient data for deciding what it really was originally[5]. The
measurements given by Pliny are somewhat nearer the truth[6]; indeed
his diameter of the gulf may be considered as remarkably accurate;
for it is stated at three hundred and thirteen Roman miles, equal
to two hundred and forty-eight and a quarter geographic miles,
and there is consequently no more than two miles and a quarter
difference between these dimensions and the actual diameter. His
circumference, however, is not by any means so accurate; it is given
at six hundred and twenty-five Roman miles, which are equal to four
hundred and ninety-four geographic miles, and will therefore leave a
difference of seventy-two geographic miles between this measurement
of the circuit and the actual one. The difference also exists
on the wrong side; that is to say, the whole distance of Pliny
is not only much more than the actual distance by observations,
but much more than the actual road-distance, which is the longest
which can be allowed. The diameter of the gulf, already stated,
of this author, will be found to coincide remarkably well with the
measurement which may be deduced from the distance he has given us
in another place, between the cities of Leptis Magna and Berenice,
of three hundred and eighty-five Roman miles[7]: for the distance
between Lebida (Leptis Magna) and Mesurata, the western extremity
of the gulf, may be reckoned at fifty-eight geographic miles, equal
to seventy-three Roman miles; so that this being deducted from the
whole distance given, of three hundred and eighty-five M. P. we
shall have a remainder of three hundred and twelve of the same for
the distance between Mesurata and Bengazi, leaving a difference of
only one mile between the diameter of the gulf thus deduced and
that above stated of three hundred and thirteen. But although we
may infer, from the coincidence of the two measurements, that the
three hundred and twelve miles in question may be taken as distance
_across_ the gulf, they are by no means stated to be such in the
text; and if they had chanced to coincide with the circumference
instead of the diameter of the gulf, they might just as well have
been taken for the road-distance between Mesurata and Bengazi;
the measurements which we find in the Itinerary of Antoninus,
of the distance between Leptis Magna and Berenice, come nearer
to the actual road-distance between these places, by one hundred
and thirty Roman miles, than that which is obtained by adding the
seventy-three miles between Lebida and Mesurata to the circumference
of the gulf given by Pliny; for the whole distance of the Itinerary
from Leptis to Berenice is not estimated at more than five hundred
and sixty-eight Roman miles, while those above mentioned being added
together would make no less than six hundred and ninety-eight. So
that the circumference of the gulf which may be deduced from the
Itinerary differs only from the actual circuit by road-distance in
thirty-seven Roman miles, or twenty-nine and a half geographic.
But instead of being surprized at the differences which obtain
between the measurements which have descended to us from the
ancients, we ought rather, perhaps, to wonder that they do not differ
even more than they are usually found to do from each other. It is
true that abundant materials were furnished to the early geographers,
by the numerous military and naval expeditions which enterprizing
or ambitious states had fitted out for the purposes of conquest or
discovery[8]; but the maps and charts which resulted from them were
laid down without the aid of astronomy; and the distances between
the places described in them were either measured or computed along
the roads which the armies traversed, or deduced from the track
of vessels along the coast. Major Rennell has observed, that the
difference which will generally be found between the measurements of
Eratosthenes and Strabo, and those which appear in modern geography,
will be that which exists between the measure of a _direct_ line,
drawn from one place to another, and that of the _road_ distance
between them. “Nothing can speak more strongly to this point,”
(says the well-informed and intelligent writer here quoted,)
“than the circumstance of Strabo’s giving the number of stades
in Nearchus’s coasting navigation for the lengths of the coasts
of Persia and Caramania[9].”
In fact it was not till the time of Ptolemy that geography
began to be placed upon that solid basis on which it now stands
so conspicuously; and it certainly appears somewhat singular,
that the writers on this subject who flourished between the time
of Hipparchus and that of the Alexandrian geographer (among whom
were Strabo and Pliny,) should not have availed themselves of the
discoveries of the former to check the measurements which appear
in their works[10]. Various errors have been pointed out in the
geography of Ptolemy; but as it can scarcely be supposed that he
had sufficient observations to regulate the position of all the
places which he has laid down, we ought not to be surprized at
this circumstance. His outline of the Gulf of Syrtis, though it
cannot be called correct, is notwithstanding more so than those
which have since been given of it; and the prolongation of the gulf
at its southern extremity, so erroneously marked in modern charts,
as well as the inlet called the Gulf of Zuca, which we have stated
does not exist, are neither of them laid down in it at all. It may
therefore be said, that the true character of the gulf is much better
preserved in the loose outline of Ptolemy than in any other of which
we are aware. Whatever may be the reasons which have induced modern
geographers to introduce into the Gulf of Syrtis the errors which we
have alluded to, it is certain that the best chart which they have
hitherto produced of it must undergo a correction of ninety miles
in longitude, and upwards of thirty miles in latitude, that is to
say, it must part with nearly six thousand square miles of ground,
before it will be consistent with the truth.
Should we pass from the measurements to the general character of
the Syrtis, we shall find that if the ancient authorities have
erred in their dimensions of it, they have been no less deceived
with regard to its nature and resources. The whole country from
Bengazi to Mesurata appears to have been generally considered by
the writers of antiquity as a dreary tract of sand, without water or
vegetation, and swarming with venomous serpents. But we have already
shewn that there are spots in this tract where vegetation is very
luxuriant, and where water may be readily procured; and although
the extent of marshy ground is in many places considerable, yet
the proportions between the barren and the productive parts of the
Syrtis are not so little in favour of the latter as appears to have
been generally imagined. The whole tract is so thinly inhabited,
that a very trifling portion of it only is cultivated; but this
circumstance is owing more to the character of the Bedouins who
frequent it, and to the government to which they are subjected,
than to the incapacity of the soil itself.
The Bedouin, though active, is far from industrious; and if he
can gain a livelihood from the flocks which he possesses, he will
seldom trouble himself to cultivate even the most productive soil;
indeed, if he were to do so, he has in general no security that
any part of the produce or the profits of it would be his own. His
tent and flocks may be removed at a few minutes’ notice, but his
crop of corn or vegetables could not be so disposed of; and they
who came as his friends, for the purpose of collecting tribute,
or as enemies, for the purpose of spoliation, would take care to be
with him before his crops were cut, and make sure of the object of
their visit. We remember asking an Arab, in the district of Syrt,
why his tribe would not trouble themselves to dig a few more wells
in a place which they frequented, where there was plenty of water,
at no great depth from the surface of the soil: his answer was
that, if they were to do so, the Bashaw’s troops who collected
the tribute would more easily overtake them, when they chose to run
away, than if the supply of water were more scanty: for without a
good supply of water the troops could not advance more than a short
distance into the interior, and would consequently be less likely
to overtake them in their flight. This reason was sufficient in his
opinion to account for the circumstance; but it is probable that,
if there were no grounds for apprehension on this head, neither our
friend himself, nor any Arab of his tribe, would have had resolution
enough to sink a single well, however much they might chance to be
in want of it; and that they would have preferred removing their
whole establishment to another place, which might be better provided
with water, to the trouble of digging for it where they were.
It is not only in the works of early writers that we find the nature
of the Syrtis misunderstood; for the whole of the space between
Mesurata and Alexandria is described by Leo Africanus (under the
title of Barca), as “a wild and desert country, where there is
neither water nor land capable of cultivation[11].” He allows,
however, that the country was inhabited, _after_ the occupation
of Africa by the Arabs, though not before that period; and tells
us, that the most powerful among the Mahometan invaders possessed
themselves of the fertile parts of the coast, leaving the others
only the desert for their abode, exposed to all the miseries
and privations attendant on it: for this desert, he continues,
is far removed from any habitation, and nothing is produced there
whatever. So that if these poor people would have a supply of grain,
or of any other articles necessary to their existence, they are
obliged to pledge their children to the Sicilians who visit the
coast; who on providing them with these things, which they bring with
them from Sicily, carry off the children they have received. Here
we have the whole of the Syrtis and Cyrenaica described as a desert
tract of country; and although the same author states, that “Sert
was an ancient city, built, as some think, by the Egyptians, and, as
others believe, by the Romans,” he informs us that the country in
which it was situated was uninhabited, from Mesurata to Alexandria,
before the arrival of the Mahometans in Africa[12].
It must, however, be confessed, that the half-starved Musselmen
with whom he has peopled it were scarcely more deserving of our
commisseration than the “vastæ Nasamon populator Syrtis,”
or any other of the very respectable personages of antiquity who
are said to have inhabited this coast. The Sicilians were most
probably aware of the character of their customers before they
exacted from them the hostages above described; for Leo goes on
to say, that these Arabs were the greatest thieves and the most
treacherous people to be found in the whole world. They ranged the
country round, as far as Numidia, attacking and plundering the
poor pilgrims who were unfortunate enough to meet them; and not
contented with taking from them everything that was to be found
upon their persons, they made them swallow a quantity of hot milk,
and then shook them about till it acted as an emetic, so violently
as to leave nothing whatever on the stomach.
This was done lest the poor unhappy patients, to whom the
medicine was administered, should have taken the precaution of
swallowing their money to prevent its being taken from them by their
assailants. “Perciocché dubitano queste bestie (says our indignant
author) che i viandanti, come s’appressano a quel diserto,
inghiottino i danari perchè non gli siano trovati adosso.”
It appears to be chiefly from Leo Africanus that modern historians
have derived the very unfavourable idea of what they term the
district and desert of Barca. Yet the whole of the Cyrenaica is
comprehended within the limits which they assign to it; and the
authority of Herodotus (without citing any other) would be amply
sufficient to prove that this tract of country, not only was no
desert, but was at all times remarkable for its fertility.
We find on the same authority, that the Libyans (or Africans)
who inhabited, at an early period, the southern shores of the
Mediterranean, were divided into pastoral and agricultural tribes;
and that the former, most of whom were inhabitants of Barca, were
by no means in the miserable condition in which they have been by
some represented.
They are described by Herodotus as living on flesh and milk; and
the prejudice which they entertained for what Englishmen would
term cow-beef, could scarcely have existed among a people who were
scantily provided with the necessaries of life[13].
With regard to the present inhabitants of the district of Barca
(we mean the part of it comprehended in the Syrtis and Cyrenaica),
we should certainly call them a healthy and good-looking race;
and not at all the ugly, meagre, grim-visaged people, which they
have been described to be in some of our best received accounts of
them. We allude in particular to the Bedouin (or wandering) tribes,
which are those more immediately in question; and who are generally
a finer people, both in character and appearance, than what are
termed the more civilized inhabitants of Arab cities. Whatever may
be the descent of the present inhabitants of this part of Africa,
they appear to lead exactly the same kind of life, and to have as
nearly as possible the same resources, as the early possessors of
the regions which they occupy.
The penetration of Herodotus has not failed to discover among the
African tribes which he enumerates, that they were a very healthy
race of people; and the practice of cautery, still adopted by their
Mahometan successors, and to which he is uncertain whether or not
to attribute the healthy appearance of the Libyans, is mentioned
by this author as one of their peculiarities[14].
No allusion is made by Herodotus to the parched and barren sandy
soil which later writers have bestowed upon the country in question,
described by Leo Africanus as a region “dove non si trova ne
acqua ne terreno da cultivare;” and we may safely affirm that
the impression left upon our minds of this part of the coast and
its inhabitants (after reading the account of Herodotus) would
be much more consistent with the appearance and peculiarities of
both, in their actual state, than that which would result from the
descriptions of any succeeding writer.
The parts which are nearest the sea he describes as inhabited by
Nomadic, or pastoral tribes; and the inference is, that where there
are flocks and shepherds, there is also pasturage and water. The
country inland of these, and immediately adjoining them, he states
to be abounding with wild beasts; and for these animals, also,
more shelter and moisture is necessary than could be afforded them
in the burning sands of a desert: we may therefore conclude that
the parts where they are found would most probably contain caves,
or woods, which might serve them as habitations and places of
retreat and security. This tract we should consequently imagine to
be wild and stony, unadapted to cultivation, and affording little
or no pasturage, but certainly not wholly of sand, or altogether
unprovided with water. The third region, mentioned by Herodotus
as succeeding to the two before enumerated, and placed farther
inland than either, is the sandy tract of country usually, though
not necessarily, implied by the term desert, in which there is
neither water, nor vegetation of any kind; nothing, in fact, by
which life could be sustained[15]. This tract he merely states to
be a long ridge of sand, extending itself from Egypt to the pillars
of Hercules[16]. It is but justice to state, in confirmation of
the account here submitted to us by the father of history, whose
veracity has been so much called in question, that (so far as our
own experience, and that of the Arabs whom we have questioned on
the subject, has enabled us to judge) it is perfectly consistent
with the truth. What was beyond the sandy desert was little known
to Herodotus, and must not therefore be adverted to in considering
this description.
With regard to the water afforded by the Syrtis, we find the Psylli
inhabiting a tract of country inland of that possessed by the
Nasamones, who occupied the south-eastern coast of the Gulf[17];
these people must therefore have been provided with water, though
they were nearer to the sandy desert than the Nasamones; and if
we are told that, in consequence of their supplies being dried up,
they were compelled to emigrate, and perished in their journey to the
southward, we must at the same time conclude that, previous to this
accident, they had water enough to support them at home, though it
might not have been very plentiful. On the whole, we may observe,
without entering further into this subject, that the district of
Barca, including all the country between Mesurata and Alexandria,
neither is, nor ever was, so destitute and barren as it has been
represented; that the part of it which constitutes the Cyrenaica is
capable of the highest degree of cultivation, and that many parts
of the Syrtis afford excellent pasturage, while some of it is not
only adapted to cultivation, but does actually produce good crops
of barley and dhurra. We may remark, at the same time, that the
proportion of sand which is actually to be found in the Syrtis will
by no means authorize us to call it a sandy region, and that the
proportion of water which it actually possesses will not justify
us in asserting that it is unprovided with that necessary. We may
observe, too, that the number of serpents and venomous reptiles, so
freely bestowed upon the Syrtis by Roman writers, and by others who
flourished after the occupation of Northern Africa by Roman colonies,
appears to be greatly exaggerated: that it possesses, in fact, no
terrors peculiar to itself, at least, not that we are acquainted
with; and no difficulties which may not be readily surmounted by
those who are acquainted with the nature of the country, and will
adopt the precautions which are necessary[18].
From the regions of the Greater Syrtis let us pass to the Gulf
itself; and of this we may remark, that the accounts which have
come down to us of its peculiarities do certainly appear to be much
better founded than those which we possess of the country along its
shores. Herodotus, although he has minutely described the people who
inhabited the coasts of the Syrtes, has left no account of the Gulfs;
but we learn from Strabo, that the dangers which presented themselves
to navigators, in the Gulfs both of the Greater and Lesser Syrtis,
were occasioned by the frequent occurrence of banks and shallows,
formed by the flux and reflux of the sea, on which vessels were
continually striking, and it rarely happened that any of them were
got off. “For this reason,” he adds, “it was usual to keep
away from the coast, in order to avoid being embayed[19].”
What we must here understand by the flux and reflux of the sea,
is not (we should imagine) the usual action of the tides, which
is very trifling in the Mediterranean, compared with that which
is observable in other seas; but the inset occasioned by violent
winds blowing for any long continuance on shore, and the subsequent
reaction of the sea in regaining its original level.
As northerly winds are very prevalent, and very strong on this coast,
which fronts the widest part of the Mediterranean, they might no
doubt occasion the accumulation of soil alluded to in this passage
of Strabo; and we certainly find that a great part of the coast is
so exceedingly shallow as to make the landing very hazardous and
difficult. It is probable, also, that this accumulation of soil has
raised the level of the low lands in the Greater and Lesser Syrtes
much above what it formerly was, and that both these regions were
once covered with water to a greater depth than at present.
We have already observed that the sea appears to have made great
advances on the whole line of coast of Northern Africa; and this
fact seems to be proved from the circumstance of our finding the
remains of ancient towns, along its shores, at present under water
to a considerable extent. We may now pass in boats over the ruins of
the northern part of Alexandria, (as many travellers of our time can
testify); and remains of the city of Carthage, “for the space of
three furlongs in length, and half a furlong, or more, in breadth,”
are well known (on the authority of Shaw[20]) to be at the present
day “entirely under water.” In the intermediate space, we may
instance the maritime towns of the Cyrenaica, where the sea has
made considerable advances; those parts of the Greater Syrtis which
are not exposed to the accumulation of sand, and the town of modern
Tripoly, the northern part of which (as we have already stated in the
words of Leo Africanus) appears to have been in his time under water.
This rise in the level of the Mediterranean could scarcely fail to
have occasioned an overflow in the low grounds of the Syrtie, to a
much greater extent than formerly, if it had not been accompanied by,
at least, a proportionate accumulation of soil: but it will rather
appear that in these regions the land may be said to have advanced
upon the sea; since we find their ancient ports now filled up with
sand, their lakes to have taken the character of marshes, and their
quicksands (if ever they had any) to have become solid and firm[21].
To these remarks we may add the observations of Major Rennell,
on the actual and former state of the Lake Tritonis and the Lesser
Syrtis, which we will give in the author’s own words.
“From the authorities which we shall presently adduce, we can
suppose no other than that this Syrtis” (the Gulf of the Lesser
Syrtis) “did once enter much deeper into the land; and that it
even formed a junction with the Lake Lowdeah within it—the Tritonis
Palus of the ancients. Otherwise we must not only reject the reports
of Herodotus and Ptolemy, but that of Scylax also, the writer of a
periplus, and who ought to have known the truth.” Again, after
a learned and ingenious discussion—“In effect the ancients,
as Dr. Shaw justly observes (p. 213), seem to have described
this quarter from report, or uncertain information only[22]; and
therefore we can hardly expect consistent, much more critical,
descriptions. They appear, however, to have furnished us with
very good grounds for believing that the Syrtis and Lake Tritonis
communicated in former times; and that the communication continued
even to the time of Ptolemy. We think it equally probable that the
river Triton flowed into the lake, and that the island called by some
Triton, by Herodotus, Phla, together with the temple of Minerva,
(in which the Triton is said to have deposited Jason’s tripod)
was situated near the mouth of it: moreover, that the island in
question is now a part of the sandy plain in which the rivulet of
Hammah, the supposed river of Triton, loses itself. For it appears
to us that the difference between the present state of things, at
this place, and the ancient description of the lake and Syrtis,
may be reconciled, by merely adverting to the changes that have
taken place on other sandy shores; and more particularly at the
head of a gulf where the tide exerts its greatest power of casting
up the sand to a higher point. That which has happened at the head
of the Red Sea may be adduced in point; and, as the shore of the
Syrtis is much flatter than the other, the operation has probably
gone on with greater rapidity.”
Lucan (as Major Rennell has justly observed) “appears to believe
that the bottom of the Syrtis” (that is, the Greater Syrtis) “was
growing firmer, and the water shallower; and surmises that it may
hereafter become dry and solid.” “What changes” (he continues),
“in point of form and extent, they may have undergone, or if any,
we know not: but it is certain they have hitherto preserved their
original properties.”
We insert below the lines of Lucan alluded to, from Rowe’s
translation[23].
It will be seen that the principal danger of the Syrtes, according
to the passage above quoted from Strabo, consisted in the difficulty
of what is termed by seamen working off a lee-shore, for which the
vessels of the ancients were very ill adapted; and we can readily
believe, from what we have seen of the coast, that (under the
influence of the heavy surf which rolls over the shallows when
the wind blows strongly on shore) few vessels which chanced to
strike could escape. The inset into the gulf, at the same time,
being great, (when the north and east winds blow strongly against
the coast,) it must have been extremely difficult for vessels of
this description to avoid being drawn into its vortex; and indeed
we may observe that few ships will, at the present day, sail from
Bengazi, westward, when the wind is blowing strongly into the gulf,
on account of this consequent indraught[24].
“The improved state of navigation” (Major Rennell very justly
observes) “has, however, stripped the Syrtes of the greatest part
of their terrors;” and it is probable that the report of them
which we shall have from Captain Smyth will in consequence prove
to be much less formidable than the accounts which have descended
to us from the ancients.
It appears, from Mela, that the Syrtes were not only considered
to be dangerous on account of the frequent occurrence of shoals,
but more so in consequence of the flux and reflux of the sea which
we have already mentioned above[25]. This rise and fall (as we have
stated) can scarcely have been the customary motion of the tides;
but it may reasonably be supposed that the reaction of such a body
of water as must (under the influence of violent and continued
winds) have been driven over the low lands of the Greater Syrtis,
was occasionally very considerable. This may have been the reflux
(we imagine) alluded to; while the inset into the Gulf, caused
by strong winds blowing into it, may have been the rise which is
mentioned as the flux.
Of the indraught in question there can be no doubt; indeed, we may
remark that a rise of this nature is more or less observable in
gulfs in general; and when we consider that an unbroken sweep of
level ground, very slightly raised above the surface of the sea,
will be found extending itself on the western coast of the Greater
Syrtis for the space of a hundred miles in length, and occasionally
as much as fifteen in breadth, we may easily allow that the reflux
of the water, driven over a tract of such dimensions, may well be
considered as formidable.
It appears to be from the effect of the flux and reflux alluded to,
that the names by which the Gulfs of Syrtis are distinguished have
been derived; that is, if we may suppose them to be of Greek origin,
as Sallust and others have asserted[26].
Cellarius has, however, been censured by Signor Della Cella for
having ventured to adopt this derivation, and for “not knowing that
Sert meant desert in Arabic, and that this name is still preserved in
the bottom of the (Greater) Syrtis[27].” But were we even to agree
with Dr. Della Cella, that the district called Syrt is a desert,
(which our friend Shekh Mahommed, who lives there, with many others,
very comfortably, would be very unwilling, and very ungrateful to
allow,) there does not appear to be any reason why the regions in
question should be particularly distinguished as deserts, when the
country which bounds them to the southward, and which is much more
entitled to the appellation of desert than they are, was never
called Syrtis either by ancients or moderns. The term existed,
it is evident, in the age of Scylax and Herodotus, both of whom
we find to have used it; but, in enumerating the several tribes
which inhabited the shores of these gulfs, it by no means appears
(as we have stated above) that the latter of these writers meant
to characterise their country as a desert, or that he was aware
of any such meaning implied by the term in question, Syrtis. If,
therefore, we suppose the word to be of oriental origin, we should
rather look beyond the language of the Arabs for its root; and as
the Phœnicians were well acquainted with these shores at a very
early period of history, we might suppose, with some appearance
of probability, that the term has originated with them. As the
peculiarities of the Gulfs of Syrtis appear to be more striking
than those of the territory within them, it is also probable that
the country would have been named from them, and not the gulfs from
the country; particularly as the Phœnicians were a naval nation,
and may be supposed (at the early period to which we allude) to
have been better acquainted with the Gulfs than with the country
here in question.
The Phœnician (or Hebrew) words from which the term Syrtis
might originate, are probably the roots of the Arab phrase Sahara
(صحرا), to which Signor Della Cella appears to allude; but
instead of applying them to the country of the Syrtis, as expressive
of its barren and desolate appearance, we should rather apply them
to the Gulfs themselves, as expressive of the violent storms of
wind which are known to prevail in them, and of the agitation and
confusion resulting from their influence.
The terms to which we allude are the Hebrew words Saar (סַעַר),
or Saàrat (סַעַרַת), signifying whirlwind, or tempest; and
the root Sàar (סָער), from which they spring, expressive of
agitation and disturbance; Soarah (סֹעַרח), tempest-tossed,
is also another derivative of Sàar.
We have very slender pretensions to any skill in Hebrew, and merely
offer the above suggestions for the consideration of those who
may be inclined to reject the Greek origin of the term Syrtis;
which, for our own part, we are very well contented to allow, on
the authority of the writers already quoted, and on inspection
of one of the places in question. It may be possible, however,
that some Phœnician term, like those we have instanced, may have
descended from that people to the Greeks, and afterwards through the
latter to the Romans, who may have looked for the origin of it in
some word of the Greek language which appeared to them expressive
of the qualities of the Gulfs, without considering that the Greeks
might themselves have received it from others.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 1: The stade of Strabo has been estimated by Major Rennell,
in his admirable treatise on the itinerary stade of the Greeks,
at 700 to a geographical degree; and 930 stades will, on this
computation, be equal to 100½[a] Roman miles, or 80⅒ geographic
miles. While the dimensions of the diameter, 1500 stades, will be
equal to 162½ Roman miles, or 128⁵⁷⁄₁₀₀ geographic.]
[Footnote a: The geographical and Roman miles differ (says Shaw,
on the authority of D’Anville) as 60 is to 75½, that is, 60
geographical miles and 75½ Roman miles are equal to one degree of
a great circle. The Roman mile is consequently one-fifth less than
a geographic mile.—Vol. i. p. 30.]
[Footnote 2: Ἡ δε μεγαλη Συρτις τον μεν κυκλον εχει σταδιων εννακοσιων
τριακοντα που· την δ᾽ επι τον μυχον διαμετρον χιλιων πεντακοσιων·
τοσουτον δε που και το του στοματος πλατος.—Lib. xvii. p. 385.]
[Footnote 3: In the second book, however, the measurements
given by Strabo are more consistent; for he tells us that the
circumference of the Greater Syrtis is (according to Eratosthenes)
five thousand stadia, or 428⁴⁵⁄₁₀₀ geographic mile[a]; and its depth,
from the Hesperides to Automala, and the limits of the Cyrenaica,
one thousand eight hundred, or 154²⁹⁄₁₀₀ geographic miles. Others, he
adds, make the circumference four thousand stadia, 342⁸⁸⁄₁₀₀ geographic
miles; and the depth one thousand five hundred stadia, or 128⁵⁷⁄₁₀₀
geographic miles; the same, he says, as the breadth of the gulf at
its mouth.—Lib. xi. p. 123.]
[Footnote a: At the rate of 700 stades to a degree.]
[Footnote 4: This estimate of the circumference is deduced from the
camel-track, corrected by observations; and the accuracy to which
this mode of computation may be brought by care and attention,
and by making the proper allowances, will be seen in the examples
which we shall hereafter submit of it.]
[Footnote 5: If, however, we take the measurements just quoted from
the second book of Strabo, as those which he intended to be received
in the present case, we shall find that the 428⁴⁵⁄₁₀₀ miles, resulting
from the 5000 stadia of Eratosthenes, come very near the truth. The
other measurements, however, are far from correct. It will be observed
that the diameter given in this place is the same with that mentioned
in the second book (1500 stadia).]
[Footnote 6: Inde Syrtis Major, circuitu DCXXV. aditu autem,
CCCXIII. M. Passuum.—Nat. Hist. lib. v. cap. 4.]
[Footnote 7: Nec procul ante Oppidum (Berenice) fluvius Lethon,
lucus sacer, ubi Hesperidum horti memorantur. Abest a Lepti
CCCLXXXV. M. P.—(Lib. v. cap. 5.)]
[Footnote 8: Sesostris is said to have recorded his march in maps,
and to have given copies of them not only to the Egyptians, but
to the remote and uninformed inhabitants of Scythia, who viewed
them with the greatest astonishment. The expeditions of Alexander
furnished the materials for an interesting survey, a copy of which
was given to Patroclus the geographer; it was from the work of
Patroclus that Eratosthenes derived his principal materials in
constructing the Oriental part of his map of the world, and it is
frequently quoted both by Strabo and Pliny.
Many tolerably accurate surveys resulted from the conquests of
the Romans; and we learn from Vegetius that their generals were
always furnished with the maps of the provinces which were to be
the scenes of their operations. Julius Cæsar ordered a general
survey to be made of the whole empire, which occupied twenty-five
years; and the Itinerary of Antonine, as well as that which was
constructed in the reign of Theodosius the Great, commonly called
the Peutingerian table, are well known as valuable authorities.
“The expedition of Alexander” (says Major Rennell, in the
preliminary remarks attached to his Illustrations of Herodotus,)
“besides the _éclat_ of the military history belonging to it,
furnished in Greece and Egypt an _epoch_ of geographical improvement
and correction, which may not unaptly be compared with that of the
discoveries of the Portuguese along the coasts of Africa and India;
or of that of the present time, in which geography has been improved
in every quarter of the globe.”
“To a philosopher,” (observes the same author,) “the changes
in the comparative state of nations, in different ages of the world,
are very striking, and lead one to reflect what may be the future
state of some _now_ obscure corner of New Holland or of North
America; since our own island was known only for its tin-mines by
the most celebrated of ancient nations, whose descendants, in turn,
rank no higher with us than as dealers in figs and currants!”]
[Footnote 9: “Variations ever did and ever will exist (continues
the Major) on computed distances; instances of which existed on our
own public roads previous to their improvement, and which do yet
exist on many of the cross-roads.” “It is probable,” he adds,
“that Herodotus, Xenophon, Nearchus, Strabo, &c., all intended
the same stade, but may have given occasion to different results,
by reporting the numbers on the judgment of different persons.”]
[Footnote 10: Hipparchus of Nicæa (“who can never,” says Pliny,
“be sufficiently commended,”) appears to have been the first
who united geography with astronomy, by determining the position of
some of the places which he described, according to their _latitude_
and _longitude_[a]. He died about one hundred and twenty-five years
before Christ, and his important discoveries remained neglected,
or at least unapplied, for nearly three hundred years, till they
were adopted by Ptolemy in his Geographical Treatise.]
[Footnote a: See Ptolemy, Geog. lib. i. c. 4, and Pliny, Nat. Hist.,
lib. ii. c. 12—26.]
[Footnote 11: ——— Una campagna diserta et aspera, dove non si
trova nè acqua nè terreno da coltivare.—(Leo Afr. in Ram. 5ta
parte, p. 72.)]
[Footnote 12: Prima che gli Arabi venissero in Africa fu il detto
diserto dishabitato: ma poi che, &c.
There can be no doubt that the desert of Barca, here described,
is the whole tract of country bordering on the Mediterranean, from
Mesurata to Alexandria; for, after having described Mesurata as
situated on the coast, the author proceeds to observe—“This
desert (that of Barca) begins from the confines of the district
of Mesurata, and extends itself eastward as far as the confines
of Alexandria, a space of about one thousand three hundred miles
in length, and about two hundred in breadth.” The dimensions of
Barca here given appear to be as singular as the description already
noticed of it which follows; for besides that the length is much
too great, the two hundred miles of breadth which is allotted to
it would carry us far to the southward of Augila, into the desert
of Libya, which does not seem, from other passages, to have been
intended by Leo. We were ourselves, at one time, in passing along
the eastern side of the Gulf of Syrtis, only four days’ journey
from Augila; and it then bore to the eastward of the south; so that
it could not be anything like two hundred miles from the coast,
even reckoning from the most northern part of the Cyrenaica.
The place mentioned by Strabo in the following passage, as being
_four_ days’ easy journey from the bottom of the Syrtis, could
scarcely be any other than Augila.
Τεταρταιους μεν ουν φασιν απο του μυχου της μεγαλης Συρτεως τους
κατ᾽ αυτο μαλακως βαδιζοντας ως επι χειμερινας ανατολας αφικνεισθαι.
Εστι δε ο τοπος ουτος εμφερης τω Αμμονι, φοινικοτροφος τε και
ευυδρος.—Lib. xvii. p. 838.
Procopius also (de Ædificiis, lib. v.) makes Augila _four_ days’
journey from Borium, (the Borium _Oppidum_, at the bottom of the Gulf.)]
[Footnote 13: Ουτο μεν μεχρι της Τριτωνιδος λιμνης απ᾽ Αιγυπτου
νομαδες εισι κρεοφαγοι τε και γαλακτοποται Λιβυες· και θηλεων τε
βοων ουτοι γευομενοι, &c.—Melp. ρπςʹ.]
[Footnote 14: Melp. ρπζ.—Sallust has observed of this coast
and its inhabitants:—
“Mare sævum, importuosum. Ager frugum fertilis, bonus pecori,
arbori infecundus: cœlo, terraque penuria aquarum: genus hominum
salubri corpore, velox, patiens laborum: plerosque senectus
dissolvit, nisi qui ferro, aut a bestiis interiere. Nam morbus
haud sæpe quenquam superat, ad hoc malefici generis plurima
animalia.”—(Bell. Jugurth. § 17.)
This account agrees very well with that of Herodotus; but the
description which Sallust afterwards gives of the country where the
Philænean altars were placed, conveys too much the idea of a flat
sandy plain.]
[Footnote 15: That is, on the surface; for in most sandy deserts
water may be found by digging.]
[Footnote 16: Ουτοι μεν ὁι παραθαλασσιοι των Νομαδων λιβυων
ειρεαται. υπερ δε τουτων, ες μεσογαιαν, η θηριωδης εστι λιβυη·
υπερ δε της θηριωδεος οφρυη ψαμμης κατηκει, παρατεινουσα απο
θηβεων των Αιγυπτιεων επι Ηρακληιας στηλας. (Melp. ρπαʹ.)]
[Footnote 17: Strabo seems to place the Nasamones farther inland,
whither they were probably driven by the Cyreneans subsequent to
the account of Herodotus.
Την δε υπερκειμενην εν βαθει χωραν της Συρτεως και της Κυρηναιας
κατεχουσιν ὁι Λιβυες παραλυπρον και αυχμηραν· πρωτον μεν ὁι Νασαμωνες,
επειτα ψυλλοι και τινες γαιτουλοι, επειτα Γαραμαντες· (Lib. 17.
p. 838.)]
[Footnote 18: The want of accurate information which has hitherto
obtained, respecting the Gulf and the Shores of the Greater Syrtis,
has not only occasioned their being incorrectly laid down in modern
maps, but has necessarily subjected the observations of modern
writers upon them to errors which would not otherwise have been made.
In alluding to the breadth across the mouth of the Greater Syrtis,
Major Rennell has remarked as follows:—
“Scylax reckons it a passage of three days and nights across its
mouth; which, however, measures no more than one hundred and eighty
geographic miles on the best modern maps. This allows about sixty
miles for each day and night collectively.”
But the actual distance across the Gulf, from Mesurata to Bengazi,
is two hundred and forty-six geographic miles, instead of one hundred
and eighty, and this would give a rate of eighty-six miles per day
(considered as twenty-four hours).
Again—the same author observes—“Strabo says that Cato had ten
thousand men, which he divided into separate bodies, that they might
more conveniently obtain supplies of water in that arid region. That
they marched on foot, and completed the tour of the Syrtis from
Berenice in thirty days. Those who examine the distance will find
that the rate of marching was eleven and a half geographic miles
in direct distance, or about one mile above the mean of ordinary
marches, which is 10.6.”
But as the circumference of the Greater Syrtis is ascertained (as
above stated) to be four hundred and twenty-two geographic miles,
it will follow that the rate of marching must here have been,
in actual distance, about fourteen geographic miles for each day.]
[Footnote 19: Ἡ χαλεποτης δε και ταυτης της Συρτεως, και της μικρας, οτι
πολλακου τεναγωδης εστιν ὁ βυθος, κατα τας αμπωτεις και τας πλημμυριδας,
συμβαινει τισιν εμπιπτειν εις τα βραχη και καθιζειν· σπανιον δ᾽ ειναι
το σωζομενον σκαφος. Διοπερ πορρωθεν τον παραπλουν ποιουνται,
φυλαττομενοι μη εμπεσοιεν εις τους κολπους υπ᾽ ανεμων αφυλακτοι
ληφθεντες. (Lib. 17. § 20.)
The word σκαφος here used, though it means literally _boat_,
appears to be applied in this passage to vessels in general.]
[Footnote 20: Travels in Barbary, vol. i. p. 164.]
[Footnote 21: Major Rennell has noticed a parallel instance in
our own country. “There can be no doubt” (he observes) “of
the increase of the Goodwin (sand) at the present moment, and of
its slow progression towards the state of firm land. Let those who
doubt the facts here set forth attend to the changes at Ephesus,
at Myriandrus, in the Gulf of Issus, and various other places.”]
[Footnote 22: In a note the author adds, “possibly with an
exception to Scylax as a professed guide to others. The observations
of Polybius would probably, had they come down to us, have saved
us much conjecture.”]
[Footnote 23:
When Nature’s hand the first formation tried,
When seas from land she did at first divide,
The Syrts, nor quite of sea nor land bereft,
A mingled mass uncertain still she left;
For nor the land with seas is quite o’erspread,
Nor sink the waters deep their oozy bed,
Nor earth defends its shore, nor lifts aloft its head.
The site with neither and with each complies—
Doubtful and inaccessible it lies;
Or ’tis a sea with shallows bank’d around,
Or ’tis a broken land with waters drown’d;
Here shores advanced o’er Neptune’s rule we find,
And there an inland ocean lags behind.
* * * * * *
Perhaps, when first the world and time began,
Here swelling tides and plenteous waters ran;
But long confining on the burning zone,
The sinking seas have felt the neighb’ring sun:
Still by degrees we see how they decay,
And scarce resist the thirsty god of day.
Perhaps in distant ages ’twill be found,
When future suns have run the burning round,
These Syrts shall all be dry and solid ground:
Small are the depths their scanty waves retain,
And earth grows daily on the yielding main.—(Pharsalia, Book 9.)
It here seems evident, that the Gulfs of Syrtis in Lucan’s time
were believed to be growing shallower, and the land advancing upon
the sea. This is certainly consistent with the present appearance of
the Greater Syrtis (as contrasted with the accounts of the ancients
respecting it,) and, from all that we have been able to learn,
of the Lesser Syrtis also. It must, however, be recollected, that
this accumulation of soil is only observable in the low grounds,
where the sand is constantly heaped up by the sea; for in other
parts (as we have already stated) the sea has gained upon the
land. The advance of the sea, which may be considered to be equally
certain with that of the land, will serve to prove how rapidly the
soil must have been accumulating in the lower parts of the Syrtis;
since there is reason to believe that (notwithstanding the rise of
the Mediterranean on these shores) they were formerly covered with
a greater body of water than at present.]
[Footnote 24: We allude here to the vessels of the country, which
we were told at Bengazi usually gave the Gulf a wide birth; thus
realising, in modern days, what Strabo mentions of the vessels of
the ancients.]
[Footnote 25: ——— importuosus atq. atrox, et ob vadorum frequentium
brevia, magisq. etiam ob alternos motus pelagi affluentis ac refluentis
infestus. (De Situ Orbis. Lib. 1. c. 7.) This is said of the Lesser
Syrtis, but the Greater Syrtis is stated, immediately afterwards, to be
nomine atque ingenio par priori. Pliny also mentions both these
peculiarities very briefly but decidedly; he speaks of both Gulfs as
being _vadoso_ ac _reciproco_ mari diros. (Lib. v. c. 4.)]
[Footnote 26: From συρειν, to draw, or drag along. Sallust’s words are
“Syrtes ab tractu nominatæ.” Shaw has quoted Solinus, c. 6, and
Dionysius Periegetes, 1. 198, as suggesting the same derivation. As if
(he adds) “a συρω, quod in accessu et recessu arenam et cœnum ad se
trahit et congerit.” (Vid. Eustath. Comm.) Travels in Barbary, vol.
1. p. 211.]
[Footnote 27: Viaggio da Tripoli, &c. p. 62.]
[Illustration: Plan of the PORT _and_ NEIGHBOURHOOD of BENGAZI
BY _Captn. F. W. Beechey R.N._
_J. & C. Walker Sculpt._
_Published as the act directs, April 1827, by J. Murray, Albemarle
St. London._]
CHAPTER XI.
The Rainy Season sets in at Bengazi towards the middle of January,
and continues with little interruption till the beginning of
March — Miserable Condition of the Town during that period —
Construction of the Houses — Improvidence of the Arabs — Dirty
state of the Streets — Swarms of insects which infest them —
Position of Bengazi — Description of its Harbour — Castle of the
Bey — Visit to Bey Halīl — Friendly Reception of our Party by
his Excellency — Occupations and arrangements during the Rainy
Season — The Shekh el Belad Mahommed — Jews of Bengazi —
Trade of the Town — Produce of the Environs — Wretched state
of the Bullock Vessels — Mahometan Inhabitants of Bengazi —
Alarm of the Lower Classes during our residence there — Confusion
resulting from it — Mob collected at our door on this occasion
— Narrow Escape of Mr. Giacomo Rossoni — Friendly Conduct of
our Mahometan Acquaintance — Parley with the Arabs — Dispersion
of the Mob — Prejudices of the Arabs respecting the Treatment of
Diseases — Fatal Effects of this species of Folly at Bengazi —
Prevalent Diseases in Bengazi and its vicinity — Singular cause
of Alarm among a Party of Arab Shekhs — Arab notions of decorum
and propriety contrasted with those of European Nations — Bengazi
supposed to occupy the Site of Berenice and Hesperis — Existing
Remains there — Little regard manifested by Turks and Arabs
for the relics of Antiquity — Probable Limits of Berenice —
Quarries, and singular Chasms in its Neighbourhood — Gardens of
Hesperides — Position of the Gardens according to Scylax, Pliny,
and Ptolemy — Conjectures of Gosselin and others respecting
them — Circumstances which appear to favour our position of the
Gardens — Lakes and Subterranean Caverns in the Neighbourhood of
Bengazi, (or Berenice) — Concealed Body of Water observed in one
of the latter — Examination of the Caverns — Remarks of the Bey
respecting it — The Subterranean Stream in question considered as
the River Lathon, or Lethe — Testimonies of the Ancients on this
point — Supposed Communication of the Subterranean Stream with
the Lake adjoining the Harbour of Bengazi — Signification of the
term _Lathon_ alluded to — Further Remarks in confirmation of our
suggested Position of the River, and of its probable Communication
with the Lake above mentioned — Remarks of Strabo and Cellarius
on the subject — Temple of Venus, and Lake Tritonis of Strabo
— Remarks on the name _Berenice_ — Total ignorance of the Arabs
of Bengazi with respect to the former celebrity of their City —
Pleasing little Fable of Kazwini, on the changes which take place
in the Nature and Appearance of Places, and the little knowledge
which remains, after a lapse of time, of their former Condition,
even on the spots where they existed.
On the 12th of January our whole party arrived at Bengazi, having
employed on the journey two months and seven days from the time of
our departure from Tripoly. Shortly after our arrival, the heavy
rains commenced, and continued with little interruption, until the
beginning of March, accompanied with constant gales of wind from the
north-east and north-west. The state of the town during this period
may truly be said to have been miserable; the houses being chiefly
put together with mud, were continually giving way, and falling in;
and we were frequently apprized of occurrences of this nature, in
our own immediate neighbourhood, by the shrieks and cries of women,
whose families had been sufferers on some of these occasions.
The streets during part of the time were literally converted into
rivers; the market was without supplies, owing to the impossibility
of driving cattle into the town; and the number of sheep and
goats which perished in the neighbourhood of Bengazi, from the
extreme inclemency of the weather, amounted (we were informed)
to several thousands. For ourselves, we were fortunate in having
one room in our house which was capable of resisting the rain, the
terrace on its roof having been cemented by one of the Beys, who
had occupied it a short time before; and this, we really believe,
was the only room in the town which could be fairly considered
weather-proof. The court-yard round which our apartments were built
(if they may be dignified with so imposing an appellation) assumed
for a long time the appearance of a pond, and a narrow space was
only left here and there on its borders, by which we could pass
from one room to another.
From the state of our own house, which we have already said might
be considered as the best in the town, the condition of other parts
of Bengazi, during the rains, may be in some measure imagined;
although it will scarcely be possible for the inhabitants of
civilized countries, unacquainted with the nature of Arab towns,
to conceive half the wretchedness and the utter want of comfort
which they present on similar occasions.
The houses of Bengazi are built after the usual manner of Arab
buildings, that is to say, with rough and unequally-shaped stones,
put together with mud instead of mortar; they generally consist of a
ground floor only, built round a square court-yard, which is exposed
to the weather, and into which the doors of the chambers open,
which seldom communicate with each other: the court is not paved,
and in houses of more than ordinary consequence, there is sometimes
a well in the centre. The roofs are flat, and are formed of rafters
(chiefly of young pine-trees from the neighbouring forests) over
which are laid mats, and on these there is generally a quantity of
sea-weed, or other vegetable rubbish; over the whole is spread a
thick stratum of mud, which is beat down as hard as Arab laziness
will admit of at the time when the terrace is made[1].
They who can afford it (and there are very few so fortunate)
spread a preparation of lime over the mud; which, as the cement
is usually well made, forms a surface impervious to the weather,
while the coating remains in good condition.
The rain which falls is in these cases highly beneficial, since it is
carried off by spouts into some general reservoir, or is collected
in large earthern jars for the daily consumption of the house. By
far the greater number of houses are, however, unprovided with any
defence of this nature; and if the precaution of beating down the
mud which forms the terrace, sufficiently hard to make the water run
off, be not adopted at the commencement of the rains, it is more than
probable, that the whole of the building so neglected will disappear
before the season is over. As the religion and the laziness of an
Arab equally prompt him to depend more upon the interference of
Providence, than upon any exertions of his own, this precaution is
often neglected; and after having borne, with exemplary patience,
all the dirt and inconvenience occasioned by the passage of the
rain through the mud over his head, he is roused from his lethargy
by the screams of his wife and children, alarmed, or badly wounded
by the fall of the roof, or by some serious accident from a similar
cause, by which he is a sufferer himself. Many persons were severely
wounded at Bengazi in the winter during which we were confined there;
and it is probable, that there are accidents in the town every year,
occasioned by similar neglect.
When a house falls, it is generally left in a state of rubbish and
ruin, and the survivors of the family remove to another spot without
troubling themselves further about it: the consequence is, that
the streets are often nearly blocked up by mounds of this nature
disposed in various parts of them; which form in the winter-time
heaps of mud and mire, and, in the dry weather, scatter thick clouds
of light dust in the faces and eyes of the passengers.
As these masses of rubbish also serve at the same time as
general receptacles for the superfluities of the city, groups of
half-famished dogs and myriads of flies are invariably collected
about them; in the midst of which are seen lying very contentedly,
or rolling about for diversion, swarms of little naked children,
regardless of either, which one might almost fancy were actually
produced by the fertilizing qualities of these heaps of putrid
matter, as the monsters of old are asserted to have been from the
slime and the mud of the Nile. There is, however, nothing singular
or peculiar to Bengazi in the scene which we have just described;
for every Arab town and village will be found, more or less, to
present to us a similar spectacle. Filth and dust, and swarms of
insects of every description, must inevitably be the consequences of
this continued neglect; and we accordingly find that these several
annoyances, together with the scattered groups of lean dogs and naked
children, form the principal characteristics (in the estimation of
their European visitors) of these enviable places of abode. We say,
in the opinion of the natives of Europe, because an Arab or a Moor
sees nothing remarkable in any of the objects here alluded to,
and would consider it a mark of affectation or effeminacy to be
annoyed at any similar objects or inconveniences.
In addition to the nuisances already enumerated, the open spaces in
Bengazi are usually ornamented by pools of stagnant, putrid water;
and that which is in the market-place is rendered more particularly
offensive, from the circumstance of its being the common receptacle
of the offal and blood of the animals which are killed there,
and which may truly be said to realize the words of the poet in
“making the green one red.” It may readily be imagined, that
in the heat of the summer these places are not very wholesome, and
they are probably often the causes of fevers, especially during the
prevalence of southerly winds. That these sinks of corruption should
ever be bathing-places will not perhaps be so easily conceived; but
they are nevertheless often used for such purpose; and the children
of the town will very frequently adjourn from the dust-heaps already
described, to cool themselves (we cannot in conscience say to clean
themselves) in the green and red pools here alluded to. With so many
objects to attract and encourage them, it is not to be wondered at,
that Bengazi is proverbial for flies; and every part of the town,
both within and without the houses, may truly be said to swarm with
them. Among the various annoyances with which the place abounds,
these are, perhaps, the most serious of any; or, at all events,
they are those from which it is least possible to escape; there is,
in fact, no chance of avoiding them; they follow you everywhere
from place to place, settle on every part of the arms, legs, and
body, which the heat of the weather obliges you to leave uncovered;
creep obstinately into the corners of the eyes, and up the nostrils,
into the hollows of the ears, and the corners of the mouth when it
is closed, and often fly down the throat, nearly choking you, when
it is open; at meals every part of the dishes and their contents
are covered as soon as they are produced, and every fluid becomes
a trap for as many of these insects as can crowd themselves over
its surface. In short, there is literally no riding or walking,
no reading or writing, or eating or resting one’s-self, in any
part of Bengazi in comfort for them; and if at night they take up
their accustomed position on the ceiling, and give place to the
fleas and mosquitos, the first dawn of morning finds them on the
wing, and all alive to recommence their operations. They are at the
same time so watchful, and so quick in their motions, that it is
difficult to succeed in killing any of them; we often caught thirty
or forty fleas in a morning on turning down the bed-clothes with a
little attention, and as many during the day on different parts of
our dress, particularly about the legs and ancles; but the whole
collection of flies which we could kill in a week would scarcely
amount to this number; unless we except those which were caught in
the traps which we were usually in the habit of setting for them. All
hot climates are more or less subject to these nuisances; but it
is probable that no place on earth will be found to abound more in
flies than Bengazi; we might perhaps say, that few places could be
mentioned where so many of them will at any time be observed.
The situation of Bengazi is, however, much better than so filthy
a town may be said to deserve. It is built on the coast, close to
the sea, at the extremity of a beautiful fertile plain, extending
itself to the foot of a long chain of mountains about fourteen miles
distant (in this part) to the south-eastward. Plentiful crops of
corn and vegetables are afforded to the town by the cultivated lands
in the neighbourhood, and the supplies of beef and mutton are in
general very regular and abundant. The harbour of Bengazi appears
to have been formerly capable of containing good-sized vessels,
and, even in the recollection of some of the present inhabitants,
the Bashaw’s ships were accustomed to lay, where now only boats
can be accommodated.
At present it can only be entered by small vessels, drawing seven
or eight feet water, and that merely in moderate weather. It is
well protected from the sea by reefs of rocks, between which the
entrance is so narrow as to render a pilot necessary.
There seems to be little doubt that the harbour originally
communicated at all times with the lake to the southward of the
town, as it does at the present day in the rainy season; but owing
to the accumulation of sand from the sea, and of alluvial deposite
from the lake, the communication is now, during the summer months,
wholly interrupted. At the entrance of the port is the castle of the
Bey of Bengazi, constructed on the ruins of an ancient building,
part of which is still visible at the base of the castle next the
sea. The existing structure is built with small stones and mud,
so slightly, that when the Adventure made its appearance before
it, the Bey requested Captain Smyth would dispense with the usual
salute, as he feared the concussion would otherwise bring down a
part of the walls. Its form is square, with a round tower at each of
three angles; the fourth, which fronts the entrance of the harbour,
being occupied by a pile of building, appropriated to the harem of
his excellency.
If the gallantry of Mahometans has been doubted or denied, here
is surely a proof of its existence; for the angle given up to the
service of the ladies is almost the only one which could prove
of any annoyance to vessels entering the harbour; and, while the
three turrets mentioned are provided with guns, this angle is left
without any. The fair inhabitants of the harem are in consequence
favoured with a view of the “dark blue main,” and the grated
windows of their apartments command at the same time a view of the
entrance to the harbour.
The cool sea-breeze enters freely, and the ladies may sit with the
lattice spread open to enjoy it, without incurring the danger of
meeting the gaze of any vulgar or sacrilegious eye. The dashing of
the waters against the base of the castle may also serve to lull
them to sleep; but candour, at the same time, obliges us to state,
that it may also serve to waken them rather too abruptly on no very
distant occasion. Were it not that the lower part of the structure
is (as we have before mentioned) ancient, and consequently strongly
built, the interruption to which we allude would have happened long
before now; and Neptune, as if encouraged by the daily glances of
so many soft dark eyes, would have washed away the barrier which so
cruelly interposed itself, and carried off the lovely inhabitants
of the harem to enliven his submarine _soirées_.
Besides the harem of the Bey, the castle contains the officers and
chaouses of his household, and a numerous body of troops might
be lodged within the limits of its walls. In time of trouble,
it is the only place to which he could retreat with any safety,
and it forms the only ornament and the only protection which the
town of Bengazi possesses.
The Bey, whose name is Halīl, was once fortunate enough to possess
a daughter of the Bashaw as his wife, a circumstance which secured
for him a good deal of influence (or at least a great portion of the
royal favour) during the life of his consort. He was not, however,
destined to enjoy his good fortune long, for the princess died a
short time before our arrival at Tripoly, and with her highness
departed that portion of influence which Bey Halīl through her
means had obtained. The profits arising from the government of
Bengazi would have been sufficient to enrich its possessor, had he
been allowed to enjoy them; but the demands which were continually
made upon him by the Bashaw became so heavy after the death of
his wife, that the surplus was very inconsiderable. Besides this,
the collection of the tribute from the Bedouin tribes in the
neighbourhood was often attended with difficulty, and must have
made the receipts uncertain; but no allowance is made in Mahometan
countries for casualties of this description; the will of a superior
is a law, and his demands must be punctually complied with,
(whatever may be the means of satisfying them,) if the office,
and often the life of the person upon whom they may be made, are
valued by him. The consequence is, that extortion in the heads of
departments is the cause of extortion in subalterns; and he who has
no power to avail himself of tyranny, is generally doomed to be the
sufferer himself, for not being able to do more than his resources
will allow him to accomplish. Many a well-meaning man who would
have acted with propriety, had the alternative been less severe,
is thus obliged to commit acts of cruelty and injustice which his
nature would not have inclined him to; the force of habit and example
at length subdues his better feelings, and necessity is so often
made the excuse for tyrannical conduct, that it not only becomes a
plea where it actually obtains, but is urged as such eventually on
occasions where no necessity really exists, to justify private acts
of caprice and oppression, which have themselves only resulted from
the long-indulged habit of executing similar outrages for others.
The Bey having been officially apprized of our arrival, and that
we were desirous of paying our respects to him, appointed a day to
receive us; and when the time arrived we proceeded to the castle,
accompanied by Signor Rossoni, the British vice-consul at Bengazi,
and his brother, Mr. Giacomo Rossoni. We found the Bey in a plain
whitewashed room of unimposing dimensions, but cool and tolerably
clean, seated upon cushions spread round a niche which had been
formed in the wall for the purpose. On each side of this recess,
or alcove, were ranged the principal officers of the household, the
chaouses, and several shekhs; other parts of the room were occupied
by slaves and persons of inferior condition. There was much less
ceremony in the court of Bey Halīl than in that of the Bashaw at
Tripoly, and the conversation appeared to have been pretty general
before we entered the apartment in which he received us.
The hum of voices subsided all at once as we made our appearance,
and every person’s eyes seemed determined to exert themselves in
proportion as his tongue was laid under restraint; for the steady
gaze of all present was fixed upon our party as we took up our
stations near the Bey. We found his excellency a good-looking,
well-formed man, who, apparently from inactivity and good living,
had attained to that state of dignified _embonpoint_ at which
persons of inferior consideration in Mahometan countries are
very seldom destined to arrive. A Georgian by birth, Bey Halīl
possessed strongly the Asiatic cast of countenance and features,
and an expression of unassumed and unreserved goodnature gave a
pleasing character to his sharp, black eyes. His reception of our
party was in unison with his appearance; and the formal inclination
of the head, usually made by Mahometans to strangers whom they honour
with their notice, gave place to a hearty English shake of the hand;
while a cordial _Bon giorno! Ti sta bono?_ was substituted for
the grave and ceremonious _salam_, which, whenever it is offered
by the faithful to unbelievers, is almost invariably dictated by
politeness or policy merely.
Near the Bey stood his secretary, Hashi (whose pale and thin
countenance, and weak, inflamed eyes, appeared to testify that his
place was no sinecure); and two of his head chaouses, one a native
of Constantinople, a short, corpulent, sleepy-looking personage;
the other a tall, raw-boned, hard-featured Arab, who had shewn
great bravery and activity in petty wars with the Bedouin tribes,
and whose shattered hand bore testimony to his exploits.
Several persons came in from time to time, and having kissed his
excellency’s hand, and made the appropriate salams, squatted
themselves down in different parts of the room, according to their
rank and station, and began with great attention their survey of
our party.
The objects of the expedition had in all probability been made
known to the Bey before our arrival; but we thought it proper to
state them in general terms to his excellency, through the medium
of Mr. Giacomo Rossoni, in his official character of interpreter.
This was no sooner done than the eyes of the spectators, which had
hitherto been actively employed, were relieved for a short time by
their organs of speech, exerted in ill-suppressed whispers. From
their gestures, and a word or two which we caught _en passant_,
we could perceive that very few of the Arabs assembled believed a
single word of our statement, (so far, at least, as the motives for
the expedition were concerned;) for they could not at all imagine
why persons should be commissioned to make researches of such a
nature as those which they had just heard proposed, where money
was not in fact the real object of inquiry.
His excellency the Bey, though he received the statement graciously,
and offered his assistance very freely in facilitating the operations
of the mission, was scarcely himself convinced of the sanity of a
government which could concern itself with science and research,
particularly if no considerable _pecuniary_ equivalent was likely
to result to His Majesty’s treasury for the expenses incurred by
its expeditions[2].
We had brought with us several papers for Bey Halīl from the Bashaw,
all of which, when presented (with the exception of one), he put into
the hands of his secretary Hashi, his excellency not being himself
quite _au fait_ at deciphering the contents of his letters. The paper
retained was the teskeré from the Bashaw (already mentioned) for
five hundred dollars; and it is probable that the frequent arrival
of similar orders had rendered their appearance so familiar to Bey
Halil, that he was able to distinguish them without the assistance
of his secretary, though he could not read a word of other matter.
A slight change of countenance, when he first cast his eyes
upon the teskeré, was, however, the only visible effect which
it produced on the exterior of the Bey of Bengazi; and his good
breeding did not allow him to manifest in any other way that our
visit was not in all respects perfectly agreeable to him. We may
add, that the sum was punctually paid to us, after some little
(possibly unavoidable) delay, by the hands of secretary Hashi;
and the credit of his excellency was in no other way diminished,
than by the discharge of the five hundred dollars at several times,
instead of being made at one payment. Had we known at Tripoly so much
of the Bey’s private history, as we have already stated above,
this teskeré might have been spared him; for we should certainly
not have been induced to accept any order upon him, however trifling,
could we have supposed that its payment might be inconvenient.
Soon after we left the coast of Africa, Bey Halil was removed
from the government of Bengazi, and it is probable that he had
reason to rejoice at his dismissal; for had he remained there much
longer than he did, the continued demands for money and cargoes,
so unmercifully made upon him by his Highness, could scarcely
have failed to ruin him. In addition to these, he had sustained
a considerable loss in the capture of one of the vessels which
he had freighted, by the Greeks, as we were informed, at Bengazi;
and also in the destruction of the jewels and wardrobe of his wife,
which the Bashaw had ordered to be burnt (it was said) after the
death of that unfortunate princess.
In compliance, we presume, with the practice of the court of Tripoly,
tea was served to us with the sherbet, instead of coffee, at the
interviews we had with Bey Halil; as we have already mentioned it
to have been in that with the Shekh of Mesurata.
In the course of our first visit, we took occasion to mention to his
excellency the careless manner in which Shekh Mahommed el Dúbbah
had fulfilled the injunctions of the Bashaw; and to enumerate a
few of the impositions, the unnecessary delays, and privations,
to which we had in consequence been subjected; acquainting him at
the same with the loss of property which we had sustained, from
the thievish disposition of the Dúbbah’s people. We hoped by
this complaint to get back a pocket compass, and some other articles
which we could ill spare, which had been stolen from our tents on the
journey across the Syrtis. Bey Halil was, however, either unwilling
or unable to assist us in the matter; and after shrugging up his
shoulders in dignified silence (as if he had expected nothing less),
he summed up the whole of his displeasure in the single exclamation
of—Arab! By which he seemed to imply, that, as one of that race,
the Shekh could not be other than a rogue[3].
Unsatisfactory as this administration of justice may appear,
it did not seem probable that we should obtain any other; and
having one means of punishment, at least, in our own hands (that
of mulcting the Shekh, whom we had not fully paid, to the amount of
the property stolen), we did not press the subject any further with
his excellency; and after having made known to him our intention
of remaining during the rainy season in Bengazi, and of proceeding
afterwards to the eastward, we concluded by requesting his assistance
and protection, in furtherance of the remaining objects of the
mission, and took our leave under the most decided and friendly
assurances of having everything arranged as we could wish.
As soon as this visit of ceremony was over, we began to employ our
time, which, on account of the heavy rains, was necessarily passed in
doors, in putting together the materials which we had collected on
our route, in making some arrangements for improving the condition
of our horses, of which they stood much in need, and in preparing
provisions and other necessaries which were required for our journey
to the eastward. In these pursuits we were materially assisted by the
vice-consul and his brother, Mr. Giacomo Rossoni, to both of whom
our thanks are particularly due, as well on these as on many other
occasions. Our time, though we passed it as agreeably as we could,
nevertheless often hung very heavy on our hands; and we soon found
that Bengazi was a residence which we should quit with very little
regret. There is not a single place of public resort or amusement
in any part of this gloomy abode: its inhabitants idle or sleep
away the greater part of their time, without appearing to entertain
the slightest desire of improving their comfortless and miserable
condition, or of enlivening the monotony of their pursuits. Turkish
towns are not in general remarkable for gaiety, and we did not expect
to find theatres or assembly-rooms; but there is usually a good deal
of amusement to be derived from occasional visits to the coffee-shops
and bazaars, and not unfrequently some useful information. These
resources, however, were not afforded us at Bengazi; for there is
nothing of the kind there that we felt an inclination to visit a
second time. Strangers who arrive there may indeed find a shelter
from the weather, in a place well known to Mahometans as the Fundook,
a temporary place of reception and partial accommodation. We once,
and once only, took occasion to visit this place; and on entering
it through the aperture of a broken door, we found ourselves in a
long arched room, in which there was scarcely sufficient light to
show us where to place our feet, a precaution which was nevertheless
highly essential. Here we perceived the remains of a charcoal fire,
which had been kindled on the well-smoked capital of a marble column,
and a greasy Arab stretched close to it on the ground, snoring amid
the folds of his barracan. The building itself was of some antiquity,
though not apparently older than the worst time of the lower empire,
the roof being supported upon small columns of execrable taste, and
the other parts of the building in no better style. The exterior had
undergone some repair from time to time, but no attention whatever
had been paid to the chamber within, not even that of removing the
dirt and filth which was collected there; and the consequence was,
that the level of the floor reached two-thirds of the way up the
columns. We need scarcely add, that whatever attractions this place
may have had for an Arab, it had little allurement for us; and
we should have laid ourselves down, without the least hesitation,
to pass a rainy night in the street, rather than subject ourselves
to the punishment of taking shelter for an hour under its roof.
The house in which we had taken up our abode was the property of
the Shekh el Belad, a very worthy person, much respected by all
who knew him: he soon made us acquainted with the principal people
of the town, from whom we collected what little information they
could afford us, respecting the country, and the several objects
of our mission[4]. We were informed that Bengazi contained about
two thousand inhabitants, a large proportion of which were Jews
and negro slaves; but the number of persons residing in the town
is continually varying, owing to the circumstance of many persons
removing to the country, whenever the weather permits, where they
establish themselves in tents, or in huts made of palm-branches
and dhurra-stalks[5]. The Jews of Bengazi are a persecuted race,
but uniformly steady in their pursuit after riches: as is usually
the case in Mahometan countries, they are (with the few exceptions we
shall presently mention) the principal merchants and tradesmen of the
place; and their well-directed and unremitted industry alone enables
them to meet the heavy exactions which are made upon their purses
and property by the adherents to the religion of the Prophet. Their
houses are generally cleaner and better furnished than those of
most of the Mahometans, and we never entered any of them without
finding the whole family employed in some useful occupation.
We found them invariably civil and obliging, and apparently
contented with their condition; which proves how much habit
will reconcile us to evils, which, to those not inured to them,
would be intolerable. The “fierce impatience” which formerly
characterized the Jews of the Cyrenaica has disappeared with the
probability of its being successfully exerted; and poverty is now
almost the only evil to which they will not quietly submit[6]. The
trade of Bengazi is not, however, wholly confined to the Jews;
for, besides the Bey himself, who may be considered as the first
merchant, there are several other very respectable Mahometan
traders[7]; the Bazaar, notwithstanding, presents little more than
the articles in greatest request among the Bedouins; amongst which
may be seen bundles of rusty nails, horse-shoes, musket-balls,
and large flints, which form the chief objects of their visits,
and are exposed for sale, on boards, at the doors of a few of the
most industrious Arab inhabitants of the town, and bargained for
with as much seriousness and vehemence, as if they were the most
costly goods. The produce of the interior consists chiefly in corn,
wool, and manteca, with which the merchants freight the different
foreign vessels which purposely touch at Bengazi. This is done in
preference to employing the small vessels of the country; first,
because the foreign vessels are much better navigated, and secondly,
because in sailing under European colours they are less liable
to molestation from the Greeks. Besides these articles, oxen are
well known to constitute a great portion of the trade of Bengazi,
and many vessels are kept constantly employed in transporting them
to Malta and other places during the summer months. If the wind
prove favourable, and the passage be quickly made, the profits to
all parties are great; but it sometimes happens that, from violent
or contrary winds, or from the vessel being ill calculated for the
cargo, and more frequently from there being too great a number of
these poor animals crowded inconsiderately together, that so many
oxen die from thirst and suffocation, from bruises, and occasionally
from drowning, as to render the profits of the voyage very trifling.
The cattle are chiefly driven from the neighbourhood of Cyrene,
where their original cost is from six to eight dollars a head;
some expenses, of course, are incurred on the road, but these are
amply covered by the price of ten and thirteen dollars, at which
sum the oxen are furnished to the captains of the bullock-vessels:
the master, again, being fully compensated by a contract of about
eighteen dollars a head at Malta.
The prospect of fine weather very often induces the captain to take
on board as many as there is standing-room for in his vessel, on both
upper and lower deck, in both of which the poor animals are jammed
as close as they can possibly be stowed. The sufferings of the oxen
in hot and oppressive weather, taken at once from the invigorating
atmosphere of their native mountains, and exposed to the thick and
almost suffocating steam (proceeding from their own bodies) which
they must necessarily breathe in the place of their confinement,
will be more easily deplored than described. So oppressive is the
heat, on many occasions, in the lower deck of the bullock-vessels,
that the men employed to look after the unfortunate animals can
scarcely stay more than ten minutes there, except immediately under
the hatchways; and such of the oxen as chance, from their situation,
or other causes, to be more affected by the closeness of the
atmosphere than the rest, are obliged to be dragged up continually
to the deck above, to prevent them from dying of suffocation.
We are sorry to say that our own experience enables us to speak
decidedly on these points; for as there was no other vessel in the
harbour of Bengazi, when we left the coast, than a bullock-vessel,
and no other expected to arrive, we were obliged to take a passage
in the only one of them then remaining. As we experienced, nearly
the whole voyage, the most provoking calms, our passage was an
unusually long one; and independently of the extreme inconvenience
(to use the mildest term) which we experienced ourselves, we had to
witness a scene of suffering which we shall never forget, and which
we would willingly have gone through much more than we experienced
to have avoided. It is indeed scarcely possible to conceive that
human nature could be really so degraded from its rank in creation,
as it appears to be in the persons of those who form the crew of
a bullock-vessel.
And yet many of them are not, on other occasions, cruel men—but
the constant habit of witnessing and inflicting sufferings, which
they seem to think matters of course, has so blunted their kinder
feelings in the discharge of this particular duty, that one might
almost blush (on witnessing their conduct) at being classed in the
same species with them[8]. The horrors of slave-ships are happily for
the most part abolished, through the humanity and the influence of
Englishmen; and if the government of Malta were acquainted with the
horrors of bullock-vessels, they would surely take means to prevent
the recurrence of them. Let us hope that some Martin may arise in
the Mediterranean who will exert himself in bringing this about;
we will answer for it, he will never sit down to a piece of beef
without feelings of more than usual satisfaction.
Among the persons to whom we were introduced by Shekh Mahommed,
there were several whose good sense and good feeling would have done
credit to a more civilized people; and the time which we spent in
their society was often very agreeably passed. They were able to
afford us a good deal of information respecting the country to the
eastward, and in the interior, which we afterwards found very useful;
but they were generally shy in giving an opinion upon affairs of a
political nature. They would, however, talk freely of the exploits
of Mahommed Bey, who was so instrumental in reducing the country
to its present state of tranquillity; and whose sanguinary measures
alone procured for Bengazi the security which it now enjoys[9]. We
often conversed on the subject of the existing war with the Greeks,
and they manifested at all times extreme curiosity to know what part
we should take, in the event of the arrival of any Greek vessel
off their port. Our answers were always satisfactory to them; and
a report of the English being favorably inclined towards the Porte
having by some means reached them, we were in subsequent interviews
addressed as Sahab, or ally.
This confidence in our intentions was not, however, so strongly
felt among the lower classes of people; at least it did not appear
to have been so on the occasion which we are about to mention.
Some vague reports of the successes of the Greeks, and their
merciless treatment of the prisoners which they had taken, having
reached the people of Bengazi, they became, on a sudden, uncommonly
nervous, and were in momentary apprehension of an invasion, and of
an indiscriminate slaughter of themselves and their families. The
appearance of the Adventure, about this time, on their coast,
which had not been visited by a man-of-war for a long time before,
together with the arrival, soon after, of our party, whose real
objects were for the most part unintelligible to them, added
to the circumstance of their having seen us employed in making
plans and drawings of their fort and harbour, all contributed to
strengthen their suspicions and their fears; and they soon began
to consider our residence among them as, in some way, connected
with the Greeks. While their minds were thus prepared, it unluckily
happened one evening just before sunset, that some hard clouds had
formed themselves on the horizon, into shapes which they conceived to
resemble ships under sail; the appearance soon excited the greatest
alarm, and many an eager eye was fixed upon the formidable armada
which imagination had suggested to the terrified Arabs[10]. Before
they could be satisfied that there was no foundation for their fears,
it was too dark to distinguish anything more; and the greatest
confusion very shortly prevailed in every part of Bengazi. The men
now began to prepare their fire-arms, and the signal to assemble
was everywhere repeated; the women and children running about in
the greatest terror, calling out that the Christians were coming
to murder them!
The disturbance was not long unknown to our party, for our door
shortly became the centre of confusion; a mob of Arabs was very
soon collected about it, who manifested the most hostile feeling,
and the street rang with invectives against the Nasáras[11]. It
would have gone hard with any Christian who had been found unarmed in
the streets at this moment; for even Giacomo Rossoni (the brother
of the Consul), who was a great favorite with the Arabs, and who
chanced to be out just before, very narrowly escaped with his
life in making his way to take refuge in our house. We had every
desire to act as conciliatory a part as possible, but finding our
doors assailed in the manner described, we armed ourselves, with
the intention of defending the house to the last, should the Arabs
proceed to extremities. At this difficult moment Shekh Mahommed and
his brothers, accompanied by some of our other Arab friends, made
their way through the mob and arrived just in time to prevent an
immediate attack upon our quarters; and we afterwards learnt that
one of the Shekh’s brothers had been felled to the ground, for
his remonstrances in our favour, before he could reach our door. A
parley was now begun with great vehemence on both sides; but before
any measures could be determined upon, an alarm was excited that the
Greeks might be landing while this discussion was pending, and the
whole party of rioters hurried down to the beach, leaving none but
the women and children in the town. Muskets were now discharged in
various directions, without any person knowing what they were firing
at, and the whole strength of the place was drawn up on the beach in
momentary expectation of being attacked by the invaders. At length,
after a lapse of several hours, they conceived that sufficient
time had been given for the approach of the vessels, if Bengazi had
been really their object; and after inquiring of one another what
grounds there had been for all the disturbance they had been making,
without any one being able to give a satisfactory answer, the whole
party retired very quietly to their houses, and nothing more was
ever heard of the formidable invasion which had excited such alarm
and confusion. In the mean time Signor Giacomo, who had been some
time in our house, became anxious to relieve his family from the
apprehensions which they could not but have entertained for his
safety; but his European dress being likely to attract attention,
and expose him to danger or insult, we offered our services to
accompany him; and on reaching his house in safety, he learnt that
the Consul had been obliged to shut himself up with his family,
and that they had been in the greatest alarm for him. Thus ended
a panic which arose from the most trifling circumstance, threw the
whole town into serious confusion, and threatened the lives of all
the Christians in the place, without having the slightest foundation.
It was singular to observe, during the whole of this affair, the
total want of system and discipline which prevailed; each person
hurrying he hardly knew where, because he saw others in motion,
and leaving his home, with his family and property, at the mercy of
any one who might invade it. A handful of men might have taken the
whole town, which was left for several hours without any defence,
and carried off their plunder beyond the reach of pursuit before the
inhabitants knew they had been there. This was the only molestation
we ever met with from the people of Bengazi; and, to do them justice,
we must allow that it proceeded rather from their ignorance and
their fears, than from any decided hostility or ill-will towards
ourselves. On all other occasions we found them civil and obliging,
and usually inclined to be of service to us when they could. With
regard to the manners and customs of the people of Bengazi, we
saw nothing in which they differed materially from those of Arabs
in general; and it would merely be repeating what has been often
observed by others, were we to give any detailed description of
them. It is well known what reliance is placed by the Arab on
the efficacy, we may say, the infallibility of charms and family
nostrums, and how much they are averse to calling in medical aid till
they have repeatedly tried their own remedies without success. We
saw a lamentable instance of this adherence to popular prejudice
and superstition, in the case of an interesting girl of Bengazi,
the daughter of one of the Arabs of the town. As Mr. Campbell was
standing at the door of our house, in company with some others of
our party, an old woman hurried towards him, and eagerly seizing
both his hands, conjured him to come and visit her daughter, who
she said was very ill with a swelling in the throat. Mr. Campbell
immediately complied with her request, and accompanied her, together
with one or two of the other officers, to the house where the patient
was lying. On entering they found the poor girl we have mentioned,
extended upon the floor, in a state of delirium, while her sister,
on her knees by her side, was endeavouring by means of a fan to keep
away the myriads of flies from her face, with which the room as
usual abounded. Her throat was soon found to be so much ulcerated
and swelled, as almost to prevent respiration; and it seemed but
too evident that the hand of death was already lying heavily upon
her. She had been ill for nine days with a typhus fever, and the
usual charms and remedies had been employed by her parents, who only
came to Mr. Campbell for advice when all their own prescriptions
had failed. The violence of the fever had now subsided, leaving the
unhappy girl in a state of exhaustion, and a mortification appeared
to have taken place. Every means were of course resorted to which
our medicine-chest afforded, and every possible attention was paid
to the comfort of the patient; but all our care was unavailing;
the disease was too far advanced to be subdued by medical skill,
and the poor girl shortly expired, a victim rather to ignorance
and superstition, than to any fatal symptoms in the disease itself,
had the proper remedies been applied in time.
Through a similar infatuation, the son of our worthy landlord, Shekh
Mahommed, who was in other respects a very sensible man, had nearly
fallen a victim to the prejudices of his father. He had, unknown
to us, been for many days dangerously ill of a fever; during which
time his father kept him shut up in a dark, close room, and almost
smothered him with blankets. When we heard of the circumstance,
Mr. Campbell immediately offered his advice and assistance; but both
were civilly declined, the good Shekh observing, at the same time,
that if it were the will of God that his favourite son should die,
no exertions of any one could save him, and he himself had only
to submit, without repining, to the visitation which heaven had
been pleased to bring upon him. We, however, at last succeeded in
prevailing upon him to accept of Mr. Campbell’s mediation, and, in
the course of a few weeks, we are happy to state, the boy completely
recovered. Some other cures which Mr. Campbell was enabled to make
at length gained him a great reputation, and some of the operations
to which he had recourse at once delighted and astonished the Arabs.
A man much emaciated, who had been long afflicted with the dropsy,
was persuaded to submit to the operation of tapping; and when his
numerous Arab friends, who had assembled to witness the ceremony,
saw the water streaming out from the abdomen, they were unable to
restrain the loud expression of their surprise at the sight; and
lifting up their hands and eyes to Heaven, called Allah to witness
that the _tibeeb_[12] was a most extraordinary man[13]!
Dysentery and liver complaints were very common in Bengazi, but
we did not observe so many cases of ophthalmia as we had found
at Tripoly and Mesurata. Cutaneous diseases of the most virulent
kind were very prevalent, as well among the people of the town, as
among the Bedouin tribes in the neighbourhood; indeed, we found that
these disorders prevailed more or less in every part of the northern
coast of Africa which we visited. The inhabitants of the Cyrenaica
suppose them to be chiefly occasioned by handling their cattle,
but it is probable that unwholesome food and water, to which they
may be occasionally subjected, and the little use which they make
of the latter for external purposes, contribute more effectually
to engender and encourage these diseases, than the circumstances
to which they attribute them.
Among the numerous instances, which we observed during our stay
at Bengazi, illustrative of Arab character and prejudices, we
may notice one which occurred in the skeefa (or entrance-hall) of
our house, where a _select party_ of the inhabitants of the town
usually assembled themselves when the weather permitted. On this
occasion, the women of England formed the principal subject of
conversation, and the reports of their beauty, which had reached
some of our visitors, appeared to have made a great impression in
their favour. One of our party then produced a miniature from his
pocket, which chanced to be the resemblance of a very pretty girl;
and he roundly asserted, as he handed it to the company, that every
woman in England was as handsome. We have already observed, that
the subject was a very pretty girl; and they who are unacquainted
with the force of custom and prejudice, will hardly conceive that
an object so pleasing could be the cause of a moment’s alarm. But
truth obliges us to add, that the first Arab of our party, who was
favoured with a sight of the lady in question, started back in dismay
and confusion; and all his worthy countrymen who cast their eyes upon
the picture, withdrew them, on the instant, in the greatest alarm,
exhibiting the strongest symptoms of astonishment and shame. The
fact was, that the young lady who had caused so much confusion,
was unluckily painted in a low evening dress; and her face was only
shaded by the luxuriant auburn curls, which fell in ringlets over
her forehead and temples.
There was nothing, it will be thought, so extremely alarming in this
partial exhibition of female beauty; and the favoured inhabitants of
less decorous, and more civilized countries, would scarcely dream of
being shocked at a similar spectacle. But to men who inhabit those
regions of delicacy, where even _one_ eye of a female must never
be seen stealing out from the sanctuary of her veil, the sudden
apparition of a sparkling pair of those luminaries is not a vision
of ordinary occurrence. At the same time, the alarm of the worthy
Shekhs assembled, which the bright eyes and _naked_ face (as they
termed it) of our fair young countrywoman had so suddenly excited,
was in no way diminished by the heinous exposure of a snowy neck
and a well-turned pair of shoulders; and had they been placed in
the situation of Yusuf, when the lovely Zuleika presented herself
in all her charms as a suitor for the young Hebrew’s love[14],
or in the more embarrassing dilemma of the Phrygian shepherd-prince,
when three immortal beauties stood revealed before his sight, they
could scarcely have felt or expressed more confusion. Every Arab,
who saw the picture, actually blushed and hid his face with his
hands; exclaming—w’Allah harám—(by Heaven ’tis a sin) to look upon
such an exposure of female charms!
It is, no doubt, very gratifying, in these ages of assurance, to
witness so unequivocal a display of genuine modesty; and we confess
that we ought not to have laughed so heartily as we did at this
laudable expression of it in our guests: but it certainly did appear
to us somewhat ridiculous to see men, with long beards, who had each
of them two or three wives, so completely discomfited at the sight
of a rosy-faced girl. At the same time, we must allow that we have
also our prejudices; and it is probable, that the appearance of a
young Arab damsel, with her veiled face and naked legs and feet,
in the midst of a party of Englishmen, might occasion no trifling
confusion; scarcely less, perhaps, than that which was occasioned
by the display of the fair face and neck above mentioned. It
was some time before our worthy Arab friends recovered from the
serious shock which their modesty had sustained; but as modesty
(for what reason we will not pretend to determine) is by no means
an unconquerable feeling, we prevailed upon the blushing Shekhs,
when the first impression had subsided, to take a second look at the
picture; declaring, that there was nothing in so innocent a display
at which the most correct of true believers need be shocked. We
will not venture to say that they were quite of our opinion; but
it is certain that their curiosity (at least we suppose it to have
been that) very soon got the better of their scruples; and we even
think, that some of them might actually have been persuaded to trust
themselves in those sinful regions where a pretty face and figure
may be looked at and admired without any very serious breach of
decorum. As for Shekh Mahommed, he had so far recovered himself as
to put the object of his former confusion into his pocket, though
merely to show it (as he said) to his wives; and was hardy enough
to keep it three or four days, before he returned it to its owner.
With respect to the Arab women, we will venture to say (though
we do not think that modesty is their predominant quality)
that no consideration could induce them to dress themselves in
the manner which caused such astonishment to our acquaintance:
and they would certainly not believe that the ladies of Europe,
to whom such costume is familiar, would object to appear in the
presence of the other sex without their shoes and stockings. As for
dancing with men, and taking them by the hand, it would be looked
upon as the last stage of effrontery and indelicacy; yet their own
familiar dance is at the same time of such a nature that no modest
women of Europe could look at it. It would be a curious experiment
in natural history to see which of the ladies would require most
persuasion; the Arab to appear in public without any veil, or the
Englishwoman without shoes and stockings. There can be no question
which of the two is most civilized; yet, we own, we cannot see
that it is at all more indecent to appear in public with the legs
and feet uncovered, than it is to expose the face, arms, and neck;
or that it is really more modest to cover the face than to leave
it in its natural state. Of the two, we should certainly think it
more modest to cover the face than the feet; yet we know that the
practice of going without a veil is adopted by the most refined
nations of the globe, and that the habit of wearing it is by no
means inconsistent with levity and want of proper feeling.
To return to our description of the town; we have already stated,
that Bengazi may be considered as occupying the site of the Berenice
of the Ptolemies, and of the Hesperis of earlier times; but very
few remains now appear above ground to interest the sculptor, the
architect, or the antiquary. Berenice has, in fact, disappeared
from the beautiful plain on which it stood, and a miserable, dirty,
Arab town has reared itself on its ruins, or rather on the soil
which covers its ruins, for all its interest is now under ground.
The erection of Bengazi on the site of the ancient town, rather
than the effects of time, or of hostile violence, appears to have
been chiefly the cause of the total disappearance of the latter; for
the stones of which the buildings were originally composed being too
large for the purposes of the Arabs, are broken up into small pieces
before they are used in modern structures, and generally before they
are removed from the places in which they are dug up. Many a noble
frieze and cornice, and many a well-proportioned capital has been
crushed under the hammer of these barbarians; so that, even were
there not a single house in Bengazi which has not been composed of
ancient materials, yet there is nothing of architecture in any of
them at present to fix, and scarcely to arrest, the attention. We
were ourselves just too late to save from the hammer several portions
of a large and well-executed Ionic entablature, which a worthy Arab
Shekh had caused to be excavated and brought into his court-yard,
to form part of a house which he was building without the town,
and which was carefully beat to pieces by his servants and slaves
before it was bedded in the mud which received it. Very extensive
remains of building are still found about Bengazi, at the depth of
a foot or two from the surface of the plain; and whenever a house is
intended to be erected, the projector of it has nothing more to do,
in order to obtain materials for building it, than to send a few men
to excavate in the neighbourhood, and with them a camel, or two or
three asses, to transport what is dug up to the spot which has been
fixed upon for the house. If the fragments which are found should
prove too large for removal (which is generally the case) they are
broken into smaller pieces, without the least hesitation or concern,
till they are reduced to a convenient size for loading, and are
afterwards broken again into still smaller pieces, as occasion may
require, on the place where the house is built. Many valuable remains
of antiquity must have disappeared in this way, but it is probable,
at the same time, that many still exist to reward the expense of
excavation; and we have little doubt, that statues and inscriptions,
numerous fragments of architecture, and good collections of coins
and gems, might still be obtained within the distance of half
a mile round Bengazi. On the beach to the northward and to the
north-eastward of the town, where a bank of twenty and thirty feet
(more or less) is formed of the rubbish of one of the ancient cities,
coins and gems are continually washed down in rainy weather; and the
inhabitants of Bengazi repair in crowds to the beach, after storms,
and sift the earth which falls away from the cliff, disposing of
whatever they may find to the few Europeans of the place[15].
When we reflect that Berenice flourished under Justinian, and that
its walls underwent a thorough repair in the reign of that Emperor,
it will be thought somewhat singular, that both the town and its
walls should have disappeared so completely as they have done. We
have already mentioned the disappearance of the city, and it may
here be observed, that scarcely a vestige of its walls now remains
above the surface of the plain, and that it would not be possible
to decide its precise limits, without a great deal of previous
excavation. It is probable, however, that Berenice did not extend
beyond the actual limits of Bengazi; for the salt-water lake to
the southward of the town would prevent its going farther in that
direction, and the ground to the eastward is in most parts so low
as to be frequently overflowed by the sea, which oozes through the
sand heaped upon the beach in that direction.
From the circumstance of the water in Bengazi being brackish, it is
probable that the ancient town was furnished with an aqueduct from
some springs of sweet water, about half a mile distant from it to
the eastward; and the existence of remains of ancient reservoirs,
or cisterns, with troughs, constructed of stone, leading into them,
still observable on the beach where the coins and gems are collected,
would seem, in some degree, to favour this supposition[16].
On first discovering the quarries from which the city of Berenice,
and probably that of Hesperis also, have been constructed, we
flattered ourselves that we should have found them full of excavated
tombs, which are usually formed in similar situations, when the
quarries are not far from the town: but two or three chambers only
appeared, which did not seem to us to have been intended for places
of burial, and the tombs of both cities must be looked for in the
plain, under the soil or the sand which now conceals them[17].
The trees and shrubs which are growing in the quarries we allude to,
and have rooted themselves, at the same time, in the sides of the
rocks which they are formed in, give these places a very wild and
picturesque appearance, not unworthy of the pencil of Salvator; and,
had not our time been fully occupied in research, when the weather
allowed us to ramble, we should have been glad to have made some
sketches of them. The caper plant is found there in great abundance,
and spreads itself, like ivy, over the steep sides of the rocks,
hanging down in the most luxuriant and beautiful clusters.
In speaking of the steep rocks in which these quarries are formed,
we must state, that they do not rise above the surface of the plain,
but are sunk down, perpendicularly, to a considerable depth, so
as not to be visible till they are closely approached. Besides
the quarries here mentioned, some very singular pits or chasms,
of natural formation, are found in the neighbourhood of Bengazi:
they consist of a level surface of excellent soil, of several
hundred feet in extent, inclosed within steep, and for the most part
perpendicular, sides of solid rock, rising sometimes to a height of
sixty or seventy feet, or more, before they reach the level of the
plain in which they are situated. The soil at the bottom of these
chasms appears to have been washed down from the plain above by the
heavy winter rains, and is frequently cultivated by the Arabs; so
that a person, in walking over the country where they exist, comes
suddenly upon a beautiful orchard or garden, blooming in secret,
and in the greatest luxuriance, at a considerable depth beneath his
feet, and defended on all sides by walls of solid rocks, so as to be
at first sight apparently inaccessible. The effect of these secluded
little spots, protected, as it were, from the intrusion of mankind
by the steepness and the depth of the barriers which inclose them,
is singular and pleasing in the extreme: they reminded us of some of
those secluded retreats which we read of in fairy legends and tales,
and we could almost fancy ourselves, as we looked down upon them,
in the situation of some of those favoured knights and princes,
the heroes of our earlier days, who have been permitted to wander
over the boundaries of reality into regions shut out from the rest
of mankind.
It was impossible to walk round the edge of these precipices,
looking everywhere for some part less abrupt than the rest, by
which we might descend into the gardens beneath, without calling
to mind the description given by Scylax of the far-famed garden of
the Hesperides.
This celebrated retreat is stated by Scylax to have been an inclosed
spot of about one-fifth of a British mile[18] across, each way,
filled with thickly-planted fruit-trees of various kinds, and
_inaccessible_ on all sides. It was situated (on the authority of the
same writer) at six hundred and twenty stadia (or fifty geographical
miles) from the _Port of Barce_; and this distance agrees precisely
with that of the places here alluded to from Ptolemeta, the port
intended by Scylax, as will be seen by a reference to the chart. The
testimony of Pliny is also very decided in fixing the site of the
Hesperides in the neighbourhood of Berenice. “Not far” (he says)
“from the city” (Berenice is here meant) “is the river Lethon,
and the sacred grove where the gardens of the Hesperides are said to
be situated[19].” Ptolemy also may be supposed to intend the same
position, when he informs us, that the garden was to the westward of
the people of Barca; or, what is the same thing, that the Barcitæ
were to the eastward of the garden of Hesperides[20].
The name, indeed, itself of Hesperides would induce us to place the
Garden, so called, in the vicinity of Bengazi; for the Hesperides
were the early inhabitants of that part of the Cyrenaica, and
Hesperis, as we have already stated, was the ancient name of the
city of Berenice, on the site of which Bengazi is built,[21] and
which was probably so called by the Greeks, from the circumstance
of its being the most western city of the district.
It has been supposed by Gosselin[22] and others, that those
celebrated gardens of early times (for they are frequently mentioned
in the plural) were nothing more than some of those Oases, or verdant
islands, “which reared their heads amid the sandy desert;” and,
in the absence of positive local information, the conjecture was
sufficiently reasonable.
The accounts which have come down to us of the _desert of Barca_,
from the pens of the Arab Historians, would lead us to suppose
that the country so called (which included not only the territory
in question, with the whole of the Pentapolis and Cyrenaica,
but also the whole tract of coast between Tripoly and Alexandria)
was little more than a barren tract of sand, scarcely capable of
cultivation. Under such an impression, we can readily imagine that
modern writers might be easily deceived; and when it was necessary
to fix the site of groves and gardens in the country so erroneously
described, we may certainly justify them in looking for such places
in the only parts of a sandy desert where luxuriant vegetation is
found, the Oases, or verdant islands alluded to. “Objects here
presented themselves” (says the learned and ingenious Author of
the Discoveries and Travels in Africa, in speaking of the western
coast of that country, where the Hesperides have by some writers
been placed) “which acted powerfully on the exalted and poetical
imaginations of the ancients. They were particularly struck by those
Oases, or verdant islands, which reared their heads amid the sandy
desert. Hence, doubtless, were drawn those brilliant pictures of the
Hesperian gardens, the Fortunate Islands, the Islands of the Blest,
which are painted in such glowing colours, and form the gayest
part of ancient mythology. The precise position of these celebrated
spots has been a subject of eager and doubtful inquiry. The chief
difficulty is, that there are different points of the continent in
which they seem to be fixed with almost equal precision. In fact, it
seems clearly shewn, by some learned writers[23], that this variety
of position is referrible, not to any precise geographical _data_,
but to the operation of certain secret propensities that are deeply
lodged in the human breast.”
“There arises involuntarily in the heart of man a longing after forms
of being, fairer and happier than any presented by the world before
him—bright scenes which he seeks and never finds, in the circuit
of real existence. But imagination easily creates them in that dim
boundary which separates the known from the unknown world. In the
first discoverers of any such region, novelty usually produces an
exalted state of the imagination and passions; under the influence
of which every object is painted in higher colours than those of
nature. Nor does the illusion cease, when a fuller examination
proves that, in the place thus assigned, no such beings or objects
exist. The human heart, while it remains possible, still clings
to its fond chimeras: it quickly transfers them to the yet unknown
region beyond; and, when driven from thence, discovers still another
more remote in which they can take refuge. Thus we find these fairy
spots successively retreating before the progress of discovery;
yet finding still, in the farthest advance which ancient knowledge
ever made, some remoter extremity to which they can fly.”
“The first position of the Hesperian gardens” (continues our
author) “appears to have been at the western extremity of Libya,
then the farthest boundary, upon that side, of ancient knowledge. The
spectacle which it often presented, a circuit of blooming verdure
amid the desert, was calculated to make a powerful impression
on Grecian fancy, and to suggest the idea of quite a terrestrial
paradise. It excited also the image of islands, which ever after
adhered to these visionary creations. As the first spot became
frequented, it was soon stripped of its fabled beauty. So pleasing
an idea, however, was not to be easily relinquished. Another place
was quickly found for it; and every traveller, as he discovered a
new portion of that fertile and beautiful coast, fondly imagined
that he had at length arrived at the long-sought-for Islands of
the Blest. At length, when the continent had been sought in vain,
they were transferred to the ocean beyond, which the original idea
of islands rendered an easy step. Those of the Canaries having
never been passed, nor even fully explored, continued always to be
the Fortunate Islands, not from any peculiar felicity of soil and
climate, but merely because distance and imperfect knowledge left
full scope to poetical fancy[24]. Hence we find Horace painting their
felicity in the most glowing colours, and viewing them as a refuge
still left for mortals, from that troubled and imperfect enjoyment
which they were doomed to experience in every other portion of the
globe.” (Murray’s Account of Africa, vol. i. chap. 1.)
Nothing is more just than the picture of human nature here
presented to us by the intelligent writer just quoted; and it must
be confessed that the position of the Hesperian gardens has been
fixed by different authors in so many parts of the coast of Africa,
that we may scarcely hope to reconcile statements so opposite.
The legends connected with these celebrated places are at the
same time so wild and extravagant, as well as so discordant with
each other, that we might often be tempted to consider the gardens
themselves as fabulous and imaginary spots, existing only in the
creative brain of the poet and the mythologist, and nowhere to be
found in reality.
We should not, however, say, from our view of the subject, that
“the variety of position” assigned to the gardens of the
Hesperides “is referrible to no precise geographical _data_:”
the details which we have already quoted from Scylax are too minute
to be wholly rejected; and the position of the gardens, as laid down
by Ptolemy and Pliny, coincides with that assigned to them by Scylax.
We have shewn, at the same time, that the nature of the ground
in the neighbourhood of Berenice (or Bengazi) is consistent with
the account of Scylax; and that places like those which he has
so minutely described are actually to be found in the territory
where he has laid down the gardens. This singular formation, so
far as we have seen, is also peculiar to the country in question;
and we know of no other part of the coast of northern Africa where
the same peculiarities of soil are observable. We do not mean to
point out any _one_ of these subterranean gardens as that which is
described in the passage above quoted from Scylax; for we know of
no one which will correspond in point of extent to the garden which
this author has mentioned: all those which we saw were considerably
less than the fifth of a mile in diameter (the measurement given by
Scylax); and the places of this nature which would best agree with
the dimensions in question, are now filled with water sufficiently
fresh to be drinkable, and take the form of romantic little lakes.
Scarcely any two of the gardens we met with were, however, of the
same depth or extent; and we have no reason to conclude that because
we saw none which were large enough to be fixed upon for the garden
of the Hesperides, as it is described in the statement of Scylax,
there is therefore no place of the dimensions required among those
which escaped our notice—particularly as the singular formation
we allude to continues to the foot of the Cyrenaic chain, which is
fourteen miles distant, in the nearest part, from Bengazi. When we
consider that the places in question are all of them sunk below the
surface of the soil, and that the face of the country in which they
are found is overspread with brushwood, and nowhere perfectly level,
it will not be thought extraordinary if some of them should have
escaped us in a diligent and frequently-repeated search. At any
rate, under the circumstances which are already before the reader,
it will not be thought a visionary or hastily formed assumption,
if we say that the position of these celebrated spots, “long the
subject of eager and doubtful inquiry,” may be laid down with
some probability in the neighbourhood of the town of Bengazi. The
remarkable peculiarities of this part of northern Africa correspond
(in our opinion) sufficiently well with the authorities already
quoted, to authorize the conclusion we have drawn from an inspection
of the place; and to induce us to place the gardens of the Hesperides
in some one, or more, of the places described, rather than in any
of the Oases of the desert, as suggested by Monsieur Gosselin and
others[25]. It seems probable that there were more than one garden
of this name; but they could scarcely have been all of them so large
as that mentioned by Scylax; and the greater number of those which
we were able to discover were considerably smaller in all their
dimensions, as we have already stated above.
It has been mentioned that some of the chasms above described have
assumed the form of lakes; the sides of which are perpendicular,
like those of the gardens, and the water in most of them appears
to be very deep. In some of these lakes the water rises nearly to
the edge of the precipice which incloses them, and in others is as
much as twenty feet below it. They are no doubt much fuller after
the rainy season than at other times of the year, and the water is
then sweeter than ordinary. Besides these, there are also several
subterranean caves in the neighbourhood of Bengazi. One of these,
at the depth of about eighty feet from the surface of the plain,
contains a large body of fresh water, which is said to run very far
into the bowels of the earth, or rather of the rock which overshadows
it. On descending into this cave, we found that it widened out
into a spacious chamber, the sides of which had evidently been, in
many places, shaped with the chisel, and rose perpendicularly to
a considerable height. Our progress was soon stopped, as we were
advancing into the cave, by the body of water we have mentioned;
which, notwithstanding the lights we procured, was scarcely visible
through the thick gloom which surrounded us. We found the water
shallow at the edge, but it soon became gradually too deep to be
practicable; we were also unable to discover any end to it, and a
stone thrown as far as we could send it, fell into the water without
striking. We had, however, seen enough to excite our curiosity very
strongly, and we determined to return, at some early opportunity,
with a boat and a good store of torches, intending to go as far along
this subterranean stream as the height of the rock would allow us.
On mentioning our visit and our intentions to Bey Halil, he informed
us that he had himself paid a visit to the place, in company with a
chaous of his suite; and that he had carried with him a small boat
in which he embarked with the chaous, and proceeded a considerable
distance. They became, at length, afraid of not finding their way
back, and put about to return as they came, having found (as he said)
on sounding, that the depth of the water was in some parts as much
as thirty feet. This account naturally made us more anxious than
ever to put our intentions in execution; but no boat could then be
found in the harbour sufficiently small for our purpose, and we were
obliged to defer our subterranean voyage; determining, however, that
if we could not find a portable boat on our return from Cyrene, we
would contrive to put together some pieces of timber, and prosecute
our researches on a raft, after the example of Sindbad the sailor.
But, alas! who can say that to-morrow is his own?—and who is there
who makes the most of to-day? If we had constructed our raft before
we moved farther eastward, instead of waiting for the chance of
a boat when we came back, we should in all probability have been
able to ascertain the extent of this mysterious river. As it was,
we were obliged, by circumstances which we could neither control
nor foresee, to leave the coast of Africa before we had completed
our researches in the city and neighbourhood of Cyrene; and the
short time which we had at our command on returning to Bengazi
was insufficient (under the pressure of other occupations) for
accomplishing this object of our wishes.
The disappointment here alluded to was only one among many others
which we experienced, in consequence of our hasty and unexpected
return; but it was one which we regretted more, perhaps, than it
deserved; for mystery will always add a charm to inquiry, which
further investigation might probably remove, but which will continue
to preserve its powers of fascination while the uncertainty remains
which created it.
We are too well acquainted with the talent of amplification so
generally possessed by Turks and Arabs of all classes, to rely
implicitly upon the truth of every part of the above-mentioned
narrative related to us by the Bey of Bengazi: there is, however,
no reason, of which we are aware, connected with the nature of the
place, which militates against its probability; and we submit it
accordingly, as we received it, to our readers, in the absence of
more decided information.
We have already wandered into the regions of fable in speaking of
the Gardens of the Hesperides; and before we retrace our steps,
we must be permitted to linger for a while on the borders of the
mysterious, hidden stream above-mentioned.
The Lethe, or Lathon, (for it is no less a stream to which we
are going to call the attention of our readers,) is laid down by
geographers in the neighbourhood of the gardens, and close to the
city of the Hesperides.
Strabo makes the Lathon flow into the harbour of the Hesperides,
and Ptolemy also lays down the same river between Berenice and
Arsinoe; Pliny describes the Lathon as situated in the neighbourhood
of Berenice, and Scylax places a river (which he calls Ecceus,
Εκκειος) in a similar situation. The river Lethe is supposed
to have lost itself underground, and to re-appear (like the Niger) in
another place[26]; and the point to which we would call the attention
of the reader is—whether the subterranean stream above-mentioned,
which certainly may be said to lose itself underground, be the
source of the Lethe, or Lathon, in question? and whether a small
spring, which runs into the lake near the town of Bengazi, may be
supposed to be the re-appearance of the same river, in the place
so decidedly assigned to it by Strabo—the port of the Hesperides,
or, which is the same, of Berenice.
The circumstance of finding a subterranean stream in this
neighbourhood, between the mountains and the lake which joins the
Harbour of Bengazi, would certainly appear to favour the conclusion,
that the course of the stream was towards the lake, that is to say,
from the higher ground to the lower. And although the mere discovery
of a small stream of fresh water emptying itself into the lake here
alluded to, does not by any means tend to confirm the existence of
a communication between it and the subterranean stream in question;
yet there is no proof (at least, not that we are aware of) that one
of these is not connected with the other. At the same time we may
add, that if it were really ascertained that no connexion existed
between the two, such a circumstance would not be considered as
proving that the ancients did not suppose that they communicated. It
was believed by the Greeks (or, at any rate, it was asserted by
them) that the Alpheus communicated with the fountain of Arethusa,
and that anything thrown into the former at Elis would re-appear
on the waters of the latter in Sicily.
Other instances might be mentioned of similar extravagancies, which
are considered by the moderns as poetical inventions, and never
received as historical facts. The disappearance of the Lathon, and
its subsequent rise, might have been equally a poetical fiction;
but when we find, in the country in which it was placed, a large
body of water which actually loses itself, we are naturally led to
believe one part of the assertion, and to seek to identify the actual
subterranean stream with that which is said to have existed. On a
reference to the authority of geographers and historians, we find a
river called Lathon laid down very clearly in the place where this
body of water is found, and we remark that the name which they apply
to the river signifies _hidden_ or _concealed_. So far there is a
probability that the Lathon of the ancients and the subterranean
stream in the neighbourhood of Bengazi may be one and the same river.
Again, we are told, on the authority of Strabo, that the Lathon
discharged itself into the Harbour of the Hesperides; and we find
a small spring actually running into the lake which is connected
with the harbour in question; and which might, from the position
of the subterranean spring between it and the mountains to the
southward of it, have received at least a portion of the waters,
which lose themselves in a place where the level is higher. When
we find that the Lathon (or hidden stream) of Bengazi is _directly_
between the mountains and the harbour, it becomes the more probable
that such a communication may have existed; and whether the little
spring which runs into the lake be a continuation of the Lathon
or not, there appears to be quite sufficient reason for believing
that the ancients might have imagined it was. If we consider how
trifling are the existing remains of the Ilissus, the Simois, the
Scamander, and other rivers, to which we have been in the habit of
attaching importance, we must not be surprised to find a celebrated
stream dwindled down into a very insignificant one. The changes
which a lapse of nearly two thousand years may be supposed to have
occasioned on the northern coast of Africa, are fully sufficient
to have reduced the river Lathon to the spring which now flows into
the Lake of Bengazi.
The lake itself is salt, and in the summer is nearly dry; while the
small stream in question takes its rise within a few yards of the
lake, and running along a channel of inconsiderable breadth, bordered
with reeds and rushes, might be mistaken by a common observer for
an inroad of the lake into the sandy soil which bounds it.
On tasting it, however, we found its waters to be fresh, and the
current which is formed by its passage into the lake is very evident
on the slightest examination.
If we may suppose this little stream to be all that now remains
of the celebrated River of Oblivion, we shall be enabled to throw
light upon a passage in Strabo which has hitherto been the subject
of much discussion.
It has been questioned by commentators, whether Strabo intended to
make the river Lathon discharge itself into the _lake_, or into the
_port_ of the Hesperides; and the near resemblance which the words λιμην
(limen) and λιμνη (limne), the former of which means a port, and the
latter a lake, do certainly bear to each other, will allow of their
being confounded in transcribing, by the mere transposition of a single
letter[27]. Without reference to the authority of the most approved
manuscripts, we may observe, on that only of local inspection, that
either of these words would be correct. It has already been stated that
the Harbour of Bengazi communicates with a salt-water lake, and it is
probable that in Strabo’s time the vessels of the ancients might have
passed from one into the other. The harbour and the lake might in that
event be considered without any impropriety as the same. It is into
this lake that the small stream discharges itself which we have alluded
to above, and if we can suppose it to be the remains of the Lathon,
the statement of Strabo may be considered as confirmed by the
actual appearance of the place. If, however, we are disposed to
be sceptical on this point, we must give up the river altogether,
or, at least, we must give up the re-appearance of it in the lake
and in the Harbour of Hesperis, or Berenice; for no other spring,
that we are aware of, flows either into one or the other. It is
probable that λιμην was the word used by Strabo, and it seems
also probable that he intended to imply, that the harbour and the
lake he calls Tritonis, on which stood the temple of Venus, were
the same; at least, in reading the whole of the passage together,
we can scarcely divest ourselves of this idea[28].
It may be, however, that the nature of the place, rather than the
construction of the passage in question, has in fact suggested
this reading to us: for on the borders of the lake, which still
communicates with the Harbour of Bengazi, is a spot of rising ground,
nearly insulated in winter, on which are the remains of ancient
building; and which, at the time when the harbour was deeper,
and the lake itself practicable for vessels[29], must have been
(occasionally, at least) completely surrounded with water. Here
then might have stood the temple of Venus mentioned in the passage
above, and the introduction of the word μαλιστα by Strabo
(taken in the sense of _mostly_, or _generally_), in speaking of
the island in question, would seem to confirm this position.
Berenice (he tells us) is placed on the Point of Pseudopenias, near
a certain lake called Tritonis, in which there is _mostly_ an island
(εν ἡ μαλιστα νησιον εστι), with a temple upon it dedicated to Venus.
We may remark, in support of this supposition, that it is probable, from
the position of the rising ground alluded to, that it was not at all
times surrounded by water; and that it was only in the winter season,
or at times when the sea advanced farther than ordinary, that it was
completely an island.
We may suppose, in receiving this island as the one mentioned by
Strabo, that the circumstance just stated was alluded to by the
geographer, when he informs us that there was _usually_ an island
in the lake; but we do not mean to insist upon this reading of
the passage in question, and will confess, that it would probably
never have suggested itself to us had we never visited Bengazi; it
must therefore be left to the discretion of our readers, to adopt
it or not, as it may seem to deserve, on a reference to the local
peculiarities we have mentioned.
With regard to the name of Tritonis, bestowed upon the lake in
this passage, it is difficult to say whether the lake which Strabo
mentions was actually called by that name; or whether the geographer
has confounded it with the Tritonis Palus (the Lake Lowdeah of Shaw),
situated in the Lesser Syrtis, and which also contained an island,
according to Herodotus.
But whatever may have been the proper name of the lake at Berenice
which we seek to identify with the Tritonis of Strabo, it appears
to us to answer remarkably well to the lake of that name which he
mentions. We will therefore suggest, that the Tritonis in question
and the lake which now communicates with the Harbour of Bengazi,
are one and the same lake: that it was originally deep enough to
admit the vessels of the ancients, and to have formed occasionally
the island containing the temple of Venus, on the spot of rising
ground already pointed out, where remains of ancient building are
still observable: that a small spring of fresh water runs into the
same lake which may possibly be the remains of the Lathon of Strabo,
at its point of re-appearance and communication with the Harbour
of the Hesperides; and that the subterranean stream in the cavern
between the lake and the mountains, which we have mentioned above,
may also be the source of this river. When we add, that the gardens
upon which we have remarked, are probably some of those called the
Gardens of the Hesperides, we have pointed out all that now occurs
to us of any interest in the neighbourhood of the town of Bengazi;
and we submit these suggestions to the judgment of others better
qualified than ourselves to decide the points in question.
It appears to have been from Berenice, the daughter of Magas,
who was married to Ptolemy Philadelphus, that the city of Hesperis
changed its ancient name into that which afterwards distinguished
it[30]. But the name of Berenicidæ, which seems to have been
conferred upon the inhabitants of this part of the Cyrenaica, was
not by any means generally adopted; for we find that these people
continued notwithstanding to be called by their former appellation
of Hesperides. It is, however, somewhat singular that Pomponius
Mela, who flourished towards the middle of the first century,
and nearly a hundred years after the extinction of the dynasty
of the Lagides, should have mentioned this city under its ancient
name of Hesperis only; while he gives its Ptolemaic name, Arsinoe,
to Teuchira, and distinguishes the port of Barca by its appellation
of Ptolemais[31]. Yet the name of Berenice continued to be used by
other writers long after the age of Mela; and Pliny, who flourished
nearly at the same time with this geographer, mentions the city
of the Hesperides by that title. It is probable that a name of
such poetical celebrity as that which gave place to Berenice was
not easily laid aside by the lovers of literature; and we find
that Ptolemy thought it necessary, an hundred years after Mela,
to add, when he speaks of the city of Berenice, that it was the
same with that of Hesperis, or, as he writes it, Hesperides[32];
from which we may infer that the ancient name of the place still
continued to be better known than the modern one. But alas for
the glories of Hesperis and Berenice! both names have passed away
from the scene of their renown; and the present inhabitants of
the miserable dirty village, (for we can scarcely call it a town,)
which has reared itself on the ruins of these cities, have no idea
that Bengazi did not always occupy the place which it has usurped
on the soil of the Hesperides[33].
The Arab who now gathers his corn, or his fruit, in some one,
perhaps, of those gardens so celebrated in the annals of antiquity,
dreams of nothing whatever connected with it beyond the profits
which he hopes from its produce. He knows nothing of the stream or
the properties of the Lethe; and the powerful influence of the River
of Oblivion seems to have been so often, and so successfully exerted,
as to have drowned at length even the recollection of itself[34].
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 1: On these terraces barley and grass are frequently seen
growing, and goats feeding very contentedly.]
[Footnote 2: This idea is so strongly rooted in Mahometans of all
classes and descriptions, as to have called forth the animadversions
of writers of their own persuasion. We find the following remarks
on the subject, in the Account of Egypt by Abd-Allatif, which we
give in the French version of Silvestre de Lacy.
“Quand il ont aperçu des monumens d’une grandeur colossale, l’aspect de
ces monumens leur a inspiré la terreur; ils se sont fait des idées
sottes et fausses de la nature de ces restes de l’antiquité. Comme
toutes les pensées de ces gens là n’étoient occupées que de l’objet
unique de leurs vœux, et de la seule chose qui eût des charmes pour
leurs cœurs, je veux dire de l’or et de l’argent, ils ont éprouvé ce
qu’un poëte a dit d’un buveur:”
“Tout ce qu’il aperçoit lui paroît un gobelet; quand il voit
quelqu’un, il croit toujours voir celui qui verse à boire.”
“Ainsi tout ce qui paroissoit désigner quelque chose été, à
leurs yeux, le signal d’un trésor caché: ils n’ont pas pu voir
une ouverture pratiquée dans une montagne sans s’imaginer que
c’étoit un chemin qui conduisoit à quelque riche dépôt; une
statue colossale a été pour eux le gardien de l’argent déposé
à ses pieds, et le vengeur implacable de toute entreprise formée
contre la sûreté de ce dépôt. Ils ont donc eu recours à toutes
sortes d’artifices pour détruire ces statues et les dégrader;
ils en ont mutilé les figures, comme des gens qui espéroient
par-là atteindre leur but, et qui craignoient, en les attaquant
ouvertement, de s’attirer leur propre ruine: ne doutant point que
ce ne fussent autant de coffres forts remplis de sommes immenses;
ils se sont aussi enfoncés dans les fentes des montagnes, semblable
aux voleurs qui pénètrent dans les maisons par toute autre voie
que par les portes, et qui saisissent avidement une occasion inconnue
à tout autre qu’ à eux.”—(Rél. d’Egypte, p. 197.)
In this passage it clearly appears how much credulity and
superstition was mixed up with the idea in question; and these exist
in conjunction with it, to the present day, among the various Arab
tribes of Asia and Africa, and in a great degree among the Turks.]
[Footnote 3: As the Dúbbah had sworn that neither himself nor his
people knew anything of the articles which we had lost, we never got
them back again; although one of his own party afterwards confessed
that they had stolen all that was missing. Shekh Mahommed did not
hesitate to take a false oath—but he had too great a value for
what he thought his character, to confess that he had deliberately
perjured himself. At Malta we heard that a heavy fine of sheep and
camels had been levied upon him by the Bashaw, for his disgraceful
behaviour and wilful disobedience of his Highness’s most positive
orders.]
[Footnote 4: The Shekh el Belad Mahommed was nearly related to
Shekh Belcazi, from whom we had received so much civility at
Mesurata—he had two brothers also in Bengazi, both of whom were
shekhs and merchants.]
[Footnote 5: Signor Della Cella has mentioned five thousand as the
number of inhabitants in Bengazi; but this statement appears to be
overrated, as well as that of the number of Jews residing in the
town, which, he tells us, amounts to half the population.]
[Footnote 6: “This fierce impatience of the dominion of Rome
continued, on the part of the Jews, from the reign of Nero to that
of Antoninus Pius.”—(Gibbon, vol. ii. p. 384.)
“In Cyrene the Jews massacred two hundred and twenty thousand
Greeks; in Cyprus two hundred and forty thousand; in Egypt a very
great multitude.”—(See Dion Cassius, as cited by Gibbon.)]
[Footnote 7: Among the most conspicuous of these was Hassan
Larkoum, to whom we had brought a letter of recommendation from the
ex-minister at Tripoly, Mahommed D’Ghies, and who treated us with
the greatest civility and attention.]
[Footnote 8: It was curious to observe the singular mixture
of feeling displayed by some of the crew of our vessel—after
deliberately inflicting the most cruel treatment on some unfortunate,
groaning animal, we often heard a man exclaim, when he had finished
his task, “Poverino! so ben che tu patisci!” and he would then
hurry on to inflict the same cruelties on some other wretched object
of his care.]
[Footnote 9: Previously to these measures, the town was constantly
subject to the attacks of the neighbouring tribes of marauding Arabs,
who, as occasion offered, made incursions into it without ceremony,
and retired with their plunder into the interior. The garrison and
citizens opposed them as well as they could, and many a desperate
skirmish frequently ensued; but as Bengazi is unprovided with walls,
it was difficult to prevent a surprise, and the people lived in
continual fear. Mahommed Bey began by building a round fort on
the sandy tract to the eastward of the town, and then collecting
his forces, carried the war into their territory, and after making
severe examples of the most refractory, succeeded in reducing the
Bedouins to subjection.]
[Footnote 10: About the same time some high poles had been erected
by our party, on the sand hills to the eastward of the town, as
objects from which to take angles for the survey; and these were
now considered to have been placed there as signals to regulate
the motions of the enemy’s fleet.]
[Footnote 11: The Arab term for all who profess Christianity.]
[Footnote 12: _Tibeeb_ is the common Arab term for a doctor.]
[Footnote 13: Several quarts of water were taken from this poor man,
who, when he left our house, was scarcely distinguishable as the same
person who had entered it, having diminished so much in size after
the operation. He was, in fact, materially relieved, and continued
to improve daily in health; till one day, after washing his shirt,
he put it on, as the quickest way of drying it, a custom not uncommon
among the Arabs, and caught so bad a cold in consequence, that all
the doctor’s exertions were afterwards unable to save him.]
[Footnote 14: Yusuf and Zuleika are the Mahometan names of Joseph
and Potiphar’s wife.]
[Footnote 15: An excellent collection of these remains of Grecian
art has been recently sold for a considerable sum[a], by a relation
of the Vice-Consul of Bengazi, who had not been many years resident
there.]
[Footnote a: Six thousand dollars, as we were informed.]
[Footnote 16: These would however serve equally for the reception of
rain water, which falls in abundance at Bengazi during the winter.]
[Footnote 17: In one of these quarries a large portion of the rock,
shaped into a quadrangular form, has been insulated from the rest to
serve the purpose of a tomb, after the manner of those at Ptolemeta.]
[Footnote 18: Two stadia is the length and breadth given by Scylax,
which, taken as the _mean_ Grecian stades of Major Rennell, of
about ten to a British mile, would give the measurement here stated.]
[Footnote 19: Nec procul ante oppidum fluvius Lethon, lucus sacer,
ubi Hesperidum Horti memorantur.—(Nat. Hist., lib. v. c. 5.) Again,
in the same book, Berenice—quondam vocata Hesperidum, &c.]
[Footnote 20: Βαρκιται απο αναταλων του κηπου των Ἑσπεριδων.]
[Footnote 21: Βερενικη ἡ και Ἑσπεριδες.—(Ptol. Geogr.): and as Stephanus
describes it, in the singular, Ἑσπερις, πολις Λιβυης, ἡ νον Βερονὶκη.]
[Footnote 22: Geographie Ancienne; Murray’s account of Discoveries
and Travels in Africa, &c.]
[Footnote 23: Gosselin and Malte Brun.]
[Footnote 24: Strabo, 1.—Plutarch in Sertorio—Horat. 4. od. 8. v.
27. Epod. 16. Pliny 6—6. C. 31-2.]
[Footnote 25: Signor Della Cella has supposed that the passage
of Scylax refers to the _elevated_ parts of the Cyrenaica, and
places his gardens of Hesperides in the mountains; but we think
that a review of the passage in question, combined with the local
information which we have been able to collect on the subject,
will authorize us to doubt this position.]
[Footnote 26:
Here Lethe’s streams, from secret springs below,
Rise to the light; here heavily, and slow,
The silent, dull, forgetful waters flow.
(Rowe’s Lucan, book ix. p. 209.)
Lucan places his Lethe and Hesperian Gardens in the neighbourhood
of the Lake Tritonis, in the Lesser Syrtis; but the western part
of the Cyrenaica is the most approved position for both. See also
Solinus on this point.]
[Footnote 27: Εστι δε και λιμην Ἑσπεριδων, και ποταμος εμβαλλει
Λαθων. (Lib. 17. p. 836.)
Some of the Commentators read λιμνη Ἑσπεριδων, and Cellarius says on
this subject—“Est et de exitu fluminis dubitatio, in quod se infundat,
in mare an in lacum. Straboni est λιμην Ἑσπεριδων, in quem Lathon
effluit. Vetus autem interpres iterum dissentit, et quasi λιμνη legerit,
_lacus_ vertit _Hesperidum_. Videant (he adds) quibus vel regionem
cognoscendi, vel inspiciendi antiquos codices, facultas est.”
(Lib. iv. c. ii.)]
[Footnote 28: Εστι δε ακρα λεγομενη Ψευδοπενιας, εφ᾽ ης ἡ Βερενικη την
θησιν εχει, παρα λιμνην τινα Τριτωνιδα, εν ἡ μαλιστα νησιον εστι, και
ιερον Αφροδιτης εν αυτω· εστι δε και λιμην Εσπεριδων, και ποταμος
εμβαλλει Λαθων.]
[Footnote 29: We have already assumed, upon reasonable grounds,
that this was probably the case in earlier times.]
[Footnote 30: Βερενικιδαι απο Βερενικες της Μαγας θυγατερος, γυναικος δε
και Πτολεμαιου, ωνομαθησαν Βερενικιδαι ὁι δημοται. (Steph. Byzant. v.)]
[Footnote 31: Urbes Hesperia, Apollonia, Ptolemais, Arsinoe, atque
(unde terris nomen est) ipsa Cyrene. (De Situ Orbis, Lib. i. c. 8.)]
[Footnote 32: Βερενικη, ἡ και Ἑσπεριδες.]
[Footnote 33: The name of Berenice is mentioned by Edrisi as
remaining in his time in this part of Africa; but we never could
find any traces of the name, though we often inquired for it of
the Arabs of the country, as well as of the inhabitants of Bengazi.]
[Footnote 34: The changes which time may be supposed to effect in
the character and appearance of a country, are well expressed in
the following little fable of Kazwini, translated from the Arabic
by Silvestre de Sacy.
“I passed by a very large and populous city, and inquired of one
of its inhabitants by whom it was founded. Oh, replied the man, this
is a very ancient city! we have no idea how long it may have been
in existence; and our ancestors were on this point as ignorant as
ourselves. In visiting the same place five hundred years afterwards,
I could not perceive a single trace of the city; and asked of a
countryman, whom I saw cutting clover, where it stood, and how long
it had been destroyed. What nonsense are you asking me? said the
person whom I addressed: these lands have never been any otherwise
than you see them. Why, returned I, was there not formerly here a
magnificent and populous city?—We have never seen one, replied the
man, and our fathers have never mentioned to us anything of the kind.”
“Five hundred years afterwards, as I passed by the spot, I found
that the sea had covered it; and, perceiving on the beach a party
of fishermen, I asked them how long it had been overflowed.”
“It is strange, answered they, that a person of your appearance
should ask us such a question as this; for the place has been at all
times exactly as it is now. What, said I, was there not at one time
dry land in the spot where the sea is at present?—Certainly not,
that we know of, answered the fishermen, and we never heard our
fathers speak of any such circumstance.”
“Again, I passed by the place, after a similar lapse of time,—the
sea had disappeared—and I inquired of a man whom I met at what
period this change had taken place. He made me the same answer
as the others had done before—and, at length, on returning once
more to the place, after the lapse of another five hundred years, I
found that it was occupied by a flourishing city, more populous, and
more rich in magnificent buildings, than that which I had formerly
seen! When I inquired of its inhabitants concerning its origin, I was
told that it lost itself in the darkness of antiquity! We have not
the least idea, they said, when it was founded, and our forefathers
knew no more of its origin than ourselves!”—(Chréstomathie
Arabe, vol. iii. p. 419.)]
[Illustration: Plan _of the REMAINS of_ TAUCRA, Or _TEUCHIRA;_
BY _Captn. F. W. Beechey R.N._
_J. & C. Walker Sculpt._
_Published as the act directs, April 1827, by J. Murray, Albemarle
St. London._]
[Illustration: Plan _of the RUINS and ENVIRONS of_ PTOLEMETA,
_now called DOLMEITA._
BY _Captn. F. W. Beechey R.N._
_J. & C. Walker Sculpt._
_Published as the act directs, April 1827, by J. Murray, Albemarle
St. London._]
[Illustration: Engraved from a Drawing taken on the spot by H. Beechey.
REMAINS OF AN ANCIENT BRIDGE AT PTOLEMETA.
THROWN ACROSS THE BED OF A TORRENT.
_Published March 1827, by John Murray, London._]
[Illustration:Engraved from a Drawing taken on the spot by H. Beechey.
REMAINS OF AN ANCIENT MAUSOLEUM AT PTOLEMETA.
_Published March 1827, by John Murray, London._]
[Illustration: Drawn by H. Beechey.
Engraved by E. Pinden.
REMAINS OF AN IONIC BUILDING AT PTOLEMETA.
_Published March 1827, by John Murray, London._]
[Illustration: Engraved from a Drawing taken on the spot by H. Beechey.
REMAINS OF A CHRISTIAN CHURCH AT PTOLEMETA.
_Published March 1827, by John Murray, London._]
CHAPTER XII.
Remarks on the Soil of Bengazi and the Country in its Neighbourhood
— Distinction of Sex in the Palm-tree, &c., noticed by the Ancients
and by Mahometan Writers — Persian Anecdote of a Love-sick
Date-tree — Remarks of Shaw on the Propagation and Treatment
of the Palm — Arab Mode of cultivating the Sandy Tracts in the
Neighbourhood of Bengazi — Journey to Carcora — Completion of
the Coast-line from that Place to Bengazi — Return to Bengazi, and
Departure for Teuchira and Ptolemeta — Description of the Country
between Bengazi and these Places — Remains observable in this Track
— Correspondence of the Tower called Gusser el Towēl with that of
Cafez, mentioned by Edrisi — Probable Site of Adriane — Arrival
at Birsis — Remains in its neighbourhood, at Mably (or Mabny),
considered as those of Neapolis — Hospitality of the Arabs of
Birsis — Remains of Teuchira — Position of the City — Quarries
without the Walls covered with Greek Inscriptions — Teuchira a
Town of Barca — Walls of the City repaired by Justinian — No
Port observable at Teuchira — Mistake of Bruce in confounding
Teuchira with Ptolemeta — Good Supply of fresh Water at Teuchira
— The excavated Tombs of the ancient City used as Dwelling-houses
by the Arabs of the Neighbourhood — Indisposition of our Chaous
(or Janissary) — Route from Teuchira to Ptolemeta — Remains at
Ptolemeta — Port and Cothon of the ancient City — Other Remains
observable there — Ptolemaic Inscriptions — Picturesque Ravines
in the Neighbourhood of Ptolemeta — Position of the City —
Remains of Bridges observed there — Advantages of its Site —
Extreme Drought at Ptolemeta, recorded by Procopius — Reparation
of the Aqueducts and Cisterns by the Emperor Justinian — Existing
Remains of an extensive Cistern at Ptolemeta, probably among those
alluded to by Procopius — State of the Town, its Solitude and
Desolation — Luxuriant Vegetation which encumbered its Streets
when the Place was first visited by our Party — Change of Scene
on returning to it in Summer-time.
The soil of the Hesperides does not now produce that variety of
fruit which we find that it did in the days of its prosperity[1]; but
the palm and the fig-tree still flourish there in great abundance,
and it is merely from the want of attention, and not from any actual
change in the soil itself, that it does not afford the same variety
as formerly[2].
The fruit of the palm-tree forms too essential a part of Arab food
to allow of the necessary precautions being neglected for insuring
the growth and the ripening of dates; but the fig-trees are for the
most part wild, and produce only, a diminutive fruit, which never
comes to any perfection. It is a well-known fact in natural history,
that “these trees are male and female, and that the fruit will be
dry and insipid without a previous communication with the male.”
This peculiarity was discovered at a very early period, and has
been noticed by writers of various ages with much perspicuity and
detail. There appears to have been but little variation at any time
in the mode of performing these operations; and the manner in which
the palm-tree is described, by Pliny, to have been impregnated,
is the same with that which prevails in the present day.
A part of the blossom from the male tree is either attached to
the fruit of the female; or the powder from the blossoms of the
male is shaken over those which the female produces. The first of
these methods is practised in Barbary, (one male being sufficient,
as Shaw has observed, to impregnate four or five hundred female);
and the latter is common in Egypt, where the number of male
trees is greater[3]. Both these methods are described by Pliny,
(Hist. Nat. lib. xiii.) and the whole account which is there given
of the palm-tree and its several varieties is extremely accurate
and interesting. The attachment of this tree to a sandy and nitrous
soil, and its partiality at the same time for water; its inability to
thrive in any other than a dry and hot climate, its peculiar foliage
and bark, and the decided distinction of sex which is observable
in it, are all mentioned in detail by the Roman naturalist.
The remarks of Arab writers on the distinction of sex in the
palm-tree are nearly the same with those of Pliny; and a most
extraordinary confirmation of it will be found in a Persian anecdote
quoted by Silvestre de Sacy; from which it will clearly appear that
an unrequited and secret attachment to a neighbouring date-tree
had nearly caused the death of a too-susceptible female palm!
Osmai relates (says the story in question) that an inhabitant
of Yemama, a province in Arabia, once made him the following
recital. “I was possessor of a garden in which was a palm-tree,
which had every year produced me abundance of fruit; but two seasons
having passed away, without its affording any, I sent for a person
well acquainted with the culture of palms, to discover for me the
reason of this failure. “An unhappy attachment” (observed the
man, after a moment’s inspection) “is the sole cause why this
palm-tree produces no fruit!” He then climbed up the trunk, and,
looking round on all sides, discovered a male palm at no great
distance, which he recognised as the object of my unlucky tree’s
affection; and advised me to procure some of the powder from its
blossoms, and to scatter it over her branches. This I did (said the
Arab,) and the consequence was, that my date-tree, whom unrequited
love had kept barren, now bore me a most abundant harvest!”
The value of the palm-tree is not generally appreciated in Europe,
but it is highly prized in Asia and Africa. The followers of
Mahomet (as appears from Kazwini) believe it to be peculiar to
those favoured countries where the religion of the Prophet is
professed. “Honour the palm-tree,” (says this writer, in the
words of Mahomet himself,) “for she is your father’s aunt;”
and this distinction (he tells us) was given to it, because the
tree was formed from the remainder of the clay of which Adam was
created! It is propagated chiefly (as Shaw has informed us) from
young shoots taken from the roots of full-grown trees, which, if well
transplanted and taken care of, will yield their fruit in the sixth
or seventh year; whereas those that are raised immediately from the
kernels will not bear till about their sixteenth. Nothing further
is necessary to the culture of the palm-tree, than that it should
be well watered once in four or five days, and that a few of the
lower boughs should be lopped away whenever they begin to droop or
wither. “These” (observes Shaw), “whose stumps, or pollices,
in being thus gradually left upon the trunk, serve, like so many
rounds of a ladder, to climb up the tree, either to fecundate it,
to lop it, or to gather the fruit, are quickly supplied with others
which hang down from the crown or top, contributing not only to the
regular and uniform growth of this tall, knotless, beautiful tree,
but likewise to its perpetual and most delightful verdure. _To be
exalted_ (Eccles. xxiv. 14.) or _to flourish like the palm-tree_, are
as just and proper expressions, suitable to the nature of this plant,
as to _spread abroad like the Cedar_[4].”—(Psalm xcii. 11.)
In the immediate neighbourhood of the palm-trees above mentioned (we
mean those to the N.E. of Bengazi) are the sand-hills, which form
(together with the date-trees) the most remarkable objects on this
part of the coast. The occasional mixture of a little manure with
the sand, and the decay of vegetable matter, have contributed to
produce at the foot of these hills a very excellent soil; portions
of which are inclosed within hedges of the prickly-pear and aloe,
and near them may be seen a few miserable huts, the abodes of the
several proprietors. The chief produce of these little gardens may
be stated to be—melons and pumpkins of several kinds, melonzani,
or egg-plants, cucumbers, tomatas, red and green peppers, and some
few of the plants called bàmia.
The sand itself, with a little labour, is also made to produce
very abundantly; so much so, that any one who had seen the place
only in the summer time, would scarcely recognise it as the same
in the winter season, when covered with luxuriant vegetation. The
right of cultivation appears to be general; and a piece of ground
may be said to belong to the first person who takes the trouble
of inclosing and working it. This, in fact, is no more than just;
since the cultivated tracts, in this part of the plain, are merely
so many portions rescued from the sandy waste by the industry of
the individuals who select them; and must therefore be considered
as so many additions made by the original occupiers to the general
stock[5].
The first care of the cultivator is to turn up the sand, and spread
layers of faggots underneath: the sand is then replaced, and over
it is sometimes spread a mixed stratum of sand and manure.
Upon this the seeds are sown, and care is taken to keep the
land irrigated by means of numerous wells of a few feet only in
depth. Some of these are built round with rough stones, but the
water is always brackish, and occasionally stinking, owing to the
quantity of decayed roots, and other vegetable matter, with which
they are suffered to be clogged. By the adoption of this short and
simple process, the sand is soon rendered so productive, that the
Arabs prefer cultivating it, to the trouble of clearing the rich
soil beyond it, to the southward, of the broken stones and fragments
of building with which it is thickly interspersed.
When the rains had subsided, and the health of Lieutenant Beechey
(which had latterly prevented him from travelling) allowed of it,
we set out on our journey to Carcora; in order to complete that
part of the coast which had been left unfinished between Carcora and
Bengazi: two of our party had before made a trip, along the coast, to
Ptolemeta, and returned in high spirits with what they had met with
in that delightful part of the Pentapolis. On our route to Carcora
we had been very much annoyed with a violent and parching sirocco
wind, the heat of which would have been sufficiently disagreeable and
oppressive, without the extreme annoyance of thick clouds of sand,
whirling everywhere in eddies about us, which were driven with such
force into our eyes as almost to prevent our making use of them.
Having completed the unfinished part of the coast-line, we returned
back to Bengazi, and found everything prepared for our journey
to the eastward, through the diligence and activity of Lieutenant
Coffin, who had been left at Bengazi for that purpose. During our
absence at Carcora, Bey Halil had left the town, and pitched his
tents in the fine plain of Merge, a large tract of table-land on
the top of the mountains which bound Teuchira and Ptolemeta to the
southward. The object of his journey was to collect the tribute
from the neighbouring Bedouin tribes, and this is generally a work
of much time and trouble, without which the contribution would not
be paid at all. We had previously arranged with him that Hadood,
Shekh of Barka, should have camels in readiness (on our return
from Carcora) to carry our tents and baggage to the westward; but
finding they had not arrived, we with difficulty procured others,
and set out from Bengazi on the seventeenth of April for Teuchira,
Ptolemeta, and Cyrene.
The road from Bengazi to Teuchira and Ptolemeta lies through a
very fertile and beautiful country, though a comparatively small
portion of it only is cultivated. It may be described as a plain,
thickly covered with wood and flowering shrubs, stretching itself
from the sea to the foot of the mountains which form the northern
limits of the Cyrenaica, and narrowing every mile as you advance
towards Ptolemeta, where the mountains run down very close to the
sea. We have already stated that the space between this range and
Bengazi is about fourteen geographic miles; and the distance between
it and the sea, at Ptolemeta, is no more than a mile, or a mile and
a half; the whole length of the plain, from Bengazi to Ptolemeta,
being fifty-seven geographic miles. The sides of the mountains are
also thickly clothed with wood, chiefly pine, of various kinds,
and the juniper is found in great quantities among the other shrubs
which overspread them.
Ravines, whose sides are equally covered with wood and verdure, cross
the road very frequently, in their course from the mountains to the
sea; and most of these, as there is nothing like a bridge over any of
them, must be nearly impassable in winter. The force with which the
water rushes down the ravines in the rainy season is evident from
the slightest inspection; the ground being furrowed and torn up in
the parts which form the beds of the torrents, and encumbered with
trees and stones of various sizes, washed down from the mountains
and from the sides of the ravines. Open spaces are occasionally
met with in the woods, some of which are of considerable extent;
these were probably once cultivated, but are now thickly covered
with grasses of various kinds, among which we often observed a
great proportion of oats produced spontaneously from the soil[6].
Several towers of very solid construction are scattered over
this plain in various directions; and one of them will be found
to correspond very well with that called Cafez, by Edrisi. It is
situated at about the same distance (four miles) from the sea; and
has likewise a wood to the eastward of it, as he mentions[7]. It
may be reckoned at fifteen miles from Bengazi, and not far from
it, also to the eastward, are the lakes described by Edrisi in
the neighbourhood of Cafez, separated, exactly as he mentions,
from the sea by ridges of sand, and running along parallel with the
beach[8]. The water of these lakes is stated by Edrisi to be sweet,
but it is certainly, in the present day, brackish. The Arab name
of one of these (Zeiana, or Aziana) would seem to point out the
neighbourhood of Adriana, laid down by Cellarius between Berenice
and Arsinoe, or Teuchira; and many ground-plans of buildings,
chiefly dwelling-houses, may be observed at the distance of about
three-quarters of a mile from the lake, which probably occupy the
site of that town.
At sunset, on the second day, we arrived at Birsis, where there
are a number of wells, and mutilated fragments of building,
of which it would be impossible to make any satisfactory plan,
without a great deal of previous excavation. Birsis occupies a very
fertile plain, where there is usually an Arab encampment, and is
distant about thirty-one miles from Bengazi, and seven from the
city of Teuchira. It is five or six miles from the Cyrenaic range,
and about a mile and a half from the sea. A little to the S.W. of
Birsis, are other remains of building, which assume a more decided
character, and appear to have formed part of a town. Several arched
door-ways are still remaining, and some of the walls of the houses
are standing, to the height of about ten or twelve feet from the
present level. The spot on which they stand is now much overgrown
with high grass and shrubs of various kinds, and the buildings have
been occasionally added-to by the Arabs; so that it requires a good
deal of attention to make out their original plans. We were cautioned
by the natives, who saw us making our way through the high grass
and bushes which encumber the ruins, to beware of the serpents,
which they said were very numerous in the place; we, however, saw
no more than two, one of a dark colour, about five feet in length,
and another of smaller dimensions. The Arab name for this place is
Mabny, and Mably (as we heard it pronounced by different persons
residing on the spot); and appears to be a corruption of Napoli,
or Neapolis, with no other change than might reasonably be expected
from the peculiarities of Arab pronunciation[9].
Neapolis is, however, laid down by Ptolemy between the cities of
Teuchira and Ptolemeta; and Mably (or Mabny) is seven or eight
miles to the S.W. of the former of these places; so that it will
not correspond in position with the city which its name appears
to indicate. We may at the same time observe, that in the position
assigned by Ptolemy to Neapolis we could perceive no remains which
were indicative of a town; that we know of no town, described
under another name, as occupying the site of Mably; and that the
resemblance of that appellation to Nably, which would be the Arab
pronunciation of Neapolis, is too close to be wholly overlooked.
Between Birsis and the sea (from which we have already said it
is distant about a mile and a half) are the remains of two towers,
occupying the summit of a range of sand-hills on the beach, and which
we were unable to visit, in consequence of the marsh which runs along
the foot of the range, and separates it from the cultivated land. The
country about Birsis and Mably is highly productive, wherever it
is cultivated, and agreeably diversified with shrubs and brushwood,
among which are a few fig-trees. The plain is here about six miles
in breadth (from the sea to the foot of the mountains); and its
general appearance, as the Arab tents were seen to rear themselves
among the low wood and cultivated lands in which they were pitched,
was highly indicative of what one might imagine of patriarchal
comfort and tranquillity[10]. We found the Arabs very hospitable
and obliging, and one of our party, who had strayed from the rest,
and taken shelter at night-fall in one of their tents, was received
and entertained with great kindness and liberality; a sheep having
been killed expressly for his supper, and the women of the family
employed for two hours in preparing it, in the most savoury manner
with which they were acquainted. While the mutton was occupying the
united attention of the most accomplished cooks of the household,
(the mother, one of the wives, and the two eldest daughters of
the host) another wife had prepared a large dish of barley-cakes
and fried onions, over which was poured some hot melted butter: a
great portion of this very speedily disappeared before the repeated
attacks of the hungry guest, whose appetite for the savoury meat
which was afterwards served up to him was not quite so great as the
dish deserved; the skill of the young wife who had cooked the first
mess was in consequence highly commended by her spouse, who could
no otherwise account for the great portion of meat which was left,
than by supposing that the first dish was most to the stranger’s
taste; never dreaming that a pound of dough, besides butter and
onions, could in any way tend to diminish a man’s appetite.
Six miles beyond Birsis (in a north-easterly direction) are remains
of a much more imposing nature than any which we had hitherto
beheld. They are those of an ancient city, completely inclosed within
walls of uncommon strength and thickness, which are connected at
intervals by quadrangular towers, and entered by two strongly-built
gateways, placed opposite to each other on the east and west sides of
the city. The town of Teuchira (for it is that to which we allude)
is situated close to the sea, which, in this part of the plain, is
distant about four miles from the foot of the mountains. A part of
the town, as well as of the walls, is built upon a rising ground,
and the rest is on a level with the plain; one portion of it (to
the westward) has been built round a quarry, and what appears to
have been the citadel is also constructed on the edge of another
quarry to the eastward, which considerably strengthens its position.
Without the walls on both sides of the town (we mean on the east
and west sides) are also very extensive quarries, in which the tombs
of the early inhabitants of the place have at various periods been
constructed[11]. In these, as well as on the inner part of the city
walls, are a great many Greek inscriptions; such of which as our
time allowed us to copy, will be found at the end of the chapter,
with further details of the buildings; and in the mean time we
refer our readers to the plan of the city annexed.
Teuchira, or Tauchira, was a town of Barca, of considerable
antiquity: its name was changed under the Ptolemies to Arsinoe,
and subsequently (by Mark Antony) to Cleopatris; but its original
appellation has survived the others, and it is to this day
distinguished by the name of Tauchira, or Tocra, under which it is
known to the Arabs.
The walls of Teuchira (we are informed by Procopius[12]) were
repaired under the emperor Justinian, and they still remain in a
state of perfection which sufficiently proves the solidity of the
work. They are built of very massy blocks of stone, conformably
with the statement of the historian, many of which have formed
parts of much earlier buildings, as the inscriptions found upon
them demonstrate.
Very little of the history of Teuchira has come down to us; and we
scarcely know more of it, than that it formed one of the cities of
the Pentapolis. Although it is situated close to the sea, which
washes the northern face of it, Teuchira could never have been a
port; as it affords no protection whatever for vessels derived from
its natural position, and there are not the slightest traces now
visible of anything like a cothon having been constructed there;
which, indeed, it would have been folly to have attempted in the
exposed situation of the place[13].
Traces of Christianity are still visible in the remains of a handsome
church in this city, which may perhaps be attributed to the piety or
the munificence of Justinian, so conspicuously displayed in similar
structures throughout his extensive dominions. The account which
Bruce has given us of Ptolemeta proves evidently that he confounded
it with Teuchira, since he tells us of its _walls_, “which he found
_entire_, on which were a prodigious number of Greek inscriptions;”
whereas there are no remains of walls at Ptolemeta, (with the
exception of a noble gateway by which those which once existed were
connected,) that are more than a foot above the ground; and we have
already stated, that the walls of Teuchira correspond with Bruce’s
description. The same writer adds that he found nothing at Arsinoe,
or at Barca, and we are somewhat at a loss to know what places he
intends to point out as the spots which he considers to have been
occupied by the two cities mentioned. We have given the details
which we were enabled to collect of Teuchira at the end of the
present chapter, and shall therefore abstain from further mention
of it here, and proceed with the other parts of our narrative.
We may, however, remark that it abounds in wells of excellent water,
which are reserved by the Arabs for their summer consumption,
and only resorted to when the more inland supplies are exhausted;
at other times Teuchira (we were informed) is uninhabited. Many of
the excavated tombs, which we have mentioned above, are occupied
as dwelling-houses by the Arabs during their summer visits to this
part of the coast; and from the circumstance of their being much
cooler at that season than the external atmosphere, are certainly
very pleasant abodes.
Here also, as at Carcora, we were very much annoyed with the
parching sirocco wind; and our Chaous, from Bengazi, a very stout
active fellow, was seized, in consequence, with a violent fever,
and was unable to continue his journey. We left him, however, in
very good hands, and he rejoined us, on his recovery, at Ptolemeta.
From Teuchira to Ptolemeta is about eighteen miles (geographic),
and the road between these places leads along the sea-coast, which
gradually approaches the mountains. The soil is excellent, and the
country is for the most part well cultivated; the wood being chiefly
confined to the sides of the mountains and to those of the ravines
which cross the road. In approaching Ptolemeta, the attention
is first arrested by a large and very lofty quadrangular tomb,
constructed on a basis of solid rock, which has been purposely
insulated from the quarry in which it stands, and shaped also
into a quadrangular form. This object assumes the appearance of a
lofty tower, and forms a very striking feature in the scenery about
Ptolemeta, being seen from a considerable distance.
Signor Della Cella has supposed that this noble monument, “veramente”
(as he observes) “di regia grandezza,” was erected by the seventh of
the Ptolemies surnamed Physcon, or Euergetes the Second, purposely as
a tomb for himself.
It is probable, however, that the restless and ambitious spirit of
this prince looked forward at all times to the sovereignty of Egypt,
even after the mediation of the Romans, by which the Cyrenaica was
assigned to him as a kingdom. However this may be, it will be seen,
from the plan and section of the structure in question, (which we
have given in the details of Ptolemeta,) that it was not intended
for the tomb of a single person, but as that of a numerous family,
in which no one appears to have been particularly distinguished
from the rest. There was originally, perhaps, some inscription
over the entrance of the tomb by which the name and the honours
of the persons it inclosed were set forth; but as this part of
the structure has been purposely injured, it is probable that the
inscription, if ever there existed one, was at the same time effaced.
At any rate, though we looked very attentively for some appearance
of letters, we were unable to distinguish any; and we will merely
suggest, with regard to this mausoleum, that it was certainly
appropriated to some family of distinction, (it may be to some part
of that of the Ptolemies,) since there is none so conspicuous or
so handsome in any part of the neighbourhood of Ptolemeta.
The next object which presents itself in approaching the town is
the insulated gateway which we have mentioned above, standing now
like a triumphal arch overlooking the town, but which was originally
connected with the walls. On reaching the summit of the elevated spot
upon which this gateway has been erected, the remains of Ptolemeta
lie before you, stretched out in various parts of the beautiful
plain in which it is built, sloping down from the mountains to the
sea. It appears to have occupied about a square mile of ground,
and a more agreeable position could not anywhere have been chosen,
on this part of the coast of the Cyrenaica, than that which has
been fixed upon for the port of Barca.
The harbour has been chiefly formed by art (one side of it only
being sheltered by nature); and the remains of the cothon are still
very conspicuous, though much encumbered with sand[14].
An Amphitheatre and two Theatres are still visible at Ptolemeta:
the latter are close to the remains of a palace, of which three
columns only are now standing; and the former is constructed in a
large quarry, in which the seats have been partly excavated, those
parts only having been built which could not be formed in the quarry
itself. The interior court of the palace above-mentioned is still
covered with tessellated pavement, and beneath it are very spacious
arched cisterns, or reservoirs, communicating with each other,
and receiving air and light from the court-yard above them[15]. The
remaining columns of this building, which we imagine to have been a
palace, are those which Bruce has described as forming part of the
portico belonging to an Ionic temple, and as having been executed
“in the first manner” of that order. The details of them,
(he adds,) with all the parts that could be preserved, are in
the King’s collection. The proportions and style of the columns
in question do not (we must confess) appear, in our estimation,
to partake much of the early character of the Ionic; but were the
resemblance in reality much greater than it is, the existence of a
Greek inscription which is built into the basement of the columns,
bearing the names of Cleopatra and Ptolemy Philometor[16], (together
with another, turned upside down, mentioning that of Arsinoe
conjointly with Ptolemy and Berenice,) would prevent our attributing
an earlier date to them than the reigns of the sovereigns recorded.
The ravines which form the eastern and western boundaries of
Ptolemeta (particularly that to the eastward) are wild and romantic
in the extreme; and one might imagine one’s-self transported, in
winding along them, to the beautiful secluded valleys of Switzerland
and Savoy. It is true that in the Cyrenaica nature is on a less
extended scale than in the mountainous districts we have mentioned;
but it appears in a form no less captivating on that account;
and we will venture to say, that if a person who had travelled in
those countries should be suddenly dropt into the eastern valley
of Ptolemeta, without being told where he was, he would certainly
suspect himself to be in one of them. He would never, for a moment,
dream of being in Africa—that parched and barren region of desert
monotony so horrid in European estimation. For our own parts we
shall never forget the delight which we experienced, at every new
turn of the valley, as fresh objects of interest presented themselves
to our view on either side of this enchanting retreat.
We had already passed through a very interesting country, in our
journey from Bengazi to Ptolemeta; and we had long forgotten the
dreary swamps and insipidity of the Syrtis, where only _one tree_ had
been seen to rear itself in a space of more than four hundred miles.
It could not, therefore, be contrast that made the vallies of
Ptolemeta appear to us in such captivating forms and colours—it
was the simple impression which Nature’s favourite spots never
fail to create on the imagination—heightened only, perhaps,
by the solitude of the scene, and the wild, romantic elegance of
its character. There are beauties which may be felt, but cannot be
described; and the charm of romantic scenery is one of them.
We will not therefore attempt any other description of the eastern
valley of Ptolemeta, than by remarking that it rises gradually
from the sea, winding through forests of pine and flowering shrubs,
(which thicken as the sides of the mountain on which they grow become
higher and more abrupt,) till it loses itself in the precipitous part
of the range which bounds it to the southward, and which presents a
dark barrier of thickly-planted pines, shooting up into the blue sky
above them. The windings of the valley greatly add to its beauty,
and the scenery increases in interest at every turn, in tracing
it up towards the mountains in which it loses itself. Sometimes
the path is impeded by trees, which throw their branches across
it, leaving only a narrow passage beneath them; and sometimes, on
emerging from this dark and difficult approach, a broad sweep of
verdant lawn will suddenly present itself, fenced in, apparently,
on all sides, by high walls of various-coloured pines, rising one
above the head of the other, in all the grandeur of uniformity. On
reaching the opposite end of this verdant amphitheatre, a new scene
presents itself, before unsuspected; and the rambler, bewildered
with variety, finds himself utterly incapable of deciding which
pleases him most, or when he shall feel himself equal to the task of
tearing himself away from the spot. We confess that, when first we
discovered this valley, the shades of night surprised us before we
thought the sun had set, far in its deepest recesses; and we never
afterwards visited it without regretting that our occupations would
not allow us more leisure to admire it.
Among the trees which clothe the sides of the mountains are many
handsome stone sarcophagi of Greek and Roman workmanship, all of
which, however, we found had been opened; and among them seats of
the same material were occasionally observed to have been placed,
as if the spirits of the dead loved to linger about the spot which
had so much delighted them when living. We should willingly have
devoted a great portion of our time to the same pleasing occupation,
and have passed whole days in wandering among the tombs, in making
plans and drawings of them, and searching for inscriptions: but fate
had not decreed us so agreeable a lounge, and after securing in our
portfolios some of the principal objects of the place, we set out
without further delay for Cyrene, which we had determined (as our
time was now limited) should form the chief object of inquiry. We
had, however, arranged that, on our return from Cyrene, the plan
of the town and neighbourhood of Ptolemeta (which will be found
annexed) should be completed; and that drawings should be made of
such of the most conspicuous objects as had not been already secured,
all of which was eventually accomplished.
It will be seen, by a reference to the plan of Ptolemeta, that the
position of the town was remarkably well chosen. In its front was
the sea; and on either side a ravine, along which are still seen
traces of fortification, secured its flanks from any sudden attack;
while the only passes by which it could be approached from the high
ridge of mountains to the southward, were defended (as will appear
in the plan) by strong barriers drawn completely across them: the
whole town, at the same time, was originally inclosed within a wall
which may still be traced to considerable extent, running parallel
with the mountains at the back, and extending from these, along
the banks of the ravines, to the sea. Two bridges appear (from the
existing remains) to have been thrown across each of the ravines;
one of which is to this day tolerably perfect, and is faithfully
represented, in its actual condition, in the drawing which is given
of it (page 362); several forts were also scattered about in various
directions, both within and without the walls, contributing at once
to the beauty and security of the place. The situation of the town
in other respects was also remarkably good. It sloped down gradually
from the high ground which forms the foot of the mountains at its
back, (and which sheltered it from the southerly winds,) and must
consequently have enjoyed the full benefit of the cool northern
breezes, so grateful in all hot climates. In fact, there is no place
on the coast of Northern Africa, between Ptolemeta and Tripoly, which
can at all be compared with the former of these places, for beauty,
convenience, and security of position, Lebda alone excepted. We are,
however, informed, that the town of Ptolemeta suffered at one time
so severely from want of water, that the inhabitants were obliged
to relinquish their houses, and disperse themselves about the
country in different directions. The reparation of the aqueducts
and cisterns of the town, which, it seems, had fallen into decay,
restored Ptolemeta to its former flourishing state; and this act
is recorded, among many others of a similar nature performed at the
command of Justinian, in the eulogy of that emperor by Procopius. As
Ptolemeta is unprovided with springs, the care of its reservoirs
and aqueducts must have been at all times peculiarly essential;
and we find that its buildings of this class are among the most
perfect of its existing remains.
It is probable that the cisterns we have mentioned above, as being
situated under the tesselated pavement of the edifice which Bruce
calls a temple, were among those alluded to by Procopius. They
consist of two divisions of arched chambers, running parallel with
each other, which are connected by others of shorter dimensions,
running in an opposite direction. They communicate mutually, by
means of small door-ways, of the form which will be seen in the plan
(page 367), and circular apertures were left at intervals in the
roof, which received light and air from the court-yard above them,
and might have served equally as entrances to the cisterns, or as
places from which the water might be drawn up in buckets. They have
all of them been coated with an excellent cement, which is still,
for the most part, very perfect, and occupy a square of about an
hundred feet. We may suppose that these reservoirs were occasionally
available as supplies for the general use of the town, since the
remains of an aqueduct leading from them through the centre of it
are still visible, as will appear in the plan of Ptolemeta. There
are also remains of stone conductors leading into these cisterns from
the mountains at the back of the town, and as rain usually falls in
great quantities during the winter they must have been for the most
part well supplied. We searched in vain for some inscription on the
walls of these buildings which might throw light on the period of
their construction or restoration, but were unable to discover one
in any part of them: the arches which form the roofs are well turned
and constructed in the usual manner, with a key-stone. We may add,
that these cisterns still afford a very copious supply to the Arab
tribes of the neighbourhood, although no care is taken to lead the
rain into them; and we found the water which they contained on our
arrival at Ptolemeta uncommonly cool and delightful.
The greater part of the town, on our first visits to it, was thickly
overgrown with wild marigolds and camomile, to a height of four
and five feet, and patches of corn were here and there observable
growing equally within the city walls[17]. The solitude of the
place was at the same time unbroken by animals of any description;
if we except a small number of jackals and hyænas, which strayed
down after sunset in search of water, and a few owls and bats which
started out from the ruins as we disturbed them by our near and
unexpected approach. Appeals of this kind are always irresistible;
and the contrast which presented itself between the silence and
desolation which characterized the city of Ptolemeta when we
visited it, and the busy scene which a spectator of its former
wealth and magnificence would have witnessed under the Ptolemies
and the Cæsars, afforded a striking and, we must say, a melancholy
example of the uncertainty of all human greatness.
If the exuberant vegetation we have mentioned appeared to be rather
out of its place, it was not less a source of inconvenience than
regret, for we had the pleasure of being obliged to wade through
it up to our arm-pits in making our way to the different buildings;
and it may readily be imagined that this tiresome operation, after
the heavy rains which fell occasionally at night, was no treat
on a cool cloudy morning. The brushing through a turnip field,
or one of mangel-wurzel, which many of our readers have no doubt
often tried with a double-barrelled gun upon their shoulders,
is nothing to the tramping we have mentioned; for not only our
boots and trowsers were quickly wet through with the heavy drops
which we brushed from their lodgments, but our shirt-sleeves and
jackets, and sometimes even our turbans, were also well soaked on
these occasions. A very different scene presented itself on our
return from Cyrene, when the summer heat had begun to exert its
influence. Not a leaf or a stalk remained of all the impediments we
have alluded to, and the prevailing colour of the place, which we
had left a bright green, had been succeeded by a dusky brown. The
corn had been cut and carried, leaving scarcely any traces of its
having been formerly growing; and the ruins were left exposed, in
all their naked desolation, glaring on the eye of the spectator. We
had now to encounter inconveniences of a very different nature from
those which had originally presented themselves; but although they
were by no means less disagreeable, we had reason to rejoice in the
exchange. No impediment now remained to obstruct our approach to,
or to prevent our view of the buildings, and we were able to trace
the plans of them with much greater ease and accuracy than we could
on the former occasions. Having given a general view of the country
and remains between Bengazi and Ptolemeta, we will now retrace our
steps, and notice a few of the ruins which present themselves in
the route with somewhat more attention to detail.
Of the buildings which occur in passing from Bengazi to Teuchira,
the most conspicuous is that which we have already mentioned under
its modern name of Gusser el Toweel (the high tower), and which we
have supposed to be the same with that called Cafez by Edrisi, and
placed by him at the distance of a day’s journey from Soluc. It is
a quadrangular building of about thirty-six feet by twenty; which is
entered by a single door placed in the centre of one of its longest
sides. On one side of the building is a narrow chamber, occupying
the whole breadth of the interior, and on the opposite side is a
low archway, (of not more than six feet in height from the floor,
and sunk about four feet below it,) which is now almost filled up
with rubbish, and of which, we must confess, we were unable to
discover the use. The intervening space is left vacant, forming
a single room of something more than seventeen feet in length,
and occupying, like the narrow chamber which communicates with it,
the whole breadth of the inner part of the building.
A window has been formed in part of the wall for the purpose of
giving light to an upper story, which, together with the window
itself, appears to have made no part of the original plan; an
addition has also been made to the exterior, (marked by shading
lines in the ground-plan,) and forming, with what has been already
described, a square of something less than fifty feet. There is no
appearance of any door in this additional wall, which has been very
strongly built, and it completely prevents all access from without
to the door of the original building. The object of this has no doubt
been security, and the whole structure appears to have been intended
as a station for troops and was probably one of the fortresses
repaired by Justinian. Its height may be about five-and-twenty feet,
(we mean the height of the original building, for the added part
does not seem to have been ever raised to half that elevation),
and it is still surmounted by a cornice part of which is, however,
cut away. There are several other strong towers at no great distance
from Gusser el Toweel, nearer to the foot of the mountains, and a
communication appears to have been kept up all the way from Bengazi
to Ptolemeta. There are also several well-built and spacious arched
cisterns, and other structures partly built and partly excavated,
in this tract of country; as also many subterranean storehouses
for grain; and a month or two might certainly be spent with great
advantage in examining the space between the sea and the mountains,
from Bengazi to Birsis and Teuchira.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 1: Vide Scylax, Theophrastus, and others.]
[Footnote 2: Signor Della Cella has remarked (p. 185,) that there
are _a few_ palm-trees in the neighbourhood of Bengazi, and a tract
or two of land sowed with barley (“alcune palme, e qualche tratto
seminato col orzo”—) all the rest is (he tells us) neglected
and uncultivated. But there are a _great many_ palm-trees in the
neighbourhood of Bengazi, on both sides of the harbour, and a great
proportion of cultivated land.]
[Footnote 3: The following is the process mentioned by Shaw.—“In
the months of March or April, when the sheaths that respectively
enclose the young clusters of the male flowers and the female fruit
begin to open (at which time the latter are formed and the first are
mealy), they take a sprig or two of the male cluster, and insert it
into the sheath of the female; or else they take a whole cluster of
the male tree, and sprinkle the meal, or farina of it over several
clusters of the female.” (Travels in Barbary, vol. i., p. 259-60).
The same author remarks that the palm-tree arrives at its greatest
vigour about thirty years after transplantation, and continues so
seventy years afterwards; bearing yearly fifteen or twenty clusters
of dates, each of them weighing fifteen or twenty pounds[a].
“Si parmi les palmiers (says the author of a treatise on
agriculture quoted by Kazwini, in the words of Silvestre de Sacy),
“Si parmi les palmiers on rapproche les individus mâles des
individus femelles, ces derniers portent des fruits en plus grande
abondance, parceque le voisinage favorise leurs amours; et si,
au contraire, on éloigne l’arbre femelle des mâles, cette
distance empêche qui’il ne rapporte aucun fruit. Quand on plante
un palmier mâle au milieu des femelles, et que, le vent venant à
souffler, les femelles reçoivent l’odeur des fleurs du mâle,
cette odeur suffit pour rendre féconds tous les palmiers femelles
qui environnent le mâle.”]
[Footnote a: Shaw has observed that “the method of raising the
Phœnix (φοινιξ) or palm, and, what may be further observed,
that when the old trunk dies, there is never wanting one or other
of those offsprings to succeed it, may have given occasion to the
fable of the bird of that name dying and another arising from it.”
(So Pliny, lib. xiii. c. 4.) Mirumque de ea accepimus cum phœnice
ave quæ putatur ex hujus palmæ argumento nomen accepisse, emori
ac renasci ex seipsa.]
[Footnote 4: The palm-tree, however, though a beautiful tree, is
sometimes, it appears, a very obstinate one; and the means which we
are told, on Arab authority, should be used to render it more docile
on these occasions would astonish the horticulturists of Europe.
When a palm-tree refuses to bear (says the Arab author of a
treatise on agriculture), the owner of it, armed with a hatchet,
comes to visit it in company with another person. He then begins
by observing aloud to his friend (in order that the date-tree
should hear him) “I am going to cut down this worthless tree,
since it no longer bears me any fruit.”—“Have a care what
you do, brother, returns his companion; I should advise you to do
no such thing—for I will venture to predict that this very year
your tree will be covered with fruit.” “No, no, (replies the
owner,) I am determined to cut it down, for I am certain it will
produce me nothing;” and then approaching the tree, he proceeds
to give it two or three strokes with his hatchet.—“Pray now! I
entreat you, desist” (says the mediator, holding back the arm
of the proprietor)—“Do but observe what a fine tree it is, and
have patience for this one season more; should it fail after that to
bear you any fruit, you may do with it just what you please.” The
owner of the tree then allows himself to be persuaded, and retires
without proceeding to any further extremities. But the threat, and
the few strokes inflicted with the hatchet, have always, it is said,
the desired effect; and the terrified palm-tree produces the same
year a most abundant supply of fine dates!!! (Extract from Kazwini,
Chréstomathie Arabe, tom. iii. p. 319.)]
[Footnote 5: The sandy tract here alluded to is merely formed by
deposites from the beach, and extends scarcely half a mile inland;
the country beyond it, all the way to the mountains, is a mixture of
rock and excellent soil, with no sand whatever, and is for the most
part, as we have mentioned, well wooded and covered with vegetation.]
[Footnote 6: A species of wild artichoke is also very commonly found
here, which is eaten raw by the Arabs; chiefly however for amusement,
as we see raw turnips eaten in other countries.]
[Footnote 7: See the plan of this tower. It is called by the Arabs
Gusser-el-toweel—the high tower—and is seen from a considerable
distance.]
[Footnote 8: Cafez autem est turris sita in media planitie
Bernic, habetque ad latus suum orientale sylvam propinquam mari,
et ipsa distat à mari IV. M. P. Non procul etiam à Cafez,
ex parte orientali adest lacus cum longitudine maris porrectus,
et collis arenæ ab eo divisus, cujus tamen aquæ dulces sunt:
occupat hic sua longitudine XIV. Milliaria, latitudine medium fere
milliare.—(Geog. Nubiensis, p. 93.)]
[Footnote 9: The M is frequently pronounced by the Arabs instead
of N; and the B always for the P, a sound which they have not in
their language; the L and the N are also often confounded by them,
as we find them to be frequently by the natives of other countries.
The Neapolis here mentioned must not be confounded with that which
has been identified with Leptis Magna.]
[Footnote 10: As we repassed the same plain in July, many heaps
of corn and barley were collected in various parts of it, and the
greater part of the verdure had disappeared. We found the oxen of
the place very busily employed in treading out the grain, in the
good old-fashioned way practised before the invention of flails;
while the Arabs, availing themselves of a little breeze of wind,
were occupied in tossing up the grain into the air which had been
already trodden out, in order to separate it from the husks, after
the manner often alluded to in Scripture. Among other instances of
this allusion, we may mention the fragments of Nebuchadnezzar’s
image, which are compared in Daniel (ii. 25.) to “the chaff of
the summer threshing-floor carried away by the wind.”]
[Footnote 11: The practice of excavating tombs in the neighbourhood
of ancient cities, in the quarries from which the stone was
procured for building them, is very general in this part of Africa,
and was probably first adopted from its convenience; little more
being necessary than to shape the excavated spaces to the size and
form required after the stone had been extracted for architectural
purposes.]
[Footnote 12: De Aedificiis.]
[Footnote 13: The water is also too deep to admit of one, and
becomes so on a sudden within a few feet of the beach.]
[Footnote 14: A further description of the Harbour and Cothon will be
found, with other details of Ptolemeta, at the end of the chapter.]
[Footnote 15: See the plan of these in the plate prefixed to page
367. The columns are given in the vignette at the beginning of
this chapter.]
[Footnote 16: The inscriptions will be found in the plate prefixed
to Chapter 14.]
[Footnote 17: After sowing the corn, the Arabs leave it to enjoy
the advantages of the winter rains, and never return to it till it
comes to maturity and is ready to be cut and carried away.]
CHAPTER XIII.
OBSERVATIONS ON THE CITIES OF TEUCHIRA AND PTOLEMETA.
Actual Condition of the City of Teuchira — Perfect State and great
Strength of its Walls — Suggested Period of their Erection —
Mode in which they are constructed — Gates of the City — Narrow
Passage communicating with them — Probable Advance of the Sea
at Teuchira — Line described by the Walls — Estimated Circuit
of them according to Signor Della Cella — Greek Inscriptions
cut in various parts of them — Suggestions of Signor Della
Cella respecting them — Actual Nature of the Inscriptions —
Excavated Tombs in the Quarries of Teuchira — Egyptian Names of
Months generally adopted by the Inhabitants of the City — General
Nature of the Plans of the Tombs — Some of the Bodies appear
to have been burnt, and others to have been buried entire — No
Difference appears to have obtained at Teuchira between the Modes
of Burial adopted by its Greek and Roman Inhabitants — Encumbered
State of what are probably the earliest Tombs — Solitary instance
of a Painted Tomb at Teuchira — Remains of Christian Churches,
and other Buildings within the Walls — Disposition of the Streets
— Remains without the Walls — No Statues, or Remains of them,
discovered by our Party at Teuchira — Remarks on the Wall of
Ptolemeta — Remains of a Naustothmos, or Naval Station, observed
there — Other Remains of Building on the Beach near the Station
— Further traces of the City-Wall — Dimensions of Ptolemeta —
Remains of Theatres found there — Description of the larger one
— Ruins described by Bruce as part of an Ionic Temple — Other
Remains in the Neighbourhood of these — Remarks on the Style of
some of the Buildings of Ptolemeta, as contrasted with those of
Egypt and Nubia — Probable Date of its existing Remains.
It will be seen, by a reference to the plan of the city of Teuchira,
that there is little now remaining within the limits of its walls to
call for any particular details. The destruction of the town has,
in fact, been so complete, that it is scarcely more than a heap
of confused ruins; and the various fragments of building which are
scattered over its surface encumber the ground-plans so effectually,
that more labour and time would be necessary for their removal than
the buildings would probably merit. It is evident that Teuchira has
been intentionally destroyed; and that the solidity of its walls has
alone prevented them from being confounded in the general wreck. The
perfect state in which these still continue to remain will, however,
compensate for the losses we have sustained within their limits; and
we may consider them as affording one of the best examples extant
of the military walls of the ancients. Procopius has informed us
that the city of Teuchira was very strongly fortified by the Emperor
Justinian; and the restoration of the original wall which inclosed it
(which we may suppose to have been laid in ruins by the Vandals) was
probably the chief point to which the historian alluded. We are not
aware of any data by which the precise period of the first erection
of these walls may be ascertained; but their solidity would induce
us to refer them to an epoch anterior to the time of the Ptolemies;
while the regularity with which they have, at the same time, been
constructed would prevent us from assigning to them a very early
date[1]. It is well known that the most ancient walls which remain
to us are as remarkable for the irregularity as they are for the
solidity of their structure; and the term _Cyclopean_, which has
been generally applied to them, has almost become synonymous with
_irregular_.
The existing walls of Teuchira have undoubtedly been constructed at
a period when architecture had attained great perfection; the mode
of building adopted in them is uniform and regular, well calculated
from its nature to save labour and expense, and is such as could
only have been successfully employed where the blocks of stone used
were large and heavy. Two ranges of stone, longitudinally placed,
form the outer and inner surface of the structure; and these are
crossed by a single block at regular intervals the length of which is
the thickness of the wall: a space is left between the longitudinal
ranges, about equivalent to the breadth of the stones which compose
them; and this is filled up with what is usually termed rubble,
(which here appears to be the refuse of the material employed,)
and occasionally with a single stone. Little or no cement has been
used in the building (so far at least as we were able to discover);
and, indeed, the weight of the several blocks, with the pressure
upon them, would seem to render it wholly unnecessary.
Six and twenty quadrangular turrets contribute at the same time to
the strength and the defence of the wall; and two gates flanked with
buttresses, projecting inwards, by which the entrance is defended,
and placed opposite to each other on the east and western walls,
are the only approaches to the town[2]. The entrance through these
(as is usual in ancient towns) is by means of a narrow passage
formed by the buttresses mentioned above; but the gate itself is
not placed within the line of the walls, as we find to have been
the case with that of Mycenæ, but ranges with them. Nearly in the
centre of the southern wall there are two turrets of considerably
larger dimensions than the rest, which are at the same time of
a more recent construction, and immediately opposite to them is
an outer wall of a semicircular form. We naturally searched here
for another entrance to the town, but could find no appearance of
there ever having been one: yet, except it were for the defence of
a gateway, there does not seem to be any sufficient reason why these
turrets should be larger than the rest; and if there were no entrance
through them to the town there has been none on the south side at
all[3]. On the north side of Teuchira (it will appear in the plan)
no part of the city wall is remaining, and it is probable that it
has been undermined by the sea which appears to have here advanced
(as it has on other parts of the coast) beyond its original bounds.
The line described by the walls, although somewhat quadrangular, is
by no means a regular figure—a diagonal drawn from the opposite
corners, at the north-east and south-western angles, would be a
line of about three thousand two hundred English feet; while that
which would pass through the north-west and south-eastern angles
would be about nine hundred feet shorter. The circuit of the walls
has been estimated by Signor Della Cella at about two miles; but
we found it, by measurement, to be less than a mile and a half;
being comprised in a line of eight thousand six hundred English
feet[4]. On the interior of the wall, as we have already stated,
there are a good many Greek inscriptions; but we were not fortunate
enough to find their contents quite so interesting as Dr. Della
Cella has supposed they might have been, when he tells us, that
“all the annals of the city might perhaps be found registered
on its walls[5].” We examined the whole space, however, very
attentively and found only a collection of names, which we should
scarcely have thought it worth while to copy had not the Doctor’s
assertion made it necessary to shew what portion of information
the inscriptions actually contained. They will be found, with other
inscriptions from the excavated tombs of Teuchira, in page 386; and
it will be seen that the names are chiefly Greek, and the character,
for the most part, Ptolemaic; but no other dates could be found,
on any part of the surface mentioned excepting the few which appear
in the plate. The inscriptions alluded to by Signor Della Cella,
on a quadrangular building towards the centre of the city, consist
also wholly of names and dates; they are encircled by a wreath, and
it will be seen by the plate that these names are for the most part
Roman. A few names, within a similar enclosure, were also visible on
the wall of a turret, one of which (the most legible) we have copied.
The excavated tombs in the neighbourhood of Teuchira contain a vast
number of Greek inscriptions; but these also afford only names and
dates, of different countries and periods; and the most interesting
piece of information that we were enabled to derive from them,
was the proof which they afford of the Egyptian names of months
having been in general use in this part of the Cyrenaica.
Many of the tombs, and it is probable also most of the earliest,
are now buried under a mass of drifted sand; and among these it
is not unlikely that dates might be found of very considerable
antiquity. From the wreck of materials, also, which encumber the
city, some valuable inscriptions might possibly be obtained, but
the labour of clearing the ground to search for them would perhaps
be too great to be undertaken with propriety, on the mere chance
of such discoveries.
Of the tombs at Teuchira into which we were able to penetrate,
(we mean such as are not buried in sand,) there are none, that we
could find, of any particular interest. They appear to have been
at all times very rude, compared with those of Egypt and Cyrene,
and the inscriptions upon them are in many instances very rudely
cut. Most of them have only one chamber, three sides of which are
sometimes occupied by places cut into the wall for the reception
of bodies. Some have only two, and others again only one of these
places, in which case (we mean the latter) it is usually found
opposite to the door. In several of the tombs there are no places
discernible for bodies, and rudely-cut columbaria are all that
can be perceived in them; in others again we find both, but seldom
placed in the same position with regard to each other.
We may infer from these circumstances, that some of the bodies
were burnt, the ashes only being deposited in the tomb, and that
others were buried entire after being, most probably, embalmed: and
here we have a mixture of the Greek and Egyptian modes of burial,
as might naturally, indeed, be expected[6].
Not a trace of the mode in which the bodies had been embalmed, nor
indeed of any bodies at all, could we perceive either at Teuchira
or Ptolemeta. Not a single fragment, either of any cinerary urn
or of vases of any description. The dampness of the climate, in
the winter season, would no doubt contribute very materially to
the destruction of the bodies when the covers were once removed
from the excavated places which contained them; but it is at the
same time somewhat remarkable that not a single fragment of linen
or bone could be met with (though we searched for them with great
attention) by which the mode of burial could be ascertained. The
cause of this is most probably the occupation of the tombs by the
Arabs who, as we have stated above, make use of them occasionally
as places of residence for themselves and their cattle; and would
naturally throw out any similar remains when they chanced to be
seized with a fit of cleanliness or industry.
The pottery would also very speedily disappear before the repeated
attacks of the children; and such urns or vases as were found at
all perfect would be employed by the women for culinary purposes,
and depôts of various kinds, and would naturally be broken in the
course of time however carefully they may have been preserved. The
fragments thrown out would soon be buried in sand blown up into the
quarries, in heaps, from the sea; and thus all traces might easily
be lost as well of the bodies themselves, as of the vases and urns
which contained the ashes. There appears to have been no difference
whatever in the mode of burial practised by the Greeks and Romans
of Teuchira, since many of the tombs, which are similar within,
have on them the names of one and the other nation indiscriminately,
and they are often seen mingled together on the same.
It is probable that the early tombs would be interesting, and that
they would be found at the same time more perfect than the rest;
for the sand has accumulated about them in such heaps as to have
blocked up all access to them for ages. Those most buried are the
tombs which are nearest the town, and they are also, we should
imagine, the oldest; but we had no time to employ in excavating
any of them, although we very much wished to do so.
There is one example of a painted tomb at Teuchira, in very bad
taste, and this was the only one we could perceive that was so;
it is probable, however, that most of them have been originally
painted, and that what we see at present are the mere skeletons of
the originals[7].
Of the buildings contained within the walls of the city, the most
interesting of those whose plans were distinguishable, appeared to
us to be the two Christian churches which will be found, with all
the details we could procure of them, in the plate, page 367. In
both these it will be seen, that the part devoted to the altar was
on the eastern side of the building; but the extreme length of one
of them is much greater than usual, and it is not unlikely that
the portion at its western extremity, although comprised in the
same line of wall, was part of another building.
Near one of these (that to the eastward of the town) we found
part of an entablature in the worst taste of the lower empire,
which we conjectured to be the remains alluded to by Signor Della
Cella, as probably having formed a part of the temple of Bacchus:
it is true that they are mentioned by the Doctor as capitals and
not as parts of the epistylia; but as the fragment is small, it is
possible that such a mistake may have been made; and if this be not
what is alluded to in the passage below, we confess that nothing
else could be found among the ruins which would at all correspond
with the description[8].
The streets of Teuchira appear to have been built in squares,
and to have crossed each other at right angles. One large street
seems to have passed completely across the town, from the eastern
to the western gateway; and towards the centre of this we found
some columns and the arch of a gateway which probably stood across
the street. In various parts of the city, to the north-east and
south-west of it in particular, there are imposing remains of
fallen columns and entablatures, which have no doubt belonged to
buildings of more than ordinary importance; but without excavation
it would not be possible to give any satisfactory account of them,
and we have not ventured, in our plan of the town, to hazard any
attempt at restoring them. There are also some interesting remains
of buildings at the north-eastern angle of the city, where part of
a quarry has been enclosed within the walls for the better defence
of the place, to which indeed it effectually contributes; a strong
fort has been built at this angle, in an elevated and commanding
position, which appears to have been the citadel, or _strong-hold_
of the town. Without the walls, to the westward of the town, there
are also some interesting remains, the plans of which we attempted
to complete without success: we found there a group in alto-relief,
apparently of Roman workmanship, of which we have given an outline
at page 367. There were probably, in earlier times, many statues
in the city of Teuchira; but none of them at present remain,
not, at least, that we could discover; and they have, perhaps,
not survived the barbarism of the Vandals, or the fanaticism and
ignorance of those who have succeeded them.
We now pass to the remains of Ptolemeta; and shall begin by
observing, that no traces of the wall, which originally enclosed
it would present themselves to the notice of a casual observer in
taking a general view of the town. On examination, however, in the
neighbourhood of the gateway, with which it seems probable that
walls have been connected, we discovered traces of them running
straight down to the quarry, in which we have already mentioned
the amphitheatre was built and excavated. Here we found that the
wall had passed through the quarry; and that a portion of the rock
had been left on each side of it, in the line of the wall’s
direction, connecting the part which ran down from the gateway
with that which we discovered on the opposite side of the quarry,
extending itself from thence to the sea. The remains of the wall
between the quarry and the sea are very conspicuous and decided;
they run down quite to the water’s edge, and are here about
eight feet in thickness, and, in some parts, as much as twelve
and thirteen feet in height[9]. Without these (to the westward),
almost buried in sand, are the remains of the Naustathmos (or
naval station), built for the protection of vessels: they begin
from the wall, following the line of the beach towards the mouth
of the western ravine, and were themselves protected from the sea
by a breakwater of about fourteen feet in thickness. The walls of
the υφορμοι (uphormoi)[10] are seven feet in thickness, and
the spaces which they inclose, where the vessels were stationed,
as much as thirty and forty feet across, in those parts which the
sand had not altogether covered. To the westward of the ravine,
other traces of wall are visible, extending themselves from that (in
a line with the beach) along a road which leads towards the quarries,
in which are the insulated tombs already alluded to, represented
in plate (p. 355). Further traces of walls are observable running
round this harbour towards the point marked A in the plan; and it
seems to have been altogether divided from the inland country, as
we find to have been usual with the ancients, more particularly in
time of war[11]. We had no opportunities of ascertaining whether any
other remains of a cothon are to be seen between the points A and B,
where the χηλαι (keelai, or cornua), the claws, or horns (as
they were called) of the harbour, would be looked for if any such
had formerly existed. Remains of a wall running round the small
port within the town (on the eastern side of point B), and which
we may call the eastern harbour, are still visible; and a strong
fort yet remains on either side of it, at the eastern and western
extremity of the wall, which appears to have been often the case[12].
The Pharos, or light-house, if any such existed, was probably erected
on the high ground on point B, in the neighbourhood of the fort at
its eastern extremity, and columns and other fragments of building,
at the back of the western port, point out the places of those
structures usually erected by the ancients near their harbours,
for the accommodation of the merchants and sailors: here also are
the remains of a bridge which was formerly thrown across the ravine,
running down to the wall of this port.
We have already said that traces of the city-wall are observable
between the quarry which contains the amphitheatre and the gateway;
and a portion of it may also be remarked extending from the latter
to the mountains at the back of the town; where they are connected
with other parts of it running along the foot of the range to
the inner bank of the eastern ravine. There again decided remains
of the wall may be traced running parallel with the same ravine;
and which, passing near the bridge represented in plate (p. 362,)
continue towards the sea as far as the remains of the second bridge
which we have already mentioned. Beyond this we could perceive no
more traces of the wall; although it seems more than probable that
it extended on this side to the beach, (as we find it to have done
on the opposite side to the westward,) and that it passed along
parallel with the sea, till it joined the portions connecting the
two forts of the eastern harbour, which we have already observed
to be remaining. We could not discover any traces of a gateway in
the eastern wall of the city; but it is probable that there was
formerly one on this side also, leading to the upper bridge, where
some very strong works are still extant, in the form of a curve,
as will appear by a reference to the plan.
It is difficult to say how these works were connected with the
remains of the wall between them and the mountains; and had our time
allowed it, we should have excavated about them for the purpose of
discovering the connection.
We may reckon that the walls of Ptolemeta, when entire, inclosed a
quadrangle of eighteen thousand English feet in circuit; and the line
of wall which may be traced from the existing remains covers a space
of at least thirteen thousand. A line drawn through the centre of the
city, from north to south, would be about four thousand eight hundred
feet in length; and that which should be drawn across it from east to
west, about four thousand four hundred. The whole circuit of the city
would thus be somewhat less than three English miles and a half[13];
its length, from north to south, something less than a mile[14], and
its breadth from east to west something more than three-quarters[15].
Such of the plans of the buildings at Ptolemeta as could in their
present state be satisfactorily made out, will be found in plate
(page 385;) but although the forms of the theatres and amphitheatre
prevent their being mistaken for other buildings, it would not
be possible without excavation to make out their details with any
accuracy. We have given our idea of the larger of the two theatres,
from the appearance and the measurements of the existing remains
of it[16], but the smaller one was too much ruined, and too much
encumbered, to allow of our hazarding a similar attempt, and we
have confined ourselves to its general dimensions, as given in the
plan of the town. We may reckon the diameter of the orchestra of
the larger theatre at about one hundred and forty-five English feet,
and that of the part appropriated to the cunei, at about fifty of the
same. The whole diameter of the theatre would thus be two hundred and
forty-five feet. It will be observed that the area of the orchestra
is very considerably larger than that occupied by the same part of
the building in Greek and Roman theatres in general, and that the
passages leading into it are wider in proportion to the cunei than
usual. It will also be seen, from the absence of any prœcinctions,
that there were no interior communications in this theatre, by which
the spectators dispersed themselves over the body of the house:
the only approach to the seats having been by means of passages
communicating directly with the orchestra from without, which
appear to have been nearly on a level with the orchestra itself;
the roofs of them, only, sloping somewhat in the direction of the
seats themselves. As these (the seats) were comparatively few,
and the spaces between the passages inconsiderable, there was no
necessity for staircases, and we accordingly find no appearance of
any communications of this nature. As it seems, however, that the
lowest range of seats was raised a few feet above the level of the
passage and of the orchestra, a short flight of steps would have
been necessary, to render the access to them easy; and we thought
we observed traces, in two or three of the divisions, of there
having been one originally in each. The arched roofs of all the
passages have fallen in, and every part of the theatre has suffered
materially from the effects of rainy winters, rather than of time.
The depth of the proscenium appears to have been, as we have given
it, about twenty-five feet, but we could recover no part of the stage
with any tolerable accuracy, so that we have omitted it altogether.
The amphitheatre has been chiefly excavated (as we have already
observed) in the quarry in which it stands, and a small portion
of it only has been built, where the rock could not be made to
serve. Here, as in the theatres, there appear to have been no
interior communications; and the approach to the seats was probably
from above, as well as from below, by means of the staircases between
the several cunei only, no passages being anywhere observable. The
whole of this is so ruined, that we shall give no further details
of it than we have offered to our readers, merely stating, that its
form appeared to have been round, in which particular it differs
from amphitheatres in general, which are usually of an oblong
figure. The diameter of the circle may be reckoned at about two
hundred and fifty English feet, including the cunei and arena.
The remains marked (_a_) are the same which Bruce describes as those
of an Ionic temple; there is nothing, however, (that we can perceive)
in the disposition of what still exists of their plan, to authorize
such a conclusion; and we have considered them as the remains of
a palace, or other residence of more than ordinary importance. The
three remaining columns appear to have formed part of a colonnade
extending itself round the court-yard, which has already been
described as situated above an extensive range of cisterns: remains
of tessellated pavement are still observable in the court-yard, and
the walls which inclose it are very decided; the columns have been
raised on a basement of several feet in height, as will be seen in
the vignette in which they are represented. Without these, to the
northward, are ranges of fallen columns of much larger dimensions
than those we have just mentioned; but they are so much encumbered,
that we have not ventured to lay them down in the plan: they are of
the Corinthian order, and the capitals are well executed. A little
beyond these, to the northward and north-eastward, are other remains
of columns, which once belonged to a building of some importance,
the plan of which cannot be given without excavation; and, indeed,
we may observe, with respect to the numerous masses of fallen
columns, and other parts of various buildings of more than ordinary
consequence at Ptolemeta, that very little satisfactory information
can be obtained of their plans, without a good deal of labour in
clearing them, from the accumulation of soil, and the fragments of
fallen building, with which they are encumbered. There is a structure
of very large dimensions at the north-eastern part of the town, the
outer walls of which are still standing to a considerable height; but
the plan of its interior is not sufficiently apparent to authorize
any restoration of it, and we will not even hazard a conjecture of
its nature. On its northern face are three large quadrangular tablets
of stone, built into the wall, each five feet in length by four in
height, on which are cut the Greek inscriptions (marked 1), given
in plate (page 385); and to the westward and south-westward of this
building are many interesting remains of private dwelling-houses,
palaces, baths, &c., which require a great deal of excavation. On
a pedestal in one of these, is the inscription (4) in plate (page
385); most of them appear to have been Roman, and the capitals and
bases of some of the columns belonging to them are very fanciful and
overcharged with ornament. Some of the shafts of small columns in
this mass of building are spiral, and formed of coloured marbles;
and may probably be attributed to the time of Justinian, when the
city revived under his politic munificence. If the taste displayed by
the Greeks and Romans of this period had been at all in proportion
to the expense which they lavished upon their public and private
edifices of almost every description, the result would have been
splendid in the extreme; but the costliness of material, and the
labour employed in ornament, will not compensate for the absence
of this true test of genuine excellence; and we cannot venture to
commend the strange mixture of received orders, and the wayward
fancy employed in the invention of new ones, which are conspicuous
in several parts of Ptolemeta.
It has been observed by Signor Della Cella, that the remains of this
city are purely Egyptian; but we must confess that we were unable
to discover the slightest resemblance of style in Ptolemeta to that
which characterizes the architecture of Egypt. There is nothing
at Ptolemeta (that we could perceive) which is not either Greek or
Roman; and the profusion of unnecessary ornament, which generally
distinguished the later productions of both these nations, is very
different from that which is observable in Egyptian remains. The
style of Egypt, though highly ornamental, is founded on established
principles; and there is nothing incongruous or unmeaning in the
most laboured decorations which are peculiar to it: proportion and
simplicity are very rarely violated in the buildings either of Egypt
or Nubia; and the great variety of ornament which appears in them
never disturbs the general effect, or detracts from the imposing
grandeur of the masses. Whenever the general form and larger parts of
a building are simple and well proportioned, a great deal of ornament
may be adopted in the detail, without injury to the effect of the
whole; and as this is particularly the case in Egyptian architecture,
the mind is strongly impressed with the pleasing character of the
general mass, before it has time to notice any other peculiarities.
The same may be observed with respect to Gothic architecture;
in which the almost infinite detail which it presents is not
found to diminish either the simplicity, the grandeur, or the
elegance of the whole. When the attention is turned from the
general mass to the subdivisions, every portion, however small,
is observed to have a meaning, in both styles of architecture here
alluded to; and there is seldom any part of the ornament, either
in Egyptian or in Gothic examples, which we wish to have removed
from its place. In the capitals and shafts of Egyptian columns,
(which are usually composed of different parts of the lotus, the
leaves, the stalks, the open flower, or the bud, so combined and
arranged as not to interfere with the simple and, generally, graceful
outline of the whole,) the detail gives a lightness to the general
mass which tends to improve its effect; and the simplicity of the
general form exhibits the decoration to advantage: but in the later
productions of Greece and Rome, a profusion of unmeaning ornament
is employed, which rather gives an air of heaviness to the detail,
than any appearance of lightness to the mass. The general forms
are not, in fact, sufficiently important of themselves to create
a favourable impression; and it will usually be found difficult,
if not impossible, to make amends for this fault by decoration. We
do not mean to assert that there are no examples of good taste at
Ptolemeta; but it appears to us that by far the greater part of the
buildings now remaining have been constructed since the place became
a Roman colony; and that there are none to which a higher antiquity
may be safely assigned (with the exception of some of the tombs)
than the period at which the country was occupied by the Ptolemies.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 1: Many of the stones employed in the restoration of the
walls have belonged to more ancient buildings, and parts of handsome
cornices, friezes, and capitals are often seen built in with the
original structure; among these may be noticed fragments of Ptolemaic
inscriptions, which are evidently not in their original places.]
[Footnote 2: We must except a low, narrow door, through one of
the turrets at the south-west angle, the mode of constructing
which will appear in page 367. It seems to have been intended as a
sally-port and one person only can pass through it at a time. From
the remains about this angle, there appears to have been an outer
wall of very inferior strength, but it seems to have made no part
of the original plan.]
[Footnote 3: Nearly opposite to these turrets, without the wall,
are the remains of a very strong fort; and this circumstance would
perhaps seem to favour the idea of there having been a gate in the
place here alluded to, the entrance to which would have been well
defended by the fort.]
[Footnote 4: The turrets attached to the walls are also described
by the same author as _round_; and it is difficult to imagine what
could have occasioned this mistake, since they are all of them
quadrangular, as will appear by the plan.]
[Footnote 5: Le mura della città sono talmenti tapezzate di Grechi
inscrizioni che forse trovansi qui registrati tutti gli annali di
questa città. (Viaggio da Tripoli, &c. p. 199.)]
[Footnote 6: The practice of burying the body entire was, however,
very frequently adopted by the Greeks in other places, as we shall
hereafter have occasion to mention.]
[Footnote 7: Plans and sections of some of the tombs will be found
in page 367, and we think the reader will not be able to trace so
much resemblance between the style of Teuchira and that of Cyrene
as Signor Della Cella has discovered, when he tells us that “Il
fabricato di Tochira, dello stessissimo stile di quello di Cirene,
la stessa copia, e struttura di tombi, conferma ciocchè di questa
città lasciò scritto Erodoto, _che usava le stesse leggi de’
Cirenei_.”—(Page 199.)]
[Footnote 8: Vi si scorgono pure gli avanzi di un tempio che io
credo essere stato dedicato a Bacco, a giudicarne da’ capitelli,
che giaciano affastellati fra le sue rovine, guarniti di foglie di
viti con grappoli pendenti.—(P. 199.)]
[Footnote 9: We mean, of course, in their present ruined state,
for the original height of the wall cannot now be ascertained.]
[Footnote 10: These divisions, composing the Naustathmos, were termed
ορμοι (ormoi), υφορμοι (uphormoi), or ναυλοκοι (naulokoi), as mentioned
in the account of the ports and harbours at the end of the Narrative.]
[Footnote 11: See account of ports and harbours, (p. 21).]
[Footnote 12: Ibid.]
[Footnote 13: 480 feet less.]
[Footnote 14: 480 less.]
[Footnote 15: 440 more.]
[Footnote 16: See plate.]
CHAPTER XIV.
JOURNEY FROM PTOLEMETA TO MERGE.
Departure from Ptolemeta — Romantic and Picturesque Appearance of
the Road — Luxuriant Vegetation which adorned it — Arrive at the
Summit of the first Range — Bedouin Tents on the Plain above —
Pleasing Manners of their Inhabitants — Character of the Scenery
on the Summit of the Lower Range — Beauty of the Route continues
— Arrive at the Plain of Merge — Character and Position of the
Plain — Our Camel-Drivers refuse to proceed — Artful Conduct of
Abou-Bukra — Appeal to Bey Halil — Projected Mission to Derna
— Abou-Bukra comes to Terms, and brings his Camels for the Journey
— Pools of Fresh Water collected in the Plain of Merge — Use
made of them by the Arabs — Prevalence of a Virulent Cutaneous
Disease among the Arab Tribes of Merge and its Neighbourhood —
Remains of a Town at one extremity of the Plain — Remarks on
the District and City of Barka — Testimonies of Strabo, Pliny,
Ptolemy, and Scylax, respecting the Port of Barca — Remarks on
the Position of the City of that Name — Arab Accounts of Barca
— Edrisi, Abulfeda, &c. — Unsatisfactory Nature of the Accounts
in Question — Mode of reconciling the Arab Accounts of Barca
with those of Scylax — Suggested Position of the Ancient City
— Peculiarity of Soil attributed to Barca — Observations on its
Produce and Resources — State of Barca under the Arabs — Decay of
the Ancient City after the building of Ptolemais on the Site of its
Port — The Barcæans remarkable for their Skill in the Management
of Horses and Chariots — Their Country formerly celebrated for
its excellent Breed of Horses — Degeneracy of the present Breed
— Account of Barca by Herodotus — Other Accounts of its Origin
— Siege and Plunder of the City by the Persians under Amasis —
Subsequent state of the City till the building of Ptolemais.
On our arrival at Ptolemeta, we had discharged the camels which we
hired from the people of Bengazi, and waited the arrival of those
which Hadood, Shekh of Barca, was to furnish us with, under whose
escort we were to proceed to the eastern limits of the Bashaw’s
dominions.
At Teuchira we had been joined, as we have already stated, by
Abou-Bukra, the son of Hadood, and four days after our arrival
at Ptolemeta the camels which we expected were brought from
the mountains, and we set out on our journey to Cyrene. We left
Ptolemeta on the twenty-seventh of April, and took the road leading
through Merge, a large and fertile plain, situated on the top of
the range which we have already described as lying to the southward
of Ptolemeta. After repassing a part of the road, by which we had
formerly travelled, we began to ascend a most romantic valley,
a little to the westward of the town of Ptolemeta and leading
up from the coast towards Merge. As we wound along the steep and
narrow pathway which skirted the bed of the torrent below us, we
found the place much more remarkable for its wildness and beauty
than it was for the goodness of its roads; and had not our camels
been accustomed to the mountains they would probably have given
us a good deal of trouble. The sides of the valley were thickly
clothed with pines, olive trees, and different kinds of laurel,
interspersed with clusters of the most luxuriant honeysuckle,
the fragrance of which, as we passed it, literally perfumed the
air. Among these we distinguished myrtle, arbutus, and laurestinus,
with many other handsome flowering shrubs, a variety of wild roses,
both white and red, and quantities of rosemary and juniper. Scenes
of this kind even in Europe would be highly appreciated; but to
travellers in Africa, it may readily be imagined they could not
fail of being more than usually grateful; and every fresh beauty
which opened itself to our view was hailed with enthusiastic delight.
The very difficulty of the road added interest to the scene; and the
mixture of what (with us) would have been garden shrubs, blooming,
more luxuriantly than we ever see them in northern climates, amidst
the wild crags of a neglected ravine, gave a finish and an elegance
to its rugged forms which produced the most agreeable association
of ideas.
But if we begin to indulge ourselves in recollections of this
nature, we shall soon lose the thread of our narrative; and
restraint is the more necessary on the present occasion, as the
scenes which presented themselves one after the other, in our route
from Ptolemeta to Merge, were nothing but a continued succession of
beauties from the beginning to the end of our journey. In about an
hour from the time when we began to ascend, we reached the top of
the first hill, and were saluted by a wild-looking, dark-featured
Arab, who presented us some honey in the comb which is procured
in quantities from the neighbouring mountains. This was the first
person we had met with in our passage up the ravine, and there was
a wildness in his accent as well as in his appearance which suited
admirably with the character of the scene. A little farther on we
reached some Arab tents, scattered here and there among the bushes
and trees, and such of the Bedouins whose tents we passed nearest
to came out, and questioned us on the objects of our journey. We
observed in these people the same peculiarities of look and accent
which had struck us in our friend of the honeycomb, and they had a
bluntness and independence of manner and appearance which afforded
us, together with their simplicity, a good deal of pleasure and
amusement. They welcomed us in the true patriarchal style, with an
offer of shelter and refreshment, and we should have liked nothing
better than spending a week or two among them, and rambling about
the beautiful country which they occupied.
It often happens, however, that pleasure and duty are disagreeably
inconsistent with each other; and the fine Arcadian lounge, that we
should willingly here have indulged in, would not have much forwarded
the objects of the mission[1]. The view which presented itself from
the top of the hill was no less pleasing than those which we had
enjoyed so much in ascending it. It had less of wildness than those
of the ravine, but quite sufficient to give additional interest to
the broad sweep of open country which lay stretched out before us,
comprising a rich and varied succession of hills and vallies which
lost themselves in the blue horizon.
The open tracts of pasture and cultivated land scattered over
this charming scene were most agreeably diversified with clumps
and thickets of trees, and with flowering shrubs and flowers, in
greater profusion and variety than we had seen in our passage along
the ravine. Everything around us was green and smiling; and whether
we looked, in our progress, from the hill to the valley, or from
the valley to the side of the hill, the view was equally delightful.
After quitting the Arab tents, we entered a most beautiful valley
extending itself in a north-easterly and south-westerly direction;
and three hours more, over hills and through vales, which it
would be useless and almost endless to describe, we arrived at the
plain of Merge, a long sweep of flat country of mingled pasture and
cultivation, bounded on either side by a range of wooded hills about
five miles distant from each other, and stretching from north-east
to south-west as far as the eye could reach. The water from the
mountains inclosing the plain settles in pools and lakes in different
parts of this spacious valley; and affords a constant supply, during
the summer months, to the Bedouin tribes who frequent it. Although
the ranges of hills which we have described as inclosing it give to
Merge the appearance of a valley, it must be recollected that it is
situated on the top of a chain of mountains of no inconsiderable
elevation; and if we have mentioned it as an extensive plain, it
must also be considered as a tract of table-land raised far above
the level of the sea. In looking over what we shall presently have
occasion to mention respecting the town and the neighbourhood of
Barka, it will be necessary to bear this in mind; but before we
enter upon the subject we must add to our journal the few incidents
which occurred during our stay at Merge.
It was not our intention to have remained a moment in this valley,
as we were anxious to get to Cyrene as soon as possible; but on
signifying our intentions of proceeding farther, (for the day was
not half spent,) the camel-drivers refused to go on, alleging that
Abou-Bukra had hired them only to Merge. Abou-Bukra himself was
not present at the time, having ridden towards the other end of
the valley where the tents of Bey Halil, who had been some days at
Merge, were pitched near the tomb of a celebrated Marábut. As we had
no means of disproving the compact alleged, and the camel-drivers
persisted in their refusal to proceed, we did not think it worth
while to take any further trouble in endeavouring to overcome
their scruples; we therefore ordered the tents to be pitched and
rode on to Bey Halil, fully expecting that he would furnish us with
other camels to enable us to continue our journey on the following
morning. The Bey received us as usual with the greatest civility,
and promised the camels at an early hour the next day, by which time,
he added, Shekh Hadood would most probably arrive and take the charge
of escorting us to Cyrene. The next day, however, no camels arrived,
and we again rode down to the tents of Bey Halil to learn the reason
of this unseasonable delay. We found the Bey’s tent filled with
Bedouin Arab Shekhs, who appeared to be in grand consultation, and
Halil had either been, or pretended to have been, persuading them to
furnish us with camels for the journey. The result of the conclave
was not, however, by any means favourable, for none of the worthy
Shekhs present would let us have their camels for less than eighty
dollars; a demand so extremely exorbitant that we did not hesitate
a moment in declining it, and offered them at the same time thirty,
expecting that they would relax, as is usually the case with them,
when they found that we persisted in our refusal.
Half the day was, however, spent in sending backwards and forwards
and still we could get no camels, Abou-Bukra himself making
a thousand professions of his readiness to oblige us on all
occasions, but giving us no proofs of it whatever. It required
very little penetration to discover that this was evidently a
concerted manœuvre; and that Bey Halil was either unable to make
any satisfactory arrangement for us, or was himself a party in the
plan. Abou Bukra was certainly the principal agent in the affair,
and the whole plot was doubtless got up by him. He had mentioned no
difficulties of the kind at Ptolemeta, because the camel-drivers
of Bengazi would have offered to proceed with us to Cyrene, had
he declined supplying us on reasonable terms. The eighty dollars
required by all the Bedouin Shekhs was the sum which he wished to
extract from us, and the circumstance of the whole assembly being
unanimous in the demand was intended to be a proof of its fairness,
he himself having made no offer whatever, on the plea of not having
camels enough at his disposal. Bey Halil very probably did not
wish to interfere in preventing his Arab friend from making what
profit he could of us (such an act being considered by Mahometans in
general as extremely unbrotherly, and not by any means called for);
and with regard to the Arabs, they willingly lend their services
to one another on all occasions of a similar nature[2].
Finding the chances against us on this tack, we determined to
try another; there being no end to Arab extortion when you have
once given them reason to suppose that you will submit to it. We
accordingly arranged that two of our party should set out with
all speed for Derna, to request Mahommed Bey would furnish us
with camels, which we knew he would immediately do. This manœuvre
succeeded, as we expected it would, in bringing about a favourable
change; but we had determined, in the event of being obliged to put
the threat in execution, to transport a tent and some provisions
to Ptolemeta, on the horses, where our time would be employed to
advantage till the camels from Derna arrived; and, as the distance
from Merge to Ptolemeta was only a few hours, and the road could
not be mistaken, this plan would have been easily effected.
Abou-Bukra, however, no sooner perceived that we were in earnest,
than he offered to supply us himself with camels at a price of forty
dollars; but as thirty was the sum we had ourselves proposed, we
declared that we would not make any other alteration in it than by
meeting him half way in his demand; and as he had begun to suspect
that we kept to our word he made no further difficulty in the matter,
and agreed to bring his camels at thirty-five. This he accordingly
did, and Shekh Hadood not having yet arrived we quitted Merge the
next day, under convoy of Abou-Bukra and our Bengazi Chaous, Rabdi,
who had now recovered from his illness, and joined us to resume
his office.
During the time of our stay at Merge, we received a present of
several sheep from Bey Halil, for which we made a suitable return
to the Chaous who brought them, and took the opportunity of sending
by him a token of our regard to our old friend Hashi, the Bey’s
secretary.
We have already said that the water of Merge is collected in pools in
different parts of the valley; and we soon found that in exchanging
that of the wells and cisterns which we had quitted for it, we had
not much improved the quality of our liquor. It was soon discovered
that the water we procured from the pools was not quite so clear
as it might have been, and we thought we perceived a peculiar taste
in it which did not seem to be its natural flavour.
A very little observation convinced us we were right; for the pools
were used by the Arabs, not only for drinking, but for washing
and bathing also; and we soon found that the last-mentioned
ceremonies, though not often resorted to by Arabs in general,
were more particularly essential to the comfort of those at Merge,
from circumstances which we would willingly conceal; since they
will scarcely be considered as perfectly in character with the
highly-romantic features of the country which they inhabited.
We are not, at the same time, prepared to assert, that the causes
which more peculiarly call for ablution (considered as a matter
of comfort) did not actually exist in patriarchal days amidst
scenes such as we have described; and if we do not find them
hinted at in the allusions to early times which are made in this
age of refinement, it is only, perhaps, that too minute a detail
would be inconsistent with the ideas which we wish to excite of
our forefathers.
In confessing that the Arabs who washed themselves in the pools
of Merge were induced to do so more frequently than they would
otherwise have done, from the alleviation which this operation
afforded to the pain of a well-known cutaneous disease, that it
will not be necessary to name, we must state, at the same time,
that it is by no means peculiar to them alone; since the greater
part of the Arabs from Bengazi to Derna are afflicted with a similar
complaint. As they have either no effectual remedy for the disorder,
or neglect the precaution of applying it, the consequences must be
distressing in the extreme to them; and it is certain, that their
appearance is not often remarkably prepossessing, and, perhaps,
as we have said, not altogether in character with the beautiful
scenery about them. We shall insist, notwithstanding this unlucky
objection, that the scenery of the country in the neighbourhood
of Merge, is among the most beautiful that we have ever beheld;
and that the people who inhabit it are not the less patriarchal
in their manners, and customs, and appearance, because they happen
to be afflicted with a cutaneous disease the name of which has not
usually been associated, in modern times, with ideas of pastoral,
or any other enjoyments. At the same time, we confess that we did
not feel ourselves called upon to fill our water-skins any more from
the pool which we had hitherto used, when we found for what purposes
it was occasionally employed; although the Arabs themselves could
see no sufficient reason why it should not be drank on that account.
Near the centre of Merge is a ruin now called Marábut Sidi
Arhooma, and a few miles to the south-east of it are remains of an
inconsiderable town which the Bey informed us had been built by a
celebrated Shereef, but of which so little is now remaining that
the plans of the buildings could not be satisfactorily ascertained.
The extensive plain (or valley) of Merge, for it is equally one and
the other, may be considered as occupying a part of the territory
within the ancient limits of Barca; and before we proceed with the
details of our journey, it will be proper to turn our attention to
the imperfect notices which have come down to us of the celebrated
city of that name. The limits assigned to the district of Barca by
the Arab historians and geographers comprise not only the whole
of the Cyrenaica, but, according to some, the whole tract of
country between Mesurata and Alexandria; while its actual limits
(as we have stated elsewhere) commence at the bottom of the Syrtis,
extending themselves eastward as far as Derna, and, as we were also
informed, to the eastern extremity of the Bashaw of Tripoli’s
dominions. The ancient country of Barca was, however, confined
to the western parts of the Cyrenaica, and extended no farther in
that direction than to the eastern limits of the Hesperides. The
port of Barca, under the Lagidæ, received the name of Ptolemais,
and we have the authorities of Strabo and Pliny for considering
the last-mentioned city and that of Barca as the same[3]. Ptolemy
has, however, distinguished Barca from Ptolemais, and Scylax has
described the former of these cities as situated at the distance
of one hundred stadia from the sea; so that no doubt can remain of
their having been different places[4]. As the distance of Scylax
from the port to the city of Barca is given in distance from the
sea, we must look for the latter (supposing the one hundred stadia
to be correct, which we have no sufficient reason to doubt) in some
part of that range of mountains which bounds the country between
Bengazi and Ptolemeta to the southward; and it appears extremely
probable, that its site should be looked for in some part of the
plain of Merge: it may be, in the remains which have already been
mentioned in the south-eastern part of the valley. Here, however, a
considerable difficulty occurs, if the accounts of the city of Barca,
which are given by early Arab writers, are at all to be depended
upon as correct; for although these accounts, in many respects,
will be found to be extremely unsatisfactory, they all appear to
concur in placing the city in the neighbourhood of a mountainous
country, but, at the same time, rather in a plain at the foot of
it than in any part of the mountains themselves. The distance,
however, of Barca from the coast unavoidably places it in some part
of the range which we have mentioned; for there is no part of the
plain between this range and the sea, (as will clearly appear by
the chart,) which is distant anything like one hundred stadia from
the coast, with the exception of that to the southward of Bengazi;
and to suppose the town of Barca there would be absurd, for it
would then be fifty miles distant from its port and only nine or
ten from the more convenient harbour of Berenice. Edrisi has given
us several distances to and from Barca; as—from Barca to Augela
ten stations (or days’ journey), equal to two hundred and fifty
Roman miles. From Barka to Alexandria—twenty-one stations, or five
hundred and fifty M. P. From the promontory of Khanem (Cape Mesurata)
to Barka—four hundred and eighty M. P. The intermediate places
between Barca and Alexandria, and between Mesurata and Barka, are,
at the same time, mentioned in detail; but as few of them correspond
with the existing names of places in the same routes we have no means
of checking the numbers as they occur, or of reckoning the distance
of any known places in its neighbourhood from the city of Barca
described. If the distances, also, be taken in the aggregate, they
will be found too considerable to fix the site of the city with any
sufficient precision. Were the places of Aurar and Alásal clearly
decided upon we should have more available data; and particularly
if distances had been given by Edrisi between Teuchira and Barca,
and between Ptolemeta and the last-mentioned city. The other Arab
accounts, which we allude to, of Barca, are as follows:—
In the work of Azizi, as cited by Abulfeda, we are told that “there
are _two mountains belonging to Barca_, in which there is a great
proportion of excellent soil, numerous springs of fresh water,
and many tracts of cultivated land.” Provisions are mentioned as
being at all times very cheap there, and the inhabitants exported
wine, and pitch, extracted from the pine, to Egypt; together with
a great many head of cattle of a small breed.
This refers to the _district_ or territory of Barca; and the _city_
of that name is described by the author just quoted as “situated in
_an_ _extensive plain_, the soil of which is of a reddish colour; it
has been surrounded” (he adds) “with a wall ever since the time
of Motewakkel, that is to say, from the year of the Hegira 240.”
Another Arab writer, whose name has not come down to us, informs
us, as cited by Silvestre de Sacy (_Chrestomat. Arabe_, Tom. ii.,
p. 521), that “the city of Barca is situated in a country where
the soil and the buildings are red; whence it happens that the
clothes of those who reside there partake of the same colour.”
It is then stated that, “_at six miles from Barca, is a mountain_,” and
without mentioning at all in what direction, the author goes on to say,
that provisions were at all times very abundant and very cheap in the
country; that the cattle thrived and multiplied in its pastures; and
that the greater part of those killed in Egypt were supplied from it.
Bricks, honey, and pitch[5] (he adds) were also exported to Egypt, the
latter of which was prepared in a place dependant upon Barca called
Maka, situated on a high mountain, of difficult access, which it was
impossible to ascend on horseback. In the _city of Maka_ (he goes on
to state) was the tomb of Rowaïfa, one of the companions of Mahomet,
(for it seems there were two of that name,) and _this city_ was
called, in the Greek language, _Pentapolis_[6], which means (says
our author) five cities. The country (he adds) produced a great
variety of fruits, and there was a great proportion of it covered
with juniper; the people about it were of different Arab tribes, and
of those called Lewata. On the road from Barca (he still continues)
to Africa proper, is the valley of Masouyin (the pronunciation of
which name, says De Sacy, is uncertain) in which are found remains
of arches and gardens to the number, it is said, of three hundred
and sixty; some of the gardens are cultivated, and the wilderness,
or desert tract, from which the honey is procured, is situated in
this valley.—(_Chrestomat. Arabe_, Tom. ii. p. 521, 2.)
In the Geographia Nubiensis, Barca is described as a town of
moderate dimensions and narrow limits; and as being celebrated
for an earth called by its name, which was of great service, when
mixed with oil, in cutaneous diseases. It was of a reddish colour,
and if thrown into the fire smelt strongly of sulphur, emitting
at the same time a very offensive smoke: its taste is described as
_execrable_. (_Geog. Nubien._ p. 92.)
There can be no question that these writers had all of them the same
place in view: the peculiarities which they attribute to it agree
too well to doubt it; but there is nothing in the description of any
by which the position of the city of Barca can be fixed (at least
we cannot see that there is) with any tolerable degree of accuracy.
The only mode of reconciling the Arab accounts of Barca with the
distance which Scylax has given of that city from the sea, is to
suppose that the authors of them intended to describe it as situated
in some plain within the limits of the range of mountains mentioned
above; and, under this idea, the extensive plain of Merge appears
to be the most eligible spot we are acquainted with for the position
of the town we are speaking of.
The position of Merge with regard to Ptolemeta, which has already
been identified with the ancient port of Barca, is extremely
favourable to this supposition. Two ravines, one of which is an
extremely good road, lead up directly to it from Ptolemeta; and
the distance of any town, which might be built upon its plain, from
the sea would correspond sufficiently well with that which we have
quoted from Scylax. The peculiarities of soil which are attributed
by Arab writers to Barca, are at the same time observable in the
soil of the plain of Merge, which is of a decided reddish colour,
and stains the clothes of those who lie down upon it, as we have
occasion to know by experience. Again, one account says, that “six
miles from Barca is a mountain;” and the ranges of mountains which
inclose the plain (or valley) of Merge are also six miles distant
from each other. Honey is also found in the valleys leading to
Merge, as it is said to have been in those leading to Barca; and
the Arabs are still in the habit of extracting a kind of resin,
or turpentine, from the fir, which might be the “kidràn” of
the writers we have quoted. These are all of them vague proofs,
but, in the absence of better, we are content to receive them in
corroboration of the idea that Merge is the plain intended by the
writers in question; although, after all, it does not absolutely
follow that the town described by them as Barca should be clearly
established as the _ancient_ town of Barca required.
The peculiarities ascribed to the territory of Barca—its numerous
springs, its excellent soil, its large supplies of cattle, its
various kinds of fruit trees, are all of them observable in the
mountainous districts of the Cyrenaica; and there can be no doubt
that these tracts are part of the country alluded to by Arab writers
as the territory of Barca. Barca, under the Arabs, was a considerable
province, but it suffered materially from the tyranny of Yazouri[7],
and a great part of its inhabitants abandoned their country and
established themselves in Egypt and other places. Many of the
emigrants settled in Alexandria; but when that city was afterwards
laid waste by the plague, in the dreadful manner described by Abd’
Allatif, more than twenty thousand persons quitted it for Barca,
and the province again assumed a flourishing appearance[8].
The city known by the Arabs under the name of Barca never appears
to have been (in their time) of any importance; but the ancient
city so called was (after Cyrene) the most considerable town of
the Cyrenaica; and continued to flourish down to the time of the
Ptolemies when it appears to have been eclipsed by Ptolemais. Its
inhabitants were celebrated, like those of Cyrene, for their skill
in the management of horses and chariots; the former of which arts
they are said to have received from Neptune, the latter from Minerva;
which is stating in other words that at a very early period nothing
was known of the origin of this custom in Africa. In the age of
Pindar the Cyrenaica was still celebrated for its excellent horses,
and we find that it enjoyed the same reputation in the times of the
Arab historians. The breed has, however, (from whatever cause,)
degenerated considerably from its original character, and the
horses of Barca are not now to be compared with those of Arabia and
Egypt. The origin of the ancient city of Barca, or Barce, is related
by Herodotus (Melp. 160.), and many interesting particulars of it are
given in detail by the same writer. He states it to have been founded
by the brothers of Arcesilaus, King of Cyrene, (probably about five
hundred and fifteen years before the Christian era,) who left him,
in consequence of some dissensions, to inhabit another part of the
country; where, after some deliberation (says the historian,) they
built the city which was then, as it is at present, called Barce.
Others have supposed it to have been of Phœnician or Libyan origin,
Barca being a Phœnician name well known on the northern coast of
Africa, as we learn from Silius Italicus and other writers.
Servius intimates that its citizens came originally from Carthage,
which might suggest the probability that Barca, Dido’s brother, who
accompanied her into Africa with some of his countrymen, established
himself there and gave the name to the city and territory by which
they were afterwards distinguished. The city was taken and plundered
by the Persians, under Amasis, after a long and difficult siege
(related in detail by Herodotus), and many of its inhabitants were
sent prisoners to Darius Hystaspes, in whose reign this event took
place, and settled by that monarch in a district of Bactria which
was after them called Barce. The descendants of Battus were, however,
left unmolested in the city; which continued (perhaps) to flourish,
as we have already mentioned, till the building of Ptolemais on
the site of its ancient port; to which place its inhabitants are
said to have retired in order to enrich themselves by commerce.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 1: It was to the rus in urbe that our destiny called
us—to the πολίς Ελλενις παλαιον ονομα και σεμνον—νυν πενης, και
κατηφης, και μεγα ερειπιον! as Cyrene is pathetically described
by Synesius; and we are sorry to say that the term _rus in urbe_
may now be well applied to this once beautiful city with even more
correctness than to Ptolemeta; which we have already described
as covered with vegetation, and presenting the appearance of
a solitary grass-grown tract of country, rather than of a once
populous town. Cattle feed everywhere among the ruins of Cyrene,
and its whole aspect is infinitely more rural than civic.]
[Footnote 2: One of the reasons alleged for putting so high a price
upon the camels was the probability of their eating the silphium
which grows in the country we were about to visit, and which has
sometimes very fatal effects upon them.]
[Footnote 3: Ειθ᾽ ἡ Βαρκη προτερον, νυν δε Πτολεμαις.—(Strabo,
Lib. xvii.) Deinde Ptolemais, antiquo nomine Barce.—(Hist. Nat.
Lib. v. c. 5.)
So also Stephanus; Βαρκη, πολις Λιβυης, ἡτις και Πτολεμαις.]
[Footnote 4: Εκ δε λιμενος της Κυρηνης μεχρι λιμενος του κατα Βαρκην
σταδια φʹ, ἡ δε πολις ἡ Βαρκεων απο θαλασσης απεχει σταδια ρʹ.
(Perip. p. 109.)]
[Footnote 5: (لاقطران) el kidrān, (goudron).]
[Footnote 6: The Arab word is ضطابلس Bintàblis.]
[Footnote 7: Yazouri was Grand Khadi and governor of Egypt and Barca,
in the reign of the Caliph Mostanser-Billah. He was stripped of these
posts, and of that of Vizier, which he also held, in the year 450.]
[Footnote 8: This author relates, that he himself was credibly
informed, that on _one_ single day (a Friday) the Imam at Alexandria
had read the funeral service over _seven hundred people!_—and that,
in the space of a month, the same property had passed to fourteen
persons who inherited it in succession.]
[Illustration: _POSITION and_ Plan _of_ CYRENE.
BY _Captn. F. W. Beechey R.N._
_J. & C. Walker Sculpt._
_Published as the act directs, April 1827, by J. Murray, Albemarle
St. London._]
[Illustration: Plan _of the RUINS and ENVIRONS of_ CYRENE.
BY _Captn. F. W. Beechey R.N._
_J. & C. Walker Sculpt._
_Published as the act directs, April 1827, by J. Murray, Albemarle
St. London._]
CHAPTER XV.
JOURNEY FROM MERGE TO CYRENE.
Departure from Merge — Deep Marks of Chariot-wheels on the
Stony Road indicative of an ancient Track — Valley of Bogràta
— Ancient Wells observed there — Valley of Hareebe — Beauty
and Luxuriance of the Country continue — Roses of the Cyrenaica
mentioned by Athenæus as celebrated for the excellence of their
Perfume — Oil (or Ointment) of Roses made at Cyrene in the time of
Berenice (probably the Daughter of Magas) — Difficulty and Danger
of some Parts of the Road — Apprehensions of our Arab Conductors
— They appear to have been groundless — Arrive at Margàd —
Bad State of the Road continues — Quarrel between Abou-Bukra and
one of our Servants — Consequences of the Quarrel — Departure of
Abou-Bukra — Continue our Route alone and succeed in finding the
right Track — Return of Abou-Bukra and his people — Satisfactory
Termination of the Disturbance — Oppressive Sirocco Wind —
Nature of the Country on approaching Cyrene — First Appearance
of a Plant resembling the Daucus, or Wild Carrot — Resemblance of
this Plant to the Silphium, as expressed on ancient Coins — Points
in which it differs from it — Remarks on the Silphium as mentioned
by ancient Writers — Testimony of Herodotus, Arrian, Theophrastus,
Pliny, Athenæus — Bill of Fare of the Kings of Persia, stated by
Polyænus to have been discovered in the royal Palace by Alexander
the Great — Silphium mentioned in this among other articles of
Food — Description of the Plant by Theophrastus and Pliny —
Celebrity and Scarcity of the Silphium and of the Extract from it —
Extraordinary Cause of the first Appearance of the Silphium in the
Cyrenaica, as mentioned by Pliny on the authority of Greek Writers
— Effects produced by the Plant on the Sheep and Cattle who were
allowed to eat it — Similar Effects produced by the Plant observed
by the Expedition on Camels — Extraordinary Medicinal Qualities
imputed to the Silphium by Pliny — The use of it recommended by
the Roman Naturalist as a sovereign remedy for almost everything
but the Tooth-ache — Fatal Consequences recorded by Pliny, of
applying it in the Case last mentioned — Silphium offered by the
People of Cyrene to their first King Battus, as the most valuable
Production of their Country — State in which the Plant observed
by the Expedition most resembles the Silphium on the Coins of Cyrene
— Partition of the Road from Merge to Cyrene — Extensive Traces
of Building observed along the ancient, or lower Road — Approach
to Cyrene indicated by innumerable Sarcophagi and Tombs — Position
of these along the sides of the Roads, as observable at Pompeii and
other ancient Towns — Frequent Traces of Chariot-wheels still
observable along the Roads, deeply indented in the rocky Soil of
the Place — The earlier Tombs distinguished by their simplicity
and good taste — The later by a more ornamented and less perfect
style — Busts and Statues scattered everywhere about among the
Tombs — Difference of Style and Character observable in these
— Remains of an Aqueduct — Fountain of Cyrene.
On the morning of the 29th, we left the plain of Merge and proceeded
on our journey to Cyrene. The road, after crossing the plain,
leads over a rugged hill in which it has been cut; and we soon
found from the deep and continued marks of chariot-wheels that
we were following an ancient track. From the hill we descended
into a beautiful valley named Bogràta where we found some ancient
wells situated upon a rising ground in the centre of it, at which
we watered our horses. From hence we proceeded through a hilly
country, well clothed with trees of various kinds, and pitched our
tents for the night at Hareebe, a delightful valley, studded with
olive-trees, and possessing two wells of good water. The next day
we passed through other remarkably fine vallies, which we found for
the most part cultivated, and through copses and thickets of pine,
cedar, laurel, laurestinus, carob, cypress, myrtle, box, arbutus,
and various other trees and shrubs, which were flourishing in the
greatest luxuriance. Among these the convolvulus and honeysuckle
twined themselves; and red and white roses, marigolds, and other
flowers, with a great variety of beautiful ferns, were everywhere
scattered over the hills and vallies[1]. The forms of the landscape
were at the same time remarkably picturesque; and here and there
a ruin of some ancient fortress, towering above the wood on the
summit of a hill, contributed to give character to the scene.
Our attention was occasionally called away (in climbing up,
or descending the steep and rocky sides of some of the hills over
which we passed) by the difficulty and danger of the roads; and our
horses were continually slipping on the hard glassy surface which
they presented; notwithstanding we had used the precaution of taking
off one of their shoes and the others were frequently dropping off
of themselves, owing to the wearing away of the nails. As we passed
some of the woods our guides begged we would keep together lest
we should be fired at by some ill-disposed persons from among the
bushes; but we soon found this caution to be perfectly unnecessary,
and continued to stray away in all directions without experiencing
the least molestation.
On the second night we pitched the tents at Margàd where we found
a supply of water in an ancient cistern belonging to a fort on the
hill close to it. Here were also several Arab tents, with flocks
of sheep feeding about them. The Arabs received us very civilly,
always offering milk and lèban, although our guides would have made
us believe that they were greatly averse to our passing through
their country. On quitting Margàd, we pursued our route through
a country very similar to that of the preceding day; but along
a much worse road, which obliged us to lead our horses nearly
one half of the way. We had not gone far before a quarrel took
place between Abou-Bukra and one of our servants, and the former,
pretending to be seriously affronted, took the opportunity (never
neglected by an Arab) of letting us know how necessary he was to
us and declared he would stay no longer. He accordingly rode off,
and all his people followed him, leaving the camels without any
drivers, in expectation no doubt that we should immediately ride
after them and entreat them to resume their occupations.
In this, however, we were determined not to gratify them, and took
no other notice of their departure than by telling our servants
to drive the camels on themselves, which they managed to do very
well. The worst part of the story was our ignorance of the road,
and we were greatly at a loss, among the many narrow pathways
that led through the thickets, to determine on which we ought to
take. Unluckily our chaous knew no more of this road than ourselves;
but we took the direction which we imagined to be the right one,
and contrived to get on with tolerable success.
Abou-Bukra had before been often trying to persuade us that the
Arabs of the place were much averse to our passing through their
territory, and expatiating on the value of his protection and
influence; he probably imagined that we should be greatly alarmed
at the idea of being left to ourselves in a hostile country; and
he knew, at the same time, that we could not possibly be acquainted
with a single step of the road. His disappointment must, therefore,
have been very great, when he found that no one rode after him, or
took any measures towards effecting a reconciliation. In the mean
time we continued to get on very well, and were convinced that if
we did so we should soon be rejoined by the deserters; accordingly,
before the day was concluded the whole party returned, and of their
own accord entered upon their several duties as before, just as
if nothing had happened. This was precisely what we had expected,
and we made no comments either upon their arrival or departure as
if we had been indifferent to both. Abou-Bukra was now all civility,
and his people drove the camels much better than ever they had done
before! Towards the close of the day we arrived at some Arab tents,
and pitched our own close to them for the night, in a valley for
which we could obtain no name; but which, whatever might have been
its title, was certainly a very delightful one. During the last
two days a hot sirocco wind had been blowing, which rendered the
travelling extremely oppressive, especially during the heat of
the day; on the afternoon of the third day, however, it suddenly
changed to the north-west and brought a smart shower of rain,
which cooled the air a good deal, and was the first which we had
had for some time.
The country from Margád to Grenna, the present Arab name for
Cyrene, is of the same hilly nature as that already described; but on
approaching Cyrene it becomes more clear of wood, the vallies produce
fine crops of barley, and the hills excellent pasturage for cattle.
It may here be proper to mention that, on the day after our departure
from Merge, we observed a plant about three feet in height very
much resembling the hemlock, or, more properly speaking perhaps,
the Daucas or wild carrot. We were told that it was usually fatal to
the camels who ate of it, and that its juice if applied to the flesh,
would fester any part where there was the slightest excoriation. This
plant had much more resemblance to the silphium of ancient times
(as it is expressed on the coins of Cyrene) than any which we had
hitherto seen; although its stem is much more slender than that which
is there represented, and the blossoms (for it has several) more
open. In some parts of the route from Merge to Cyrene we lost sight
of this plant altogether; while at others we found it in considerable
quantities, growing chiefly wherever there was pasturage. Immediately
about Cyrene we observed it in great abundance; and soon ceased,
from its frequent occurrence, to pay any particular attention to it.
It is extremely probable that the plant here mentioned is the
laserpitium or silphium in such repute among the ancients; and it
may not here be amiss to collect a few of the remarks which have
been made at various periods respecting it.
According to Herodotus the silphium originally extended from the
island of Platea to the beginning of the Greater Syrtis[2], a space
including the whole of the mountainous district of the Cyrenaica;
and Scylax, after mentioning the islands Aedonia and Platæa,
informs us that, beyond these (in passing from east to west) are
the regions which produce the silphium. We may also infer from a
passage in Arrian[3], that the silphium extended itself over the
whole of the fertile part of the Cyrenaica to the confines of the
desert which bounds it; since he tells us that the fertility of this
country continued as far as the limits of the silphium itself, and
that beyond these boundaries all was desert and sandy. Theophrastus
also observes that the silphium was found in the Cyrenaica, and
that the greater portion of it was produced from the country of the
Hesperides in the parts about the Greater Syrtis[4]. It appears to
have sprung up in the grass, or pasture lands, as the plant we have
mentioned above also does, and the sheep are reported to have been
so fond of it that whenever they smelt it they would run to the
place, and after eating the flower, would scratch up the root and
devour it with the same avidity[5]. On this account (says Arrian,
who has recorded the fact just mentioned) some of the Cyreneans
drive their sheep away from the parts in which the silphium is
produced; and others surround their land with hedges, through which
the sheep are not able to pass when they chance to approach near the
plants[6]. Silphium appears to have been found in many parts of Asia,
as well as in some parts of Europe; but that of Cyrene was much the
most esteemed and constituted a material part of the commerce of
that country, as we find from various authorities[7]. In the time of
Pliny silphium (or laserpitium) had become so scarce in the market,
that a single stalk of it was presented to the Emperor Nero as a
present (no doubt) of extraordinary value; and Strabo tells us that
the barbarous tribes who frequented the country about the Cyrenaica
had nearly exterminated the plant altogether (in an irruption which
they made on some hostile occasion) by pulling it designedly up
by the roots; from which we may infer that the destruction of the
silphium was considered as a material injury to Cyrene[8]. We have
already mentioned in our account of the Syrtis (on the authority
of the same writer) that the silphium and the liquor which was
extracted from it formed material articles of a contraband trade
at Charax, where they were exchanged with the Carthaginians for
wine[9]. And we have ventured, on the same occasion, to differ
in opinion with Dr. Della Cella as to the propriety of adopting
the change in Strabo’s text proposed by that gentleman (p. 79);
as it sufficiently appears, from various authorities, that both the
plant and the extract were articles of commerce, and not the extract
only, as the Doctor has stated. This is evident from the remarks of
ancient writers on the subject[10]; and it is also certain that the
liquor (or οπος του σιλφιου, in Latin termed Laser) was obtained from
the stem as well as from the root, as Theophrastus, and Pliny
(on his authority) have testified[11].
It is evident also from both these authors that the stem of the
silphium was in request as an article of food, and was eaten in
several ways[12]. This appears equally in Athenæus; and we find both
the extract, and the plant, very decidedly mentioned in the bill of
fare of the Persian monarchs, as given by Polyænus (Stratagemata,
Lib. iv.) and which was discovered by Alexander the Great, engraved
on a brazen column in the royal palace. Here we see two pounds,
and upwards, of the extract, or juice of the silphium, termed by
Pliny Laser; and a talent weight (about sixty-five pounds) of the
plant itself in the list[13]. What the extract of the silphium
was like we will not pretend to say; but the stem and the root
appear to have been eaten much in the same way that we eat celery,
(which indeed it very much resembles,) either stewed or boiled[14].
The silphium is described by Theophrastus as a plant with a large
and thick root; and the stem, he tells us, resembled that of the
ferula, and was of about the same thickness. The leaf which, he says,
was termed maspetum (μασπετον), resembled that of parsley:
the seed was broad and foliaceous: the stem annual, like that of the
ferula[15]. Pliny’s account is copied from that of Theophrastus;
but he has given us at the same time whatever information he could
collect of the silphium and its properties in the age in which he
himself lived. He informs us that—the celebrated plant Laserpitium,
which the Greeks call silphium, was found in the Cyrenaica; and
that the juice, or liquor, extracted from it was termed Laser;
a drug so famous for its medicinal qualities that it was sold by
the denarius[16], seven of which, or eight drams, were equal to
the English avoirdupois ounce, which was the same with the Roman.
For many years past (he continues) no silphium has been found
in the Cyrenaica; the owners of the land having thought it more
profitable to turn their sheep and cattle into the pasture lands
(where the silphium, as we have before mentioned, is produced)
than to preserve the plant as formerly. One only stem of it (it is
Pliny who speaks) has been found in my recollection, which was sent
to the Emperor Nero. And of late no other laser has been brought to
us than that which grows extensively in Persia, Media, and Armenia,
and which is very inferior to that of the Cyrenaica, being at the
same time adulterated with gum, sagapeum, and pounded beans. We
learn from the same author that in the consulships of C. Valerius,
and M. Herennius, thirty lbs. of laserpitium was brought into Rome,
which seems to have been considered as a very fortunate occurrence;
and that Cæsar, when dictator, at the commencement of the civil war,
took from the public treasury, with the gold and silver which he
carried away from it, an hundred and eleven pounds of the silphium
(or laserpitium[17]); which proves how valuable the plant was at
Rome, as, indeed, might be reasonably inferred from the circumstance
of its being found in the treasury at all.
The first appearance of the silphium in the Cyrenaica is said by
Pliny (on the authority of Greek writers) to have been occasioned by
a sudden and heavy fall of rain, resembling _pitch_, which completely
drenched the ground in the neighbourhood of the Hesperian Gardens
and of the eastern confines of the Greater Syrtis. This miraculous
shower is said to have occurred seven years before the building of
the city of Cyrene; which was erected (says Pliny) in the year of
Rome 143. He adds, also, on the authority of Theophrastus, (the
author to whom he chiefly alludes in quoting Greek authorities
above,) that the silphium extended itself over a space of four
thousand stadia, and that its nature was wild and unadapted to
cultivation, retiring towards the desert whenever it was too much
attended to. We have already observed that great care was taken by
the ancients to preserve the silphium from the sheep and cattle, the
former of which were remarkably fond of it: when allowed to be eaten,
it first acted medicinally upon the animals, and afterwards fattened
them exceedingly; giving at the same time an excellent flavour to
the flesh. Whenever they were ill, it either speedily restored them,
or else destroyed them altogether; but the first of these effects
was most usual. It is probable, however, that it only agreed with
those animals which were accustomed to it; at least the plant now
observable in the Cyrenaica, which answers to the description of
the silphium, is very frequently productive of fatal effects to
the animals (particularly the camels) who eat of it, not being
accustomed to the soil. One of the reasons advanced by the son of
Shekh Hadood, Abou-Buckra, for putting a high price upon his camels
at Merge (on the occasion already before the reader) was that they
were going into the country where the silphium was found, which,
he said, was very dangerous for them to eat; and the camels which
were sent to us from Bengazi, when we were about to leave Grenna,
were kept muzzled during the whole time of their stay in those
parts where the plant was known to be produced.
With regard to the effects of the silphium upon bipeds, (we mean
those of the human race,) a few extracts from Pliny will fully
suffice to convince us that it does not yield in omnipotence even
to the famed balm of Gilead; or to that well known specific, and
sovereign remedy for all complaints, distinguished by the humble
title of Eau de Cologne. Certes, (observes this author, in concluding
the remarks which we have quoted below upon the wonderful efficacy
of his specific,) “if I should take in hand to particularize of
the vertues that laser hath, being mingled with other matter in
confections, I should never make an end;” and the reader will
probably be somewhat of his opinion, before he has waded through
half the wondrous qualities attributed to the omnipotent silphium. We
give them in the good old English version of Holland[18].
We may add that the silphium was offered by the people of Cyrene to
their first king, Battus, whom they deified, as the most valuable
production of their country; and we have already observed that a
representation of the plant is found on the reverse of their coins.
The resemblance of this representation to the plant which we found
in the Cyrenaica is most conspicuous when the plant is young; and
before the flower has quite opened, or the stem has attained its
greatest height[19].
A little to the north-west of Margàd the road branches off in two
directions towards Cyrene. The lower road, or that which is to the
northward of the other, is the proper and ancient road; and traces
of building are every where discernible in passing along this route,
as we were able to ascertain in our return from Cyrene, which will
hereafter be described. The southern road, however, is that which
Abou-Bukra selected in escorting us from Merge to Grenna; and we
afterwards learnt that he had done so in consequence of the feud
which he had upon his hands, (already alluded to above,) which
rendered it unsafe for him to travel along the road most usually
frequented. We had passed the remains of some strongly built forts
in our route from Margàd to Cyrene, and after ascending the high
ground to the northward of Wady Bo̅o̅kasaishe̅e̅ta we came
in sight of the numerous, we might almost say innumerable, tombs
which encumber the outskirts of the town. It is well known that
the burial-places of the ancients were usually without the walls
of their cities; and we find the tombs of Cyrene, (like those of
Pompeii and other places,) ranged along the sides of the roads by
which the town is approached, and occupying, at the same time,
the greater part of the space intervening between one road and
another[20]. When we reflect that the inhabitants of this celebrated
city have laid their mortal remains on the soil which surrounded
it for more than twenty-four centuries, we shall not be surprised
at the multitude of tombs which are everywhere scattered over its
neighbourhood. They are all of stone, either constructed on the
surface, or excavated in the rocky soil of the district; and as
most of them have been defaced, or laid in ruins, (for there is
not one of them which has not been opened,) the wreck of material
with which the soil is encumbered may be more easily imagined than
described. The road, when we had descended into the plain of Cyrene,
continued to wind through the tombs and sarcophagi, and along the
edges of the quarries in which the subterranean tombs have been
excavated, for more than a mile and a half; we observed that it was
occasionally cut through the rocky soil, and that marks of chariot
wheels were still very evident in many parts of its stony surface.
These approaches to the town, for there are several of them,
as will be seen by the plan, have the appearance of ruined and
deserted streets; the tombs ranged on each side of them supplying
the places of houses. The solemnity, we can scarcely say the gloom,
of this effect is, however, enlivened by the variety of style which
characterises the architecture, as well as by the difference in
the plans and sizes of the tombs, and in the degrees of labour and
finish bestowed upon them. The earlier tombs may be distinguished
by their simplicity and good taste, the later by a more ornamented
and a more vitiated style. A similar difference of style may be
observed in the busts and statues, which are scattered about among
the tombs; some of which have the Greek and some the Roman cast of
countenance and costume, portrayed in the several manners peculiar
to each nation, according to the age of the performance.
We were at first induced to stop at every object of importance which
presented itself in our passage through these regions of the dead;
but we soon found that such delays, however agreeable, would make it
night before we reached the city itself if we continued to indulge
in them as our inclination prompted; and we bade our conductor (the
chaous from Bengazi) lead on to that part of it which he himself
considered to be most worthy of particular attention. The taste
of the African displayed itself on this occasion precisely in the
manner which we had expected it would do; and after passing for
some little distance along the edge of a ravine where we perceived
the remains of an aqueduct, he descended by a gentle slope into a
level spot of ground, overspread with remains of building, till we
found ourselves at the foot of a perpendicular cliff and heard the
grateful sound of running water. Nothing further was necessary to
rouse the drooping energies of our horses, fatigued with the day’s
journey, and parched with thirst from the heat of the weather; they
sprang forward instinctively, without the stimulus of whip or spur,
and plunging up to their knees in the cool clear stream drank deep
of the fountain of Cyrene.
We are by no means indifferent to the beauties of antiquity,—nay
we often imagine ourselves to be among their most ardent admirers;
but we confess, to our shame, that, on this occasion, we followed
the example of the poor beasts who carried us, and, springing from
our saddles, took a copious draught of the fountain before we turned
to pay our homage to the shrine from which it flowed[21].
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 1: The flowers of the Cyrenaica are stated by Athenæus to
have been famous for the odours which they emitted; and we learn from
the same author that a most excellent oil, or ointment of roses,
was made at Cyrene in the time of Berenice (the great Berenice,
as the author here terms her, who was probably the daughter of
Magas). Both Arsinoë and Berenice are said by Athenæus to have
been great patronesses of fragrant oils and ointments at Alexandria;
and we may believe with probability, that the Rigges and Gatties
of Cyrene were equally encouraged by the royal protection. The
roses which we saw had however no smell, (probably from want of
attention,) although the woodbine and other plants were remarkably
fragrant. Athenæus’s words are: ηκμασε δε και τα εν Αλεξανδρεια,
δια πλουτον, και δια την Αρσινοης και Βερενικης σπουδην,
εγινετο δε και εν Κυρηνη ροδινον χρηστοτατον, καθ᾽ ον χρονον
εζη Βερενικη ἡ μεγαλη.—(Deipnosoph. Lib. xv. c. 12.)]
[Footnote 2: Και το σιλφιον αρχεται απο τουτου (the harbours of Menelaus
and Aziris), παρηκει δε απο Πλατεης νησου μεχρι του στοματος της
Συρτεος το Σιλφιον.—(Melp. ρξθʹ).
Mr. Beloe is of opinion that Herodotus intended in this passage to
point out the limits of a place or province called Silphium, so named
originally without any reference to the plant; and in his remarks
on another passage in the same book—εισι δε και γαλαι εν τω σιλφιω
γινομεναι . . . (ρϟβʹ.) he observes—“I cannot help thinking that the
herb was named from the place and not the place from the herb.” But the
space here included by Herodotus comprehends the whole of the Cyrenaica,
and there is no mention on other occasions of this term as substituted
either for Pentapolis or Cyrenaica, with which it would, however, be
synonymous if the reading proposed were adopted. We will not venture
to dispute a point of this nature with a writer of Mr. Beloe’s talents
and judgment; but there does not (on the whole) appear to be, in our
estimation, any reason why το Σιλφιον, in the first passage quoted,
should not be translated Silphium, (the plant;) or why the words τω
σιλφιω in the one last mentioned should not be supposed to mean
exclusively the place, or region, in which silphium is produced[a].]
[Footnote a: For a great many curious and valuable remarks on the
silphium, in which the origin of the term is also alluded to, see the
comments on Theophrastus by Johan. Bodæus at the end of the account
of the plant.—(Theoph. περι Φυτων, Fol. Amst. 1644.)]
[Footnote 3: Αλλ᾽ ἡ Κυρηνη γαρ της Λιβυης εν τοις ερημοτεροις
πεπολισμενη, ποιωδης τε εστι και μαλθακη, και ευυδρος, και αλσεα και
λειμωνες, και καρπων παντοιων και κτηνεων παμφορος, ες τε επι του
σιλφιου τας εκφυσεις· υπερ δε το σιλφιον, τα ανω αυτης ερημα
και ψαμμωδεα.—(Hist. Ind. cap. xliii.)]
[Footnote 4: Τροπον δε πολην επεχει της Λιβυης. πλειω γαρ φησιν η
τετρασχιλια σταδια. τα πλειονα δε γενεσθαι περι την Συρτιν απο
των Ευεσπεριδων.—(Theophrast. περι Φυτων. L. iv. c. iii.)]
[Footnote 5: The effects of eating silphium (according to Pliny)
were manifested in sheep by their falling asleep, and in goats,
by sneezing. Si quando incidit pecus in spem nascentis, hoc
deprehenditur signo: ove, cum comederit, dormienti protinus, capra
sternuenti.—(Lib. xix. c. iii).]
[Footnote 6: Επι τωδε εν Κυρηνη ως μακροτατω απελαυνουσιν τας
ποιμνας των χωριων, ινα και αυτοις το σιλφιον φυεται· οἱ δε
και περιφρασσουσι τον χωρον του μηδ᾽ ει πελασιεν αυτα τα προβατα,
δυνατα γενεσθαι εισω παρελθειν.—οτι πολλου αξιον (he adds)
Κυρηναιοις το σιλφιον. (Exped. Alex. Lib. iii. c. xxix.)]
[Footnote 7: Among others, see Strabo, Lib. xvii. and Pliny,
Lib. xix. and xxii.]
[Footnote 8: It appears, however, that the laser, or extract of the
silphium, was not difficult to be met with in the reign of Severus,
as we learn from Galen (de Temperant. L. iii. c. iii. simpl. Medic.
Fac. L. viii. and de Antidot. L. ii. p. 440. Edit. Basil.) The plant,
at the present day, is common in the high grounds about Cyrene, but we
did not meet with it in the neighbourhood of Berenice and the Hesperian
gardens, where it seems to have been formerly most abundant.]
[Footnote 9: This was probably the φοινικιος οινος (or palm wine) of
Athenæus, much esteemed by the ancients; or the vinum Byblinum another
Carthaginian wine in great repute, and said to be at first taste more
grateful than the Lesbian. Τον δ᾽ απο φοινικης ιρας τον βυβλινον αινω
(says Archestratus as quoted by Athenæus) . . . εαν γαρ εξαιφνης αυτου
γευση, μη προσθεν εσθι θεις, ευωδης μεν σοι δοξει του Λεσβιου ειναι
μαλλον.—Deipnosoph. Lib. i. c. 23. Palm wine was drunk at Susa and
Babylon by the Kings of Persia, as we find from Polyænus,
Stratagem. Lib. iv.]
[Footnote 10: Among others Athenæus (in the words of Eubulus) as quoted
in the Deipnosophista—(Lib. 1.) . . . καυλον εκ Καρχηδονος και σιλφιον.
Here we see the stalk or stem decidedly mentioned with either the root
or the extract of the silphium (more probably the former) as an
article of export from Carthage; and procured (we may infer) by
the Carthaginian traders from Charax, since they had no silphium
in their own country. Again, Antiphanes (the ηδιστος Αντιφανης)
as quoted by Athenæus; ος εν τω φιλοθηβαιω φησιν.—Λιβυς τε καυλος
εξηργασμενος ακτισι θειαις σιλφιου παραστατει.—(Lib. xiv. c. iv).]
[Footnote 11: Succus duobus modis capiebatur, e radice atque
caule.—(Hist. Nat. L. xix).
Οπον δε διττον εχει (says Theophrastus) τον μεν επι του καυλου, τον
δε απο της ριζης. διο καλουσι τον μεν καυλιαν, τον δε ριζιαν—(Lib.
iv. περι Φυτων).]
[Footnote 12: Post folia amissa (says Pliny) caule ipso et homines
vescebantur, decocto, asso, elixoque:—Theophrastus’ words are,—μετα δε
ταυτα καυλον εσθιεσθαι παντα τροπον αγαθον, εφθον, οπτον.—(Lib. iv.)]
[Footnote 13: Οπου σιλφιου δυο μναι . . . σιλφιου ταλαντον σταθμω[a].
If the king supped at Babylon, or at Susa, half the quantity
of wine supplied for the meal was palm wine, the other half,
the juice of the grape. οταν δε η εν Βαβυλωνι, η εν Σουσοις,
τον μεν ημισεα εκ των φοινικων οινον παρεχει, τον δε ημισεα
αμπελινον.—Polyæni Stratagem. Lib. iv. 32.)]
[Footnote a: Taking the mina at 1 lb. 1 oz., the talent (which was
always sixty minæ) would give sixty-five pounds.]
[Footnote 14: Among a great many other articles, consumed every day
at the dinner and supper of the Persian kings, as enumerated in the
list we have quoted, we find four hundred sheep, one hundred oxen,
thirty horses, three hundred lambs, thirty stags, or gazelles,
four hundred fatted geese, three hundred pigeons, and six hundred
other birds of various kinds! So much solid food was not, however,
cooked without a proportionate seasoning; and we find a talent weight
(say sixty-five lbs.) of garlic among the numerous other condiments
employed on these occasions.
The Macedonians in the suite of Alexander, while they expressed
their astonishment at its profusion, applauded the magnificence of
the royal table, and the good taste of the Persian monarchs. But
the ardent son of Philip (though by no means a friend to abstinence)
was prudent enough to discourage, on this occasion, the commendation
of luxuries so superfluous and expensive, and ordered the column to
be taken down, observing at the same time that so prodigious a meal
was unnecessary; that such excess of indulgence and prodigality
could scarcely fail to produce timidity and effeminacy; and that
they who had dined or supped so enormously must necessarily afford
an easy victory to their opponents.]
[Footnote 15: Το δε σιλφιον εχει ριζαν μεν πολλην και παχειαν, τον δε
καυλον ηλίκον ναρθηξ. σχεδον δε και τω παχει παραπλησιον. τον δε φυλλον,
ὁ καλουσι μασπετον, ομοιον το σελινω. σπερμα δ᾽ εχει πλατυ, φυλλωδης,
οιον τον λεγομενον φυλλον.—(Lib. iv. c. iii.)]
[Footnote 16: Ad pondus argenti denarii pensum.]
[Footnote 17: Most probably the laser or extract, which was the
most valuable; though Pliny’s word is laserpitium.]
[Footnote 18: The leaves of the plant, steeped in white wine,
were, it seems, a most extraordinary specific[a]; and “the
root is singular” (it is Pliny who speaks) “for to cleare
the windpipes, and to take away all the asperitie and roughness
in these parts; and being applied in the form of a liniment it
helpeth imposthumat inflamations proceeding from the ranknesse and
ebullition of blood. A liniment thereof made with wine and oile
is a most familiar and agreeable medecine for the black and blue
marks remaining after stripes; but if the same with some adition
of wax be reduced into a cerot it helpeth the kings evill. As for
the liquor laser (continues our naturalist) issuing from Silphium,
in that manner as I have shewed, it is holden for one of the
most singular gifts that nature hath bestowed upon the world,
and entereth into many excellent confections and compositions. Of
itselfe alone, it reduceth those to their natural health who are
starven and benumbed with extreme cold. Taken in drinke it allaieth
the accidents and grief of the nerves. A great restorative it is with
meat, and quickly setteth them on foot who have lien long and been
brought low by sicknesse: for laser, if it be applied in due time,
is as good as a potentiall cauterie to raise a blister: outwardly
applied no man maketh doubt but it is of singular operation and
worketh many effects. Taken in drinke it doth extinguish the venome
left in the bodie, either by poisoned dart or serpents’ sting:
and if the wounds be annointed with the same dissolved in water
it is the better; but particularly for the pricks of scorpions it
would be applied with oile. Being laid too, with rue or honey, or
by itselfe alone, (so that the place be annointed over it with some
viscous gum to keepe it too, that it run not off,) it is excellent
for the carbuncle and the biting of dogs. Being incorporate with
sal-nitre and well wrought withall beforehand, and so applied,
it taketh away the hard horns and dead corns arising in the feet,
which commonly bee called in latin morticini. Tempered with wine,
and saffron or pepper, if it be but with mice-dung and vinegre,
it is a good incarnative in ulcers; and an excellent drawer to the
outward parts for to fill up the skin and make a bodie fat. A good
fomentation there is made of it and wine for to bath kibed heels;
for which purpose it is boiled in oyle and so applyed.”
“In like manner it serveth to soften hard callosities in
any place whatsoever: and for the foresaid corns of the feet
especially, if they be scraped and scarrified before, it is
of great efficacee. Singular it is against unwholesome waters,
pestilent tracts, and contagious aires; as in times suspected of
infection. Soveraigne it is for the cough, the fall of the uvula,
and an old jaundice or overflowing of the gall; for the dropsie also,
and horsenesse of the throat; for presently it scowreth the pipes,
cleareth the voice againe, and maketh it audible. If it be infused
and dissolved in water and vinegre, and so applyed with a spunge,
it assuageth the gout. Taken in a broth, or thin supping, it is
good for the pleurisie, especially if the patient propose to drinke
wine after it. Being covered all over with wax to the quantitie
of one[b] cich pease it is given very well in case of contractions
and shrinking of sinews, and namely to such as carrie their heads
backward perforce, by occasion of some crick or cramp. For the
squinance it is good to gargarize therewith. Semblably it is
given with leeks and vinegre to those that wheaze in their chest
and be short-winded, and have an old cough sticking long by them:
likewise with vinegre alone to such as have supped off and drunke
quailed milke which is cluttered within their stomacke. Taken in
wine it is singular for the faintings about the heart; as also
for colliquations and such as are falne away and far gone in a
consumption, and for those that be taken with the falling sicknesse:
but in honied water it hath a speciall operation respective to the
palsie, or resolution of the tongue. With sodden honey and laser
together, there is made a liniment very propor to anoint the region
of the hucklebone where the sciatica is seated; and the small of the
backe to allay the paine of the loins. I would not give counselle
(continues our author) as many writers doe prescribe) for to put it
in the concavatie or hole of a decayed tooth, and so to stop up the
place close with wax, for feare of that which might ensue thereupon:
for I have seene the fearfull sequele of that experiment, in a
man, who upon the taking of that medecine, threw himself headlong
from an high loft and broke his necke; such intolerable pains he
sustained of the toothach: and no marvelle; for doe but annoint
the mussle, or nose of a bull therewith it will set him on a fire
and make him horne mad: and being mingled with wine, if serpents
(as they are most greedie of wine) chance to lap or licke thereof,
it will cause them to burst. And therefore I would not advise any
to be annointed with it and honey of Athens incorporat together;
howsoever there bee physicians who set downe such a receit.”
(Nat. Hist. Book xxii. c. xxiii.)]
[Footnote a: Nam folia ad expurgandas vulvas pellendosque
emortuos partus decoquuntur in vino albo odorato, ut bibatur
mensura acetabuli a balineis.—Adde—Laser, e silphio profluens
fæminis datur in vivo. Et lanis mollibus admovetur vulvæ ad menses
ciendos.—(Hist. Nat. Lib. xxii. c. xxiii.)]
[Footnote b: Ciceris magnitudine cera circunlitum.]
[Footnote 19: This plant, from its succulent nature, is very
difficult to preserve; and we are sorry to say that the specimens
which we had collected of it (together with many others of the
Cyrenaic plants) got mouldy for want of more attention than we were
able to bestow upon them. We understand, however, that Captain
Smyth has succeeded in bringing over a specimen of the silphium
in good condition, and that the plant is now growing in Devonshire
and thriving remarkably well.]
[Footnote 20: It was not, however, unfrequent to bury persons of more
than ordinary worth and consideration within the walls; and the most
frequented and conspicuous places were in such cases selected for the
tombs, or monuments, which the gratitude of citizens reared in the
midst of their families. The Lacedæmonians, whose laws and customs
were usually in direct opposition to the other states of Greece,
allowed the dead to be buried indiscriminately within the walls of
their cities, as we are told by Plutarch in his life of Lycurgus.]
[Footnote 21: The fountain of Cyrene was a consecrated stream,
and the face of the rock from which it flows was originally adorned
with a portico like that of a temple.]
[Illustration: Engraved from a Drawing taken on the spot by H. Beechey.
POSITION OF THE AMPHITHEATRE, THE FOUNTAIN OF APOLLO & SOME OTHER
REMAINS WITHOUT THE TOWN OF CYRENE.
_Published March 1827, by John Murray, London._]
[Illustration: Drawn by H. Beechey.
Engraved by E. Pinden.
ENTRANCE TO THE FOUNTAIN OF APOLLO.
_Published March 1827, by John Murray, London._]
[Illustration: Engraved from a Drawing taken on the spot by H. Beechey.
ELEVATION OF THE INTERNAL FAÇADE OF AN EXCAVATED TOMB AT CYRENE.
SHEWING THE COLOURS AS THEY NOW EXIST.
_Published March 1827, by John Murray, London._]
[Illustration: Engraved from a Drawing taken on the spot by
Henry Beechey.
SUITE OF ALLEGORICAL FIGURES.
PAINTED ON THE MOTOSSES OF ONE OF THE EXCAVATED TOMBS AT CYRENE.
_Published June 1827, by John Murray, London._]
[Illustration: Engraved from a Drawing taken on the spot by H. Beechey.
PARTIAL VIEW OF THE TOMBS ON THE HEIGHTS OF CYRENE.
_Published March 1827, by John Murray, London._]
CHAPTER XVI.
Description of the Fountain — Excavations which enclose it —
Sculptured Tablet discovered at the entrance of one of the Chambers
— Early Character of its Style — Beautiful Bas-Relief in white
Marble discovered near the Fountain — Indications of Porticoes in
front of the excavated Chambers — Greek Inscription cut over one of
them — Remains in front of the Fountain — Aqueduct above it —
Peripteral Temple, probably of Diana — Female Statue discovered
there — Position of Cyrene — Delightful View from the Town —
Excavated Galleries and Tombs — Nature and Style of the Tombs
— Variety displayed in the disposition of their Interiors —
Remains of Painting discovered in them — Suite of what appear
to be Allegorical Compositions, painted on the Metopes of one of
the Doric Tombs — Practice, at Cyrene, of painting the several
Members of Architecture — Remarks connected with this Practice.
It is not often that an Arab takes an interest in his part when he
finds himself called upon to support the character of a Cicerone;
but Chaous Rabdi had no sooner quenched his own thirst, and allowed
his tired horse to drink as much as he chose, than he was eager
to point out to us such of the wonders as were congenial with his
taste for antiquities. He entered upon his office by desiring us
particularly to remark, that this water was not stagnant like that of
the wells which we had seen in other parts of the country; but that
it actually _ran_, exactly like a river, and afforded a copious and
a constant supply, even in the driest seasons! The exultation with
which our sturdy chaous pronounced the latter part of his harangue
was fully equal to that which the most ardent of antiquaries might
display in pointing out a valuable coin or gem in his collection,
which he considered to be the only one of the kind ever found; and
we were no doubt considered by our worthy conductor as little less
than Goths or Vandals, when, after having given a short assent to
the truth of this remark, we turned towards the mountain from which
the water issued, and entering an excavated chamber which presented
itself, began to examine its connexion with the stream.
We found that a channel had been cut from this apartment far into
the bowels of the rock, (at the height of about five feet from the
level of the chamber,) along which the water flowed rapidly from the
interior, and precipitated itself in a little cascade into a basin,
formed to receive it, on a level with the floor of the apartment:
from hence it passed out into the open space in front of the
mountain. The channel forms a passage of about four feet in height,
and is about three feet in breadth; the sides and roof are flat,
but the bed of the stream, which occupies the whole width of the
passage, is worn into irregular forms by the strong and constant
action of the water.
We inquired of the Chaous how far the channel continued to wind
into the heart of the rock, and what it eventually led to; but he
could only inform us that its length had never been ascertained,
and that it was known to be the haunt of demons and fairies, as
the Arabs of the place (he said) could testify! It would have been
useless to assert our disbelief of this statement, that is, of the
latter part of it; and having satisfied ourselves by examining
this mysterious passage, as far as the day-light extended, and
ascertaining that it continued still farther into the mountain,
we determined to take an early opportunity of bringing lights and
exploring it to the end, and proceeded to examine the other parts
of the excavation. On one side of the cascade are two excavated
chambers, or rather one chamber divided into two compartments;
and in the farther division is a second basin, sunk below the level
of the chamber, which appears to have originally communicated with
the stream by means of a small aperture in the rock just above it;
but no water at present finds its way through this opening, and the
basin would be dry were it not for the rain which washes into it
from without during the winter season. It is probable that this
reservoir was originally devoted to the service of the priests
who had the charge of the sacred stream, in the performance of
their religious ceremonies. Nearly opposite to it is what appears
to have been the principal entrance; and we found here a tablet,
broken in two pieces, which seems to have fallen from over the
doorway, and near it the fragment of a fluted, engaged column. On
the tablet is sculptured three female figures, joining hands as if
performing a sacred dance: the mode of executing the draperies in
this bas-relief would seem to point it out as belonging to a very
early period; and the difference of style between it and another
bas-relief which we found near it, representing a female figure
crowning a term, will be obvious on a reference to the plates of
the two performances given. The last-mentioned tablet is of white
marble, in excellent style, and finished with all the delicacy and
taste of the most refined periods: the upper part of it appeared at
first sight to be naked, but on a more attentive inspection it was
found to be covered with what is evidently intended for a light,
transparent, drapery, the few folds of which are very slightly,
though very clearly defined, and result with great propriety as well
as simplicity from the easy and graceful action of the figure. As
the tablet has lain for ages with its face towards the ground,
the polish still remains very conspicuously upon its surface; and
contributes to give an additional air of finish to this tasteful
and interesting performance.
The group we first mentioned is executed in sandstone; and it will be
seen that the style of it, although characterised by archaism, is by
no means deficient either in sentiment or taste, or distinguished
by an ignorance of the rules of art. The faces in both of these
tablets have been mutilated, and other parts of the compositions,
as will be seen by the plates, are wanting.
In front of the fountain two porticoes appear to have been erected,
if we judge from the channels which are cut in the surface of the
rock, into which the pediments seem to have been inserted; and on
a part of the cliff, at right angles with the face of the rock,
is an inscription in Doric Greek recording the name of a priest
who built one of the porticoes in question[1].
It is probable that the separation of a part of the cliff from
the rest, in consequence of the foundation having given way, was
the cause of the destruction of the portico of Dionysius, (the name
which is mentioned in the inscription;) no other indications of which
now remain except the marks we have alluded to in the surface of the
rock. The front of the fountain is however much encumbered with soil,
washed down by the winter rains from above; and parts of the portico
may yet be found beneath it should this place be excavated at any
future period: the chambers within are also much encumbered with
the same material, washed in through the entrance where the tablet
was discovered, and it is by no means improbable that interesting
remains might be found underneath the soil which is collected there.
There is a good deal of building in front of the mountain (without
the limits which we may suppose to have been occupied by the portico
of Dionysius,) of which it seems difficult to establish the nature;
if it be not in some way connected with the reception of the water,
and its distribution over the town of Cyrene. It appears to us
that the stream was originally confined, and raised by lateral
compression to a height sufficient to allow of its being conducted
into different parts of the town, the level of which is considerably
above that of the fountain itself; but in what precise manner this
object was accomplished we will not here venture to suggest. The
remains of an aqueduct are still visible on the brow of the hill,
from which the cliff descends perpendicularly to the fountain,
leading from thence to the brink of a ravine on the opposite side,
down which also flows another stream of excellent water. From the
traces of building which we perceived about this ravine we should
imagine that the aqueduct had been formerly thrown across it, and
the water distributed over the cultivated grounds which lie without
the walls of the city; at present the stream which flows down it,
as well as that of the fountain already described, finds its way over
the country below into the sea, and is no otherwise serviceable than
as it affords an occasional draught to the Bedouins who frequent the
neighbourhood during the summer, and to the cattle who drink with
their masters. The excavated chambers of the fountain of Apollo[2]
are occupied at this season by flocks of sheep and goats, and the
whole of the level space in front of the mountain is thickly covered
at such times with these animals, as well as with numerous herds of
cattle, attracted thither by the water which now strays over its
surface. When we first arrived at Cyrene these intruders had not
made their appearance; and we rambled about, to our great comfort and
satisfaction, without meeting a single living creature besides those
of our own party in the day time, and a few jackalls and hyænas
in the morning and evening, which always ran off on our approach.
After satisfying our thirst, and, in some degree, our curiosity,
at the fountain, we descended a few feet to some remains which we
perceived on a level piece of ground below it; and found that they
were those of a peripteral temple which, from the fragment of an
inscription that we discovered among its ruins, mentioning the name
of the Goddess, appears to have been dedicated to Diana.
Little more than the ground-plan of this temple is now remaining,
and most of the columns are buried beneath the soil; we were able,
however, to ascertain that the portico was hexastyle, and the columns
about four feet and a half in diameter: those on the south side are
so completely buried that no traces of them whatever are visible;
but from those which are still in their places on the opposite side
we were led to suppose that the number of columns was no more than
ten, instead of eleven, which is the usual proportion in peripteral
temples according to the rules laid down by Vitruvius[3]. As
the number of lateral intercolumniations would not, with this
disposition, be double the number of those in the front, the
whole length of the temple in question could not be equal to twice
its breadth, which we accordingly find to be the case: and it is
probable, therefore, that the ædes, or body of the temple, was built
before the other parts of it, and that the columns and porticoes were
added at a subsequent period, and the number of pillars regulated
by the dimensions of what was already constructed. At the same
time the width of the intercolumniations does not appear to have
been greater than seven feet, which is scarcely more (as compared
with the size of the shaft) than the shortest space allowed between
columns in Greek and Roman architecture[4]. There are no columns,
at either end, between the antæ in this temple; and the walls
of the ædes must have been continued from the angle till they
reached the jambs of the doorways. If the statue of the deity
looked towards the west (as recommended by Vitruvius, chap. v.)[5]
it must have been placed in the pronaos, and not in the cella, to
have been seen through the doorway from without; for the wall which
divides the cella from the pronaos continued too far across the
interior to have allowed of any door in the centre of it, opening
from one of these to the other, (as will appear by the plan;) and
it would be absurd to look for a communication between them in any
other part of the wall. Under this disposition, had the statue been
in the cella, and its face turned towards the west, it must have
looked against the wall in question; and could not have been seen
at all from the western front of the temple[6]. From the portions of
Doric entablature which we perceived among the ruins of this temple,
we may conjecture that it was of that order; but we could no where
discover any parts of the capitals belonging to the columns, and
the bases, if ever there were any, are buried under the soil which
has accumulated about the building. It will be seen by the plate
(page 430) that there is a building attached to this temple on the
northward which has no connection with its original plan; and there
are other remains of building beyond these, and to the westward of
them, which will require excavation to determine their plans. We
have already mentioned the fragment from which we have ventured to
conjecture that the temple was dedicated to Diana; and we may add
that a mutilated female figure (of which we have given a drawing,
page 427) was also found close to its northern wall. The statue, it
will be seen, is in a sitting position; and a part of the chair only
was visible when we first discovered it among the heavy fragments
of building with which it was encumbered, as well as with the soil
which had accumulated about it. We succeeded, however, after some
trouble in clearing it, and were rather disappointed at finding
so little of it remaining. The girdle which encircles the waist
of this figure has been executed with great care and precision;
it is represented as closely tied, and the ends of it, which hang
down in front, are finished with little tassels strongly relieved
from the surface of the drapery; this object, in fact, seems to have
been one of primary importance with the sculptor, and may have been
intended (if we suppose it to have been the statue of Diana) to point
out symbolically the peculiar characteristic of the goddess, her
attachment to (or rather her profession of) perpetual celibacy[7].
It was between the remains of the temple of Diana and the fountain
that we discovered the beautiful bas-relief of white marble which
we have already mentioned above; and near it we found the torso of
a male figure the size of life (also of white marble) executed in
the best style of Grecian sculpture.
A little beyond this temple the level tract of ground stretching
out from the base of the cliff from which the fountain issues is
terminated by a strongly-built wall, the top of which is even with
the surface; it has been built for the purpose of keeping up the
soil, which would otherwise, from the abrupt descent of the ground,
be washed down by the winter rains and the buildings upon it exposed
to be undermined. This wall, which is a very conspicuous object from
below, must have formed in its perfect state an admirable defence,
as it would have effectually precluded the possibility of any
approach to the place from the country beneath. Since the waters
of the fountain have been left to their natural course the stream
pours itself over the top of the wall in a pretty, romantic-looking
cascade; the effect of which is heightened by the trees growing up
against the barrier, amongst whose branches the water dashes in its
passage to the plains below. A few paces beyond the first wall the
ground again descends abruptly and is kept up by a similar structure;
after which it continues to do so more rapidly, each descent being
quickly succeeded by another, till they finish altogether at the
foot of the mountain.
The position of Cyrene is, in fact, on the edge of a range of hills
of about eight hundred feet in height, descending in galleries,
one below another, till they are terminated by the level ground
which forms the summit of a second range beneath it. At the foot
of the upper range, on which the city was built, is a fine sweep
of table-land most beautifully varied with wood, among which are
scattered tracts of barley and corn, and meadows which are covered
for a great part of the year with verdure. Ravines, whose sides
are thickly covered with trees, intersect the country in various
directions, and form the channels of the mountain-streams in
their passage from the upper range to the sea. The varied tract
of table-land of which we are speaking extends itself east and
west as far as the eye can reach; and to the northward (after
stretching about five miles in that direction) it descends abruptly
to the sea. The lower chain, which runs all along the coast of the
Cyrenaica, is here, as it is at Ptolemeta and other places, thickly
covered with wood, and intersected, like the upper range, with wild
and romantic ravines; which assume grander features as they approach
the sea. The height of the lower chain may be estimated at a thousand
feet, and Cyrene, as situated on the summit of the upper one, is
elevated about eighteen hundred feet from the level of the sea, of
which it commands an extensive view over the top of the range below
it[8]. For a day or two after our first arrival at Cyrene a thick
haze had settled over the coast, and we were not aware that the sea
was seen so plainly from the town as we afterwards found it to have
been. When the mist cleared away the view was truly magnificent;
and may be said to be one of those which remain impressed upon the
mind, undiminished in interest by a comparison with others, and as
strongly depicted there after a lapse of many years as if it were
still before the eyes. We shall never forget the first effect of
this scene (on approaching the edge of the height on which Cyrene is
situated) when the fine sweep of land which lies stretched at the
foot of the range burst suddenly upon us in all its varied forms
and tints; and imagination painted the depth of the descent from
the summit of the distant hills beneath us to the coast, terminated
by the long uninterrupted line of blue, which was distinguished
rising high in the misty horizon. If we knew in what the powers of
description consisted we should be tempted to employ them on this
occasion; and would endeavour to convey to the minds of our readers
the same impressions of the beautiful position of Cyrene which the
view of it suggested to ourselves. But one glance of the eye is,
we fear, worth more, in calling up the feelings which are produced
by fine scenery, than all that description is capable of effecting;
and the impressions which time will never efface from our own
minds would never (it is probable) be stamped, by words of ours,
on the minds of those in whom we could wish to excite them. Under
this conviction we will turn from the view before us, and proceed
to describe a very remarkable peculiarity in the northern face of
the heights of Cyrene. We have already stated that the side of the
mountain descends abruptly, in this direction, to the plain below;
not by a single, unbroken descent, but in ledges, or galleries,
one above another, which terminate only in the plain itself. The
Cyreneans have judiciously taken advantage of this formation, and
shaped the ridges alluded to into practicable roads leading along
the side of the mountain, which have originally communicated in some
instances one with another by means of narrow flights of steps cut in
the rock. The roads are to this day very plainly indented with the
marks of chariot wheels deeply sunk in their smooth stony surface;
and appear to have been the favourite drives of the inhabitants who
enjoyed from them the delightful view which we have despaired of
being able to place before our readers. The rock, in most instances,
rises perpendicularly from one side of these aërial galleries, and
is excavated into innumerable tombs, which have been formed with
great labour and taste, and the greater number of them have been
adorned with architectural façades built against the smooth side of
the rock itself, contributing materially to increase the interest,
and to add to the beauty of the drives. When the rock would serve
for the porticoes in front of the tombs, without any addition of
building, it was left in the forms required; and if only a part of
it would serve, the remainder was added by the architect. This mode
of proceeding added greatly to the strength of the work, and was
probably attended, at the same time, with a saving of labour. The
outer sides of the roads, where they descended from one range to
another, were ornamented with sarcophagi and monumental tombs,
and the whole sloping space between the galleries was completely
filled up with similar structures. These, as well as the excavated
tombs, exhibit very superior taste and execution; and the clusters
of dark green furze and slender shrubs with which they are now
partly overgrown, give an additional effect, by their contrast of
forms and colour, to the multitude of white buildings which spring
up from the midst of them. We have endeavoured in the drawing here
annexed, to give some idea of this remarkable scene; but although
we have copied it with fidelity, and with all the care which our
time allowed, the effect of our view falls very far short of that
which is produced by the scene itself[9].
On leaving the fountain and the temple of Diana we descended the
side of the hill and took our course along the galleries we have
mentioned, passing with some difficulty from one to another, through
the thick furze with which the ground is overspread, and entering
the most conspicuous of the excavated tombs which we passed in our
route along the roads.
They usually consisted of a single chamber; at the end of which,
opposite the doorway, was an elegant, highly finished façade,
almost always of the Doric order, cut in the smooth surface of
the rock itself with great regularity and beauty of execution. It
generally represented a portico, and the number of columns by
which it was supposed to be supported varied according to the
length of the tomb. The spaces between the columns themselves also
varied; the porticoes being sometimes monotriglyph, and sometimes
ditriglyph, according to the fancy of the architect. Between the
columns were the cellæ (if we may call them so) for the reception
of the ashes or the bodies of the deceased, cut far into the rock,
at right angles with the façade; and the height of these was
necessarily regulated by that of the columns from the level of
the chamber[10]. As the spaces between the columns were wider,
or otherwise, the width of the cellæ varied accordingly, there
never being more than one of these recesses between any two of
the columns. The cellæ had often separate façades on a smaller
scale than the principal one, but always of the same order; and
they were occasionally made to represent doorways: the entrance to
them appears to have been originally closed with a tablet of stone
on which there was probably some inscription recording the names of
the persons within. In some instances part of such a tablet was left
standing, but we never found one entire in any of the tombs, and very
rarely saw fragments of them at all. As most of the chambers are,
however, much encumbered with soil washed in by the rains through
the doorway of the tomb, it is probable that some of these might
be found entire on excavating either the chambers themselves, or
the ground immediately about the entrance to them[11]. The cellæ
were sometimes sunk to a considerable depth below the levels
of the chambers, and contained ranges of bodies or cineral urns
placed one above another, each division being separated from that
above and beneath it by a slab of stone, resting on a projecting
moulding which was raised on two sides of the cella. There are
also divisions, in many instances, in the length of the cellæ,
some of them containing three and four places for bodies on the
same level, but these are always ranged (to use a naval phrase)
head and stern of each other; and we never saw an instance in which
any two of them were parallel. In fact, the width of the cella,
which, we have already stated, was regulated by the space between
the columns, would have rendered such an arrangement impossible,
since it was of the same breadth in all parts, whatever might be
its extent in length and depth. For a more complete idea of these
elegant mansions of the dead we refer our readers to the plates
containing the ground-plans and elevations of such of them as we
had time to secure on paper. It will be seen that the proportions
of the several members of the entablature varied considerably in
the few instances given; and indeed, we may say that there are
scarcely two façades where the measurements exactly correspond[12].
There were, however, very few instances in which the established
laws of proportion, so far as propriety and apparent security
are concerned, were in any way materially violated, (at least,
we may say, not in our opinion;) and the eye is seldom offended
by an appearance either of weakness or clumsiness in the columns,
or of heaviness or insignificance in their entablatures. There
is at the same time a good deal of variety in the disposition
of the interiors, and the workmanship is usually very good, and
occasionally, indeed very frequently, admirable. In several of the
excavated tombs we discovered remains of painting, representing
historical, allegorical, and pastoral subjects, executed in the
manner of those of Herculaneum and Pompeii, some of which were by no
means inferior, when perfect, to the best compositions which have
come down to us of those cities. In one of the chambers, which we
shall hereafter describe, we found a suite of what appear to be
allegorical subjects, executed with great freedom of pencil and
still exhibiting uncommon richness of colour. The composition and
design of these groups display at the same time great knowledge of
the art, and do credit to the classic taste and good feeling of the
painter. It appears extremely probable that all the excavated tombs
were originally adorned with paintings in body colour representing
either compositions of figures or of animals, or at any rate devices
and patterns. We ascertained very clearly that the different members
of the architecture have also in many instances been coloured;
and these examples may be adduced in further confirmation of what
has been inferred from the recent discoveries at Athens—that the
Greeks (like the Egyptians) were in the habit of painting their
buildings; thus destroying the simplicity and sullying the modest
hue of their Parian and Pentelic marbles! We do not allude to the
representation of figures or compositions, which might rather,
perhaps, be considered ornamental than otherwise; but to the actual
disfigurement of the several members of the architecture by covering
them with strong and gaudy colours; a practice as revolting to
good taste and propriety as that of dressing the Apollo (if we
may suppose such profanation) in a gold-laced coat and waistcoat;
or the Venus of Praxiteles in stiff stays and petticoats. We are
sorry to observe that the practice we allude to does not appear to
be the result of any occasional caprice or fancy, but of a generally
established system; for the colours of the several parts do not
seem to have materially varied in any two instances with which we
are acquainted. The same colours are used for the same members
of the architecture in so many of the tombs at Cyrene, that we
can scarcely doubt that one particular colour was appropriated
by general consent or practice to each of the several parts of
the buildings. The triglyphs, for instance, with their capitals,
were invariably painted blue in all the examples we know of where
their colours are still remaining; and the regulæ and mutules,
together with their guttæ, were always of the same colour, as was
also the fillet which we have described as intervening between the
capitals of the triglyphs and the cymatium below the corona. The
soffit of the corona was also painted blue, in the parts which
were occupied by the mutules; and the space between the latter,
together with the scotia, were at the same time painted red: the
sides of the mutules, and the upper part of the moulding which we
have mentioned as running along the tops of the metopes, together
with the tænia, or fillet, below the triglyphs, were equally of a
red colour. Patterns were at the same time very frequently painted,
chiefly in blue and red, on the cymatia of the entablature and of
the plinths of the capitals; and this was equally the case when the
patterns were cut as well as when they were put in in outline. The
central annulet was usually painted blue and the upper and lower
ones red; and when there were only two they were both painted
red, which was sometimes the only colour employed when there were
three. We could not ascertain what particular colour was used for
the abacus and echinus, for we seldom found any traces of colour
remaining either upon them or upon the shafts of the columns. In
one or two instances, however, the abacus seems to have been red,
and in one which we have given in plate (p. 452), it appears to
have been something of a lilac colour. The colours of the metopes
and architraves must also be left in uncertainty; and, indeed, it
may perhaps be inferred from our never finding any positive colour
remaining upon them, that the larger parts of the entablature were
left plain, and that the smaller, or ornamental, parts only were
painted. We are ourselves inclined to think that this was the case,
as well with regard to the entablature as to the columns; for we
should otherwise have found the parts in question occasionally
painted, which we do not recollect to have decidedly seen.
It may here be remarked, with respect to what appears to have been
the established colour of the triglyphs at Cyrene, that there is
a singular correspondence between this practice of the Cyreneans
and that which is attributed by Vitruvius to the artificers of
early times when wood was used instead of stone in the construction
of their buildings. For the parts which, in the wooden structures
alluded to, corresponded to the triglyphs of later periods, are said
by this author to have been covered with _blue wax_; and we have
already stated that _blue_ was the prevailing colour of the triglyphs
in buildings of all classes at Cyrene. It would thus appear that the
colours, like the forms, of buildings, were adopted in imitation of
early custom; and this circumstance will alone sufficiently account
for the uniformity, in point of colour, of one building with another;
and may be considered as a reason why fancy or caprice were not
allowed, in these instances, to have their usual weight among a
people who were strenuously attached to the practices and customs
of their ancestors. “In imitation of these early inventions,
and of works executed in timber,” (says Vitruvius, in the words
of Mr. Wilkins, his English translator,) “the ancients, in
constructing their edifices of stone or marble, adopted the forms
which were there observed to exist. It was a general practice
among the artificers of former times to lay beams transversely
upon the walls; the intervals between them were then closed, and
the whole surmounted with coronæ and fastigia of pleasing forms,
executed in wood. The projecting parts were afterwards cut away,
so that the ends of the beams and the walls were in the same plane;
but the sections presenting a rude appearance, tablets, formed like
the triglyphs of more modern buildings, and covered with _blue wax_,
were affixed to them, by which expedient the ends, which before
offended the eye, now produced a pleasing effect. Thus the ancient
disposition of the beams supporting the roof is the original to
which we may attribute the introduction of triglyphs into Doric
buildings.” (Wilkins’s Vitruvius, vol. i. p. 63, 4.)
Whatever may be the truth of these remarks of Vitruvius respecting
the origin of the triglyph, it is singular that there should be so
decided a coincidence between the practice which he has mentioned
and that of the Cyreneans; we have in consequence been induced to
lay the passage just quoted before the reader, and to submit to
those who are most competent to decide the question, how far this
analogy may be the result of accident, or how far it may be safely
considered as obtaining in compliance with ancient custom.
Among the tombs which have been excavated on the northern face of the
heights of Cyrene there are several on a much larger scale than the
rest; some of these appear to have been public vaults and contain a
considerable number of cellæ; others seem to have been appropriated
to single families, and in two instances we found large excavated
tombs containing each a sarcophagus of white marble ornamented with
figures and wreaths of flowers raised in relief on the exteriors. We
suspect these to be Roman; but the workmanship of both is excellent
and the polish still remains upon them in great perfection.
We have already mentioned a ravine to the westward of Cyrene,
on the brink of which stands a portion of the aqueduct of which
traces have been described as still remaining above the fountain.
This ravine, which forms the bed of a stream of excellent water,
is highly picturesque and romantic; it deepens gradually in its
course towards the sea, and is thickly overgrown with clusters of
oleander and myrtle which are blooming in the greatest luxuriance
amidst the rocks overhanging the stream. On the western side of the
ravine we found that galleries had been formed, similar to those
already described on the northern face of the rock of Cyrene, and
that tombs had equally been excavated there to which the galleries
in question conducted. The deep marks of chariot wheels along the
galleries prove that these also had formerly been used as roads;
and the romantic beauty of their situation, on the very brink of the
steep descent to the bed of the torrent below, must have rendered
them very delightful ones. There seems to have been originally a
parapet wall along the dangerous parts of the road, (we mean those
where the descent is very abrupt,) for there are considerable traces
of one still extant about three feet from the ground: in some places,
however, (where the road is not more than three feet in width, with
the high, perpendicular rock on one side, and an abrupt descent to
the torrent on the other,) there is no such defence now remaining;
and the passage from one part of the gallery to the other is not
here quite so safe for nervous people as it might be. The steep
sides of the descent are thickly overgrown with the most beautiful
flowering shrubs and creepers, and tall trees are growing in the
wildest forms and positions above and below the roads. The Duke
of Clarence (when the choice of his death was proposed to him)
had a fancy to be drowned in a butt of malmsey; and we think, if we
found ourselves in a similar dilemma, that we should pitch upon some
part of this charming ravine, as the spot from which we could hurl
ourselves through myrtles and oleanders into the pure stream which
dashes below, with more pleasure than one could leap with from life
into death in most other places that we know of. We must, however,
confess that in passing along the dangerous parts of the galleries
here alluded to, no such fancy ever entered our heads; and we took
especial care, notwithstanding the beauty of the descent, to keep
closer to the high rock on one side of the road than to the edge
of the charming precipice on the other.
There is a good deal of building, of very excellent construction,
about the stream which runs along the bottom of the ravine; and
the water seems originally to have been inclosed, and covered in,
and (we think) also raised to a considerable height above its bed,
(as appears to have been the case in the fountain of Apollo,) to be
distributed over the country in its neighbourhood. It is difficult to
say in what precise manner this end may have been accomplished; and
whether or not the water so raised was connected with the aqueduct
which has already been mentioned as running down to this ravine
from the edge of the cliff above the principal fountain; and which
we have also stated appears to have crossed it, and to have been
continued on the opposite side. As the supply from both fountains is
plentiful and constant it would be well worth the labour and expense
of preserving; and the level of both would render them comparatively
useless to the town, as well as to the high ground about it, unless
some means of raising the water were resorted to. They who had
leisure to examine the remains of building connected with these two
streams, attentively; and were able, at the same time, to bring to
the search a sufficient knowledge of the principles of hydraulics
and hydrostatics, would find the inquiry a very interesting one;
for our own part we confess that, without enjoying either of these
advantages, we were usually tempted to bestow a portion of our time,
when passing along the ravine in question, in trying to collect
from the existing remains how far they may have been conducive to
the object we have attributed to them. At something less than a
quarter of a mile from the commencement of this ravine, the stream
which flows down it is joined by another, issuing out from the
rock on its western side, and a basin has been formed in the rock
itself for its reception. In front of this third fountain there are
considerable traces of building, which are however so much buried by
the accumulation of soil, and encumbered with shrubs and vegetation,
that nothing satisfactory can be made out from them. The spot is now
(like that in front of the fountain of Apollo) a favourite retreat
for the sheep and cattle of the Bedouins who occasionally visit
Cyrene; and our appearance often put them to a precipitate flight,
and the old women and children, who usually tended them, to a good
deal of trouble in collecting them together again. These annoyances
(we must say, in justice to the sex) were borne for the most part
very good-naturedly; and we usually joined them in pursuit of the
family quadrupeds with every disposition to assist them to the
utmost. Indeed the Arab women in general, of all ranks and ages,
are remarkable for patience and good nature; and we have often seen
both these qualities in our fair African friends, put to very severe
trials without suffering any apparent diminution. Their greatest
failings seem to be vanity and jealousy; and these are surely too
natural and too inconsiderable to merit any serious reprehension,
more especially in a barbarous nation. Curiosity is at the same
time, with them, as it is said to be with the sex in general, a
quality in very extensive circulation; and if we could have stopped
to answer all the various odd questions which the good ladies of
Cyrene proposed to us, we should have employed the whole day in
replying to them. By the help of a few little trinkets, however,
which we usually carried about with us, we contrived to put an
end to the conversation, without any offence, whenever it began to
exceed moderate limits; and continued our route under a shower of
pious wishes that the blessing of God might attend us.
In passing along the galleries we have mentioned in this ravine,
there are a great many excavated tombs, some of which are very
beautifully finished, and one of them presents the only example
which we remember to have met with at Cyrene of a mixture of
two orders of architecture in the same part of a building—the
portico in front of this tomb being supported by Ionic columns,
surmounted with a Doric entablature. The whole portico is formed
out of the rock itself, which has been left in the manner formerly
alluded to, and advances a few feet before the wall of the chamber
in which the door is excavated. The proportions are bad, and no
part of the tomb has anything particular to recommend it to notice
beyond the peculiarity we have stated it to possess; but as it is
the only instance which we observed of the kind, we have thought
it as well to advert to it. The tympanum is here placed immediately
over the zophorus, without any cornice intervening, and the mutules
are in consequence omitted[13]. Like many other excavated tombs at
Cyrene, the one now in question has no cellæ beyond the chamber;
and the places for the bodies were sunk in the floor itself and
covered with tablets of stone. In such cases we often see that two,
or more, bodies have been ranged parallel with each other round the
sides of the chamber, in the manner represented in the ground-plans
(page 464), a circumstance which never occurs in the cellæ, as we
have already stated above.
The galleries which are formed in one side of this ravine lead round
the cliff into another valley, somewhat broader, in which are also
several excavated tombs. In one of these, which has been furnished
with a Doric portico, Mr. Campbell discovered the suite of beautiful
little subjects which we have given with all the fidelity we could
command in the plate (page 456). They are painted on the zophorus
of an interior façade, of which we have given the elevation; and
each composition occupies one of the metopes, the pannel of which
appears to have been left plain in order to set off the colours of
the figures. The outline of these highly finished little groups
has been very carefully put in with red: the local colour of the
flesh and draperies have then been filled in with body colour, and
the lights touched on sharp, with a full and free pencil, which
reminded us strongly of the beautiful execution of the paintings
at Herculaneum and Pompeii. There is no other attempt at light and
shadow in any of them but that of deepening the local colour of
the drapery in two or three places, where the folds are intended
to be more strongly marked than in others; the flesh being left
(so far as can at present be ascertained) with no variation of
the local colour produced either by light or shade. The colours
employed are simply red, blue, and yellow; but whatever may be
their nature they still are brilliant in the extreme, and appear
to have stood remarkably well. There seem to have been two reds
used in these pictures, (for so we may call the several groups
in question,) one a transparent colour resembling madder lake,
the other like that colour with a mixture of vermilion or of some
other bright, opaque red. These colours appear so rich and brilliant,
when sprinkled with water[14], that one would imagine they had been
passed over gold leaf, or some similar substance, as we observe to
have been the case in pictures of Giotto and Cimabue, as well as
in the earlier works of the Venetian and other schools. We are not,
however, of opinion that this practice was adopted in the paintings
now before us, although the brilliancy of their colours would suggest
the employment of some such expedient. The yellow appears equally to
have been of two kinds; an orange colour was first used to fill in
the outline, and the lights were touched on with a brighter yellow
over it; the whole together presenting that golden, sunny hue,
so delightful to the eye both in nature and art. The same process
seems to have been adopted with respect to the blues; but the lights,
in this instance, appear rather to have been made by a mixture of
white with the local colour than by a second blue of a lighter shade.
It may be inferred from the copies which we have made of these
designs, (which, although they are as good as we could make them,
naturally fall very short of the perfection of the originals,)
that the drawing of the figures is in excellent style, and the
actions at once expressive, easy, and graceful; what we have most
failed in is the expression of the countenances, which, though
produced merely by a single outline, we were wholly unable to
copy at all to our satisfaction. The characters and features are
what are usually called Grecian, and remind us strongly, in the
originals, of those of the figures represented on some of the most
highly finished Greek (or in other words, Etruscan) vases. The
draperies are well arranged, and executed with great taste and
freedom; they appear, like the other parts of the compositions,
to have been painted at once, without any alteration, and with
the greatest facility imaginable. It will be observed that the
turban has in several instances been adopted; and the shape of
some of these is more oriental than any which we remember to have
seen in Greek designs. It is singular also that all the figures
appear to have been black, with the exception of that of the old
man in the last group, which has certainly been red; yet there is
nothing either Moorish or Ethiopian in the characters represented;
which, from the outlines, we should suppose to be Grecian. We have
no solution to offer for this apparent inconsistency; and will not
venture to suggest what may have been the subjects of the several
pieces. They appear to represent some connected story; yet the same
persons are not certainly introduced in all, if indeed in any two
of the compositions. In the first group two females, both of them
young, appear engaged in some interesting conversation. The second
may perhaps represent the same persons, but it is difficult to say
whether the rod in the hand of the standing figure is raised for
the purpose of chastisement, or whether it is intended to represent
the performance of some magic ceremony. The finger which is raised
towards the lips of this figure seems rather to be indicative of
imposing silence than of conveying admonition; and the arm and hand
of the person kneeling appear to be more expressive of veneration
or submission, than of either alarm or supplication. There is
a curious appearance on the head of this figure which somewhat
resembles in form the twisted lock of the Egyptian Horus, but
its colour is decidedly red, while that of the other parts of the
head are uncertain. The lower part of this figure has been so much
rubbed as to be nearly unintelligible, and the face has disappeared
altogether. A similar accident has happened to one of the preceding
figures, the lower part of which is not now distinguishable. In the
third group we see a female figure with a helmet closely fitted to
the shape of the head, bearing on her shoulder an ark, or canistrum;
a second female, attired in white, is represented walking, and
looking back towards the other, whom she is beckoning to advance. The
folds of the white drapery have nearly disappeared, and little more
is left of it than the outline. The helmet of the first-mentioned
figure of this group is painted red, and the back part of it, with
a portion of the arm, is rubbed out. The fourth design represents
a young man asleep, and a matron apparently watching over him,
who appears, from her countenance and action, as well as from the
garment which is thrown over her head, to be labouring under some
affliction. In the fifth we observe a female figure sitting, and
apparently employed in spinning; by her side is a youth of ten or
twelve years old, with a turban of a different form from those with
which some of the other figures are furnished: this appears to be
merely a family-party, and the careless and schoolboy-like action
of the youth whose thumbs are stuck into the folds of his garment,
is well expressive of youthful unconcern. The last group represents
an old man in a reclining position, who appears to be welcoming or
taking leave of his son, who is kneeling by the side of his couch:
the complexion of the old man is decidedly red, but that of the youth
is very uncertain, as this picture has suffered more than any of
the rest. The head and trunk of the old man, so far as they remain,
are designed in the best style of Grecian art, and, indeed, we may
say of the groups in general that they exhibit a perfect knowledge
of the figure, as well as great taste in the mode of displaying it;
and we cannot but regret that the rude hands of barbarians, rather
than those of time, have deprived us of any part of these beautiful
compositions. Enough however remains to make them very interesting;
and we present them to the public as examples of Grecian painting at
Cyrene, with the impression that they will not be thought unworthy
relics of the genius and talent of the colony.
The colours employed in the architecture of this tomb (so far as
they at present remain) are faithfully given in the elevation of
the interior façade, (page 452), and appear to have been confined
to the entablature, and to the capitals and plinths of the columns
and pilasters.
There is only one cella, in this instance, for the reception of the
dead, and it appears to have been allotted to a single body only;
but as the interior is much incumbered with soil washed in through
the door-way from without, we could not say decidedly that there
is no place for a second body beneath the upper one, without some
previous excavation.
The cella is not placed opposite to the entrance of the tomb,
as is usual in other examples, but on the right hand side of it
in entering; and this arrangement has been made in conformity with
the position of the rock in which it is excavated, and not from any
caprice on the part of the architect. The date of this tomb would
appear, from its architectural details, to be posterior to the time
of the Ptolemies; but no degeneracy of style is observable in the
paintings, which would not disgrace the best periods of Grecian
art. We must at the same time recollect, that the architecture
employed in the decoration of excavated tombs is not to be judged by
so severe a standard as that which is applicable to the exteriors of
_buildings_; the details in the first case are purely ornamental,
and may be placed in the same scale with those of interiors, in
which the fancy of the architect is always left more at liberty
than it can be allowed to be in external decoration: and what would
therefore be bad taste in one of these instances is not necessarily
such in the other. Neither does it appear to have been the practice
of the ancients to give an air of gloom or sadness to the abodes
which they allotted to the service of the dead, and on which they
have bestowed, at all periods, so much labour and expense. We
find historic, allegorical, and pastoral subjects represented on
such occasions in the gayest colours; as if it had been their wish
to disarm death of its terrors, and to moderate the intensity of
affliction by diverting the mind from the loss of the deceased to the
honours which are paid to their memory. The shades of the departed
were also supposed to take delight in the attention bestowed upon
their mortal remains; and to wander with complacency over the gay
and costly chambers which piety and affection had consecrated to
their use. A departure from the established practice of the ancients
in the exterior decorations of their temples and public buildings,
ought not then perhaps to be received, in the instances mentioned,
as a mark of vitiated taste, or of the recent date of the fabric in
which such anomaly may be observed: and in applying this remark to
the excavated tombs at Cyrene (scarcely any two of which are alike
in their proportions) we have the more reason to regret the almost
total absence of inscriptions, by which the dates of the several
fabrics might be clearly ascertained. It is probable that many of
these might be found on tablets, once let into, or placed over,
some part of each tomb; and now buried beneath the soil and the
wrecks of the exterior façades, which incumber the chambers and the
approaches to them. In many instances busts have been placed over
the pediments of the outer porticoes, and we often found fragments
of statues in the chambers and cellæ within. So many of the tombs
are however filled up to a considerable height above the level of
their pavement with an accumulation of soil from without, that it
is scarcely possible to say what they contain; while the entrances
are usually incumbered with the fragments of the fallen porticoes
which once formed the ornaments of the exteriors. On the day of our
arrival at Cyrene we perceived the marble bust of a female figure,
from which the head had been recently broken, lying in front of
one of the excavated tombs; and on inquiring of some straggling
Arabs, who had preceded us, what was become of the remainder, they
at first pleaded ignorance on the point altogether; but on our
proving to them, from the whiteness of the fractured parts, that
we were certain the head must have been very lately broken off,
they asked us what we would give them if they should find it. A
bargain was now made that if the head were at all perfect, so as
to be worth our taking it away, they should have a Spanish dollar
for bringing it; but if we left it in their possession they were
only to have the head for their pains. The words were no sooner
uttered than one of the fellows scrambled into a tomb close at
hand, and brought out with him the relic in question; which was,
however, so much defaced by the process which had been employed in
severing it from the body, as to be wholly unworthy of removal,
and it was left by the side of the trunk with the full and free
consent of both parties. We are sorry to say that the practice of
breaking heads from the figures has been very general at Cyrene; and
has been occasioned in many instances by the inability of the Arabs
to carry off a whole statue to Bengazi or Tripoly (where they might
have a chance of disposing of it to advantage) and their eagerness to
secure the profits which might result to them from the transport and
sale of a part of it. We took care to make it generally understood,
after this discovery, that we would never purchase anything that
had been recently mutilated; and that we should certainly complain
to Bey Mahommed at Derna whenever we heard that any injury of the
kind had been committed on his Highness’s property.
If the excavated tombs of Cyrene have been pointed out as objects of
no trivial interest, those, also, which have been _built_ in every
part of its neighbourhood are no less entitled to our attention and
admiration. Several months might be employed in making drawings
and plans of the most conspicuous of these elegant structures;
and the few examples which our short stay allowed us to secure them
(as given in the plate, page 464) will give but an imperfect idea
of the variety observable in their forms and details. Many of these
are built in imitation of temples, although there are scarcely
two of them exactly alike; and their effect on the high ground on
which they mostly stand, as seen from different parts of the city
and suburbs, is more beautiful than we can pretend to describe. A
judicious observer might select from these monuments, as well as
from the excavated tombs above mentioned, examples of Grecian and
Roman architecture through a long succession of interesting periods;
and the progress of the art might thus be traced satisfactorily,
from its early state among the first inhabitants of Cyrene, to its
degeneracy and final decay under Roman colonists in the decline of
the empire.
The larger tombs were usually divided in the centre by a wall
along the whole length of the building (which is the case in one
of those represented in the plate, p. 464), and several bodies
were disposed one over the other in each of the compartments thus
obtained. Every place containing a body was covered with a slab of
marble or stone, in the manner of those described in the excavated
tombs; and there were sometimes two of these places abreast of
each other, and the same number at their head or feet, according
to the size of the tomb. Innumerable busts and statues originally
adorned the constructed tombs (as we have already observed to be
the case in those which have been excavated in the mountain), and
many of these are still seen half buried beneath heaps of rubbish
and soil, at the foot of the buildings they once surmounted. Those
entirely above ground we usually found broken in several pieces,
or mutilated so as to be much disfigured; but we have not the least
doubt that there are many of them still existing in a perfect state,
within a few feet, and often a few inches, of the surface, which
might easily be obtained by excavation.
Two Arabs of the place, who had one day observed us looking
at some of the statues here alluded to, came the next morning
to our tent, and gave us to understand that they knew of one,
in a perfect condition, which they could point out to us for an
adequate reward. We made the only bargain with them which it would
have been safe to conclude, among so many mutilated pieces, lying
round us in all directions, which was simply, that if it proved
to be worth taking away we would give them a certain number of
dollars for the information which they had afforded us. On our
accompanying them to the place where the figure lay, they soon
cleared the earth from a female statue, in very good style, and
tolerable preservation, excepting that the surface of the face
and upper part of the body had entirely lost its polish and become
extremely rough. As the statue was of larger dimensions than life,
and consequently very heavy, it would not, under these circumstances,
have been worth our while to remove it from the place where it was;
and we accordingly gave the Arabs a _bakhshees_ for their trouble,
and told them that we did not think it good enough to remove; but
that if we should ultimately take it away we would give them the
reward before specified. With this arrangement, however, (though a
perfectly just one,) they proved to be so little satisfied, that on
the following morning in passing by the place, we found that the
statue had been placed upright, and pelted with stones for their
own or their children’s amusement. The lips were knocked off,
and the face and body otherwise mutilated; though not to the degree
which we expected when we first observed the figure placed up as a
mark for every idle passenger to amuse himself with throwing at. We
were not a little concerned to see the mischief which we ourselves
(however innocently) had in fact been the cause of, and gave out
that we intended to write to Mahommed Bey that he might discover and
punish the delinquents! adding, that if any similar outrage should
be practised in future, the severest retaliation might be expected.
After this we were careful, when we discovered a good statue, to
bury it an inch or two in the soil which surrounded it, effacing at
the same time all traces of our work; and never indulged ourselves
in looking at any object of importance when we thought ourselves
observed by the Arabs. For such is the inconsistency of Arab
character, that the very same statue which they would walk over
continually without ever honouring it with more than a glance en
passant, would in all probability be broken in pieces the moment it
became an object of particular notice. The style of architecture in
which the monumental tombs have been constructed varies according to
the dates of the building, and apparently, also, to the consequence
of the persons interred in them; the order employed is almost always
Doric, particularly in the earlier examples. It seems probable that
the custom of burying the entire body obtained very generally in
Cyrene and other cities of the Pentapolis; and this is one of the
few instances in which we perceive any analogy between the customs
of the Cyreneans and those of the Egyptians. It is certain, however,
that the practice of burning the bodies, and of preserving the ashes
in urns, prevailed also among the inhabitants of the Cyrenaica as
it did in other Grecian states[15]. At the present day there are no
remains either of bodies or of cinereal urns in any of the tombs with
which we are acquainted, one of them only excepted: in which a leg
and foot, which appeared to have been rather dried than embalmed,
was found in a very perfect state. There are places formed in the
wall, at the extremity of one of the cellæ in an excavated tomb,
for the reception, apparently, of cinereal urns, as will be seen in
the elevation we have given of it; but this is the only example of
the kind we have met with, and we are left to determine, in other
cases, from the dimensions of the cellæ, whether they contained
bodies or ashes. The reason of this is that (from whatever cause)
all the tombs, whether excavated or constructed, have been opened
and rifled of their contents; and we never saw a single instance in
which this had not been the case. In the constructed tombs, when
the cover was too heavy to remove without a great deal of labour,
a hole was always found knocked in the side of the sarcophagus;
and the tablets or slabs of stone or marble which closed the cellæ
and the places for the bodies, in those which were excavated, were
in no instance found in their places entire by any individual of our
party. The tombs of persons of distinction, at Cyrene, appear to have
been erected in conspicuous positions without any regard to order
or arrangement; at the will, perhaps, of the deceased themselves,
or of those at whose expense they were interred: but the sarcophagi
of those of inferior consideration were ranged in line, whenever
the ground would allow of it, so as to take up as little space as
possible, and to present an appearance of regularity; the sizes
of the latter very seldom varied materially, and their forms were
usually alike. The arrangement of the sarcophagi was not always the
same; but they were almost invariably placed at right angles, in
the manner represented (page 464) in the ground-plan and elevation
which we have given of them. The sarcophagus itself was generally
composed of a single block of stone, hollowed out roughly for the
reception of the body; and its cover consisted of another single
stone shaped into the form represented in the plate, without any
great attention to finish, but always with considerable regularity.
This form of sarcophagus was common among the ancients in other parts
of the world, and continued in very general use to a late period
of the Roman empire. In the plain below the city (to the northward)
there is a considerable number of handsome tombs, both excavated and
constructed (those of the latter sort naturally preponderating); and
among these there must be many (we are sorry to say) which we never
had an opportunity of examining: our route over this tract of country
having chiefly been confined to the road from Cyrene to Apollonia
(now Marsa Susa) its port; situated at the foot of the range of
high land the summit of which forms the plain in question: and as
the ground in this part is thickly wooded, and crossed by ravines
in different directions, the buildings which might still exist upon
it would not be seen by passengers unless they lay immediately in
their track. There are also many to the southward of the town which
we had no leisure to examine; our researches among the tombs having
for the most part been limited to the more immediate neighbourhood
of the city, where there is still a very ample field for inquiry,
without trespassing on the ground we have just mentioned.
The summit of the mountain on which Cyrene is built has been cleared
of the wood which no doubt once incumbered it, and we easily found a
convenient place for our tents, which were pitched, on our arrival
near the centre of the town. The whole of this tract, as far as
the eye could reach, was thickly covered with the most luxuriant
vegetation, to the height of four and five feet; and as the place had
not been visited since the rainy season, we found none of the grass
trodden down, and were obliged to commence the operation of levelling
it before we could make ourselves comfortable in our abodes.
The heavy dews which fell immediately after the sun was down made our
passage through this obstruction rather inconvenient from five or six
in the evening till nearly mid-day, and there was no part of Cyrene
which we could pass to between those hours without being completely
wet through. In a few days, however, we had formed several footpaths
to the principal points of attraction, and many of these led over
fallen columns and statues which wholly escaped notice till our feet
struck against them. Indeed so much was the whole town encumbered
with vegetable matter that very few objects were presented to the
eye when first we arrived at the place: and we almost despaired of
finding any matter of interest unconnected with the fountain and the
tombs. Every wetting that we got, however, added to our satisfaction,
by augmenting the list of the remains; and we soon perceived that
we had established ourselves in the neighbourhood of two theatres
and of several other objects well worth attention. The road to the
fountain was (it may be imagined) one of the first which was made;
and the passage of our servants and horses along it, as they went
to fetch water for the consumption of the party, soon rendered it
the most practicable of any. It led also to the galleries which
we have already mentioned along the northern face of the mountain;
and became very shortly such a favourite path to every individual
of our number, that each of us, in first coming out of the tent,
turned as naturally into it as if there were no other. About midway
between our tents and the fountain, the track which had been made
through the high grass about us passed close along the scene of one
of the theatres, the largest of the two just alluded to; but before
we proceed to the description of this building, and of others which
engrossed our attention at Cyrene, we shall turn from the subject
and lay before our readers the contents of the following chapter.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 1:
[Illustration]
]
[Footnote 2: In speaking of the fountain to which the Libyans conducted
the founders of Cyrene, Herodotus says, αγαγοντες δε σφεας επι κρηνην
λεγομενην ειναι Απολλωνος, ειπαν—“Ανδρες Ελληνες, ενταυτα υμιν
επιτηδεον οικεειν· ενταυτα γαρ ὁ ουρανος τετρηται.”—(Melp. ρνηʹ).
And as the stream here alluded to is the principal fountain of the
place we may suppose it with probability to have been that of Apollo.]
[Footnote 3: There are, however, many exceptions to this rule,
which does not appear to have been by any means generally adopted by
the Greeks. The number of columns on the flanks of temples seem to
have been usually (at the same time) _more_ than double the number
in front, and seldom _less_ by more than one, the proportion given
by Vitruvius.]
[Footnote 4: The pycnostyle is the least intercolumniation allowed
by Vitruvius, and is one diameter and a half of the column at
the bottom of the shaft; but neither this proportion, nor that of
the systyle, which is equal to two diameters of the column, are
recommended by him for general adoption: since “the matrons (he
adds) who go to their supplications, mutually supporting each other,
cannot pass through the intercolumniations (those of the pycnostyle
and systyle dimensions are intended) unless they separate and walk
in ranks. The view of the entrance, and of the statues themselves,
is also obstructed when the columns are placed so little apart; and
the ambulatory, whose width is governed by the interval between the
columns, is inconvenient from its being so narrow.”—Wilkins’s
Vitruvius, vol. i. p. 11, 12.]
[Footnote 5: “The temples of the gods ought to be so placed that
the statue, which has its station in the cella, should, if there be
nothing to interfere with such a disposition, face the west; in order
that those who come to make oblations and offer sacrifices may face
the east, when their view is directed towards the statue: and those
who come to impose upon themselves the performance of vows, may have
the temple and the east immediately before them. Thus the statues
they regard will appear as if rising from the east and looking down
upon the suppliants.”—(Wilkins’s Vitruvius, vol. i. p. 79.)]
[Footnote 6: The most ancient position of temples appears to have
been east and west, with the entrance, or frontispiece, towards the
west; and the statue of the deity looking towards the same point;
so that they who worshipped should have their faces turned towards
the rising sun. The contrary aspect was, however, adopted at an
early period, and appears to have been universal in later ages
whenever local causes did not interfere with such an arrangement.]
[Footnote 7: The closely-drawn girdle of the ladies of antiquity,
like the snood of the Scottish maidens, was symbolical of an
unmarried state; and to loosen it was part of the nuptial ceremony.]
[Footnote 8: The height of the upper range from the level of
the sea, as obtained by Captain Smyth from a sea base, was 1575
feet.—The dip of the visible sea horizon, repeatedly measured
by us with a theodolite from the summit, was 42′ 00″, which,
adding ¹⁄₁₄ for terrestrial refraction, gives 2003 feet for
the height—the mean of these, which we have adopted, is 1805 feet.]
[Footnote 9: We may add, that the circumstance of being obliged to
reduce our drawing (which is a large one) to the size of a quarto
plate, has, at the same time, operated to its disadvantage, as
might naturally indeed have been expected.]
[Footnote 10: It must be recollected that these façades were merely
representations of porticoes, and that the columns did not project
farther from the surface than half their own diameter.]
[Footnote 11: All the excavated tombs were not provided with
antechambers, and the cellæ in such cases commenced from the
surface of the external façade.]
[Footnote 12: The metopes are often far from being square, and
the mutules are placed at different distances from the triglyphs
according to the fancy of the architect. The capital of the
triglyphs is very rarely continued, in the same line, across the
metopes; but is almost always deeper in the last-mentioned division,
forming a moulding in the space between the triglyphs, which gives
an air of finish to this part of the entablature. Above the capital
of the triglyphs, between it and the cymatium below the corona,
there is usually a band or fillet, of the same depth, for the
most part, with the capital, and on the same plane with it; and
the capital itself sometimes projects a little beyond the femora
of the triglyph, and sometimes is on the same level with it. The
cymatium below the corona is for the most part much deeper than the
usual proportion of that member; which appears to have been done
in order to show the ornament upon it, which would not otherwise,
from the projection of the corona and the depth of the mutules,
be conspicuous. The proportion of the corona itself also varies,
and the scotia beneath it is sometimes introduced, and sometimes
omitted altogether. Much difference exists in the depth of the
cyma, as well as in that of its fastigium; and the lions’ heads,
which are often sculptured upon it, are sometimes introduced and
sometimes omitted. Whenever these are placed, as they usually are,
over the axes of the columns, an ornament representing the end of
a tile is often found to accompany them, placed on the fastigium,
exactly over the centre of the metopes. There is also a difference
in the depth of the regulæ and mutules, as well as in the thickness
and depth of the guttæ, the form of the latter being sometimes
conical and sometimes cylindrical, and on some occasions almost
square. The upper part of the two outer channels of the triglyphs
are sometimes cut parallel with the line of the capital; but more
frequently inclined a little downwards, so as to meet the bottom
of the moulding above the metopes, which we have already stated is
not often in a line with that of the capitals of the triglyphs. The
depth of the tænia, also, and that of the epistylium (or architrave)
varies in different instances; as well as the proportions of the
columns themselves, and those of their abaci, or plinths: the latter
are generally surmounted with an elegantly proportioned cymatium,
which is itself almost always crowned with a fillet. We may add
that the curve of the echinus also varies, but is usually of a light
and elegant proportion; and the annulets sometimes follow the line
of the curve, and sometimes range with that of the hypotrachelium:
the number of these occasionally two, but more frequently three;
and the upper and lower ones (in the last-mentioned instance)
are frequently cut square, while the central one forms an angle,
the apex of which projects beyond the two others. This, however,
only occurs when the annulets range with the shafts of the columns,
for when they range with the line of the echinus they are generally
cut like the teeth of a saw, as the central one is in the instance
just mentioned. We observed that for the most part when annulets
were adopted there were no channels, or grooves, hollowed in the
hypotrachelium, and this equally obtained whether the annulets
followed the line of the echinus or that of the shaft. There was
commonly a fillet dividing the channels, or fluting of the shaft,
the proportion of which was not always the same, and we rarely saw
any fluting where these were not adopted, and very seldom any columns
where the shafts were left plain. The difficulty of preserving the
edges of the fluting with nicety, and of keeping them from being
chipped and broken, appears to have been the reason for adopting
the fillet; for as the proportions of the façades, particularly
those of the interior ones, were necessarily on a small scale,
the edges of the fluting, where no fillet was used, must have been
nearly as sharp as the edge of a sword, and consequently very liable
to accident. We may add that the width of the fillet accommodated
itself to the entasis of the shaft, and was continued round the upper
part of the channels, so as to form the crown of the hypotrachelium,
when no annulets were made use of; for in that case the channels
finished in these, forming an elegant curve from the line of the
column to the lowest of the annulets, which sometimes projected
considerably from the upper part of the shaft. With regard to the
disposition of the triglyphs with respect to the columns, we usually
found them placed over the axes of the latter, with sometimes one,
and sometimes two intervening, as we have already mentioned above;
with the exception, however, of those at the extremities of the
zophorus, which were sometimes placed in the angle, and sometimes
a little removed from it, being in the latter case placed over
the joint centre of the half column and pilaster which usually
terminated the façade at both extremities. We must remark, with
respect to the introduction of the pilaster conjointly with the
columns at the angles, that the shafts and the capitals were not
wholly relieved from the surface, although they were more so than
half their diameter. It must be recollected at the same time that
the whole façade was generally formed in the rock itself, and had
consequently no weight to support, and no internal arrangements to
which it was necessary that it should be accommodated. The placing of
the triglyphs was therefore purely optional, and might be adapted
to the taste or the fancy of the architect, who was thus enabled
to follow his own ideas of proportion and arrangement, without
reference to any standard but the eye.]
[Footnote 13: In the tomb of Theron at Agrigentum we have a similar
instance of a Doric entablature supported by Ionic columns.]
[Footnote 14: An operation which is at present necessary, in order
to make them bear out.]
[Footnote 15: Each of these customs (as practised by the Greeks)
had well-founded claims to great antiquity; for interment appears
to have been in use in the time of Cecrops, and burning must
at any rate be allowed to have been practised by the Grecians,
as far back as the Trojan war, if we rely upon the testimony of
Homer. The custom of burning was perhaps the most peculiar to the
Greeks, of the two modes in question; for Lucian, in enumerating
the various methods resorted to by different nations in the
disposal of their dead, expressly assigns burning to the Greeks,
and interment to the Persians—διελομενοι κατα εθνη τας ταφας,
ὁ μεν Ἕλλην εκαυσεν, ὁ δε Περσης εθαψεν . . . (περι πενθους,
§ 21.) Some, however, considered the former as an inhuman custom,
and philosophers were divided in their opinions on the subject:
each sect esteeming that method the most reasonable by which bodies
would, according to their tenets, be soonest reduced to their first
principles.—See Potter’s Archæologia, vol. ii. p. 207-8, &c.]
[Illustration: Plan of DERNA,
BY _Captn. F. W. Beechey R.N._]
[Illustration: Plan of MERSA ZAFFRĀN,
BY _Captn. F. W. Beechey R.N._
_J. & C. Walker Sculpt._
_Published as the act directs, April 1827, by J. Murray, Albemarle
St. London._]
[Illustration: Plan _of the PORT and RUINS of_ APOLLONIA,
_now called MERSA SUZA:_
BY _Captn. F. W. Beechey R.N._
_J. & C. Walker Sculpt._
_Published as the act directs, April 1827, by J. Murray, Albemarle
St. London._]
[Illustration: Engraved from a Drawing taken on the spot by H. Beechey.
SINGULAR POSITION OF TWO INHABITED CAVES IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD
OF APOLLONIA.
_Published March 1827, by John Murray, London._]
CHAPTER XVII.
Arrival of Captain Smyth at Derna — Our Party set out from
Cyrene to meet him — Remains of Ancient Forts, and Sarcophagi
observed on the Journey — Marks of Chariot-wheels in the Stony
Track indicative of an ancient Road — Barren Appearance of the
Mountains which rise at the back of Derna — Perilous Descent
from their Summit to the Plain below — Exhausted condition of
our Horses in accomplishing it — Arrive at Derna, where we found
the Adventure, and wait upon Captain Smyth — Description of the
town of Derna — Ravages occasioned by the Plague there — Prompt
Measures of Mahommed Bey in subduing it — Some Account of Mahommed
Bey — Civility and attention received by our Party from Signor
Regignani the British Agent at Derna — Take leave of Mr. Tindall,
who sails on board the Adventure — Departure from Derna on our
road to Apollonia — Gradual increase of Vegetation observed
on the Route — Thickly-wooded Ravines and dangerous Passes on
this Road — Beautiful Stream at Elthroon — Arrive at El Hilal
— Capacious Harbour at that place — Ancient Remains observed
there — Arab Encampment at El Hilal — Dishonest Conduct of
our Chaous — Arrive at Apollonia — No Water to be found there
— Begin to dig a Well in order to procure some, our stock being
wholly exhausted — Bad Success of this attempt — Continue our
Journey to Cyrene — Miss the Path over the Mountain, and lose
our way among the thickets and underwood — Inconvenience of this
mistake to all Parties — Find the right track, and at length
reach the Fountain of Apollo — Rencontre of our Servants with
some female Inhabitants of the Mountain — Singular position of
the Caves which they lived in — Gain intelligence at Cyrene of
a Spring in the neighbourhood of Apollonia — Set out again for
that place — Description of the Road — Architectural Remains,
and beautiful appearance of the Country through which it passes —
Meet with an Hyæna in the dusk of the evening — The forest much
infested by these animals and Jackalls — Peculiarities of both
— Arrive at Apollonia, and find the Spring described to us —
Other Caves in the Mountain — Unwillingness of their Inhabitants
to admit us — Description of the City of Apollonia.
We had been about three weeks at Cyrene, busily employed in walking
over the ground, and in making plans and drawings of the remains
of antiquity which it presented, when news was brought to us from
the Vice-Consul at Derna that H. M. S. the Adventure had arrived
there. As we particularly wished to communicate with Captain Smyth,
we left Mr. Campbell in charge of the tents and set out on our
journey to the eastward. We continued to descend for the first hour,
taking the route of Safsaf, where there are extensive remains of
building, and soon came to a stony, uninteresting country, partially
cultivated, and much overrun with brushwood; at noon we had reached
a place called Tereet where we perceived the remains of ancient
forts and those of some tombs and sarcophagi. We found ourselves
here in the neighbourhood of an Arab encampment, and continuing
our route over a country that appeared to have been cleared for
the purposes of building, arrived by two o’clock at Lamlada,
another ancient station, occupied, like that already mentioned,
by Arabs. The nature of the ground continued very much the same
with that which we had already passed over, except that it was
more hilly; and by five we had arrived at Goobba, where we found
many remains of building and a welcome supply of fresh water from
a spring. We observed that the tombs here had architectural fronts
similar to those which we have spoken of at Cyrene. As the evening
was fast closing in, we did not stop to give these much attention,
but proceeded on to Beit Thiarma where we pitched our tent late at
night. At this place there is a spring of fresh water, built round,
and upon a hill close to it the remains of an ancient fort. We had
reason to conjecture from the frequent remains of building which
we had met with in our journey to this place, as well as from the
occasional marks of chariot-wheels impressed in the rocky soil we
had passed over, that the road which we had taken was the same with
that formerly used in travelling from Cyrene to Darnis now Derna[1].
The next morning we continued our course east-south-east, and
began to ascend by a very bad, stony pathway, which took us four
hours to surmount, winding all the time through olive and fir trees
thickly planted in every direction. About noon we reached the brow
of the range which separated us from the town of Derna, and here
began the most difficult part of our journey, the descent into
the plain below. The face of the mountain is devoid of vegetation,
occasionally polished like glass; and its inclination approaches in
many places far too closely to the perpendicular to render it safe
as a road. Indeed it is in so many parts scarcely practicable,
that we could not help wondering, when we arrived at its foot,
how we had contrived in any way to descend it without breaking our
own and our horses’ necks in the attempt.
There was neither road nor pathway to be found, and we were obliged
to scramble down in the best way we could, sometimes stumbling over
rugged and encumbered parts of the mountain, and slipping along
at others over a hard, polished surface, which was still more
difficult to pass than they were. When we arrived at a descent
more than usually perpendicular, we had the greatest difficulty,
after sliding down ourselves, to make our poor horses follow us;
and it was truly distressing, as well as provoking, to see these
fine animals reduced to a condition in which they did not appear to
have the power of exerting the slightest portion of their natural
energy. Their eyes appeared starting from their heads, and their
nostrils were distended to the utmost extent; a mass of white
foam was collected round their mouths, mixed with blood which the
sharp Mamaluke bit had drawn forth in our endeavours to keep them
from falling down the cliff, and the perspiration which terror and
fatigue (without mentioning the heat of the sun) had drawn forth,
literally ran down in streams from their bodies. They became at
length so helpless and so completely overcome, that we doubted
whether we should ever get them down the cliff at all, and indeed
our own fatigue and continued anxiety would not have rendered us very
effective conductors if the descent had lasted much longer. Yet our
horses had been accustomed to roads of every description, or rather
to countries with no roads at all, and had often laboured through
deep and heavy sands, and over rugged and mountainous passes, in the
course of their journey from Tripoly. They had also an advantage
in having only three shoes, which prevented them from slipping
about so much as they would otherwise have done; and in short
they went through this arduous part of their journey much better
than most horses would have done, and much better perhaps than we
had any reason to expect from the nature of the pass which they
descended. It will scarcely be necessary to add that on reaching
the bottom of the precipice (for so we must call it) we stopped
to recruit the exhausted strength of all parties before we set
out for the town: our horses had had several very heavy falls, but
fortunately experienced no material injury; and after leading them
on till they were sufficiently recovered, we were able to mount
them again and continue our route along the sea-side to Derna,
where we arrived in the evening and found the Adventure at anchor
in the roadstead. We lost no time in waiting upon Captain Smyth,
who informed us that he had succeeded in completing the coast line
between Derna and Alexandria.
The town of Derna is situated at the mouth of a large ravine,
and is built on a low point of land running out from the foot of a
range of barren mountains distant about a mile from the coast. It is
supposed to be built on the site of the ancient Darnis, but there
are scarcely any remains of building at the present day which have
claims to particular notice. It is amply provided with water (the
first requisite for a town in hot climates), and well situated at
the entrance of a large ravine, or fiumara, along which a part of
it is built.
The houses are much better than those at Bengazi and are surrounded
by gardens producing abundance of grapes, melons, figs, bananas,
oranges, greengages, and other fruit; they have also the advantage
of being well sheltered by thick groves of date-trees, which give
a very pleasing appearance to the town, and contribute materially
to the comfort of the inhabitants by forming a perpetual shade. A
delightful stream of water gushes out from the rock above the town,
passing through several streets in its course, and irrigating the
gardens, and even the corn-fields in its neighbourhood. In short the
actual resources of Derna give it a very decided advantage (in point
of comfort) over every other town in the Bashaw’s dominions. A
very pleasant wine (we were told) is made from the grapes of this
place, all of which is consumed by the natives themselves, in spite
of the prophet’s injunctions.
The ravine at the mouth of which the town is situated is of
considerable depth and extent, winding up far into the mountains;
some of the gardens are formed upon its sides, and about them a few
trees occasionally appear, where the soil has been able to lodge. In
the rainy season a considerable body of water rushes down from the
mountains to the sea, and is sometimes so deep and so rapid as to
become wholly impassable: at such times it separates one half the
town from the other and occasions a consequent inconvenience. In
the summer, however, it is dry, and the market is held upon its
shining bed.
It may readily be imagined that natives of Africa complain little
of any inconvenience which fresh water may chance to occasion them;
and we doubt even whether the inhabitants of Derna would not rather
run the risk of losing a part of their town every winter, than be
deprived of the pleasure of seeing and admiring so large a portion of
this valuable fluid, and of enjoying the consciousness that, at least
once a year, they have more of it than they know what to do with.
The water which flows from the spring we have mentioned above was
conveyed through the streets (as the people informed us) by one of
their former Beys, a native of Egypt, who is said to have expended
a considerable sum of money in beautifying and improving the place,
and to have erected a large and handsome mosque which stands in
the centre of the town.
The streets of Derna are for the most part narrow and irregular,
and not without that quantity of rubbish and dirt which may be
supposed indispensable to Arab towns and tastes; but the luxuriance
of its gardens and groves are however quite sufficient to balance
these objections; and the abundance of grapes which overhang the
walls and houses, the terraces, covered walks, and every part of
the town, give it a highly pleasing and picturesque appearance.
On the eastern bank of the ravine is the principal burying-ground of
the place, distinguished in particular by a lofty and handsome tomb
raised on four arches, under which the body is placed, with its usual
simple covering of snow-white cement, and the stone carved turban
at its head. The town is undefended both by sea and land, and may
at any time be destroyed by no greater force than could be brought
to bear against it by a brig of war. Upon a hill at the back of it
are the remains of a castle built some years ago by the Americans;
but the guns are now thrown down, and the castle itself is little
more than a mere heap of ruins. As this is a conspicuous object in
sailing along the coast, the observations for latitude and longitude
were reduced to it. Some large building-stones and fragments of
columns bedded in the walls of the Arab houses are all that we could
perceive of ancient remains in Derna. Above the town there are a few
tombs extant, but in a very mutilated state, excavated in the side
of the mountain. What is called the port affords some protection
for small vessels with the wind from north-west to south-east;
but even these cannot remain with a northerly or north-east wind:
during the fine weather, however, some few anchor in it and load
with corn, wool, and manteca, the produce of the inland country.
The plague has made dreadful ravages at Derna, as is evident by
the number of deserted houses on its outskirts. The year previous
to our arrival it was brought (we were told) from Alexandria, and
the mortality which it occasioned was very considerable: the prompt
measures of the Bey, however, subdued it, who ordered the clothes
of all persons attacked with it to be burnt, their houses to be
properly ventilated, and the streets to be cleared of everything
that was likely to communicate the infection. These exertions
were probably assisted by the general healthiness of the place,
and the constant change of atmosphere produced by the passage of
water through the town: the only remedy we heard of for the disease
was the favourite application of a hot iron to the tumours, which
we understood to have been peculiarly successful in many cases.
Derna is the residence of Bey Mahommed, eldest son to the Bashaw of
Tripoly, who commands the whole district extending from the frontiers
of Egypt (the eastern part of Bomba) to Sidi Aráfi, one short day
west from Grenna. Mahommed Bey is well known for his active and
turbulent spirit, and for his rebellion against the Bashaw’s
authority, which once obliged him to seek refuge in Egypt. His
bold and enterprising measures succeeded in quelling the marauding
tribes of Arabs who infested the country and levied contributions on
the peaceful inhabitants of the towns; but his courage and conduct
were sullied by cruelties which we do not feel inclined to justify
from their necessity, however well we might probably succeed in
attempting to do so before an Arab or Turkish tribunal. Indeed so
many acts of cruelty and extravagance are related of this prince,
that we should scarcely know how to reconcile them with the noble
qualities which many allow him to possess, if we did not know
from experience that such inconsistencies are common in barbarous
countries; and that it is possible for the same man to be cruel
and forgiving, avaricious to extortion, and liberal to profusion,
generous and mean, open and intriguing, sincere and deceitful,
temperate and dissipated, in short anything but cowardly and brave.
We resided while at Derna in the house of the British agent (Signor
Regignani) appointed by the Consul at Tripoly, from whom letters
had been forwarded, which arrived before us, with orders for our
proper accommodation. The Bashaw had also written to his son, Bey
Mahommed, to afford us his assistance and protection, and although
the Bey was absent, collecting the tribute, during the time of our
stay at Derna we had no reason to complain of any want of attention
to the applications which we occasionally made to him. From Signor
Regignani we invariably received the greatest attention and kindness,
and although his influence in Derna was certainly very limited,
and he himself often exposed to unavoidable insult, drawn upon him
in a great measure by his religious persuasion[2], yet there was
nothing which he had it in his power to command, that he did not
very freely afford us.
At Derna we took leave of one of our companions (Mr. Tindall,
a young officer attached to the Adventure), who had accompanied
the Expedition from Tripoly.
The field of our operations, on arriving at Cyrene, was limited
to a comparatively small tract of country, and we were enabled in
consequence to dispense with this gentlemen’s services, which
we knew would be useful on board. We were sorry to part with
Mr. Tindall, who had materially assisted us in our operations,
and whose frank and spirited character, and joyous disposition,
had so often enlivened the frugal board of our little party. We took
our leave at the same time of Captain Smyth and the officers of the
Adventure, from whom we had received many friendly attentions, which
we often look back upon with pleasure. Our arrangements completed,
the Adventure sailed from Derna, and as soon as we had finished plans
and drawings of the town, we set out on our return to the tents.
We left Derna on the second of June, and pursued our course along
the beach towards Apollonia, with the intention of returning
to Cyrene by that route. After travelling along a stony flat
running out from the base of the mountain, we reached El Hyera,
where there is a well of fresh water within a few feet of the sea,
and the remains of a fort upon a small eminence a little above it:
at night we stopped at Bujebàra, close to the cape of the same name,
with which Derna forms a large bay; and which has three rocky islets
lying off it. The mountains, which extend in a range along the coast,
at a distance of from a mile to a mile and a half, are continually
broken by deep ravines which cross the beach in their passage to
the sea, and make the road in some places nearly impassable.
It was curious to observe the gradual increase of vegetation in
passing from Derna to Apollonia by this route: the mountains at the
former place, as we have already mentioned, are perfectly destitute
of any; in advancing, a little underwood is here and there seen,
and a few bushes sparingly dotted about the plain; these increase
by degrees, as the country becomes bolder, and gradually spread
themselves over the sides of the hills, ascending higher and higher
every mile, till, in approaching El Hyera, one continued wood reaches
down from the top of the mountains to the sea. On the third, we
pursued our journey along the coast by a very indifferent road, and
at two miles’ distance from Bujebàra the range comes down close
to the sea and terminates in perpendicular cliffs, along the edge
of which we were obliged to pass to the great risk of our horses and
camels. At the foot of these, which is washed by the sea, we noticed
a small rocky point with a quarry upon it, extending itself in a
semicircular form so as to afford some protection for boats which
might also be hauled upon the sandy beach within it. Eight miles to
the westward of Bujebàra we came to a deep ravine, through which
ran the largest body of water which we had seen in Africa; it is
called Wady Elthroon. The sides of this ravine, which proceeded from
an immense fissure between the mountains, were thickly clothed with
pine, cypress and olive-trees, and the river, which ran with some
rapidity, was studded with small islands covered with oleanders,
which we found in full bloom as we passed. Along the brink of the
stream was spread a beautiful turf, which opened in little plots,
broader or narrower, according to the nature of the ground, on
which we threw ourselves down to take a few minutes rest and enjoy
a long draught of the clear cool water and a short dream of Arcadian
felicity. In truth, the spot was delightful—we scarcely recollect
to have seen a more pleasing one anywhere—and to meet with such
a scene in an African climate was to render the view doubly grateful.
Ascending the opposite side of the ravine, we entered a country
fertile in corn and which seemed to be very well peopled; here we
found some ruins very much decayed and mutilated, apparently those
of an ancient town of small dimensions, which, as its situation will
be found to correspond, we will venture to suggest as the Erythron
of Ptolemy; and indeed the similarity of the names would naturally
lead to this conclusion.
On leaving Elthroon the road took a westerly direction, at the foot
of the range, through a country well cultivated in some parts and in
others overrun with pine-trees. At every mile we were interrupted
by a provoking ravine, which we hardly knew whether most to admire
for its beauty, or to exclaim against for the serious impediments
which it presented. Night brought us to El Hilàl, a mountain so
called. The point of El Hilàl extends to the north-east and forms a
bay of about a mile in depth, in which even large ships might find
shelter with the wind from north to south-east by east. It is in
this spot that Cellarius has placed a naval station and town, and
there are certainly remains at the present day about it indicative
of an ancient site, while the harbour itself would be sufficiently
qualified for a naval station to correspond with that part of the
description. Two ancient forts are seen in ruins on the cliff and
we noticed an ancient tomb which is excavated in the rock, close to
the ravine, retaining still a very handsome façade. Three miles
to the eastward of the forts at El Hilàl are some others, also
in ruins, and the remains of strong walls in the neighbourhood of
stone-quarries, all of which would seem to point out the spot as
an ancient station. This place has also the peculiarity of being
the only part of the coast which can be seen from Cyrene, from
which it is distant about fourteen miles. In Ptolemy’s chart we
find a naustathmos (or naval station) placed on the western side
of this promontory; but we saw nothing that would answer to the
position in that direction. Ras El Hilàl, with Bujebàra on the
south-east, forms an extensive bay; and another with Cape Rasát
on the north-west near the centre of which is situated (now called
Marsa Suza) the Port of Cyrene, Apollonia. From El Hilàl commence
two ranges of mountains extending themselves to the westward,
one along the coast, from it to Ptolemeta, forming the southern
boundary of the plain on which Apollonia is built; the other rising
in a range above these, diverging towards Merge and abreast of Cape
Ras Sem. At El Hilàl we found an Arab encampment and obtained from
it a goat and some corn for our horses. The Bedouins were civil and
obliging, and brought us out a very acceptable present of kuskusoo,
for which we made a suitable return. They would, however, have had
but little reason to be satisfied with the conduct of strangers
whom they had treated with courtesy, if we had not very fortunately
made a discovery on leaving them which our Chaous had not probably
anticipated. We had made it a practice in the course of our journey
to pay the Arabs for whatever we had of them; and although this
practice is considered by Turks not only as superfluous but very
plebeian, we found it more consistent with our ideas of propriety,
and at the same time more politic than if we had adopted a line of
conduct more dignified and less honest.
Our Chaous had received from us a sufficient sum of money to make
a liberal return to the Bedouins of El Hilàl for the corn and the
goat which they had supplied us with; but instead of complying
with our orders on this head he thought it more adviseable to
keep the piasters in his purse than to distribute them as he had
been directed: and we should accordingly have left behind us a
much worse character for liberality than we deserved, if this
discovery had not been made before we took our departure. Chaous
Massoud looked rather foolish when the charge was brought home to
him, too well substantiated to admit of denial, and we afterwards
found that his honesty in other matters was not greater than on the
occasion here alluded to. On our arrival at Grenna we sent him back
to Derna and procured another Chaous from Bey Mahommed. Massoud
was an Egyptian, and took every occasion to show his superiority,
in point of civilization, over the Arabs and Moors of the west. He
was particularly proud of his singing; and as his lungs were nearly
equal to his conceit, was never tired of displaying his fancied
abilities to the utmost extent of his voice, not dreaming for a
moment that any of his auditors could possibly be less amused with
his efforts than himself. With this view, he always kept close to
our side, adapting the pace of his horse to ours, and quavering
without intermission. His voice was good, and had he been able to
moderate it, and to use it only on proper occasions, would rather
have cheered than annoyed us on the road; for his songs had some
subject, and were infinitely preferable to the tiresome monotony
and endless repetition of two or three unmeaning words which
had been so unmercifully dinned into our ears ever since we left
Tripoly. The songs of the Arabs are however not always without a
subject, as the examples which we have of their poetry in England
will testify; but we are obliged to confess that the greatest
attempts at invention which we ourselves noticed in a journey of
seven or eight hundred miles were nothing more than short allusions
to what was going forward at the time, or to something which was in
anticipation. For instance, in ascending a hill, the song of our
Arab companions would be—“Now we are going up the hill—now
we are going up the hill.” And in descending—“Now we are
going down—now we are going down.” Each sentence being repeated
all the time the action alluded to was going forward, without the
slightest variation of any kind. In approaching a town, the song
would consist of something about the time we were likely to arrive
there, or what good things were to be had at the place—eating
being usually the summum bonum. On our return to Bengazi in June
the whole burthen of our camel-driver’s song for three days was
the reward which he expected to have for driving his camels so fast.
It was late in the evening when we arrived at Apollonia, without
having met with a single human being; our road led chiefly over
a stony country intersected by deep ravines, which our horses had
the greatest difficulty in crossing.
We were told at El Hilàl, that we should find Arab tents and plenty
of water at Apollonia, but neither of these had we the good fortune
to meet with, after a long and very diligent search.
We accordingly began to dig a well in the sand, but the water
which drained into it was too salt to drink, and our labour was
wholly thrown away. The day had been hot, and the exertions which
were necessary in getting our horses safely across the deep and
numerous ravines which obstructed our passage from El Hilàl to
Apollonia, had tolerably exhausted the strength of our party before
we arrived at our journey’s end; but the circumstances in which
we were placed had the effect of renewing it for a time, and it
was midnight before we discontinued our search for Arab tents, and
our efforts to procure a supply of water. As no hopes of finding
either appeared to be left us, we gave over the search, and retired
to our tents; the water-skins were carefully drained, and afforded
us something less than a pint, which was divided amongst the party,
consisting of eight, and we laid ourselves down to sleep away the
inconvenience which we had not been able to remedy. At daylight on
the fifth we rose to make our way to Cyrene, which we knew could not,
at all events, be more than half a day’s journey to the southward;
but ill fortune still pursued us, for neither our Chaous, nor the
camel-driver, had any knowledge whatever of the road. As we knew,
from our actual position, that we could not well be mistaken in
the direction of Cyrene, we set out upon the chance of finding some
track which might eventually lead to the point required; and after
following several paths, one after the other, all of which only led
us into the wood and left us, a great part of the day was consumed
without effect. It was too late to think of returning to El Hilàl,
for it would not have been safe to cross after dusk the many deep
ravines which interposed in that route, and we determined to make
our way over the mountains which lay between us and Cyrene, since we
could not find a pass leading through them. We knew that on reaching
the summit of the range we should have a view of the place we were
bound to, which could not, in a straight line, be far from us; but
our project was soon discovered to be more easily projected than
executed: for the sides of the mountain were thickly covered with
wood, among which we were obliged to scramble as we might, and after
dragging our horses for several hours through these impediments,
and over the rough stony ground and slippery parts of the rock, we
found, on reaching the top of one hill, that another was before us,
as difficult to pass as the one we had just surmounted; and that
a thickly-wooded valley must be crossed before we could attain
even the foot of it. By this time the camels which had pursued a
different track were discovered on the opposite side of a ravine,
and we flattered ourselves that they had succeeded in finding the
right path; it was impossible however for us to join them without
retracing our steps, and we knew that we should never have been able
to get our horses down the hill, which had cost them so many leaps
and heavy falls to ascend; nothing therefore was left but to push
on as well as we could, and after four hours’ labour, such as we
never experienced, and have certainly no wish to encounter again,
we reached the top of the range and stopped a few minutes to refresh
our horses, who were covered with foam, and trembling so much with
terror and fatigue that a halt had become unavoidable. They had
been, like ourselves, for nearly two days without water, and the
heat of the weather, joined to the exertions which were necessary,
had rendered thirst doubly annoying. On arriving at the summit of
the range our view was still impeded by wood, and though we climbed
several trees, to look out for an object which might guide us on
the way which still remained for us to take, we could not succeed
in overtopping the forest which lay between us and Cyrene. Our
course was therefore still doubtful, and in a short interval
which we devoted to rest, it was proposed that some of us should
push on in advance, leaving the horses in charge of the others,
and endeavour to find some opening: this was accordingly done,
till our voices could scarcely be heard by each other, but still
without any success. Beyond this distance it would not have been
prudent to go, as we should scarcely have found one another again,
had we ventured to ramble out of hearing. As it was, we experienced
some difficulty in re-assembling our little party, consisting of
four, and began once more to lead our horses forward who were very
unwilling to move. After some further search, we came suddenly on
a path which crossed us at right angles in our course; and as it
was broad and evidently led through the wood, we determined at all
events to follow it. It continued to be practicable and commodious,
to our great relief and satisfaction; and we forgot, for a time,
all our troubles, in the prospect of a speedy release from the
embarrassment which our trip over the hill had brought upon us.
This path was very fortunately the right one, and led direct from
Cyrene to Apollonia; but as it came into the plain at some distance
from the point at which we began to ascend, and was wholly concealed
by the wood which covered the sides of the mountain, it escaped
our observation altogether, till we crossed it at the top of the
range. After following it for some time we came to an open space,
and were gratified with a view of Cyrene, which in the course of
a few hours more we reached, and found ourselves once again by the
side of the fountain which appeared to us, after our long abstinence,
more attractive and beautiful than ever.
We found on inquiry that our camels and baggage had not arrived,
a circumstance which rather surprised us, as we expected from
the view which we had had upon the road that they would have
been in advance of us. Two men were immediately despatched in
search of them, carrying a skin of water which we knew from our
own experience would be acceptable, and after sun-set we had
the pleasure of seeing them arrive without any material loss or
accident. It appeared that the road up the mountain which they had
been observed to take terminated abruptly at the foot of a precipice,
a circumstance which greatly surprised them, for the track which
they followed was undoubtedly trodden, and, as it seemed to them,
very recently. No outlet, however, was on any side visible, and as
they stood pondering on the object of a road which led only to the
base of a high perpendicular cliff and was closely hemmed in by
thickets and brushwood, they thought they heard a mill at work,
the sound of which seemed to come from above[3]. As they looked
up with astonishment towards the side of the mountain, from which
the noise apparently came, they clearly heard a soft female voice
issue from it, and soon perceived two very pretty young Arab girls
looking out of a square hole on the side of the precipice, at the
height of about an hundred and fifty feet above their heads—the
place being not only inaccessible from below but equally so from
above, and indeed on all sides of it, owing to the smoothness and
perpendicular surface of the cliff in which it was formed.
When their surprise was a little abated our servants requested some
water, but were told that there was none in the house; the girls
inquiring at the same time where our people were going, and if they
belonged to the English at Grenna. They replied in the affirmative,
and said they had lost their way. One of the females then asked how
many the party consisted of, and were answered, fifteen, though there
were only two; the remainder, it was added, were close at hand in
the wood. This embellishment was intended as a defensive measure
to conceal the actual weakness of the company, for the elevated
position of their fair auditors had not made the most favourable
impression upon our servants; who suspected that persons living
so far out of reach, must have stronger reasons for moving so far
from their fellow-creatures, than was consistent with honesty and
peaceable intentions. Accordingly when the girls had explained
that the road which they were seeking led over the plain below,
(where their fathers, they said, were cutting corn,) our wanderers
turned to retrace their steps and descend the mountain-path as fast
as possible; not a little anxious with regard to the reception they
might experience on their route from neighbours of a more formidable
description than the elevated little personages who had addressed
them. As they began to descend one of the girls again called to them,
and letting down a long rope made of twisted skins with knots in
it two feet apart, desired them to make their water-skin fast to
the end of it, with which, as the skin was empty, they willingly
complied, choosing rather to run the risk of losing it altogether
than to forego a possible chance of getting it replenished. The
skin was quickly hauled up, and disappeared through the hole,
leaving its owners in anxious suspense, not so much on account of
the hide itself as of its anticipated contents. They had however
no reason to repent of their confidence, for the skin very shortly
made its appearance again and proved to be nearly full of water, to
the delight of our thirsty attendants; who after expressing their
gratitude for the supply, continued their journey with renewed
strength and spirits, and arrived at Cyrene in the evening, as we
have already mentioned above.
We found Mr. Campbell in quiet possession of the tents. He had had
a good deal of trouble with our escort Boo Buckra, who had caught a
fever, and nearly lost his life in consequence of repeatedly cramming
himself with bazeen immediately after he had been physicked and bled.
On arriving at Cyrene we began to make inquiries respecting the water
which we had been told we should find at Apollonia, and discovered
that a spring in reality existed, at a short distance only from the
place, but situated in the depth of a ravine, so as not to be easily
perceived. We had observed the remains of an aqueduct, leading in
the direction of this very ravine, and had an idea of exploring
the wady in search of the spring which originally supplied it. But
finding no stream crossing the plain or issuing from the ravine
(or wady) in question, we concluded that it existed no longer; and
as we had little time to spend in curiosity determined upon pushing
on as fast as possible to Cyrene, where we knew that our resources
were certain. Having made this discovery, which secured our supply
of water, we determined to return without delay to Apollonia, and
remain there till the fast of Rhamadàn should be concluded, during
which time no Mussulman is allowed to eat or drink while the sun
is above the horizon, and consequently the excavations would go on
but slowly which we had already begun at Cyrene. Apollonia remained
to be explored and laid down in our map, as no opportunity had been
hitherto enjoyed of bestowing more than a slight inspection upon it.
While we were making the necessary arrangements for our departure,
Shekh Aàdam, a man of some influence in the place, waited upon us
with an order from Bey Mahommed enjoining him to render us every
assistance in his power. We thought him accordingly a very proper
person to accompany us in our visit to Apollonia, as his knowledge
of the country would probably be of service in our researches, while
his influence at the same time might prevent interruption. We had not
indeed met with a single individual either at or in the neighbourhood
of the place, excepting the two fair tenants of the cliff who dwelt
among the haunts of the eagle; but as Arab tribes have in general
no fixed habitation, but move as the season or circumstances direct,
we could not tell how long we might remain unmolested in our rambles
among its antiquities. Shekh Aàdam was in consequence attached to
our party; and we again left Cyrene, on the 7th of June, with the
intention of proceeding direct to Apollonia.
The road which leads to that place from the fountain winds along
the foot of the upper range on which Cyrene is situated, and then
taking a north-easterly direction, through a tolerably level and very
fertile country, passes through the ruins of an ancient village,
where a number of sarcophagi are still visible, ranged on either
side of the path. Here the road turns more to the northward, and
leading through a wood, over some stony hills, continues along a
ridge between two deep ravines to the brow of the mountains which
overlook Apollonia, down which it then winds in a zigzag direction,
till it reaches the plain on the sea-coast below at no great distance
from the port[4].
The whole of this road has been anciently paved, excepting the
parts which have been cut through the rock, where deep marks of
chariot-wheels are still observable. It has also had tombs on both
sides of it, extending the greater part of the way, and has been
defended by forts, the remains of which are visible near the edge
of the lower range of hills. The country through which it passes is
highly interesting and beautiful; near Cyrene it has been cleared
from the wood which originally covered it, and appropriated to
the cultivation of grain: this part is fertile in the extreme,
and is succeeded by beautifully undulating ground overspread with
flowering shrubs, which thicken as they approach the top of the
lower range, where they are lost in dark forests of pine extending
themselves down to the beach. The intermediate space between the
corn-land and the forest has probably been laid out in villas and
country residences, for we observed many ground-plans of buildings
scattered over it which are not those of tombs or military works. As
this part is wooded, the remains are not visible till they are very
closely approached, so that there are probably many which have never
been visited and certainly many which we never examined ourselves;
not indeed owing to want of inclination, but to the circumstance
of our not having more time at our disposal than was necessary for
objects of more immediate importance.
On our return to Apollonia, by the road which we have just described,
we noticed several excavated chambers in similar positions to those
which our servants had mentioned: they were cut in a ravine to
the westward of our path, many hundred feet above the level of the
torrent, in places apparently inaccessible. We found, on inquiry,
that whole families resided in them, ascending and descending
by means of ropes; and indeed we ourselves could see persons in
some of them who appeared to be reconnoitring our movements. It
was late in the evening before we reached the plain upon which
Apollonia is situated, and so dark in the thicker parts of the
wood which reaches from the top to the bottom of the hills that we
could scarcely distinguish our way. As we were leading our horses
down a very steep part of the road we came suddenly upon a large
hyæna, which we should not have seen if he had not been perched
upon a mass of rock somewhat higher than our heads, lying close
by the side of the path. The foremost of our party had drawn a
horse-pistol and was in the act of presenting it to this unwelcome
visitor, when he opened a howl which so startled our horses that we
had the greatest difficulty in holding them, and turning himself
round, walked slowly up the side of the hill, evidently in no way
disconcerted at our appearance. As we did not wish to fire if it
could have been avoided, we made no attempt to molest him in his
retreat; for the report of our fire-arms would have alarmed the
whole forest, which we understood to be much infested by hyænas and
jackalls. As it was, the dismal howl which our shaggy friend uttered
was echoed immediately by the shrill cries of numberless jackalls,
none of which, however, were we able to see, and the plain was
reached without interruption. We had been so much accustomed to the
cry of the jackall, an animal very common in northern Africa, that
it would not of itself have engrossed our attention for a moment;
but although we had very frequently been disturbed by hyænas,
we never found that familiarity with their howl or their presence
could render their near approach an unimportant occurrence; and the
hand would instinctively find its way to the pistol before we were
aware of the action, whenever either of these interruptions obtruded
themselves closely upon us either by night or by day. It must,
however, be confessed that the cry of the jackall has something
in it rather appalling, when heard for the first time at night;
and as they usually come in packs, the first shriek which is
uttered is always the signal for a general chorus. We hardly
know a sound which partakes less of harmony than that which is at
present in question; and indeed the sudden burst of the answering
long-protracted scream, succeeding immediately to the opening
note, is scarcely less impressive than the roll of the thunder-clap
immediately after a flash of lightning. The effect of this music is
very much increased when the first note is heard in the distance,
(a circumstance which often occurs,) and the answering yell bursts
out from several points at once, within a few yards, or feet, of
the place where the auditors are sleeping. The jackall can never
be a formidable animal to anything but sheep and poultry, unless,
perhaps, when the number assailing is very great; but it is usually
so little molested by the Arabs, whose dogs protect their live-stock
from harm, that we have frequently gone close up within a few yards
of one, before he would turn to walk away. The same indifference
in retreating is also peculiar to the hyæna, who not only walks
away very slowly when advanced upon, but appears at the same time
to have a limping motion, as if he were lame of one leg. The hyæna
most commonly seen in the north of Africa is that which is striped
in the back, black and grey; its paws are scarcely more formidable
than those of a large dog, but its teeth and neck are very strong,
and there is no animal fiercer when wounded or closely attacked.
We arrived at Apollonia late in the evening, and set out early
the next morning, to find the spring which was said to exist in a
neighbouring ravine. We followed the course of the aqueduct mentioned
above, which appeared to us to finish at the mouth of the wady; but
our companion, Shekh Aàdam, pointed out to us a spot where it was
continued over the hill and along the side of the precipice: this
was probably done to avoid the rush of water which thunders down
the vallies after rain, and brings with it large stones, trunks of
trees, and other matters, sweeping everything before them in their
course. As the aqueduct was constructed of stone, and covered over
apparently with the same materials, besides being coated in the
inside (or water-course) with cement, there does not seem to be any
objection to its having been carried out of the level. We proceeded
up the ravine nearly a mile and a half, and then came to a stream of
water issuing out of the rock at some distance above, which descended
in little cascades and was lost in the bed of the wady. The sides of
this ravine are nearly perpendicular, and about five hundred feet
in height: near the top we observed two caves, situated as those
were which have already been described; and had some conversation
with the people who appeared at the entrance of them. We made them
understand that we should like to ascend and pay them a visit in
their aërial abodes, but as they seemed to be unwilling to admit
us, we did not press the subject any further[5]. The lower parts of
the ravine are thickly covered with pine, olive, and carob trees,
and the whole has a very wild and picturesque appearance.
The town of Apollonia, now called Suza Hammàm, from the number of
wild pigeons that frequent it, is situated at the bottom of an open
bay, formed between Ras El Hilal and the cape known by the name
of Ras Sem. It stands close to the sea, upon a small eminence,
or long narrow slip of elevated ground; and is situated at the
extremity of a fertile plain, which extends itself from the foot
of a ridge of mountains, distant a mile and a half from the sea
coast, and running in an east and westerly direction. The length
of the city may be reckoned at nearly three thousand English feet,
and its greatest breadth at scarcely more than five hundred. It has
been completely surrounded by a very strong wall, with quadrangular
turrets on three of its sides, and circular ones of much larger
dimensions on the remaining side (that to the westward). As the
wall has been carried along the brow of the hill, more attention
has been paid to its strength than to its symmetry, but the turrets
are for the most tolerably equidistant, being about eighty yards
apart. The two circular turrets at the north-western angle of the
wall have been built with even greater attention to solidity than
other parts of this well-defended town; for they have been exposed
for ages past to the wash of the sea without suffering any material
injury. On the northern and north-eastern sides, however, the sea
has made considerable inroads, and very few traces of the wall are
there remaining, some parts being wholly without any. The east end
of Apollonia appears to have been fortified as a citadel, for which
its elevated position above the rest of the town appears to have been
admirably adapted. The cliff on which it stands rises perpendicularly
from the lower part of the city, and could only be approached by a
narrow pass and by a gate in the outer wall. The walls themselves
are here doubled and still rise, though not entire, to a height
of thirty and forty feet. The quarries which have been excavated
about this and other parts of the walls, serving the purpose of
an excellent fosse, contribute also very materially, as will be
observed in the plan, to the strength of the city of Apollonia. The
entrances to the town are all of them narrow (the widest of the
gates being no more than five feet across); and their positions,
in the angles formed by the wall with the turrets, are remarkably
well chosen for the purposes of security and defence. There appear to
have been seven gates on the south side of the city, including that
belonging to the citadel, and one, near the centre, on the western
side, which are all that we were able to discover any traces of:
indeed this number of gates, for the size of the city, will be
considered unusually large; and were it not for the intervention
of the quarries between the city walls and the plain, would have
tended to weaken the position. Opposite the largest of the gates on
the south side of the town is a spacious semicircular excavation,
the sides of which rise perpendicularly to a considerable height,
and which appears to have formed an approach to the gate here alluded
to. Close to this is a remarkably strong fort, built with sloping
sides, like those at Ptolemeta, and others already described in the
Syrtis. Here also pass the remains of the aqueduct which formerly
supplied the town from a spring of most delightful water, situated
at the extremity of the ravine which we have mentioned above, and
distant nearly four miles from the town. The sea has encroached very
considerably at Apollonia; and it is difficult to say, in what the
shelter of the harbour consisted: the line of coast is too strait
to afford any protection; and it seems probable, that the small
island to the northward of the town, and a reef of rocks a little
to the south-westward of this, constituted the only shelter which
it afforded. We had imagined, that a communication might formerly
have existed between the island and the reef of rocks here alluded
to; but it soon appeared that the water was much too deep between
these, to allow of any such idea being reasonably entertained. The
same cause would also have operated very effectually in preventing
the construction of an artificial communication between the points
which we have just mentioned; for the heavy sea which rolls into
the port in windy weather would soon have swept away anything less
than the Breakwater at Plymouth. Had such a communication ever
existed, the harbour would have been a most excellent one; but as
we cannot suppose that it ever did, from the reasons which we have
stated above, we may conclude, perhaps, that vessels usually laid
under the lee of the island, and that when this was impracticable,
they were drawn up on the beach. We may believe at the same time,
that what art could effect in the flourishing periods of Cyrene was
done for the improvement and the security of its port, as we find
it to have been with regard to the defence of the town[6]. Extensive
remains of building, apparently the foundations of a quay, are still
visible, stretching out from the beach into the sea, at the depth
of a few feet under water. Some quarries, which have been formed in
the rock to the north-eastward of the town, are also now under water;
and the insulated tomb, which forms so striking an object in the view
we have given of Apollonia, is always surrounded by the sea when
the wind sets in strong from the northward[7]. Other tombs on the
beach are likewise filled on these occasions; as well as some large
cisterns to the north-eastward of the town, through which the water
roars with a noise like thunder, and dashes up through the apertures
formed in them above. The cisterns here alluded to were probably
appropriated to the use of the vessels in the harbour, which might
have been watered from them very conveniently; and they might at
all times have been kept filled with excellent water by means of the
aqueduct mentioned above. We have already noticed the encroachments
of the sea upon the land, which we ourselves have had occasion
to observe in several parts of the coast from Tripoly to Bengazi,
as well as those mentioned by other writers on the coasts of Tunis
and Algiers. The present state of Apollonia affords another decided
instance of the advance of the sea to the southward; and portions of
the elevated ground on which the front of the town has been built are
continually falling in from this cause. The scene of the principal
theatre situated without the wall, to the eastward of the town, has
been wholly swept away by the waves, although the quarry in front
of it must have greatly contributed to break the force of the sea in
this quarter. It will be seen by the plan of the town of Apollonia,
that a part of this theatre is built against the wall of the citadel,
and the other part against the high ground behind the subsellia. The
seats appear in consequence to have been approached from above,
we mean, from the ground on a level with the uppermost range;
and as the greater number of the ranges are still very perfect,
the effect of the whole building is that of a stupendous flight
of steps leading down from the elevated ground against which they
lean to the beach on a level with the orchestra. It is this effect,
we presume, which induced Signor Della Cella to notice the seats
of the theatre as a “magnificent staircase[8];” and it must
be confessed that a more noble flight of steps will not often
be seen than the one which is in question. This building, like
those of a similar nature at Cyrene and Ptolemeta, has no interior
communications; and the body of the people appear to have entered
from above, as we have already observed. It is probable, however,
that some approach to the orchestra (where the seats allotted to
persons of rank were usually placed) was contrived from the lower
ground upon a level with it; but the whole of that part has been
so completely washed away, that we had no means of ascertaining
what arrangements had been made there. The road to the theatre
appears to have been through the quarries to the south-eastward
of the town; and the gates by which the audience approached it
were probably the two which lie to the eastward of the aqueduct,
and that which was appropriated to the citadel[9].
Within the walls, to the southward of the town, there appears
to have been a small building of a circular form, sunk below
the level of the soil about it, in which there are traces of
several ranges of seats, which might have belonged to a small
theatre of some description, perhaps to an Odeum; but the whole
is so much buried with soil, in which grass (when we saw it) was
growing, that it would be impossible to obtain any details of it,
without a good deal of previous excavation. It will be seen by a
reference to the plate, p. 500, in which those details are given,
that the ground-plans of some of the buildings of Apollonia may
be made out with tolerable certainty[10]. The Christian churches,
in particular, are very decided; as well as the remains of a
noble building of a similar form at the western extremity of the
city. The handsome marble columns, which now encumber the structures
which they once contributed so materially to adorn, afford evident
proofs that no expense had been spared in the erection of these
magnificent buildings; for the material of which their shafts
are composed is not found in this part of the coast of Africa,
and must have been transported at great labour and cost from
the quarries of distant places[11]. On the centre of the shaft
of some of these columns we found the figure of a large cross
engraved; they have all been originally formed of single pieces,
some of which still remain entire, and would be no unappropriate
or inconsiderable ornaments to churches of modern construction. The
discovery of these splendid monuments of Christianity in a country
now labouring under ignorance and superstition, afforded pleasing
memorials of early piety, and recalled the active times of Cyprian
and Anastasius, of the philosophic Synesius, (himself a Cyrenean)
and other distinguished actors in those memorable scenes which
northern Africa (from Carthage to Alexandria) once presented to an
admiring world. But the grass is now growing over the altar-stone,
and the munificence which gave birth to the structures here alluded
to is visible only in their ruins[12].
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 1: This observation is not applicable to the latter part
of the ground we travelled over, which could not certainly have
ever formed part of a road either ancient or modern; and it was
wholly owing to the ignorance of our Chaous, who persisted that we
were in the right track, that we were induced to attempt it.]
[Footnote 2: Signor Regignani was of the Jewish persuasion,
and it is well known that in Mahometan countries the Jews are a
persecuted race.]
[Footnote 3: The mill used for grinding corn by the Arabs is nothing
more than a small flat stone on which another is turned by the hand,
and this is usually placed in the lap of the women, who are the
only millers and bakers in Arab families.]
[Footnote 4: Apollonia, formerly the port of Cyrene.]
[Footnote 5: These are the caves which we have given in the drawing,
p. 493.]
[Footnote 6: The port of Apollonia is mentioned by Scylax, in
conjunction with that of Naustathmos, as having been secure against
all weathers; and his description of the little rocky islands and
projecting points in this neighbourhood is, even at the present day,
very correct.]
[Footnote 7: We are sorry to say that this view, with some others,
which we could have wished to introduce, have been unavoidably
omitted.]
[Footnote 8: Sulla spiaggia v’hanno maestosi ruderi di caseggiati,
con avanzi di _magnifica scalinata_ presso al mare. (p. 155.)]
[Footnote 9: These remarks will be better understood by a reference
to the plan of Apollonia annexed.]
[Footnote 10: We had proposed to give these plans in a separate
plate, upon a larger scale, but a subsequent arrangement has
prevented us from doing so, and we refer to them accordingly as
they are found in the plan of the city.]
[Footnote 11: Probably from the shores of the Red Sea, where there
is a great variety of coloured marble.]
[Footnote 12: The bishopric of Ptolemais was transferred to
Apollonia (then called Sosuza), as that of Cyrene had been formerly
to Ptolemais. The present Arab name of the port is Marsa Susa,
which is evidently a corruption of the Christian appellation of
this ancient harbour of the Cyrenaica.]
[Illustration: Engraved from a Drawing taken on the spot by
Henry Beechey.
ARCHITECTURAL FRONT OF THE DORIC EXCAVATED TOMBS AT CYRENE.
_Published June 1827, by John Murray, London._]
CHAPTER XVIII.
Observations on the Position of Ras Sem — Remarks of Bruce
connected with this place — Difficulty of reconciling the several
positions assigned to it — Extravagant Stories related of its
Petrifactions, supposed to be those of Human Beings — Fallacy
of these Statements as recorded by Shaw — Report of Petrified
Remains at Ghirza made to Captain Smyth by Mukni (Bey, or Sultan, of
Fezzan) during the progress of his Excavations at Lebda — Journey
of Captain Smyth in search of the objects described to him —
Description of the actual Remains at Ghirza — Monumental Obelisk
discovered there, and Tombs, combining a mixture of the Egyptian and
Grecian styles of Architecture — Indifferent Taste and Execution
of these Remains — Veneration in which they are held by Mahometans
of all classes, who suppose them to be Petrified Human Beings of
their own persuasion — Geographic Position of Ghirza determined by
Captain Smyth — Further Observations on the Remains at Apollonia
— Return of our party to Cyrene — Account of that City continued.
In concluding our account of that part of the coast which lies
between the promontory called Ras Sem and Derna, we may observe
that the name of the first-mentioned place, however it may have
originated, is not at the present day known to the Arabs, at
least not to any of whom we inquired for it. Bruce and Dr. Shaw
have described it as situated in the interior; the former at five
long days, the latter at six days’ journey to the _southward_
of Bengazi. The term Ras, which in Arabic signifies a head, is the
usual Arab term for a promontory, and it is in this sense that we
find it adopted in modern charts to distinguish the headland above
mentioned. But the place which is alluded to by Shaw and Bruce is
not, as we have stated, on any part of the coast, but lying at a
distance of several days from it, that is to say, south of Bengazi;
and Bruce translates the name which has been given to it differently,
calling it the Fountain and not the Head of Poison, as Ras Sem is
commonly interpreted; probably from the indifferent quality of the
water which he found there in a very disagreeable spring impregnated
with alum. We are not prepared to reconcile the different positions
assigned to the fountain or the promontory in question; but have
chiefly adverted to it on account of the fictions which have been
circulated with respect to its alleged petrifactions. It appears,
as reported by a Tripoline Ambassador resident in London about an
hundred years ago, on the authority of a friend of his, a person
of _great veracity_, and of a thousand other people besides—all,
no doubt, of equal respectability—that “a large town was to be
seen at Ras Sem, of a circular figure, which had several streets,
shops, and a magnificent castle belonging to it.” “Olive and
palm trees were found there, among others, turned into a bluish
or cinder coloured stone, and men were conspicuous in different
attitudes, some of them exercising their trades and occupations,
others holding stuffs, bread, &c., in their hands. Women at the
same time were observed giving suck to their children, or busy
at the kneading trough or other occupations. A man was to be seen
on entering the castle lying upon a magnificent bed of stone, and
guards were still visible standing at the doors armed with their
pikes and spears. Animals of different sorts (nay, the very dogs,
cats and mice) were observed by some persons converted into stone,
and all of the same bluish colour[1].” Here we have evidently
the description of an ancient city, with its buildings and statues,
converted by the fertile imagination of the Arabs, and other ignorant
spectators of its remains, into the fancied semblances mentioned. It
is probable that one of the cities of the Pentapolis, Cyrene perhaps,
as having most statues, was the petrified city in question; and
we may venture to say that there is scarcely an individual who has
travelled in Mahometan countries who has not been induced to take
journies of inquiry on the authority of similar fictions. Happy
are they who find the least resemblance between the description
which they have heard and the reality!—for it often occurs that
amplification and hyperbole have less to do in such accounts than
pure invention. Shaw was encouraged, as he himself informs us, to
undertake a very tedious and dangerous journey to Hamam Meskouteen
in Numidia upon the authority of Arab reports; he had been assured,
with the most solemn asseverations, that a number of tents had been
seen there, with cattle of different kinds, converted into stone. On
arriving, however, at the place, he had the mortification of finding
that all the accounts which he had heard were idle and fictitious,
without the least foundation, unless in the wild and extravagant
brains of his informers. “Neither (he continues) will the reports
concerning the petrified bodies at Ras Sem deserve any greater regard
or credibility, as will appear from the following relation[2].”
A similar disappointment was experienced by Captain Smyth, who was
induced, from the report of the Sultan of Fezzan, an eye-witness
of the scene he described, to undertake a journey to Ghirza; and
as he has obligingly favoured us with the details of it, we submit
them to the inspection of the reader in the form in which they were
extracted from his private journal.
* * * * *
“During the time I was excavating amongst the ruins of Leptis
Magna, the Arab Sheiks who visited my tent frequently remarked
that I should have a better chance of finding good sculpture in
the interior, and made many vague observations on the subject, to
which I paid little attention at the time. On my return to Tripoli
however, Mukni, sultan of Fezzan, had just returned from a marauding
expedition into the interior; and in a conference I held with him,
he assured me that within the last month he had passed through an
ancient city, now called Ghirrza, abounding in spacious buildings,
and ornamented with such a profusion of statues as to have all the
appearance of an inhabited place. This account, supported by several
collateral circumstances, impressed me with the idea of its being
the celebrated Ras Sem, so confusedly quoted by Shaw and Bruce,
and consequently inspired me with a strong desire to repair thither.”
“Accordingly Colonel Warrington and I waited on the Bashaw,
requesting permission to undertake the journey, with which
he immediately complied. Only, as his eldest son, the Bey of
Bengazi, was in rebellion against him, and might by seizing the
Consul-general and myself demand terms which his Highness would find
it difficult to accede to, he wished us to proceed with a small
force to the mountains, and there be reinforced according to the
actual state of the country. His Highness also signified his desire
that Seedy Amouri, his son-in-law, and Seedy Mahomet his nephew,
should accompany us. He moreover furnished us with his Teskerah
(an authority for being gratuitously subsisted by the Arabs),
though we never used it but to insure a supply, and always made
a present in return, proportionate to the value of the articles
provided, being of opinion that availing ourselves otherwise of
this document would be detrimental to future travellers.”
“On the 28th of February 1817, we left Tripoli before sunrise,
accompanied by the two Seedies, an escort of twenty-six Moorish
cavalry, and several camels. Proceeding by the fertile grounds of
Sahal, we rode southward in the direction of the hills; but before
quitting the plain, our companions saluted us and each other by
firing their guns whilst riding at full speed, in imitation of
desultory attack and defence, which, allowing for the difference of
weapon, shewed a striking resemblance to their Numidian ancestors. As
we advanced up the hills we found the country beyond the tower of
Grara, neglected; the clothing and equipments of the inhabitants
were also more rude and scanty than in the plains.”
“On the 2nd of March we passed an old tower called Gusser-Kzab, in
the plain of Frussa, where, about three years before, a considerable
treasure had been discovered in gold and silver coins, of which
however I was unable to procure a single specimen, they having been
all taken to the coast of Tripoli, where they were most probably
melted, and their date and story lost for ever. Proceeding from
Frussa over a sterile and fatiguing district, we arrived about
noon on the 3rd at the Wadie of Benioleet, where, having been
expected, the principal people came out to welcome us, and some met
us even as far off as the valley of Mezmouth. This, though only a
distance of four or five miles, is a very laborious and dreary ride,
over a rocky tract, exhibiting a remarkably volcanic appearance,
from a black substance resembling porous lava, lying upon a bed of
tertiary limestone, and forming, perhaps, a part of the Harutsch of
Horneman. The melancholy aspect of these hills renders the first
view of the Wadie of Benioleet, with its houses, fields, and palm
trees, extremely picturesque, and the additional bustle occasioned
by our arrival gave great animation to the whole scene.”
“Benioleet consists of several straggling mud villages on the
sides of a fertile ravine, several miles in length, and bounded by
rocks of difficult access. The centre is laid out in gardens, planted
with date and olive trees, and producing also corn, vegetables, and
pulse. This valley is subject to inundation during the winter rains,
but in summer requires to be watered with great labour by means of
wells of extraordinary depth. It is inhabited by the Orfilla tribe,
which amounts to about two thousand souls, subsisting chiefly by
agriculture and the rearing of cattle, aided only in a trifling
degree by a manufacture of nitre; they are accounted hardy, brave,
and industrious, but at the same time dishonest and cruel. A large
and ill-proportioned building called the castle, near one of the
pleasantest spots in the ravine, was prepared for our reception,
and a plentiful supply of victuals and forage provided. Though
commanded at almost every point, this is the principal fortress; it
contains several apartments, good stabling, and a large court-yard,
but the water must be drawn from a very deep well at the distance
of a musketshot. The walls are badly perforated for musketry,
and flanked with round bastions, too weak to bear artillery.”
“Having found several people here who had recently arrived from
the place I was bound to, I repeated my inquiries respecting the
sculpture, and again received positive assurances that I should see
figures of men, women, children, camels, horses, ostriches, &c., in
perfect preservation; and the belief of their being petrifactions
was so prevalent, that doubts were expressed whether I should be
able to remove any one of those whom it had pleased Providence thus
to punish for their sins.”
“On the 6th, after our party had been joined by three mountain
chiefs, Mahmoud, Abdallah, and Hadgi Alli, with twenty-five
Janissaries, and fifteen camels laden with water, barley, tents,
&c., we proceeded over a hilly and bare country to the southward. On
the 7th we arrived at a well of bad water called Kanaphiz, in an
open space nearly surrounded by the Lodz hills. We found a small
Kaffle there from Fezzan, and purchased of the Moors a quantity of
exquisite Sockna dates, and some dried locusts. We were exceedingly
tormented here by the numerous ticks that swarmed over the whole
plain, and teazed alike both ourselves and our horses. On the 8th
having passed the range of Souarat, we advanced through a pretty
valley called Taaza, neglected, but evidently capable of improvement,
from the luxuriant myrtle, lotus, juniper, cypress, and other plants,
flourishing spontaneously. I also observed many trees called Talha,
from which a gum exudes resembling that brought from the forests
on the north-west of the Zaara; and probably it is the same tree,
for it is of stunted growth, with small brownish leaves, though
its character is rather that of a rhamnus than a mimosa.”
“In the evening we arrived at a brackish well of great depth called
Zemzem, from having been blessed by a holy Marabut, and thence is
derived the name of the whole Wadie, which running towards the
north-east reaches the Syrtis below Turghar. Intending to pitch
our tents here, we had first to burn away the stubble to destroy
a species of venomous spider, from the bites of which we had two
or three narrow escapes, saving ourselves only by killing them
suddenly on the spot with a smart blow, the moment we saw them upon
us. Ghirrza, the scene of the extraordinary story so extensively
propagated, being only within three or four miles of this place,
occasioned me a restless night: so that early on the morning of
the 9th I eagerly sat off over the hills, and after a short ride
the ruins of Ghirrza abruptly met my sight.”
“I instantly perceived the error of some writers, in ascribing
cold springs and moving sands to this spot, for the site is
mountainous and bare, presenting only dreary masses of lime and
sandstone, intersected with the ramifications of the great wadie
of Zemzem. And although I had not allowed my imagination to rise
at all in proportion to the exhilarating accounts I had heard, I
could not but be sorely disappointed on seeing some ill-constructed
houses of comparatively modern date, on the break of a rocky
hill, and a few tombs at a small distance beyond the ravine. On
approaching the latter I found them of a mixed style, and in very
indifferent taste, ornamented with ill-proportioned columns and
clumsy capitals. The regular architectural divisions of frieze and
cornice being neglected, nearly the whole depth of the entablatures
was loaded with absurd representations of warriors, huntsmen, camels,
horses, and other animals in low relief, or rather scratched on the
freestone of which they are constructed. The pedestals are mostly
without a dye, and the sides bore a vile imitation of arabesque
decoration. The human figures and animals are miserably executed,
and are generally small, though they vary in size from about three
feet and a half to a foot in height, even on the same tombs, which
adds to their ridiculous effect; whilst some palpable and obtruding
indecencies render them disgusting.”
“Across a fine but neglected valley, to the south-eastward, in
which were numerous herds of wild antelopes, and a few ostriches,
is a monumental obelisk of heavy proportions, and near it are four
tombs of similar style and ornament with the first set. These
are remarkable however as more strongly combining a mixture of
Egyptian and Greek architecture, and are placed so as to give a
singular interest to the scene. There are but three inscriptions,
and those are comparatively insignificant, nor can other particulars
be learned, the whole of them having been opened, in search probably
of treasure, but as no person permanently resides near the spot, I
was deprived of any local information. A wandering Bedoween, who had
been some time in the Wadie, brought me a fine medal, in large brass,
of the elder Faustina, which he had found in the immediate vicinity.”
“The tombs appear to have remained uninjured by the action of
either the sun or the atmosphere, excepting only a deep fallow
tint they have imbibed;—the sculpture therefore, as we must
call it, remains nearly perfect. As these edifices are near the
Fezzan road, people from the interior have occasionally tarried
to examine them, and being the only specimens of the art they
ever saw, yet representing familiar objects, they have described
them on their arrival at the coast in glowing colours. It is this
nucleus, which rendered more plausible, perhaps, by the story
of Nardoun, soon swelled into a petrified city, and at length
attracted the curiosity not only of Europe, but obtained universal
belief in Africa. It has been deemed a species of pilgrimage to
resort thither, as the caravan passes, and inscribe a blessing
for the supposed unfortunate petrified Moslems, and with these
the pedestals are actually covered. Thus, notwithstanding the
diminutive size and despicable execution of these bas-reliefs,
the Turks who accompanied me eyed them with admiration and respect,
pointing out to my notice that the horses had actually four legs,
and other similar trifles. Never, in fact, has a palpable instance
occurred to me, so strongly indicative of the degradation of mind
inflicted by the Mahometan tenets on its votaries; nor could I
but regret to find men, in many respects estimable, so benighted,
and so glaringly deficient in the discernment bestowed by education.”
“Ghirrza is situated near some barren hills called Garatilia,
and from its want of water, and sterile, comfortless appearance,
could only have been a military post in communication with Thabunte,
and the stations along the shores of the greater Syrtis. The wadie,
indeed, may have been formerly well cultivated, being even now
covered with spontaneous vegetation and flourishing talha, cypress,
lotus, and other trees. I observed no traces of roads or aqueducts,
during my short stay, but I was too much occupied with my operations
for determining the geographical position of the place, to extend
my researches to any distance[3].”
“On the 11th I wished to proceed to Towergha, and Mesurata, and
thence to Lebida, but we had so many men and camels belonging to
Benioleet, that it became necessary to return to that place. On
our arrival there, we found the inhabitants eager to learn our
opinion of the petrifications of Ghirrza, and they were evidently
chagrined when they found we had brought some specimens away with
us, thereby dissolving the favourite axiom respecting the futility
of attempting to remove them.”
* * * * *
Such was the result of Captain Smyth’s journey to the petrified
city at Ghirza; by which, notwithstanding it fell short of
his expectations, more was obtained than those travellers are
generally fortunate enough to meet with who have an opportunity of
comparing the objects described with the florid description of them
by Turks and Arabs. With regard to the Ras Sem of Shaw and Bruce,
it is difficult to say what place is intended in the accounts which
these writers have given of it; for we have already observed that
no part of the Cyrenaica is known at the present day by that name
to the Arabs of the district, at least not that we were able to
ascertain; and we are inclined to believe that one of the cities
of the pentapolis is in reality the place originally alluded to in
the extravagant reports of the natives, and of others who may have
visited the country in question. The distance of five and six days
_south_ of Bengazi would not certainly correspond with the position
of any one of these cities; but it appears to us more probable that
a place of some importance would be selected, in preference to one
of inferior consideration, as the theme of a tale so marvellous;
and there can be no remains in the position alluded to which may
at all be compared with those of the Pentapolis.
We shall now resume the thread of our narrative, and proceed to
finish our account of Apollonia.
It will be observed, in referring to the plan of that city, that
the greater part of the wall is remaining; and we have never seen
so good an example of ancient fortification (the wall of Teuchira
excepted) as that which it still affords. It has been strengthened
by quadrangular turrets, at intervals of about eighty yards, and the
gates have in general been placed in the angles formed by the wall
with the towers, a position which rendered them less accessible
when besieged than if they had been otherwise situated. All the
turrets, however, are not square; for one at the south-west corner
is circular, as are also two of much larger dimensions on the
north-western side of the city, which are about eighty feet in
diameter, and have been built uncommonly solid to resist the wash
of the sea. At the opposite corner of the town there is nothing
remaining but the foundations of one of the towers and a part of
the wall extending westward from it along the beach: these were,
however, sufficient to determine the limits of the town in that
direction. It will be observed that this wall is only apparent as
far as (m), beyond which is a large space where everything is buried
in sand, and a conjecture arose whether it might not have continued
along the cliff leading to the tower (n); but traces of it were again
discovered near point (o), with two turrets and other evident remains
to the westward of it, which determined its continuation along the
beach to (p). We afterwards found that the cliff just alluded to
formed a boundary to that portion of the town which appears, from its
great strength, contracted limits, and elevated position, to have
been the citadel. There are but two approaches to this fortress;
one from the town at (r), and another by a very narrow gate at
(s) from without. The whole of the south-eastern corner is high,
and extremely difficult of access, on account of the quarries which
surround it forming a trench of considerable dimensions.
The town appears to have been purposely destroyed, and the wreck of
building with which it is incumbered renders the examination of the
ground-plans very difficult and tedious, indeed for the most part
impossible. Of the five principal buildings laid down in the plan
of the city we contrived to obtain, with a good deal of trouble,
some comparatively satisfactory measurements, (a) and (b) were
unquestionably Christian churches; and must have been erected at
great expense, from the costliness of the material employed for
their columns (a species of marble somewhat resembling Tripoline).
The building marked (d) has been one of no ordinary importance,
and seems to bear more resemblance to a Basilica than to any other
public edifice. It will be observed that the semicircular part of
this structure has a different aspect from those of the churches,
both of which are at the eastern extremities where the altars appear
to have been placed. The columns of the basilica (if so we may call
it) are also composed of handsome coloured marble—we mean the
shafts of the columns, for the capitals are of white marble. The
remaining two, (c) and (e), appear to have been dwelling-houses of
a superior description, (e) has had immediate communication with the
turret close to which it is placed on the southern side of the town;
and a long colonnade running parallel with the sea has been erected
close to the other dwelling-house leading along the edge of the cliff
towards the eastern church. On the south side of the town, without
the walls, there is another large building (h), which seems to have
been a fort and to have contained quarters for soldiers. A road,
inclosed by large stones placed upright, has been purposely carried
close along the eastern side of this structure, and turning short
round it through an archway has led to the semicircular excavation
opposite to the gate (l), one of the principal entrances to the
city. We will not pretend to fix with any certainty the date of the
buildings we have here alluded to; but we should consider them to
be decidedly Roman, and the employment of Corinthian capitals and
shafts of coloured marble would seem to favour this opinion. It is
not improbable that the churches may have been erected in the time
of Justinian, although we do not recollect that they are mentioned
by Procopius in his account of the works of that emperor.
In the quarries which inclose the walls, serving, as we have
already stated, the purpose of trenches, there are a good many
excavated tombs; but they are all so much decayed that it was not
worth while making plans of them, and those farther from the city
are in no better state; some are filled with sand washed in by the
sea, which has encroached considerably upon the land at Apollonia,
and surrounds occasionally some very conspicuous tombs which form
striking objects to the westward of the town.
On the two islands which are opposite the town there are some
excavations and remains of building; but as we had no boat with us,
and none is to be found in the neighbourhood, Apollonia, not being
used in modern times as a port, we were unable to ascertain their
precise nature. The islands are very small, but the town receives
great protection from them in northerly gales, although the shelter
which they afford is not sufficient, we should imagine, for vessels,
even if there should be water enough inside them.
By the 20th June we had completed our plan of Apollonia, which, from
the incumbered state of the ruins, was no easy task to accomplish,
and we think that little more could be satisfactorily made out
without removing the heavy blocks of stone which are everywhere
scattered over the town: but this labour would probably be greater
than the object appears to demand, since the ground-plans which
remain are not of any great antiquity, and, with the exception of
the churches, and perhaps the other buildings which we have given, do
not seem to call for much more attention than we were able to bestow
upon them. We must confess we should have liked to remain there
a little longer to have excavated about the larger theatre, where
statues would probably be found; we say the larger theatre, because
a circular space within the town appears, as we have mentioned, to
contain one of smaller dimensions, which must be cleared from the
soil and vegetable matter with which it is covered before anything
can be determined with certainty respecting it. If a theatre has
stood here it must have been a very small one, of a circular form,
and, unless appropriated to musical performances, appears, to be
unfit for any other. Without the town, to the westward and southward,
excavation would probably be interesting; and indeed there is hardly
a spot in the habitable parts of the Pentapolis where objects of
interest would not in all probability be found. In the space between
Apollonia and Derna there are remains of several ancient villages
and stations, where we could have very much wished to excavate;
and in that between Apollonia and Cyrene there appears to be a great
deal of matter for inquiry. The embarkation of heavy objects would
be difficult at Apollonia on account of the little depth of water
near the beach; it might, however, be managed, and would at any rate
be preferable to the transport by land-carriage to Bengazi or Derna,
which indeed may be said to be wholly impracticable on account of the
frequent deep ravines and dangerous mountain-passes which intervene.
During the time, about a fortnight, of our absence from Cyrene,
the changes which had taken place in the appearance of the country
about it were very remarkable. We found the hills on our return
covered with Arabs, their camels, flocks, and herds; the scarcity
of water in the interior at this season having driven the Bedouins
to the mountains, and particularly to Cyrene, where the springs
afford at all times an abundant supply. The corn was all cut,
and the high grass and luxuriant vegetation, which we had found it
so difficult to wade through on former occasions, had been eaten
down to the roots by the cattle: the whole face of the country was
parched by the sun, and had assumed a deep brown and yellow tint
instead of the rich green which it had worn on our first arrival;
a hot wind was blowing, which had all the character of a sirocco,
though coming from a north-west quarter, and the thermometer stood
constantly at 97° in the shade, a degree of heat we had not before
experienced at Cyrene.
The scorching quality of the north-westerly gale may probably be
attributed to the heat of the ground in the hollows about the place,
for we did not experience any great degree of heat at Apollonia
(we mean, not from the wind, for the sun was very powerful) where
the same breeze came to us immediately from the sea. The excessive
dryness of the atmosphere of Cyrene at this time may be readily
conjectured from the indication of a very good hygrometer which
we had with us, which showed 55 during the period in question,
an extreme which we had never before seen it mark.
We found afterwards that at Malta, on the same days, they had
experienced a strong sirocco wind, and had had the thermometer at
95°. It may be remarked generally of the heat of northern Africa
that it has not often that oppressive quality so much complained
of in other hot latitudes; and it does not appear to be at all
unhealthy, as we often find it to be in damp climates. The sun,
however, is uncommonly powerful, and it is necessary for those
not accustomed to its influence to keep the head well covered if
they would avoid a coup-de-soleil. The force of habit will at the
same time enable Europeans to encounter much more heat than they
would venture to subject themselves to on first arriving from more
temperate regions: we found that we could walk about the whole
of the day (which we were obliged to do in making our plans)
without feeling more than what may be termed inconvenience; and
the greatest annoyance was the reflection from the ground on our
eyes and lips, which the masses of white stone among which we had
to scramble, in examining and taking measurements of the ruins,
made stronger than is felt in cultivated places: these become so
hot from ten or eleven o’clock till sunset that the atmosphere
about them is like that of an oven; the heat which is reflected from
them absolutely scorches, and the eyes of persons long exposed to
its influence would probably suffer materially. For the rest, the
heat may be borne without prejudice (especially through the folds
of an ample turban) unless a greater freedom of diet be indulged
in than is prudent in any hot climate. We saw very few serpents
in the Pentapolis, and very few scorpions, even among the ruins,
where they are generally fond of hiding themselves; but the grass
land, at Cyrene in particular, is much infested by a dark-coloured
centiped, almost black, with red feelers and legs; we usually
found half a dozen of them in taking up the mats in our tents,
and had great difficulty in killing them. Any part which chanced
to be separated from the rest of the body would continue to run
about as if nothing had happened, and were the reptile even divided
into twenty pieces each part would travel about, as if in search of
the others, without any of them seeming to be the worse. The only
mode by which we could kill them at once was by crushing the head,
which effectually destroyed life in every other part instantaneously.
On arriving at Cyrene we immediately resumed our examination of the
antiquities of the place, and were able to make out the ground plans
much better than on former occasions; in consequence of finding
the grass eaten up by the cattle and sheep of the Bedouins, whom
the scarcity of water, as we have already mentioned, had driven to
the heights where the fountains are situated.
At the conclusion of the sixteenth chapter we have noticed two
theatres, near which our tents were pitched, and shall proceed to
give some description of them. We found them both so much incumbered
with the soil which had accumulated about them, in which the grass
springs up to a considerable height, that, had it not been for the
semicircular shape of the green masses which presented themselves
to our view, we should not have suspected them to have been
theatres. The columns which once ornamented the back of the scene
in the largest of these buildings had been thrown (for they could
scarcely have fallen) from the basement on which they formerly stood,
and crossed our track in various places along the whole length of
the range: among them were several statues, which appeared to have
been portraits, executed with great freedom and taste, and beyond
were the Corinthian capitals of the columns which had rolled,
in their fall, to some distance from the shafts. These, as well
as the bases, were composed of a fine white marble, the polish of
which was in many cases very perfect; and the shafts (of coloured
marble) were formed of single pieces, which added considerably to
the effect produced by the costliness of the material. From these
circumstances, as well as from the resemblance of the draperies in
which the statues were wrapt to the toga, it seems probable that this
theatre was Roman; but the execution of the capitals and bases have
none of that degeneracy of style which characterizes the works of the
lower empire; and we should be disposed to attribute them to the time
of Augustus or of Hadrian, when Roman art was undoubtedly entitled
to our respect, and (we may also say), in various instances, to our
admiration. The whole depth of the theatre, including the seats, the
orchestra and the stage, appears to have been about one hundred and
fifty English feet, and the length of the scene about the same. The
porticoes at the back of the seats are two hundred and fifty feet
in length, and the space between these and the colonnade at the
back of the scene is of equal extent. The whole building would thus
appear to have been included in a square of two hundred and fifty
feet, not including the depth of the portico behind the subsellia,
which is at present rather uncertain. The theatre has been built,
like many of the Greek theatres, against the side of a hill, which
forms the support of the subsellia; and the highest range of seats
appears to have been upon a level with the platform from which it
was approached at the back. On this level also are the porticoes
behind the seats; which would seem to prove, if other evidence were
wanting, that the cunei were not approached by internal passages,
of which there are no indications, but from the platform just
mentioned (on a level with the highest range of seats) from which
the spectators descended to the lower ranges. There appears to
have been a row of columns, inclosing the uppermost range of seats;
and as we found several statues in the orchestra, close under the
subsellia, it may perhaps be supposed that the upper part of the
theatre was decorated with these ornaments, the place of which
was probably between the columns of the peristyle in question,
since the statues appear to have fallen from some place above the
level of the seats; and we know of no situation more appropriate
for them than along the colonnade we have mentioned.
This theatre is placed by the side of the road leading down to
the fountain, and must have been a beautiful object when perfect;
the richness of the materials of which the columns were formed,
adding greatly to the effect of the building, if not in point of
taste, at least in point of costliness and splendour. The style and
execution of the remaining parts of this structure have not however
been neglected; and we often stopped to admire the beauty of the
Corinthian capitals, which were carved with great sharpness and
freedom, and exhibited considerable taste of design. The position of
this building will be seen in the ground plan of the city (p. 520);
it is the most northern, and the largest of the two. The plan of the
other theatre differs materially from that of the one which we have
just described, and its proportions are also very different. The
depth of the orchestra is much less in proportion to its width,
and the space allotted to the seats is at the same time greater for
the size of the building. Instead of being approached from above,
as that which we have first mentioned appears to have been, there
are five passages (or vomitoria), by which the spectators entered,
and two communicating with some place beneath the front of the stage
which are so much blocked up with rubbish, occasioned chiefly by the
fall of the roof, that we could not explore them to the end. These
passages descend very abruptly towards the centre, and appear to
communicate with the same point, or with each other; they have been
arched with blocks of stone, ranged longitudinally, and are of very
good construction. We were able to go down thirty-two feet in one
of them, after some little trouble in clearing the entrance; but
the impediments which then presented themselves were too serious
for our time and resources. A casual observer would not have been
aware that there were any passages in this theatre by which the
spectators entered, so much was the whole building covered with
soil and vegetation; and it was only on close examination, that some
appearance of the arched roofs which covered them was discernable;
and we determined upon excavating in the same line below.
It soon appeared, that passages really existed; and we succeeded
in clearing one of them sufficiently to determine the fact beyond
dispute. We found that the roofs descended with the seats, some of
which they probably supported, but the floors appear to have been
level; or, at least, the inclination is so slight (if there be any)
as not to be ascertained by the eye. In the course of this excavation
we found that some of the rows of seats were hollow; and were in
hopes of discovering a further confirmation of the circumstance
mentioned by Vitruvius, that the Greeks were in the habit of
appropriating hollow spaces beneath the seats of their theatres
to the reception of brazen vases, by means of which the sound was
considerably improved. We were led to imagine the possibility of
this, from the fact of the spaces to which we allude having been
carefully formed, and not left merely for the purpose of saving
material, or adding to the lightness of the building. We found
nothing, however, which could be said to verify the conjecture; and
a few fragments of pottery, which were picked up in some of these
apertures, were all that presented themselves, in confirmation of
the practice alluded to, during the progress of our excavation[4].
We must observe, with respect to the passages which we have supposed
to have been used as entrances to the theatre, that they were all
of them on the same level, and had no other communication than with
a præcinction, a few feet above the orchestra; how many cannot
well be ascertained, as we could not, in the present state of the
building, determine the position of the lowest range of seats,
and the height of it from the level of the orchestra. The sides of
the passages were cased with stone and marble, and decorated with
architectural ornament; but we could not ascertain the elevation of
the front presented to the stage, no portion of which is standing:
perhaps, among the ruins which encumber the orchestra some details
of this might be found; but the little time which we had to excavate
did not allow us to search for them long, and some fragments of
Doric columns were all that we dug out, except blocks of stone and
marble. The passages were perfectly strait, and communicated direct
with the lower ranges of seats, from which the spectators must have
ascended to the upper ones; but we could not perceive any remains
of staircases, which were not perhaps necessary, considering the
moderate size of the building. No portion of the stage, except
the lower part of a wall, is now remaining, which indeed seems
rather to have formed a part of the proscenium, as it appears to be
somewhat in advance of the stage itself. The width of the orchestra
where it joins the proscenium is not more than sixty feet, and its
depth about eighty. The depth of the whole space occupied by the
seats is not more than forty feet. There are extensive remains of
building which appear to have been attached to this theatre, on its
eastern side: they seem to have inclosed public walks, and have been
surrounded by porticoes, and strong walls of considerable height,
in one of which a gate still remaining has been formed communicating
directly with one of the principal roads. In the neighbourhood of the
theatre we have last mentioned, there are still many statues above
ground, in excellent style. One of these, from the representation
of the Ammon’s head, and the eagles which ornament the armour,
is probably a statue of some one of the Ptolemies; and near it is
a female statue, one of the Cleopatras, Berenices, or Arsinoës,
perhaps, of the family.
We wished to have introduced a drawing which we made of the figure
first mentioned, the ornamental parts of which are beautifully
executed; but our limits will not allow of it. The head and limbs are
wanting, but the trunk, clothed in armour, is a beautiful example of
taste and execution. It is of white marble, much larger than life,
as is also the female statue near it, of corresponding dimensions.
There are several other statues above ground in this part of the
city, in the best style of Grecian art; and many good examples of
Roman sculpture, or it may be Roman portraits, executed by Greek
artists, which we should rather conclude from the excellence of the
workmanship employed in them, and from the fact of Cyrene having
been a colony of Greeks, even when under the dominion of Rome.
Every part of the city, and indeed of the suburbs, must have
formerly abounded in statues; and we are confident that excavation
judiciously employed, in many parts even indiscriminately, would
produce at the present time many admirable examples of sculpture.
We will now proceed to give some account of the amphitheatre, of
which considerable remains are still extant without the walls to the
westward of the town, and which must have been in its perfect state
a very conspicuous object from the sea. It has been constructed on
the verge of a precipice, commanding a most extensive and beautiful
view, and receiving in all its purity the freshness of the northern
breeze, so grateful in an African climate. Part of it is built
against the side of a hill which formed the support of the ranges of
seats fronting the precipice; and that portion of it which bordered
upon the verge of the descent rose abruptly from the edge, like a
stupendous wall, overlooking the country below. The foundations of
this part of the amphitheatre were, it may be imagined, remarkably
strong, and they still remain to a great extent very perfect; but
all the seats which they supported have been tumbled at once from
their places, and lie in masses of ruin beneath. This appears to
have been occasioned by a part of the substructure having given
way; and as we imagine the whole side to have fallen at once, the
crash must have been a tremendous one. On the opposite side, (that
which rests against the hill,) nearly forty rows of seats are still
remaining, one above the other; and as each of these are fifteen
inches in height, the edge of the precipice appears from the upper
seats to be close at the foot of the ranges, although the whole of
the arena intervenes, and it often made us giddy to look down from
them. As the lower ranges of seats are not in their places, it is
difficult to ascertain the diameter of the arena, but it seems to
have been more than a hundred feet across; and to have been, like
that which we have mentioned at Ptolemeta, of a perfectly circular
form. There is no appearance of any præcinctions, owing probably to
the absence of interior communications, which are not to be found
in this building; and it seems to have been chiefly approached
from the top, which is equal in height with the level summit of
the hill, against which the seats are on this side built. The most
natural approach would certainly have been that which leads from
the fountain of Apollo, along the edge of the descent which we
have mentioned: this will be evident from the plan of the city;
but strong walls, which are undoubtedly of ancient construction,
cross the road here so completely as to preclude the possibility of
any approach from the city to the amphitheatre in this direction. If
the walls which we allude to had not been standing at the present
day many feet above the level of the road, we should have concluded
that they must originally have contained gates which led to the
arena; but there is no appearance whatever of such communication,
even supposing that the gates were approached by flights of steps,
which would not have been an unreasonable conjecture.
The only road which remains (under the difficulties stated) must at
the same time have been a circuitous one; and as it communicated
merely with the level summit of the hill, against which the seats
rested, any approach to the arena, or other lower parts of the
amphitheatre, must have been by descents, right and left to them,
from the terrace (or platform) which surrounds the upper range of
seats, or by the staircases leading from it to the lower ranges,
of which decided vestiges are still remaining. The arena seems
to have been about a hundred English feet in diameter, and the
seats to have occupied a space of about eighty feet in depth; if we
reckon the level space (or platform) inclosing the amphitheatre at
twenty, the whole building will have stood upon three hundred feet
of ground. It could not be ascertained whether any subterranean
chambers existed communicating with the arena, as this part is
incumbered with the ruins of the fallen seats, and we had neither
time nor means to excavate in search of them; we should rather
conclude that there were not; for on the north side, where no seats
are remaining, (all this portion of the building having fallen down
the cliff,) the substructure is very apparent, and no arrangement
appears to have been made for vaults. There are remains of a Doric
colonnade along the edge of the cliff, forming the north side of
one of the spaces walled in to the eastward of the amphitheatre,
the capitals of which are beautifully formed, exhibiting all the
sharpness and taste peculiar to the early manner of executing the
order. Both these inclosures appear to have been appropriated to the
amphitheatre,—perhaps as public walks for the use of the audience;
but it is difficult to say how they were approached, either from the
east or from the west; and the two other sides are inaccessible, in
consequence of the abrupt descent of the cliff to the northward, and
the rise of the mountain to the southward of the inclosures. We have
already said that there is no appearance of any gates, by which the
amphitheatre could have been accessible from the eastward, through
the walled spaces here alluded to; but we think there must have
been a communication originally, although there are at present no
traces of any. There is a small building close to the eastern wall
of the inclosures, apparently of very early construction: it is a
simple quadrangle, without any interior divisions; and the remains of
several columns, all of which are not apparently in their original
places, are still visible on the north side of the structure, but
none are observable on the other sides. This building has also no
gate, and it is evident from the appearance of the walls, all of
which are standing, that there have never been any formed in it;
we will not pretend to say for what purpose it may have been erected.
In returning from the amphitheatre to the city, the road skirts
the edge of the cliff, which descends everywhere abruptly, and the
soil is kept up by strong walls along the brink of the descent,
without which it would be washed down by the winter rains, and the
buildings in time undermined. It is over a part of this wall that the
fountain of Apollo (which in ancient times was copiously distributed
over the city and fertile lands of Cyrene) now precipitates itself,
as it probably did in its natural state, into the plain, and finds
its way to the sea. Near the end of this wall begin the ranges of
tombs which skirt the northern face of the mountain below the city,
descending in galleries one above another, till they reach the level
of the plain at its foot. The summit is occupied by part of the city;
and the edge of the descent was here, as in front of the fountain,
skirted by a wall running along the whole line of the cliff, till
it joined that which enclosed Cyrene to the westward. From this
portion of the mountain descend five large ravines, once thickly
wooded with pine and other trees, which have been cleared for the
use of the town, and to disencumber the ground appropriated to the
tombs. Some of the ravines are, however, still partially wooded,
in many places very thickly, and springs of excellent water are
found in various parts of them.
The north side of the town, from its present appearance, does not
seem to have been ever much inhabited, and very few remains of
dwelling-houses are observable there. The buildings which still
exist are however of an interesting character, and excavation would
be particularly desirable in this part. Two eminences which rise
conspicuously above the general level of the summit are occupied
by the ruins of spacious temples, and close to the western wall
of the city is all that remains of the stadium. The largest of
the temples (we mean the ædes, without the columns) is a hundred
and sixty-nine English feet in length, and its breadth sixty-one
feet. It is of the Doric order, in its early style; and the capitals,
which with the columns are lying on the ground, still exhibit marks
of excellent taste and execution, though very much defaced by time;
they measure nine feet across, and the capital and abacus are of one
piece. The form of this building is peripteral; but the columns on
the sides appear to have been twelve in number, which is one more
than is allowed to temples of that class by Vitruvius, supposing
the edifice to be hexastyle; for in peripteral temples the number of
intercolumniations on the flanks should, according to this author,
be only double those of the front. That there were twelve columns,
however, appeared evident on the first inspection, from the existing
number of capitals lying on one of the sides of the temple; and on
adding two spaces, and the diameters of two columns to the length
of the ædes (or body of the temple), which is, as we have stated
from actual measurement, a hundred and sixty-nine English feet, and
comparing this measurement with that of twelve columns and eleven
spaces, the first number given was two hundred and five, and the
latter two hundred and four, which result was quite near enough to
be conclusive of the fact. In this calculation we have taken the
diameter of the columns, as they measured within an inch or two,
at six feet; and supposed the intercolumniation to be systyle,
that is two diameters of the columns. The same calculation applies
equally to the breadth of the temple, which would seem to prove
that the intercolumniation assumed was correct,—six columns and
five spaces giving ninety-six,—and the breadth of the ædes, with
two spaces, and the diameters of two columns added, ninety-seven;
bringing the results within one of each other, as in the instance
just given with regard to the length. Traces are still remaining
of a pronaos and posticus; but one of the walls of the pronaos
(the only one remaining) has a very decided return of two feet
(at its central extremity) in the direction of the cella. The depth
of the posticus is at the same time much greater than that of the
pronaos, and rather more than half as much as that of the cella:
this distribution is, however, consistent with the character of the
climate; for the rain falls very heavily, and almost incessantly,
during the winter season at Cyrene; and the unusual space given to
the posticus would be found very serviceable to the inhabitants,
particularly as the temple was somewhat removed from what may be
called the inhabited part of the town. The same reasoning would apply
equally in summer time, for the heat of Cyrene is at that period
very great. An additional motive for increasing the posticus so
much beyond its usual dimensions would be found in the width of the
ambulatory (which is regulated by that of the intercolumniations),
for the systyle species is too contracted to afford much shelter on
any occasion; and we may probably assume, from the calculations above
stated, that the temple in question was in fact of that species,
although the intercolumniation could not otherwise be ascertained,
on account of the encumbered and ruined state of the building,
which we had no opportunity of excavating.
We should mention that the walls of the ædes have decided returns
of six feet both in front and rear of the temple, towards the two
columns which range in a line with them; they are about four feet
and a half in thickness, and one of the stones of which they were
composed measured fifteen feet in length.
The smaller temple, like that which we have just described, was
built upon a rising ground, and had the additional elevation of a
very solid basement or substructure, considerably raised above the
level of the summit of the hill, part of which (about four-and-twenty
feet) has been left as a kind of terrace round the building. The
disposition of the columns is by no means evident in this temple,
and the number is very uncertain; but the ambulatory must have
been a good deal below the pavement of the ædes, since there
is no space allowed for it upon the basement we have mentioned;
and it must consequently have been upon the terrace beneath it,
which appears to have been left for that purpose. The columns
must therefore have been unconnected with the roof, and have
merely supported the covering of the ambulatory. Indeed, it seems
likely that the portico was altogether detached from the ædes,
and judging from the remains of a wall, which appears to be part
of the original plan, and the position of a column without it,
we may perhaps suppose that it was situated on the edge of the
terrace above-mentioned; and that the whole space of four-and-twenty
feet between this wall and that of the ædes, was a space between
the portico and the body of the temple, which does not appear to
have been covered in. In this disposition we imagine the wall just
alluded to to have formed the back of the portico, and the column,
still remaining, to have been one of the range which supported its
roof in front. Immediately below this column the ground descends,
and traces may be observed of steps leading up to it.
In the ædes there seem to have been only a pronaos and cella;
and in the latter is a detached mass of building, raised above the
level of the other parts of it, for which we are wholly at a loss
to account, there being no analogy between its disposition and that
of any part of a cella in its usual arrangements.
The length of the ædes is a hundred and eleven feet, and its
breadth fifty feet; the outer walls are four feet in thickness, and
that of the pronaos somewhat more than three. The capitals of some
fluted columns which are now lying at the foot of the hill on which
the temple stands, are of no established order of architecture,
and may perhaps be said to be a mixture of Greek and Egyptian; a
coalition which we should certainly expect to meet with at Cyrene,
but of which we recollect to have seen only a few instances. Close
to this building, on its northern side, is the quarry from which the
stone employed in its construction was probably taken, forming a deep
trench at the foot of the hill. The aspect of both temples is nearly
east, as is usual, we believe, in buildings of such a description.
To the eastward of the larger temple, and close to the city walls,
are the remains of the stadium, part of which is excavated in the
rocky soil on which it stands, and those parts only built which
the rock could not supply. Its length is somewhat more than seven
hundred feet, and its breadth about two hundred and fifty. The
course is now so much buried, and overgrown with long grass and
other vegetation, that the mode in which it was disposed could
not be ascertained with any certainty; neither is it easy to
decide clearly how much space was allotted to the seats, which
do not occupy at present more than five-and-thirty feet on either
side. The whole is, in fact, (like the temples,) in a very ruinous
state, and nearly all the constructed part has disappeared. There
are two masses of building to the north-westward of the stadium,
which appear to have had some connection with it, but we will not
venture to state any decided opinion with respect to their precise
use. One of them is a solid quadrangular mass, now about five
feet in height, which appears to have been intended as a station
merely, from which the horses and chariots of those contending for
the prize might be inspected as they entered or came out of the
stadium, for it is not sufficiently elevated to command a view
of the course. It is fifty-eight feet in length by eighteen in
breadth, without any appearance of having been more than a kind
of raised platform, unvaried by architectural ornament; and we
have only suggested the use for it mentioned because we cannot in
fact assign any other to it. The second may, perhaps, have been a
small temple, or some building in which the contending parties, and
those who had the management or superintendence of the games, might
assemble to make arrangements respecting the course, or to settle
any differences which might arise with regard to the race. Its form
is similar to that of a temple, without external columns; but there
is some appearance of there having been a colonnade attached to it,
supported by the walls of the building. It is raised upon a small
eminence, about an hundred feet to the westward of the terrace,
near the entrance of the stadium. Westward of the circular part
of the hippodrome, and to the south-east of the largest of the
temples which have been described, is a walled space of ground
of considerable extent, which may have been appropriated to the
gymnasium; but there is so little at present remaining within its
limits, that we will not venture an opinion respecting it. We could
very much have wished to excavate in parts of this inclosure, as well
as about the temple themselves, but our time and means would not
allow of it: the stadium would probably afford little of interest,
for the stones which were employed in its construction appear to have
been carried away in later times to serve in other buildings; and,
indeed, little more could be expected from excavating the temples,
than fragments of architecture too much decayed by time to render
them particularly useful in furnishing details, or of statues which
enthusiasm and bigotry have probably defaced, if they should even
have been spared by the hand of time.
The city walls approach closely to the southern extremity of the
stadium, and are in this part very decided. They begin from the
verge of a deep ravine, as will appear by the plan, and continue in
an unbroken line to the spacious reservoirs (at the south-eastern
angle of the city) which are mentioned in the publication of
Dr. Della Cella. Here we lose traces of them, but they again make
their appearance on the south side of the buildings just alluded to,
and extend to the brink of the large ravine with which the aqueduct
communicated. Beyond this (the aqueduct), a wall was unnecessary,
for the mountain descends perpendicularly to the bed of the ravine,
and renders all approach to the town in this direction impossible;
and as the wall of the aqueduct has not been built with arches,
but carried along the mountain in a solid mass, it would have been
fully sufficient for the purpose of defence, and was probably built
solid with this intention.
Square towers were attached to the city wall in various parts, not
apparently at regular intervals, but approaching each other more
closely where the ground was low, and consequently more favourable to
the attack of an enemy. Several parts of the wall have been excavated
in the rocky soil on which they stood, and building only employed
where the rock was not sufficiently high to render it unnecessary. It
should be stated, that the masses of rock here alluded to were not
of the nature of a cliff, but detached masses rising in irregular
forms as well from within as without the walls. It is evident,
as will appear by the plan of the city, that the line of wall was
continued round the large reservoirs above mentioned, so as to
inclose them completely within its limits, a precaution which might
naturally be expected in a climate where water is so valuable. If the
winter rains should fail, which we should scarcely think possible
at Cyrene, these cisterns might have been filled from the aqueduct
which communicated with the principal fountain, for although it
only extended across the high ground to the westward of the town,
there are traces of conduits, or water-courses, in every part of
the city, leading towards the place on which it has been built.
We ought not to omit on this occasion a few remarks which are
necessary on the subject of the reservoirs here alluded to, as they
may serve to explain an error into which Signor Della Cella appears
to have fallen, with respect to the inscriptions which he found in
them. He has informed us, that these inscriptions were in a language
altogether unknown to us, each stone of the interior wall bearing
a separate letter, so that the inscriptions continued, in parallels
with the ranges of stone, along the whole length of the buildings in
question. The partial absence of light, and the immediate presence
of water in these spacious and gloomy subterranean inclosures,
appear to have conspired, with the inconvenient position which it
was necessary for the Doctor to take, in preventing him from copying
more than a few of them. These, however, he tells us, may probably
be serviceable in contributing towards the elements of languages now
wrapt in obscurity; languages which are the only means at present
afforded us of checking the various statements which have come down
to us upon the authority of Greek historians, and other writers in
that language, who it is well known (Signor Della Cella observes)
were so much attached to every thing peculiar to themselves, that
they could not avoid pointing out a Grecian origin for whatever bore
the traces of civilization. We give the passage here alluded to in
the Doctor’s own words[5], and proceed to mention, that the letters
which compose his inscriptions have no other meaning than that which
is usually conveyed by what are called quarry marks, and do not form
any sentence or any single word. Many of them are Greek letters,
which are occasionally reversed, and placed in various positions,
so that the same letter might at first sight be taken for several
others distinct from itself; sometimes two or more Greek letters
appear together on the same stone, (occasionally united in a kind
of cipher,) and their forms are often made out so rudely, from the
dispatch used in cutting and often scratching them on the blocks
of stone, as not to bear a very close resemblance to the usual
ones. Some of them are not letters of any kind, but simply marks
or characters invented for the occasion, as will be observed by
the instances which are given of them below[6]. We fear, too, that
even if the characters in question had really been inscriptions
of the greatest importance, they must have been for ages lost to
the world, and were certainly never intended to meet the public
eye by those who had them placed where they are; for the whole
interior of the cisterns, or reservoirs, upon the stones of which
they are inscribed, have been coated with a thick and very hard
cement, which still remains perfect in a great many places. We may
add that these cisterns, which are three in number, one at right
angles with the two others, are partly built, and partly excavated
in the rock, as Signor Della Cella very truly observes. The roofs
are arched with stone and beautifully turned; indeed, the whole
construction of these vaulted chambers, in which large and very
regularly-shaped stones have been employed, is excellent in the
highest degree. Externally, the roofs are built up on the sides,
and form at the top long platforms, or terraces, each of more than
a hundred and fifty feet in length, along which we have often walked
with pleasure admiring the beauty of their structure.
The south-eastern part of the city appears to be that which was
most thickly inhabited, and the number of small buildings crowded
closely together are, in their present state, likely to exercise
the patience of those who may endeavour to make out their plans. We
gave up the task as a hopeless undertaking after a few days’
attentive examination of these remains; and it seems probable,
that if we had even succeeded in giving all the details which
can now be procured of them, little interesting matter would have
resulted from the collection. Those in the centre of the town (in
the neighbourhood of the theatres) are of much more importance;
and the remains in the space between the theatres and the aqueduct
have very considerable interest. We do not think, however, that
satisfactory plans could be given of either without a great deal
of excavation, and we should certainly hesitate in giving names to
any which we have not already described from the details which we
were able to procure of them. In the large inclosed space attached
to the smaller theatre, where there are still traces of colonnades
extending three hundred feet, is a semicircular building situated
at the western extremity of one of the porticoes (or colonnades)
here alluded to, which resembles in its form the tribunal of
a basilica. It is possible that this might have been the forum,
as the porticoes would have afforded very ample convenience in any
weather for the transaction of business; and its position, close
to the principal road leading through the centre of the town with
which it communicates by a gateway, would at the same time have
been equally favourable. Its situation, however, with regard to the
theatre, to which it is decidedly attached, has rather led us to
imagine, that this place contained the covered walks, or porticoes,
for the convenience, or shelter in rainy weather, of the audience;
as which we have mentioned it above. The central space, where there
are no traces of building, with the exception of a kind of raised
platform opposite the gateway, were most probably in that case laid
out as a garden; and the whole together would have somewhat resembled
in plan the garden and covered walks of the Palais Royal at Paris. A
very strong wall, on the south side of which is the gateway, extends
at the present day round three sides of the place; and the southern
wall appears to have been continued about four hundred feet farther
in the same line (turning then to the north in a line parallel with
the eastern wall), and to have inclosed the small theatre within
its limits. We have already mentioned the statues which we found in
this space, at the back of the theatre now alluded to; and suggested
that one of them in all probability was a resemblance of one of
the Ptolemies; the head of the statue is wanting, and we fear it
has been knocked off at some period by the Arabs of the place, for
the chance of disposing of it at Tripoly or Bengazi; a fate which
has befallen many a beautiful example of Grecian art, now lying in
the city and the neighbourhood of Cyrene. It is possible, however,
that it might be found in the course of excavation, although we
did not ourselves succeed in discovering it in the parts where we
dug for it about the statue. We remember to have been very anxious
upon the occasion, and fancied that we should know a head of any
of the Lagides, meet with it wherever we might. It was from the
decorations carved upon the armour, as we have stated in another
place, that we imagined this statue to be the portrait of a Ptolemy;
and it is well known that the eagle and the head of Jupiter Ammon are
usually borne on the coins of that family. If it had been possible,
we should have brought home what remains of this statue (which is
merely the trunk), as well as several other very excellent examples
of Grecian sculpture in its neighbourhood; and we are convinced, that
excavation judiciously employed in the central and eastern parts of
Cyrene, would bring to light many beautiful specimens of art, now
covered only with the soil and vegetation which have been allowed
to accumulate for ages about them. There have been several public
buildings of importance immediately without the walls inclosing
the theatre, of which plans might perhaps be satisfactorily made,
if excavation were employed for the purpose; and it is very probable
that inscriptions might at the same time be found, which would help
to throw light upon the nature of the buildings, and to ascertain
the period at which they were erected. There must be a considerable
number of those buried in different parts of the city; for we never
saw an ancient town in which fewer inscriptions are to be seen
than that of Cyrene; especially for a town in which literature and
the fine arts were cultivated with so much success. The few which
we copied are scarcely worth inserting, and we shall only give (in
addition to that over the fountain) another in Doric Greek, which is
given by Signor Della Cella, in the reading of which we also differ
in some respects from his copy. It was found upon a stone bearing the
form of a pedestal, immediately without the wall above mentioned;
and the Doctor has suggested that the remains of a female statue,
seated in a chair, which is lying in the road not far from it, was
the representation of Claudia Arete, the matron, in commemoration of
whose benevolence and virtue the inscription in question was erected
by the Cyreneans. We give it below[7], but are not of opinion that
the statue alluded to by Dr. Della Cella ever occupied a place
upon the pedestal inscribed. Near this female statue is another
of a young man (also without the head) which we never remember to
have seen equalled in Greek sculpture, for the taste and execution
of the drapery.
There are some extensive remains of building, with a very handsome
colonnade, on the high ground between the small theatre and the
aqueduct, which appear to be those of a palace or other residence
of more than ordinary importance. From the northern colonnade
the ground descends abruptly, and the soil is kept up by a wall
which forms the back part of the chambers built at the foot of
it. These consist of a single range of quadrangular apartments,
which appear to have been from twenty-five to thirty in number;
their length (at right angles with the wall already mentioned)
is about forty feet, and their average breadth (for they differ in
some instances) about twenty. It is not at present evident, whether
these communicated with the building above them or not; but one of
them has had a wall built across it, opposite to that which forms
the back of the chambers, in which there is no door, so that there
could not have been any access to it from the lower ground. There
is at the same time no appearance of any staircase leading down to
them from above; and if there had, it would have been necessary to
have built a separate one for each, for they have no communication
one with another. We do not, therefore, imagine that all of them
have been closed, but that they had access to the ground in front of
them, and none to the colonnades and chambers above. That which is
built across is placed at one angle of the range, and is eight feet
wider the average breadth, taking it at twenty feet. If a groom or
a coachman were to give an opinion with respect to the use of the
chambers in question, with reference to the structure above, they
would certainly decide, without the least hesitation, that this
uniform, long range of building, was the stabling of the palace,
and could only have been appropriated to the horses and chariots
of the noble Cyrenean who inhabited it. As we have never seen the
stables of any ancient residence, whether Grecian or Roman, we will
not venture to assign such a use to these chambers; but it is well
known that the Cyreneans were particularly celebrated for their
skilful management of horses and chariots, and we must confess,
without being either coachmen or grooms, that such an appropriation
did more than once occur to us[8].
There are remains of apartments adjoining each other to the
westward of the handsome colonnades which we have mentioned, the
plans of which we would not hazard without excavation; nor could
we without it complete that of the porticoes, the columns of which
are nearly four feet in diameter. The whole building appears to
have extended about three hundred feet in a southerly direction,
and to have occupied more than four hundred in length from east to
west. There are remains of much larger columns, near the road, at
the southern extremity of this large mass of building; and we feel
confident that matter of considerable interest is still to be found
beneath the rich soil which covers it, in their immediate vicinity
and neighbourhood. Corn is now growing over a great part of the
ground in question; and an old Arab, who was employed in cutting it
down, when we measured the remains of building just described, was
greatly astonished at the trouble we gave ourselves in walking over
and examining them in a very hot day; when he could scarcely himself
make his mind up to cut down his wheat, which was certainly a matter
(he said) of much more importance. He had his gun ready charged by
his side, and moved it along with him as he changed his position in
reaping; a ceremony at which we should have been a little surprised,
if we had not before seen frequent instances of similar precaution
in the Arabs of the Syrtis and Cyrenaica. In fact, the Bedouin,
like the Albanian or the Corsican, never stirs out without his gun,
if he has one; for it rarely happens that any individual has not
some feud upon his hands, and it is necessary to be provided with
the means of defence, in a country where every man is the legal
avenger of his own or his family’s wrongs. We use the term Bedouin,
because, although our swarthy friend was cutting wheat, he was at the
same time a wandering Arab; and only visited the place periodically,
chiefly during the summer season. For three parts of the year Cyrene
is untenanted, except by jackalls and hyænas, and the Bedouins pitch
their tents chiefly on the low ground to the southward of the range
on which the city is built. Were it not for its elevated position,
Cyrene would probably, on account of its luxuriant pasturage, and
the abundant supply of fresh water which it possesses, be at all
times a favourite haunt of the wandering tribes of the Cyrenaica:
but the Arab, for an active man, is one of the most lazy of any race
of people with which we are acquainted, and will rather forego a
very decided advantage than give himself much trouble in acquiring
or maintaining it; he would in consequence easily persuade himself
that the advantages which Cyrene must be acknowledged to possess,
would be more than counterbalanced by the trouble of ascending and
descending its hills, and of driving his flocks and his camels to
water in places which would be thought inconvenient.
We are not aware that it will be of any service to dwell further
upon the nature and condition of the buildings of Cyrene; as much
as we were able to collect (with the time and means which we had
at our disposal) has already been given of the objects most worthy
of notice; and to say more would only be to offer conjecture,
on subjects which do not afford sufficient data to authorise
particular description.
In fact, the whole of the existing remains of this ancient and
once beautiful city are at present little more than a mass of
ruin; and the tombs afford the most perfect examples of Grecian
art now remaining in Cyrene. To give plans of half these would be
impossible, unless whole years of labour were devoted to the task;
but we really believe, that any zealous antiquary, any person with
tolerable feeling for the arts, would with pleasure devote every
day to such employment should he find himself stationed for years
in their neighbourhood.
We never, ourselves, passed our time more agreeably, than in
collecting the details which we have been able to procure of them;
and shall never forget the sensations of delight—we will not
use a less impressive term—which we experienced on our first
introduction to these beautiful examples of Grecian art.
The position of the tombs, as well as that of the city, has
been already described, and too much can scarcely be said in its
praise; we wish that our limits would allow us to give more of the
architectural details of the former than can be collected from the
general view of them; but we shall probably avail ourselves of some
other opportunity of submitting a few examples to public inspection,
and can only at present refer for some idea of them to the view which
we have just alluded to. To have lived in the flourishing times of
Cyrene would indeed have been a source of no trivial enjoyment; and
we are ashamed to say how often we have envied those who beheld its
numerous buildings in a state of perfection, and occupied, in their
former cultivated state, the beautiful spots on which they stand.
We must not, however, take our leave of the city, without adverting
once more to the excavated channel that has been formed for the water
of the principal fountain, to which we have formerly alluded. We had
been so much occupied in walking over the ruins, and collecting the
details of Cyrene and Apollonia, that it was only the day before
we set out on our return to Bengazi, that we were able to explore
this passage to the end. It is formed entirely in the rock from
which the stream issues, and runs, in an irregular course, for
nearly a quarter of a mile into the bowels of the mountain: the
sides and roof of the passage are flat, where time and the action
of the current (which is very strong) have not worn them away;
but the bottom is encumbered with stones, bedded fast in a quantity
of clay which has accumulated about it and against the sides. The
general height of this subterranean channel is scarcely five feet,
an elevation which we found rather inconvenient, for it obliged us
to stoop a good deal in advancing; and as it would not have been
possible to examine the place properly, or indeed to have preserved
our light, without keeping the head and body in an upright position,
we usually found the water making higher encroaches than its chilling
cold rendered agreeable.
In some places, however, where there appear to have been originally
flaws or fissures in the rock, the roof was irregular, and there
was room enough to stand upright, an occurrence of which we very
gladly availed ourselves, to the great relief of our knees. We
found the average width from three to four feet, although in the
places just mentioned it was occasionally as much as six feet;
and were it not for the clay which has been collected against the
sides, we should often have suffered from their roughness. From the
irregularity of the course of the passage we were obliged to take
bearings very often; and at each time we stopped for this purpose
we took down the distance measured with our chain between the point
we stopped at and the last; so that after much trouble we succeeded
in obtaining a tolerably correct plan of the whole. The length and
course of the channel will be seen in the plan of Cyrene, where it
is marked with a dotted line beginning from the cliff, at the foot
of which the fountain now discharges itself, and runs across the
level ground on which the amphitheatre, and little temple (as we
have named it) of Diana are situated. Within forty feet of the end
of the channel (that is to say, about thirteen hundred feet from its
beginning at the foot of the cliff), it becomes so low, that a man
cannot advance farther without creeping upon his hands and knees,
and then finishes in a small aperture scarcely a foot in diameter,
beyond which of course it is impossible to penetrate. We were
not a little surprised at the length of this singular excavation,
which seemed, as we advanced, as if it never would finish; and as
we could not accelerate our mode of operation without sacrificing
the plan of the passage, we had to remain for several hours in
the water before we had completed our task. We must say, however,
that with all the inconvenience of the stooping position which we
were obliged to assume, and the extreme cold of the water, we found
the undertaking a very agreeable one, for the interest naturally
increased with the length of the passage, and we were more than
rewarded for our trouble and temporary annoyance before we reached
the end of the passage. In fact we observed after continuing our
route for some time, that the clay, which we have already mentioned
had been washed down in considerable quantities by the current,
was occasionally plastered against the sides of the passage,
and smoothed very carefully with the palm of the hand: in this we
thought we perceived that something like letters had been scratched,
which we should scarcely have thought it worth while to examine,
had we not been a little curious to know what Europeans had visited
the place before us; we knew of none besides Signor Della Cella, who
does not appear from his own account to have penetrated more than a
few steps beyond the entrance[9]—probably to the first turning,
as far as which the light from without would guide him. Our first
conclusion was, that some of our own party had taken this method
of writing their names on the wall,—a practice which John Bull
seldom neglects in any part of the world which he visits; or that
some intrepid Arab had allowed his curiosity to prevail over his
fear of evil spirits, and penetrated thus far into the subterranean
channel[10]: it never, in effect, for a moment occurred to us, that
the characters (whatever they were,), which might be traced on so
perishable a surface, were of more than very recent formation. Our
surprise may in consequence be readily imagined when we found,
on a closer examination, that the walls of the place were covered
with Greek inscriptions; some of which, from their dates, must
have remained on the wet clay for more than fifteen hundred years,
whatever might have been the periods at which others had been
written: the preservation of these may certainly be accounted for,
by the dampness of the place, and its extreme seclusion, which would
conspire to prevent the clay from cracking and dropping off, and from
being rubbed off by intruders; but we were not prepared to meet with
inscriptions engraved on so yielding a substance, and certainly not
to find that, having once been written, they should have remained on
it down to the present day, as perfect as when they were left there
by those whose visit they were intended to commemorate. They consist,
of course, chiefly in a collection of names; many of which are Roman,
and the earliest of the most conspicuous dates which we remarked and
copied, (for it would take whole days to read and copy them all)
were those of the reign of Dioclesian. We could collect no other
fact from those which we read, than that a priest appears to have
officiated at the fountain, after Cyrene became a Roman colony,
whose name and calling (in the form επι ιερεος, &c.) are
usually written after the name of the visiter. They are in general
very rudely scratched, with a point of any kind (a sword or knife,
perhaps, or the stone of a ring,) and often with the point of the
fingers. We observed a few Arabic inscriptions among the rest, but
were so much occupied in reading over the Greek ones, in order to
gain some intelligence respecting the fountain, which might serve to
throw light upon the period at which the channel was excavated, or
other questions of interest, that we neglected to copy them. There
is an appearance in one of the Greek inscriptions of allusion to
the name of Apollo, the deity to whom we suppose this fountain
to have been sacred; but the letters are not sufficiently clear to
establish the fact decidedly, although we do not see what other sense
could be given to the words in question, with so much probability
of being that which the writer intended; and it is plain, that as
the sentence now stands it is incomplete[11]. We could not succeed
in finding any Greek dates of antiquity, although the Greek names
are very numerous; but a person accustomed to the many negligent
modes of writing the character, with plenty of time and light at his
disposal, might probably succeed in finding Greek inscriptions of
more interest than we were able to discover in the mass of writing
here alluded to; a great portion of which, as might naturally
be expected, consists of rude scrawls and hasty scratches—mere
apologies in fact for letters almost of any kind. That the fountain
continued to be an object of curiosity, and probably of religious
veneration, after the cession of the country to the Romans, may,
however, be inferred from what we have stated; and a minimum may
at least be established with respect to the date of the excavated
channel, if we cannot ascertain the precise time of its formation,
or whether it was cut at one or at several periods.
We have already mentioned that several hours had elapsed, from
the time of our entering the channel to that of our re-appearance
at its mouth; and we really believe that the Arabs of the place,
who had collected themselves round the fountain to see us come out,
were extremely disappointed to find that no accident had befallen
any one of the party; in spite of the demons so confidently believed
to haunt its dark and mysterious recesses. For our own parts, we
could not help laughing very heartily at the ridiculous appearance
which each of us exhibited on first coming into the light, covered
as we were from head to foot with the brown clay accumulated in the
channel of the fountain, which had adhered too closely to be washed
away by the stream, although its current, as we have mentioned,
was extremely rapid.
As the next day was that which had been fixed for our departure,
we employed the remainder of the afternoon in making preparations
for the journey, and set out early on the following morning
for Bengazi. Captain Beechey and Lieutenant Coffin had already
preceded us, with the intention of running over to Malta, in order
to procure a small vessel for the embarkation of the statues, which
we had decided upon removing to Apollonia, where the vessel would
have taken them on board. On their arrival, however, at Bengazi,
they found a packet of letters from England; and among them, was
a despatch from the Foreign Office, which made it necessary that
we should alter our plan, and give up any further operations. As
the season was far advanced, during which any vessels are found in
the harbour of Bengazi, a passage was secured in the last which
remained, and camels were despatched to Cyrene to bring away our
baggage and tents.
The interval was employed in completing the plans of the buildings
and tombs at Cyrene; and that of the excavated channel of the
fountain was the last upon which we employed ourselves. We had
determined, on first discovering this passage, to explore it as far
as it might be found practicable, and the first leisure moment was
accordingly devoted to it on the day which preceded our departure.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 1: See Shaw’s Travels in Barbary vol. ii. p. 286.]
[Footnote 2: “About forty years ago, when M. Le Maire was French
consul at Tripoly, he made great inquiries, by order of the French
court, into the truth of this report; and amongst other very curious
accounts relating to the same place, he told me a remarkable
circumstance to the great discredit and even confutation of all
that had been so positively advanced with regard to the petrified
bodies of men, children, and other animals. Some of the Janizaries
who, in collecting the tribute, travel over every year one part or
other of this district of Ras Sem, promised him that, as an adult
person would be too heavy and burdensome, they would undertake, for
a certain number of dollars, to bring him from thence the body of
a little child. After a great many pretended difficulties, delays,
and disappointments, they produced at length a little Cupid, which
they had found, as he learnt afterwards, among the ruins of Leptis;
and to conceal the deceit, they broke off the quiver and some other
of the distinguishing characteristics of that deity.”
“M. Le Maire’s inquiries (he continues), which we find were
supported by the promise and performance of great rewards, have
brought nothing further to light. He could never learn, after
sending a number of persons expressly, and at a great expense, to
make discoveries, that any traces of walls or buildings, animals, or
utensils, were ever to be seen within the verge of these pretended
petrifactions. The same account he heard from a Sicilian renegado,
who attended him as Janissary while in Egypt, and assured him that
he had been several times at Ras Sem; and also from another Sicilian
renegado, whom the Bashaw of Tripoly had appointed Bey or Viceroy
of the province of Derna, where Ras Sem was immediately under his
jurisdiction.”]
[Footnote 3: The position of Ghirrza, and of several of the most
conspicuous objects on the road to that place from Tripoly, are
as follows:—
Latitudes. Longitudes.
° ′ ″ ° ′ ″
Ghirrza Ruins 31 07 16 14 40 50
Benhoulat Square Tower 31 28 10 14 18 15
Benioleet Castle 31 45 38 14 12 10
Wady Denator-huts 31 52 10 14 03 50
Wou-lad-ben-Merian Pass 32 21 40 13 34 22
Wahryan Mountain-summit 32 07 50 13 02 10
]
[Footnote 4: The passage of Vitruvius in question, is as follows,
as we have extracted it from Wilkins’s translation:—
“From the foregoing investigations,”—those of Aristoxenus
on the doctrine of harmony, “brazen vases have been made upon
mathematical calculations, proportioned to the magnitude of the
theatre. They are so constructed, that upon being struck, they
form amongst themselves concords of the fourth, fifth, regularly in
succession, on to the double octave. They are then arranged amongst
the seats of the theatre according to a certain musical proportion,
in cells made for their reception. They ought not to be placed in
contact with the wall, but have a vacant space above and around
them. They should be inverted, and the edge next the stage raised by
means of wedges, six inches in height at the least: apertures ought
to be made in the seats of the lower row, opposite to the cells,
two feet in width, and one in height.”
“If the theatre be not very spacious,” continues our author,
“thirteen arched cells will be sufficient, in which as many vases
are to be placed in the order which he proceeds to point out, by
observing which, the voice,” he says, “which diverges every
where from the stage, as from a centre, striking each of these
hollow vases, will acquire an increase of clearness and strength,
and at the same time produce corresponding tones in concord with its
own sounds.” “It may, perhaps, be said,” continues Vitruvius,
“that many theatres are built every year at Rome, in which no
attention has been paid to these points: the objection, however,
is not applicable; because it is not considered that all public
theatres constructed with wood have many surfaces, which act as
sounding-boards. The truth of which will be manifest, if we observe
those who sing to the harp; who, whenever they wish to sing in
a higher tone, turn themselves to the leaves of the scene; from
which they receive the assistance of corresponding sounds. But when
theatres are not sonorous, in consequence of their being built with
solid materials, such as stone or marble, whether wrought or unhewn,
it then becomes necessary to have recourse to the expedient just
explained. Many skilful architects, who have built theatres in small
towns, have, in order to lessen the expense, adopted vases of pottery
instead of brass, of the same pitch; and, by arranging them according
to these principles have produced the most useful effects.”
We may remark on this subject, that it has hitherto been doubted,
by persons well qualified to judge of architectural details, whether
the practice alluded to by Vitruvius in the foregoing passage,
was ever really adopted by the ancients for the purpose which
he mentions. Mr. Wilkins has noticed a passage in Pliny, which
alludes to a mode of building peculiar to the walls of theatres;
in the construction of which, hollow vessels of earthenware were
immured, and whenever it was required to prolong the vibrations,
or to increase the powers of the voice, the orchestra was strewn
with sand or saw-dust, by which means, the voice being directed to
the body of the house, the sounds were carried along the walls so
long as there was no impediment to obstruct their course; whereas,
in the walls of other edifices, the interior space between the
two faces of the wall was filled in with rubble. “In describing
this mode of building,” continues Mr. Wilkins, “Pliny might
have had our author in view; whose mention of vases received a
degree of confirmation from the fact, that earthern vessels were
sometimes inserted in the masonry of ancient buildings. An instance
in which this practice has been adopted, occurs in the Circus
of Caracalla. Vases are there found regularly distributed in the
stone work above the crown of the arches, which were constructed
for the purpose of giving a proper degree of elevation to the seats
of the spectators. The object of their introduction seems to be the
diminution of weight. Vitruvius confesses (Mr. Wilkins adds) that
there was no theatre at Rome which had vases for such a purpose;
although he states them to have been in use in the provinces
of Italy, and in most of the cities of Greece. It is certain,
however, that in the various theatres which have fallen within our
observation, no provision has been made for the reception of vases,
in the situation which Vitruvius assigns to them.”
Since the publication of Mr. Wilkins’s Vitruvius, the researches of
Mr. William Bankes have fortunately enabled him to throw light upon
the subject in question; for in Syria this gentleman discovered a
theatre which was constructed in the manner alluded to by Vitruvius,
and in which some of the vases were actually found in the situations
which he has assigned to them.
We had flattered ourselves on first perceiving the hollow spaces,
which were left under the seats of the theatre which we are
describing at Cyrene, that we had ourselves discovered a second
confirmation of this practice; but no brazen vases appeared in the
spaces in question; and the few remains of pottery which we found
in some of them, will not even justify us in asserting that they
contained originally vases of earthenware.]
[Footnote 5: “Ho trovato che internamente ciascuna di queste
pietre era scolpita di una lettera d’ un alfabeto a me ignoto;
cosi la serie di queste lettere veniva a formare una linea, e queste
linee si ripetevano per ogni serie di pietre. Tentai de copiarle,
ed entrai con questo progetto nell’ aquidotto; ma tra la poca
luce che vi trapeleva da soli luoghi ov’ era rotto, e l’acqua
che spesso a lunghi tratti vi ristagnava, e l’incomoda positura
che doveva prendere per ben riconoscerle, dovette ristarmi dall’
intrapresa. Benche questi caratteri, del pari che altre iscrizioni
segnate sopra queste rovine, appartengano a lingue perdute affatto;
tuttavolta io non ho mai avvisato essere inutil cosa il registrarli,
quando mi è occorso di trovarne. Oltrechè questi caratteri possono
per avventura fornire qualche nuovo elemento agli alfabeti tuttora
oscuri di coteste lingue, conservano ancora solenni documenti de’
popoli a diversa lingua che in queste contrade mano a mano vennero a
stabilirsi. Sono questi i soli documenti che ci ritengano, dall’
abbandonarci interamente all’ autorità de’ Greci scrittori,
i quali si sa che mossi da soverchia tenerezza per le cose loro, non
sapevan temperarsi dal vedere Greche origine ovunque vedean traccie
d’incivilmento, e non videro diffatti che Greci, e discendenti
dalla colonia di Tera, nella Cirenaica.”—(_Viaggio da Tripoli_,
&c. p. 136.)]
[Footnote 6:
[Illustration]
We take these characters from the last page of Signor Della Cella’s
book, where they are inserted without any remarks, and presume that
they must be those alluded to; since all the other inscriptions which
he has introduced in different parts of his work are accounted for,
and are either in Greek or Latin. It will be evident, we think,
to all who are accustomed to see Greek and Roman quarry marks,
that the characters in question are no other, and could never have
been found on any single stone.]
[Footnote 7:
[Illustration]
]
[Footnote 8: The pasturage of Cyrene and Barca was always, as it is at
present, abundant; and both cities were remarkable for their excellent
breed of horses, and their more than ordinary skill in driving. Pindar
gives the epithet ἔυιππος (renowned for horses) to Cyrene; and the
Barceans, we are told (see the ἐθνικὰ of Stephanus), derived their art
of rearing them from Neptune, and their dexterity in the management
of chariots from Minerva. οἵ τας ἱπποτροφιας παρα Ποσειδωνος, ἡνιοχειν
δε παρα Αθηνᾶς ημαθον.]
[Footnote 9: Scavato ad arte è lo sbocco di questa fonte, e
questo incavo ben oltre si prolunga attraverso la montagna, ove
io _per qualche tratto_ volli penetrare, a malgrado le minaccie
delle mie guide, che credono quella cavità ordinaria stanza di
spiriti malevoli.]
[Footnote 10: The Arabs of the present day whom we met with at
Cyrene, would on no account be persuaded to enter the passage in
question, which they believe (as Dr. Della Cella truly observes)
to be the abode of evil spirits.]
[Footnote 11: We imagine the words to have been, επι ιερεος του
μεγιστου Απολλωνος, but the ος is wanting after Απολλων, and the μ in
μεγιστου; in which latter word also the ε and γ look more like an α and
a τ. The rest of the inscription is clear; and were we only to give it
as a fragment, επι ιερεος του...ιστου Απολλων.., there would, probably,
be no doubt raised with respect to the manner of reading it.]
CHAPTER XIX.
Historical Sketch of Cyrene — Its Foundation by a Lacedemonian
Colony — Dynasty of the Battiades, or Family of Battus — Cession
of the Country to Ptolemy Lagus — And afterwards to the Romans by
Apion, the last of the Ptolemies who possessed it — Cyrene becomes
a Roman Province, and is united in one Government with Crete —
Illustrious Persons who were natives of Cyrene — Tenets of the
Sect of Philosophers termed Cyrenaic — Decay of the City, and
its final Desertion in Christian times after the Transfer of the
Bishopric to Ptolemeta — Return of the Expedition to Bengazi,
and its subsequent Departure for Malta.
We learn from Herodotus, that Battus, a native of Thera, in
compliance with the injunctions of the Oracle at Delphi, first landed
with a party of his countrymen in Platæa; an island lying close
to the northern coast of Africa, and supposed to be that which is
at present called Bomba. Here he built a city; and after a lapse of
two years proceeded again to Delphi, in order to consult the Pythia
(or priestess) with respect to his future proceedings.
The new establishment appearing to be insufficient for the fulfilment
of the deity’s instructions, Battus removed his colony to Aziris,
a part of the continent opposite to Platæa, and described by the
historian as a most delightful spot. In this new abode they remained
for six years; and on the seventh, (by the advice of the Libyan
tribes in their neighbourhood, who promised to conduct them to a
much better place,) removed to the high ground then called Irasa,
on which they built the city of Cyrene, about the third year,
according to Eusebius, of the thirty-seventh Olympiad. We find
little more worth relating of Battus, except, perhaps, that he lost
the impediment in his speech, for which he had originally consulted
the oracle, in the following extraordinary manner. As he wandered
abroad one day unattended, a lion sprung very unexpectedly upon him;
and the cry of surprise and dismay which he uttered so terrified the
monarch of the woods, that he fled with the utmost precipitation. At
the same moment Battus discovered that he had lost the infirmity
under which he had laboured; for the sudden exertion of voice just
alluded to had taken it effectually away. After a reign of forty
years, Battus was succeeded by his son Arcesilaus, of whom little
further is known, than that he reigned for sixteen years. During
these two reigns, no accession appears to have been made to the
numbers of the original colony; under Battus the third, however,
who was distinguished by the appellation of Ευδαιμων, (the
prosperous,) another migration took place from Greece; and the lands
already occupied not being sufficient for the accommodation of the
new colonists, an inroad was made upon the territory of the Libyan
inhabitants, and one of their chiefs, whom Herodotus calls Adicran,
was deprived of a considerable part of his dominions.
The Libyans applied for support to the Egyptians; and Apries,
who at that time reigned over Egypt, (and is supposed to be the
Pharaoh Hophra of Scripture,) despatched a large army to their
assistance. The Cyreneans, aware of the approach of their invaders,
drew up their forces at Irasa, near the fountain called by Herodotus
Theste; and the Egyptians were routed with a loss so considerable,
that few of them escaped to bear the tale of their defeat[1]. In
the reign of Arcesilaus the third, who succeeded the last-mentioned
Battus, dissensions appear to have taken place among the colonists,
and the brothers of the king abjured his authority, and left Cyrene
with their followers. After some consultation among themselves with
respect to their future proceedings, they are said by Herodotus to
have founded the city of Barca, and established themselves in that
part of the country.
Not content with this measure, the founders of Barca endeavoured
to gain over the Libyan tribes to their party, and to stir
up dissensions between them and the Cyreneans, in which they
partially succeeded; Arcesilaus, in consequence, made war upon
both, and the Libyans, either fearing to meet him in the field,
or wishing to draw the Cyreneans from their heights to attack them
with more advantage in the plains, retreated to the eastward,
and joined the native tribes which occupied the country between
Cyrene and Egypt. Here they were imprudently followed by the king,
and an engagement took place, in which the Cyreneans were defeated,
and seven thousand of their heavy-armed troops were left dead upon
the field of battle. The consequences of this defeat were fatal to
Arcesilaus; for soon after his return to Cyrene he was strangled
by his brother Learchus, when disabled by weakness resulting from
indisposition; the murderer, however, did not long survive him,
for he was himself put to death by means of a stratagem, concerted,
we are told, by Eryxo, the wife of Arcesilaus, who revenged in this
manner the loss of her husband. To Arcesilaus succeeded another
Battus, who is said by Herodotus to have been lame; and in his reign
ambassadors were sent to Mantinea (according to the advice of the
Oracle), to entreat the mediation of the Arcadians, in the disputes
which had already been the cause of so much bloodshed. Demonax was
in consequence selected by the Mantineans, a person highly respected
for his probity; who, on arriving at Cyrene, divided the Greeks
into three separate classes, according to the countries from which
they originally came, and gave them a new form of government, which
continued in force during Battus’ reign. The son of this Battus,
however, Arcesilaus, refused to acknowledge the new constitution,
by which many privileges of the former kings of Cyrene had been
transferred to the body of the people. Insurrections of the populace
took place in consequence, and Arcesilaus was obliged to take refuge
in Samos, while his mother, Pheretime, went over to Cyprus, in order
to implore the assistance of Euelthon, who reigned at that time in
the island. The suppliant queen was received with great courtesy,
and Euelthon made her several valuable presents; but Pheretime, while
expressing her thanks for these attentions, suggested that an army,
which might accompany her to Cyrene, and avenge the wrongs which
her family and herself had sustained from the people of the city,
would be a much more desirable gift. Euelthon, however, adhered
to the line of conduct by which he had hitherto been regulated,
which was that of a strict neutrality; and sent the queen a distaff
and spindle of gold, assuring her that he was acting with much more
consideration towards a female, in making her a similar offering,
than if he had presented her with an army. Arcesilaus, in this
interval, had collected an army in Samos; and went to Delphi to
consult the Oracle on the probable consequence of his return to
Cyrene. The answer was, as usual, mysterious; and predicted his
death if certain events should take place which he was enjoined to
avoid; at the same time he was advised to return to his dominions,
and adopt conciliatory measures.
On recovering his possessions, Arcesilaus neglected the prudent
advice of the Pythia, and commenced a vigorous persecution of those
whose revolt had occasioned his flight from Cyrene. Some of them
contrived to escape his resentment; but a party of the fugitives who
had taken refuge in a tower, were burnt there by order of the king,
who caused his people to set fire to the building. In this act, one
of the injunctions had been neglected, on observing which the life
of Arcesilaus depended; and he was afterwards assassinated in the
market-place at Barca, together with Alazir, the king of the place,
whose daughter he had taken for his wife. The queen Pheretime had
established her son’s authority in Cyrene; but on hearing of his
death, she fled immediately to Egypt, and persuaded Aryandes, who at
that time commanded there as viceroy of Darius Hystaspis, to march
an army against the Barceans. Before proceeding to extremities,
Aryandes despatched a messenger to the people of Barca, desiring
to be informed, if they really had been guilty of the death of
Arcesilaus. On their acknowledging the act, he set his army in
motion, and gave the command of it to Amasis, while a fleet at
the same time was entrusted to Badres, and both proceeded to take
vengeance of the assassins. After a long and ineffectual siege,
Barca was entered by treachery: and Amasis, who had passed his word
to spare the lives of the Barceans, gave them over to the vengeance
of Pheretime; by whom all who were concerned in the murder of her son
were put to death in the most inhuman manner. The city was plundered
by the Persian army, and the lives and property of those persons
only were respected, who had been averse to the murder of Arcesilaus.
Their object accomplished, the Persians returned to Egypt[2],
leaving Barca, by desire of Pheretime, in possession of those who
had been spared for their adherence to the family of Battus. The
cruelties of Pheretime were visited upon her as those of Herod were
afterwards punished; for we are told that she was eaten alive by
worms, and died in the greatest torments.
The account which has descended to us of Cyrene and Barca, (with
that of the various tribes of Northern Africa,) from the pen of the
father of history, concludes with the death of Pheretime; which is
believed by Herodotus to have been a judgment of the gods for the
cruelties of which she had been guilty.
From this time the Cyreneans as well as the Libyans, with whom
they appear to have been intermixed, are little alluded to in
history till the conquest of the Persian empire. We are informed
by Aristotle that, in his time, Cyrene was a republic; and we may
perhaps suppose that, on the extinction of the family of Battus, that
form of government took place which had been recommended by Demonax;
although the Cyreneans may possibly have been tributary to, or under
the protection of, Persia. At the period when the dispute concerning
the limits of the countries took place between the people of Cyrene
and Carthage, we may presume, from the account transmitted of it by
Sallust, that democracy was the established form of government at
Cyrene; and Strabo has informed us, that the Cyreneans continued
to be governed by their own laws, till the reduction of Egypt by
the Macedonians. After the death of Alexander, Cyrene became the
prey of contending adventurers, and was at length delivered into
the hands of Ptolemy by Ophellas; although that general is supposed
to have obtained for himself the sovereignty of at least a part of
the country. Magas, the brother of Ptolemy Lagus, reigned in Cyrene
for fifty years; and it continued to be a part of the empire of the
Ptolemies, some of whom resided there at different periods, till it
was made over by his father to Apion, an illegitimate son of Ptolemy
Physcon, who left it in his will to the Romans. The senate accepted
the bequest, but allowed the several cities to be governed by their
own laws; and the country was in consequence a prey to civil discord,
and exposed to the tyranny and violence of many rival pretenders
to supremacy. Lucullus in some measure restored tranquillity, when
he visited it during the first Mithridatic war; but the evil was
never finally removed till the whole of the Cyrenaica was reduced
to the form of a Roman province. This event happened about twenty
years after the death of Apion, and seventy-six before the birth
of Christ: we find the country afterwards, in the time of Strabo,
united with Crete in one government.
The most flourishing period of Cyrene was probably that of the
Ptolemaic dynasty, and of the two or three centuries which preceded
it; an epoch when Grecian art was in the highest perfection, and
literature in great estimation.
At the time when the city, on account of an insurrection, was
destroyed by the Roman people (who afterwards, however, rebuilt it,)
it is probable that the temples were spared; for the architectural
remains of those which we have described are decidedly Greek of an
early style; and the same may be observed with respect to many of
the tombs, although in these we may find examples of architecture
in the style of many different periods.
Philosophy and literature were diligently cultivated at Cyrene; which
gave birth to Aristippus, the founder of the sect distinguished by
the name of Cyrenaic, and to many other celebrated men; among whom
we may reckon Callimachus and Eratosthenes, Aristippus the younger,
Anniceris, Carneades, &c.
The philosophy of Aristippus appears to have inculcated, that the
soul has two particular motions, or sensations,—those of pain and
pleasure; that all pleasures are alike; and that virtue is only to
be esteemed inasmuch as it conduces to our gratification. Carneades
denied that any thing could be perceived or understood in the world,
and was the first philosopher who introduced an universal suspension
of assent: he pretended to discover an uncertainty in the most
self-evident notions; and vigorously opposed the doctrine of the
stoics in his attempt to confute Chrysippus. When Carneades was sent
as ambassador to Rome, with Diogenes the stoic, and Critolaus the
peripatetic, he pronounced a very learned dissertation upon justice,
which strongly convinced all his auditors of its value and importance
in society: in another speech, however, the philosopher confuted
all the arguments which he had established in his first discourse;
and gave no existence at all to the virtue which he had just before
strongly recommended. The Roman youth were so captivated with the
eloquence and the reasoning powers of Carneades, that they are said,
on this occasion, to have forgotten their usual amusements and
thought of nothing else but philosophy. The effect produced upon
the public mind was at all events so strong, that Cato the censor
gave immediate audience to the Athenian ambassadors in the Senate;
and dismissed them in haste, expressing his apprehension that they
would corrupt the opinions of the Roman people[3].
Cyrene appears to have not long survived the introduction of
Christianity into Northern Africa; for we find it described as—a
mass of ruin—by Synesius, who lived in the time of Theodosius the
younger. It is probable, that when the bishopric was transferred
to Ptolemais, this once beautiful city no longer existed; and
it is certain that the remains of Christian churches at Mersa
Suza and Ptolemeta, (the Apollonia and Ptolemais of antiquity,)
are superior in every respect to those which are found at Cyrene,
and apparently of much more recent construction.
* * * * *
In returning from Cyrene to Bengazi, we proceeded by a different
route from that which we had taken in approaching it; and passed
through a country rich in vegetation, and producing abundance of
grain; in which we observed frequent traces of building, particularly
on the elevated spots of ground.
At Jenain, about two hours distance from Cyrene, we found two
wells of excellent water, apparently of ancient construction;
and observed remains of building on a rising ground adjoining,
and some tombs excavated in the rock. An hour more, travelling
along the brow of the ridge, brought us to Marábut Sidi Arāfi,
the division between the territories of Derna and Bengazi. Here
also we found several wells, and partial remains of building, which
continued all the way along the road to Bĭrāsa, where their number
considerably increased. This has evidently been an ancient site;
and we have no doubt that the whole of the country, through which
we this day travelled, was once very thickly inhabited. Traces
of ancient pavement are continually met with on the road, which
is occasionally flanked by ancient tombs, similar in construction
to some of those at Cyrene, and every pass of importance has been
fortified with towers of considerable strength[4].
At Wady Jeráhib the table land ceases, and a steep and somewhat
perilous descent begins into the valley (or wady) here mentioned,
down which we with difficulty conducted our horses. A strong fort on
the right commands, or rather, formerly commanded the entrance on
this side to the wady, and overlooks the country to a considerable
extent. The sides of this ravine are quite perpendicular; and in
some places more than five hundred feet high; they are filled with
excavated caves, like those which we have described at Apollonia,
and are entered by ropes in a similar manner, which are always very
carefully drawn up after them by the inhabitants.
The road which leads along Wady Jeráhib winds for two hours through
woods of pine-trees, some of which were two feet in diameter (the
largest size we had hitherto seen in the country), and appear
to be well adapted for spars. In the centre of the valley their
naked trunks were lying (amongst heaps of stones, and other matter
collected about them) in considerable numbers when we passed along
it; and the bark of most of those trees which are standing has
been worn away for several feet upwards. We may infer from these
appearances, that in the rainy season the body of water which
rushes along Wady Jeráhib must be very great; and to avoid the
inconvenience to which travellers would in consequence have been
exposed, we find the ancient road raised several feet above the
actual level of the wady in other parts, and occasionally paved,
and cut through the rock. At its western extremity, Wady Jeráhib
opens out into a very spacious and beautiful, we may say without
exaggeration, a magnificent valley: at the entrance of which are the
remains of a very large fort, now called by the Arabs Belíggidem;
the walls of this are still upwards of forty feet in height. Other
valleys are seen from the fort, stretching out far into the blue
horizon; and we looked on all sides over the tops of thick forests
of pine, which covered the sides and the summit of the wadies, as
far as the eye could reach. Belíggidem may be called a very good
day’s journey from Cyrene, which would more frequently, indeed,
be extended to a day and a half. The road from hence winds through
a succession of wadies, and we found it to be very indifferent;
till, after ascending a difficult hill, it brought us once more
to Margàd,—a spot at which we had stopped for the night on our
journey from Merge to Cyrene. From this place, our former conductor,
Boo-Bukra, had turned off abruptly to the southward, in order to
avoid passing through Bĕlĕnege (a part of the road which we had
taken in returning), where he understood that the relations of two
men whom he had killed were lying in wait for him. The party in
advance had learnt this from an Arab at Bĕlĕnege; and it enabled
us to account for the circuitous and difficult route along which
Boo-Bukra had conducted us on our former journey. We had observed,
that in addition to his musket and pistols, the usual arms of an
Arab, he always carried a short carbine slung over his shoulder,
which he never took off on any occasion; but were not at all aware
of the difficulty of his situation, till we heard of the fact just
mentioned. The change of route made a difference of two days to us,
as nearly as we can recollect; but we do not regret the circumstance,
since it enabled us to see a part of the country which we should
not otherwise have had an opportunity of visiting. From Margàd
we proceeded to Bogràta by the road which we had formerly taken,
and from thence to Merge, where we found Bey Halil, for he had not
been able to collect all his tribute. From Merge we descended to
Ptolemeta, and joined Captain Beechey, who had arrived there the day
before from Teuchira, having left Mr. Coffin at Bengazi, to make
the necessary arrangements for our embarkation. We had arranged
this meeting in order to complete the plans of both these places,
which had been left somewhat unfinished in our eagerness to visit
Cyrene. Three days were spent at Ptolemeta, and we then continued
our journey to Teuchira, where we had no occasion to remain more
than a single day, after which we proceeded to Bengazi[5].
On the 25th of July we had completed all our arrangements, and
embarked the same afternoon for Malta.
We cannot close our account of the proceedings of the Expedition
without expressing in a public manner our warmest thanks to the
officers who accompanied us on our journey: the privations and
hardships to which they were exposed might have reasonably drawn
forth an occasional murmur; but these have always been patiently
and cheerfully borne; and we have cause to be grateful, on many
occasions, for services which have materially contributed to
forward the objects, and facilitate the advance of the Expedition. To
Lieutenant Coffin, in particular, who attached himself as a volunteer
to our party, we feel ourselves under considerable obligations; and
we should not do justice to the assiduity and regularity with which
he kept the camel-track, mentioned above, if we did not state that
it has enabled us to lay down the route with much greater precision
than we could otherwise have attained to[6].
END OF THE NARRATIVE.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 1: The whole of the table-land in the neighbourhood of
Cyrene, as well as that upon which the city was built, may probably
have been called Irasa, and the fountain of Theste may reasonably
be imagined to have been that which we have formerly mentioned at
Gobba, where remains of antiquity still exist. We are led to this
conclusion, from the nature of the ground in the neighbourhood
of the fountain in question; for it is there that the table-land
ceases altogether, and the Cyrenaic range descends so abruptly as
to be in most places inaccessible. We have mentioned the difficulty
which we ourselves experienced in leading our horses down one of the
passes near Derna, considered, of course, to be a practicable one;
and can readily imagine the disadvantage which an army would labour
under in having so formidable a barrier to surmount, as any of the
passes alluded to would present; in front of an enemy whose lines
were drawn up on the summit of the range, and on the edge of the
ascent by which they were advancing.
This position in fact is one, of all others, which would naturally be
selected as a line of defence against forces advancing from Derna
and Egypt; and the Greeks would hardly have neglected to avail
themselves of it, supposing them to be at all acquainted with the
country, which can hardly be doubted at the period in question,
after so long a residence on the mountain.]
[Footnote 2: This army is said by Herodotus to have penetrated
farther to the westward; and the historian believes (what is
extremely probable) that the Persians had views on other parts of
Libya, besides that possessed by the people of Barca; and that the
army of Amasis was intended to reconnoitre the country, if not to
reduce it to subjection.]
[Footnote 3: Many pointed observations are recorded of Aristippus
the elder, who appears to have possessed a very lively wit. He asked
a certain person, who reproached him for having given a sumptuous
entertainment—whether he would not have been equally hospitable
if it would only have cost him three oboli? When the other replied
in the affirmative, Aristippus observed, “It is you then, I find,
who are fond of money, and not I of pleasure.” Dionysius once sent
him three beautiful women, from which the philosopher was desired
to select whichever pleased him most; but Aristippus retained
them all three; observing that “Paris had greatly suffered by
preferring one goddess to another.” When some one inquired what
Aristippus would expect for the education of his son, he answered
five hundred drachmas. “I can buy a slave,” replied the other, “for
that money.” “Do so,” said Aristippus, “and then you will have two.”]
[Footnote 4: The name of Bĭrāsa will naturally suggest a
resemblance between it and Irāsa, the country which is mentioned by
Herodotus as that to which the Greeks were conducted by the natives
of Libya. We do not mean to infer, that the place first mentioned has
any other connexion with the territory upon which Cyrene was erected,
than that which we are going to suggest; but if the affinity of the
Arabic and Hebrew, or Chaldee, to the old Phœnician, or Samaritan
language, (an early dialect of the Hebrew,) be really so great as
is generally allowed, the two words in question may bear the same
meaning without any forced application. The word _rās_ in Arabic,
and in Hebrew, signifies a head; and the term is constantly applied
by the Arabs to high and mountainous ground, whether inland or on
the coast: land on the summit of a mountain may therefore be said
to be—_bi-rās_—upon the head, or high ground; and _bi-rās-a_
would signify, in Arabic, as it does in the case of the territory
in question—a tract of land on the upper part of a range of
hills—and might be applied without any impropriety to a similar
tract of land of whatever extent. It is not, perhaps, improbable
that _rās_ had the same meaning among the Libyan tribes, (whom we
may suppose to have spoken some dialect of the old Phœnician,)
as it bears in Arabic and Hebrew; and that the particle _bi_ or
_be_, was at the same time used by the Libyans, in the sense which
belongs to it in those languages. Irāsa might then be supposed
to mean a tract of table land; for the loss of the letter _b_
is of little importance, considering that the word comes through
a Greek medium; and as the Greeks in the case alluded to were
conducted from the low ground to the high, such an application
is far from improbable. It is not, however, necessary for this
application to insist upon the omission of the _b_; for the _i_
in Irāsa might well be a contraction of the article _el_ or _il_,
signifying _the_, and _I-rāsa_ be pronounced for _el-rāsa_,
which is consistent with the usual pronunciation of Arabic and
other Oriental languages. The whole would then be taken for a part;
and the country which the Greeks were recommended to inhabit, would
be termed—the summit of the mountain—and in the Libyan dialect
(let us suppose) Ir’rāsa, or Er’-rāsa.]
[Footnote 5: We have not been able to publish on this occasion
(as we believe we have already stated) more than a limited number
of plates; so that several to which we have referred have been
unavoidably omitted. Some of the drawings, however, will appear in
another publication, with others made in Egypt and Nubia; and in
that we shall hope to find means of introducing the greater part
of what has been omitted.]
[Footnote 6: The accuracy to which this method of computing distance
may be brought, with proper attention, will be seen on referring
to the Table, p. xliv. in the Appendix.]
=APPENDIX.=
APPENDIX.
* * * * *
OBSERVATIONS ON THE PORTS AND HARBOURS FROM TRIPOLY TO DERNA,
IN THEIR ACTUAL CONDITION.
In addition to what we have already observed with respect to the
shores of the Syrtis and Cyrenaica, we have thought it necessary to
subjoin the following short description of them, and of the supplies
that ships may expect to meet with at the different places situated
along the coast from Tripoli to Derna. The several places therein
alluded to, will be found in the accompanying chart, which has
been constructed from a succession of angles, carried on along the
coast, assisted by astronomical observations, and chronometrical
measurements, between three distant points, whose positions were
well determined by Captain W. H. Smyth, R.N.
The instruments with which we were furnished, in consequence of
the difficulty of carriage, were small, and their number limited;
they consisted of a five-inch theodolite, one four-inch and two
eight-inch sextants, a telescope for observing the eclipses of
the satellites of Jupiter, a Kater’s azimuth compass, two pocket
chronometers, Nos. 2164 and 2184 of Mr. Arnold’s make[1], and a
measuring chain and tapes, &c.
Before entering into any particular description, we shall premise
by stating that, between Tripoli and Bomba, there is not a harbour
capable of containing a man-of-war brig; though several anchorages
will be found along the coast, well sheltered with particular winds.
[Sidenote: Tripoly.]
_Tripoly_ itself is a secure harbour, and has from four to six
fathoms water in it: the protection is afforded by a chain of rocks
which project from the north-east angle of the town, and by a shoal
lying off Caluisa Point. A heavy swell sometimes rolls in from the
northward, between the reefs, to which quarter ships should moor
with open hawse. On entering the harbour care must be taken to
avoid a rocky patch, with only three to three and a half fathoms
water upon it, which lies nearly mid-channel. But we shall abstain
from entering into further detail, in consequence of this place
having been surveyed by Captain W. H. Smyth, from whose plan indeed,
partly, we are now enabled to offer these few remarks. When off the
port a pilot may always be procured on making the necessary signal.
At Tripoly vessels will find fresh provision, fruit, vegetables,
and water.
All vessels from the eastern ports of the Mediterranean must land
their cargoes at the Lazzaretto, and perform a stated quarantine.
[Sidenote: Tagiura.]
About seven miles eastward of Tripoly is _Tagiura_ point, which
may be known by the clusters of date-trees around the village of
Tagiura, terminating there. From Tagiura to Cape Sciarra there is a
sandy desert, traversed by two small streams, Wadey Rammel and Wadey
M’Seidi, which give a supply of water throughout the year. Eastward
of _Cape Sciarra_ the coast gets higher, and is formed in rocky
points and capes, with sandy bays between them. The mountains,
which are a continuation of the Tarhoona range, here approach the
sea within seven or eight miles; and a little beyond Sidi Abdellati,
throw off a branch at right angles to them, which extends to the
sea, and then continuing eastward, nearly parallel to the coast,
terminates a few miles south-west of Mesurata[2].
[Sidenote: Lebda]
There are several towers upon the summits of this range, of which
the most conspicuous is Mergip. These mountains form the western
limit to the great plain of _Lebda_, (the ancient Leptis Magna.) The
ruins of the ancient city stand close upon the beach: they are more
than half buried in sand, and are situated about three miles west
of the groves of date-trees, which are easily distinguished from the
sea. The port, or cothon of Lebda, is now filled up, but there is a
small place called Mersa Ligatah, a mile and a half to the westward
of the ruins, where small vessels may find shelter, except with the
wind from the eastward. The sea here affords good fish; and the shore
is stocked with sheep, fruit, vegetables, and corn, which with the
help of a chaous, may be obtained at a cheaper rate than at Tripoly.
[Sidenote: Tabia Point.]
Seven miles south-east from the ruins of Lebda, is _Tabia Point_,
a rocky headland, about forty feet high, with some rocks at the
foot of it. Near it, there will be found indifferent protection for
boats behind some rocks, that form _Mersa Ugrah_; but these rocks
are sometimes covered.
[Sidenote: Mersa, and Point Zeliten.]
Immediately round Tabia point, the coast forms a bay as far as
_Zeliten Point_: this is a rocky projection with several sunken
rocks lying off it. Near the point there is a small cove, which has
obtained the name of Mersa Zeliten, but it is too small for even
boats to remain in blowing weather. It lies a mile and a half to
the westward of a márábūt’s tomb, which will be seen upon the
beach supported upon small marble columns.
At Zeliten, sheep, fowls, butter, oil, fruit, vegetables, corn, and
sweet water, may be procured in abundance, and very reasonably. The
town is a short walk from the Mersa, over a ridge of sand-hills,
which extend along the coast towards Mesurata.
Eastward of Zeliten, the coast is rocky, and at times rises into
cliffs. About mid-way between Cape Mesurata and Zeliten Point, there
is a small Arab village, that may be distinguished by a cluster of
date-trees, at the foot of some high sand-hills. Several reefs of
rocks lie off here, and form Mersa Zoraig, and Mersa Gusser[3]. The
inhabitants of Zoraig are about one hundred in number, and nothing
but water could be procured in any abundance.
[Sidenote: Cape Mesurata.]
Toward the eastern termination of the sand-hills, the rocky coast
gets higher, and when four miles from the entrance of the Gulf of
Syrtis, forms three cliffs, which, at a distance, Monsieur Lauthier
informs us, appear like as many islands. The eastern one of these
three is _Cape Mesurata_ (the Cephalus Promontorium of Strabo).
[Sidenote: Entrance of the Gulf of Syrtis]
The entrance to the gulf is formed by a low rocky point: at the
back of it there are groves of date-trees among low sand-hills;
and a mile to the southward is the white mausoleum of Márábūt
Bushaifa, which gives name to the bay it overlooks[4].
[Sidenote: Bushaifa Bay.]
There is good landing under the low point before mentioned, in
a small sandy bay abreast of a low sand-hill. The bay appears
to be full of fish, and the seine might here no doubt be hauled
to advantage.
[Sidenote: Mesurata.]
The Town of Mesurata is about two miles to the southward of the
cape of the same name; it is governed by an Aga, to whom it would be
found advantageous to make a small present. Fresh provision, fruit,
vegetables, and sweet water, may be procured here in abundance.
[Sidenote: Aarār]
About ten miles south of Bushaifa there is a solitary date-tree,
overlooking a low sandy tract of coast, bearing the name of
_Aarar_. Off here, Monsieur Lauthier informs us, at two leagues
distant from the shore, there is a rocky bank, a league in length
from east to west, with from fourteen to seventeen feet water upon
it. The date-tree, the position of which is well determined, will
serve as a mark for this bank.
Leaving Aarār and coasting southward, the shore is very low and
sandy, with _apparently_ no danger. A low ridge of hills extends
along the coast from one to three miles distance from it. Some
few of these hills are covered with vegetation, and now and then a
straggling flock of goats or sheep may be met with; but otherwise
no supplies of any kind are to be procured until you arrive at
Zafferan—firewood excepted, which may be obtained from the wrecks
upon the beach in large quantities.
[Sidenote: Kusser el Jébbah.]_Jébbah_ is the first conspicuous
object that presents itself after Aarār. It is an old Arab building,
upon an eminence about four miles from the coast. Its position is
well determined, and its distance from the beach ascertained by a
base purposely measured.
The whole of this coast is very low, and in blowing weather should
be avoided, as there appears to be a great set down upon it from the
north-east, judging from the number of wrecks, masts and yards, &c.,
that are thrown upon the beach, on this side of the gulf only—none
being seen on the eastern shore.
[Sidenote: Shoals.]
Until we arrived at Jaireed, in latitude 31° 23′ 27″ N., we
did not perceive any dangers lying off the coast; but at that place
we observed the sea breaking heavily over two shoals, distant from
the shore about a mile and a quarter[5].
[Sidenote: Dangerous Shoal.]
From Jaireed the coast trends more easterly, but still continues
low and sandy, with small hillocks at a short distance from the
coast. When near the latitude of 31° 16′ N., ships must avoid
some dangerous shoals that branch off from the shore at Jiraff,
and extend westward seven or eight miles—their most distant part
from the shore being about two miles: the sea broke heavily over
them when we passed, but within them it was more quiet; and if a
passage should be found between the breakers, a tolerably secure
anchorage will in all probability be discovered.
[Sidenote: Mersa Zafferān.]
[Sidenote: Hammah.]
Eastward of Jiraff the coast alters its character: the shore is
rocky, the land gets more hilly, and is covered with vegetation. In
one part, in latitude 31° 12′ 48″ N., some high sand-hills,
surmounted with small tufts of trees, will be seen overlooking
the beach; at the foot of them there is a small port called _Mersa
Zafferan_, in which boats may find shelter with all winds; but it
will be difficult to find, in consequence of there being no object to
distinguish it from the other ports of the coast, except indeed the
wall of a building which stands upon the beach be seen protruding
through the sand that has nearly covered it. At Zafferan supplies
of meat, some few vegetables, and good water, will be found. The
Arab tents are at the back of the sand-hills. These hills extend
a few miles to the eastward of Zafferan; the coast then rises into
cliffs of about fifty feet in height, and is covered with vegetation
and brushwood. These cliffs terminate at a wadey eleven leagues
eastward of Zafferan, and the coast then continues low and sandy,
with sand-hills, at a short distance from it. There are here several
small bays, and one in particular at Hammah, in which boats may find
shelter with almost all winds, and may procure good water, from some
wells situated close to the beach. The country about it abounds
in game; but we would not recommend landing here, or, in fact, on
any part of the coast, without being provided with a chaous. Five
miles eastward of Hammah the coast is hilly, but soon declines
again to the low sandy beach which continues to Ras How-y-jer,
having a range of hills about two or three miles from the coast.
[Sidenote: Ras How-y-jer.]
Ras How-y-jer is a bluff rock, that has the appearance of a ruined
castle; it stands at the entrance of a spacious bay formed between
it and a bold rocky promontory, called Bengerwad. South 76° east
(true) from How-y-jer we noticed the water discoloured, but the sea
did not break. In the above-mentioned bay ships may find shelter
from east to west north-west, and boats may land in a sandy bay a
little south of How-y-jer with almost all winds.
[Sidenote: Ras Bengerwād.]
[Sidenote: Abanbāsa]
[Sidenote: Jebel-Alla]
[Sidenote: Bushaifa Islet.]
Bengerwād is about sixty feet in height, and has been strongly
fortified, but the ruins are not visible from the sea. There is a
small sandy bay, close round the cape, convenient for landing; but
care must be taken to avoid the mouth of a ravine, that comes down
from the mountains, and deposits a soft quicksand, upon which it
is dangerous to land. The range of hills that extend from Boosaida
are distant from Bengerwad only a few hundred yards, and afterwards
recede to a mile or more from the sea. From Bengerwad the coast gets
low, and small sandy bays are formed between very low rocky flats,
some of which project a mile into the sea, and are not more than
a foot above water. Sixteen leagues from Bengerwad there are some
high sand-hills, called Abanbāsa; and a few miles south-east of
them a remarkable table-hill named Jebel-Alla. Coasting along this
part of the gulf, care must be taken to avoid a low rocky islet,
with breakers east and west of it. It lies one mile and a half off
shore, and is called Bushaifa. Upon the beach opposite the Islet,
there are two wells of good water: they point out Secherine, which is
the bottom of the Gulf of Syrtis, in latitude 30° 16′ 00″ north.
[Sidenote: Gartúbbah]
From Secherine to Gartúbbah, there is a sandy beach; but the general
appearance of the coast will be hilly, with high mounds of sand. Near
to Gartúbbah is Mersa Braiga; the only place that we have seen in
the Gulf of Syrtis, that is at all entitled to the name of a port,
and here the protection is made by breakers.
[Sidenote: Mersa Braiga.]
Braiga may be known at a distance, by some very high sand-hills
situated at the back of it, and on a nearer approach, by a heap of
ruins upon a rocky point, at the western extremity of the Mersa. On
the sandy beach within this point, there is safe landing with all
winds. Fresh provisions may be procured from the Arab encampments
at the back of the sand-hills, and in all probability, a plentiful
supply of fish will be found in the bay[6]. The water here is
brackish, and tastes of sulphur; it is contained in wells high up
among the sand-hills.
We should not recommend Mersa Braiga being approached in bad weather,
on account of the number of reefs lying off it, and the difficulty
there would be of working off, in consequence of the lee-set which
the northerly winds always occasion in the Gulf.
[Sidenote: Ras Tabilbey.]
From Braiga, the coast trends north-east by east, is rocky,
and slightly indented; the shore, generally speaking, is high and
hilly. Ras Tabilbey is a bold promontory, with a sandy bay on either
side of it. The summit of the Ras has been strongly fortified; and
the walls are carried up to a castle on the hill at the back of it,
but these are now all in ruins, and cannot be discerned from the
sea. The promontory is excavated into compartments, which from time,
and the constant washing of the sea, are in a very dilapidated state,
and dangerous to remain in during windy weather.
There are several Arab encampments a short distance from the Ras;
from which small supplies of fresh provision may be procured.
[Sidenote: Rocks.]
[Sidenote: Allum Limàrish.]
[Sidenote: Ain Agān.]
North-eastward of Ras Tabilbey, there is a cliff of white sand-stone,
somewhat conspicuous, with some sunken rocks lying off it. The rocks
bear north 9″ west (true), from the northern one of two conical
hills, that will be seen situated between the before-mentioned Cape
and Ras Tabilbey; they are two or three miles off shore. Eastward
of the white cliff there is a deep ravine, and then a remarkable
peaked hill, called Allum Limàrish. Between these two is situated
Ain Agān, an Arab encampment, from which small supplies of meat,
corn, and brackish water may be procured.
[Sidenote: Ishaifa Rock.]
[Sidenote: Breakers.]
[Sidenote: From N. 78° W. (true).]
North 38° west (true) from Allum Limàrish, there is a remarkably
white rock, about forty feet in height and steep on all sides, with
reefs of breakers extending east and west from it. It lies about
half a mile off shore, and is known by the name of Ishaifa. From
the top of Allum Limàrish, we observed the sea breaking heavily
over some reefs three or four miles off shore, and appeared to
extend toward the island of Gāra.
[Sidenote: Island of Gāra,]
[Sidenote: Rocks and Shoals in its vicinity.]
_Gāra_ is a small island, bearing north 13° east (true), from Allum
Limàrish, and distant from the shore four miles and a half. It is
tolerably high, and appeared steep on all sides. South-west (true)
from Gāra at two miles and a half distance, a rock makes its
appearance among a reef of breakers; and south 16° east (true),
three miles, another. There is also a bank east by south (true),
three miles from it, over which the sea constantly broke.
The coast about here is low and sandy, and, in consequence of the
above-mentioned reefs, somewhat dangerous to be approached; but
when Gāra and its reefs shall be better known, I have no doubt
ships will find shelter from all winds within them.
Several hills, covered with brushwood, will be seen a short distance
from the coast, and near the beach there will be found wells of
water somewhat brackish, and strongly impregnated with sulphur.
[Sidenote: Islets.]
North 52° east (true) from Gāra, at one and a quarter to one and a
half off shore, lie a group of rocky islets, connected by breakers;
behind which, I have no doubt, small vessels will find shelter
with all winds. They are in the neighbourhood of Rhote el Assoud,
(or black valley,) so called, it is said, from the dark appearance
of the hills.
North-eastward of these islets, there is a Marabot upon a pointed
hill at Shāwhan, and inland two ruined towers, upon the summits
of hills.
[Sidenote: Carcōra.]
From Shāwhan, the coast trends to the westward of north up to
Carcōra, and forms a large open bight. The shore is low and sandy,
with hills of brushwood or sand, a short distance from the sea.
Carcōra may be known by some high sand-hills, which overlook the
beach. The coast thereabout is much indented, and there are two
small places, somewhat sheltered by projecting points, that would
afford protection for boats with northerly or easterly winds.
The most desirable of these is the one at the northern extremity
of the sand-hills, a small tower upon a ridge inland, bearing south
77° 45′ east (true). Among the sand-hills will be found several
wells some of which will furnish sweet water, but the greater part
of them are stinking or brackish. From Ain Agān to Carcōra the
country is very thinly inhabited, and no supplies, except what may be
procured from straggling flocks, are to be expected. But northward
of Carcōra Arab encampments are very numerous. The hills abound
in hares, partridges, and pigeons, &c.
[Sidenote: Carcōra to Bengazi.]
From Carcōra to Bengazi, the shore is low and sandy, rising as
it recedes from the coast, and is covered with vegetation. Several
ruins of forts appear at a little distance from the sea: the most
remarkable of these are at Ghimenes, and Imshali, and all of them
are laid down trigonometrically in the chart.
[Sidenote: Breakers.]
Care must be taken, as you approach Bengazi, to avoid some
breakers, which extend southward from Juliana point, and lie about
three-quarters of a mile off shore.
[Sidenote: Bengazi.]
Bengazi is situated at the eastern entrance of the Gulf of Syrtis,
and may be known by the clusters of date-trees in its vicinity. They
are the only ones that occur upon the coast westward of Derna; but
on making the land, the hills, about fourteen miles west-south-west
from Bengazi, will be first seen. On a near approach, a white
Marábot upon an eminence near the sea, and a square castle at the
entrance of the harbour, will serve more immediately to point out
the town. During the summer months north-easterly winds are very
prevalent in the day time, but generally die away towards night. They
are said to extend about forty miles off the coast; and ships bound
to Bengazi should in consequence keep to the eastward, as well to
take advantage of them, as to counteract the effects of the strong
current which they occasion, sweeping along shore into the gulf.
The port of Bengazi is formed by rocks, that project from the
castle, and Juliana point; and is rendered very secure by a reef
that extends across at a short distance from the mouth of it,
leaving a narrow channel on either side: both these passages are
very difficult, and upon an average the depth of water in the harbour
will be found greater by a foot and a half, or two feet, in winter,
than in summer. But we must not always depend upon this, or upon a
rise with the winds that may be blowing at Bengazi at the moment;
as they may be confined to a short distance only from the coast;
whereas it is the wind generally prevalent over the Mediterranean
at the season that occasions the increase.
The port of Bengazi is fast filling up with sand, and alluvium,
brought down by the heavy rains that annually deluge the town,
and boats only can now enter where the Bashaw’s ships were used
to remain forty years ago.
The castle is strengthened with bastions at the north, south, and
eastern angles; but is deficient at the western one, which is that
which would prove most destructive to ships entering the harbour:
there are nine guns, eighteen pounders, mounted; they are the only
cannon Bengazi can boast of, and the walls which support them would
not long withstand the broadside of a man-of-war brig.
[Sidenote: Supplies.]
At Bengazi, ships will find a plentiful supply of fresh beef,
mutton and poultry, vegetables, fruit, good water, and sometimes
wood; but the latter is very small.
[Sidenote: Bengazi toward Bomba.]
From Bengazi to Bomba, a chain of mountains, from eight hundred to
eleven hundred feet in height, extend along the coast in a diagonal
direction with the shore, being distant from Bengazi thirteen and a
half miles, from Tochra five, Ptolemeta one and a half, and coming
close down to the sea in the neighbourhood of Ras Sem. From a rocky
point, four and a half miles north-east of Bengazi, the coast runs
low and sandy to, or a little way beyond, having at the back a
woody country extending to the mountains.
[Sidenote: Tochra, or Teuchira.]
The ruins of Tochra stand upon a small rising ground, which
terminates toward the sea in a cliff; the landing here is bad,
except in very smooth water, and there is nothing but water to be
procured. Between Tochra and Ptolemeta, the woody country approaches
the beach.
[Sidenote: Ptolemeta, or Dolmāita.]
Ptolemeta may be distinguished by a large square tomb near the
beach, and by the ruins upon the hills to the eastward of it. A
mile from the tomb (to the eastward) will be found a small bay,
offering convenient landing for boats, except with the wind on
shore. It is immediately round a rocky promontory, the first that
occurs after the tomb. There are no supplies to be had at Ptolemeta,
and no water except, occasionally, in some ancient cisterns.
[Sidenote: Mersa Sūsa, or Apollonia.]
Mersa Susa Hammām, or Apollonia, is situated in the bight of a
large bay, formed by Ras El Hilal, and a cape, designated in the
charts as Cape Ras Sem. The ruins of the ancient town stand upon a
rising ground close to the beach, and may be easily distinguished
from the sea.
Though the Arabs have dignified the small indentation of coast that
here occurs, with the title of Mersa, and we have the authority of
the ancients for its being used as a port formerly, yet it cannot
with any propriety be recommended as such for vessels of the present
day; nevertheless, boats, or perhaps small craft, may find some
shelter behind the islets that lie off the town.
[Sidenote: Ranges of mountains.]
Shipping off this coast will see two distinct ranges of mountains,
one above the other. The upper one we ascertained to be one thousand
nine hundred and ninety-two feet above the sea[7], and the lower
one thousand and fifty-five[8].
The upper range, upon which is situated the ancient Cyrene,
declines gradually to the eastward, and unites with the lower one
near Cape Bujebāra.
[Sidenote: Wadys, or ravines.]
These mountains are frequently broken by deep chasms that extend far
inland. In them grow vast numbers of pine-trees fit for small spars;
but we saw none sufficiently large for topmasts, except in Wady
Jeräib, far inland. The largest and most remarkable of these chasms,
or fiumaras, is at Cape Ras Sem; an abundance of firewood will be
found a little way up it, and water may be procured from a stream in
the bed of it, which receives its supply from the fountain at Cyrene.
Between Ras Sem and Ras El Hilāl, there are several rocks above
water close in shore.
[Sidenote: Ras El Hilāl.]
Ras El Hilāl, or new moon, so called from a round hill upon the
range above it, is a rocky projection which extends a mile and a half
from the foot of the mountains. On the eastern side of the promontory
there is a bay about three-quarters of a mile deep, in which vessels
may ride with the wind any way from the southward or westward.
[Sidenote: Bujebāra.]
From El Hilāl to Bujebāra, the next promontory eastward, the shore
is rocky; and there is bad landing, except in a small sandy nook,
two miles west of the latter place. About mid-way between these
capes at Elthroon, a fine stream of water falls into the sea from
a deep fiumara.
From Cape Bujebāra to Derna, the same rocky coast continues; but
the ravines are fewer, and the mountains somewhat farther removed
from the coast.
[Sidenote: Rocky Islets.]
Eight miles westward from Derna, at two miles distance from the
shore, there are three small rocky islets, which must be avoided.
The whole of this coast is very thinly inhabited.
[Sidenote: Derna.]
Derna is situated at the mouth of a large fiumara, and is surrounded
by clusters of date-trees, which are sufficient of themselves to
distinguish the place; but it may also be known by a ruined castle
upon a ridge above the town, on the western side of the fiumara,
and a márábūt, which stands upon a point, a mile from the town.
There is a good roadstead about a mile and a half off shore,
and some shelter for small craft close in shore with the wind
from north-north-west to south-east; but they cannot remain with
a north-east or easterly wind, nor should they hang on too long in
the event of the wind coming in, or they will find it difficult to
weather either of the capes.
[Sidenote: Supplies.]
Supplies of fresh beef, vegetables, fruit, and water may be had in
abundance. Cattle are from seven to nine dollars a head, and fine
sheep about a dollar a-piece.
The town is the residence of Sidi Mahommed, Bey of the district,
and eldest son of the Bashaw of Tripoly; to whom it might be found
advantageous to make some little present, and to notice by firing
a salute.
[Sidenote: Strength.]
Derna is not at all defended; there is an old fort upon the sandy
point, but the guns are not in order, and those which once occupied
the turrets of the castle upon the hill are thrown down and rendered
useless by corrosion—the only annoyance boats attempting to land
could find, would be from the few muskets which the inhabitants
might furnish.
[Sidenote: Landing.]
The best landing place is to the eastward of the date-trees in
a sandy bay round a low point about half a mile eastward of the
márábūt. Some rocks lie off this point which boats should avoid.
[Sidenote: Prevalent winds.]
At Derna, as at Bengazi, the most prevalent wind during the summer
is along shore; but here it comes from the west north-west. The
north wind appears to diverge at Ras Sem, and takes the direction
of Bengazi on one side, and Alexandria on the other; for which
reasons vessels bound to Egypt frequently make Ras Sem, and continue
along shore.
[Sidenote: Pilot.]
Vessels desirous of entering the harbour, may always procure
a pilot, by making the usual signal, except it blow hard, in
which case he prefers standing upon the point near the castle,
and waves his barracan to the right or left, as he wishes the helm
to be put. But as this pilotage may not suit every person, ships
would perhaps prefer standing off, until the weather moderated;
particularly, as at such times the channel is difficult to hit,
on account of the breakers extending across it. But should it be
attempted, the weather channel will of course be preferred.
[Sidenote: Marks.]
The mark for the southern one, is the castle in one with the
márábūt on the hill to the north-east of the town, and for the
northern one, the four date-trees on Juliana point in one, with
an old ruined fort upon the rising ground inland of them. But both
these passages are very narrow, and it would be more advisable to
conn the ship between the reefs, than trust to the marks, as the
slightest deviation from them would put the vessel on shore.
When through the breakers, avoid the shore off the castle, as a
shoal extends some distance off it; the edge of it is steep, and
may generally be seen, and continued along to the west anchorage,
which is about three hundred yards west-north-west of the point of
a narrow pit of sand, that contracts the port to its present limit.
The depth of water in the harbour varies constantly, according to
the winds which prevail in the offing. We observed that the greatest
increase was with north-westerly gales, and _vice versâ_; they
generally occasioned a rise of two or three feet, and if continued,
even more than that. North-easterly winds had but little effect
upon it.
REMARKS ON THE NAVAL AFFAIRS OF THE ANCIENTS, AND THE RATES OF
SAILING OF THEIR VESSELS AT DIFFERENT PERIODS.
The Greater Syrtis appears to have been at all times ill provided
with ports and harbours, and may at the present day be considered
to be wholly unprovided with any; that is to say, with any which
could be used as such by ships of modern construction. It will be
observed that the whole line of coast laid down in the chart is,
at the same time, very indifferently formed by nature to afford
security to vessels of any description.
It was not, however, necessary that the ports of the ancients should
possess wholly by nature those local advantages which are at the
present day considered to be essential for affording protection;
and we find that many of them existed in places which must always
have been unqualified by their position for affording the security
required. In such places art was made to supply the deficiencies
of nature, and harbours were built where none could otherwise have
been obtained. The mode of constructing these artificial ports has
been clearly defined by Vitruvius; and as it may serve to explain
what we have stated with respect to the present state of the ports
of Ptolemeta and Aspis, we shall submit the passage in question as
we have extracted it from Wilkins’s translation.
“A spot was, if possible, selected, which had the advantage of some
protection on one of its sides; and the want of a corresponding defence
on the other side was supplied in the following manner:—rows of grooved
beams were driven in the water, connected by oaken planks, and bound
together by chains. The surface of the ground below the water was then
levelled and consolidated by means of transtilli, and the space
comprehended between the beams filled up with a composition of rough
stone, and cement formed of sea-sand mixed with lime, in the proportion
of two parts to one, which soon produced a solid wall.” The author adds,
“that sand should be procured for this purpose from the sea-coast
between Cumæ and the promontory of Minerva,” which seems to be
considered by him as most efficient in forming the cement here
alluded to.
If the beams could not, however, be firmly fixed, on account of the
action of tides or currents, or from being too much exposed to a
heavy swell from the open sea, a strong buttress is recommended by
Vitruvius to be built upon the water’s edge, and a portion somewhat
less than half the upper surface of the buttress to be constructed
upon a horizontal level, the remaining part inclining towards the
sea. Upon the edges of this part of the buttress walls were to be
raised to the height of the level part, of a foot and a half in
thickness, and the intermediate space filled with sand. Upon this
foundation a solid pile, we are told, may be built, which, after
being finished, should be left to dry for two months at least. The
walls which were raised upon the edges of the inclined surface of
the buttress, and which seemed to confine the sand, should then
be destroyed; and the water, in washing away the sand by degrees,
will undermine the pile, and cause it to be precipitated into the
sea. This operation should be repeated until the whole is complete.
In places, however, (Vitruvius observes) where this sand is not to
be procured, other methods must be resorted to. The space, which
the mole is intended to occupy, having been inclosed by a double
range of beams connected by planks and chains, the interval between
the ranges should be filled with loam, rammed into baskets made of
the ulva palustris. The space being filled by masses of this kind,
stowed as closely together as possible, the water contained in the
inclosed area may be removed by engines calculated for the purpose,
such as cochleæ, rotæ, and tympana; and when the ground is left
perfectly dry, the foundations may be dug of greater width than the
walls they are intended to support, and filled in with rough stone,
lime, and sand. Piles of charred alder, olive, or oak, must first
be driven into the ground if it be soft, and the intervals between
them filled with charred wood, in the manner recommended for forming
the foundations of the walls of theatres. The walls should then be
built upon these foundations with squared blocks of considerable
length, so that the stones between these blocks, which extend across
the wall, may be bound firmly together. The space inclosed by the
walls may be filled in with rubble, or stone-work, and be made so
firm that a tower may be erected upon it. The mole being completed,
(continues our author) the docks should be built facing the north;
because the greater heat of a southern aspect occasions a more
rapid decay, and engenders and nourishes moths, ship-worms, and
other noxious insects. Timber should, at the same time, be used as
sparingly as possible in works of this kind, that they may not be
liable to accidents by fire[9].
Harbours[10] of this kind were usually built in a semicircular form,
with arms of great length extended into the sea; these were sometimes
called χηλαι, from their resemblance to crabs’ claws[11]; Cicero terms
them _cornua_ (horns). (Epist. ad Attic. lib. ix. ep. 19.)
For the better security of the ships within the harbour, it was
usual to draw strong chains or booms across the entrance, and to
defend them with large pales, fortified against the water with
pitch. On both sides of the mole were strong towers, which were
garrisoned with troops; and not far from these was a watch-tower,
or lighthouse, called Pharos, which name belonged originally to a
little island in the mouth of the Nile, where the first of these
towers was built, but was afterwards naturalized both in Greece and
at Rome. In the innermost part of the harbour vessels were often
suffered to lie unmoored, whereas in other parts of the port,
which were not so well secured, they were either chained to the
land, or obliged to lie at anchor. This portion of the harbour
was divided into several partitions by walls, constructed for the
most part with stone, within which the vessels laid very securely,
without the necessity, as we have just mentioned, of using either
cable or chain. These places were termed ορμοι, υφορμοι,
ναυλοχοι, _ormoi_, _uphormoi_, _naulokoi_, &c., and formed
altogether what was called ναυσταθμος (_naustathmos_[12]).
Here were likewise the docks in which ships were built, or careened,
drawn up on the beach.
Most harbours were adorned with temples, or altars, where sacrifices
were offered to the tutelar deities of the place, and to those
which presided over the sea and the winds. The adjacent places
were filled with inns and other places of public entertainment,
for the use of mariners, merchants, &c., who might be stationed or
touch at the port.
In times of war, harbours were also defended on the land side by a
ditch and parapet, or by a wall, built in the form of a semicircle,
extending from one point of the sea to the other. The wall was
occasionally defended by towers, and beautified with gates, through
which the garrison sometimes issued to attack their enemies.
Towards the sea, or within it, pales of wood were also fixed, like
those in the harbours, before which the vessels of burthen were
placed in such order as to serve instead of a wall, and to give
protection to those within. Nicias is reported by Thucydides to
have entrenched himself in this manner; but it seems only to have
been practised when the enemy were supposed to be very superior in
strength, or excited unusual apprehension: at other times a few
ships were appointed to reconnoitre the hostile squadron, and to
observe the enemy’s motions.
When the fortifications were considered sufficiently strong to resist
any assault which might be made upon them, the vessels were usually
hauled up on the beach, and around them were pitched the tents of the
soldiers and sailors, as appears everywhere in Homer, Thucydides,
&c. This practice, however, seems only to have been resorted to in
the winter season, when the enemy’s fleet was equally laid up,
and there was no apprehension of an assault; or in long-continued
sieges, where no danger was to be apprehended from the enemy’s
navy, as in the Trojan war, when the Greeks were never attacked by
sea. At other times the ships lay at anchor, or were made fast to the
shore, that upon any alarm they might be ready to receive the enemy.
[Sidenote: Construction of ancient vessels.]
The ships of the ancients were very differently constructed from
those which are at this day in use; and their rate of sailing was,
for the most part, even lower than that of the dullest sailing
vessel we are at present acquainted with. The rate, however, varied
at different times, and will be found at some periods of the Roman
empire to have been extremely respectable.
The earliest ships were built with very little art or contrivance,
and had neither strength nor durability, beauty nor ornament;
they consisted of nothing more than single planks laid together,
just sufficiently united to keep out the water, and were in some
places nothing more than trunks of trees hollowed out, forming
vessels of single pieces of timber. Other materials besides wood
were also employed in the construction of ships; among which may
be mentioned the Egyptian papyrus, and more especially the hides
of different animals, of which the primitive vessels were very
frequently composed. These were sometimes girt with wicker-work,
and frequently used in that manner, even in later times, on the
rivers of Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sabæan Arabia.
In early periods, however, when vessels of this construction were
employed, we find no mention of anything but leather, or hides sewed
together. It was in a ship of this kind that Dardanus secured his
flight from Samothracia to the country afterwards called Troas;
and Charon’s boat was also (according to Virgil) constructed of
the same material[13].
On their first invention, all ships, for whatever purpose they might
have been designed, appear to have been of the same form; but the
various ends of navigation, some of which were better answered by one
form, some by another, soon gave occasion for a distinction, not only
in point of size, but also in the mode of construction and equipment.
Without attempting to enumerate every trifling alteration, we may
state generally, that the vessels of the ancients were divided
into three classes—ships of burthen, of war, and of passage; and
these again had their several distinctions into other classes and
subdivisions. Ships of burthen were usually of an orbicular form,
having large and capacious hulls for the convenience of stowage;
whereas, ships of war were of a greater length in proportion to
their size, as we find to be the case at the present day. Transport
vessels were of a form between the ships of war and of burthen, being
more capacious than the former, and longer than the last-mentioned
species.
[Sidenote: Management of the vessels.]
[Sidenote: Number of banks of oars.]
There was at the same time a difference in the management of the
vessels enumerated. Men-of-war, though not wholly destitute of
sails, were chiefly managed with oars, that they might be more
able to tack and manœuvre in light or contrary winds, and to lay
themselves alongside the enemy to advantage; while the other two
species were commonly governed by sails, and vessels of transport
were towed, when it was practicable, with ropes. All three modes of
government (by sail, oar, and tow-rope) were, however, occasionally
adopted by each of the classes. The rowers were not placed, as some
have imagined, upon the same level in different parts of the ship,
nor perpendicularly above each other’s heads; but their seats,
being fixed one at the back of another, ascended gradually in the
manner of stairs. The most usual number of these banks was three,
four, and five, composing what are called trireme, quadrireme,
and quinquireme galleys; the second of these having a range of oars
more than the first, and the third a range more than the second—the
height of the vessel always increasing in proportion to the number of
ranges. In primitive times, the long ships had only one bank of oars;
and therefore, when we find them called πεντεκοντοροι (fifty-oared),
and εκατοντοροι (hundred-oared), we are not to suppose they were rowed
with fifty and an hundred banks, but only with so many oars. The ship
Argo, invented by Jason, was rowed with fifty oars, and, according to
some writers, was the first of the long ships; all vessels, till that
time, having been of a form much more inclining to oval. Others carry
the invention of long ships somewhat higher, referring it to Danaus,
who sailed from Egypt to Greece in a ship (we are told) of fifty oars;
and even if Jason be allowed to have been the first who introduced the
long ships into Greece, yet he cannot be considered as the original
contriver of them, but rather an imitator of the Egyptian or African
model, the latter of which was constructed some time before by Atlas,
and much adopted in that part of the Mediterranean. The first who
used a double bank of oars were the Erythræans, and Aminocles of
Corinth added a third, as Herodotus, Thucydides, and Diodorus have
reported; although Clemens Alexandrinus attributes this invention
to the Sidonians. A fourth bank was added by a Carthaginian
called Aristotle; and Nesicthon of Salamis (according to Pliny),
or Dionysius the Sicilian (according to Diodorus), increased the
number to five; Xenagoras of Syracuse added a sixth; and Nesigiton
increased the number to ten. Alexander the Great and Ptolemy Soter
had vessels of twelve and fifteen banks of oars; and Philip, the
father of Perseus, is said to have had one of sixteen.
[Sidenote: Extreme bulk of some of the vessels.]
As the method of erecting one bank above another came to be generally
known, it was easy to make further additions; Demetrius, the son of
Antigonus, built a ship of thirty banks; and Ptolemy Philopator,
that he might outdo his predecessors, enlarged the number still
further to forty; which, as all other parts were necessarily in
proportion, raised the vessel to such an enormous size, that it
appeared at a distance like a floating mountain or island, and on
a nearer view took the form of a huge castle in the midst of the
waves. This enormous structure contained four thousand rowers, four
hundred sailors employed in other services, and a body of nearly
three thousand soldiers! But this, and such like fabrics, (says
the author of the Archæologia, from which we have extracted these
particulars,) served only for show and ostentation; being by their
great bulk rendered unwieldy and unfit for ordinary use. Athenæus
(he adds) has informed us, that these vessels were commonly known
by the names of Cyclades and Ætna; names of islands and mountains,
to which they appeared almost equal in size—consisting, as some
report, of materials sufficient for the construction of at least
fifty triremes.
Besides those already mentioned, there were other vessels fitted with
half banks of oars, which seem to have been between a unireme and
a bireme, and consisting of a bank and a half: also some between a
bireme and a trireme, having two banks and an half of oars. These,
although perhaps built in other respects after the model of the
long ships, or men-of-war, are seldom comprehended under that name,
and are sometimes mentioned in opposition to them.
[Sidenote: Various descriptions of ancient vessels.]
Several other kinds of ships are enumerated by different authors,
which varied from those already described; being fitted for particular
uses, or seas, or employed upon urgent occasions in naval fights,
but more commonly as υπηρετικαι (or tenders), and as victualling
ships for supplying the principal fleet.
Some were built for expedition, to carry expresses, or to observe
the enemy’s motions, without incurring the danger of being taken
by the heavier, and armed vessels; these were distinguished from the
former by the manner of their construction and equipment, being in
part like men-of-war, and partly resembling ships of burthen, while
in some things they differed from both, as the various exigencies
for which they were fitted might seem to require.
[Sidenote: Mode of rigging.]
Every ship in later times had several masts; but we are told by
Aristotle, that at first there was only one mast, which was fixed
in the middle of the ship. On landing, the mast was taken down, as
appears everywhere in Homer, and placed on a thing called ιστοδοκη,
which according to Suidas, was a case wherein the mast was deposited;
but Eustathius will have it to be nothing more than a piece of wood,
against which it was reared. About the mast was constructed a kind of
turret for soldiers to stand upon and cast darts.
Sails are by some thought to have been first invented by Dædalus,
and to have given rise to the fable of his using wings; others
refer this invention to Icarus, making Dædalus the contriver of
masts and yards. There was originally only one sail in a ship;
but afterwards a greater number was found convenient; the names of
which are enumerated by Potter.
[Sidenote: Oars and anchors.]
Sails were commonly of linen; but sometimes of any other material fit
for receiving and repelling the wind. We occasionally find mention of
leathern sails; and it was usual with the ancients, when none were
at hand, to hang up their garments for this purpose: whence arose
(continues our author) the fable of Hercules, who is feigned to
have sailed with the _back of a lion_, because he used no other sail
but his garment, which was a lion’s skin. Occasionally the ropes
and rigging were for the most part composed of leathern thongs;
afterwards cordage of hemp and flax came into use, as well as of
broom, palm-leaves, philyry, and the bark of trees, such as cherry,
vine, maple, &c. The oars were usually covered with brass in the
blade, or broad part of the oar, to make them stronger and more
durable; the oars of the lowest bank were shorter than the rest,
and those of the uppermost ranges were necessarily the longest,
being at the greatest distance from the water, for which reason
it was customary to load their handles with lead, lest the bottom
should outpoise the top. The row-locks, and the seats of the rowers
were generally covered with hides.
The most ancient anchors are said to have been of stone, and
occasionally of wood, to which a quantity of lead was attached. In
some places, baskets full of stones, and sacks filled with sand,
were employed for this purpose. In later times they were composed
of iron, and furnished with teeth (arms,) whence οδοντες and
_dentes_ are frequently used for the anchors themselves in the Greek
and Latin poets. Originally there was only one tooth; but a second
was added by Eupalamus, or by Anacharsis, the Scythian philosopher.
The Scholiast on Apollonius confidently asserts, that this species
of anchor was used by the Argonauts; but herein (says Potter) he
appears to deserve no great credit, for his assertion is contrary
to the testimony of other writers, and his own author, Apollonius,
makes mention of none but those of stone. The anchors with two
teeth appear, from ancient monuments, to have been much the same
with those which are used in the present day, except that the
transverse piece or anchor-stock is found to be wanting in all of
them. Every ship had several anchors, one of which surpassed all
the others in point of size and strength, and was never used but in
cases of extreme danger; for which reason it was termed ιηρα,
in Latin, _sacra_; and _sacram anchoram solvere_, is proverbially
applied to such as are forced to their last refuge. The instrument
which answered to the _lead_ of modern days was also composed of
lead or brass, and lowered by a chain instead of a line.
Cables were sometimes called καμιλοι, or καμηλοι, (cámili, or camēli,)
whence, in the passage of St. Matthew, where our Saviour remarks, that
“it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for
a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven,” Theophylactus, and
some others, have interpreted the word καμηλος, (camēlus) not as
meaning the animal, but the cable so called.
[Sidenote: Equipment of vessels.]
[Sidenote: Ships’ companies.]
With regard to the equipment of the vessels of the ancients, we
are told by Thucydides, that there was originally no distinction
of rank among their crews; but that the same persons were employed
indiscriminately in those duties which in later ages were executed
by separate orders of men, that is to say, by rowers, mariners,
and soldiers. The same men originally filled these three offices;
they laid down their arms to labour at the oar, and to do, perhaps,
what was necessary in other respects for the management of the vessel
they belonged to; but resumed them as often as occasion required,
to assault, or defend themselves from, their enemies. At these
periods no extraordinary preparations were made for the equipment
of ships of war, but the same vessels were thought sufficient to
answer the purposes of fighting and transport indiscriminately.
As the arts of navigation and of naval warfare improved, it was
found that any one of the occupations we have enumerated was enough
to engross the whole time and application of the persons employed
in the performance of it; and it then became customary to furnish
ships of war with three distinct orders of men; _viz._, rowers,
mariners, and soldiers. The rowers were divided into three classes;
those of the upper, the middle, and the lower ranges. Each person
had a separate oar, for, except in cases of necessity, one oar
was never managed by more than one person; but the labour and pay
of the several classes of rowers were not at the same time equal:
they who were stationed in the uppermost banks, by reason of their
distance from the water, and the consequent length of their oars,
underwent more toil and labour than those in the inferior banks,
and their pay was on that account greater.
The crew took their rest upon the deck, or upon the seats where
they rowed; and the officers only, or persons of more than ordinary
rank on board, were permitted to have clothes spread under them;
of which the following instance is quoted by the author of the
Archæologia from Homer:—
But clothes the men for great Ulysses spread,
And placed an easy pillow for his head;
On these he undisturb’d, securely slept,
Lying upon the _stern_.
They who could not content themselves with the accommodation here
afforded to the son of Laertes, were looked upon as effeminate, and
unfit to endure the toils and hardships of war: we find accordingly,
that Alcibiades was censured by the Athenians, for having allowed
himself the luxury of a “bed hung on cords,” or, in other words,
a cot or a hammock.
The class termed mariners were exempt from drudging at the oar,
but performed all the other duties of the ship; and in order
that every thing might be carried on without tumult or confusion,
each had his peculiar office assigned to him, as appears from the
Argonautics of Apollonius and Flaccus. We there find one employed in
rearing the mast, another in fitting the yards, a third in hoisting
the sails, and the rest employed fore and aft in the ship, each in
his proper place. Hence, they had different titles to distinguish
them, taken from the parts of the ship where they were stationed,
and the offices which they were in the habit of performing.
There was a class of men inferior to the rest of the crew, which
was not confined to any particular station or duty, but was ready
on all occasions to attend the other seamen, and supply them with
whatever they wanted.
“_The whole ship’s crew_,” says Potter, “were usually _wicked and
profligate fellows, without any sense of religion or humanity_, and
therefore reckoned by Juvenal among the _vilest of rogues[14]!_”
It does not, however, follow, because Juvenal here alludes to sailors
of the worst description, that he considered every ship’s company
in the light of thieves and deserters.
The soldiers who served at sea were armed after the same manner
with those designed for land service; only that among them there
seems to have been a greater number of heavy-armed men than was
considered to be necessary on shore; for we find in Plutarch,
that of Themistocles’ ships, four only were light-armed. Indeed,
it highly imported them (says Potter) to fortify themselves in the
best manner they could, since there was no possibility of retiring,
or changing places: but every man was obliged to fight hand to hand,
and maintain his ground till the battle was ended; wherefore their
whole armour, though in form usually the same with that employed
on land service, yet exceeded it in strength and firmness. Besides
[Sidenote: Instruments of war.]this, we find also some instruments of
war used at sea, which were never employed on shore; the principal
of which were:—spears of an unusual length, sometimes exceeding
twenty cubits; instruments of iron crooked like a sickle and fixed
to the top of a long pole, wherewith they cut in sunder (continues
our author) the cords of the sail-yards, and thereby letting the
sails fall down, disabled the light ships. Not unlike this, he adds,
was another instrument, armed at the end with a broad iron head,
edged on both sides, wherewith they cut the cords that made fast
the rudder of the ship.
There were also engines to cast stones into the enemy’s vessels;
and another engine is mentioned by Vegetius, which hung upon the
mainmast, and resembled a battering ram; it consisted of a long beam
with a head of iron, and was pushed with great violence against the
sides of adverse ships. Besides these, there were grappling irons,
which were cast out of an engine into the vessels of the enemy;
these are said to have been first used in Greece by Pericles the
Athenian, at Rome by Duilius; hooks of iron were also used, which
were hung on the top of a pole, and being secured with chains to
the masts or some other lofty part, and cast with great force into
the enemy’s ship, caught it up into the air[15].
The means used to defeat this extraordinary engine, were, (it is
said) to cover the ships with hides, which cast off, or blunted
the stroke of the iron.
With regard to the naval officers employed by the ancients, we find
that in all fleets there were two superior to the rest; one took
the command of the vessels and seamen, the other of the soldiers;
[Sidenote: Officers.]but this latter had also some power over the
_ship-masters_ (as Potter calls them) and their crews.
The commission of admiral varied according to the exigency of times
and circumstances, being sometimes held by one alone, sometimes in
conjunction with others; as happened to Alcibiades, Nicias, and
Lamachus, who were sent with equal power to command the Athenian
fleet in Sicily. The period of command was also limited by the
people, and shortened or prolonged as they pleased. We read of
Epaminondas (continues our author), that, finding his country would
probably be exposed to great danger upon the resignation of his
office, he held it four months longer than he was commissioned to do;
during which time he put a new face upon the affairs of the Thebans,
and by his skilful management dispelled the fears under which they
laboured: this done, he voluntarily laid down his power; but had
no sooner relinquished it, than he was called to account for having
held it so long, and narrowly escaped being condemned to death! It
was feared, it seems, that a precedent of this nature might at some
future time be dangerous to the commonwealth, and facilitate the
views of ambitious persons intrusted with so high a command, who
might avail themselves of it to enslave their fellow-citizens. For
the same reason, probably, by the Lacedæmonian law, no person
could be admiral more than once, a regulation which nevertheless
(continues Potter) stood them in no good stead, it thereby often
happening that they were forced to commit their fleet to raw and
inexperienced commanders.
Next in rank to these were what may be termed vice-admirals, who
acted under the admirals.
The captains of vessels took their names from the rate of the ships
they commanded; and, without enumerating all the different persons
intrusted with commands of various kinds, we may observe that the
duty of master appears to have been split into several parts, and
each person holding a portion of it (whom we may call master’s
mate) to have been distinguished by a different appellation.
The master himself (properly so called) took charge of the helm as
well as of the ship, and sat at the stern to steer; he was obliged,
at the same time, to be an accomplished pilot, and familiar with
all the harbours, rocks, quicksands, &c., which were likely to
present themselves in the voyage.
The labour of the rowers, which must have been excessive, was
cheered by a musician appointed for the purpose, who at the same
time contributed, by his voice and his instrument, to make the
rowers keep time and pull together. This office could have been no
sinecure; and the lungs of the musician must have been formed of
no ordinary materials.
[Sidenote: Steering by fixed stars.]
[Sidenote: Which were the chief stars observed by the ancients.]
[Sidenote: Reliance upon omens of various kinds.]
[Sidenote: Exclusive course by the sun practised in early times.]
The heavenly bodies (continues our author) were observed by sailors
on a twofold account; being of use to them in prognosticating the
seasons, and as guides to direct their course. The chief stars
observed in foretelling the weather were Arcturus, the Dog-star,
Aræ, Orion, Hyades, Hædi, Castor and Pollux, Helena, &c. It
was likewise customary to take notice of various omens offered by
sea-fowl, fishes, and divers other things, as the murmuring of the
floods, the shaking and buzzing noise of trees in the neighbouring
woods, the dashing of the billows against the shore, and many more,
in all which good pilots were nicely skilled. As to the direction
in their voyage, the first practitioners in the art of navigation,
being unacquainted with the rest of the celestial motions, steered
all the day by the course of the sun, betaking themselves at night
to some safe harbour, or making fast their vessel to, and sleeping
on, shore; not daring to venture to sea till their guide had risen
to discover the way: that this was their constant custom, may be
observed from the ancient descriptions of those times, whereof,
says Potter, I shall only give the following instance:
Sol ruit interea, et montes umbrantur opaci,
Sternimur optatæ gremio telluris ad undam,
Sortiti remos, passimque in littore sicco
Corpora curamus, fessos sopor irrigat artus.—_Æneid_, iii. v. 508.
Afterwards the Phœnicians, who some will have to be the first inventors
of navigation, discovered the motions of other stars, as may be
observed in Pliny (lib. vii.), and Propertius (lib. ii. v. 990). We
find the Phœnicians to have been directed by Cynosura, or the Lesser
Bear (which was first observed, in the opinion of some, by Thales the
Milesian); when the mariners of Greece, as well as of other nations,
steered by the Greater Bear, called Helice. For the first observation
of this they were obliged to Nauplius, if we may believe Theon; or,
according to the report of Flaccus (Argonaut 1), to Tiphys, the pilot
of the celebrated Argo. But of these two, we are told by Theon, the
former was the securer guide, and therefore was followed by the
Phœnicians, who for skill in marine affairs outstripped not only all
the rest of the world, but even the Grecians themselves.
RATES OF SAILING OF ANCIENT VESSELS.
The general rate of sailing of the vessels of the ancients appears
to be even lower than we might naturally expect from their clumsy
and imperfect construction. This will be sufficiently evident from
the examples collected of their voyages, by the justly-celebrated
author of the Illustrations of Herodotus, a work which we are sorry
to say has become extremely scarce, since there are few books whose
circulation would be more advantageous to those who value historical
and geographical research.
It will be seen, from a view of the examples in question, that the
mean rate of sailing of the best-equipped vessels of antiquity,
was no more than thirty-five and thirty-seven geographic miles
per day, equivalent to two and a half or three geographic miles an
hour, taking the day at twelve hours. We will give them in Major
Rennell’s own words.
“Miltiades, under favour of an easterly wind, passed in a single
day from Elæos, in the Chersonese of Thrace, to Lemnos (Herod. Erato
40); the distance is thirty-eight geographic miles only.”
“The fleet of Xerxes sailed in three days from the Euripus to
Phalerus, one of the ports of Attica (Urania 66). This is about
ninety-six geographic miles, or thirty-two per day. The fleet was
unusually great.”
“Nearchus reckoned the promontory of Maceta a day’s sail from
him when he first discovered it; and it is shewn by circumstances
that the distance was about thirty-eight geographic miles (Arrian’s
Voyage of Nearchus).”
“Scylax allows seventy-five days and a quarter for the navigation
between Canopus and the pillars of Hercules; equal to about
thirty-two per day (Periplus of Scylax, p. 51)[16].”
“The Red Sea is forty days’ navigation (Eut. 11), and the track
which a ship must necessarily make through it is about thirteen
hundred geographic miles, or less; so that the rate must be taken
at thirty-two per day.”
“The Euxine is said by the same author (Melp. 186) to be sixteen
days’ navigation from the Bosphorus to the Phasis; producing
about thirty-eight per day; he says, indeed, nine days and eight
nights, which, according to his own rule given in the same place,
is equal to sixteen days.”
“The Caspian Sea is said by the same author (Clio, 203) to be
fifteen days’ navigation for a _swift-rowing_ vessel; and being
about six hundred and thirty miles long, this allows a rate of
forty-two.”
“Pliny says (lib. vi. 23), that it was forty days’ sail from
the outlet of the Red Sea to the coast of India (Malabar), which
is about one thousand seven hundred and fifty geographic miles,
equal to forty-four.”
“He also reckons it thirty days’ sail from Berenice to the
outlet of the Red Sea; this would give about thirty per day only.”
“It will be seen that the mean rate of sailing, resulting from
these examples, is thirty-seven geographic miles per day; and that
of the six first, which Major Rennell considers to be the fairest,
no more than thirty-five such miles in the same time.”
“We may add (continues our author), that the mean rate of Nearchus
was no more than twenty-two and a half during his voyage; and less
than thirty through the Persian Gulf. But we regard his rate as
unusually low, for the reasons above stated[17].”
“It appears from Procopius (Vandal. lib. i. c. 12), that the fleet
of Belisarius was sixteen days on its passage from Zante to Caucana
in Sicily. The distance being three hundred and twenty geographic
miles, gives twenty such miles per day, or about two hundred and
fifty stadia. This must be regarded as the effect of oars generally;
there being very little wind, or almost a continued calm.”
“Diodorus (lib. v. c. 2) says, that tin was carried across in
four days from Britain to Gaul, where it was landed, and carried
across the Rhone in thirty journies. From the descriptions and
the circumstances altogether, it appears to have been embarked at
St. Michael’s Mount in Cornwall, and landed near the other mount
of the same name in France; perhaps at St. Maloes.”
“This would give a rate of about forty miles per day: but he says
(Diodorus) that the western promontory of Britain is four days’
sail from the opposite continent.”
“It is conceived (Major Rennell continues) that the slow
progress of the vessels of the ancients will be readily admitted;
since in addition to so many other examples, we have the reports
of Herodotus and Nearchus,—of the latter respecting the length
of a day’s sail; of the former, as to the space actually sailed
through in the course of a day, and remarked as an uncommon _long
run_ in those days: as also the time required to navigate the Red
Sea and the Euxine, the latter of which appears to be reported from
Herodotus’s own experience.”
“In effect none of these differ materially from the rest:—the
mean rate of _all_, then, being so low as thirty-seven geographic
miles, we are naturally led to inquire (continues the Major) why
there should be so great a disproportion between the sailing of
ancient and modern ships; since a day’s sail (of four-and-twenty
hours) of a modern ship cannot be reckoned at less than three times
that of the ancient ones?”
“Even the worst description of modern vessels of which we have
any knowledge seems to be superior to the antient ones in respect
of their daily progress. And therefore we suppose that some cause
is to be looked for, besides that of dulness of sailing.”
“That this had a considerable share in the delay is evident,
by the circumstance mentioned by Pliny (if we may depend upon the
numbers), of the Roman Ships sailing no more than about forty-four
geographical miles per day across to open sea between Arabia and
India, in which we cannot suppose them to have absolutely stopped
at night, as in their coasting voyages and in soundings.”
“We may reckon, at a medium, from thirteen to fourteen hours of
daylight throughout the year in that parallel; so that three miles
per hour for the daylight makes up the whole sum (bating three or
four miles), which is a very slow rate of sailing before the brisk
monsoon that prevails in that sea, and leaves little or nothing for
the night; and although it is possible, and even probable, that they
may have _lain to_ during this interval, yet ten or eleven hours
_drift_ must amount to something. Hence we shall not lay so great
a stress on this instance, being a solitary one of the kind, as on
the others in the coasting navigation. In these it appears almost
certain that the ordinary mode of sailing was confined to daylight;
for without a compass, or a substitute for it, great danger must
have been incurred in the night, when a small error in the angle of
the course would be fatal. Lighthouses, on prominent parts of the
coast, would doubtless direct them; but this could not be a general
arrangement, and must have been confined to particular coasts
only. Notwithstanding, sailing by night was doubtless practised
occasionally, as in clear moonlight, or at other times when necessity
pressed, or the nature of the shore (as at the mouths of the Tigris
and Euphrates) prevented his coming to an anchor or landing. Sailing
by night is also implied, when Scylax admits nights as well as days
in his calculation of the distance between Carthage and the columns
of Hercules; a navigation by no means intricate, and perhaps assisted
by lighthouses or signal fires. It must also have been occasionally
practised in the Euxine. (See Note to p. 678, article 6.)”
“In effect, then (Major Rennell continues), we must suppose a
rate of sailing of only two and a half sea, or geographic, miles
per hour, or less than three at the utmost. The cause must either
have been the defective form of the ships’ hulls, or the faulty
disposition of the cargo and ballast, which might not permit them
to spread sail enough[18]. Certainly the sails of ancient ships
are represented, on medals, as being remarkably small, and do
not seem to be on a par in that respect even with Chinese junks,
which, like the others, have generally _lower_ masts only. If we
reject the examples given by Herodotus on the Caspian Sea, and by
Pliny in the open sea, as being out of rule, we have thirty-five
(miles) only for the mean rate per day of the Grecian, Egyptian,
Phœnician and Carthaginian ships, between the times of Darius,
Hystaspes and Alexander, generally; and in which none rise above
thirty-eight, or fall below thirty-two sea miles.”
“It appears (continues our author) that the principal difficulty
to be surmounted in antient voyages, arose from the impracticability
of storing the ships with provisions adequate to the vast length
of time required for their navigation, when the rate of sailing
was so remarkably slow. They were ill adapted to distant voyages,
which indeed they seldom, it appears, undertook, but did very well
in situations where they could land and command provisions almost
at pleasure; or, at any rate, by compulsion, when they sailed
in fleets. But, on the other hand, they were better adapted to
those coasting voyages which constituted almost the whole of
their navigation. The flatness of their bottoms required much
less depth of water than modern vessels of the same tonnage:
whence arose an incredible advantage over ours in finding shelter
more frequently; and indeed almost everywhere, except on a steep
or rocky shore—since, in default of shelter afloat, they drew
their large ships upon the beach, as our fishermen do their large
boats. And we may certainly conclude, that vessels of a construction
and size best adapted to the service of discovery and long voyages
were chosen on occasions like the present.”
In addition to the instances selected by Major Rennell, as proofs
of the slow rate of sailing of the vessels of the ancients, we here
submit a few examples of a contrary tendency; and from these it will
appear (if the numbers of Pliny may be relied upon), that navigation
under the Romans had made rapid strides, and that voyages undertaken
by the vessels of the empire must have been performed under other
disadvantages than those resulting from a slow rate of sailing, when
they are found to be so bad as those which we have instanced above.
The Præfect Galerius is stated by Pliny (lib. xix, Proemium) to
have employed no more than seven days in the voyage from Sicily to
Alexandria; and Babilius is said, immediately afterwards, to have
made the same voyage in six.
We cannot reckon less than one thousand Roman miles for the distance
between the Faro of Messina and Alexandria; which performed in the
space of seven days (as first mentioned), would give a rate of one
hundred and forty-three M. P. per day; and being reckoned at six (as
in the latter instance), a rate of one hundred and fifty such miles.
In the same place we find that Valerius Marianus accomplished
the voyage from Puteoli to Alexandria in the space of nine days
(lenissimo flatu), under the disadvantage of extremely light
winds. This may be reckoned at two hundred and fifty M. P. more than
the voyage above stated, or one thousand two hundred and fifty Roman
miles; and from it will be found to result a distance of nearly
one hundred and forty M. P. per day—differing very little from
the instance first mentioned, and much less from the latter than
might reasonably be expected, from the circumstances under which
it was performed.
We also find, from what follows, in the passage alluded to, that
the voyage from the Straits of Gibraltar to Ostia was accomplished
in the course of a week; and as it cannot be reckoned at less than
one thousand three hundred Roman miles (supposing it to have been
a coasting voyage), or at less than one thousand two hundred and
twenty-five M. P., in straight course to the southward of Sardinia,
we must conclude that the vessel in which it was performed actually
sailed at the rate of more than one hundred and eighty-five M. P. in
the first instance, and one hundred and seventy-five in the latter.
Other examples follow, of the coasting voyage just mentioned in
detail—viz. from Ostia to the Provincia Narbonensis (say, the
south-east point of the Gulf of Lyons), the Gallicus Sinus of the
Romans, a distance of four hundred and fifty M. P., performed in
the space of three days; this gives a rate of one hundred and fifty
miles per day.
From Ostia to the coast of Spain (Hispania Citerior), say the
south-western point of the same Gulf, which is the nearest that
can be taken, is four days; this would give a rate of more than
one hundred and sixty M. P. per day.
Again, from the same port (Ostia) to the coast of Africa, in two
days; which, taken at the nearest points, Carthage, or Utica, on
the extremity of the Hermæum Promontorium, could not be less than
three hundred and fifty Roman miles in straight course. This will
afford us a rate of one hundred and seventy-five M. P. per day, the
exact rate of the sailing from Ostia to Gibraltar, in the straight
course imagined above.
[Sidenote: Allow current 2½ miles per hour.]
It does not appear that there is any mistake in the numbers here
mentioned by Pliny; for the instances are all of them consistent
with each other; one only being a little below one hundred and
forty M. P. per day, and another one hundred and forty-three; two
examples afford one hundred and fifty, one hundred and sixty, two one
hundred and seventy-five, and one one hundred and eighty-five. The
lowest of these rates of sailing may be reckoned at between six and
seven M. P. per hour, and the highest at something less than eight;
giving a mean of seven M. P. per hour, which would be reckoned a
good one for ships of the present day.
[Sidenote: Mean rate.]
One of the reasons to which this great improvement in ancient vessels
may be attributed, appears to be clearly stated by Pliny himself,
in the Proemium from which we have selected the examples here[19]
adduced: we allude to the increased number and size of the sails
in use, at the time when the historian flourished, as noticed in
the preface in question attached to the nineteenth book.
Before entering upon the dissertation on flax, with which this book
opens, the Roman naturalist indulges himself in calling to mind some
of the extraordinary effects resulting from the various applications
of that humble and unassuming plant; and gives way to his feelings
with so much enthusiasm and good sense, that it will not, we think,
be considered tedious or superfluous, if we extract the greater
part of the preface from the old English translation of Holland[20].
It seems evident from the remarks here quoted below, that the rate
of sailing in Pliny’s time was greatly superior to that which has
been given (from the Illustrations of Herodotus) down to the time of
Alexander the Great; and when we find that other voyages described by
this author (as well as those which various writers of his time have
recorded) fall short of the rate of sailing deduced from the last
mentioned instances; we may probably be allowed to make the following
conclusion—that the difference did not really so much consist in
the faulty construction of the vessels themselves, or the little
sail which they were able to carry, as in circumstances which would
equally contribute to retard ships constructed in modern days. At the
same time we may suppose that the voyages here enumerated by Pliny
were performed under the most favourable circumstances which could
be commanded. They were government vessels, and probably equipped
in the most liberal and judicious manner possible at the time;
they were navigating a sea which long habit must have rendered
familiar to them, and where they must have known the best courses
to be steered under every change of weather and season. The voyages
were not sufficiently long to be retarded by want of provisions, and
the confidence resulting from experience and comparative security
would have induced them to carry all the sail they could command
without hesitation or dread. Under these circumstances we may also
suppose that the day intended was twenty-four hours, and indeed,
in the passage to Alexandria, and other parts of the African coast,
it could scarcely have been any other.
OBSERVATIONS ON ROAD MEASUREMENTS DEDUCED FROM THE ORDINARY WALKING
PACE OF HORSES AND CAMELS.
Independent of the operations for laying down the coast, an account
of the various windings of the road travelled by the camels was
regularly kept by Lieutenant Coffin as far as Bengazi.
This was done by observing the direction of their route by compass,
and noticing the time they were on the road; proper deductions being
made for stoppages, &c. At the end of each day the courses and
distances were collected into a traverse-table, and the latitude
and longitude deduced therefrom, as is usual with the D.R, on
board ships at sea. If the latitude by these means differed from
the observation, a proper correction for error in course, distance,
or both was made, and the result noted accordingly.
A more favourable opportunity of proving the dependance that may be
placed on such a reckoning on land, could not, in all probability,
have offered itself; as the extent of each day’s progress was
accurately determined by the means adopted for carrying on the
survey. And it may be useful to future travellers, as well as to
those persons who may have to compile maps from camel journeys, to
insert an abstract of the different days’ works, compared with the
latitude and longitude by observations, which will be found annexed.
By this Table it will be seen that the average rate of travelling
has not exceeded two miles and a half per hour, and that at the
end of the journey from Mesurata to Bengazi, a distance of four
hundred and twenty-two miles, there is only a difference of 9′
in the longitudes. This is an error so small, that there are few
persons who would object to the accuracy of the places laid down by
the means employed, and yet there are many who would feel inclined
to dispute the accuracy of the average rate. But the truth is that,
in travelling through countries in general, there are so many things
to obstruct a _direct_ track, that, though an animal may actually
pass over the ground at the rate of three or three and a half
miles per hour, as the camel in reality does, yet, in estimating
the distance for a traverse-table, great deductions must be made,
or our reckoning will far exceed the truth[21].
The journey round the Syrtis having satisfied us with respect to
the rate which might be allowed, and the accuracy that was to be
expected under _general circumstances_, we determined to ascertain
what precision we could arrive at when the direction of the road
and nature of the ground were the _most favourable_. For this
purpose we kept a track from Bengazi to Ptolemeta; and having
occasion to go over the same ground a second time and return, we
had three measurements between the places independent of that of
the chronometers[22], which, as well as those of the intermediate
stations, agree together and with the truth, to an exactness which
we did not expect; and will serve to show that, under favourable
circumstances, and when attention is paid to the rates of the
camels, the topography of a country may be laid down sufficiently
accurate for most purposes. We should have informed our readers,
that the track from Bengazi to Ptolemeta is particularly straight,
and encumbered with as few obstructions as are likely ever to occur
in a country where, properly speaking, no road exists.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------+
| TABLE OF DISTANCES MEASURED BY CAMEL AND HORSE PACE. |
+---------------+---------------+--------+-----+---+--------------+
| | | | | | |
| Left. | Arrived. | |Rate | | |
| | |Interval| per | D.| REMARKS, &c. |
+---------+-----+---------+-----+ |hour.| | |
| Place. |Time.| Place. |Time.| | | | |
+---------+-----+---------+-----+--------+-----+---+--------------+
| | H. ′| | H. ′| H. ′ | M. | | |
|Teuchira |10 10|Wady |12 00| 1 50 | 3½ |6¼ |}These |
| | | | | | | |}distances |
|Wady |12 00|Wady | 1 00| 1 00 | „ |3½ |}are by horse |
| | | | | | | |}pace. |
|Wady | 1 00|A Fort | 3 10| 2 10 | „ |7½ |} |
| | | | | | | | |
|Fort | 4 00|Ptolemeta| 6 25| 2 25 | 2½ |6¼ | This by |
| | | | | | | | camel pace. |
| | | | | | +---+ |
| | |Whole | | | = |23½| From |
| | |distance | | | | | Teuchira to |
| | | | | | | | Ptolemeta. |
| | | | | | +---+ |
|Bengazi | 7 00|Aziana | 9 15| 2 15 | 3 |6¾ |} |
| | | | | | | |} |
|Aziana | 9 15|Birsis | 5 08| 7 53 | 3 |23¾|}Camel pace. |
| | | | | | | |} |
|Birsis | 6 10|Teuchira | 8 30| 2 20 | 3 | 7 |} |
| | | | | | +---+ |
| | |Whole | | | = |37½| From Bengazi |
| | |distance | | | | | to Teuchira. |
| | | | | | +---+ |
|Teuchira | 8 30|Wady El |11 25| 2 55 | 3 |8¾ |} |
| | |Assa | | | | |} |
| | | | | | | |}Horse pace. |
|Wady El |11 25|Ptolemeta| 4 10| 4 45 | 2¾ |13¼|} |
|Assa | | | | | | |} |
| | | | | | +---+ |
| | |Whole | | | = |22 | From |
| | |distance | | | | | Teuchira to |
| | | | | | | | Ptolemeta. |
| | | | | | +---+ |
|Ptolemeta| 7 10|Wady El |11 07| 3 57 | 3¼ |13 |} |
| | |Assa | | | | |}Horse pace; |
| | | | | | | |}camels |
| | | | | | | |}arrived an |
| | | | | | | |}hour after. |
|Wady El |11 07|Teuchira | 1 45| 2 38 | „ |8⅛ |} |
|Assa | | | | | | |} |
| | | | | | +---+ |
| | |Whole | | | = |21⅛| From |
| | |distance | | | | | Ptolemeta to |
| | | | | | | | Teuchira. |
| | | | | | +---+ |
|Teuchira | 7 00|Birsis | 9 10| 2 10 | 3 |6½ |} |
| | | | | | | |} |
|Birsis | 9 10|Handoola | 4 00| 6 50 | 3 |20¼|} |
| | | | | | | |}Single camel.|
|Handoola | 7 00|Aziana | 8 00| 1 00 | 2¾ |2¾ |} |
| | | | | | | |} |
|Aziana | 8 00|Bengazi |10 25| 2 25 | 2¾ |6¾ |} |
| | | | | | +---+ |
| | |Whole | | | = |36¼|Teuchira to |
| | |distance | | | | |Bengazi. |
| | | | | | +---+ |
| From To | | |
|Teuchira Ptolemeta |23½|By first |
| | |measurement. |
| | | |
|Ditto Ditto |22 |By the |
| | |second. |
| | | |
|Ditto Ditto |21⅛|By the third. |
| +---+ |
|Ditto Ditto |22⅕|Mean. |
| +---+ |
| Actual distance |22 |By |
| | |observations |
| | |of latitude |
| | |and |
| | |longitude. |
| +---+ |
|Teuchira Bengazi |37½|By second |
| | |measurement*. |
| | | |
|Ditto Ditto |36¼|By third. |
| +---+ |
| |36⅜|Mean. |
| +---+ |
| Actual distance |34½|By latitude |
| | |and |
| | |longitude. |
| +---+ |
| | | |
| And by these the whole distance, | | |
| From To | | |
|Bengazi Ptolemeta |59½|By one |
| | |measurement. |
| | | |
|Ditto |Ditto |57⅜|By the other. |
| +---+ |
| |58½|Mean. |
| +---+ |
| Actual distance |56½|By latitude |
| | |and |
| | |longitude. |
| +---+ |
| *The first measurement from Bengazi to Teuchira is omitted, in |
| consequence of the camels having deviated a little from the |
| road afterwards travelled. |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------+
[D.: Distance.
M.: Miles.]
POSITION OF PLACES BY OBSERVATION.
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
| TABLES OF LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE. |
+-----------------------------+------------+-----+------------+-----+
| Names of Places. |Latitude N. | |Longitude E.| |
+-----------------------------+------------+-----+------------+-----+
| | ° ′ ″ | | ° ′ ″ | |
| | | | | |
|Bashaw’s Castle, Tripoli | | | 13 10 42 |4 Im.|
| | | | | |
|Mergip Tower | 32 39 11 | R | | |
| | | | | |
|Tabia Point | 32 33 41 | + | 14 22 20 | Ch. |
| | | | | |
|Mersa Zeliten | 32 30 20 | ☉ | 14 33 18 | Ch. |
| | | | | |
|Ditto | | | 14 31 18 | + |
| | | | | |
|Town of Zoraig | 32 26 48 | R | 14 52 20 | R. |
| | | | | |
|Cape Mesurata | 32 25 01 | ☉ 2 | 15 10 19 |3 Im.|
| | | | | |
|Date-tree at Aara | 32 10 15 | ☉ | 15 24 49 | + |
| | | | | |
|Ditto | | | 15 25 14 | Ch. |
| | | | | |
|Melfa Sand-hills | 32 03 43 | ☉ | 15 29 08 | + |
| | | | | |
|Soolub | 31 45 40 | ☉ | 15 29 29 | Ch. |
| | | | | |
|Ditto | | | 15 28 08 | + |
| | | | | |
|Maháda | 31 31 57 | ⚹ | 15 40 45 | Ch. |
| | | | | |
|Ditto | | | 15 37 58 | + |
| | | | | |
|Jebba Ruin | 31 33 23 | + | 15 32 18 | + |
| | | | | |
|Jaireed | 31 23 27 | ⚹ 2 | 15 52 26 | Ch. |
| | | | | |
|Ditto | | | 15 50 21 | + |
| | | | | |
|M’Had Hassàn | 31 16 53 | ⚹ | 16 06 40 | Ch. |
| | | | | |
|Ditto | | | 16 04 40 | + |
| | | | | |
|Jiraff | 31 13 27 | ⚹ 3 | 16 23 31 | Ch. |
| | | | | |
|Mersa Zafferan | 31 12 48 | ☉ | 16 41 29 | Ch. |
| | | | | |
|Jedeed | 31 12 43 | ⚹ 3 | 16 47 40 | Ch. |
| | | | | |
|Shwaisha | 31 10 42 | ⚹ 4 | 17 02 18 | Ch. |
| | | | | |
|Medina Sultan | 31 07 25 | ⚹ ☉ | 17 15 18 | Ch. |
| | | | | |
|Nahim | 31 04 23 | ⚹ 2 | 17 26 58 | Ch. |
| | | | | |
|Boosaida | 30 59 39 |⚹ ☉ 5| 17 39 15 |5 Im.|
| | | | | |
|Shedgàn | 30 55 30 | ⚹ 2 | 17 51 27 | Ch. |
| | | | | |
|Howyjer Rock | 30 55 37 | ☉ | 17 57 46 | + |
| | | | | |
|Shegga | 30 49 17 | ⚹ 2 | 18 4 47 | Ch. |
| | | | | |
|Hoodea | 30 44 13 |☉ ⚹ 3| 18 17 55 | „ |
| | | | | |
|Mahirrīga | 30 34 21 | ⚹ 3 | 18 30 38 | „ |
| | | | | |
|Linoof | 30 23 51 | ⚹ 3 | 18 44 18 | „ |
| | | | | |
|Muktarr | 30 17 43 | ⚹ 3 | 18 59 18 | „ |
| | | | | |
|Bushaifa (Rock) | 30 17 40 | ⚹ | 19 12 05 | + |
| | | | | |
|Sechereen (Bottom of the | 30 16 00 | ⚹ 3 | 19 18 33 | Ch. |
|Gulf) | | | | |
| | | | | |
|Gartubba | 30 18 48 | ⚹ 3 | 19 32 15 | „ |
| | | | | |
|123 | 30 22 22 |☉ & ⚹| 19 32 31 | + |
| | | | | |
|Braiga Sand-hills | 30 23 39 | ⚹ 2 | 19 39 45 | „ |
| | | | | |
|Ditto | | | 19 39 19 | + |
| | | | | |
|Oorartow | 30 25 59 | ☉ | | |
| | | | | |
|Tabilbey | 30 28 53 | ⚹ 3 | 19 46 06 | Ch. |
| | | | | |
|Ishaifa Rock | 30 36 18 | + | 19 52 56 | + |
| | | | | |
|Ain Agan | 30 33 57 | ⚹ 3 | 19 50 42 | Ch. |
| | | | | |
|Allum Limàrish | 30 35 88 | ☉ | | |
| | | | | |
|Shiebah | 30 38 35 | ⚹ 3 | 19 58 23 | Ch. |
| | | | | |
|Gara Island (N. E. end) | 30 47 20 | + | 19 57 24 | + |
| | | | | |
|Rhowte Elassouad | 30 50 00 | ⚹ 3 | 20 05 51 | Ch. |
| | | | | |
|Ditto | | | 20 06 28 | + |
| | | | | |
|149 Rock | 30 53 32 | + | 20 06 20 | + |
| | | | | |
|Shawhan | 31 02 44 | ⚹ 3 | 20 12 26 | Ch. |
| | | | | |
|Carcora Sand-hills | 31 26 23 | ⚹ 2 | 20 02 50 |Ch. 2|
| | | | | |
|Ditto | | | 20 02 45 | + |
| | | | | |
|Point of Mersa | 31 28 25 | + | 20 00 30 | + |
| | | | | |
|Amara Marabot | 31 54 57 | ⚹ 2 | 19 58 19 | Ch. |
| | | | | |
|Ditto | | | | |
| | | | | |
|Bengazi Castle | 32 06 54 | ☉ 4 | | |
| | | | | |
|Tochira (S. E. end of the | 32 31 44 | ⚹ 2 | 20 33 23 |Ch. 2|
|town) | | | | |
| | | | | |
|Ditto (Mean) | | | 20 34 10 |R. 3 |
| | | | | |
|Tomb at Ptolemeta | 32 42 12 | ⚹ 2 | 20 55 08 |Ch. 2|
| | | | | |
|Ditto | | | 20 54 57 |R. 3 |
| | | | | |
|Cyrene (Tents near small | 32 49 38 | ⚹ 3 | 21 49 05 | Ch. |
|Theatre) | | | | |
| | | | | |
|Mersa Suza (or W. end of the | 32 54 53 | ⚹ 4 | 21 55 57 |Ch. 2|
|Town) | | | | |
| | | | | |
|Castle at Derna | 32 46 18 | ⚹ 3 | 22 40 48 | Ch. |
| | | | | |
|El Hilàl (small Ruin on the | 32 55 48 | ⚹ 2 | 22 11 00 | Ch. |
|Cape) | | | | |
| | | | | |
|Ditto | | | 22 11 45 | + |
| | | | | |
|Bujebara (Cape), or Ejeburni | 32 53 13 | ⚹ 3 | 22 24 52 | Ch. |
| | | | | |
|Ditto | | | 22 23 30 | + |
| | | | | |
|Cape Rasat | 32 56 50 | — | | |
| | | | | |
|Cape, N. E. Ptolemeta | 32 46 38 | | | |
| | | | | |
|Rock off El Hyera | 32 50 20 | + | 22 34 12 | R. |
| | | | | |
|Cape N. E. | | | | |
+-----------------------------+------------+-----+------------+-----+
|NOTE.—Ch. stands for chronometer; + intersections of bearings and |
|latitudes, or ∠’s; Im. for observations with satellites of |
|Jupiter; R. reduction by camel pace, or otherwise; and the figures |
|denote the number of observations, of which the results are a mean.|
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
+------------------------------------------------------------------+
| OBSERVATIONS FOR VARIATION. |
+--------+-------------+---------+----------+---------+------------+
| Date. | Place. |Latitude.|Longitude.|Variation|Remarks, &c.|
| | | | | W. | |
+--------+-------------+---------+----------+---------+------------+
| | | ° ′ ″ | ° ′ ″ | ° ′ ″ | |
|Oct. 8|Tripoly |32 54 00 | 13 10 27 |17 07 40 |Azimuth. |
| | | | | |Kater’s |
| | | | | |Compass. |
| | | | | | |
|Nov. 10|Sidi Abdelati|32 42 25 | |16 31 00 |Azimuth. |
| | | | | | |
|Nov. 17|Zeliten |32 29 04 | |16 43 52 |Azimuth. |
| | | | | | |
|Nov. 24|Mesurata |32 22 41 | 15 10 35 |16 57 00 |Azimuth. |
| | | | | | |
|Dec. 1|Mesurata |32 22 41 | 15 10 35 |17 12 36 |Azimuth. |
| | | | | | |
|Dec. 6|Soolup |31 45 40 | |16 19 40 |Azimuth. |
| | | | | | |
|Dec. 14|Zafferan |31 12 21 | |16 39 04 |Azimuth. |
| | | | | | |
|Dec. 26|Hoodea |30 44 24 | |15 26 45 |Azimuth. |
| | | | | | |
|Dec. 31|Braiga |30 23 40 | |14 21 20 |Azimuth. |
| | | | | |Theodolite. |
| | | | | | |
|Jan. 3|Braiga |30 23 40 | |14 28 53 |Azimuth. |
| | | | | |Kater’s |
| | | | | |Compass. |
| | | | | | |
|Feb. 16|Bengazi |32 10 18 | 20 03 00 |14 44 13 |Azimuth. |
| | | | | |Theodolite. |
| | | | | | |
|March 26|Bengazi |32 07 07 | 20 03 00 |14 51 0 |Amplitude. |
| | | | | |Kater’s |
| | | | | |Compass. |
| | | | | | |
|July 25|Bengazi |32 06 41 | 20 03 00 |15 13 40 |Azimuth. |
| | | | | |Kater. |
| | | | | | |
|June 20|Apollonia |32 54 53 | |14 12 40 |Azimuth. |
| | | | | |Ditto. |
| | | | | | |
|June 11|Apollonia |32 54 53 | |14 29 00 |Amplitude. |
| | | | | |Ditto. |
| | | | | | |
|June 12|Apollonia |32 54 53 | |14 33 00 |Amplitude. |
| | | | | |Ditto. |
| | | | | | |
|June 19|Apollonia |32 54 53 | |14 27 30 |Amplitude. |
| | | | | |Ditto. |
| | | | | | |
|June 1|Derna |32 46 24 | |14 30 10 |Azimuth. |
| | | | | |Ditto. |
+--------+-------------+---------+----------+---------+------------+
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 1: In justice to Mr. Arnold, we must say that these two
watches gave results beyond our most sanguine expectations.]
[Footnote 2: We had no opportunity of ascertaining the height of
this range.]
[Footnote 3: Neither of these afford shelter for shipping.]
[Footnote 4: Monsieur Lauthier informs us that there is good
anchorage in this bay in six fathoms water, muddy bottom, at a
quarter of a league distance from the shore.]
[Footnote 5: This distance is by estimation.]
[Footnote 6: A large rock cod was taken alive among the rocks,
by one of our party.]
[Footnote 7: This was ascertained from several observations of the
depression of the visible horizon, corrections for spheroidal figure
of the earth, and northern deviation being made, and ¹⁄₁₁
allowed for terrestrial refraction.]
[Footnote 8: The height of this range is ascertained trigonometrically.]
[Footnote 9: See Wilkins’s Vitruvius.]
[Footnote 10: The following remarks on the ports and vessels of
the ancients are drawn from the Archæologia of Potter; and we have
thought it not irrelevant to the subject to bring them together on
the present occasion.]
[Footnote 11: Diodorus, lib. xii.]
[Footnote 12: The harbour at Ptolemeta presents an example of works
of this description.]
[Footnote 13:
——— Gemuit sub pondere cymba
Suctilis, et multam accepit rimosa paludem.—_Æneid_, vi. 414.
]
[Footnote 14:
Invenies aliquo cum percussore jacentem,
Permixtum nautis aut furibus aut fugitivis.—(Sat. viii.)
]
[Footnote 15: This engine appears to have been invented by Anacharsis
the Scythian, and although one somewhat similar is said to have
been employed by Archimedes against the enemy’s fleet at Syracuse,
it is difficult to conceive how it could be used with advantage at
sea; except, perhaps, by a vessel very considerably heavier than
that against which it might be employed.]
[Footnote 16: The rate given by Scylax between Leptis Magna and
Abrotonum, is even lower than this,—being under thirty geographic
miles per day; that is, supposing Tagiura (which is fifty-eight
miles from Lebida) to occupy the site of Abrotonum.]
[Footnote 17: Because his fleet was composed, in a great part of
vessels ill calculated for long voyages; and the sailing of the
slow-goers would naturally regulate that of the rest.]
[Footnote 18: The constant yawing to which the vessels of the
antients must from their build have been necessarily exposed, in a
far greater degree than even our light colliers, (their upper works
being lofty, sails small, and floor flat,) would also materially
contribute to retard their progress.]
[Footnote 19: Jam vero nec vela satis esse majora navigiis. Sed
quamvis amplitudini antemnarum singulæ arbores sufficiant, super
eas tamen addi velarum alia vela, præterq; alia in proris, et alia
in puppibus pandi, ac tot modis provocari mortem.]
[Footnote 20: “And here I cannot chuse but marvell much at some
men, who making such profession of learning, and namely, in the
skill and science of agriculture, as they have done; yea, and
seeking thereby to win all their credit and name of erudition and
litterature; have, notwithstanding, omitted many things requisite
thereunto, without any mention made, or one word spoken of so many
hearbes and simples, which either come up of themselves, or grow by
meanes of man’s hand: considering that the most part of them are
in greater price and reputation, yea, and in more use and request
for the maintenance of this our life, than either corne or pulse,
or any fruits of the earth whatsoever.”
“And to begin first at those that are knowne commodities, and
so notorious, as that the use thereof not only reacheth all over
the maine and continent, but extendeth also to the very seas,
and overspreadeth them: what say we to line or flax, so commonly
sowed as it is? yet may it not be raunged either among the fruits
of the field, or hearbes of the garden. But what region (I pray you)
or part of the earth is without it? and what is there so necessarie
for this life of ours in all respects? Againe, is there any thing
in the whole world more wonderfull and miraculous, than that there
should be an hearbe found of this vertue and propertie as to bring
Egypt and Italie together? Insomuch, as Galerius, Lord Deputie in
Egypt under the Romanes, was knowne to set saile from the firth of
Messina in the Streights of Sicilie, and in seven daies to arrive at
Alexandria: Babilius also governour there likewise, in six; and that
by the meanes of the said hearbe? Moreover, what say you to this,
which was seen no longer since than the summer past; when Valerius
Marianus a Senatour of Rome, and late Lord Pretour, embarked and took
ship at Puteoli, and in nine daies sailed to the said Alexandria,
and yet he had but a very mild and still wind to helpe him in that
voiage? Is not this a strange and sovereign hearbe thinke you,
that in a seven-night space can fetch Gades from as far as the
Streights of Gibraltar, or Hercules’ pillars, into the harbour
of Ostia in Italie? can shew (I say) the kingdome of Catalogne in
Spain before the said port-town in foure daies, Provance in three,
and Barbarie in twain? For C. Flaccus, lieutenant under Vibius
Crispus the Pro-consull, did as much as I speak of, and that with no
great forewind, but a most gentle and mild gale. Oh the audacious
boldnesse of this world, so rash, so full of sin and wickednesse,
that man should sow and cherish any such thing as might receive and
swallow the winds, stormes, and tempests; as if the float and tide
alone were not sufficient to carrie so prowd a creature! But now
are we growne to this passe, that sailes bigger than the ships
themselves will not serve our turnes. For albeit one must be
sufficient to carrie the biggest crosse-yard that can be devised,
yet are not we content with a single maine-saile thereupon, unlesse
we set up saile upon saile, top and top-gallant: unlesse (I say)
wee have foresailes and sprit-sailes in the prow, misns also hoisted
up and desplaied in the poupe; and all to set us more forward upon
our death, and to hasten our end. Finally, is there ought againe
so admirable, as that of so small a graine as the lini-seed, there
should grow that which is able to carrie too and fro in a moment,
this round globe of the earth; the same being so slender a stalke as
it is, and not growing high from the ground? considering withall,
that twisted it is not entire and whole in the stem: but before
it can be occupied it must bee watered, dried, braked, tew-tawed,
and with much labour driven and reduced in the end to bee as soft
and tender as wooll: and all to doe violence to nature and mankind
even in the highest degree, in such sort, as a man is not able to
proceed so farre in execration as is due unto this invention. The
first deviser whereof I have inveighed against in convenient place
elsewhere, and not without desert: as who could not bee content that
a man should die upon the land, but he must perish upon the sea,
to feed hadockes there, without the honour of sepulture.”
“In the booke but next before this, I gave warning and advertised
men, that for to enjoy corne and other victuals necessarie for
this life and suffisance and plentie, we should beware of wind
and rain. And now behold, man is so wicked and ungracious, his wit
so inventive, that he will be sowing, tending, and plucking that
with his own hand which cals for nothing else at sea but wind;
and never rests till burning bee come. See moreover how well this
unhappie hand of his speeds, for there is againe commeth up sooner,
or thriveth faster than this flax? And to conclude, that wee may
knowe how nature her-selfe is nothing well pleased therewith, and
that it groweth maugre her will, it burnes the field wherein it is
sowed; it eateth out the heart of the ground, and maketh it worse,
wheresoever it comes; this is all the good it doth upon land.”]
[Footnote 21: In caravans where the road lies over a wide expanse
of desert, and where it is the interest of every man to accomplish
as much distance in a day as he can, the average will of course
far exceed that which was made good by our party.]
[Footnote 22: See the Table annexed.]
Transcriber's note:
The changes indicated in the Errata have been done.
pg 18 Changed: he tells “us, are of to: tells us, “are
pg 28 (footnote 14) Changed: degli _antrichi_ geografi to: _antichi_
pg 110 Changed: they invaribly choose to: invariably
pg 119 (footnote 6) Changed: Buonaccinoli to: Buonacciuoli
pg 133 Changed: to built the rude tombs to: build
pg 229 (footnote 23) Changed: circuit o the coast to: of the coast
pg 237 Changed: similiarity of the names to: similarity
pg 296 Changed: to which which we had to: to which we had
pg 378 Changed: which appeas to have to: appears
pg 397 Changed: from Barca to Angela to: Augela
pg 477 Changed: from Derna to Appollonia to: Apollonia
pg xv of Appendix Changed: firing a salnte to: salute
pg xxxiii of Appendix Changed: fifity geographic miles to: fifty
pg xxxvii of Appendix Changed: Rabilius to: Babilius
Minor changes in punctuation and quotation mark placement have
been done silently.
Other spelling errors or inconsistencies have been left unchanged.
☉ symbols also include an underline, originally.
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