CHAPTER VII.

LA GABORE DU ROILA CHEVRETTE1821.LAT. 31° 35′, LONG. 13° 18′.

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 theshoals 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. Theselittle 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 werethe 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 andhis 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 occurringafterthe 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 thosenumerous 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 thefirstplace 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 onthe 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, seldomamounted 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 harassingtheir 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 formsand 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, wemay 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 theouterworks 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 bemore 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:[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.[2]The measurements are taken roughly, on account of the ruined state of the structure.[3]No part of this land can properly be called high—but only by comparison with the lower level of the marsh.[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.[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 unesalinedont l’entrée est nommée laSucca.”—(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.[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 fosseporto, servendosi Strabone della voce υφορμον perportoe non di λιμνη (λιμην is intended) la qual voce malamente trovasi tradutta da Buonacciuoli permolo. 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.)[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.[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.[9]Gusser is a term indiscriminately applied by the Arabs to ruins of every description.[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.[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.[12]We have already stated that Shekh Mahommed was called el Dúbbah, or the Hyæna.[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.[14]Μετα δε την λιμνην τοπος εστιν Ασπις, και λιμην καλλιστος των εν τῆ Συρτει.—Lib. 17, p. 836.[15]Buildings of the same nature are also found in the Cyrenaica.[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.[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.[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.[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.[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.”[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.[22]Leo Africanus in Ramusio, quinta parte.[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.

FOOTNOTES:

[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.

[2]The measurements are taken roughly, on account of the ruined state of the structure.

[3]No part of this land can properly be called high—but only by comparison with the lower level of the marsh.

[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.

[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 unesalinedont l’entrée est nommée laSucca.”—(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.

D’Anville’s words are these—“Strabon parle d’un grand lac debouchant dans la Syrte, et ce lac forme unesalinedont l’entrée est nommée laSucca.”—(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.

[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 fosseporto, servendosi Strabone della voce υφορμον perportoe non di λιμνη (λιμην is intended) la qual voce malamente trovasi tradutta da Buonacciuoli permolo. 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.)

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.)

[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.

[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.

[9]Gusser is a term indiscriminately applied by the Arabs to ruins of every description.

[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.

[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.

[12]We have already stated that Shekh Mahommed was called el Dúbbah, or the Hyæna.

[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.

[14]Μετα δε την λιμνην τοπος εστιν Ασπις, και λιμην καλλιστος των εν τῆ Συρτει.—Lib. 17, p. 836.

[15]Buildings of the same nature are also found in the Cyrenaica.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.”

“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.”

[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.

[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.

[22]Leo Africanus in Ramusio, quinta parte.

[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.

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.

Itis 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 geographicalmiles, 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 bepossible 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 thewestof 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 betweenSooleb 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 asthecity, (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 withwhat 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 bythose 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, andto 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 isbuilt, 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 suchit 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 forthe 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 extraordinaryscene 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, togetherwith 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, andgrows 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 theyhad 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 tooka 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 byweighing 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.

Back to Index Next