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.(Large-size)Published March 1827, by John Murray, London.
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.(Large-size)Published March 1827, by John Murray, London.
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.
(Large-size)
Published March 1827, by John Murray, London.
Drawn by H. Beechey.Engraved by E. Pinden.ENTRANCE TO THE FOUNTAIN OF APOLLO.Published March 1827, by John Murray, London.
Drawn by H. Beechey.Engraved by E. Pinden.ENTRANCE TO THE FOUNTAIN OF APOLLO.Published March 1827, by John Murray, London.
ENTRANCE TO THE FOUNTAIN OF APOLLO.
Published March 1827, by John Murray, London.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Itis 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 actuallyran, 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 thanGoths 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. Onone 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 fromthe 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 theportico 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 perceivedamong 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 ofthe 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 doso 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 atCyrene 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 excitethem. 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 sidesof 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 representeda 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 areconcerned, 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 veryfrequently, 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; andwhen 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 withblue wax; and we have already stated thatbluewas the prevailing colour of the triglyphs in buildings of all classes at Cyrene. It would thus appear that the colours, likethe 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 withblue 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 sodecided 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 thattombs 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 wetook 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 inquestion, 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 stoppedto 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 orshade. 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 thedrawing 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 forthe 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 twelveyears 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; butas 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 ofbuildings; 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 moderatethe 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 perceivedthe 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 BeyMahommed 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 beenbuiltin 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 therewere 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 thanlife, 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 abakhsheesfor 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 thewall, 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 ofstone, 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, onour 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 alongthe 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.