. \< - \ ~ . ~ ; CORNELL | UNIVERSITY LIBRARY me ee ee a as : wea. SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE... eet Special Edition. No... 447 ae eet wee 2 c ye =e teil Big ah I es ios EB gE LEE lig an La Pl EY, Kr : 7 Chairman of Executive Committee. é EG en 8 I en te ER NE EE at EO me BF) PAPA Be DD BR Ne eee ee ee eo a a a a a THE BARNES REFERENCE LIBRARY. THE GIFT OF Alived €. Barnes. Not to be taken from the room, HN mesa Steu eee, CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY wii THE SURVEY} GAYLOAD BAS IERN PALES LUN E. NVININV, LV SHLVG NVIVNOM OMSOdd AS THE SURVEY Or EASTERN PALESTINE. MEMOIRS OF THE TOPOGRAPHY, OROGRAPHY, HYDROGRAPHY, ARCHA‘OLOGY, Ere. VOLUME I—THE ’'ADWAN COUNTRY. BY MAJOR C. KR. CONDER, D.C.L, RE, FOR THE COMMITTEE OF THE PALESTINE EXPLORATION FUND, 1, ADAM STREET, ADELPHI, LONDON, W.C. 1880. Guildford: BILLING AND SONS, PRINTERS. PRE Pate. Tuis Survey was conducted in the months of August, September, and October, 1881, by a party consisting of Lieutenant A. M. Mantell, R.E., and Messrs. T. Black and G. Armstrong, under the command of Captain C. R. Conder, R.E. Five hundred and ten square miles were triangulated and completed, and 610 names obtained. The difficulties due to Govern- ment opposition on the part of the Turks are detailed in ‘ Heth and Moab’ (Chapter iv., pp. 103-119, 1st edition), and in Appendix A of this Memoir. The names are here given exactly as they were written down by Mikhail Kassatly, the scribe of the party. A large proportion are familiar geographical terms, concerning the meaning of which no hesitation can be felt, as they have been ascertained beyond dispute. Some of the rarer and more peculiar names are given in accordance with the meaning ascertained by careful questioning on the spot, and these also must be regarded as beyond dispute. A small number remain which are doubtful, and, as a last resource, a dictionary was used, as referred to in the text. In these cases it has only been considered safe to give the most probable meaning of the root, partly because these names present very unusual grammatical forms, and partly because every Arabic root has so many well-known meanings that no certainty can be felt unless the vi PREFACE word is actually known by its use in Syria. Thus, for instance, Bedd in literary Arabic means an ‘idol-temple,’ but in Syria it is the usual name for a millstone—as is clear in the case of Kefeir Abu Bedd in the present list. From the instance of er Rekiaiyeh in the present list it will be possible to judge how vague and uncertain information merely obtained by consulting a dictionary of literary Arabic must always be. The Syrian dialects preserve many Aramaic and Hebrew words with their original meaning, and many archaisms of both language and pro- nunciation. It is only in the case of ascertained meanings noted in the field that any certainty can be attained. The illustrations in this volume are either from photographs, or from sketches made on the spot, and drawings with dimensions. The drawings of dolmens are to one scale; so that the comparative size of the monuments can be seen at a glance. CoG: LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE PLAN AND SECTIONS, SARCOPHAGUS AT ’AIN HESBAN - - = : 2 6 RELIEFS ON ARAB TOMB AT ’AIN HESBAN - - a : = 5 7 ARAB TOMB CIRCLE AT ’AIN HESBAN - - - - : é 5 2 8 PLAN AND VIEW OF STONE CIRCLE AT ’AIN EL MINYEH - - 7 : » $F PLAN OF CHAPEL AND DETAILS AT EL’AL_ - - = 7 2 - «17 CAPITALS AND STANDING STONE AT EL ’AL - - - 7 4 - 18 PLAN OF DOLMEN A AT ’AMMAN - - Zs 7 2 4 = oy 236 VIEWS OF DOLMEN A AT ’AMMAN - - - 7 5 2 5 - 21 VIEWS OF DOLMENS A AND B AT ’AMMAN — - - : - : : - 22 VIEWS OF DOLMENS C AND D AT’?AMMAN ~ - - 2 = - 3 - 23 VIEW OF MENHIR O AT ’AMMAN - - : : : : 3 - 23 VIEWS OF MENHIRS M AND N AT’AMMAN_ - - : Z : 3 - 24 SURVEY OF ’AMMAN - - - - - 2 3 s - to face 24 VIEWS OF DOLMENS L, G, H, AND I AT ’AMMAN - - - = =) 3 VIEW OF MENHIR J AT ’AMMAN - - - : ‘ z - 26 PLANS OF HEBREW TOMBS (FIGS. I, 2, 3) AT ’AMMAN- - : - = - 28 LETTERS ON PILLAR-BASES AT ’AMMAN - - : : = = - 31 PLAN OF PRONAOS OF TEMPLE AT ’AMMAN_ - - - s - - 32 PROFILE OF TEMPLE PILLARS AT ’AMMAN _ - ss : - : : - 32 LETTERS ON PILLAR-BASES AT ’AMMAN - : - pe = 3 - 32 INSCRIPTION ON PILLAR AT SIDON~ - - . 2 : . es - 32 INSCRIPTIONS ON FLAGSTONES AT STA. SOPHIA, CONSTANTINOPLE - - 2 - 32 INSCRIPTION ON TEMPLE CORNICE AT ’AMMAN - 2 Z “ - 33 PLAN OF THEATRE AND ODEUM AT ’AMMAN - - e : : - to face 36 PLAN OF SUPPOSED FORUM AT ’AMMAN - - - = 3 - 37 PROFILE OF PILLAR A IN SUPPOSED FORUM AT ’AMMAN_ - - zi 2 - 37 PLAN OF SUPPOSED ROMAN BATHS AT ’AMMAN - Z = - F - 40 PROFILE OF PILLAR B IN SUPPOSED BATHS AT ’AMMAN - - : 4 - 40 PLAN OF KABR ES SULTAN AT ’AMMAN - - 7 2 2 - 4 PLAN OF WESTERN TOMB AT ’AMMAN - - - 3 Z Z : ae 243 SKETCH OF DOME OF WESTERN TOMB AT ’AMMAN_ - 7 2 Z 2 2 Ad PLAN OF RUIN NEAR WESTERN BRIDGE AT ’AMMAN - - 2 = - 45 PROFILE OF PILLAR A IN PRECEDING PLAN - - - = = 4 - 46 ELEVATION OF SARCOPHAGUS WEST OF ’AMMAN - i = : a7 viii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE PLANS OF TOMBS AND DETAILS AT ’AMMAN_ - - E 3 - - - 48 PLAN OF ROCK-CUT TOMB AT ’AMMAN e = S S . = - 50 COVERS OF SARCOPHAGI IN PRECEDING TOMB 7 a : 5 3 = Gf PLAN AND DETAIL OF SOUTH-EASTERN TOMB AT ’AMMAN - - - - - I ARAB TRIBE-MARKS - - - : z - Bias ye : - 52 PLAN OF PRINCIPAL CHURCH AT ’AMMAN ~ - : 2 “ é 5 = 055 PLAN OF TWO SMALLER CHURCHES AT ’AMMAN = - 4 - - - 56 PLAN OF MOSQUE AND DETAILS OF ARCHES AT ’AMMAN - - - - ae h7. SKETCH OF NORTH WALL OF MOSQUE AT ’AMMAN_ - - : 3 - - 58 ARAB TRIBE-MARKS IN MOSQUE AT ’AMMAN - E 2 : * = - 58 PLAN OF TOMB OF URIAH (SO CALLED) AT ’AMMAN - - - - - - 60 DETAILS OF SUPPOSED SASSANIAN BUILDING (TOMB OF URIAH) _ - - - to face 60 SECTION OF TOMB OF URIAH (SO CALLED) AT ’AMMAN - - - - - 61 ROCK WITH NICHES, AND DETAIL OF NICHES (FIGS. I, 2), AT ’ARAK EL EMIR_ - - 68 PLANS OF CAVES (FIGS. 3, 4, 5,6) AT ’ARAK EL EM{R : : = 2 - 69 PLAN OF EL HOSN (FIG. 7) AT ’ARAK EL EMIR - - - - - - 70 DETAIL OF MANGERS (FIG. 8) IN EL HOSN AT ’ARAK EL EMIR - - - - JI PLANS OF CAVE AND CISTERNS (FIGS. 9, I0, II, 12) AT ’ARAK EL EMiR- - - - 72 PLAN OF CAVE (FIG. 13) AT ’ARAK EL EMIR - - : = 2 2 Soe PLANS OF CAVES (FIGS. 14, 15, 16) AT ’ARAK EL EMIR - - - - - 74 SECTIONS OF CAVE, EL WEIBDEH (FIGS. 17, 18) AT ’ARAK EL EMIR - - 2) 95 PLAN OF CAVE (FIG. 19) AT ’ARAK EL EMiR - - eS Z 5 e Se 3955 VIEW OF INSCRIBED ROCK AT ’ARAK EL EMIR = : z : : - 76 INSCRIPTION AT ’ARAK EL EMIR = 3 2 z : - 77 COMPARATIVE ALPHABETS TO ILLUSTRATE THE PRECEDING - - : : a. 97 PLANS OF CAVES (FIGS. 21, 22) AT ’ARAK EL EMIR - 7 : a Z - 78 PLAN OF KUSR EL ’ABD AT ’ARAK EL EMIR - : z 3 3 p - 79 VIEW OF EAST WALL OF KUSR EL ’ABD : = “ ear = S - 80 SITE PLAN OF KUSR EL ’ABD_ - - = é - - to face 80 PROFILE OF CORNICE AT KUSR EL ’ABD - 2 S ei : - 81 DETAIL OF SCULPTURED LIONS AT KUSR EL ’ABD_ - - - : - 81 DETAIL OF CORNICE AND WINDOW AT KUSR EL ’ABD : - : 3 el. “So PLAN AND ELEVATION OF CAPITAL AT KUSR EL ’ABD . : 3 - - 82 DETAILS OF PILLARS AND FRIEZE AT KUSR EL ’ABD - - ‘ 7 - 83 ELEVATION OF EASTERN GATE AT KUSR EL ’ABD_~ - : - 2 : - 84 DETAIL OF CORNICE AT KUSR EL ’ABD - 3 : s 2 s - & ELEVATIONS AND SECTION OF CIPPI AT ’ARAK EL EMiR_ - 2 - Z sn ate FACADE OF ROCK-CUT HERMITAGE AT ED DEIR - - - 4 2 904 PLAN OF ROCK-CUT HERMITAGE AT ED DEIR - : : 3 2 - 95 DETAILS OF NICHES IN ROCK-CUT HERMITAGE AT ED DEIR - 2 : - 95 SECTION OF GROUND-FLOOR OF ROCK-CUT HERMITAGE AT ED DEIR - 3 = 96 PLAN OF HADANIEH CIRCLE AND LINTEL Bo cals - - * - to face 100 SKETCH OF CAPITAL AT HESBAN - - = 7 ‘ z S - 105 PLAN OF THE KAL’AH AT HESBAN - - : : = 2 a TSG PROFILE OF PILLAR BASE IN THE KAI’AH AT HESBAN - : - é S WAO6 DETAILS OF MASONRY, LINTEL AND PILASTER AT HESBAN - S S © - 107 DETAILS OF CORNICE AND LINTEL AT HESBAN - : : 2 é - 108 VIEWS OF KABR FENDI EL FAIZ - - = : = < = Ry PLAN AND SECTION, EASTERN TOMB AT EL KAHF_ - - z < 2 - 117 PLAN OF WESTERN TOMB AT EL KAHF - S - - - = - 18 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ix PAGE SKETCH OF DETAILS OF FACADE OF WESTERN TOMB AT EL KAHF - - - 119 DETAILS IN INTERIOR OF WESTERN TOMB AT EL KAHF - 2 - - - 120 ARAB TRIBE-MARKS - - - - 2 - E - - 121 PLAN AND ELEVATION OF SARCOPHAGUS AT EL KAHF - - - - - 121 SECTIONS OF WESTERN TOMB AT EL KAHF - E 3 : - - - 123 ARAB TRIBE-MARKS AT KAL’AT UMMEH - - : - - - - 125 PLAN AND VIEW OF DOLMEN, NO. I AT EL KALO’A - - - - - - 126 VIEWS OF DOLMENS NOS. 2, 3, 4,5 AT EL KALU’A - - - - - - 127 VIEWS OF DOLMENS NOS. 6, 7, 8,9 AT EL KALUWA_ - - - - - - 128 VIEWS OF DOLMENS NOS. 10, II, 12, 13, 14 AT EL KALU’A - - - - - 129 VIEW OF DOLMEN NO. I5 AT EL KALUA 2 2 2 : . E - 130 VIEWS OF DOLMENS NOS, 17,18 AT EL KALUWA - - - - - - 131 VIEWS AND PLANS OF DOLMENS, NOS. Ig, 20 AT EL KALU’A - - - - - 132 PLAN OF BUILDING AT KEFEIR ABU SARBUT - - - - - - - 135 ELEVATION AND SECTION OF PILLAR AT KEFEIR ABU SARBOUT - - - - 135 CAPITALS AND BASES AT KEFEIR ABU SARBUT - - - - - - 136 VIEW OF RUINED TOWER AT KEFEIR ABU SARBUT - - - - - - 136 TRIBE-MARKS-~— - - : ei : : é 2 = 2 - 137 LINTEL WITH CROSS AT KEFEIR ABU SARBUT - - - - - - 137 FURCATED CROSS FROM APHRODISIAS - - - - - - - - 138 LINTEL, ETC., AT KEFEIR EL WUSTA - Z a 2 % é - 139 PLAN AND SECTIONS OF CISTERN AT KEFEIR EL WUSTA = é = e - 139 PLAN OF TEMPLE AT KHAREIBET ES SUK - - - - - - - 142 CAPITAL IN TEMPLE AT KHAREIBET ES SUK - - - - - - - 143 PLAN AND DETAILS, EASTERN TOMB AT KHAREIBET ES SUK - - - - 143 PLAN OF TANK AT KHAREIBET ES SUK - - - - - - - 144 PLAN OF NORTHERN TOMB AT KHAREIBET ES SUK - - - - - - 144 PLAN OF WINEPRESS, KHURBET EL ’AMR{YEH - - - - - - 146 PLAN OF WINEPRESS, KHURBET EL MESHUKKAR _ - - - - - - IS! CAPITALS AND MOULDING, KHURBET S{AGHAH - - - - - - 154 PLAN OF WINEPRESS, KHURBET UMM HADAWIYEH - - - - - - 157 SITE PLAN, EL KURMIYEH - - - - - - - - - 159 PLAN AND VIEW DOLMEN NO. I, EL KURMIYEH - - - - - - I61 PLAN AND VIEW DOLMEN NO. 2, EL KURMIYEH - - - - - - 162 PLAN AND VIEW DOLMEN NO. 3, EL KURMIYEH - - - - - - 163 VIEW OF DOLMEN NO. 4, EL KURMIYEH - - - - - - - 163 PLAN OF DOLMEN NO. 4, EL KURMIYEH - - - - - - - 164 VIEWS OF DOLMEN NO. 5 - - - - - - - - - 164 PLAN AND SECTION OF WINEPRESS AT EL KURMIYEH - - tS - 164 PLAN OF DOLMEN NO. 6, EL KURMIYEH : : = - : - - 165 VIEW OF DOLMEN NO. 7, EL KURMIYEH - - - - - - - 165 VIEW OF DOLMEN NO. 8, EL KURMIYEH - - - - - o- - 166 SITE PLAN DOLMENS NOS. 9, 10, II, EL KURM{VYEH - - - - - - 166 VIEW OF DOLMEN NO. 12, EL KURMIYEH - - - - - - - 167 VIEW AND SECTION OF MENHIR NO. 13, EL KURMIYEH - - - - - 167 VIEWS OF DOLMENS NOS. 14, 15, EL KURMiYEH - - - - - - 167 VIEWS OF DOLMENS NOS. 16, 17, 18, EL KURMIYEH - - - - - - 168 VIEWS OF DOLMENS NOS. 19, 20, 21, 22, EL KURMIVEH - - - - - 169 VIEWS OF DOLMENS NOS. 23, 24, 25, 26, EL KURMIYEH - - - - - 170 PLAN AND SECTION, KUSR EN NUEIJ{S - 7 - - 2 - 172 x LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE ENTABLATURE AND DETAILS KUSR EN NUELJ{S = = : - - 173 PLAN AND SECTION, KUSR ES SEB’AH - - - - - - - - 174 SIDE-VIEWS AND SECTIONS OF SARCOPHAGI IN KUSR ES SEB’AH - - é - 175 LINTEL AND SCULPTURED STONE AT MA’AiN - - - - - - = 177 PLAN OF CHURCH AND CAPITAL, MADEBA - - - - - A - 179 LINTEL WITH CROSSES AT MADEBA_ - 7 - e = = = - 180 PLAN OF NORTH-EAST GATE AT MADEBA - = - a 7 - - 181 MOULDINGS OF GATE-TOWER AT MADEBA - ss = 2 z = - 81 LINTEL AND PLAN OF LARGE RESERVOIR AT MADEBA - - - - - 182 LINTEL OF DOOR IN TOWER OF LARGE RESERVOIR AT MADEBA - - - - 183 PLAN OF WINEPRESS, EL MAREIGHAT - : 2 3 : z Z - 185 PLAN AND VIEWS OF HAJR EL MANSUB - - : = z = - 186 VIEW OF PRINCIPAL MENHIR GROUP, EL MAREIGHAT - : 7 = - 187 VIEW OF GROUP OF MENHIRS AT EL MAREIGHAT - : 7 2 3 - 187 VIEWS OF DOLMENS NOS. I, 2, 3, AT EL MAREIGHAT - - e = - - 188 VIEWS OF DOLMENS NOS. 4, 5, AT EL MAREIGHAT - 7 : = 2 - 189 PLAN OF TOMB AT EL MEKHEIYIT - - = 2 2 S ‘ - 192 PLAN AND SECTION OF TOMB AND OF NICHE, MUGHAIR EL ’ADEISIYEH - - - 196 MONUMENT AT MUNTAR EL MESHUKKAR - 7 é 2 = a - 197 VIEW OF DOLMEN NO. I AT NEBA - : 3 Z é x S - 202 PLAN AND ELEVATION OF DOLMEN NO. I AT NEBA - = z E S - 203 VIEW OF DOLMEN NO. 2 AT NEBA - 4 ; 2 z : - 203 ARAB TRIBE-MARKS AT ES SAMIK - - : ‘ 3 : 4 - 211 ELEVATIONS OF PILLARS AT SERABIT EL MESHUKKAR - - - - - 212 ELEVATIONS OF PILLARS AT SERABIT EL MEHATTAH- : “ - : - 213 PLAN AND SECTIONS OF TOMB AT SHONET EDH DHiABEH - —- - - - + 217 ELEVATION OF LINTEL-STONES AT SHUNET SUKR_ - - - - - - 219 BLOCK PLAN OF BUILDING AT SUMIA - 3 : 2 = 2 : - 221 ELEVATIONS OF DRAFTED STONES AT SUMIA - - Z 2 2 - 222 ELEVATIONS OF LINTEL-STONE AT SUMIA - : 3 = : 2 - 223 ELEVATIONS OF SCULPTURED STONES AT SUMIA - - - - - - 223 ELEVATIONS OF DOORWAY AT SUMIA - - z z - 2 w - 223 ORNAMENTATION ON A LINTEL-STONE AT SUMIA- - = : z E - 224 PLANS OF ROCK-CUT TOMBS AT SUMIA : - = 2 is e - 22 PLANS OF ROCK-CUT SARCOPHAGI AT SUMIA - - = : : i - 226 VIEW AND PLAN OF DOLMEN NEAR SUMIA - : - = = 5 - 226 VIEWS OF DOLMENS AT TELL EL HAMMAM - : s s 2 & - 229 VIEW OF TWO DOLMENS AT TELL EL HAMMAM - = - : : - 230 VIEW AND PLAN OF MONUMENT NO. I AT TELL EL MATAPB’A - - - - 232 PLAN OF CIRCLE AND MENHIR NO. 2 AT TELL EL MATAB’A - z : > 293 ELEVATION OF MENHIR A IN PRECEDING PLAN = 7 - 3 = - 233 PLAN OF MONUMENT NO. 3 AT TELL EL MATABA - - = - 2 - 234 SKETCH OF MENHIR NO. 4 AT TELL EL MATAB’A - - - 2 . - 234 PLAN OF MONUMENT NO. 5 AT TELL EL MATAB’A - : - es e - 234 VIEW OF DOLMEN NO. 6 AT TELL EL MATAB’A - = . s 2 - 235 PLAN OF TANK AT UMM EL BURUK - - é 2 < “ - 242 ROCK-CUT STABLE AND TOMBS (FIGS. I, 2,3) AT UMM EL BURUK - - 3 - 243 TOMBS AND SCARCOPHAGI AT UMM EL HANAFISH (FIGS. 4, 5,6) - - - 243 INSCRIPTION OF ANTONIUS RUFUS AT UMM EL BURUK - - - 2 - 2 FRAGMENT OF LINTEL AT UMM EL HANAFISH - - S i < - 246 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xi PAGE PLAN OF EL KUSR AT UMM EL HANAFISH_ - - - - - : - 247 BASE AND CAPITALS AT KHURBET HAMZEH - - - - - - - 247 PLAN AND SECTION OF TOMB AT UMM EL KENAFID - - - - - - 249 VIEW OF DOLMEN NO. 4 IN WADY JIDEID- - - - - - - - 254 VIEWS OF DOLMENS NOS. 14, 16, IN WADY JIDEID - - - - - - 256 VIEWS OF DOLMENS NOS. 17, 20, IN WADY JIDEID_ - - - - - - 267 VIEWS OF DOLMENS NOS. 21, 22, IN WADY JIDEID - - - - - - 258 VIEWS OF DOLMENS NOS. 27, 28, IN WADY JIDEID_ - - - - - - 259 VIEWS OF DOLMENS NOS. 33, 40, IN WADY JIDEID_ - - - - - - 260 VIEWS OF DOLMENS NOS. 43, 44, IN WADY JIDEID_ - - - - - - 261 VIEWS OF DOLMENS NOS. 48, 50, 52, IN WADY JIDEID - - - - - 262 VIEWS OF DOLMENS NOS. 54, 55, 56, IN WADY JIDEID - - - - - 263 VIEWS OF DOLMENS NOS. 60, 61, IN WADY JIDEID - - - - - - 264 VIEWS OF DOLMENS NOS. 70, 80, 91, IN WADY JIDEID - - - - - 265 VIEWS OF DOLMENS NOS. 92, 93, 100, IN WADY JIDEID - - - - - 266 VIEWS OF DOLMENS NOS. IOI, 102, 107, IN WADY JIDEID~ - - - - - 267 VIEWS OF DOLMENS NOS. I12, 113 (AND PLAN OF I13), IN WADY JIDEID - - - 268 VIEWS OF DOLMENS NOS. I14, 116, IN WADY JIDEID - - - - - - 269 VIEWS OF DOLMENS NOS, 117, 118, 119 (AND PLAN OF 117), IN WADY JIDEID - - 270 VIEWS OF DOLMENS NOS. 120, 121, 124, 125, IN WADY JIDEID - - - - 271 VIEWS OF DOLMENS NOS. 126, 127, 134, IN WADY JIDEID - - - - - 272 VIEWS OF DOLMENS NOS. 144, 146, IN WADY JIDEID - - - - - - 273 VIEW OF DOLMEN IN WADY UMM SHUAMIR - - - - = a » 277 DIAGRAM OF CONSTRUCTION OF HESBAN BASE-LINE - - - - - - 284 DIAGRAM OF TRIANGULATION - - - - - - - - - 287 ERRATA. Page 196, line 11, for ‘as’ read ‘ was.’ Page 205, line 6, for ‘ 1883’ read ‘1881.’ Page 209, line 12 from foot, for ‘ AVRELVS’ read ‘ AVRELIVS.’ Page 215, line 1, for ‘el Al’ read ‘el Al.’ LIST OF PHOTOGRAPHIC VIEWS. (From Negatives taken by Lieutenant A. M. Mantell, R.E.) PAGE SUPPOSED ROMAN BATHS AT ’AMMAN - - - - - - - frontispiece SUPPOSED FORUM AT ’AMMAN - : - - - : - - to face 32 ODEUM AT ’AMMAN - - - - - = - 2 : - 40 WESTERN TOMB AT ’AMMAN~ - - - - - - - - - 44 VIEW OF CLIFF AT ’ARAK EL EMIR- - - - - - - - a 9D INSCRIPTION ON THE ROCK AT ’ARAK EL EMIR - - . - - - 84 ARAB TOMB AT HADANIEH - - - - - - - = - 104 TEMPLE AT KHAREIBET ES SUK - - - - - - - - 140 NORTHERN TOMB AT KHAREIBET ES SUK - - - - - - - 144 KUSR ES SEBAH - : - - - - - - - . - 176 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE "ABD EL JUWAD (alyed! uc, ‘servant of the bountiful’—one of the names of the deity).—This is the grave of one of the Hasdsineh (see Kabtr el Hasdsineh). It is a large modern tomb, now held sacred, and surrounded by stone piles, or Kehakir. Visited September 13, 1881. "Abdtin (y9%5).—This name is similar to the Hebrew Abdon })729, applying to a town in Galilee (Joshua xxi. 30), and to Eboda, south of Beer- sheba, and ‘Abdtin (‘Western Survey,’ Sheet VII.). It is also a man’s name, ‘the worshipper’ of God. The name applies to a group of three ruins west of “Amman, built, like most in the vicinity, of rude flint blocks of no great size. A few walls are standing, and are conspicuous dark objects. There are also foundations, and at the principal ruin, to which the name is written, are remains of a small dolmen (compare those under head’Ammdan, G.H. I, p. 25). Abu el ’Adis (13s! 9!, perhaps ‘ father of lentils’).—A hill-top near Minyeh, in the southern part of the work. Abu el Hasn (yd! y!, ‘father of grace ’).—The name, said to have been that of a Sultan who visited the spot, is apparently applied to a spur close to the last. Abu el Kerradm (p! sly, ‘father of stumps ’).—On the edge of the forest north of ‘Arak el Emir, where the local Arabs have cut down many oaks and terebinths for fire-wood, 2 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE Abu ely Kauwttkah (459 9lWIy!, ‘father of hootings of owls’ ).— This is a sacred place—a tomb enclosed in a circle, with a lintel or altar on the west like those described at’Ain Hesban. It stands in flat ground with trees in the valley north of Umm Kuseir. It is omitted on the reduced map for want of space. Abu Loézeh (39) al, ‘father of the almond-tree’).—This is a similar sacred place beside the road due east of “Arak el Emir. The lintel-stone is on the west, and ploughs, etc., were stored inside the circle. There are some rude cave tombs in the rock to the north. Abu en Nam] (JI 9, ‘father of ants’).—A plot of ground in the valley west of Arak el Emir (compare Wady Abu en Nam). Abu Nuseir (ypoi al, proper name. The term Nusr, of which this is the diminutive, is specially applied in the Kord4n to those who were converted to Islam in Medina after the Hejira. Sura lxi. 14, etc.)— This name applies to a sacred tree near Shanab, on the north-west. It is omitted from the reduced map for want of space, and because unim- portant. Abu Raghif (4S) |, ‘father of the cake’)—A small Arab graveyard near Minyeh. Abu Safa (\seo oil, ‘father of clearness,’ or of ‘ shining ’).—Applies to a cliff on the south side of West Kefrein. Abu Shiyah (cls 9, perhaps ‘father of the wormwood plants,’ Artemisia Judaica ¢p»).—A hillside south of Wady Jideid. Abu Tineh (43 9!, ‘father of the fig-tree’).—A hillside north of Wady Bahhath, probably from a wild fig, many of which occur in the district. This spur is south of Khiirbet ed Dubbeh. It is omitted from the reduced map for want of space. Abu Zagheileh ( da} y), ‘father of squirting’).—Traces of ruins east of Minyeh. El ’Adeimeh ( depos, ‘the streak,’ z.2.,a patch of colour differing from the rest, Lane).—A cliff at the edge of the Jordan plain, with a clump of canes in the valley-bed below. In autumn there is no water, but in spring the supply is said to be good. SPRINGS 3 SPRINGS. In addition to Ain and Aytin, see under the heads el Bassah, Bir, Hammam, el ’"Ameireh, Barrakat, ’"Adeimeh, Dereibeh, el Gharbeh. The fine water supply is one of the great features of the country. Every large valley has a stream, generally perennial, including the Zerka M@’ain, Wady Jideid, Wady “Ayan Misa, Wady Hesban, Wady Na’atir, Wady Sir, Wady Nimrin, and Wady’Amman. There are upwards of seventy springs and perennial wells in the district, and in most of these the water is good, cool, and perennial- The plateau of Moab consists of soft chalk; and the springs are found on the slopes some 500 feet lower down, where the hard dolomitic limestone crops out. The ’Amman stream (the head of the Jabbok) issues in the same way on the surface of the harder formation, about the same level, 2,440 feet above the Mediterranean. "Ain el ’Abbadeh (asta wae ‘spring of the ’Abbadeh Arabs,’ a small branch of the ’Adwaén).—A very small spring in Wady Jeriah. "Ain Abu Turfah (dsb 9! y©, ‘spring of the tamarisk’).—A small spring dripping down the rocks in the valley of the same name, and supplying el Bassah farther down. The water is said to be good and cold. "Ain Abu ’Oneiz (ye x) ose, ‘spring of little goats’).—A small spring north of Shanab. The water is cold and good. ’Ain Adeisiyeh (asc wae, perhaps ‘spring of lentils’).—Near the last. A perennial spring of fair supply, flowing from the rock. The water is cold and good. A dolmen, or cromlech, was found near it by Mr. Armstrong. Near the spring, also, Lieutenant Mantell found six rock-cut tombs, like those near Simia. The first was 55 feet long, 1 foot 10 inches broad, 24 feet high, and roughly cut; a second was 75 feet long, 34 feet broad, and 34 feet high; the other four were of the same class. The doors in each case were at the north end of the chambers, which are cut in a cliff on the south side of the valley. On the hill to the south are traces of an old rujm, or cairn, and there are rough steps quarried in the hillside. "Ain “Ajeirman’ (gkyas& oa, ‘spring of the ’Ajermeh Arabs’— a small tribe under the ’Adwan).—This is in the valley of the same name, south of Minyeh, and was found to contain a perennial supply of fairly good water rising among rushes and bushes. "Ain ’Amman.—This, with its perennial stream, is specially described under ’Amm adn. i—2 4 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE "Ain “Arts (eye wae, ‘bride’s spring’).—Near the Dead Sea. Only a very small supply was found in October, but the water is cold and good ; and the growth of canes which covers it shows that in spring there must be a large supply. It is curious to note how many springs in Western Palestine have thissame name. One occurs in the Jordan valley nearly opposite that now noticed. "Ain el Baheirah (Syed wee, ‘spring of the pool,’ or ‘ lake’). —A small supply of good water on the north side of Wady Naatr. ‘Ain el Bahhath (aslad! ye, ‘spring of the scrapers-up of earth,’ Lane).—In the valley of the same name; a good perennial supply, sufficient to turn a mill. The ruins of several mills occur in the valley lower down, and some are yet worked by the Bedawin for grinding flour. There is a waterfall in the valley near them. The stream joins that of Wady Naat. : ‘Ain el Bawati (blyd! sa, ‘spring of the wooden bowls ’—as explained on the spot).—Near ’Ain ’Adeisiyeh; a very small supply. It is omitted from the reduced map for want of space. ‘Ain el Beida (LQnd) sa, ‘white spring’).—A small spring at the extreme north edge of the Survey. It is perennial, and the water is cold but not very good. "Ain el Buaeirdeh (spy) yee, ‘the cold spring ’).—Just below the mill at Simia; a small perennial supply of cold water issuing from the rock in the ravine. "Ain el Fejireh (sss! y.©, ‘spring of the stream ’).—A small supply of good water was found here in September, beside the stream of Wady Naatir. ‘Ain el Fudeili (heeM) gat, ‘the excellent spring’)—A very fine supply of clear, cold water issuing under rocks and boulders, making a small pool with gravelly bottom, and running to the brook of Wady Hesban. This is the favourite autumn camp of Sheikh Kablan en Nimr, and the Survey camp was established near it from September 10 to 20, There are remains of the foundations of a small building west of the spring, which issues in a flat open part of the valley, with coarse turf round it. Numerous dams and lades lead from the spring towards the remains of RIVER {ABBOK 5 former irrigated places. Traces of one little aqueduct lead to the Jineinet Belkis, or ‘Zenobia’s garden,’ which is a mere barren plot. About 300 yards farther west on the south side of the valley is a rock-cut wine-press. Though now so barren, this spot was once cultivated, and probably covered with vineyards, as the hills on the south appear also to have been. This may have been in the Roman or Byzantine ages, when the settled popula- tion was evidently a thick one. Explored September 20, 1881. RIVER JABBOK. ‘Ain el Ghazal (Jl5#! ne, ‘gazelle’s spring’).—A large supply of water, perennial and fresh, issuing in a pool with a pebbly bottom sur- rounded with oleander bushes. This, with ‘Ain "Amman and ’Ain er Raseifeh, is the principal supply of the Jabbok. In autumn, the stream from ‘Ain Amman disappears in the rocky bed of the valley about a mile and a half from the town. The stream recommences at ’Ain Ghazal, and flows about 5 miles, when it again sinks into the ground; and the stream from ’Ain er Raseifeh disappears in the same way. The flow from the Ain ez Zerka to Jordan is perennial. In the early spring the stream is continuous all the way from ’Ain’Amméan. It is called Wady Amman as far as Ain ez Zerka, and from that point it becomes WAdy Zerka Shebib. Ath e). aaa (plas eee, ‘spring of the bath’)—A good supply of cold water, not perennial, and found quite dry on October 11, 1881. It is in the valley of the same name, at the north edge of the Survey. In winter it produces a good stream down the ravine. "Ain Hebbeseh ee wae The root means to ‘enclose,’ or ‘imprison ’).—A small supply close to Tell Hebbeseh, whence it is ap- parently named. The water trickles towards Wady Kefrein. It was visited in October. "Ain el Hekr (jSsJl ya&, ‘spring of the enclosed land, Lane*),— A little pit containing muddy water at the head of the valley called Hekr. There is turf in the vicinity, and it is at the edge of the ’Amriyeh wood of oak and terebinth. Probably in spring the supply is more abundant. * Haktrah isa Syrian word for a ‘ garden.’ 6 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE "Ain Hesban ( sles gat, ‘spring of Heshbon).—The Survey camp was fixed south of this spring from August 17, 1881, to September 10. The water rises at the foot of a low cliff in the west side of a narrow valley, and forms a shallow pool amid large boulders. It flows thence in a stream about 10 feet wide, southwards, at the rate of some 2 or 3 miles an hour. The brook is shallow, but very clear, with a shingly bed, and it is full of small fish. Near the spring are clumps of oleander, and an Arab graveyard. The surrounding hills are very barren, consisting of y s , NY Section on a, 6. Section on ¢, d. Rock Sarcopuacus, ’AIn HeEspan. gray chalky limestone. In the upper part of the valley are the ruins of Shtinet edh Dhiadbeh and Shtinet Sukr, mentioned under those heads respectively. Higher up the stream are remains of masonry channels, which may have led to pools or mills now destroyed; but there is no indication of the date of these remains. A sarcophagus cut in the rock was found in the same vicinity. The cemetery is on the east, or left bank, close to the spring. In addition to some rude graves resembling those common in the Moslem towns west of Jordan, there are two graves of greater importance, sur- "AIN HESBAN q rounded with circles. Of one of these (the southern) Lieutenant Mantell obtained a photograph. The northern circle is 9 paces in diameter, and is formed by a dry stone wall some 3 feet high of unshaped stones rudely piled up. On the west is a little trilithon, consisting of three stones taken from some ruin in the vicinity, and dressed for their original purpose. The side stones are 2 feet high, and 2 feet apart; the top stone is about 3 feet long. The second, or southern circle, is about raya ‘ i ei 4 rest (ete 1 Scale iy. Fics. 1, 2,—RELIEFS oN ARAB Toms. FIGs. 3, 4.—RELIEFS ON HEADSTONE. 9 paces in diameter, and consists of large blocks (as shown in the photo- graph) measuring in some cases 4 feet in length by 25 feet in height. This has also a trilithon altar, or gate, on the west, on which were found small offerings consisting of glass beads and pottery chips. A wooden coffee-mortar had been placed on the same capstone, whether as a votive offering or for protection was not ascertained. The trilithon stones were squared ashlar in this as in the former case, and in each instance the W usm, or tribe-mark, of the ’Ajermeh Arabs (who inhabit the surround- ing district) was cut on the altar-stones—|f J]. It is cut either way up, and is called the Mehjan, or ‘crook.’ This title applies apparently to the 8 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE hook-shaped figure, while the single stroke is intended for a numeral, showing that the dead man belonged to the eldest family of the tribe. Near the northern circle (which, like the southern, encloses an ordinary grave) there is a peculiar headstone to a grave with a pattern carved on it. The stone is well hewn, 7 inches thick, 18 inches high, and 13 inches wide; the carving projects 2 inches, and seems rudely to suggest a human figure, with a cross below. The cross is also found on an Arab grave at "Ain ’Amméan. Close by is a well-built modern tomb of Sheikh Shehab el Fuliyéh, who has been buried beside the older sacred circles. His tomb resembles those at Kefrein and Kabr Abdallah. This tomb has ARAB CIRCLE NEAR HESHBON. also the same tribe-mark upon it—that of the Ajermeh ; it is built of cut stones, but not whitewashed or plastered. On one side is a stone 24 feet long and 1 foot high, on which are carved in relief—projecting about a quarter of an inch—rude designs representing a bow, a coffee-mortar and pestle, and finally a man on a horse with a sword and a bow above him. There are traces of geometrical designs and raised bosses on other stones, which probably come from some older building, At the end of the tomb lies a fallen stone 14 feet long and 10 inches high, and on this are rudely carved representations of a coffee-mortar and pestle, four coffee-cups, or finajin, and a spoon (Mihmasah) for roasting, and a little jug or pot for boiling the coffee SPRINGS 9 These designs are modern Arab work, and are interesting, first because they are intended by an illiterate people to be symbols of the warlike valour and of the hospitable character of the chief here buried, and secondly because the representation of the man and horse shows that the ’Ajermeh at least are not strict Moslems. The symbols were explained by the Bedawin. The spring, like others, appears to be a sacred spot. On the banks of the stream many flint chips were found, and a few of these seemed possibly to be artificial flakes. "Ain el Jams (joyeld! nS, ‘spring of the buffalo ’).—A green patch of turf with a small spring of bad water. "Ain el Jemmaleh (dug wee, ‘spring of the camel-drivers’). —A small patch of grass with bad water. The supply is not perennial. "Ain Jeriah (dajs yao, ‘spring of the single draught of water’). —A small spring in the bottom of the valley surrounded by a few reeds and rushes. A muddy stream was found in October flowing thence some 30 or 4o yards. The pool is dammed up with stones. Close by is the Hajr ed-Dimiyeh, which see. This is close to Kh. es Stir, west of Arak el Emir. ‘Ain Jideid (Xan y©).—In Arabic this means ‘the new spring.’ The Arabic root also means ‘to be great or plentiful.’ Professor Palmer (Name Lists, p. 2) suggests ‘a vein, or dyke’ (geologically so called) ; but this never applies to the springs so named. The best rendering is prob- ably ‘the copious.’ The description of ’Ain Jideid and its ruins is given under Hadanieh. "Ain Jtirat el Haiyeh (aga Sym onl, ‘spring of the snake’s hole ’).—This was not visited; it is quite a small spring, with a little patch of green round it. ‘Ain el Khalfeh (as! .©; see el Khalfeh).—A little spring south of a group of dolmens on north side of Wady Hesbdn. It rises in open ground, and the supply is perennial, with good water. "Ain el Khalifeh (esl nc, ‘the Khalif’s spring ’).—A small spring in Wady Jeriah. Khalifeh may, however, mean ‘ valley’ (Freytag Lex. agin el Khar Par (y) a! wee, ‘murmuring spring’).—A small spring close to Jordan, not visited. It is in the jungle at the edge of the Zor, or lower bed of the river. 2 10 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE "Ain Kuseib (qos sa, ‘spring of the cane,’ diminutive form).— A very small spring, not visited. "Ain Mait (bys* se, apparently ‘the spring sometimes dry : See Freytag Lex.).—In Wady Zerka Maain, close to el Habis; a small spring, not visited. "Ain Mataba (elke .©; see Tell el Mataba).—A small supply, with water trickling into Wady er Rameh. "Ain el Meheiyineh (anos! we, apparently from a plant).—A small spring, with water trickling into Wady el Kefrein. "Ain el Meiyiteh (sal wae, ‘dead spring ’).—A green patch, with water said to be good and perennial. It is marked ’Ain on the reduced map west of Shanab. "Ain el Merussus (cow! sae, ‘spring of the place of pebbles’). A small supply of good cold water, apparently perennial. It is in a small valley-head west of Kh. el Merussus, and is marked ’Ain on the reduced map. ‘Ain el Meshabbah (awl eee, apparently ‘spring of the lioness,’ Lane).—A small spring, not visited. See Wady el Meshabbeh. ‘Ain el Minyeh (dea) ose, ‘spring of desire’).—This is a perennial spring of good cold water. The supply in autumn is small, and -it rises in a shallow masonry well on the slope of the hill. A stunted thorn-tree grows beside it. Rather higher up on the slope, on the south, is a modern white tomb of one of the Sheikhs of the ’Awazim Arabs. The crest of the ridge is 4oo feet above the spring towards the east, and a conspicuous knoll, called Tuweiyil el Azzam ( pls! uy’, ‘the lion’s peak ’), here exists south of the spring, commanding a fine view of the Dead Sea and of the Jordan Valley. About 2 mile north-east of this knoll is the highest point of the ridge, called Talat el Benat, or ‘ Ascent of the Maidens,’ and between these two points there is a line of seven monuments extending in a north-east direction over a distance of about i mile. No name is given to them by the Arabs, nor do they seem to know of any tradition connected with them. They regard them simply as Mun atir, or ‘ watch-towers,’ of great antiquity, and the same term is applied by many of the ’Adwan to the dolmens. "AIN EL MINYEH II The number of these monuments, as counted by Mr. G, Armstrong, is seven ; but most of them are in a very confused condition of ruin. The most distinguishable is the seventh from the north, which was photo- graphed by Lieutenant Mantell (No. 8 of his series). He draws attention el Minyeh PLAN of Stone Grcle Fev 5 ° 10 20 sofeer in his remarks (‘ Quarterly Statement,’ July, 1882, p. 173) to the fact that a similar monument (which he discovered) exists in the Jordan Valley (see el Maberah). The four southern monuments are close together ; the three others are rather further to the north, and more widely separated from each other (as shown on the Survey map). 2—2 12 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE The monument measured is a rude polygon (see Plan) about 8 feet in interior diameter, with a central cubical stone measuring 3 feet 4 inches by 2 feet 5 inches, and 35 feet high. The central stone, and many of those in the enclosure, appear to be rudely hewn. The thickness of the wall is about 5 feet, and the present height 3 feet. The original height appears to have been at least 4 feet, with two courses of stones. The blocks used are as large as, or larger than, the central stone. On the east is a little enclosure, or court, made by a single line of stones, about 30 feet in diameter. The stones in this enclosure are rather smaller. | In other examples, the central cubical stone was also still visible, and near one of the circles, just outside, is a flat rock, in which was sunk a cavity, evidently artificial, 13 feet long, 1 foot broad, and 3 inches deep, resembling the hollows found in rocks beside dolmens, or in the capstone of the dolmen itself. The theories suggested by these remains are fully noticed in ‘ Heth and Moab’ (chap. iv., pp. 143, 252). The site is appropriate topographi- cally for that of Baal Peor (Numbers xxiii. 28). The ‘ spring of desire. gets its name from a tradition that it was made by the spear of Imam "Aly. ‘Seated on the edge of the cliff of Minyeh, beside the seven circles with altar-stones, we looked down on the brown and utterly arid plateau which runs to the top of the eastern cliffs, beyond which the Dead Sea lies calm and shining. i ‘In this plateau is the black basalt outbreak called Hammet Minyeh ; and not far below us, on the slope, is the spring-well of Minyeh, with its stunted thorn. It was here that Abu Wundi, the hale and cheerful old Sheikh of the ’Awazim Arabs, began to tell us the first fairy- tales we had heard beyond Jordan. The black natural fortress, he said, was once the city of ’Antar, the black hero whose woes and dolorous love-songs are said to fill forty-five volumes of Arab poetry. To the spot on which we sat came once the wandering ’Aly, “the Lion of God,” son of Abu Taleb, and husband of the Prophet’s daughter Fatimah, one of the first converts to Islam, whose claims to the Khalifate originated the great schism of Shi’ah and Sunnee. He has become in Persia, and even in Syria, a mythical hero whose name is often substituted for that of Moses, Joshua, or Samson in perverted versions of Old Testament histories. ’Aly, riding his horse Maimdan, reached Minyeh in a state of exhaustion, and prayed to Allah that he might die. He was, however, commanded to strike the earth with , his spear, when at once the fountain of Minyeh welled up, and ’Aly drank and was refreshed. Minyeh signifies “‘ desire ” or “wish,” and the wishing-well was here so named, according to the Arabs, because it arose at the desire of ’Aly. ‘Further instructed by Allah, ’Aly descended to the Hammet Minyeh and cried out for ’Antar (“the Spearer”), when suddenly fifteen hundred black men rose up, each saying, “I LEGEND OF ’ALY 13 am ’Antar! Weare all’Antars!” ’Aly, again divinely instructed, asked for the ’Antar whose father was Shadid (“the Strong One”), and his mother Zebibeh, or the ‘Sea Foam,’ and this host he at length found, and was invited to enter his house. Here he perceived a woman hanging to the beam of the roof, to which she was tied by her long eyelashes, and, being astonished at such cruelty, he demanded who she was. ‘She is my mother,” said ’Antar, “and I hung her up because she hates and curses strangers.” ’Aly begged that she might be taken down, which was no sooner done than she began to revile the guest at whose asking she had been released. “Hang her up again!” said ’Aly ; and this was also done, after which ’Aly and Maimtin were alike courteously treated, and he remained the guest of ’Antar for three days, according to the law of the Prophet. ‘Tt was after this,” said Abu Wundi, “ that he went forth and took the City of Copper ” a legend we had already heard at Jericho. Here (as I have previously related) stood the copper or brazen city of the infidels, where now the single enormous tamarisk marks the site of Gilgal. Round the brazen walls (as the Abu Nuseir Arabs told us in 1873) ’Aly rode on Maimiin seven times, and, blowing upon them with his breath, they at once disappeared, and the faithful pursued the infidel westwards to Koruntil. The sun was about to set behind the cliff of that mountain, when ’Aly cried to it, “ Return, O blessed one!” and the sun stood still until the infidels were slain. ‘This tale differs from others in one respect, that it presents affinities to three Old Testament episodes—namely, the Rock of Rephidim, the fall of Jericho, and the miracle of Gibeon ; while many others of its features are clearly akin to the Persian mythology. It cannot well be supposed that the tradition preserved is indigenous, because the Arabs, to whom alone such tales are peculiar (none of the same class being known to the Fellahin), are a people who emigrated in post-Christian times from the Hejaz and from Yemen into Syria. There is, however, a very simple explanation possible of the existence of Bible stories among the Bedawin, and one which appears to be supported by the fact that a medizval monkish legend is certainly preserved among the Abu Nuseir. The “high mountain” of the Temptation was shown in the twelfth century at the curious peak called "Osh el Ghurab, or “ Raven’s Nest,” north of Jericho, although its summit is 300 feet below the level of the Mediterranean ; and this place is still called ‘“‘ The Ascent of Jesus” by the Bedawin. East of Jordan, also, we must not forget that a Christian colony founded by the Crusaders still survives at Kerak ; and it was, no doubt, from the priests or monks of this fortress that the Arabs first learned the history of Moses and Joshua, which they have gradually confused with legends of ’Aly and ’Antar, although retaining some indistinct remembrance of the localities which led to their belief in a city of brass or of copper, which they place at the true site of Israel’s camp, and not far from the Jericho whose walls are related to have fallen before the blast of Hebrew trumpets.’—Conder’s ‘ Heth and Moab,’ pp. 347-350. Explored October 1, 1881. "Ain el Mtteiniyeh (an yal we, ‘spring of the storehouse’). —A perennial supply of water, with a small stream trickling through grass some 50 yards to join the main stream in the valley below Arak el Emir. "Ain Naadr (jy 9°46 ye, ‘spring of the Naurah, or water-wheel ye —A fine perennial supply of water issues from under rocks into a pool, or 14 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE basin, with a gravelly bed. When visited, the temperature was 67° Fah., that of the air being about 80° Fah. The spring is north-west of the houses of Khtirbet Naatir. There are several smaller springs in the valley. The stream falls over a precipice about 50 feet high, making a very picturesque waterfall near the houses. The camp was. pitched here on the night of October 4, 1881. "Ain en Nustiry (cosy! yS, ‘spring of eagles’; see “Arak en Nustry).—A small spring under the cliff, not visited. "Ain er Raseifeh (ah col wee, ‘spring of pebbles ; Hebrew A¥, ‘a stone’).—A large spring like “Ain Ghazal. The stream hence runs for 5 miles in autumn, then sinks into the ground (see the account under ’Ain Ghazal). "Ain esh Shidkah (s#! yc, probably from 3, the side of a valley).—A group of small springs, not visited. "Ain (Wady) esh Shita (see Wady esh Shita).—A good perennial spring, whence in winter a stream flows down the valley. It is west of er Ramleh, and is marked ’Ain on the reduced map in the valley of Wady esh Shita. "Ain es Sir (pl oS, ‘spring of the fold;’ see Kh. es Sir).—A good perennial supply of cold water, which is the head spring of the stream in WAdy es Sir, to which, however, other springs contribute. ‘Ain es Stteimeh (see Khirbet es Steimeh).—This is a copious salt spring. It was visited in the end of October, and was found to have a temperature of 80° Fah., the air being about 100° Fah. It was drink- able, though brackish, and is perennial. ‘Ain Stimia, see Stmia, where this spring is described. ‘Ain et Terabil (jul) yc. The word ke > means a thresh- ing-sledge, called in Western Palestine Nurej, or Mtrej).—A small spring, not visited, but seen. "Ain et Terki, by Butmet et Terkii—A little pool of muddy water, cold and perennial. "Ain eth Thoghrah.—A small spring near the Thoghret es Sajar. Not visited, but seen. "AIN EZ ZERKA 15 "Ain Umm ’Abdh (sle e! ene, ‘spring of the Aba, or cloak.’ It might also mean ‘spring of shining’).—-A small spring at the valley head, seen, but not visited. "Ain Umm el Kenafid (see Umm el Kenafid).—A little pool of dirty water in the rocky bed of the valley, with a fair supply. Ain Umm ‘Olleik (ge e! wae, ‘spring of little cell; see Muallakat ed Deir).—A small marshy landspring. "Ain Umm Tineh (aj | wee, ‘spring of the fig-tree ').—This is a conspicuous spring in the cliff north of Wady Hesban. A fine wild fig grows up against the rock, and is a conspicuous object. The place is almost inaccessible, and it was not visited. It is not marked on the reduced plan, but is close to ’Ain Nustiry, which is marked. ‘Ain Umm Zeittineh (dé 4) e! wee, ‘spring of the olive tree’).—A good supply of cold water. It is not a large spring, but perennial. "Ain Wasadeh (sdley yas, ‘spring of the pillow’).—In Wady en Nefiaiyeh ; not visited. ‘Ain Yajtz (see Khirbet Yajiz).—A good supply of cold water, perennial. "Ain ez Zerka (jl sac, ‘blue spring’).—This is the principal supply of the Wady Zerka Maain, on the south extremity of the work. The springs were visited on October 3, and were found to be distinctly thermal, the water being 89° Fah., while the air was 74° Fah. The water rises in the bed of the valley in pools, with a gravelly bed, and small fish are found in these. Fine clumps of oleanders and other small trees form a shade round the springs. The Arab women wash clothes here, and the water is also drunk. The banks of the valley are here very steep, but the horses were taken down from el Mareighat to the springs. On the north side there are caves in the hillside, which are used by the Arab shepherds. The scenery of the valley is here very bare and feature- less. A good picture is given in Canon Tristram’s ‘Land of Moab’ (p. 230). El Ahma (sl, ‘the defended,’ or ‘the inaccessible ’).—This is the same name given to the plateau above the cliffs west of Tiberias. It applies in the present case, as in the former, to a flat plateau. 16 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE El ’Ajemy (<4sel, ‘the stranger ’).—This word ’Ajem applies to all non-Arab speaking countries, but more especially to Persia. It here’ marks a sacred place near Tell el Hammam in the Jordan Valley. It is west of the Tell, and is omitted from the reduced map for want of space. "Akweh (ss8e, ‘high’).—The name of a hill with dolmens (see Tell el Mataba) east of the Mensef Abu Zeid in the Jordan Valley. ELEALEH. El ’Al (J\!),—This is recognised as the Hebrew Elealeh, mbyby (Numbers xxxii. 37), and was known to Eusebius (‘Onomasticon’) as being a mile from Heshbon. The modern meaning, ‘the lofty,’ is derived from the conspicuous position of the Tell in the ruin, on which a Survey cairn was erected in 1881. It stands south of a very flat plateau, which also extends on the east and south. A broad camel-track from the ’Ain Hesban approaches from the west, and a good specimen of a rock-cut winepress is to be noticed beside this road, showing that (as mentioned in the Old Testament, Isaiah xvi. 9; Jeremiah xlviii. 34) the vicinity was once cultivated. The ruins cover the top and slopes of the Tell, or mound. On the flat summit there is a modern Arab graveyard, with two circles enclosing graves (as at “Ain Hesban, which see). One of these is dedicated to Sheikh Rashed. It is 8 paces in diameter, and the drystone wall is from 1 foot to 2 feet high, built of unhewn stones about 1 foot in diameter. The door, or altar, is on the west side, consisting of two jambs 13 feet high, and a capstone, all three being of cut stone taken from the ruins. Beads, pottery, glass, china, basalt chips, are placed on the capstone, and a plough was found inside—left there for protection. The ruin is about roo yards in diameter; but only the foundations and lower courses of the masonry are left belonging to private houses and enclosed courts. The masonry is chiefly of unsquared stones, varying from 1 foot to 5 feet in length. On the south-east are cisterns, and a solitary pillar stands up on the slope on this side. On closer inspection, this appeared to have formed part of a basilica, or temple, with a nave 18 feet wide in the clear, and a south aisle 12 feet wide. The south wall ELEALEH 17 was traceable, and the position of one pillar on the north side of the nave, but the length and north boundary of the building were not distinguish- able. The pillar still standing is 7 feet 3 inches in height, and ‘19 inches in diameter ; the capital has fallen. There are many drystone enclosures of large stones, but these may, perhaps, be later reconstructions. Among them was found a rude capital of debased classic style, which seemed probably to have belonged to the colonnaded building just mentioned. About 130 paces south of the single pillar in this building are remains of WZ CLE W1dON FAWe another building, possibly a chapel, though no apse was found on the east. It measured 23 feet in width north and south, and seems to have been 35 feet long. On the north side is a door 4 feet 7 inches wide; on the west wall, inside, a semi-column is visible, 2 feet 4 inches in diameter, and 14 feet in projection. This seems to indicate a division into two walks by a line of pillars running east and 0 5S ° 0 20 30 pleat PLAN OF CHAPEL. west. There seems to have been a western entrance south of this pillar. The walls of the building are 1 foot 10 inches thick. Outside, on the north, was found the fallen lintel of the north door with an Ionic capital, and a pillar-base and stool. There is another Ionic capital fallen on the south. All these were measured and drawn. The lintel resembles many others in Roman and Byzantine buildings, the stone being 5 feet |__ : 1 inch long, and 1 foot 6 inches LN XG SQ °“q“es high. The principal moulding projects 14 inches. On the under side is a hinge socket 74 inches in diameter. The two capitals differ from one another, both being rudely Ionic 3 Wi TaN [reese pete) pf? Me Usp bey 18 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE one 16 inches in diameter of the shaft, the other 15 inches. They some- what resemble the capital at Khttrbet Siadghah (which see), and are quite different from the Ionic of the : Ktsr en Nueijis, which is of purer style. They may perhaps be referred to the early Christian period (fourth and fifth centuries). The stool and base recall the remains of the Byzantine Church of St. John at Beit Jibrin (‘Memoirs, Western Survey,’ vol. iii, p. 276). A stone was measured in the north wall of this building 44 feet long, 1 foot 9 inches high, 1 foot 1o inches thick. It had an irregular draft 4 inches to 5 inches wide, and a boss projecting about 1 inch, dressed smooth, but much worn. Immediately north of this building there is a rude cave-cistern, and beside it, remains apparently of a smail stone handmill. About 50 yards south-east of the building just de- scribed is a rude enclosure, and on its east side traces of foundations. A stone here erected like a menhir may have been the jamb of a door- way, but is, perhaps, intended as a memorial stone (cf. Kefeir Abu Sarbit, and Hajr el Manstb). It is 1 foot 11 inches in diameter at the bottom, and 6 feet high. On the north side it is steadied by a short pillar-stump about 1} feet in diameter. Near this curious stone are many caves and vaults, and there seem to have been others under the Tell (as also at Maain). The ruin called Madowerat el ’Al is treated under that head; it seems to have been the quarry whence the stones at el ’A1 were obtained. The ground immediately east of Elealeh is a chalky RABBATH AMMON 19 limestone, and is strewn with flints and fragments of chert. The general impression obtained by examination of the ruins at this site is that a Byzantine town here existed, as known to Eusebius; and that nothing remaining, unless it be the menhir, is of greater antiquity than the fourth century. Visited August 23, 1881. "Alwan (ylpe)—See Hesban. El ’Ameireh (8yssl, ‘the perpetual’) is so called from the exist- ence of a good perennial spring well at the site. It is the boundary between the Beni Sakhr (who camp here) and the ’Adwan. There are three Tells or mounds with ruins north of the well, but nothing distinguish- able was observed on them. The well could not be visited, being in possession of the personal enemies of Captain Conder’s guide, Sheikh Kablan en Nimr. Sir C. Warren appears to have camped here (see ‘ Quarterly Statement,’ 1870, p. 29). The Bedawin often pronounce this name ’Amweireh, and M. Clermont Ganneau notices the same peculiar pronunciation of the Y, as in ’Obweideh for ’Obeideh, or buein for bein (‘ Quarterly Statement,’ 1874, p. 172). RABBATH AMMON. "Amman (sue, the Hebrew yyowu2 135, ‘capital of the sons of Ammon, Deut. iu. 11} Josh. xi. 25; 2 5am. xi. 26; Jer alix, 2. Ezek. xxi. 20; xxv. 5; Amos i. 14).—This is the later Philadelphia, under which name it was known to Ptolemy and Josephus. It was one of the chief cities of Decapolis (see Reland’s ‘ Palestine,’ vol. i., p. 203). In the fifth century it was an episcopal city ; in consequence, however, of its secluded position it does not appear prominently in history. In David’s time there appears to have been an upper and lower town (2 Sam. xii. 26, 27), and its palaces (}99N), or lofty fortifications, are mentioned by Amos (ia) An epitome of what is known of the history of "Amman is given by Dr. Grove (Smith’s ‘ Bible Dictionary,’ vol. ii., p. 983, ed seg.). The name Philadelphia is said to have been given in honour of Ptolemy Phila- delphus (.c. 285-247), according to Jerome (on Ezek. xxv. 1). Josephus says the surrounding district was called Philadelphene (3 ‘ Wars,’ iii. 3). 3—2 20 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE The episcopal See was subordinate to that of Bozrah (Reland’s ‘ Pales- tine,’ vol. i, p. 228). Coins of the city exist, having the head of Marcus Aurelius (161-180 A.D.) and the legend ‘ Philadelphia of Hercules of Ccele Syria.’ (Compare the inscription of the milestone at Rujim Rafiah, under that name.) The remains to be described under this head are of five classes, viz. : st, Prehistoric monuments; 2nd, Hebrew or ’Ammonite structures ; 3rd, Roman; 4th, Byzantine; 5th, Arab. There appear to be no traces of Crusading work, but with this exception all the great periods of Syrian architecture are represented at “Amman by important remains. The Prehistoric Period.—The rude-stone monuments of Amman in- clude fifteen examples in all, of which ten are dolmens and six menhirs. The first example stands alone on the south, and is marked on the hill west of Khirbet ‘Aisheh, and east of Rujm el Misdar. It is a demi-dolmen of great size, and was photo- graphed by Lieutenant Mantell. The capstone measures 13 feet east and west by 11 feet north and south, and the mean thick- ness is about 20 inches. A curious system of channels and Plary of Dobra A, hollows was noticed in the cap- stone, and carefully drawn. Near the middle of the stone is a hollow 26 inches by 20 inches, and 12 inches deep; near the west end, which is the highest, is a hollow 1 foot square. In the flat rock beside the monument is a shallow double pan, each hollow about 20 inches in diameter, with a channel between. The western end-stone of this dolmen is 6 feet high and 5 feet broad, and the sidestone on the north is 11 feet long and 8 feet high. The monument is close to the upper part of the west slope of the hill, with a rocky ravine beneath. This dolmen is of limestone of medium hardness (see Plan and Sketches, Dolmen A). RABBATH AMMON 21 The next group of dolmens is that shown on the special Survey of "Amman west of the citadel hill. They are situated on the southern slope of the hill, and built of chert or flint-like rock, which occurs in bands in the chalk. These monuments include four large dolmens and one small it / ahs hu \\ ‘al Wud MN i Cty, ui pe : Mh, | I Dolmen A from S.E one, and these stand in a rude circle of about 200 yards diameter, although this may be accidental. They are due east of the great menhir on the opposite hill. The first, or furthest east, is a rough trilithon which was sketched and also unsuccessfully photo- graphed. The capstone is 12 feet long, north and south, and 6 feet wide. The clear height beneath is 34 feet, and the clear width 24 feet. The length of the sidestones is about 10 feet. There is no floorstone or endstone, - - and the blocks of chert are exceedingly rough and irregular in shape. This is marked B on the Dolmen A.trom E. special Survey. The second, further down the hill, marked C on the special Survey, and more to the west, was successfully photographed from the south-east (No. 379, P. E. Fund’s list; frontispiece, ‘Quarterly Statement,’ 1882, 22 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE p. 176). The capstone is 8 feet square and 2 feet thick, and in its upper surface there is near the west end a large hollow 24 feet by 1 foot, and 3 inches deep. There are several other smaller hollows as well. The clear height under the cap is 44 feet, and the width 4 feet 3 inches. Dolmeva. From S.W. The sidestones are 8 feet long, and the endstone is 4 feet high and 35 feet wide. This stone is scotched in place by a small pebble inserted between it and the southern or down-hill sidestone. All the blocks are of chert. The third monument is smaller and further south-west. It re- sembles some of the Kurmiyeh examples (see Nos. 16,17, 23 under that head ; also see WAady Jideid). A flat stone, 6 feet by 4 feet, is supported on the down-hill side by two little stones, and is kept in place at the other end by a stone laid over it. There is, however, no indication whatever that the structure has fallen out of its original shape (see Dolmen D, next page). The fourth and fifth dolmens are large and fallen, and would have been about the same size as the first of the group. They each con- sisted of four stones, and the endstones remain in relative position. Between them was another little specimen, a stone 8 feet by 4 feet, and RABBATH AMMON 23 supported at one end. ‘The hillside north of this group is covered, as shown on the special Survey, with ruined drystone walls of chert or flint, and by loose stones of the same kind. On the hill west of the group thus described is a menhir (O), or standing stone, marked on the Survey Map. It is of irregular shape, 445 feet high, and 4 feet wide in the middle. At the base it is 6 feet wide, and the average thickness is i F ik feet. In the top of this “ed ns stone is sunk a cup-hollow - 6 inches in diameter, and 4 inches deep. This stone still stands erect, its broad faces being towards the north and south. The peculiar shape (though this may be accidental) is like that of one of the group on the top of the knoll ate] MAareighat. There is a cave to the east of this menhir lower down. It is much weather-worn and broken, but was ori- ginally, perhaps, a tomb- chamber. On the north-east side of the citadel is the ruin called Haddadeh, and close to it is the stone marked N on the special Survey. It is a large fallen menhir which seems to have stood in a kind 24 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE of socket, which is still noticeable on the north. The stone is 12 feet long, 64 feet broad, and 2 feet thick. It is remarkable for a hollow in one side, which measures g inches by 5 inches, and is 9 inches deep.” A similar hollow in the side of a stone (apparently a fallen menhir) was : eens = St iif i noticed by Lieutenant Mantell in the group south of Kefrein at Tell el Matdaba. On the south side of the site is another structure, marked M on the special Survey. It is near the head of the ravine, which runs out north- wards at the theatre, and close toa group of tombs and sarcophagi. It Menhir M. is simply a stone supported in a sloping position on a very small stone. The flat table thus formed is 9 feet by 8 feet, and the stone seems possibly to have been rudely hewn. A group of three sarcophagi, close by on the west, will be specially noticed later on. Another structure further west is south of the limits of the special Survey. Close by is a Roman road, with a fallen milestone, marked R.M.S. on the Survey Map. The largest stone, 7} feet high and wide, * T have found similar hollows in the erect stones at Stonehenge, and at Kitt’s Cotty House. They seem to have been made after the stone was erected, and are worn smooth, as though by rubbing. % ay Wii Mid LY Vy 7, a Sy a Up iW Ly iif WAM yt hig OG, Ail “l/ Wy Vp Gy Yy, yy yy Yh te Cf ZA) tt . yy in Ny Y i ie v7 fil Wii} af Hii Ny, ek a a = 1, a Ln il Vee a Keo \ NS \ NS AN \ AKC D \\ AYN SS S \\ \\S WX WS WA N ~~ WSS S G . tis oe A aw Sarcophagi ww \ NUN S ANY NY SS ee WAN ce I" ny {i Ni “i a < ae [ i 1 Wy it ia 7 Nii i a oa 1 = a IN Hit WI LN Wy i en ae N A \\\ eh \ ba , a AW yy ANN IN hs / IN a ag Ag Po 9 Temples yy ta fling AN RC \ Wey WNW Mis, WSN ‘i oe \ ee Zs 2820 IAIN WN VAAN ih | Hh WH iN Wut Hh Mi ma ie Nr Hy "a ay HN a i “ : ; he " i a a ie ri i y tee ti a Hh i AM WAN. Scale of Feet 600 ti oe q a ) wl o y | Laie sit 1) a i il iM © hi = iN) as i ty HHI Hin Min Hi in wi , , igi ud t Mi ol { NWN A Wiis Uy if; = oe = Wit } Mh Gy lil, paras fin ain tt = " = Me i 3 oF an \ mma Hi i Te A Mi \ se i } i Wen f oe i Pa Wi ma y ! ny Noh IN 7 26 La Drawn by George Armstrong ‘Vincant Brooks Day & Son hth RABBATH AMMON 25 and 21 inches thick, is supported in a nearly vertical position by two others. There is a small hollow in one side near the ground. The four remaining monuments are at some distance off on the left side of the stream (Jabbok), north-east of "Amman. The first (G) is in Wady Haddadeh, and is close to a small cave (see Survey Map). It isa Dolmen L. rude structure, perhaps half fallen. The capstone is 8 feet long and 16 inches thick. In its present position one end is on the ground; the other is 9 feet above it. Close by is another little table (H), only 5 feet long, resting on a very small stone at one end. Another (I), which is constructed of chert, is to be found on the flat ground further west. It is about 200 yards east of the road to Ntieijis. East of this group there Dotinen I. is a fine menhir (J) which was unsuccessfully photographed. It is a great block 8 feet high, 9 feet wide at the base, 14 feet thick. There is another further west, close to the road, which is only 4 or 5 feet high, but resembles the preceding. The monuments thus described have been called prehistoric, being of 4 26 . THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE the same class with others described further south; but perhaps some of the menhirs are boundary stones of the time of the Ammonites, or even of the Roman city. They are, however, much ruder structures than any of the buildings of the city. Pre-Roman Remains.—With exception of the dolmens and menhirs, there is nothing in the way of architecture at Amman which can with any certitude be referred to the pre-Roman period. There are, however, caves and tombs, no doubt of great antiquity, especially as the latter have the peculiar Zok2m of Jewish and Phcenician sepulchres. Although the citadel hill was no doubt fortified in David’s time, there is nothing to show that any of the masonry in the present walls is older than (if as old as) Roman times. The Ammonite or Hebrew cemetery is, however, of great interest, and appears to have extended south-west of the fortress (on the north banks of the stream), and also on the north. The chief Roman cemetery was on the south. The £o£zm tombs at Amman were with one exception (at el Mekheiyit) the only ones found by the Survey party east of Jordan. The numerous caves in Wady er Rak (‘the valley of porches or vestibules’) may also, perhaps, have been intended for tombs. In the western cemetery, marked on the special Survey as ‘ Rock-cut tombs,’ fifteen caves in all were examined. The first, on the west in the highest tier, is only a rough cave about 6 paces (15 feet) across, with four RABBATH AMMON 27 recesses in the walls, each recess 3 paces (74 feet) across. The second, higher up, is like it. The third, west of the last, is also only a cave. The fourth is a cave 15 feet wide and 18 feet to the back; in the floor of the cave a sarcophagus is sunk near the back. The height of this cave is only about 3 feet. The sarcophagus is 6 feet 8 inches long and 23 feet wide. The cave has no doubt become filled with dédrzs. Immediately east of the last is the fifth cave (Fig. 3), which is larger, the outer chamber measuring 33 feet to the back and ro. feet across. There is on one side a rock-cut pillar supporting the roof. At the back is an entrance to a chamber 14 feet square, which has a recess on the back wall, and another on the left-hand wall. The door to this chamber is 34 feet wide. The cave at its entrance is 16 feet wide. The recesses are each 10 feet long, 8 feet wide, and 4 feet high. The sixth cave is very rough, and measures 8 paces (20 feet) by IO paces (25 feet); it has a side chamber on the west, and seems pro- bably to bea tomb. The seventh isa cave measuring 5 paces by ro paces (12 by 25 feet). The eighth is a chamber 12 feet by 15 feet. The ninth was found full of ‘chopped straw. The tenth and the eleventh (Fig. 2) have between them three entrances. The eastern of the two is reached by a passage with recesses as shown in the plan, the passage being 30 feet long and 6 feet wide, with two recesses to the right and two (one converted into a passage) to the left. A door at the back leads to a . chamber 12 feet by 15 feet, having nine oz, three on each wall. Each koka is 7 feet long, 25 feet wide, 34 feet high. The passage to the west is 10 feet wide and 22 feet long. It has three £o£zm on its north wall, and a narrow passage on the west into the eleventh tomb. This is 18 feet wide and 17 feet to the back, and eight o42m—four on the north wall, four on the west—are rudely hewn in the chalk. The twelfth tomb (Fig. 1) is east of the last, and is much decayed. It was a chamber, 16 feet wide, 21 feet to the back, with two entrances; and on the east is a recess 13 feet by 11 feet. In the larger chamber there is a sort of ride arcosolcum, and two unfinished £okzm occur on the west wall; while on the north wall are five £oken of various lengths, of which two seem to beunfinished. In the smaller chamber to the east are four Zokzm much dilapidated. The thirteenth tomb is about 100 feet away east of the last, and is 4—2 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE 28 \\ BS ate. a \ y is | ~ w \\\ : N ‘G - cae 6c leal HEBREW TOMBS AT RABBATH AMMON, RABBATH AMMON 29 entered from an outer cave 14 feet by 24 feet. The chamber to the left is 14 feet across, the entrance 8 feet across. On the walls are five radi- ating £okim. There are traces of another ruined chamber north of the entrance or porch cave. The fourteenth tomb is west of the last, a long chamber of irregular shape, 6 paces by 12 paces (15 feet by 30 feet), with two kokim at the east end. The fifteenth tomb is close to the first in the series, and was found full of ¢2z, or chopped straw. To the north of the castle is another cemetery in which are many kokim tombs. They are cut in soft chalk below a stratum of chert, which thus forms the roof, while a second stratum forms the floor. The first visited had nine £okzm, of which four were at the back, two to the one side, three on the other. Three other examples, in which the £okzm were extremely rough, were also examined. Another tomb had four £okem at the end, and a very rude Zocu/us on each side of the chamber. Another had two Joculz under avcosolia at the end, and very rough oki at the sides. These belong to the later Jewish, or transitional period ; and at Jerusalem the mixture of £okzm and docudt in one tomb seems to belong to the second century B.c. at earliest. On the east side of the saddle north of the Kalah there are about a dozen caves. Those on the north side of Wady er Rtiak are of the same character, and many of them were also visited ; they average from 6 to 10 paces (15 to 25 feet) in width, and are most prob- ably tombs. The Roman Pertod.—This is the most important period at ’Ammén, and the ruins are only surpassed in Syria by those of Jerdsh Baalbek and Palmyra, which belong to the same period—the age of the Antonines, The Roman remains include the K alah, or fortress, and its temple ; the theatre and odeum; the supposed temple, or forum, north-west of the theatre; the baths; the street of columns and gate; and, finally, the mausolea and masonry tombs, with the Roman cemetery on the south, and scattered tombs on the north and west. The Kalah, or ‘castle,’ of "Amman occupies the long tongue which runs out south and east on the north side of the stream. It is divided from the hill of which it is naturally the continuation by a saddle on the north side of the fortifications, which seems probably to have been arti- ficially cut down. The fortress is L-shaped; the short line north and south measuring 1,200 feet, and the long line running east for 2,700 feet. 3° THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE The western part is the highest, and its surface is about 400 feet above the stream ; the eastern part is divided into two terraces. The irregu- larities of the plan will be seen by the special Survey, and are due to the conformation of the hill plateau. The western, or upper, terrace of the Kalah includes the remains of a temple on the south, an Arab building near the middle, with a large well east of it, a court of the Roman period further north, and additions of the Arab period. The tower on the south wall, and the gate on the east, as marked on the special Survey, also require a few words. The exterior rampart walls of the Kalah are standing on all sides, and at the north-west corner their height is from 30 to 4o feet. They are built of drafted stones, averaging about 2 feet in height, and from 2 feet to 4 feet in length. Each course is stepped back from the one beneath about 2 inches. In the north-west angle, where the hill rises very steeply, there are several breaks in the horizontal joint-lines. The masonry may be either Roman or Byzantine, but perhaps more probably the former. The largest stones do not exceed 5 feet in length, or 3 feet at most in height. The masonry is thus in size (and also in finish) inferior to that of the Kalah at Baalbek, or of the Jerusalem and Hebron Harams. The drop from the western terrace, which measures 1,200 feet north and south, by 600 feet east and west, is about 30 feet. The second terrace, 1,000 feet long east and west, by 300 feet north and south, falls gradually in its length some 50 feet more. The third, or most eastern, terrace, 1,100 feet long east and west, and 200 to 300 feet wide, is 30 feet lower on the west, where is a kind of moat 10 paces (25 feet) wide, with a very slight counterscarp, and it is 100 feet lower on the east than the level of the middle terrace at its east end. The whole area of the Kalah plateau is thus 1,295,000 square feet, or about 2g acres, which is less than the area of the Jerusalem Haram (35 acres). The north wall of the eastern, or lowest, terrace is built of rough unshapen blocks of moderate size. It might, perhaps, be older than the ashlar of the western, or highest, terrace ; but it is also possible that it is a mere retaining wall, and therefore more roughly built. The court marked towards the north of the highest, or western, terrace appears somewhat to have resembled the great court at Baalbek on a smaller scale. The remains of the north wall, and of parts of the east RABBATH AMMON 31 wall, are clearly of the Roman period. On the north wall the south face is adorned with alcoves about 3 feet in diameter, with a round or half- dome roof which appears to have been ornamented, as at Baalbek, with a scallop-shell pattern. One alcove at the south end of the east wall still remains, showing a little sculptured pediment above its dome. On the north wall seven alcoves are visible, and the remains of two entrances. The masonry is much weathered, but was originally very well cut ; none of the stones are drafted. They are of square proportions, with fine joints. The alcoves were no doubt intended for statues. The court measured 380 feet east and west, and 300 feet north and south. The eastern gate leads from the higher western terrace to the second terrace on the east. The gateway or porch consisted of three entrances with four pillars. Thecentral entrance was 8 feet wide; the side entrances were 3 feet wide. Each of the four pillars stood on a base 3 feet square, and on the north a little fanking tower, 4 feet from the north side of the north pillar, projected eastwards, and was 27 feet square. This tower is at the corner of the fortress wall, which here recedes west, as will be seen on the special Survey. The bases of the four pillars remain zz sz¢z, and are like those of the temple further west on this hill (see Fig., next page). There are letters or signs incised on the flat surface of the bases where the shaft stood. When the pillars were erect, these signs were of course invisible, and their object is not clear; but they may be compared with the marks on pillar bases at Ascalon (‘Memoirs of Western Survey,’ vol. ill., p. 240). These signs were also observed by De Saulcy (‘ Voyage en Terre Sainte’). It seems as if the inscription was originally the same on each base. Asoc AWCE The letters are Greek, and the uncial shape of the E and ® is that used in inscriptions as late as the fifth to the eighth-centuries in Palestine. Possibly the letters may have been cut in later Byzantine times by pilgrims or others, after the pillar shafts had fallen. The great temple was not in the same axis with this gate, but rather further south. Only the foundation of the pronaos or porch remains, and 32 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE scattered fragments of a huge cornice. The pillars have fallen, and only the bases remain, four on the east and one on the north, and another on i Pronaos of Temple. aa oad mi a wu re i 7 “Mor Ve Profile of Temple Pillars: the south side of the porch. They stand on a wall ro feet high, which is 52 feet north and south, by 23 feet 7 inches east and west. The shafts lying on the ground are 44 feet in diameter; and battered AAU capitals of the Corinthian order were also lying on the ground. Cé The building must have been a very large one, as the pillars oc exceed in diameter any others at ’Amman. On one of the bases again occurs the same inscription above noted on the bases of the eastern gate.* The western part of the temple has so entirely disappeared as to suggest that the building was destroyed by the Christians of the Byzan- tine period. The cornices or epistylia are 3+ feet high, and bear Greek inscriptions. It is extremely difficult, however, to read these, and De * It should be noted that Sir Charles Warren found a : mn somewhat similar inscription on the under side of a Corinthian 40 U oY capital at Sidon (‘ Quarterly Statement,’ 1870, p. 324). The inscriptions on the flagstones of the Sta. Sophia AO (FE. ee. at Constantinople are also worth comparing (‘ Quarterly Oat Statement,’ 1882, p. 149). These three examples seem to be monograms. At Ascalon (see ‘ Memoirs, ry st tt K AA Western Palestine,’ vol. iii., p. 240) I found marks : : cut on the flat surfaces of pillars in the same way, which are either Phcenician, or early Greek, or Arab letters. ‘cf advg a2vf of ‘NVINIKV, LY WANOA GASOddNS ; Od yada! CORNICE OF TEMPLE. RABBATH AMMON 33 Saulcy’s reading is quite different to that now given. The name Aurelius may perhaps be distinguished with the words ‘ of the Gods.’ This temple may be supposed to be that of Hercules, the later representative of the Sun deity, here worshipped by the Ammonites ; for the coins of Philadelpheia bear the name Heracleion. Stephanus of Byzantium calls the city Astarte, and some of the coins bear a figure of Ashtoreth. No doubt, as at Tyre and elsewhere, the male and female deity were both adored. On the south wall of the Kalah are two towers, as marked on the special Survey. Of these the western is the best preserved, and is a conspicuous object on the hill-top. It is about 30 feet square, and built of drafted masonry. On the north side is the door, which has a flat lintel, and a low relieving arch above the lintel. The relieving arch of five voussoirs has carefully dressed drafts to each stone, and the faces of the bosses are also dressed flat. The lintel has a winged tablet in low relief cut upon it. The whole arrangement and execution resembles that of Byzantine doorways (see Deir el Kalah in the ‘Memoirs of Western Palestine Survey,’ vol. ii., pp. 317, 318), and this suggests the possibility that the walls of the Kalah are not older than the Christian period (fourth to sixth centuries). The stones in the tower are, how- ever, very carefully dressed, and much better finished than is usual in Byzantine work in Syria. Some are drafted, the draft being 3 inches to 6 inches wide. The corner stones, which are the largest in the walls, are 5 34 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE 5 feet long and 3 feet to 34 feet high. The south wall is ornamented by two discs, each 4 feet in diameter, and projecting 6 inches; these were evidently cut for their present position. The bosses of the drafted stones are carefully dressed with an adze-dressing ; the drafts have a diagonal tooling with a pick. On the saddle of the hill, outside and immediately north of the Kalah, a very fine rock-cut tank was found by the Survey party. The entrance is on the north, a rock-cut door 44 feet wide, inside which a very steep slope leads down to the floor of the tank. The mouth (see special Survey) is about 50 paces (125 feet) north of the middle tower, in the north wall of the Kalah. The tank is 20 to 30 feet high, and rough steps are cut in the descent from the entrance, and on one side is a kind of shoot with a rock-cut parapet-wall, as though for letting in water. The main part of the tank is 20 feet wide and 93 feet long, north and south. ‘There is a recess on the west with an arch-shaped roof, and the roof of the main chamber is also rounded like a vault. The corre- sponding recess on the east is 18 feet wide, 25 feet to the back; and on this same side there is a third recess of about equal size. In general character this rock-cut hall resembles one at Sheikh Abreik (‘ Memoirs of the Western Survey,’ vol. i. p. 328). There is a curious passage just in- side the entrance, not far below the level of the rock surface; it runs in at first eastwards, but gradually curves round southwards. It was pursued for 40 feet, when it becomes choked. It is 4 feet wide at the entrance, but gets gradually narrower and smaller as it goes south. It seemed possible that this was a secret passage from the interior of the Kalah, and may have led to a postern inside the tower above mentioned. It seems probable that this tank and passage are mentioned by Polybius, who states that, when Antiochus the Great besieged Ptolemy Philopater’s forces in B.c. 218 in this citadel, a communication with the external water-supply, by means of an underground passage, enabled the garrison to hold out until it was discovered to Antiochus by a prisoner (Polybius, v.17; Ritter, ‘Syrien,’ 1155). Immediately north of the tank-mouth there is a little shrine or place of prayer with low walls and no roof; it measured 8 paces (20 feet) north and south, 14 paces (35 feet) east and west. It has a Mihrab in the south wall, and appears to be of no great antiquity. RABBATH AMMON 35 Descending from the hill, the theatre and the odeum must next be described. The theatre is built against a natural recess in the hill, and is said to be the largest in Syria. It faces northwards, and is fairly well preserved. The exterior diameter is 228 feet, and the interior 124 feet. The height to the top of the back wall, from the ground in front, is 7o feet. There are three tiers of seats (mceniana) separated by flat terraces 74 feet wide, running round (preecinctiones). Above the highest tier is a terrace 114 feet wide. The wall at the back is 5 feet thick and 12 feet high, and the imperial seat in the centre of this wall remains almost intact, though now converted into a dwelling by the Circassian exiles. There are sixteen steps in the top tier, fourteen in the second, and about five apparently in the lowest. Each step has a rise of 164 inches, and a tread of 2 feet; they have all a projection of 3 inches (see detail section), giving a seat 27 inches wide, and allowing room for the legs and heels. Flights of steps run up between the seats, which are thus arranged in eight blocks (cunei) in each tier; there are seven flights, and there are three steps to each tier of seats. The bottom of the lowest step of the top tier is 3 feet 10 inches above the first terrace, and the wall at the back of the lower terrace is in the same way 4 feet 9 inches high. It is calculated that this theatre would easily hold 3,000 persons. The great side vaults, 100 feet long and 20 feet across at the narrowest end, were probably used for the gladiators and wild beasts, and supported the flat platforms where certain dignitaries were intended (as at Hercu- laneum) to be seated. The conformation of the hill prevented any vomi- tories or passages being constructed at the back of the cavea, or tiers of seats. There was no stage or scena, and, like the theatre at Beisdn, the present one seems to have been intended for gladiatorial contests. There is, however, a colonnade in front of the orchestra, which seems to have run eastwards as far as the smaller theatre, or odeum, which faces west- wards. The colonnade also continues northwards from its west end (see plan), though not at right angles, the obtuse angle measuring 108°. It is possible that the colonnade ran northwards, originally, as far as the stream. It also appears probable that a reservoir for xaumachia existed in front of the theatre beyond the colonnade, for an aqueduct runs (see special Survey) along the foot of the hill, on the south of the stream, as far almost 5—2 36 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE as the corner of the colonnade, on a level which would have allowed of its filling a basin in this situation. The odeum, as it is generally called, is a theatre with stage, or pro- scenium, scena-wall, and postscenium gallery, partly ruined. It seems to have had a tower at each end of the proscenium, but the northern one has fallen. The term ‘odeum’ is properly applied to covered theatres, whereas the smaller theatre with a stage at "Amman does not seem to have been covered. The term is here used, however, for the sake of distinction, having been already applied by other writers. The pillars in the colonnade already mentioned are 2 feet 8 inches in diameter, with an intercolumniation of 7 feet, and epistylia consequently of 9 feet 8 inches. The mouldings on these blocks are similar to those on the epistylia of the temple in the Kalah. The corner pillar is double, like the double pillars at Jerash, at Tyre, at Khirbet Belat (Sheet III., ‘Memoirs of Western Survey, vol. i, p. 171), and at some of the Galilean synagogues. There are eight pillars west of this, and four on the north. The interior diameter of the so-called odeum is about 85 feet. The postscenium and south tower only remain well preserved ; the proscenium is much ruined. The exterior face of the postscenium is just 100 feet long ; the gallery is 13 feet wide inside, with walls 6 feet thick; and three entrances 7 feet wide exist on the west, between each of which is an alcove, as though for a statue (four in all). The roof is a barrel vault, round arched, of well-dressed stone. The total breadth of the cavea is 24 feet, including the wall at the back, 5 feet high, and 3 feet thick. There are seven tiers of seats, each seat 15 inches high, 2 feet 4 inches wide, with a projection (see detail sketch) of 4 inches. The total height of the theatre wall at the back was 27 feet. There were three vomitories, one at the back, one on each side, being tunnels g feet wide and 4 feet high at the inner end (above the present surface), with vaults in shape of the segment of a hollow cone. The interior is much choked with fallen masonry, and heaps of fallen stones lie outside on the north. The scena-wall was adorned with a rich cornice on the east side. The south tower measured 25 feet north and south, by 11 feet east and west, and is built up of drafted stones of moderate size. The height can be judged from the photograph, by com- WL Woe ey owsosgy SYP Da QTE © © © © ° a T one eTBog NVUWRY, Ou PFI] : IHU T, JO we Id oTeo s 0 9 cszyoty RABBATH AMMON 37 parison with the height of the theatre, to be about 50 feet. The rest of the masonry of the odeum is of well-dressed stones of square proportion and moderate size. The exterior ornamentation is simple ; the vaults of the vomitories have carefully-dressed voussoirs. The building could have accommodated easily an audience of four hundred persons. It is also possible that a second tier, or mcenianum, below the praecinctio, existed SN © \ \ ° ~ LOY ~ SS \\ Yj Zi Profile of Pillar A. eo © Scale sho. under the tier already described, which is now partly ruined and covered with fallen masonry ; and this second tier may have accommodated some two hundred more persons. (See P. E. Fund’s Photos, Nos. 376 and 390.) The next building to be described is generally called a temple, but its use is doubtful. The north wall, bearing 50° true bearing, is standing in parts to the full height of about 20 feet, together with pillars running south-west in continuation of the line of the wall, and three other pillars of smaller size, apparently belonging to a peristyle. The total breadth of 38 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE the building (see Plan above) thus appears to have been 82 feet out- side, and the length north and south 180 feet. The street of columns is just in front of the building on the south side. The north wall has three entrances, the middle one 18 feet wide, the side ones 104 feet wide. The central door has a skewback for an arch cut at the top of each jamb; the jambs are ornamented with mouldings. The side-doors have flat lintels, with little niches above. On the inside they were flanked by pillars, of which only those by the western door remain, 3 feet 3 inches in diameter: of Corinthian order, and supporting an elaborately-carved cornice. These details are shown in the photographs (Nos. 10 and 13 of Lieutenant Mantell’s series). Of the two columns shown in the first of these photo- graphs, the eastern is marked A. They stand on stools* 6 feet square and 3 feet 3 inches high (see Profile of Pillar, A) and these are covered with Arab tribe-marks. The three pillars supposed to have belonged to a peristyle are about 3 feet in diameter, whereas the others are 3 feet 10 inches. They are also not in a parallel line with the east wall of the building, and may be out of place. The masonry in the walls is well cut, of moderate size, and not drafted. This building cannot have been roofed, and it has been suggested that it was the forum of the city. The Roman forum and the Temple of Jupiter on its north were, like the building under consideration, arranged with the length north and south. The general arrangement and details of the north wall, with its lofty central gate and lower side-entrances, very closely resemble the east wall and entrances of the Sun Temple at Kedes, in Galilee (Sheet IV., ‘ Western Survey Memoirs,’ vol. i., p. 226). The street of columns resembled that at Jerdsh, but on a smaller scale. Very few of the pillars remain, but it can be traced eastwards to the remains of what appears to have been a city gate, and westwards beyond the mosque, where six pillars stand in position. This gives a total length of at least 1,0c0 yards for the street, but not all in one straight line. The shafts are slender, and not more than 3 feet in diameter at most. There are many remains, apparently foundations of private houses, on both sides of this street, and also on the west slopes of the hill below the Kalah. * By stool is intended the stylobate when not continuous.—C. R. C. RABBATH AMMON 39 The stream is spanned by two bridges. The upper one, having three small arches, is half a mile west of the mosque ; the arches are semicircular. The lower or eastern bridge is immediately east of the supposed baths. It is a single arch of well-cut stones, not quite semicircular, but perhaps shaken by earthquake. The span is 33 feet, and the breadth of the re- maining part is 10 feet, but it appears to have been originally broader. Below the bridge, walls, which in some cases look as if they had supported arches, confine the stream, which is clear, abundant, and full of fish. It seemed possibly to have been vaulted over for some distance north-west of the theatre—perhaps for roo yards. In addition to the southern aqueduct leading to the theatre as already mentioned, another aqueduct runs parallel with the stream on its north side. This was traced (see special Survey) as far as the Moslem baths north of the mosque; but it may perhaps have been first constructed in the Roman period for the supposed Roman baths east of the mosque. The present wall is of small irregular masonry, the stones about 15 inches by 9 inches. The channel is about 2 feet wide, and is fed from the spring ’Ain ’Amman. Two side-channels 3 feet deep lead out south to little ruined mills, which have been wrongly marked on early plans as city gates. There can be no doubt as to the use of these side-channels, which are lined with cement, and give 1o feet head of water at the mills. A piece of moulding built into the mill wall shows the comparatively modern date of one of these structures. The building east of the group of later buildings, which comprises a mosque, a khan, and a Christian church, have been suggested by Rev. J. N. Dalton to be the Balnez, or baths, of the Roman period. They appear, at a later period, to have been converted into a kind of fortress facing the stream on the south. Only the southern end of the building remains standing and distinguishable. Heaps of rubbish, north of this, probably cover the foundations of other parts of the structure, and a wall north of the street of columns may be connected with the same. The south wall presents a portico facing north, with three large alcoves (like apses) set in the three walls of a sort of octagonal end to the building. The portico was about 15 feet wide in the clear, and the total breadth of the building was 225 feet outside. The alcoves are 28 feet in diameter, and there are twelve smaller alcoves or niches, 45 feet in diameter, sym- 40 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE metrically arranged, as shown on the plan. Of the pillars, seven only remain, including the bases of the two semi-pillars at the ends ; they are about 4 feet in diameter. The terrace wall of this portico is 26 feet high, and the ground is hollowed out north of it, the waters of the tributary valley (Misdar el MAadhneh) running through the building (in winter) to join the main stream. A passage 20 feet 6 inches wide runs Yyy WY); Yr { a Z ae 7 2 3 G ae : a Q 4 i Q —! G Y/ y ; : a 7 oO Scale Fetn 0 2 10 60 60 100 ro 140 160 80 200 feet! at the lower level through the south wall, as dotted on the plan, west of the central alcove. The arch of this passage is a semicircular arch ; but it is not clear whether this passage does not belong to a later period, when the building was converted into a fortress, of which this formed the south : gateway. East of the central alcove there is also a passage at the lower level with a small postern leading out on to the banks of the stream. This 4 passage is 64 feet wide, and runs in 174 feet, when Ue it turns round west, and no doubt originally com- municated with the interior below the portico. The _ roof is a round-arched tunnel vault, but at a later period a pointed arch has been built inside near the _ entrance, probably as a further support to the roof. Profile of Pilar B. A retaining wall runs out north, facing west, and is covered with a great heap of rubbish. It is somewhat west of the centre of the building, but pillar-shafts are built into it, and it seems to belong to a later period. The general impression is that the original portico ‘ot asvg avf oy ‘NYINNY, LY WwaAado RABBATH AMMON 41 looked out north on a large basin 26 feet deep, which was probably filled with water by the northern aqueduct already noticed. The pillars are of the Corinthian order. The details of one base (Pillar B) were measured carefully. The interior walls and the semi- domes of the alcoves are fitted with square holes sunk in the stones (see P. E. Fund’s Photos., Nos. 316, 371). These may have been intended or fixing marble flags for casing the interior. The internal masonry is not drafted, but the stones are well dressed, from 1 foot to 3 feet long, and 1 foot to 16 inches high: all the arches are round; the exterior masonry is drafted, the stones having a rustic boss. Over the lower western gate already described there is a pointed arch in the wall, and the upper part of the wall here appears to be a later restoration of masonry differing in character from the Roman work. Many stones in the lower courses are drafted, and all those in the upper. The latter look like Saracenic work, and the original building was evidently much injured at the time of its later conversion into a fortress. The western alcove is broken through at the back, and holes have also been punched through the wall at the back of the two smaller alcoves or niches, just east of the large central apse or alcove. These demolitions appear to be purposely effected with the view of making windows, or loops for defending the building if attacked from the south. A wall of the later period runs from this building to the church, continuing the line of defence. The limits of this building—north of the portico—cannot be deter- mined without excavation. What remains does not at all resemble the Roman baths at Jerdsh, or, indeed, any known building in Syria. It is possible that the portico belonged to some kind of place of justice, resemb- ling in use, though not in plan, the pagan basilica; but the baths are generally important buildings ina Roman city, and the aqueduct seems to lead to the building just described, which is the only one at ’Ammdan which can be supposed to represent the Balnea. The only remaining buildings of Roman ’Amméan are the mausolea and tombs, which include some of the finest public buildings yet remaining. The Kabr es Sultan is a fine tomb east of the citadel, on the north side of Wady Abu er Rak, and there is a cemetery west of the town, a few tombs to the north, and a considerable cemetery to the south, 6 42 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE The Kabr es Sultan, or ‘Sultan’s Tomb’ (see Photo., No. 389), is a fine structural monument built against the face of the cliff at the mouth of the valley. The porch is flanked by two recesses or alcoves, 10 feet wide by 74 feet to the back, having a smaller round-headed niche each side (3 feet in diameter), and a larger alcove or niche (7 feet in diameter), also round-headed, at the back (see plan). The central porch is 124 feet wide, and its door is 6} feet wide, leading to a chamber 18 feet wide, 164 PLAN of Kabr es Sultan FCO ihe 6) Pan pee ee 10 20 sofeciy feet to the back. Round three walls of the chamber run benches; the side benches are 34 feet wide, 14 feet high; the bench at the back is 4 feet wide, 43 feet high. All these are of stone, and the bench at the back is ornamented with six little pilasters cut in low relief. On these benches stood sarcophagi, there being room for seven in all. Of these sarcophagi only two now remain on the higher bench at the back, those at the sides having disappeared, or never having been put in place. The two remain- ing are 21 inches high, 7} feet long, 3 feet wide outside, the thickness of their sides being 6 inches. They have stone head-rests or pillows at the RABBATH AMMON 43 ends, and a bold simple moulding on the side visible. The wall of the chamber is adorned with a simple string course, from which springs a round-arched tunnel-vault. At the back above the string course is a recess or niche, probably intended for a small statue, and an arrangement over the door appears to have admitted a ray of light on to this recess from outside. Like the larger alcoves and niches outside, this little shrine has a round-headed, or half-dome, roof. The keystone of the roof-vault is narrow, and the voussoirs gradually increase slightly in breadth towards the haunches. The voussoirs are all very well dressed, as is also the PLAN of Western Tomb. 1 Scale zh. masonry of the walls, the stones being of moderate size, not drafted, but dressed with an adze. In each of the four corners of the chamber is a bracket on the level of the string course, perhaps intended to support four other small figures, or urns, or lamps (cf el Kahf). The details of the exterior cornice and other classic features will be seen in the photo- graph. The walls are thickly covered with Ausdm, or Arab tribe- marks. . Thenext mausoleum of importance is that in the flat ground 300 yards south-west of the mosque north of the stream (marked ‘Tomb’ on the special 6—2 44 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE Survey). It is the first important building which the traveller sees on approaching from the spring-head (see Lieutenant Mantell’s Photos., No. 16). It is a square structure of masonry, 28 feet side, with walis 5 feet thick. It was once roofed with a dome, and had a niche in the west wall 3 feet in diameter and 4 feet high, round-headed, as usual, and adorned with scallop-shell pattern. The door, 6 feet wide, was on the north. The west wall is almost intact, though a hole has been punched SKETCH OF WESTERN TOMB, SHOWING STRUCTURE OF DOME. through behind the niche, perhaps in search of treasure, perhaps to make a rude window. The greater part of the south and east walls have fallen in ruins. The north wall is standing to half its full height, as also the east wall. There appears to have been a handsome arch in the south wall. The exterior of the walls is ornamented by a pilaster in low relief at each angle. They stand on a stylobate, and have Corinthian capitals supporting a simple cornice. The masonry resembles all the other masonry of this date at ’Amman, the stones being well set and dressed, ‘th asvd a2vf of ‘NYNIVV, LV GNOL NYALSHA RABBATH AMMON 45 of square proportions, and not drafted. The soffit of the arch in the south wall has a ‘rose-and-coffer’ pattern, like that in the roofs of some Roman basilicas (see sketch on preceding page). The most curious feature of the building is, however, the arrangement of the dome. About three-quarters of the circle is visible, the two lowest courses alone being left. These do not spring from pendentives (see Kusr en Niueijis), but directly from the angles—large voussoirs projecting inwards, and their faces being cut to the required arc. These, no doubt, PLAN of Ruy near Western Bridge bee 10 Q 20 70 60 a0, 100 120 0 160 @ wo, zp Fret, were held in place partly by the thrust, partly by the counter-weight of their own centre of gravity, or by blocks which weighted them in the wall. This arrangement is best explained by the sketch, but it is very unusual in Syrian architecture. West of this monument, about 350 yards distant, there is a shelf of rock in which other tombs have been placed, on the hill above the aqueduct. A wall is built on the south against the rock, below the shelf or platform ; it extends 105 feet, and has in it a niche or alcove, 10 feet in diameter. Above this stands a solitary pillar-base (A) on a stool, which 46 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE is a conspicuous object (see Fig., Pillar A). The platform is 110 feet wide north and south, with a cliff behind, and in the cliff a rude tomb, which has tunnels on the west like okzm. This chamber is 18 feet wide, and 6 feet to the back. The £okzm are two, the longest to feet by 44 feet wide, the shortest 4 feet 2 inches wide, by 3 feet 10 inches to the back. These are 3 feet 10 inches above the floor, and under the northern, or longer, is a koka gh feet long, 34 feet high, 24 feet wide, on the level of the floor. On the back wall is a round excavation (like those sometimes found in Jewish tombs) 64 feet in diameter, with an opening or mouth 2 feet 9 inches wide. This is 3 feet 10 inches above the chamber floor. The cave-door is 8 feet wide, and 3 feet above the floor. The total height of the chamber is 94 feet. The drop from the door-sill to the plat- form outside is 44 feet, and there seems here to have been a court, 50 feet wide, with pillars. The base of one of these remains zz se#w. Another small catacomb, built in masonry, exists west of the court, which seems to have run in front of the cave. It is a chamber 144 feet long, 4 feet wide, with a Zoka at each end 10 feet long, 2 feet 3 inches wide. In the long side on the south are three entrance-tunnels, which might also have served as graves. Each is 2 feet 3 inches wide, and 12 feet 9 inches long, and they open out southwards in the face of a low terrace wall (see plan). The masonry is a mere facing of the rock, which is very soft and friable. In the western oka a skull was found. The passages and £okzm are 3 feet high; the roofs are barrel vaults, round-arched, of well-cut masonry, but with small stones. The roof of the chamber itself has fallen in towards the east, leaving a hole visible from the surface of the platform above. Pillar A. Near the pillar A, east of this chamber, were ob- served remains of a block belonging to a cornice, sculptured with scroll-work, but too decayed to sketch. The pillar is 2 feet 4 inches in diameter; the stool below the base is 3 feet square, and 1 foot ro inches high. An important building, perhaps inten- tionally destroyed, seems to have stood in the Roman period at this place. South of this last ruin is the upper bridge already noticed, and south RABBATH AMMON 47 again, at the foot of the hills, south of the stream, there are two sarcophagi placed at right angles to one another, as though zz se/u. One of these is 7 feet long, 45 inches high (including the cover), and 3 feet wide. The rude sculpture of the lid is shown in the drawing. About 100 yards west of these, and immediately west of the path from the bridge to the Misdar Abu ’Aisheh, another sarcophagus without any lid lies as if rudely thrown down. There is a third group of sarcophagi further east than the first noticed, as shown on the special Survey. North of the Kalah the early caves and tombs have already been described ; among these lie sarcophagi also of the Roman period. About rainy et tte? Testi reel a ti i | ir YP ALLa ys mn pity Ak its SEN TH ! (aN thi if ypptide HP Le Ls (RMA UGT Pe AFL We rey pa a AS By oe by jt creep lt ESS aa! iy Zyl ae i eperty it ui ' cle 1 teats eye gat Bye eat elite en rT eC rae Vererher giles | Se Wa, eee ‘tren | | Loe : wep a f 7 Seale Inches 12 0 2 ’ + Q 6 7 aleet 100 yards north of the north wall of the fortress are two, as shown on the special Survey. There is here a cave facing southwards in the rock of the hill-saddle. It is 18 paces (45 feet) long, and 6 paces (15 feet) wide, and contains several other sarcophagi placed under rude rock-cut arcosolia. The entrance to the cave is built up with masonry, and has a lintel-stone over the door. On the right, or east, jamb a cross is cut. There was once a semicircular court in front of this door, constructed by piling rough stones together (one course only), forming a courtyard 20 paces (50 feet) in diameter. This tomb is some 50 yards north of the fortress wall. Immediately north-west of the Kalah a tomb is marked on the special Survey. This is a masonry monument on the side of the hill. It is a 48 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE square chamber, 15 feet 9 inches wide, 18 feet 3 inches to the back, and open on the west, with a round-arched tunnel-vault. A recess 8 feet wide, 4 feet 9 inches to the back, with an arched roof, is built in at the back of the chamber, and six sarcophagi are arranged (as shown) round the walls. The rubbish has accumulated inside to the level of the tops of the sarcophagi. The walls rise some 5 feet higher, and a simple string Yyy, VV l= aaa aa = 2s US Scale sho. which was measured. PLAN of Tomb on South. course runs round beneath the vaulted roof. The masonry resembles that in tombs already noticed. There was also a handsome mausoleum on this same spur north of ’AmmAn, and beyond the bounds of the special Survey. Only the western part of the stylobate remains, but the building seems to have resembled one on the south hill to be described immediately. It was 30 feet square and the stylobate was 84 feet high, with a profile, The Arabs have piled up the masonry of this Detail of Tomb T Scale 45. building so as to form a rude enclosure south-east of the fragment still an situ. On the western hill, where an ancient road is shown on the special RABBATH AMMON 49 Survey, there are other sarcophagi, with cave-cisterns and remains of a watch-tower, as shown. We must now turn to the southern cemetery, which is the most exten- sive and important of those belonging to the Roman period. Ascending from the sarcophagi near the western bridge already mentioned, a founda- tion belonging to a former mausoleum is found on the hilltop south of the limits of the special Survey. It has been partly ruined, but the plan is still distinguishable. The building resembles that in the valley below, and was 27 feet square outside, with walls 4 feet thick, and corner pilasters as in the former case. The base is solid to the top of the pilaster bases, and the stylobate is 3 feet 4 inches high. The wall is ornamented inside with a string course 7 feet above its floor, which no doubt marked the spring of the vaulting. Two sarcophagi remain zw sz¢w on the west side, where the wall remains perfect to the string course. On the north and east the wall is destroyed. The walls of the sarcophagi are 6 inches thick, and the interior measure is 6 feet by 14 feet, by 1 foot 9 inches in depth. Each, as usual, has a raised stone pillow for the head. Below the pilasters the stones of the stylobate are drafted with a rustic boss (cf Kusr es Sebah) ; the remaining stones are not drafted. They are on an average 24 feet long and 2 feet high. About 200 yards north-east of this latter tomb a broken stele, ap- parently a Roman milestone, lies by the road (marked R. M. S. on the Survey map). North-east again from this, and south of the Tower marked on the special Survey at the end of the spur, is a group marked ‘Tombs and Columns.’ The most southern of these tombs is a chamber with three benches under arcosolza. Its door is well cut, 2 feet wide, with a simple moulding round the outside. This door faces north in a low cliff’ A second tomb further north faces east, and is partly destroyed. On a sort of buttress of rock to the right are traces of a bas-relief, repre- senting circles with arabesque patterns. North again, and about half-way between the tombs and the tower, a single sarcophagus stands on the rock, in a conspicuous position, and perhaps zz se¢w. It may have been intended to be left on the surface, as in cases in Western Palestine (cf ‘ Memoirs,’ vol. i, p. 316, Sheet V.). This sarcophagus is 6 feet 8 inches long, 3 feet wide, 24 feet high out- oss side. The walls vary from 5 inches to 9 inches in thickness. The 7 5° THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE depth inside is 14 feet, and there is the usual rest for the head. The cover lies fallen beside the sarcophagus, and is g inches thick, with sculptured sides. The tower on the spur just noticed is a conspicuous object ; its use is not certain. It measures 28 feet by 32 feet outside, and there is a plain round arch in the east wall, which seems to have belonged to the entrance. The interior, however, is choked with fallen stones. The masonry is well cut, and not drafted. The stones are 14 to 34 feet long, and 1 foot 3 inches high. A bit of moulding is built into the flat roof, showing this part of the structure to be comparatively modern. The present height above ground is only 7 feet. The exploration of the interior would be dangerous. East of the tower a tomb is marked. This is a rude cave with an inner chamber and a narrow entrance. On the left wall of the cave isa bench under an arcosolzum. East again, three sarcophagi lie on the ground, as marked on the special Survey. Further south-east again, in the valley which runs down to the theatre, there are three sarcophagi—two parallel, one across at the south end. They seem to be in their destined position. The stone or menhir im- mediately east of them has been already described. In these examples we find a gradual development, according to the civilization or wealth of the people. ist. A sarcophagus standing on the ground. 2nd. A platform with sarcophagi (see el Kahf). 3rd. A mausoleum enclosing sarcophagi. In the same valley, a little further north, is a cave-tomb with one /ocudus and two sarcophagi. The cave measures 10 feet by 12 feet. The éoculus is 7 feet long, and the sarcophagi the same. The covers are much worn, and partly destroyed, but were originally more ornamental than ; the other (on the south wall) had a yine, with leaves and Ce] YY, 1 Scale zh: is usual. One had two lions rudely carved on it grapes. There are many other rude caves near this tomb, which were probably sepulchres of the poorer class. Another large system of tombs occurs further east, near the quarries marked on the special Survey. It is partly structural and partly rock- RABBATH AMMON pit cut. The facade was photographed, but not successfully. The courtyard in front is rock-cut, and at the back is a central chamber with an arched entrance of masonry, while to the left, or east, are a pair of rock-cut sarco- phagi placed parallel, with a narrow passage between and a masonry COVER OF SARCOPHAGUS a. COVER OF SARCOPHAGUS @. vault above. To the right of the chamber two other sarcophagi, cut in rock at different levels, have also a masonry vault above. These are arranged, not, as in the previous case, at right angles to, but with the length parallel to the face of the rock. To the right again, in the very corner of the courtyard, is a /ocu/us under an arcosoliun, also of rock. 7 PLAN of Tomb on South East ZY DETAIL, OF vVOUSSOIR AT B. These /ocu/z, or sarcophagi, are all about the same size—7 feet by 3 feet on an average. The central chamber is 13 feet 9 inches wide, by 13 feet 2 inches to the back. It has an arcoso/¢um on each side 8} feet long, 3 feet 9 inches 7—2 52 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE wide. At the back, under an arcosolium, are two Jdoculz, the front one 2 feet high, the back one 34 feet higher. These have their length parallel to the chamber wall. The side-recesses, or avcosolia, were perhaps in- tended to hold separate sarcophagi. Their floors are on the same level with that of the chamber. Above and behind the back /ocaudws under the end arcosolium, there is a niche, 2 feet wide, 1 foot 9 inches to the back. This resembles the little alcove in the Kabr es Sultan (see p. 42), and there was another like it at the end of the sarcophagi-to the right. The heads of these niches are flat, not rounded. The walls of the courtyard are of rock, and about 6 feet high. The roofs above mentioned are all tunnel-vaults, round-arched, with fairly good voussoirs, though somewhat weathered. It appears that a hexagonal or octagonal building stood above the roof of the central chamber. The foundations remain, and the stones are drafted with a rustic boss. The entrance to the central chamber is 73 feet wide, and is spanned by a round arch. The chamber does not appear to have been roofed, but only its avcosolza. The face of the entrance-arch has fallen away, and a block of octagonal shape (B) was found on the ground, ornamented with a large rosette pattern of twenty-four leaves. This no doubt stood over the keystone. Remains of a pilaster capital, too much worn to measure, were also noticed. The interior of this tomb, which contained nine bodies in all, was covered with the Ausdm, or tribe-marks, of the Arabs. As these seem to have often puzzled De Saulcy and others, those found in the present tomb are here 5 a (> 6 AN given. They include the marks of the ’Ajermeh, the Jibbfr, and other tribes (see appendix on Tribe-marks). THE SPRING. While speaking of Roman ‘Amman, the spring-head at Ain ’Amman, with its ruins, may be described. The stream is perennial, of clear fresh water, and full of small fish. The water rises under the foundations of a kind of alcove or apse, facing east, and 20 feet in diameter. On the north side is a retaining wall, which faces north, and runs east 160 paces (400 feet). It is built of stones about 2 feet long, in three courses, with RABBATH AMMON 53 a total height of 4 feet. The stones are built in alternately as headers and stretchers, as in brickwork, and are well dressed, but not drafted. About the middle of this wall are remains of steps. The top course pro- jects so as to form a kind of coping. This wall confines the waters of a stream at a lower level from springs further west. West of the alcove a large Arab cemetery is found, and among the tombs is one said to be that of Sheikh el ’Ajemy (the Persian), which is a masonry monument about 3 feet high and 7 feet long, with an upright stone, 2 feet high, 8 inches wide, at either end. The western stone has a rude Arab inscription and a tribe-mark on it. This tomb is peculiar, because a slab has been let into its south side, evidently taken from a Byzantine building. Although the Arabs deny the resemblance, the design represents a Greek cross in a circle of 8 inches diameter, flanked below by two fish. The cross is incised, and rather roughly executed. Close by there is another tomb, with a fragment of a cross on one stone. This use of the cross should be compared with the frequent appearance of the cross among the Arab tribe-marks, for although the ’Adwan deny the fact, and attribute cross-shaped tribe-marks to the men of es Salt, there seems to be little doubt that it is used by the Jibbfir Arabs.* About 100 yards east of the spring there is another Arab cemetery, south of the stream, and in it are two sacred Arab circles (c/’ Ain Hesban) which are peculiar, because the ordinary trilithon, or dolmen door, is in each case on the east side of the circle, and not, as is usual, on the west. One of these trilithons is rather larger also than usual, the legs being 3 feet high, and the space between them about the same. It thus equals in dimensions many of the ancient examples found in the great dolmen groups. The Byzantine Period.—Considering that no great break occurs between the earlier non-Christian period of the Roman Empire and the later Christian period after Constantine, it is not easy to distinguish the buildings of the two periods when not of a religious character. It is possible that some of the tombs above described, especially those cut in rock with /ocudz or sarcophagi, may be Christian, and in one case north of the citadel a cross has been cut on the jamb of the entrance (as already * Asa tribe-mark, however, it is to be regarded as the letter Zaw, and not as a Christian cross, 54 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE noted), though this may be of later date than the tomb. The only dis- tinctively Christian buildings at "Amman are the cathedral, and two chapels north of it ; the so-called ‘belfry’ being really the minaret of the mosque, which will be described later. A wall (already mentioned) which runs south from the cathedral apse was found by the surveyors to be of older material, and one block covered with mortar had a Greek inscription, which appears to be the first found at’Amméan. It was quite legible, and a squeeze was taken. The text is injured in the second line. Another stone was removed from above that bearing the inscription, and the mortar was scraped off. OPIKTQ NONA... ETF AEKATHS0I TOPAIANH®S AYPOYIKT® The feminine noun Gordiana appears to occur, which suggests Ulpia Gordiana, the mother of Gordianus Africanus. The Emperor Gordian, grandson of the preceding, reigned from 238 a.D. to 244 A.D., and went to the East to fight Persia. He was slain in Mesopotamia. It should be noted that the letters = and E in the original of this text are of the round form, and the Q of the WV form: These uncial forms found in inscriptions and MSS. from the fourth to the ninth centuries a.p. (at Jerusalem, for instance) are also found in the early Antonine texts of the second century. They occur on the temple frieze at Amman as well; but some texts at Jerash have the earlier classic shapes for E, and Q, and =. The cathedral lies in a south-east direction; its length, exclusive of the apse, is 137 feet 6 inches, its breadth, 73 feet inside. The west door is 9 feet g inches wide, and on the outside there is a niche or alcove 2 feet in diameter each side of the door; the walls are 2 feet 8 inches thick. There is a north door, and remains exist of a wall 20 feet from the east wall, which appears to have divided the chancel, and may have formed the foundation of the iconostasis, the church being no doubt built for the Greek rite. On each side of the main apse are two small apses or alcoves 5 feet 3 inches in diameter; the central apse is 24 feet 9 inches in diameter, and 12 feet 6 inches to the back. This arrangement of five RABBATH AMMON 55 apses has not been found in any church west of Jordan. The apse walls are very thick; on the interior they are pitted with holes 14 inches square and 14 inches deep, like those in the walls of the baths already noticed. These may be compared with the holes in the outer walls of the Dome of the Rock at Jerusalem, intended for the fixing of the tiles which cover these walls, and, as at the baths, so in the cathedral of "Amman, they may have been intended to facilitate the attachment of either a marble casing or of glazed tiles. The cathedral (see Photo. No. 14 of Lieutenant Mantell’s series) has been purposely ruined—no doubt by the Arabs. The masonry is of moderate size, the stones dressed, not with an adze, but with a pick or pointed instrument. The PLAN of the Prrapal Church RSS Scale sho. blocks are from 1 foot to 2 feet long, and 14 feet high on an average ; but some stones even 6 feet long occur in the walls. The exterior stones are drafted; the draft is 35 inches wide, and 14 inches deep. These stones average about 24 feet by 14 feet; the boss, as is usual in the Byzantine masonry, is plain, and not rustic. Two syenite pillars lie within the church, 114 feet long, 14 feet in diameter ; and outside on the north-west lies a lintel-stone 13 feet long, 1 foot 10 inches high. There is a wall nearly parallel to the west wall of the church, 115 feet from it, with remains of a gate 85 feet wide. The gate is, however, not on the central axis of the cathedral, and there is a difference of 1° 30’ between the bearing of the west wall and this fragment of outer wall. The latter might belong to some sort of atrium ; but it may, on the other hand, be part of a distinct building. There is nothing to show the date 56 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE of the cathedral ; but we are confined between the limits 330 a.p. and 630 A.D., and the building probably belongs to the fifth or sixth centuries. The next Christian building is a small church near the bottom of the hill west of the south-west angle of the Kalah (see special Survey). Itisa small building about 45 feet square outside, with an apse having an internal diameter of 184 feet. Four pillar-stumps show that the chapel had a nave and two aisles; these shafts are much weather-worn, 2 feet 3 inches in diameter. The walls of the chapel are 3 feet 9 inches thick, and it may be calculated that there were five pillars in each aisle. PLAN of Small Church Oi Yj Q Q @ @ Westerry Chapel. Scale go. The third chapel is perched on the narrow spur west of Misdar el MAadhneh, or the valley of the ‘minaret, north-west of the last noticed (see special Survey). It is built south of and adjoining a cave. The apse, the window in the south wall, and three pillars of the aisles remain, with four which belonged to a porch 10 feet wide at the west end. The apse is 14 feet in diameter, the aisles 9 feet wide in the clear. The interior length of the chapel, not including the apse, is 63 feet. The pillars are 2 feet 2 inches in diameter in the chapel, but those in the porch only 14 feet. There are remains of cornice mouldings in the south window, and a pillar-capital of the rude Ionic form usually found in Byzantine buildings was sketched. The cave immediately to the north, and opening into the north aisle, was perhaps sacred as the tomb or cave-dwelling of some saint. The rock rises in a cliff. The excava- tion is 18 feet across, and 20 feet to the back; on the east wall is an alcove 10 feet in diameter—a kind of apse—and on the west wall in the south-west angle is a rock-cut sarcophagus. There is another recess in this wall, and one also in the north wall. RABBATH AMMON 57 Arab Period.—This is in some respects the most interesting building period at’Amman. We know that one early Persian Moab (at Mashita), and in the present case the use of ,. round arches in the mosque j at "Amman seems possibly // to indicate an early date. The minaret is described by Lord Linsay as the ‘lofty steeple” of a. church, but this is an error. The plan of the mosque is quite dis- PLAN OF MOSQUE tinct, with its mihrab and minaret; and the brackets which supported the gallery of the Muedhdhen remain intact. The mosque is of % the typical form, with a large square court to the north, and a broad, short, covered building on the south. The court is 120 feet wide east and west, by 135 feet north and south inside ; the covered part is 37 feet north and south, by 120 feet east and west. The court had three entrances, about 65 feet wide; the mosque itself had three entrances, the middle one 10 feet wide, the side ones 7 feet. The roof of the mosque was supported on narrow arches which sprung from the wall,* and were corbelled out (see ‘ Details,’ arches a, a) in such a manner as to be apparently— but not structurally—of the Moorish form, or rather more than a half-circle or ellipse. The mihrab * This mosque is described about 985 a.p. by el Mukaddasy EZ Gv building occurs in NiwON BOWL Yy \ SS WW Detax of Arches a.d \ \ vo : ‘In the city near the market-place stands a fine mosque, the court of which is ornamented with mosaic. I have heard it said that it resembles that of Mecca.’ 8 58 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE in the south wall is 11 feet 9 inches in diameter, and a smaller mihrab has been built up inside it. The arches of the entrance-gates are semicircular in two cases, while the central one is segmental (see sketch). The segmental arch has a lintel-stone 16 feet long beneath it, and a second lintel lower again forming the head of the door. The west entrance has a lintel 9 feet long, similar to this last. The arrangement of segmental relieving arch and lintel is similar to that so often found in Byzantine buildings (¢.g., the Kalah Tower), but is also not uncommon in Arab work. There are four windows in this north wall between the entrances, also with round arches. This wall is standing to its original height, but the others are ruined in parts; the masonry is of moderate size and finish, not drafted. The Ausdm, \\ Ga nN or tribe-marks, of all the principal tribes are found on the walls. Of these, three of the most distinctive were copied. The first belongs to the Nimr, a division of the ’Adwan; the second to the Shalan, who are an ’Anazeh clan; the third to the Jibbair, who are aclan of the Beni Sakhr. The minaret of this mosque is on the north wall near the west end, and although the masonry in this structure is smaller than that in the walls, there seems no reason to suppose that the minaret is a later addition. The minaret is square on plan, a tower to feet side. A shaft of stone 14 inches in diameter in the centre supports the winding stair in a cylindrical well about 6 feet in total diameter, the stairs being only 2 feet wide. There are thirty-three steps, with a total height of 334 feet, leading to a platform with four windows, one in each wall. The total RABBATH AMMON 59 height is about 45 feet, and the top is crowned by a dome, which is con- cealed outside by an elegant octagonal shaft which springs from the corbels of the Muedhdhen’s gallery above the windows. The windows are round-arched, and partly filled in with a balustrade of stone 34 feet high. The minaret stair is reached from a low door in the east wall having a lintel above it, on which is rudely sae Wl SN SS incised an Arab inscription. This, both from _ its OW Soy character and rude execution, is no doubt late. It is merely the formula: ‘No God but Allah; Muhammed is the messenger of God.’ The use of round arches in this building seems to indicate early date. The oldest parts of the Amru mosque at Cairo have round arches (642 a.pD.), but Ibn Tultin (876 a.p.) used the pointed arch, which appears to have begun to be employed by the Arabs in the ninth century. The mosque at ’Amm4n would thus appear to be a building either of the time of the Ommiyeh Khalifs (661-750 a.v.), or more probably ot one of the Abbaside family (750-850 a.p. at latest). The Khalif el Mamtin (died $33 A.D.) was a munificent monarch who built much in Jerusalem, and it seems not impossibly to his time that the ’Ammdn mosque should be ascribed, with perhaps the building in the fortress about to be described, which may, however, be possibly later. The Kh4n, which occupies all the space between the cathedral and the Roman baths, is a later building than the mosque. Its ruins are almost indistinguishable, but it consisted of a great court, with small sur- rounding chambers, occupying about 300 feet north and south, by 170 feet east and west. Small chambers have also been built up, apparently at the same time, within the cathedral itself. Some pointed arches remain, and in one case the keystone is nicked out below to form the point, just as in Crusading arches and in Arab work of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The small baths are marked on the special Survey north of the Khan and mosque. There are eight small low chambers, built of inferior masonry, and apparently not very ancient. The block containing them measures 40 feet east and west, 50 feet north and south. The arches are pointed. The northern aqueduct seems to have supplied these baths with water. There are several wild-figs growing in the middle of the building. 8—2 60 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE Two buildings, probably of Moslem origin, remain to be described, one standing in the middle of the highest terrace (the western) of the Kalah enclosure, the other traceable further north. The first of these has often been mentioned as a church or as a mosque by former travellers; but no drawings of the details had been procured before the visit of the Survey party, although they are visible on the photograph taken by Sir C. Warren. The building measures 854 feet north and south, by 803 feet east and west, and has a central court 33 feet square. It is clearly all of ToMB OF URIAH (SO CALLED). one period and structure, and there seems never to have been any roof to the central court. It has been erroneously called ‘ cruciform,’ because four arched chambers run back, one from each side of the court; but the four corner chambers appear to belong to the same period, and there was certainly never any apse on the east, where the stone panels (to be described) remain intact, and exactly resemble those on the north, south, and west. Each recess is 18 feet wide, and 174 feet to the back. Each hasa fine "AMMAN. Supposed’ Sassanian Buulding Dy VEEL aa SEZ ae Re aed Ue) | == avi isa ihusaiufiscout usu ied aun uv SOOSOee bs ba rasseme 4 by Mae Mi | i \ NE Ba = i Sh: . HE an Uf Lh . ow mt I; Ut H oT ; | Ry Su Wi haa 'l i ay yi! Mae 220 j [ih Sui Tt Ws uf ae |) |.) Tack | Wy, vane ea WE Hand i Li Mi ll 7 et: TS a’) ay: @ecAcenehnaetongeesnaae Northern Building. ¢xpeeteeeesee eS s~ > a = 3 eas e yas he TEES EE A (OS Y rata ili “atin woe ee NT, it I) I 1 ty S. Wall. We st Panel. = Scale i i 2. i i i eee ip tect) Dac lest ley eet ee, Pe a Cea ak RABBATH AMMON 61 arch rising about 9 feet, and 64 feet thick. - Behind this arch the roof is domical, but does not rise from regular pendentives, as in late Arab work, but very awkwardly from a kind of dome gradually flattened off to the angles of the recess. The total height from the roof of the recess to the floor of the court is 27 feet, and the arch springs about 14 feet from the floor. The corner chambers of the building are square (164 feet) on the north-east and north-west. On the south-east and south-west they are 23 feet north and south, by 17 feet east and west. In the north-west chamber the staircase to the roof, now ruined, once ascended. The entrance to the court is on the south side, and is 34 feet wide. There was also an entrance 6 feet wide into the north-east chamber from the north side, and into the west recess from the back, now closed up. Ark { is ‘, £ Secon on A.B Scale. Fet two 6 ° . 10 2 3c + 50 60 70 eofecl 1 Toms OF URIAH (SO CALLED). The object of this structure is not clear. To this building el Mukad- dasy seems to allude when he says: ‘ The castle of Goliah is on the hill overhanging the city, and therein is the tomb of Uriah, over which is built a mosque. It cannot have been a church, and has no windows, so that the light is entirely derived from the central court, which was probably always open to the air. The building is also not suited fora mosque. It has no fountain for washing, and no mihrab, and its door is on the south. It appears to be a kiosk, or small hall or palace, connected with another, perhaps larger, further to the north. The great interest of the building consists, however, in the detail of its stonework. A shallow panel with a round head flanks each of the great arches already described, and stands on a string course 5 feet 3 inches from the ground, supported by three small arches which spring from coupled dwarf-columns, and form the heads of three smaller panels. 62 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE This lower panelling is also carried round the walls of the recesses at the same level ; and above the large panel, which is also flanked by slender coupled columns, there is a band of ornamentation, and a second string course supporting three other panels, like those in the lowest tier. This arrangement is repeated on each wall, but the designs in the panels differ ; some do not appear to have been ever finished, some are of arabesque design, some geometrical. A dog-tooth moulding runs round the arches, and in one of the larger panels—that on the west half of the south wall— there is a representation of a tree, with leaves and berries, conventionally executed, which is not unlike the Assyrian tree of Asshur. None of the arches are structural; they are all carved out of one or more blocks of stone in the wall, and the panelling seems to have been cut after the walls had been built. The arches are rudely and irregularly executed, and while some are semicircular, others are of the Saracenic type, corbelled inwards at the spring, but only slightly. The details will be best explained by the drawing. The great structural arches of the recesses appear to be very slightly pointed. The photograph shows a smaller arch at the back of the recess, also slightly pointed, whence it appears that on the north the building was originally open, and on this side the roof arrangement also differs, as will be seen in the photograph. The arrangement of panels in different tiers, flanking large arches with recesses, resembles that of the walls of the Tak Kesra, at Ctesiphon, which is ascribed by Mr. Fergusson to the Sassanian period, about 550 A.D. The Tak Kesra arches appear to be horseshoes, while the panels have segmental and pointed arches, with coupled columns, as at ’Amméan. It should be noted that the arches in the Dome of the Rock at Jerusalem seem to be slightly elliptical, while the structural arches at ’Amman have only a very slight point. It should also be noted that the outer wall of the Dome of the Rock presents panels with a second tier of smaller arches, flanked by coupled dwarf pillars, just like those at Amman. The similarity is so great that it seems possible that the outer walls of the Dome of the Rock and the ’Amman building may belong to the same period. The panels and arcade in the Jerusalem example have round arches, like the majority of the arches in the "Amman example. The entire absence of any representation of animals in the panels at ‘Amman RABBATH AMMON 63 suggests a Moslem origin for the building, for in the case of the supposed Palace of Chosroes, at Mashita (end of the sixth century), the represen- tations of animals are numerous. The dog-tooth moulding was employed by Crusaders and by Arabs of the fourteenth century alike, but in their buildings it is much bolder than in the AmmA4n example, where the ornament consists merely in cutting out triangular pieces from the flat surface of the face of the arch. (See what has been said on the subject of this moulding under the head Stimia.) The use of round arches, the panelling details, the arrangement of the recesses (which is like that of many Persian buildings, but unlike anything Byzantine or Arab), all seems to point to a period of Persian influence as being that during which the ’Amman building was erected. Professor Hayter Lewis is inclined to place it as late as the eleventh century ; but as the pointed arch (much more defined than any at ’Amman) appears to have been used by the Arabs in Egypt and Syria as early as the middle of the ninth century, it may perhaps be suggested that this interesting building belongs to the same time with the octagonal wall of the Dome of the Rock, which, on independent considerations, may be supposed to be the work of el Mamin (831 a.D.). The second building of the same kind was re-examined during the visit of the Princes, on April 11,1882. In this case also there appears to have been a central court, 35 feet square, and three recesses (one on the north, one on the east, one on the south), about 30 feet wide, and 35 feet to the back—these measurements are, however, doubtful, as the building is much ruined. The north wall of the Kalah formed the back wall of the north recess. On the west, a recess only 5 feet to the back and 35 feet wide existed. The southern recess or archway was probably open at the south end. The remains of a tunnel-vaulting still exist on this side. About 50 feet south of this building is the wall (already described as the north side of the court) of a temple or enclosure of the Roman period. Upon the north side of this wall, opposite the building just described, were found remains of two panels with round heads (carved on fallen stones), resembling in general character the panels already fully noticed (see sketch). This seems to indicate a continuation of the ruined building (just described) southwards as far as the older wall in question. 64 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE There is a large round tank of perhaps the same period east of the square Sassanian or Arab building. It is 58 feet in diameter, 19 feet deep, with steps leading down. The Survey of Amman and the notes above given occupied the party for seven days. The Survey was commenced by measuring a base in the Kalah, and fixing points with a theodolite from the ends of the same, by Messrs. Black and Armstrong. The buildings were measured with a tape, and their bearings taken. The wall of the Kalah was plotted in the same way from measurements by Captain Conder and Lieutenant Mantell. The minor objects were interpolated with aid of the prismatic compass by Mr. Armstrong, who completed the detailed Survey. Every building described was visited by Captain Conder. Lieutenant Mantell took ten successful photographs. Plans had already been made by De Saulcy and Sir C. Warren, but the time at their command was more limited. Lieutenant Mantell’s photographs of the dolmens and menhirs are the first taken, as these remains, together with the tank and secret passage, were discovered by the surveyors. The other buildings had already been photographed successfully by Sir C. Warren.* Explored October 8, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, and 19, 1881. ‘Amid el Inkliziyeh (GS spc, ‘pillar of the English lady’).—This is the grave of Mrs. Bland, and bears the inscription beneath : EMILY ALICIA BLAND, MARCH 16, 1868. Mr. and Mrs. Bland were travelling with Sir C. Warren, and Mrs. Bland died on the spot. A short column of red granite with a square base is erected on high ground, and the inscription is in Egyptian capitals. The column is surrounded by a great cairn of blocks of sandstone. The grave is respected by the Arabs, and the place is sacred, for near it is one of their own sacred circles. In the valley below is the "Ain Hamarah, or ‘donkey’s spring’ (see Sendin el Hamarah), a copious thermal spring, which was found to be about 80° Fah. The Nubian sandstone is here close to the surface of the plateau east of the Dead Sea on which the * Some idea of date may be obtained, perhaps, for the Roman buildings at "Amman by comparing the names of Emperors on the milestone not far east (see Rujtm Rafiah). RABBATH AMMON 65 cairn stands, and an outbreak of black basalt occurs near the spring. By the water there are a few palms and some tamarisk bushes, but the place, when visited in autumn, is intensely bare and desolate, and the sudden dis- covery of an English lady’s tomb thus guarded in the desert by wild Arabs was very touching. Mr. Bland has lately died ; but even if the sum of 45 annually paid to Sheikh Kablan by him as guardian of the place should cease with the death of the latter, the tomb will continue to be honoured. Visited September 30, 1881. ‘Arak “Aisheh (aa .8ly6, ‘cliff of Aisha ’).—-Named from the wife of Muhammed, as the Arabs suppose the bas-relief bust of a woman here to be the portrait of the Prophet's wife. The site is south of "Amman, and the cliff facing north has here been quarried for some distance eastwards from the road (Misdar Abu ’Aisheh). A few scattered stones form the Khurbet Aisheh. This latter name is the one marked on the reduced map, the Arak not being written. Towards the west end the quarry is cut back southwards for a width of about 19 feet, and square chambers are cut at the back and on the west side of this recess. They were probably tombs. On the east of this there is an alcove in the rock about to feet high, and 7 feet wide, and 2 feet deep. Eastwards, again, is a second just like it. These may have been intended for statues. The little bust is on the right or west side of the eastern alcove, and the chin is 144 feet from the ground. A photograph was taken by Lieutenant Mantell, and a sketch made by Captain Conder. It is clearly a bit of Roman sculpture. The head is veiled, the features are obliterated, but the drapery is classic. It is larger than life-size, and cut with a sunk medallion round the face. Similar busts, but not so well executed, have been found at Abila (Stik Wady Barada) in Antilebanon over tombs and at es Salt by Captain Conder. It was probably the portrait of the lady buried in the chamber close by. Explored October 10, 1881. Tyxus. "Arak el Emir (ye3l (she, ‘cliff of the Emir,’ or prince)—The original name of this site, according to Josephus, was Tyrus (12 Antiq., iv. 11). The Greek would represent the Hebrew 4)y (or possibly >»y), 9 66 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE. as in the Phcenician city Tyre, and would no doubt be derived from the ‘rock’ or cliff now called ‘Arak. The valley immediately south of the site is called WAdy Sir, and a ruin called Sir exists in it north-west of the ruins about to be described. There is also an ’Ain es Sir in the valley, and a large ruin called Khirbet Sar on the hill above the valley-head. West of “Arak el Emir is the ruin called Khirbet es Sfr, which is the closest to the original Tzur; but all the names above quoted may prob- ably be derived from the Hebrew original name. The ruins to be described at this site include the excavations in the cliff, the Kasr el ’Abd, and the remains on the plateau. The cliff faces southwards, the true bearing along its length being 67° (see Lieutenant Mantell’s Photo., No. 27); it extends about 550 yards east and west; its height is from 80 to go feet. At its foot extends a terrace, apparently artificial, about 300 yards north and south. On this plateau are ruins, apparently of a village, and on the south side are scarps of rock. The Kasr el Abd stands on the south and rather to the west of the cliff, about 600 yards from it. It is built on a raised earthen platform, surrounded by low ground. A retaining wall and bank on the south shut in this surrounding basin, which was once filled with water by an aqueduct from the stream. A raised ramp or causeway led through the water to the Kasr or palace on its island mound, and is still visible, reaching to the slopes of the hill below the great terrace north-east of the palace. The history of the site is given by Josephus. A certain priest named Hyrcanus was the youngest son of Joseph, who was of the high priest’s family. On the death of his father he made war on his brothers, but, being unsuccessful, he retired beyond Jordan, and engaged in con- tinual strife with the Arabs. The following is the description of his buildings : However, Hyrcanus determined not to return to Jerusalem any more, but seated himself beyond Jordan, and was at perpetual war with the Arabians, and slew many of them, and took many of them captives. He also erected a strong castle, and built it entirely of white stone to the very roof, and had animals of a prodigious magnitude engraven upon it. Healso drew round it a great and deep canal of water. He also made caves of many furlongs in length by hollowing a rock that was over against him, and then he made large rooms in it, some for feasting, and some for sleeping and living ‘n. He introduced also a vast quantity of waters, which ran along it, and which were very delightful and ornamental in the court. But, still, he made the entrance at the mouth of the caves so narrow that no more than one TYRUS 67 person could enter them at once ; and the reason why he built them after that manner was a good one ; it was for his own preservation, lest he should be besieged by his brethren, and run the hazard of being caught by them. Moreover, he built courts of greater magnitude than ordinary, which he adorned with vastly large gardens. And when he had brought the place to this state, he named it Tyre. This place is between Arabia and Judea, beyond Jordan, not far from the country of Heshbon. And he ruled over those parts for seven years, even all the time that Seleucus was King of Syria... . J As for Hyrcanus, when he saw that Antiochus had a great army, and feared lest he should be caught by him and brought to punishment for what he had done to the Arabians, he ended his life, and slew himself with his own hand, while Antiochus seized upon all his substance.—Josephus, 12 Antiq. iv., 11, Whiston’s Translation. Hyrcanus committed suicide in 176 B.c. He lived seven years in Gilead (z.e., from 183 B.c., when Joseph died), The ruins of his palace, and the Aramaic inscription at the caves, are thus very accurately dated, and are most valuable for comparison with other undated or vaguely-dated examples of Jewish art. The caves were carefully examined, measured, and planned by Lieu- tenant Mantell, R.E. They are in two tiers. The lower tier is on ground-level; the upper tier is entered from an open gallery cut in the face of the cliff. The gallery extends eastwards from the west end of the cliff about 300 yards, and terminates at a point where the rock is cut back at a slope of about five over one, so as effectually to prevent anyone reaching the level of the gallery at this end. The gallery is about 46 feet above the level of the plateau ; it is on an average 10 feet wide and 9 feet high to its roof. The south side is open, except at one point, where a sort of buttress projects, and through this buttress there is an arched com- munication to the gallery from a ledge or advanced gallery in front of the buttress. This is well shown in the sketch given by De Vogiié (‘Temple de Jerusalem,’ Plate XX XV.). Towards the middle of the gallery there isa sloping ramp between rock-scarps about 5 feet wide, leading up westwards from the ground-level to that of the gallery near the middle cave. The object of this ramp was clearly to allow of horses being brought up to the caves in the upper tier, one of which was, as will appear immediately, used as a stable. At the west end of the cliff there is a curious detached block of rock standing erect. It is 164 feet high, 124 feet broad on its eastern face, and 7 feet thick. In the east face are cut 26 niches—in four upper rows of four each, and two lower rows of five. The niches average about g—2 68 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE. 11 inches in height, 9 inches at the base, and 6 inches to the back (see Fig. 2), and are 15 inches from centre to centre. The object of these niches is not clear. In Jewish tombs (see ‘Memoirs,’ vol. ii., p. 375) niches are often found in the facade, and were intended for small lamps ; these are, however, smaller than those in question. Roman colum- baria are also found in Palestine (see ‘Memoirs,’ vol. iii., pp. 290, 358), but these are in caves or vaults. Curious niches occur in walls at Masada (see ‘ Memoirs,’ vol. iii., p. 420), which seem to have been used for the skulls of hermits, as in the Burj er Ris at Damascus (compare ed Deir below); but it seems unlikely that this would be the origin of Fig I. aoe0 Fic 2 zce8 a000 460600 Rock withy Niches lL Detail of Niches Fic I. the niches at “Arak el Emir. On the whole, it seems most probable that the niches served to light the gallery, although its extent seems too great to be so illuminated. The number of caves examined by Lieutenant Mantell (and by Cap- tain Conder) was fifteen in all—six in the lower tier, nine in the upper. There are also some small caves towards the east end of the cliff, which were not entered, as there does not appear to be any means of reaching them. They are high up and inaccessible, like many of the hermit caves west of Jordan, and they may have been reached by a rope or a ladder, as in the case of the hermit caves. The fifteen caves in and below the gallery are as follows, commencing with the most westerly of the upper tier : No. 1 (see Fig. 3) is 49 feet to the back, and 11 feet wide, with a descent of three steps, and a narrow ledge on the side walls 6 inches to 18 inches wide. The total height of the cave is about 17 feet, and the ledge is 6 feet or 7 feet from the floor. No. 2 (Fig. 4) is a similar chamber, with a branch to the right. The chamber is 384 feet long, and 11 feet wide ; the branch is 154 feet to the TYRUS 69 back, 6 feet wide. A flight of eleven steps leads down 10 feet from the surface of the gallery to the cave floor. The height of the cave is about 20 feet at the further end. No. 3 (Fig. 5), still proceeding eastwards, is a cave on the level of the ground or gallery outside. It is 30 feet to the back, and 8 feet wide at the back above the ledges of the side walls, which are each 2 feet wide. At the entrance the cave is 11 feet wide ; the height could not be ascer- tained. On the right is a branch 7 feet wide, 14 feet to the back, with a rounded roof 7 feet from the floor in the middle. siaaie So ; | : ) a Fic " TY - \ |. No. 4 is a cave with an entrance five feet above the gallery level (Fig. 6). It has two branches, about 12 feet and 8 feet long respectively, and the height is about 4 feet. No. 5 is the largest cave in the upper tier (see Fig. 7), and measures 143 feet to the back. There is a kind of hall (as shown) with a gallery at the back 95 feet long, 21 feet wide, and about 12 feet high. The prin- cipal side-chamber to the left is 10 feet wide, and 20 feet to the back. Both the long gallery and the side-chamber have stone mangers, no doubt for the horses of a cavalry force employed by Hyrcanus against the Arabs. THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE. ‘NSO, TH AO NVIG—'L ‘OT OF% gaps Py \ co ~~ . Oks gy — TYRUS an There are more than a hundred mangers in all, but many are much decayed. The best preserved specimens were measured (see Fig. 8). The rock was cut back at 3 feet from the floor to form a manger, measuring 1 foot 9 inches to the back, and 19 inches wide, and 2 feet 3 inches high in front. A ledge, 6 inches high and wide, separated each manger from the next; and in front under each manger was a rock-staple or ring for the halter, with a hole 6 inches by 3 inches through it. On the right-hand side of the cave there was one of these staples for each el Hosrn Detail of Mangers Fic. 8. manger, but on the left-hand side only one for every two mangers ; but it is possible that a long rope was passed through the staples, and the halters attached to the rope, after the usual Syrian method of tethering animals at the present time. This cave receives at the present time the name el Hosn, probably meaning ‘the horses’ (yoo). Immediately west of this cave there is a sort of alcove cut in the rock. It is 4 feet across, 44 feet to the back, and 34 feet high. To the left is a little niche, 1 foot wide, 6 inches to the back, 1 feet to the top; this may have held a lamp. The object of the cutting is not clear; it may have been intended to excavate another cave, which was never com- pleted. 72 ITHE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE. No. 6 cave, east of the large one No. 5 (see Fig. 9), is 52 feet to the back, and 13 feet wide. It has a recess on the right, 18 feet wide, 9 feet to the back, and a flight of seven steps, 44 feet wide, leading down to the floor. The floor of the cave ~ is about 12 feet below the Ce gallery level, and the total height is about 25 feet. In the left-hand wall of this cave there are niches 1 foot 8 inches to 3 feet above ground, 2 feet Z 7 ~ 7 9 inches to feet 9 inches _ _ apart, six in ae one of which is 1 foot wide, 9 inches high, 7 inches to the back; and a smaller one, 7 inches by 7 inches by 3 inches to the back. They are rounded at the top, and may have been used for lamps. No. 7 cave (Fig. 10) is only 11 feet wide, and 6 feet to the back. The floor is level with that of the gallery, with a rock wall 14 feet high in Fic. 9. 1 Scale 340° Wid FIG. ro. mf Fic. 11. front of part. The total height is 6 feet. Near this cave are two cisterns : the first (Fig. 11) is 4 feet deep and 7 feet long; the second is round, being 13 feet in diameter and 10 feet deep. The mouth opens from the gallery, and the floor is 64 feet below the gallery level. A recess like a koka runs in from one side of the circle ; it is 2 feet long, and 2 feet wide (see Fig. 12). ‘zL asvd avf of MIND 1 MYVUV, Lv ddITO JO MAIA TYRUS 73 No. 8 cave.—This is called esh Sh4ri by the natives, apparently ‘the elevated’ (see ‘Memoirs of Survey of Western Palestine,’ vol. iii., p. 266), and is probably one of the living rooms described by Josephus as having very narrow entrances. There are two stories in this excavation, the lower having a doorway 44 feet wide leading from the gallery, while the upper has a window over the door. The plan is on the level of the upper floor, which is reached from the lower by a hole (as shown) in the floor between them. The lower chamber is (at present) only 34 feet high, and runs in 37 feet, the breadth being about 10 feet at the back; and p=” rather lower is a circular excavation, perhaps a cistern, about 20 feet in diameter. There are traces of steps at the side of the hole to the upper story, and the central chamber on this upper tier is about 30 feet by 16 feet. It has a chamber on each side. That to the left is 7 feet high, and is entered by a narrow passage 5 feet 3 inches long, 34 feet wide ; the total measurement to the back of the chamber is 31 feet, and the back wall is 15 feet long. The chamber to the right is 6 feet high, with a similar entrance ; it measures 144 feet to the back, by 15 feet across, and has in one corner (as shown) an irregular recess 4 feet by 44 feet—in this chamber also is a sort of well sunk in the floor, 6 feet long, 3 feet wide, 10 74 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE 6 feet deep. A oka or recess also runs in in the right-hand corner of the back wall of the central chamber ; it is 14 feet to the back, and 3 feet wide, with an enlargement 4 feet by 6 feet on the right at the back. _ YZ L yy V// yy 7} Fic. 15 The window of the central chamber is 2 feet 3 inches broad, 34 feet high, and its ground-sill is 2 feet above the floor. The side-chambers are, of course, quite dark (see Fig. 13). HWW) YY ty YY Yj Yy ee wy oo \ | LT eS ae 20 20 40 60 Feely Fic. 16.—E.L WEIBDEH. No. 9 cave (Fig. 14) is of irregular shape, with two entrances. It is about 17 feet across, with recesses as shown on the plan, and a ledge in one angle 24 feet above the floor. No. 10 cave (Fig. 15), the furthest west in the lower tier of caves, is TYRUS 75 a simple chamber 14 feet wide and 22 feet to the back, and about 14 feet high. No. 11, east of the last in the same tier, is called by the Arabs el Weibdeh (‘the cutting’) (see Figs. 16, 17, 18). It is a better cut than 7 Ao LP VY Hy ij ty : | ae Fic. 17.—SECTION ON ¢ @. most, and considerably below the present level of the ground outside, — though this may in part be due to the accumulation of rubbish outside. wi yy ify a Y/, Uy tl. 2 x. Fic. 18.--SECTION a, 6. Fic. 19. It measures 60 feet to the back and 33 feet across, and is 33 feet high to the top of the arched roof, which is cut as shown. The entrance is 3 feet wide and 6 feet high, and a ramp, now covered with rubbish which may conceal rock-steps, leads down to the floor. Io—2 76 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE No. 12 cave (Fig. 19) is 22 feet to the back, 13 feet wide, with an entrance 4 feet wide. No. 13 cave resembles No. 11, but being full of brambles and of . tt6n, it could not be properly measured. In the back wall is a niche about 3 feet high and 2 feet wide towards the left. The entrance is 4 feet wide, and is cut with a simple sculpture, as shown in the photograph (Lieutenant Mantell’s Series, No. 26). To the right of the door, high up, is an inscription which also shows in the photograph. Lieutenant Mantell estimated the length and breadth of the chamber within to be 60 feet by 30 feet. This inscription is interesting and important because, with exception of the Moabite Stone and the Siloam text, no other inscription has yet been found within the limits of the Holy Land which is with certainty of as great antiquity. The tomb of the Beni Hezir at Jerusalem is probably a century later; but the Gezer stones (‘ Memoirs,’ vol. ii., pp. 436, 438) may be nearly as old, being dated by M. Ganneau as possibly of the Hasmonean period, or about thirty years later than the present text, which is shown on next page. The letters are very distinct, and the photograph bears out the copy, which agrees with that made by De Vogiié. There can, therefore, be no doubt that Euting was wrong in giving the form 6 to the first letter, TYRUS 77 which he read as 7eth, making the whole to read 7uriah for ‘Tyre’ De Vogiié read Avabiah, and Adniah has also been proposed. The only alphabet which accounts for all the letters is the con- temporary alphabet of the Hasmonean coinage (see Madden’s tables in ‘Coins of the Jews’). The final letter, however, is nearer to the T4410 alphabets of the Carpentras Stone and papyri. The first letter is Azz ; the second is found as Vaz on the coins; the third might be Beth, or possibly Caph or Nun on the coins, and is like the Resh of the Car- pentras Stone. The fourth is the Yod of the coinage. The last must be a ffeh or a Tau. The same alphabet occurs on contemporary Jewish coins. The most probable transliteration seems to be My, the meaning of which is doubt- ful, as there are several roots to which it might be referred, viz. : (1) WY (Arabic, y\¢), ‘to bore, whence MY (Arab. syle), ‘cave,’ and », the Ghor or Jordan Valley ; (2) VY, ‘to be watchful,’ etc., etc. The following table may be useful for comparison : TYRUS TEXT. JEWISH COINS. CARPENTRAS STONE. Oo oo0VvsO ds 4 a 4y 7 J 449 3% a Lw 1 \A 7) +434 AT" No. 14 cave, east of the last (see Fig. 21), measures 23 feet by 9 feet, with a recess at the back, 11 feet wide, 16 feet to the back. A flight of seventeen steps, 4 feet wide, leads up to a height of 10 feet above the cave floor, where is a kind of platform with a window 6 feet wide, used, Yrswk 78 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE no doubt, as an outlook place. The entrance to this cave is 3 feet wide and 4 feet high. No. 15 cave (Fig. 22) is only 9 feet by 4 feet, and 6 feet high; it is perched up 12 feet above the ground-level in the side of the cliff. All these caves, whether excavated at one time or gradually increased in numbers, were probably older than the palace of Hyrcanus, which e seems never to have been finished. It is f= / clear both from their defensive arrangements, and from those of the palace, that the inhabi- tants of this site were in constant danger of sudden attack. The Kusr el ’Abd, or ‘palace of the slave,’ is the palace described Ly Yy by Josephus (see p. 66) as having been built by Hyr- ee XG SX canus of white stone, and adorned with sculptured lions. De Saulcy supposed it to be an Ammonite temple, but the shape is not that of a temple (either Greek, Egyptian, or Phcenician); and of Ammonite worship we have no records. The modern name is due to a legend or myth. The Emir whose name is preserved in the title Arak el Emir had a daughter whom he left in charge of a black slave while he went on pilgrimage. The slave loving the daughter, she promised to marry him if he would build her a palace (as in the story of Aladdin). The slave began building the ruined palace still existing, thence called Kusr el ’Abd (palace of the slave). His superhuman power is evidenced by the enormous size of its stones. But before he completed it the Emir returned, and the place where his horse first became visible is the hill, east of the Fic. 21. palace, still called Mutull el Hisan, ‘the appearing of the horse.’ He consumed the black slave with fire, and afterwards buried him (or crushed him) beneath a stone. This tale resembles many other Arab legends, and may be supposed to be mythical. The princess freed from the black slave is perhaps the dawn; the Emir on his horse, who goes on pilgrimage and reappears in TYRUS 79 the east, is probably the sun, who in Persia (e.g. as Rustem) is repre- sented as a horseman; the black man is the genius of the night slain by the first rays of the sun. The whole question of Arab mythology is dis- cussed in ‘ Heth and Moab’ (chap. xi.). The story was related on the occasion of the royal visit to the site by Sheikh Fellah en Nimr, and translated by Mr. N. T. Moore, C.M.G. The Kusr el Abd stands in a sunk basin formed by a retaining wall on the south and east, while on the west is a steep natural slope, and on the north a gradual ascent. The area thus enclosed still holds stagnant water in winter, and traces of an aqueduct seem to show that it was filled from the stream in the valley. The plateau measures 320 yards east and west, and the retaining wall is 100 yards south of the south wall of the palace. This wall is about 8 or 10 feet high, and outside it is a terrace, generally about 25 feet broad, beyond which is a second retaining wall. The palace stands on a sort of island about 15 feet above the level of the surrounding court or basin. The causeway from the east is on the same level, and passes immedi- N N : SSMS ately north of the gateway at the north-east angle of the’ retaining wall, as shown on the plan. The total breadth of the palace east ESSN and west is 624 feet from out- side to outside ; the total exterior length is 126 feet. The east wall is standing at its ends to the height of three courses, and the foundations of the other walls are also traceable. The retaining- wall of the platform or island on which the palace is built measures : Seale EO Oe 40 60 60 100 feel. 7o yards north and south, by 50 SSE NY I ies : PLAN oF Kusr EL ’AppD. yards east and west; it is built of rudely-squared stones of moderate size and cubic proportions. The building had a gate on the north, and probably one corresponding on the south. On the east it had a central gate 12 feet 4 inches wide, and two 80 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE side-entrances north of it, and four to the south—these side-entrances are 3 feet wide. The plan of the interior is not very clearly traceable, though it seems probable that De Vogiié’s restoration may be correct, showing a central court surrounded by chambers and cloisters. The remains of an inner wall are clearly visible on the north and on the west (see Plan), and the capitals of various pillars, apparently belonging to cloisters or to the entrance-gates, remain fallen in the interior of the building. Kusr el ’ Abd. £. Wall. The masonry is of very great size. The greatest height, which may have been the total intended height of the building, is 21 feet, as below: Feet. Inches. Lowest course Bx a oe ee 8 oO Second ,, 5 2 Frieze I 6 Course with lions 6 6 21 2 There is a stone on the south side of the palace fallen flat, and measuring 20 feet by 10 feet. The corner-stone at the north end of the east wall in the lowest course is 17 feet 4 inches long, 8 feet high, and 2 feet 8 inches thick. These stones have a draft 5 inches wide and 1} inches deep ; the boss is smoothly dressed with a pick, as are the drafts. The adze-dressing of the Jerusalem Haram is nowhere observable. The stones were kept in place—as can be seen on the north wall near the ‘ARAK EL EMIR. NY \ Fic I. ZY Ml ‘| we oS General Plan. of Kusr el Abd. hy, ii JAAN North | | True Scale. Yards 10 50 ° 100 eooyarde i z VineentBrocks Day & Son, Lith TYRUS : 81 west—by tenons in the upper course fitting into holes in the lower. The average thickness of the wall is 24 feet to 2 feet 8 inches. A long stone 2 feet 1 inch high (see profile), with a bold cornice-moulding, may have formed the top of the wall above the sculptured lions, or may have been a lintel-stone . Yi over one of the doorways. | The lions are four in number, on four blocks of stone 63 l 7} feet high, and from 7 feet to 10 feet long. The two southern lions face south, and the two northern north. The figures of the end ones have no heads, as the head was no doubt cut on the end stone of the wall, which was formed by the thickness of —_—— 1h VEO 1 Wy SE. Angle the course in the south and the north walls respectively. The carving is in high relief, and appears to have been executed after the stones were placed in position in the wall, as the relief surface is flush with 11 82 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE the general face of the wall, the depressed part being, in fact, scooped out in the thickness of the wall, as is shown by its not being continued to the top of the stone above the lions (see sketch). Beneath the lions is a simple dentellated string-course. There are traces of a staircase towards os AE! the north part of the east wall on the interior, ascending apparently in two flights, the lower northwards, the upper southwards. There are three small loops or windows in the east wall, which seem to have given light to this staircase. The loop is 8 inches high and 3 inches wide on the outside, 2 feet high and 22 inches wide on the inside. The southern wall appears to have fallen outwards, as though by a sudden shock—perhaps of earthquake. The stone is a coarse crystalline limestone from the cliff close by. The character of the capitals lying inside the building is very peculiar, and approaches perhaps most nearly to Egyptian art. The attached semipillars to which they belonged were 15 inches in diameter on three sides (as is shown above), as though TYRUS 83 belonging to a porch or colonnade. The north doorway was flanked by semipillars 18 inches in diameter (see p. 82), which rudely approach the Corinthian order. Two fragments of a frieze with triglyphs and gutte of Ionic character occur; one is on a block 64 feet long, 25 feet high, and thus appears to have been originally placed over the gateway on the north. The lintel of the north door is 24 feet thick, 19 inches high, and } Hilt | still lies fallen beside it. On the south lies a pillar-shaft 2 feet 3 inches in diameter, and there is another with a fluted shaft. The workman- ship of the capitals is generally coarse, and the stone, being of inferior quality, was not fitted for fine tracery-work. The capitals are very much weathered. The bases of two attached semipillars were also measured. All these details present the same rude and imperfect reproduction of Greek art which is observable in the Jewish tombs of Western Palestine dating about the same time. LINTEL. SEMIPILLARS. The restoration given by De Vogiié (‘ Temple de Jerusalem,’ p. 39) of this building seems to show that the demolition or decay of the ruin has continued since about 1860. According to this authority, the north entrance was divided into three, with two central pillars and two semi- pillars attached to the jambs. The inner wall on this side (still partly traceable) is shown with three entrances, and in the south-west angle De Li==2 84 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE Vogiié recognised the spring of a vaulted roof to a chamber or cloister on the west wall, the radius of the arch being, according to his calculation, 3°77 metres. He gives the details of the north door correctly, but omits any description of the curious Egyptian-like capitals above described, which, however, may be unfinished. The gate on the east side of the enclosure is 13 feet wide, and several drafted stones occur in the wall on either side. This wall is 1 foot thick, ELEVATION OF GATE. and five courses remain standing. The masonry is fairly well finished, in alternate high and low courses, varying from 3 feet 8 inches in the top course to 1 foot 8 inches in the lowest but one. The longest stones are 10 feet 4 inches in length. The courses on the two sides of the gate are not of corresponding height. The drafts on the five drafted stones are irregular, and rudely finished. Close by the gate (which faces southwards) on the west is a fragment of cornice, with honey- suckle and other classic details; but this, like most of the Jewish work of the same period, is remarkable on account of the irregularity and want of symmetrical arrangement of the various members. The drawing shows accurately how this irregularity is visible. A remarkable feature of the ruin remains to be noticed, namely, the narrow causeway leading to the palace, and the pairs of cippi which are arranged along this causeway, and thence northwards towards the quarry and cliff. The causeway is 6 paces to 10 paces (15 to 25 feet) ‘bg asvg 29vf of ‘MINA Ta NVUV, LY MOON AHL NO NOILdIYOSNI TYRUS 8s broad, and about 15 feet high. The pairs of cippi are arranged at from 20 to 30 paces (50 to 75 feet) between each pair. Four pairs were found on the causeway, and the same arrangement was traced 80 paces (200 feet) north of the gateway just described, in the direction of the west end of the Arak or cliff. Here lies fallen on the slope a stone evidently intended for the palace wall, either abandoned when the unfinished palace was left at the death of Hyrcanus, or else discarded as unsound (of which, however, there is no indication). This stone is 8 feet high and 25 feet long, and only 2 feet 3 inches thick.* It lies immediately west of the double line of cippi, and between it and the gateway three pairs of cippi occur. The alignment was traced 200 paces (500 feet) north of this fallen block, nine pairs of cippi being found within that distance. The total distance from the cliff to the palace is 600 yards, but the cippi are only traceable about goo yards in all. The Inchasi2. 6 0 t 2 fall from the foot of the cliff to the base of the palace wall was ascertained, by aneroid observations, to be 170 feet. The average gradient is thus one in fifteen, but the fall is not regular. This double alignment has been supposed, by those who consider the palace to have been an Ammonite temple, to represent a Vza Sacra from the east; but the width between the two cippi of a pair is only 3 feet, which appears much too narrow for a roadway or avenue. It will be remarked, moreover, that a stone, evidently intended for the palace walls, lies fallen by the alignment, and that the stones of the palace, though of great height and length, are always less than 3 feet in thick- ness, so that they could, if raised on end in the position they occupy in the walls, pass easily between the cippi. Each cippus is 4 feet to 44 feet long, and about 2 feet wide, and the * This is the largest stone on the spot, and its weight must be about 50 tons. 86 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE same in thickness. In some places they are not vertical, but lean out- wards. Each cippus has a hole, about 9 inches in diameter, near the top; most of the holes are countersunk, as shown in the section of the cippus, the hole on one side being only 7 inches in diameter. The cippi seem evidently to be connected with the method of bringing the great stones from the quarry to the palace walls. The countersunk holes suggest the use of beams fitted into the cippi, to form a rude tram on which the stones might slide. Wood for this purpose might have been obtained in the neighbouring oak forest, and similar methods were employed by the Egyptians, who moved large blocks on a carriage running on wooden oiled ways. The distance apart of the pairs of cippi, which averages about 60 feet, seems, however, too great to allow of the supposition that beams or poles could be found long enough to stretch from one pair to another. Perhaps, therefore, the real use of the cippi was to act as a fulcrum or pulley, used by men pulling ropes, possibly passed through the holes ; and this might account for the cippi not being vertical, as they may have been pulled out of position in the direction in which the rope was hauled. Whatever be the exact manner in which the cippi were used, there seems little doubt that they were intended to assist in transporting the great stones to the palace. The ruins on the terrace or plateau, at the foot of the “Arak cliff, are apparently those of a small town or village. They may very possibly belong to a period later than that of the building of Hyrcanus’ palace. Foundations remain of well-cut masonry, the stones of large size. There are fragments of a simple cornice moulding, and on the south side of the terrace the rocks seem to have been artificially scarped, and in one place possibly formed the base of a small tower. On the east slope of the terrace is a block of rock 13 feet long, with a curious cutting 3 feet wide at the top, beneath which in the east face of the block are seven niches, each 7 inches in measurement in its three dimensions. The object of this cutting is not easily explained. The stream in the valley (Wady es Sir) is fresh, perennial, and abundant. It is surrounded with oleanders which have grown to enormous size, being almost as large as forest trees. The cool shade beneath these thick trees beside the water is extremely refreshing. TYRUS 87 The view from the terrace extends southwards over the Moabite ridges, Nebo and Sidghah being visible, with the Minyeh ridge beyond. The natural advantages of this secluded and well-watered nook made it well fitted for the abode of a luxurious tyrant like Hyrcanus the priest. Explored October 20, 21, 24, 25, 1881. "Arak el Hamam (plas! ale, ‘the pigeon’s cliff’ or ‘cave’).—A cave in a low cliff on the edge of the plain called Merj el Hamam, south of Amman. "Arak Jubr (ee lhe, ‘cliff of Jubr, p.n. ‘hero ’).—Small cave nearadolmen. See Sfimia. ‘Arak el MAabarah (&yWI (lo, ‘cliff of the quarry’).—See el Maberah. The name here applies to a great cliff north of Shanab, It is omitted from the reduced map as unimportant. ‘Arak el Meghuwul (J,aJl (36, ‘haunted cliff’).—A cliff near Abu Katiwikah, east of Umm Kuseir. It is omitted from the reduced map as unimportant, and for want of space. "Arak en Nusdtry ( South of the ruins on the road to Hanina is a fine birkeh, or tank, measuring 60 feet east and west by 80 feet north and south, and 25 feet in depth. The masonry is of moderate size, and of square proportions; the joints are packed with smaller stones. A trough has fallen into the tank (cf el ’Alwan at Hesban). West of this tank there are two rock-sunk tombs resembling those described at Umm Hanéafish. The various indications thus obtained, the crosses, and rock-sunk tombs, and the character of the masonry, all indicate that Kefeir el Wusta, like the other three village ruins called Kefeir, belongs to the early Christian period, probably about the fifth century a.p., when it is clear that a considerable Christian population must have existed in towns occupying the whole of the Mishor, or plateau of Moab. Visited August 29 and 31, and September 26, 1881. Kefrein (.y)4S ‘the two hamlets ’).—A few hovels of small masonry and reeds on the north bank of the stream, where Sheikh Kablan en Nimr pitched his camp in winter. The stream is about 10 feet wide at the most, and generally only 3 or 4 feet. The temperature of the water was 98° F. on two occasions. It is a branch of Wady Kefrein, which is deflected for purposes of irrigation. There are fine groves of the zizyphus, or sedv, and among them, south of the stream, stands Khirbet Kefrein (see under that head). On the north is the knoll of rock arti- ficially shaped into a Tell, called Tell Kefrein, on the summit of which is a modern white Arab tomb, which is called Sheikh el Mujahed (doles eet), ‘the champion chief’). He is said to have been the father, or others said an uncle, of Kablan, and was here buried by his own ‘obi asd asvf oy ‘MOS SH LUSINNVHN LV ATINAL KEFREIN 141 command. The Tell is about 140 feet high above the general level of the plain. The tomb is similar to the Kabr Fendi el Faiz. The view hence is very extensive, the three ridges of Sidghah Maslubiyeh and Minyeh being specially conspicuous against the sky on the south- east, with the lower hump of Menshalah on the plateau below Minyeh. The tree of Shanab and the Zabid ridge are prominent on the east, while below these are seen Tell el Hammam, Tell esh Shaghir, Tell Iktand, Tell er Rameh; the tree at the Mensef Abu Zeid is also seen, and on the north the most conspicuous points are the peaks of el Helaly and el Haud. West of the river appears the similar peak, Osh el Ghurdb, with Kurn Sartaba, the monasteries of el Yehtid and Kusr Hajlah, and beyond these ’Ain es Sultan, "Ain Dak, and Eriha. Higher up over Koruntul appear Tell el Fil and Neby Samwil, while Tell ’Asar, Olivet, Jebel Ekteif, el Muntdar (or the Scapegoat Mountain), Herodium Bethlehem, Taiyibeh, are all conspicuous on or near the sky-line. This point, in short, gives the best and most characteristic view of the plains of Shittim and of Jericho with the surrounding hills. The Tell is of natural rock, and various rude caves are scooped in the west side, which may be old graves. The limestone is soft, and the caves are very roughly excavated. One measured 9g feet by 6 feet, and was 6 feet high ; a second was 9 feet by 5 feet, and 3 feet high; a third only 3 feet by 4 feet ; another had three rude /ocu/z on the three sides, each about 3 feet by 3 feet ; another is 6 feet by 4 feet, and 3 feet high. There are perhaps twenty or thirty in all, and the Arabs use them for storing corn and straw. Close by is a little rocky peak (on the west), which is flatter than the preceding. This is also full of similar small caves. It is called en Nasleh, which see. The ’Oshir plant (Calotropzs Procera), or ‘apple of Sodom,’ allied to the Indian family of Asclepiadacez, was found here in profusion. August 17 and October 25 and 27, 1881. El Kemukkah ( ata)|, pronounced Gemuggah).—This name applies to a group of three small ruins west of Amman, on the main Roman road west to ’Arak el Emir. Heaps of flint stones and founda- 142 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE tions of rough walls remain. The buildings are probably not older than the second century a.pD. El Kereik (e4,I).—This may be a mistake for 4S, a word commonly used, and applying to small fortresses. In Syriac the latter word means ‘fortress’ (cf Sheet VI. of the ‘Western Survey,’ Kerak or Tarichece). The same name applies to the great fortress east of the Dead Sea, south of the Survey. The ruin in question is on the plateau north of Maain. It might perhaps be the Biblical Karkor (Judg. viii. 10), the name of which signifies ‘flat ground,’ which applies to this plateau very well. Walls, cisterns, and a rough rock-sunk tomb, probably of the Christian period, were found here. El Khalfeh (ss!).—The name is from a root meaning ‘ to follow.’ In Hebrew it is the name of a Galilean town, Heleph (Josh. xix. 33), (see also Ain el Khalfeh). The name applies to a plot of ground with dolmens south of el Kala, and the spring may be the object whence the place is named. ’Ain el Khalfeh is written on the map to note the spot. . Khareibet es Stk (pd! ayys, ‘little ruin of the market’).— The ruins (also noticed by Sir C. Warren, ‘ Quarterly Statement,’ 1870, p. 291) include a building which seems to have been a temple (Lieu- tenant Mantell’s photos, Nos. 20, 21, and Sir C. Warren’s photo, No. 304); a tomb tower further east (Lieutenant Mantell’s photos No. 22, Sir C. Warren’s, No. 305); a tomb tower to the north; and a large reservoir near it. The plan of the temple has been obscured | by later additions and altera- tions. It consisted originally of three walks, with pillars of the Ionic order, 2 feet 10 inches True North in diameter, 15 feet 9 inches high from the present ground level. The bases are, however, hidden. There are three to the north and five to the south of the central walk, which is 22 feet wide in the clear; the inter-columniation is 64 feet. The total length of the TEMPLE. KHAREIBET ES SUK 143 building outside was originally 111 feet, and the breadth 62 feet. The remains of an entrance on the east are still clearly visible. The recon- struction was effected by walls built just outside the central arcade to Capual uv Temple. ~ Rie cs ee SS io ~~ Re ee ee ee ee) =. aa Yom Bly SS. & , =| B: 4 T r | il north and south, while on the west the building was shortened by 234 feet. In this cross wall some column shafts are built in horizontally. The true bearing of the building is 97°. The stones in the walls are of moderate size, and without any draft. The walls are 4 feet thick. The mausoleum or tomb-tower to the east measured 394 feet north and south, 41 feet 9 inches east and west, with a true bearing of 104°. This building is some 300 yards from the temple. The foundations remain, showing a plinth or podium at the base of the wall, and a cornice of which the profile (as given below) was taken. The wall is 8 feet high; the cornice at the top is 9 inches high, and SS ROME projects 9 inches. On the west side of this building an arch (A) is built against the wall, but not bonded in. It consists of nine voussoirs of equal width, and is 64 feet in span and 3 feet 9 inches in rise (in- cluding haunch stones). A bold moulding (see Section) is carried round this arch. The walls of the building are in some parts fallen, and only 4 feet high. \\ There are no remains of any ANS roof ; the walls appear to average Setorvof Arcv A. eter Corpaiey: Detaw of Eastern Tomb. AAS Wr about 34 feet thick ; the interior is filled with stones and rubbish. There are two sarcophagi outside on the west, without any covers; one was 144 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE 8 feet long, 3 feet 4 inches broad. North-west of this building is a rock-cut tank, 31 feet east and west, 26 feet north and south, with a ‘masonry roof. Captain Conder descended into it to measure the details. Two piers of masonry are built to support the roof; they stand north and south, and have arches from which the barrel-vaults spring. The arches are of different span, round with a narrow keystone; the arch from the north pier to the west wall has been supported later by a pier under its crown. The tank is 15 feet deep ; the walls are covered with flat pieces of stone aid in mortar, and over these the cement was spread. Close by the tank are the foundations of a tomb, measuring 27 feet by 36 feet. There is a podium, or sculptured plinth, at the base of the wall, and on the platform so formed are placed Q sarcophagi, two to the west, two to the north, one to the NORTHERN ToMB. ‘ : outh. There are remains of pillars on the east, as though the building were originally 2 antis, or had some sort of porch. Fragments of sculpture were also observed, representing a vine-leaf and bunch of grapes. The principal ruins of the site (which was a large and important town), occupy two tops of a spur north and south of the supposed temple ; but the buildings described are the only ones of which any distinguishable plan could be made out. On the west are several caves. Visited October 11 and 17, 1881. Soy O ooodg Khashm JawAn (ylyas ase, ‘snub-nose’).—This is the name of the spur west of el Maslibiyeh, probably from its appearance as a short pro- jecting headland. Khazeikat en NasAbah (glad! whi, ‘the upright stakes’). —This term is applied to the peaks of the plateau above the Dead Sea, west of Hammet Minyeh. El Kheimeh (a ,aJl, ‘the tent’).—This word is not generally used of Bedawin tents, though applied to travellers’ tents. It seems to apply to a slope on the north side of Wady Sir, but is rather a doubtful name. El Khudr (,ésI, ‘the green’).—This name applies to two shrines, one being at the northern edge of the Survey, close to Mahas in the oak wood, north of Arak el Emir ; the second in the Jordan valley, by Kabr PHI asvg arvfoz “MQS Sa LHdIGUVHM LY dINOL NYTHLYON NECLA £45 Said, south of Tell er Rameh. The latter is omitted from the reduced map for want of space. In both cases the shrine stands in the midst of luxuriant natural growth. West of Jordan there are many shrines of el Khudr. On Carmel he is identified with Elijah. At Ascalon, and in other Crusading sites, he becomes St. George. At Banias he replaces Pan, having his shrine at the source of the river. (See also Sheets III., IX., XII, XV., XVI., XVII, ‘Memoirs of the Survey of Western Palestine’). In the Kor’dn this personage is mentioned in connection with a non-Biblical story concerning Moses, who is supposed to search for him. He is there called the vizier of Dhu el Karnein, ‘the lord of two horns, who is the mythical Alexander or Ammon, who had drank the fountain of immortality (Sura xviii, 50-82). There is no doubt that the ‘green old man,’ el Khudr, is the personi- fication of fertility, as represented (especially in the desert) by green- ness. His shrines are generally in fertile spots, and the sacred green colour of the Moslems is connected with the same idea. His original prototype was probably the Asshur of Assyria, who, with Ashtoreth, was universally worshipped in Arabia by the pre-Islamite Arabs. The first place so named near Mahas is a square masonry tomb, near which is a rock-cut tomb with three Zocu/¢ under arcosolza. Khirbet Abu Nukleh, named from the well (see Bir Abu Nukleh).—The ruin is south of the well, and is small and unimportant. Scattered stones and small caves were found, and the place was inhabited by an Arab family. On the south, and separated by the flat open valley, is another, similar ruin. A few courses of stones undressed and of no great size were standing in the ruined walls. Ptolemy, speaking of Moabite towns (see Reland’s ‘ Palestine,’ i., p. 464), mentions Necla (Né«Aa) with Heshbon, Ziza, etc. This (as is suggested by Rev. Selah Merrill) might be connected with the Khurbet Abu Nukleh. Ptolemy’s latitudes and longitudes are not of any exact value (as an examination of them proves) ; but in this case the latitude is south of Heshbon and the longitude west, which does not agree with the identifica- tion. Some place south of the Dead Sea seems more probably intended. Khtrbet Abu Sheriah (days 9! ays, ‘ruin of the drinking’). —A little ruin with walls which appear to belong to a sheepfold. 19 146 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE Khirbet ’Ain el Beida (Lend wae 454, ‘ruin of the white spring ’).—A small ruin with walls and heaps of stones near ’Ain el Beida, at the north edge of the Survey. Khirbet el ’Aisheh.—See ’Arak Abu ’Aisheh. Khirbet el ’Amriyeh (aye! a4, ‘ruin of the perpetual one’). This ruin is in the outskirts of the Hirsh el ’Amriyeh, the oak-wood north-west of Heshbon, and it is beside a road leading north- Sn ’ A | east towards ’Amman. About 200 yards to the north-east there is a very fine terebinth. The ruin was visited and described by Lieutenant Mantell, R.E., and found to extend over about 150 yards north and south by 80 yards east and west. Foundations remain of rudely squared WINEPRESS. stones, and there is one standing on end—a small menhir apparently, 44 feet high, 14 feet thick, 3 feet wide at the base, 14 feet at the top. Forty yards north of the terebinth there is a rock-cut winepress, con- sisting of two chambers, one Io feet by 55 feet, and 3 feet deep ; the other a small round cutting 3 feet in diameter, deeper still, with a connecting cut. About a quarter-mile south of the ruin among the oak-trees there is a circle of stones. They are from 2 feet to 4 feet in length by 14 to 2 feet. No lintel doorway belongs to this circle, and there is no central grave. The Arabs say it is not a sacred place, but only an old £asy or tower. Visited September 12, 1881. | Khitrbet Bahhar (jx &)&), perhaps named from some pool (Baheirah) not now existing. The name applies to a pair of ruins south-west of ’Amman. Foundations, heaps of stones, rude caves, and rock-cut cisterns were observed. Khtrbet Beddih (ax 4s, probably from ew, ‘a court’—Freytag Lex.).—Foundations and scattered stones only remain. It is a small ruin of no importance. Khirbet Belal (J& aye, in Arabic, ‘ruin of damp’).—A ruin in the oak-woods north of ’Arak el Emir, overgrown with large oak-trees. Great heaps of stones remain here on a hill-top. Belal Ibn Rubah was the Muedhdhen of Muhammed, but there is nothing to show any con- nection with his name, BALA 147 Khtrbet Belath (ash 4 y).—This does not appear to be an Arabic word. It might be a corruption of mbys (Baalath), which is ren- dered more probable by the vicinity of the sacred tree at Rujm Belath. At the ruin is a sort of Tell about 300 yards by 100 yards, with remains of a square building at the north-west end. It is 16 paces (40 feet) side, with a bearing 310°. The stones in the walls are 24 feet to 54 feet long, and 14 feet to 2 feet high. Most of them have rude bosses projecting some 6 inches, the draft being 3 inches to 12 inches wide, but averaging 6 inches. The walls are standing, from 4 feet to 8 feet high. Thence for about 100 yards south-west are remains of house foundations built of small stones rudely squared. One of the stones in the tower has two bosses on one side and one on the end. The stone is 5 feet 8 inches long, 1 foot 8 inches high, and 2 feet 3 inches wide. The bosses project 3 inches and are dressed; the drafts are 12 inches, 7 inches, 6 inches, 5 inches, and 4 inches wide. This seems to be Byzantine work, or Roman of the second or third century. About 30 yards north-west of the tower is a natural cave, 12 yards by 10 yards, and 4 feet high. There is a well in the ruin. The sacred tree is a conspicuous object to the north-west. The name of this ruin—evidently once a place of some importance— is very closely similar to that of Bela, the earlier name of Zoar (Gen. xiv. 2 and 8); but the situation on the plateau does not seem to agree with the situation of Zoar. Eusebius speaks of a Bada as inhabited in his own time (fourth century), and as having a Roman garrison. He describes it as in the east limits of Judea above the Dead Sea, apparently east ot Jordan. Jerome also states it to be the place called Zoora by the Syrians, which might be thought to agree with the vicinity of Rujm Saatir, about a mile to the west. It is curious also that a place called ’Amriyeh (the proper equivalent of Gomorrah or Amorah) exists not far west. It is possible that these names are survivals of an ecclesiastical tradition of the fourth century, but they cannot be considered the real Biblical sites (see Reland’s ‘ Palestine,’ vol. ii, pp. 622, 1065 ; see also Tell esh Shaghfr). Visited September 13, 1881. Khirbet ed Deir (WI ys, ‘ruin of the monastery ’).—Two cisterns, and a few foundations of roughly squared stones. _ Khirbet edh Dhraa (ghNI ay, ‘ruin of the cubit, or forearm’). 19—2 148 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE —This is evidently an ancient Edrei ‘Y978, a name signifying a ‘strong place’ (Josh. xiii. 31, and xix. 36). Two cities so called existed, one in Bashan (now edh Dhra), one in Galilee, probably the present Y ater. The present ruin appears not to be historically known at all. It consists of foundations and heaps of stones on the ridge east of "Arak el Emir. Khuirbet ed Dubbeh (aw) ays, ‘ ruin of the she-bear,’ or ‘of the pack animal,’ most probably the former, as the Mugharet ed Dubbeh, or ‘bears’ cave,’ exists close by. No bears are, however, now found in this district). The ruin is south of the last. Foundations and heaps of stones, cut rudely, or quite undressed, occur on the hill. To the north, about 200 yards away, there are several Arab graves. Three of these are surrounded with circular walls of stone (compare ’Ain Hesban, etc.) ; these also are modern. Khirbet Ferawit, see Ayan Ferawit.—It is a small ruin, con- sisting of rough foundations, near the springs. Khtrbet el Gharbeh (ayjaJ) ays, ‘west ruin’).—An insignificant ruin, apparently. It was not actually visited, but seen at a little distance, and said to be unimportant by the guide. Khuirbet el Hamam (pls! ays, ‘ruin of the pigeon’), see Arak el Hamam.—lIt consists of heaps of small stones only. It was visited by Captain Conder, but found to be quite insignificant. Khitrbet Hamzeh.—See Umm el Hanafish. Khirbet el Harat (cslyls! ays, ‘ruin of the quarters,’ or Harat Hesban).—See Hesban. Khuirbet el Hawiyeh (ays! as, ‘ruin of the circle ’).—This is on the plateau north of el ’Al. There are three natural caves, the largest 12 paces by 10 paces (30 by 25 feet), and 8 feet high. Three cisterns also occur, and a fragment of a torus-moulding ona stone 5 feet long, 2 feet high, 15 inches broad at the top, 8 inches at the bottom, the torus projecting 7 inches in a height of 13 inches. A pillar shaft, 19 inches in diameter and 18 inches long, was found ; and a second, lying on the ground, 54 feet long, and of the same diameter. The ruin is exten- sive, and occupies the west slope of the flat hill. There are many foundations without any distinguishable plan. A few of the stones are large and well cut : one was 5 feet long, 21 inches high, 19 inches thick ; KHURBET KHULDEH 149 another was only 23 inches by 20 inches. The ruin was visited and described by Lieutenant Mantell, September 13, 1881. Khitrbet Jezztia ( e955 & ys. Perhaps from ¢ ya, ‘high land ‘\.— This was beyond the border of the ’AdwAn, and, consequently, could not be visited under the arrangement made. Khirbet el Kefrein (.y)80! ays, ‘ ruin of the two villages ’).— This is a large mound with graves, nearly a mile south-west of the Tell Kefrein. On the mound stands the sacred circle of ez Zaby, to the north and west are the Kabtir el Hasdsineh, and on the west is Salhah, another grave and shrine. The spot is thus a centre of Arab graves, and a sacred place. The site is an open space, about 100 yards across, in the midst of the thickets of szdr and other trees. A few scattered stones, and one modern Arab hut remain, and the place does not seem to be an ancient site. Khtrbet Keradeh (sslys & 8, ‘ruin of camel-ticks’).—It seems possible that this is another plural, instead of K er td, meaning ‘ goblins.’ It is a small ruin, presenting only heaps of roughly cut stones, extending for some 20 or 30 yards. It is north-west of ’Arak el Emir, and is a favourite camping-ground of the Arabs. This may account for its name, if it really means ‘ camel-ticks.’ , Khtrbet Khardubbeh (ays &ys. This is probably a cor- ruption of some older name).—It is a small square watch-tower, in the open valley north-east of “Amman. The plain near is called Sahlet Khardubbeh. Khtrbet Kheshrtim (py;%e& 4&6), north of Bir Abu Nukleh, seems to be an old site of some importance. It resembles Umm el Kindib in general character. Ruined cottages were observed, with cisterns, but no very distinctive objects were found. Visited September 17, 1881. Khitrbet Khuldeh (sNe& 4 54).—This is an interesting name, applying to several places in Western Palestine also. The radical mean- ing of the word is ‘enduring,’ but in Syrian dialect the Khuld is the mole rat Spalax Typhlus, the Hebrew K holed, rendered ‘ weasel’ in the Bible. It is possibly from the ancient Baal Haldim, or ‘ Lord of Eternity,’ that these places are named. The present ruin is quite small, 150 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE consisting of foundations and heaps of stones on a spur at the north edge of the Survey. Near it is the Kusr Khuldeh, which is the real ruin. (See under that name.) The hilltop above is a very prominent feature—a trigonometrical station, with a large tree to the east. This may very probably have been a sacred place.. Khtrbet el Kursi ((.#S! & ys, ‘ruin of the throne’ or ‘ chair’). —A small ruined tower, with a large tree, east of Rabahiyeh. Khirbet Masth (cy»le &).—The root qe» means ‘ flowing,’ and is applied to surface water; but Wady Masth is quite dry, and the site is supplied by cisterns. The ruin is that of an important place on the plain east of Heshbon. The town stood at the foot of a flat slope ascending northwards, on a low mound about 200 yards across. Founda- tions of houses remain, built of rudely-dressed drafted stones, 2 feet to 3 feet in length. A lintel stone 7 feet long was measured. Under the houses are caves (as at Dhiban, Maain, and at Khirbet ’Aziz, and other sites on Sheet XXI. of the ‘Western Survey’). The caves are reached by passages cut in the rock, with steps leading down from the surface of the ground. One passage is 7 feet long and 3 feet wide. The caves are about 10 paces (25 feet) square. A wall remains of well-squared ashlar, looking like Roman work; but the masonry is either not zz sztu, or, for some other reason, very irregularly built. The horizontal joints of the courses are not continuous (a feature often observable in Byzantine ruins). This wall runs north and south, and is in the north-west part of the ruin. There are many rock-cut cisterns at the site, and a fine arch stands up alone, consisting of 14 voussoirs of squared stone. It is 12 feet in span, 5 feet rise, and 28 inches thick. This appears to be Roman work. On the south-east there are modern Arab graves, and also remains of a building with pillars of great size. There are remains of three shafts 3 feet in diameter, one being 9 feet long; another shaft, 14 feet in diameter, was measured, and three massive bases, about 20 inches high and 50 inches square, one supporting the pillars 3 feet in diameter, but now overthrown. These are probably remains of a temple like that on the citadel hill at "Amman; but the ruins are in part, at least, attributable to the fourth or fifth century a.p. Visited September 16, 1881. KHURBET MESHUKKAR 151 Khtrbet el Meisah (aul dys, ‘ruin of the Meis tree, Cordia M yxa’).—Heaps of stones and a few foundations near Dhahr Hamar, on the east. Khirbet Merj el Hamam (pla! gy & 4, ‘ruin of the meadow of the pigeon’).—This is an insignificant ruin—a few stones on a hill. Khtrbet el Merussus (evo ys] 4s, ‘ruin of pebbles ’).—A small ruin consisting only of a great heap of stones, with a few founda- tions. It is south of Dhahr Hamar, and named, perhaps, from ’Ain el Merussus to the west. Khirbet el Meshukkar (,Sew! &@4).—This is the name of a district or ridge west of Heshbon. The root means ‘dark red,’ which does not apply to the colour of the ground. The ShakkAdra is the anemone flower, and the ridge may be named from these plants, which are plentiful in spring. The ruin in question is the site of a small town on high ground. An ancient road passes beneath the hilltop on the east. A high flat mound, about 50 yards in diameter, is covered with foundations, built of rude masonry of moderate proportions. On the north, rather lower, are modern huts of some fugitive Fellahin here settled. They cultivate a little corn and tobacco. There are caves on this side, and a few drafted stones. A simple pillar base was also observed, but nothing very remarkable was found. Half a mile east of this ruin, on the crest of the hill, looking down towards ’Ain Fudeili, there WINEPRESS. is a very fine rock-cut wine-press, showing that the vine was once cultivated in the vicinity of Heshbon. The chief chamber is 18 feet square and 1 foot deep. On the west a little channel leads to a circular well 13 feet deep and 3 feet in diameter, and another channel from this again, on the west side, communicates with a third well 2 feet deep, 3 feet in diameter. Visited September 13 and 16, 1881. 152 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE Khitrbet N4éadr, named from the spring, see Ain Naatir.—This site is immediately west of the spring on the south slope of the valley and above the waterfall. There are half a dozen modern houses where corn is stored, and a little enclosed vegetable garden east of the spring is the property of Sheikh ’Aly Diab, under the care of a fugitive Arab from the Nejed. Khitrbet Nineh (a3 &)&),—This is the same word as Nein, generally rendered ‘colony.’ It is a small ruin, with foundations of rough stones, east of the springs called ’Aytin Nineh. Khtrbet er Ramleh (aj! & ys, ‘sandy ruin’).—A small ruin ; a few foundations and ruined walls with a tree. It is named from the sandstone which appears in these great gorges. It is on the east side of Wady esh Shita. Khurbet er Raseifeh (ay! &ys, see ‘Ain er Raseifeh), north-east of ’Amman.—Foundations extending over some 50 yards, with a central tower 16 paces (40 feet) square and 10 feet high. It is on a ridge nearly 4 miles west of the springs. Khirbet er Rijjahah (ss&yj! as. In Arabic this means ‘ruin of the swing ’).—It is quite a small ruin on the hill, east of “Arak el Emir. Khirbet er Rénak (So)! &s, ‘ruin of shining,’ of the sun, etc.), near Khirbet Sar on the east. There isa £usr, or tower, at this site, built of flint stones ; it is 50 feet in diameter and round (compare the tower at el Bureikeh). This may have been a beacon station, as the situation is very elevated. The remaining ruins are foundations and scattered stones. Khirbet er Rtak (5p) ys, ‘ruin of porches ’).—This is the word applied to certain cave tombs (cf ’Arak er Rfdk). The ruin isa mile to the north of the “Arak er Rdak, and consists of walls of large stones with a rock-cut cistern. Other cisterns and a ruined watch-tower occur on the hill farther north. Khirbet es Safrah (s;4e3! ays, ‘yellow ruin’),—Foundations of houses built of small rough stones. It is on the high ridge called Hadib es Sufa, east of ‘Amman, and is named, no doubt, from the tawny colour of this barren ridge. AZOR 153 Khtrbet es Sahel (jeu! ays, ‘ruin of the plain’).—Was not _visited, being beyond the ’Adwan border. Khirbet Sar (jl &ys, see "Arak el Emir).—-This is the ruin of an ancient place of some importance. ‘The site is large, extending some 500 yards in either direction. The ancient west road from ’Amman passes by it, and on the north by the roadside six sarcophagi were found lying in a square enclosure. There is a large pool or Birkeh in the ruins, and in the north-west angle of the site are remains of a fine tower, which is a conspicuous object in the landscape from every side. It is 21 paces or 53 feet square, and is built of great blocks of chert or flint, taken from the bands which run through the rock (a soft white chalk). These blocks are 5 feet to 7 feet long, and 1 foot to 2 feet thick. The use of flint is common all over this plateau, and also in the Beersheba Desert, where the same formation occurs. East of the tower are remains of a building with two parallel rows of arches running east and west, 22 feet apart. Probably the rubbish is here of great depth, and the piers beneath the arches are covered up. There are four arches in each row, 4 feet 9 inches span, and round in shape, with voussoirs 2 feet deep. The arcade is 30 feet long, and the arches 6 feet thick north and south. The face of each arch is ornamented with mouldings (as in the structural tombs of ’Amm4n). There seem thus to have been two rows of vaults which may have been tombs. Among the ruins was found a pillar shaft 3 feet 3 inches in diameter. Not far from the arcade some large bases were also noted, and masonry of Roman appearance. This, with the presence of the sarcophagi, seems to indicate the date of the ruin, which is a large and important site. It is probably to this ruin of Sar that Eusebius refers (s.v. Azor in the ‘Onomasticon’) as being 10 Roman miles west of Philadelphia (Amman), and 15 Roman miles north of Heshbon. Jerome mentions a great stream as flowing thence to Jordan (cf. Jer. xlviti. 32). The ruin of Sireh and the spring 'Ain es Sir are in the valley below Khiirbet Sar. It is pro- bably to the stream which flows thence to Jordan that Jerome refers. The names in question come, however, from the root 4)¥ (see under the head Arak el Emir), and these words have no connection with the name 20 154 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE Jazer, from the root 7y (see under the head Beit Zerah), only the R being common to the two names. Visited October 20, 1881. PISGAH. Khutrbet Siaghah (ale &)&).—This ruin probably takes its name from the Aramaic Seath (AY"D), which is called in the Targum of Onkelos (on Num. xxxii. 3), ‘the house of the burial of Moses.’ The Aramaic and the Arabic are as close as possible, the important guttural Seale Enches 2 6 o 1 2 steet being retained. The ruin is a conspicuous mound of broken masonry, on the ridge of Pisgah (Ras Siaghah), west of the summit of Nebo. It seems most probably to have been a Byzantine settlement, with a church towards the east of the site, which measures (according to Sir C. Warren) 300 yards east and west, by 1oo yards north and south. Towards the south lie about a dozen pillar shafts, 2 feet in diameter, and six rude Ionic capitals, which resemble those found at Tanttirah (‘ Memoirs of Western PISGAH 155 Palestine,’ vol. ii, p. 8) and elsewhere. In the Christian buildings of the Hauran (second to fourth century) similar Ionic capitals are common. Another capital has a rude foliage, somewhat like: the work of the Basilica of Justinian in the Aksa mosque. A double column was also found, resembling those of the Galilean synagogues. Each of the two shafts was 1 foot 6 inches in diameter. These double columns are also found at Tyre (perhaps relics of the old Temple of Melcarth), at Khirbet Belat (‘ Memoirs,’ vol. i., p. 171), and at Jerdsh ; they were certainly therefore used by Jews and Romans in the second century of our era. The principal building at Siaghah—whether church or temple—lay east and west. The plan is not easily distinguishable. Sir C. Warren makes the length 70 feet. Captain Conder paced it as 24 paces (about 60 feet) ; the breadth was not certain, and there are no apses (cf Madeba). There appears to have been a nave and two aisles. The moulding of a cornice which belonged to this building was measured. The masonry in this and other parts of the ruin is very well cut; the stones being about 2 feet by 1 foot by 1 foot on an average. On the south are cisterns, one of which is of considerable size. On the west is a vault, explored by Sir C. Warren and Captain Conder : the roof is supported on ribs over round arches of good masonry, the voussoirs 24 feet deep, the span ro feet, the pier 24 feet thick. Across these ribs a flat roofing of flags is placed—an arrangement found sometimes in Byzantine work (cf Deir ’Araby, ‘Memorrs,’ vol. ii., p. 313). A few fragments of a skeleton and rags of clothing were found in this vault, and there were traces of cement on the walls, showing that (as in other ruins) it was probably once used as a rain- water tank underground. Immediately north-west of the vault is another vault of rudely squared stones, the joints of the masonry packed with smaller stones; this is also a peculiarity of Byzantine work, as at Bidieh (‘Memoirs,’ vol. ii., p. 306), or in the Birket Israil at Jerusalem. This tank measures 8 paces north and south, by 6 paces east and west. In it lies a pillar shaft, which is chiefly remarkable for the exaggerated bellying at the centre, the two ends having a smaller diameter. The indications of date thus obtained, though not very definite, seem all to point to the early Christian period, or to that of the Antonines, as 20—2 156 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE the time when this small town of Sidghah was built. As no crosses or inscriptions were found, it is not possible to say certainly whether the principal building is Christian or Pagan; but this ridge was known to Jerome (cf Neba) as the site of Nebo, and also, apparently, of Peor. It seems, therefore, not improbable that a church may have been built on the supposed site of the spot whence Moses viewed the Promised Land, in or about the fourth century. The large cairn on Ras Siaghah, south-west of the present ruin, is said to have been originally constructed by the American Survey party in 1873. It was used as a trigonometrical station, also, by the English Surveyors. Visited August 20, and September 7, 1881. Kharbet es Sireh (Sym! &ys, ‘ruin of the sheep-fold,’ in Wady es Sir; cf. “Arak el Emir).—This is the ruin immediately west of ‘Ain es Sir, but presents only heaps of stones among the oak-trees. Kharbet Steimeh (auy2 %s),—This is the Hebrew Beth Jeshimoth (myp'wena, ‘house of solitudes’) mentioned in Numb. xxxiil. 49; Josh. xii. 3, xill. 20; Ezek. xxv. 9. It was known to Eusebius as being 1o miles from Jericho, near the Dead Sea. There is a small sandy mound, or Tell, here, covered with chips of pottery and glass, and some modern Arab graves. Alsoa spring. (See ’Ain Steimeh). Khirbet es Stir (5)! ays, ‘ruin of the wall’).—The pronuncia- tion of the Bedawin was very indistinct, and the scribe was doubtful as to the S, which may be a Sad. The name is no doubt derived from the ancient 3)y, or Tyrus (see Arak el Emir), and the Sin and Sad in Syrian mouths are often indistinguishable, as also in dictionary Arabic (see Lane and Freytag on the words (3,0 and (y+). The ruin is con- spicuous, occupying the flat top of a ridge west of ‘Arak el Emir. Heaps of rudely-cut stone and numerous foundations occupy two knolls, lying north and south, and about a quarter of a mile apart. These sites were explored by Lieutenant Mantell, but nothing of interest was found. Khtirbet Umm el ’Akak (SIG e! & y4).—This is also known as Muntar el Mushukkar, on the flat ground, east of an ancient road. The latter term, however, applies, properly, to a ruin rather further south, on the west side of the same road. Foundations of a small house remain at KISSARAH 157 Umm el ’Akak, at the top of the rapid descent leading down to ’Ain el Fudeili. There is a rock-cut cistern, and a rock-cut wine-press, also a modern circle, no doubt surrounding a grave. It is 12 paces (30 feet) in diameter, the wall built up of small unhewn stones without any trilithon or other entrance. Khirbet Umm Hadawiyeh (a e! &ys, apparently ‘ruin of the gift, on the pass immediately west of the Survey Camp, near ’Ain Hesban’).—There are strewn stones here, some of which are rudely squared, others not dressed at all ; they are from 14 feet by 1 foot, to 3 feet by 14 feet in size. There are also a few walls showing the remains of a rough hamlet, which perhaps dates 1rom the time when Muhammed ’Aly commanded the Arabs to reside in houses. The ruins extend over about 40 paces (100 feet) east and west, by 50 paces (125 feet) north and south. On the south of the ruin, WINEPRESS. some 30 paces (80 feet) away, is a rock-cut wine-press with one chamber measuring 84 feet by 75 feet, whence two channels lead, one to a chamber 4 feet by 2 feet 10 inches, and 20 inches deep, the other to a separate chamber 1 foot deep, and 1 foot by 14 feet in area. These remains were measured and described by Lieutenant Mantell, R.E. Visited September 12, 1881. Khirbet Umm Rummaneh (aly e! 4) y&, ‘ruin mother of the pomegranate ’).—This may be an ancient Rimmon. The name is common in Western Palestine. No pomegranates exist at it. A small ruin on high ground of no special features, resembling the others on the plateau (see Umm el Kindib), with heaps of masonry, cisterns, and foundations of rough stones, probably of the Byzantine period. (See Sir C. Warren's remarks on this subject. ‘Quarterly Statement,’ 1870, p. 290: ‘We now arrived in a very remarkable piece of country... . . A great portion of the masonry is no doubt Roman.) Kissarah (aS, the root means ‘to break’).—Apparently a ruined village or pilgrim station, on the Haj Road, east of Amman. Kém Yajiz (sb pS, ‘heap of Yajtz ’).—At the northern edge of the Survey. This is an irregular circle on a hilltop about 200 feet in 158 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE diameter (compare el Hadanieh). It has a stone breastwork or wall with sloping sides, heaped up as at Hadadnieh. This encloses other ruined walls. Similar circles were found in the same district at Ras el Merkeb. El Ktieijiyeh cys, the word ¢,3 means ‘an ornament’ for a woman’s head-dress).—This is a prominent isolated hill crowned with ruins. On all sides near the foot of the hill, but especially on the south slope, there are numerous dolmens which are specially described with others under the head WAdy Jideid. On the top of the hill are remains of a small village, consisting of cottages built of unsquared stone, and having a modern appearance. It may have been built up at the time when Muhammed ’Aly endeavoured to compel the Arabs to live in houses. There is a large Arab graveyard here and two modern sacred circles (see "Ain Hesbdn), each with its trilithon on the west. Inside were laid crutch-headed sticks about 2 feet long, such as mark the dignity of Sheikh. They were adorned with strips of red and green cloth. Ploughs, coffee-mills, etc., were stored in the circles, and on the lintels were small offerings, including a few small modern coins. On the south were graves, two of which were honoured by strings of hair. A stick was placed upright at each end of the grave, and a string tied between these stakes ; from the string depended the plaits of hair, from a foot to 18 inches in length, carefully plaited as is the hair of married women among the Arabs, and bleached by exposure to sun, wind, and rain. Over one of the graves forty-five of these plaits were hanging, and over the other thirty-three plaits. This is more than is usual, though such offerings are frequently found (as at Maain, Rujm el Meseik, etc.). In the middle of the ruins there is a remarkable disc stone standing upright. It must be compared with the Mensef, Abu Zeid, and the stone of Kefeir Abu Bedd. (See under those heads.) It is 6 feet in diameter, and has no hole in the middle, being likewise too large for an ordinary millstone. The Arabs store corn in metamér, or underground silos, at this place— no doubt because it is a sacred spot. Visited September 27, 1881. HESHBON DOLMENS 159 Kullet es Sektriyeh (a3) ,200| as, apparently ‘the collection of falcons ’’).—This applies to the plateau east of Neba. It may, perhaps, be a mis-pronunciation for as, ‘ hilltop.’ El Kureinein (54,4, ‘the two little horns’ or ‘ peaks ’).—This appears to be a ruined village. Rough walls remain, and a cistern was noted. On the north-east there is a ruined cistern. It may perhaps be an old site named from Ashtoreth Karnaim, or from the Arab Dhu el Karnein. The whole district is full of ruins of the same class. Kuriet el Hammam (plasd & 53, ‘village of the bath ’).— Applies to the ruins on the top of Tell el Hammam. Hesuson DoLMENs. El Kurmiyeh (asi, probably from e953, meaning ‘hard rock,’ as this is a very rugged spur).—This name applies to the long spur running out west of Hesban, and having ’Ain Fudeili at its feet. It is one of the great centres of rude stone monuments, which also occur further west along the course of Wady Hesban. (See Stimia and el Kaltia.) The ridge runs out at first on the level of the Mishor plateau, north of the Tell at Hesban, and then falls with a steep slope to the terrace, or spur, to which the name Kurmiyeh appears specially to apply, some 400 feet above ’Ain Fudeili. At the west end of this spur, which is partly arable ground, is a knoll, on which stands a large ruined cairn, with remains of a circular enclosure ‘of small stones. The steep slopes on the south-west, west, and north are covered with dolmens down almost to the bottom of the valley, and the total number of rude-stone monuments on the hill is at least twenty-six. They do not appear to have any orientation or systematic arrangement, but were constructed probably wherever fallen blocks and fragments of 160 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE the limestone strata were found lying at hand on the slopes. From the cairn a good view is obtained down the course of Wady Hesban, including the vicinity of the Kaltia rocks. The cairn above-mentioned has been destroyed almost to its founda- tions, and measures 6 paces (15 feet) across the foundation ; the stones are unhewn, and of no great size. There seems to have been once a circle of 15 paces (40 feet) diameter round this centre, consisting of rough stones, about 2 feet high. Lower down the west slope there are remains which seem to indicate a larger double circle traceable for some distance round the contour of the hill. The diameter (measuring from the cairn as acentre) would have been about 200 yards, and the two rows of stones are 8 feet apart. Most of the stones have been set on end, and they stand in places touch- ing each other, some having a curious pointed form ; they appear to be unhewn blocks, averaging about 2 feet in height, probably selected on account of their pointed, or tapering, shape. On the flat rock, near the central cairn on the knoll at the end of the spur, or terrace, there are a good many round holes, 1 foot to 2 feet in diameter, and 6 inches to 1 foot indepth. These resemble the cup-hollows in the dolmens at this and other sites (see No. 3). The dolmens are found mainly on the west and north, outside the double circle above described. There isa fine single specimen, however, stand- ing quite alone at the foot of the upper slope, in the north-east corner of the terrace. It bears 79° true bearing from the central cairn, while the top of the hill, or centre of the upper spur, bears 97° from the same cairn: this example is No. 1 of the enumeration below, and was called Beit el Ghil, ‘the Ghoul’s house,’ a title which was, however, found to apply to dolmens generally among the more ignorant Arabs of the district. The Jower slopes of the hill are known as Katat Mismar (see under this head). The dolmens on the Kurmiyeh ridge may be divided into four groups. The northern, near the foot of the slope, including Nos. 3 and 4; the western, lying west and north-west of No. 6, on the steeper part of the slope, low down the spur: the third (above the first), on the south, extend- ing south from No. 2, on the south-west slope, which is gentle, and down which an ancient road from Heshbon descends towards ’Ain Fudeili. The fourth group is further north, near No. 5 dolmen, above the first group. HESHBON DOLMENS 161 The monuments highest up the hill appear, asa rule, to be smaller than the fine examples found near the foot. No. 1 dolmen, already mentioned as standing alone on the north-east, is a very fine trilithon, which was photographed and sketched. The table- stone measures 6 feet along the south face, and 5 feet 3 inches along the west face. The sidestones are on east and west, the eastern standing nearly upright, measuring 6 feet in width and height, and 14 feet in average thick- ness. The western has, perhaps, subsided from its original position, and is 54 feet high, 4 feet long, 14 feet thick. These two supports are 6 feet apart. averages 1 foot to 14 feet in thickness. Plaryv of N°1. Scale of Feet Ss 6 7 8 B8 0 H iBfhet The capstone is tilted up eastwards, and It may originally have been aya Nall ‘\\ = IAN 1 a horizontal, On the north side are two other sidestones, and an end stone, as though intended to support a second table-stone, which would make the original length of the monument north and south 10 feet 6 inches. 21 162 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE On the south side of the monument is a small stone adjoining the western sidestone, and forming a step. The clear height inside the dolmen is 64 feet in the middle, and a man standing on the stepstone, which is about 2 feet high, can place his hands conveniently on the top of the table-stone. Three other stones on this side seem to form a little enclosure (as in other ex- amples), dividing off the interior of the trilithon. The great blocks thus piled up are of heavy hard limestone. They are not dressed, but may have been rudely trimmed for their purpose.* N°2 From East. No. 2 dolmen stands on the hill due west of the central cairn on the flatter part of the slope outside the double circle, or enclosure ; it was discovered by Lieutenant Mantell, half a mile west of No. 1. It was photographed by him (photo No. 5 of his list). The table-stone is only raised 3 feet (clear beneath the stone) above the ground; it measures 6 feet north and south, and 44 feet along its northern face ; it is about 1 foot 3 inches thick, and sup- ported by a stone on the north (4 feet by 2 feet, and 3 feet high), and by another at the south-east corner (44 feet by 34 feet). There is also a long stone on the west, which may have been intended to support the table-stone ; but the latter has either been moved or was never placed in its intended position, as it now only touches this sidestone, which measures 7 feet north and south, by 24 feet east and west, by 3 feet in height. This is a remarkable specimen of a very distinct dolmen; which is, nevertheless, much lower than the average of such monuments. Plan of N°2. * The scale, 5, on last page is that of all the figures of rude-stone monuments in this volume. 50 pag § HESHBON DOLMENS 163 No. 3, together with the next, is on the north slope of the hill, quite low down. It is, perhaps, the finest specimen east of Jordan, and was discovered, measured and photographed by Lieutenant Mantell (photo No. 2 of his series). It is a trilithon with a floor stone, and the blocks which form the supports are so well shaped, that it seems necessary Plan of N°3 N°3 From the West. to suppose that they were trimmed to shape by human art—perhaps with a stone or flint axe. The table, or capstone, is very flat, from 1 foot to 2 feet thick, and measuring 8 feet by g feet along two sides. The sup- - porting stones are in a line directed at 119° true bearing (the view through the monument being thus south of west). The southern sidestone is 9 feet long, 5 feet 3 inches high, and 1 foot 6 inches thick, of very regular shape. The northern stone is 8 feet long, 2 feet thick, 54 feet high ; the capstone rests irregu- larly on these; the floorstone is 6 feet long, 4 feet wide. In the upper surface of the capstone are six or seven holes, varying from t foot to 18 inches in diameter. No. 4 is some 20 yards north of No. 3, lower down the slope. It was discovered at the same time by Lieutenant Mantell and photographed (No. 3 photo of his series). This is also a fine specimen, with a capstone 21—2 164 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE intended to rest on three supports, and having a curiously pointed ridge on the upper surface. The sidestones are towards the north and south (according to the contour of the hill), and there is a cross or endstone towards the west. The capstone is 2 feet thick in the centre and 1 foot thick at the sides ; it measures 4} feet by 44 feet, but at one end is only 3 feet broad. The northern sidestone is 8 feet long, 14 feet thick, 35 feet high ; the southern is 13 feet long, but broken, and 3 feet 9 inches high and 13 feet thick. The cross stone is 3 feet high and 1 foot 3 inches thick ; the space between the sidestones is 34 feet wide north and south, and the mean height under the capstone is 35 feet. The four dolmens thus described are the finest specimens on the Kur- miyeh hill. About roo yards north-east of Nos. 3 and 4 was observed a niche cut in a low cliff about 1 foot wide, 14 feet x a8 & eet id N° 5 West Stude. N°5 South Side. high, and 9 inches to the back, and rather further east there are two chambers, or £okzv2, cut in the rock (cf el Kalia). These chambers were found in several other instances (cf el Mareighat).in connection with HESHBON DOLMENS 165 dolmens. There is a fallen dolmen west of No. 3, the topstone of which measures 44 feet by 8 feet. No. 5 is south-west of No. 3, in a line bearing 119° true bearing, and 48 paces, or 120 feet, distant, higher up the hill; it has been partly destroyed, but the capstone is still supported by three stones (photo No. 4 of Lieutenant Mantell’s series). The clear space under the table Plan of N°6. N°6 From North. is only 24 feet ; the capstone is 5 feet by 7 feet in measurement. North- east of this specimen was found a rock-cut winepress, the larger chamber 12 feet square, with three smaller chambers about 3 feet wide, varying from 2 feet to 4 feet in depth. No. 6 is a dolmen close to No. 5, which has subsided somewhat from its proper position. The capstone (2 feet thick) is rectangular, measuring 6 feet by 8 feet. The sidestone oS Se towards the west lies in a direction 2 SS 22° true bearing along the length, and is 9 feet long, and 44 feet high, and 2 feet thick. The western side of the table is supported by two stones only 3 feet high, and measuring together 6 feet in length. Nez, There is also an endstone on the north, 2 feet long, 14 feet thick, and about 3 feet high. No. 7 is 50 yards south-west of the last, and is a peculiar monument, perhaps fallen, though by comparison with other examples, and judging 166 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE from the horizontality of the table-stone, it seems more probable that it stands as originally constructed—a flat table, 5 feet by 4 feet, being sup- ported on the down-hill side by two large blocks, but resting on the upper side on the ground. The slope is here so steep that the height from table to rock on the down-hill side is 6 feet. No. 8, west of No. 6, is a == yet ruder structure, two small flat stones lying one on the other, N°8 evidently not a natural feature. No. 9 is a dolmen which has fallen over or has been destroyed; with the next two it forms a group about 200 yards west of No. 6, near the foot of the spur east of the junction of Wady Hesban and the ravine nwa NON. Section. OO Sue Plan 9.10 1. N29. NP 10. Cc) sss. Sector Scale of Feet for Site Plan Feet 8 10 § 9 1p 2p 2 49 £0 2 je fee south of the Kurmiyeh hill. The table-stone of No. 9 measures 45 feet by 6 feet, and was once raised on three supports, one each side and one at the end. No. 10 is 20 paces (50 feet) south-west of the last, and consists, like No. 8, of two small flat stones placed one over the other. No. 11, about 10 paces (25 feet) north of the last, consists of one end and two side stones, but the table-stone has disappeared. No. 12 is north-west of No. 6, and it is the most northerly of the group (including Nos. 6 to 15), on the extreme west part of the spur. It is merely a great heap of stones, perhaps marking a fallen dolmen. HESHBON DOLMENS 167 No. 13 is a single menhir standing south of the last, and rather higher up the hill; it is 5 feet high, 6 feet wide at the base, 1 foot thick, and has N12. j OW. Secluon Side View. Ne 13. a pointed or tapering shape towards the top. It appears to be unhewn— a natural stone raised up vertically.* No. 14 is east of the last, and may perhaps be a fallen dolmen. It is N° 14. north-west of No. 6. One stone, apparently the western sidestone, is 4 feet high and 6 feet long. The table-stone was about 5 feet square. No. 15 is a little structure which would be easily overlooked if found alone, though it is evidently artificial, and resembles others found near’Amman. It is immediately north-west NP15, * The pointed form of this nhenhir, as well as of those at ’Ammdan and el Mareighat (though in other cases the top is carefully rounded), is worthy of special notice. It is clear that it cannot be accidental that so many menhirs should have this pointed form, and especially as the menhirs of Brittany and of the Dekhan in India are also generally pointed at the top. The appearance of the menhir circle at el Kurmiyeh and of the menhirs at el Mareighat is very similar to that of the Carnac menhirs—a row of points bristling one above another, as the stones are arranged in lines gradually increasing in height. 168 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE of No. 6. It consists merely of a stone 3 feet long, resting on a little stone at one end. No. 16 appears to be a structure still existing as originally built rather than a fallen dolmen, and is a larger example of No. 15. It is high up on the slope of the spur, about 20 paces east of the wine- press already described, on the north slope. A stone measuring 5 feet by 6 feet is supported on the down-hill or north-west side by two smaller stones, which, together, are 3 feet high ; the other end rests on the ground—as in a demi-dolmen—and on this flat stone is placed another of almost equal size, 2 feet thick, and 5 feet by 44 feet on the upper surface. Another stone is placed nearly touching this last, which is not quite horizontal, but slightly tilted. It is clear that this structure is more probably in- tended for a table or altar than for a grave, No. 17, high up on the hill, south of No. 5, and thus west of the central cairn, is a ruder example of the same class with the last. Three flat stones are piled one on the other with a slight tilt, and the top stone is 8 feet by 4 feet. No. 18, west of No. 2, on the flatter part of the west slope of the hill, N° 17 From North. = Toe AEP Te Fe N°18 From South. N° 18 From North West. may perhaps have fallen. The arrangement is peculiar—a flat stone being apparently (if in its proper position) balanced on one much smaller, and steadied by another resting against it. The flat stone measures 4 feet by 65 feet, and is 2 feet thick; the one resting against it is of the same size. HESHBON DOLMENS 169 No. 19 is, perhaps, a fallen dolmen, though the position of the stones might, perhaps, equally indicate intention. A flat stone, 5 feet by 44 feet, by 15 inches in thickness, lies on a small stone, and is balanced by a stone 54 feet by 6 feet, by 15 inches thick ; which is again held in place by another block, 6 feet by 3 feet, by 14 feet, and scotched beneath by small pebbles. The whole structure is thus very infirm, and might be thought to have fallen but for the position of the last-mentioned stone. No. 20.—This is a rude pile, appa- rently standing as originally erected, and clearly built up to support the top table - stone, which is some 5 feet square. The structure lies 15 paces south-east of No. 2, on the flatter « western part of the spur. No. 21 lies 20 paces (50 feet) south N20, of No. 2, on the west of the central cairn, and is a variety of the same class with the last—a single flat stone resting on two flat stones. N°19 From North. No. 22 is towards the south, 100 yards from No. 2. In this case, also, the table-stone is supported, not on stones placed vertically, but on slabs lying flat; it measures 54 feet by 6 feet. No. 23, on the south-west slope of the hill, further east than the last, resembles No. 19. In this case four slabs have been placed one over 22 170 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE the other. There do not seem to be any other remains south-east of this example. No. 24, about 20 paces (50 feet) north of the last, is quite small, resembling No. 15. One stone is supported on another, laid across beneath one end. N? 28. No. 25 is, perhaps, the most remarkable and instructive of all. A thin stratum of rock has here been prized up, and a stone placed under the downhill side. The table so formed is about 3 feet square. This is found 30 paces (75 feet) north of No. 24. No. 26.—The last distinct example noted is north of the last, on about the same level. It may, perhaps, have fallen, or it may be rudely piled ; the topstone is only 3 feet 4 inches long, and 2 feet (at the upper surface) above the ground. Such is the detailed account of the examples measured, photographed, and sketched, presenting almost every variety found in the district. At least half the number are well-defined dolmens, and in no instance could the stones have been so piled save by human agency. The menhirs are all small, but well defined, with peculiar pointed forms. The tables sup- ported on flat slabs are specially interesting for comparison with the trilithons, seeming to show that in both (as also in the demi-dolmens), the main object was to obtain a table flat or slightly tilted, the method of arranging the supports being optional. No orientation or speciality of position could be discovered, but the supporting stones of the trilithons are usually parallel to the contour, which would allow of the capstones being easily fitted by sliding them downhill over supports, on to the uphill leg of the dolmen table, and thence HESHBON DOLMENS 171 pushing the slab on to the taller downhill stone. In the cases of Nos. 3 and 4, the capstone was seemingly not pushed quite far enough, only resting partly on the north support in No. 3, while in No. 4 it never reached it at all. Nos. 16, 19, 23 may perhaps be thought to be stones intended for trilithons, but never placed in position. It is, however, equally possible that they are monuments requiring less time and work than the finer specimens, and more hastily erected. There are no dolmens on the flat terrace, for No. 1 stands on the rock close to the foot of the higher slope above the terrace. Most of the examples are founded on naked rock, and none save No. 3 appear to have any floorstone. No runes, or flint chips, or implements were found, though carefully sought. The builders seem to have had little power of transporting the blocks, and to have only prized up strata, or used scattered blocks of rock, piling them up wherever they happened to occur. The little specimens, like Nos. 15 and 24, are interesting as showing that, for whatever use designed, a surface of about a yard square, raised only 1 foot to 2 feet from the ground, was sufficient. Round holes (as in No. 3) were found on the hill in some cases, beside the monuments, as also in other cases near "Amman. The view from the hilltop is not extensive : the Jordan Valley, and the groves at Kefrein can be seen, and Tell ’Astir is conspicuous on the western Palestine horizon. On the south side of the spur, by the old road descending to the spring, are Meshdahed, or little stone piles of the modern Arabs, such as are erected on roads in sight of Neby Mtisa (cf. Neba); but this shrine (west of Jordan) is not visible from the piles, which may have some relation (as at Neba, also) to superstitions connected with the dolmens. The small rock chambers are also worthy of notice, being elsewhere also connected with dolmen centres. These centres are also, as in this case, generally found near springs and streams. Explored September 9 and 10, 1881. Kurn Kebsh (jS y)5, ‘ram’s horn’).—A ruin on a prominent spur, which is, perhaps, so named from its curving ridge. It is also called Abu en Naml, ‘father of the ant... See Rujm Abu en Nani. Heaps of small undressed stones lie on the ground, and Arab graves occur at the end of the ridge, which is steep and narrow. An ancient 22—2 172 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE road is traceable northwards from the ruin to Khiirbet el Mushukkar, beside which are two ruined watch-towers and a rock-cut wine-press, which, including that at Khtrbet el Mushukkar, that at Rujm Abu Naml, the one at Khitirbet Umm Hadawiyeh, and one east of Simia, makes a total of four fine examples in the Heshbon district. (See Stimia. ) Visited September 13, 1881. Kusr el "Abd (dos yo, ‘the black slave’s palace;’ cf ’Arak el Emir).—This is the Palace of Hyrcanus. Kusr Homrah (sys yo3, ‘red palace,’ or ‘bitumen palace ’).— See Hesban. Kusr Khuldeh (se 03 ; see Khtirbet Khuldeh).—An enclosure, 150 feet by 100 feet, with a wall ro feet high of very large rough stones, much weather-beaten. The Kusr, or tower, itself is 75 feet by 60 feet outside. Its walls are 6 feet thick. No mortar appears to have been used. Cisterns and caves occur at the ruin, which resembles that at el Bureikeh (which see). There is no certain indication of date, but it may probably be a Roman fortress like Khtirbet Sar. Kusr en Nteijis (asp! +3, probably from (si, used also in Himyaritic and A‘thiopic to mean a ‘ruler’—z.e., ‘Palace of the Princes ’).—This is a fine specimen of the mausolea, or tomb-towers, of the rae district (cf ’Amman, Khareibet es Sik, and Kusr es Sebah). It is a square of 40 feet side, with a small chamber in each corner, and a large masonry recess under an arch on each wall; the entrance is on the east; the roof in the centre is a dome rising from pendentives between the side-arches, and KUSR EN NUEIFIS 173 supporting the little vase on the crown. A parapet 35 feet high, 3 feet thick, runs round the flat part of the roof. The outer wall is adorned with corner pilasters 2 feet wide, projecting ? inch, with capitals of Ionic Baan )) 6) a 6) 4) ao) type. These support a regular entablature, the total height of which is 10 feet 2 inches. The total height of the building, to the top Sie of the parapet, is 2 feet 7 inches, including the podium on which the pilasters stand, which is 14 feet high, and the bases 1 foot high, and capitals 16 inches high. There are two intermediate pilasters on each wall. There are marks at the four corners of the parapet where iron cramps appear to have been used, and these, no doubt, supported four pedestals, of which one is still lying on TSG the roof. & i JOG The fluted frieze shown in the drawing is \ i superseded on the east side by a sculptured frieze with scroll patterns and mutilated figures, once representing animals. The walls of the tower are of finely- dressed masonry, not drafted. The stones are 2 or 3 feet long. The masonry of the arches, pendentives, and dome is also very good, and the 174 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE details of the capitals and frieze are boldly cut. This building was discovered by Mr. T. Black, and photographed by Lieutenant Mantell (No. 15 of his series). It was also visited by Captain Conder. The vase on the dome is 2 feet 8 inches high, and stands on an octagonal pedestal, the total height being 5 feet from the dome. The corner pedestal, ornamented with a wreath in bold relief, is 3 feet 3 inches high, and 21 inches square at the base. There can be little hesitation in ascribing this building to the second century a.D., and it probably once contained sarcophagi. The ruin of the east wall seems more probably intentional than due to earthquake or dilapidation. Visited October 15, 1881. Kusr es Sebah (da J! yas, ‘house of the lion,’ probably from some sculptured figure, now no longer to be found).—This is a fine tomb- PLAN Secuon on a.b Feet 10 0 20 feet tower,* containing sarcophagi. It was photographed by Lieutenant Mantell (No. 19 of his series), and the measurements of the plan and elevation are his. There are a good many scattered sarcophagi on the hillside, both north-east and south of the building. ene to the north- east was measured, 8 feet by 4 feet by 3 feet high, 14 feet wide inside, with a lid once carved, but too weather-worn to represent. The Kusr measures 23 feet north and south, and 234 feet east and west, the true * The Greek funerary inscriptions of Asia Minor, collected by Sir C. Fellows, furnish us with very clear ideas as to the appropriation of such tombs. They were built for family use, and the burial of any person not designated by the builder was forbidden under pain of a curse and of a fine to the State. As an instance: ‘ Epagathos, son of Crateros, has built this monument for himself, and his wife, and his children, and the children born of them ; but none shall be allowed to bury, or put into this monument, except when I shall permit it myself. But if any shall violate this, he shall pay to the people of the Cadyandeans a thousand denaria.’—Fellows’ ‘ Inscriptions,’ No. 121 (on a tomb). KUSR ES SEB’AH 175 bearing being 43°. Inside it is 18 feet north and south, 14 feet across. The door is on the north, 4 feet wide. The height of the building is 20 feet outside, and the roof is a fine barrel-vault with a narrow keystone ; the voussoirs are all very well cut. The sarcophagi are placed in two tiers, against all the walls but the north one. On the south wall there are two tiers of two each, opposite the door, each 64 feet long, and each covered with slabs, two in some cases to each sarcophagus. The west wall had also four sarcophagi, two above two : the east wall had only two in the lower row, of which one was short, measuring 4 feet 9 inches only, and probably intended for a child. There are thus ten sarcophagi in all. The short sarcophagus is ornamented on one side with a wreath, on which is a design of a circle with eight rays. This looks like a cross, but is not of necessity Christian. Another sarco- phagus in the upper row to the right, in the south wall, has also an orna- mented lid. The arch of the roof is semicircular, and forms a tunnel-vault running north and south; it starts from a simple = cornice, projecting 6 inches from the KM oa wall of the chamber, and running all round. The stones in the outer walls of the building are drafted with a bold rustic boss. They are 2 feet to 4 feet long, and 14 feet high; the bosses are 4 inches to 6 inches wide, and the projection is 2 inches to 4 inches. On the interior of the walls, the stones of the four lower courses are also drafted, but the bosses do not project so much. The dressing is very much like that in Byzantine masonry, the draft being dressed with an adze, and the face picked over roughly. This building should be compared with Kusr en Nteijis, and with the towers at Khareibet es Sik, and at ‘Amman. It might be as early as the second century A.p. or possibly as late as the third, but is most probably of the Antonine age (second century a.D.). Visited October 6 and 8, 1881. > -_ 176 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE Kusr el Werd (4),)! yas, ‘tower of the rose’) is possibly named from some sculptured fragment representing a rose. The name applies to ruins on the hill immediately north-east of Maain; but nothing appears now to exist save ruined walls and a cistern in the middle of the ruin. BaaL Meon. Maain (5b, the Hebrew yyyp, or ‘ place of springs ’).—This is an important site, very conspicuous as a high dark Tell, or mound, on the plateau, visible from all sides. The situation is, however, peculiar in this respect, that the plateau rises on the west so as to shut out from the top of the Tell any view of the trans-Jordanic ranges. Thus, while on the east, north and south the view is extensive, extending to Heshbon and to Dibon, it is restricted on the west to within a distance of about a mile, although just the top of the Masltbiyeh ridge can be seen. This is important, as entirely precluding the identification of the place with the Bamoth Baal, which is probably to be placed at el Maslibiyeh. The ruin marks the site of the ancient Baal Meon of Reuben (Num. xxxii. 38 ; 1 Chron. v. 8), called also Beth Baal Meon (Josh. xiii. 17). It was known to Eusebius and Jerome as 9 miles from Heshbon (which is very nearly the right distance), and as near Baaru of Arabia, which, as Reland has carefully made out, is the site of Machzrus (see Reland, ‘ Pal. Illustr.,’ pp. 487, 611, 881). The latter name is the Aramaic, 945, or ‘palace’ (z.e., of Herod the Great), now called Mekatr, and situate south-east of MAain, beyond the bounds of the Survey. On the Moabite Stone (line 9) this city is mentioned with Kirjathaim (now Kureiyat, south of the limits of the Survey), as fortified by Mesa, King of Moab, when Omri was in possession of Madeba. It is called Beth Baal Meon on the same monument (line 30). The name was pro- bably derived from the fine springs in the Zerka Main Valley on the south. The ruins are very extensive, covering the whole Tell, and extending over the lower ground to the west. The head of the valley, which runs down southwards from the west side of the Tell (WAdy Jidma, or Kiama, 7.é., ‘of ascent’), is occupied by a large ruined birkeh, or pool. North of this, on the flat ground, are numerous cisterns cut in rock. There is no ‘gli asng anf ol] ‘HV, das SA Usny BAAL MEON 177 water at the place and no trees. The ground is a soft chalk rock with open arable lands in the valleys. The Tell is about 250 yards in diameter, and the ruins are like those of Hesban, consisting of the foun- dations and walls of private houses of the Roman or Byzantine period, with caves beneath and many cisterns. The stones are mostly not squared, but some few have a rough draft round them. Under the houses there are vaults of good masonry with round-arched tunnels, 7 feet or 8 feet in diameter, of Roman or Byzantine masonry, having the narrow keystone and voussoirs of graduated width, the haunch stones being broad. On the hill to the west are rough shepherds’ caves in the soft rock. Ancient roads lead to the city from the west and north. On the top of Scale Tiches 12 6 0 1 2 3 4 feet the Tell towards the east is an Arab graveyard—some of the graves hung with plaits of hair (see el Ktdeijiyeh). Below the Tell on the west is a well with two pillar-stumps beside it. There are several carved fragments lying about, of cornices with lle feeble mouldings, probably Byzantine. A lintel-stone, (mA 4 feet 9 inches long by 14, feet, was also found, havinga [_OO0 6” very Byzantine appearance. Another slab, 1 foot square, has a cross cut in relief, and the remains seem clearly, for the most part, to be those of the Byzantine city known to Jerome and Eusebius. Inscriptions were carefully sought, but none were found on the surface. Visited September 22, 1881. 178 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE El Maberah (sy, ‘the quarry’)—On the south side of Wady Kefrein, near the low cliff to which this name applies, is the monument marked Altar. It is at the west end of a spur on the highest point. On the north, south, and west are many dolmens of moderate size. A circle of blackish limestone, rudely shaped and about 12 feet in diameter, is built of blocks 2 to 3 feet broad and high, and about 13 feet thick. In the centre of this circle is a stone 25 feet by 14 feet, by 24 feet high, of the same material as the rest, but rudely squared. Its length is directed north and south. The monument resembles those found at ‘Ain Minyeh, and described under that head. Visited by Lieutenant Mantell, R.E., October 26, 1881. MEDEBA. Madeba (kak, Hebrew "35%, Medeba).—This is perhaps the most important site on the Mishor plateau. It was an episcopal city in the fifth century, and is said to have been an important place in the time of the Council of Chalcedon—a city of the Nabatheans (cf Reland’s ‘ Palestine,’ vol. ii., p. 893). The Christian remains at the site agree with these notices, as showing Madeba to have been a very important place in the Byzantine age. Canon Tristram in 1872 found at Madeba a Greek inscription in five lines, a Latin inscription illegible, and another in Phcenician characters (or some cognate character) on the south (‘Land of Moab,’ p. 311); but so eagerly have inscriptions been sought in this district that the stones in question had all been removed or destroyed before 1881. In the Latin Patriarchate at Jerusalem four inscribed stones are now preserved, all said to have been sent from Madeba or its vicinity by the Jesuit missionaries. These were copied by the kind permission of the Patriarch.* The ruins at Madeba occupy a low mound, surrounded with downs, or hills, rather higher, the whole site being very open. On the west are the remains of the cathedral ; on the south the great reservoir ; on the north- east is a gateway and street of columns. The Tell and the flat ground, * These four inscriptions in the Latin Patriarchate at Jerusalem, said to have been found by the Jesuits at Madeba, were submitted to Dr. Euting, who regards them as forgeries. They are therefore not noticed in this work. MEDEBA 179 especially north of it, are covered with heaps of stones, asat Heshbon. The few remains of distinguishable detail seem nearly all to be Byzantine. The church on the west is remarkable for the pair of pillars with one block across them, which once formed part of the porch in front of the west door. These are called Mishneket Abu er R6Gk, ‘gallows of Abu er Rok,’ or possibly ‘ gallows of the porch.’ Abu Rék is now said to have been a powerful chief, who in old times did justice at this spot, and hung of- fenders between the pillars. The pillars are about 18 feet high and 54 apart ; the shafts bulge considerably in the middle, and are not mono- liths, but consist of two drums, the capital being a third block. They are 7 feet in circumference at the middle, and about 54 feet at the bottom ; the bases were not visible. The capitals, much worn, were apparently not intended for the shafts, being much too small. The southern is. Ionic ; the northern is a rude Byzantine copy of Corinthian style. Probably the shafts were derived from an older building, and the capitals either badly adapted, or also taken from another building. The erection can hardly be supposed earlier than the fourth or fifth century of our era. The basilica east of these pillars was 119 feet long and 106 feet wide. It had a central apse 21 feet in diameter. On the west an atrium existed, with surrounding chambers, of the same width as the basilica, and 105 feet long. The outer walls, of which only the bottom courses remain, were 63 feet thick. Towards the north-east part of the atrium are remains of a well. The masonry is of squared stones, and some of those on the outer face of the walls are drafted. One was measured, and found to be 24 feet long, 1 foot 7 inches high, with a draft 24 inches wide, the boss, dressed flat, projecting 1 inch. The tooling of this stone was a rough picking diagonally, but not like the Crusading tooling. The church is 200 yards west of the Tell, or central hill of the city, round which the ruins extend for nearly half a mile either way. East and west of the church are many caves, now PLAN OF CHURCH. 23—2 180 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE inhabited by Christians from Kerak, who have been converted from the Greek to the Latin rite by the Jesuit missionaries, and were settled at Madeba, under the leadership of these priests, in the spring of 1881. Some were yet in tents in the autumn of the same year, but were repair- ing cisterns, and preparing to build. They had constructed a sort of fort on the mound, called ed Deir, ‘the monastery,’ measuring about 80 paces (or 200 feet) square, and including graves, apparently of Arabs. The walls are drystone, carefully packed, and no doubt intended for protection. The general impression obtained in exploring Madeba was that a Byzantine town had been built partly out of the remains of an earlier Roman city, perhaps dating as early as the second century a.p._ The best built structures are to the north of the Tell, on flat ground. Furthest north was found a building, which appears to have beena small quadrangle of well-dressed masonry, the stones very square in proportions, and not drafted. They do not appear, however, to be zx sz¢uz,and may have been re-used. Five stumps of pillar-shafts, about 1 foot 8 inches in diameter and 3 feet high, are planted, touching one another, in a line, north and south, on the west of the chamber ; these, no doubt, have been removed from their original position. Inside lie some bases with feeble mouldings, and a lintel-stone broken, but, when joined up, measuring 9 feet in length by 13 inches in height. On this is a design, including three crosses in circles, which was LO aii HEEL Ht carefully measured and copied. Beneath the chamber there seems to bea cistern, with a mouth now choked, and there are remains of a small channel leading to it. The plan of the chamber is not very clearly trace- able, but it appears to have been about 20 feet square. South of this chamber are remains apparently of private houses, built of good masonry, but with older material used up, including cornices, pillar-bases, etc., built into the walls. Towards the east in this northern part of the city are remains of another building, which seems to have been of importance, It had two doors, one to the south, the other on the north, MEDEBA 181 each spanned by pieces of a cornice, the profile of which was measured. The cornice blocks are each 11 feet 9 inches long. There are pillar- stumps at the corners of this building, but nothing appears to be zz situ Beneath the north door there is a vault, now ruined. Further east, again, is a curious circular chamber with a polygonal addition to the east. The foundation courses alone exist. The circle was 31 feet in diameter; the west entrance is flanked by two pillar-stumps. This may have been a little shrine, or small temple or tomb. Yet further east are remains apparently of a city gate, with part of the wall of the city. The gate faced to- wards the south-east, and was apparently flanked by two towers, measuring 16 feet by 184 feet, and 2634 feet apart. The gateway itself was 134 feet wide, and a street of columns, 26 feet wide, led NorTH-EAST GaTE. north - west, in continuation of the inner line of the towers. The pillars were 24 feet in diameter, with an inter-columniation of 5 feet. The bases of five pillars remain 2% sz¢« on the north side of the street. The foundations of the northern tower are intact, and those of the southern just traceable. A sort of podium with a simple moulding ran round the four sides of this building. The jambs of the gateway also presented a profile, which was measured and drawn. In the tower walls were well - wrought stones, of which three were measured, being respectively 34 feet long by 24 feet high, 2 feet 8 inches by 2 feet 5 inches, and 7 feet 3 inches by 1 foot 4 inches. At the four corners of the two towers were pilasters standing on the podium, being each 2 feet wide, and projecting only 1 inch. In the general character of masonry and detail this gateway resembles some of the tomb-towers found at ’Amman, Khurbet es Sik, and elsewhere, and it seems probably to have belonged to the Roman city of perhaps the second century a.p., rather than to the later Byzantine town. The Arabs said that Madeba had once twenty gates, but were unable to show the sites of any others. MOUuLDINGs. 182 . THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE South of the gateway are remains of a large tank, or dzrkeh, east of the Tell already mentioned. It is much choked, and in ruins. On this side there are many foundations of houses and ruined vaults with round barrel-roofs. Cisterns are said to exist beneath these ruins. Returning westwards, at the foot of the Tell, on its north side, a lintel- stone was measured and drawn. It is now placed over an oven (/urz), and much blackened with smoke; foot 7 inches high. The two ‘ =| it is 5 feet 2 inches long, and 1 medallions appear to have been adorned with crosses, which have been purposely defaced. On the south side of the Tell there are other remains of ruined houses, vaults, lintel-stones (without sculpture), and fragments of pillars and cor- nices, built in among roughly-squared stones, probably of the later period. On the south-west of the Tell, and south-east of the church first described, is a fine tank, or ézrkeh, formed by damming the flat valley. Its southern and eastern walls are about 12 feet thick; the other two are retaining walls. The tank measures 308 feet north and south, by 395 feet east and west inside, and its depth is 10 feet. The east wall is 13 feet 6 inches thick at the top, and strengthened inside by twelve buttresses, each 10 feet wide, 10 feet apart, and pro- jecting 1 foot. Outside, the wall is stepped back each course LarGE RESERVOIR. from the bottom (6 or 8 inches), giving a thickness of about 20 feet atthe bottom. The south wall is 20 feet high, and 12 feet thick at the top, its sides being vertical without buttresses or sets-back. All this walling is of good masonry, the stones not drafted ; Let w © 100 200 oo 00 fee two which represent the average size were measured, one 2 feet 4 inches long by 1 foot high, the second 1 foot long, 1 foot 3 inches high ; the joints are very fine, and no packing with small stones or chips is observable. At the north-east corner of the pool is a tower, 30 feet by 25 feet, and two flights MEDEBA 183 cf steps lead down just inside the east wall, one from the north, the other from the south. The steps are 1 foot 5 inches tread, and 1o inches rise ; the breadth of the flight is 23 feet. The lintel-stone of the tower-door lay on the ground west of the aT foundations of that building, |''| yaa TT TE HI Hee al and was 6 feet long and 2 |, | pee feet high, with a design as a HU shown. It seems to be pro- Loom, H 711 eed : t " | Cet bably Byzantine. The ruins of Madeba are being much injured by the new Christian settlers, who remove the stones to build walls before their caves. Explored September 27, 1881. El Madowerah (ysl, ‘the round place’).—A_ hilltop, with cairns on north side of the Zerka MAin, south of M4ain. Madowerat el ’Al (JWI &y94*, ‘the round place of Elealah’). —South of the ruined city el Al. A low round natural hillock, on which is a cairn and two kehékir, or stone pillars, made by piling small stones one on the other; both cairn and pillars are between 3 feet and 4 feet in height, and are very conspicuous objects in the plain. It is a sacred place, probably a tomb. Round the cairn are foundations as of a small square tower or building of some kind. On the north-east, at the bottom of the hill, there is a cliff with cuttings, as though large blocks had been quarried thence. This is probably the quarry whence Elealah was built. In the cliff there is also a small chamber, 6 feet high and 6 feet square, with an entrance 24 feet wide. Round three of the walls runs a bench 1 foot wide. This is probably a tomb of the Roman period, intended to hold sarco- phagi. (See Amman, Kabr es Sultan, and Kiisr es Sebah.) M ahas (,s-).—At the north edge of the work north of ’Arak el Emir. Foundations, walls, broken pillar-shafts occur here. There is a large cave, and a fine spring gushes out of a crevice in the rock. A rock- cut tomb occurs near, by el K hudr (see under that head). The site is important, and probably that of a Roman town. El Mahder ()&swI, ‘the enclosed place’).—This is radically the same word as 4¥m, Hazor. It is a conspicuous Tell, with a great number 184 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE of stones strewn on the top, and in the middle an open circular space about 45 feet in diameter. It thus appears to be one of the class of stone circles found at Haddnieh, Neba, Ras Merkeb, Kom YAjtz, etc. The name is evidently derived from this circle. El Mailik (al eJ!; the root means to ‘hang,’ or be suspended),— This name applies to cliffs on the south side of the great ravine of Wady Naatr. It is omitted from the reduced map as unimportant. El Makabelein (.hliJl, ‘the two places opposite each other’). —This applies to ruins or knolls west of Taihin. There are two ruins, each on a knoll, and south of these a goat-fold. Foundations and small caves only were noted. Makker ed Derbasy (~objWI pies, ‘ the place of slaying the lion,’ or ‘wild beast’).—This is a cairn, apparently modern. Derbasy may be an Arab’s name. Makker el Jerbael Jedhir (yydql! GyqJl yaa, ‘the place where the Jerba Arab slew the camels,’ as explained locally). Maksar el Bakarah (6) ‘cairns of the place of kneeling of the prophet’s she-camel’).—This is probably a tradition of the Haj, as the place is near the Haj road. They are two large cairns about a quarter of a mile apart. Rujtim Rafiah (43) eysy, probably named from Wady Rafi’ah, which see). There are several cairns 8 or 10 feet in diameter, with some traces of ruins included under thisname. Three groups of Roman mile- stones were also found in the valley at distances of a Roman mile apart. The most easterly group included five pillars, of which four stood on square bases. One was measured, the shaft being 14 feet in diameter and the stone 24 feet high, including a base 2 feet by 14 feet, by 11 inches in height. The fifth was a fragment of a shaft, 21 inches in diameter and 2 feet high, bearing an inscription in seven lines, broken off on the right. This text, discovered and copied by Lieutenant Mantell, R.E., reads thus: IMP CA--S MARC-.-- AVRELVS SEV -¢2-.- AN TONINYS += 23 2<<<< PEDIX AVGPL s<-<<4 VS MAXIMUS ---- TANICVS MAS --- On this inscription the names of Marcus Aurelius (161-180 a.p.) and of Antoninus Pius (138-161 a.p.) are clearly legible, with perhaps that of Severus (193-211 A.D.). The milestone was evidently erected in the second or early in the third century, and the name of Antoninus Pius (at Jerash and at Baalbek, etc.) is that found most frequently on the finest temples of Syria. The Roman road to which these milestones belong > 2 210 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE was probably made at the time when the Roman buildings in and round "Amman were erected. Explored October 12, 1881. Es Sadany ( gyseJl, ‘the fortunate ’).—A sacred place on the north of Wady Kuseib, east of Tell Hebbeseh. It is omitted from the reduced map for want of room. Es Safrah (sycSl, ‘ the yellow’). Sahel Ghabneh (© Jew, ‘deceitful plain’).—Near Md@ain. Sahel el Jamidiyeh (deld! Jew, ‘plain of the mosque or meeting-place ’).—It is omitted from the reduced map (see Hesban). Sahel Khardubbeh.—See Kh. Khardubbeh. Sahel Musheirfeh.—See Jteidet el Musheirfeh. Sahel en N tieijis.—See Kusr en Niaeijis. This is omitted from the reduced map. Sahlet el Menakh (gk! dg, ‘plain of the place where camels lie down ’).—Omitted as valueless from the reduced map. Sahlet Merkeh.—See Merkeh. Sakarah (8)%e, ‘falcons ’).—Three small ruins consisting of walls of flint on the hill west of "Amman. Es Saleib (ane ‘the cross ’).—A spur south of Arak el Emir. It is omitted as of no special value from the reduced map. Salhah (ale, ‘good’).—This is a shrine west of Tell er Rameh, probably consecrated to some Sheikh Saleh. Salikaez Zabbid (sp) giyhe, ‘the rough ground of Zabbid’). —This is the name of a conspicuous ridge north-west of Heshbon. The name Zebed, or Zabbud, is not uncommon topographically (see Kefr Zibad, Sheet XI., ‘ Western Survey ’). Es Samik (-LJS!).— This may perhaps represent the Samega which Josephus mentions in connection with Medeba (13 Ant. ix. i). It is a conspicuous cairn marking the boundary between the ’Adwan and the Beni Sakhr tribes, on the highest part of a flat ridge commanding an excellent view of the Mishor, or Belka plateau. Among the chief places visible are Mashitta, Ziza, Maain, el Kahf, Jeldl, el "Al, and Hesban. SAMEGA 211 The cairn consists of unhewn stones, 2 feet to 4 feet long, piled up over the remains of Arabs slain on the spot. At least one recent interment was distinguishable by the smell, of a Beni Sakhr Arab killed by the "Adwan. There appears to have been originally a square tower, 15 paces (40 feet) side. On the hill to the south are some curious blocks, looking somewhat like dolmens, but when visited they appeared to be only natural blocks of chert. All round the tower and cairn there are Arab graves. On the north is an enclosure, apparently a cattle-fold, built up of blocks of limestone and flint ; and immediately north of this is a rock-cut wine- press. There are many tribe-marks on the tower-stones, including several of the Beni Sakhr, and also the Mehjan, or ‘crook,’ of the Ajermeh. on ym F DI FI (See note on Arab tribe-marks.) These include the marks of the "Ajermeh, Faiz, Khadir, Jibbdr, and Khurshan. Visited August 23 and 30, and September 1, 1881. Seil el Hery (sya)! jy, apparently ‘the stream struck ’—with a staff or stick).—This is the name of the lower part of Wady Jideid. The legend of the enchanted spring at ’Ain Minyeh, which was produced by being struck with the spear of ’Aly, should be compared with this title. ~ Sekkeh (s&., ‘the path.’ Compare the Hebrew "5p, Secacah, as a town name in Josh. xv. 61, applying to a place west of Jordan).—The ruin consists of foundations, ruined walls, cisterns, and caves, west of Merj el Hamam. Es Seleity (I, ‘the peeled,’ or ‘shaved’).—Applies to a slope on the south side of WAdy Jideid. It is omitted from the reduced map. Sendain Hamarah (abe yls).—Cliffs near the Dead Sea. The root of the first word means ‘to be elevated.’ The second comes from Hamér, a donkey, apparently the feminine form, but the root means ‘to be red.’ 27—2 212 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE SerAbit el Mushukkar (jtaw! bylp-).—The first word means ‘ pillar-shafts’ (cf Kefeir Abu Sarbitt), the second applies to the whole ridge, and may be from Shakka4ra, ‘the anemone,’ so called from its deep red colour. The root means ‘dark red,’ which would not apply to the colour of the ridge, but the anemone grows all over these hills. Under this head may be described two groups of monuments, though the name is confined generally to the eastern group, the western being generally called Serabit el Mehattah, ‘pillars of the unloading place’ (of a caravan). The two are about a mile apart, and the name is applied on the map to the western group near the Rujm el Benat, or WEST GROUP. ‘cairn of maidens.’ The local Arabs assert that the Haj, or pilgrimage to Mecca used formerly to pass by these pillars, and hence the name Mehattah, marking a halt on the journey. Thence, on the south, the pilgrims, according to this account, went to the Mata et Turkomaniyeh (which see). The story was obtained from independent witnesses, and, although there is no good road from the north in this direction, still water is much more abundant than further east, where the Haj road now exists. It is thus not impossible that fear of the ’Anazeh tribes may, at some former period, have compelled the pilgrims to choose a route not visible from the plateau above. The western group, or Serabit el Mehattah, consists of 12 monoliths. THE SERABIT 213 The most westerly pillar is of oval shape, 19 inches by 22 inches along the two axes, and it is 5 feet 8 inches high, not including a base to inches high, and measuring 22 inches by 26 inches on plan. The base and shaft are all in one. The second pillar is 9 paces (22 feet) south-east, and is 16 inches in diameter, and 35 feet high. Nine others lie fallen in a line - without any particular order, in a north-east direction (230° true bearing) over a distance of 46 paces (115 feet), and about 12 paces (30 feet) south- west of the second column. The ground on which they are strewn has a gentle slope southwards. There are no traces of any ancient road near. - Four other columns in the alignment were measured, each with a cubical base in one block with the pillar itself. One was 16 inches in diameter, fig 8 Fic 6. RQQeye Say N SSNS Seale Jnchem 6 0 ' 2 3 * s 6 7 8 9 toteel East GROUP. 34 feet high, the base 19 inches square and high ; another was 13 inches in diameter at the top, 18 inches at the bottom, 6 feet in height, the base 2 feet high, and 21 inches by 19 inches across. A third has a simple fillet at the top, 21 inches in diameter, 5 feet 3 inches high, not including the base 11 inches high, and 23 inches square. This is a well-cut specimen. A fourth is 18 inches in diameter, 3 feet high, exclusive of a base 20 inches high, and 21 inches square. One of these pillars is thus of tapering form, and in some others it was noted that the shaft bulged out in the centre. (Cf pillar at Sdmia.) About 200 yards north of this group are foundations of a square building on an undulation of the hill spur. This measured 7 paces (18 feet) either way, and was surrounded with scattered stones. A lintel and a pillar like those already noted (making the twelfth) were built in. This may have been a watch-tower. 214 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE In the eastern group, a mile further up the spur, there appear to have been twenty-four of these pillars. They lie irregularly scattered over a space 20 yards square on the west slope of the hill. Four were measured ; the first, apparently broken or unfinished at the top, is 18 inches in diameter and 3 feet high, not including the square base, 16 inches high and 20 inches square. The second is 18 inches in diameter, 3} feet high, not including a base 19 inches high, 20 inches by 24 inches on plan. A third is 23 inches in diameter, 34 feet high, not including a base 25 inches high, 27 inches in diameter. The fourth is 27 inches in diameter, 5 feet 2 inches high, and has no base. The object of these s¢e/e, or herme, is not by any means easy to dis- cover. They are too short to have been pillars, and there are apparently no remains of efzs¢ylia or of other members of the pillar-shaft. They are more like the Roman milestones, yet differ from these in other respects. None are inscribed, yet all are dressed to shape, and none have the pointed top often found on the Roman milestones west of Jordan. There are no traces of any ancient road near either group, though tradition says the Haj once passed by them. On the north below them is the Hajr el Mena, or ‘stone of desire,’ which is a wishing-stone. On the south is the modern grave of Abu Redeineh. A good road (though showing no signs of antiquity) ascends the spur not far from the western group leading from Tell er Rameh (ancient Lybias) to Nebo. The ridge commands a fine view westwards across Jordan. It is, of course, not certain that these monuments remain in their original position, and they may, after all, be only milestones ; but it is also not impossible that they were sacred stele. The Arabs do not seem to have any tradition concerning them, and they may have existed before the present tribes entered Moab. On the other hand, the ancient Pagan Arabs adored two chief deities, Allah and Allat: the first, male, and symbolized by an upright stone ; the second, female, and denoted by a cubical block (see Lenormant, ‘Lettres Assyriologiques,’ vol. ii.), and the present kind of monument might, perhaps (like the Indian Lingams), denote this pair of divinities. The suggestion is here hazarded, as worthy of consideration, since menhirs are so common in the district, and also because M ena, or M enat, was one of the names of the great goddess Allat, and is found at the present site still lingering at the Hajr el Mena (which see). The Serabit may be relics of early Arab Paganism, and THE SERABIT 215 should be compared with the pillars at Kefeir Abu Sarbit, or at el ’Al, and with the Hajr el Manstb and the menhirs round Amman. It is also possible that the stones may have been erected by pilgrims, either as memorials, or as tombstones, at the time when the H4j took this route. In this case they are of the same class with the modern £ehdkir, or stone piles, erected by pilgrims on roads, only carefully hewn instead of rudely piled up. It is possible that the following passage, in which Pausanias describes pillars near Helos, in Greece, may throw some light on the question : ‘Not far from thence there are seven pillars raised in memorial of this affair (the oath of the suitors of Helen), after the manner of the ancients, as it appears to me, and which they say are images of the seven planets.’ (Pausanias’ ‘ Description of Greece,’ iii., chap. xx.) It should be noted that somewhat similar monuments stand over tombs in Pheenicia. There are three at Amrit, one having a pillar 14 feet high on a base 6 feet high and 16 feet square, while another has a cylinder with a conical top on a base 15 feet square and 10 feet high, the total height being 33 feet. These monuments, which are only larger examples of the same kind, are held by Lenormant to be phallic emblems. Visited September 19, 1881. Shanab (Cs, ‘curved’ [of horns, etc.], perhaps on account of the curving ridge).—The ruin occupies the western part of a natural knoll, which measures about 200 paces (500 feet) east and west, by 80 paces (200 feet) north and south. There are foundations of houses built of stones 14 feet to 4 feet long, rudely squared, and in no instance drafted or well- dressed. A lintel-stone with rude mouldings was observed. On the south the rock has been quarried, and there is a natural cave 12 feet by 4 feet. In a flat rock on this side there is a hollow 11 inches in diameter and 10 inches deep (perhaps an Arab mortar for making powder, as in other instances). On the top of the knoll is a cave filled up with cut stones— perhaps used as a grave. There is also a cistern, which is choked. On the south slope of the knoll there are also ruins. There is a small spring (see Ain el Meiyiteh) on the west, and on the knoll is a tree, which is a very conspicuous object from the Jordan valley. There are Arab threshing- floors at the site. Visited September 14, 1881. 216 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE Sheikh el “Ajemy (steel cx, ‘the Persian chief’), — The Belad el ’Ajem is originally all the world excepting Arab- speaking countries, but in common use it applies to Persia. There are some fine trees here, and a few ruined walls, also Metdmir for storing corn. Sheikh Kasim (anol gr, proper name).—See Rujm Saati. Sheikh Nasir (jos é%, p.n.).—In the Koran the title Nasr is applied to the Medina converts (‘Sura,’ xi. 14). A sacred circle, with trees, and Metamir to store corn, east of “Arak el Emir. Sheikh Shehab el Fuliyéh (QW! oly eas, ‘Sheikh Shehab, the splitter ’).—This is the principal tomb with sculptures at Ain Hesban (which see). Sheikh Subeih (qe ens, proper name, ‘ruddy ’).—This is due west of Mount Nebo. There are two sacred Arab circles at this place, one having, as usual, a lintel, on two jambs on the west side of the circle. The upper surface is only 2 feet from the ground, and the wall of the circle is not more than 6 inches above the present surface of the ground. There are remains also of a small watch-tower, and a grave with a stone at the head and another at the foot. Sheikh Steiléh (kyo es, proper name).—A sacred place near the dolmens at Tell el Mataba. Omitted from the reduced map from want of room to write it. Esh ShemsAni (all, ‘the Samsonian ’).—This is no doubt an old centre of Sun-worship, taking its name from Shamash, the Sun. Ruined towers of flint remain here, but the position is principally remark- able for its naturally commanding site on the plateau. Sir C. Warren (‘ Quarterly Statement, 1870, p. 296) used the hill as a trigonometrical station, and speaks of the extensive view which the hill affords. No legends were, however, obtained in connection with the spot, although inquiries were made on the subject. Shtinet edh Dhidbeh (ak &,, ‘barn of Dhidb’).—A small fort built on the hillside west of the stream of Wady Hesban. It measures 35 paces (874 feet) square outside, with a courtyard on the south, measuring 150 feet by 100 feet. This contains a well, and the south wall has a row SHUNET EDH DHIABEH 217 of loopholes. West of the building there is a ruined tank, or Birkeh. The building belongs to ’Aly Diab, chief of the “Adwan tribe, and it is said that helmets and coats of mail belonging to this tribe are here stored. The masonry is fairly good, but mostly modern. Over the south door of the tower (leading to its central court) there is an inscription fairly well cut in Arabic : dose UP SUIS ane Sl pred] alll anes ola eed 1S) sho ls Wl Jyoy oS \NAN dans oles Ds os! oll olay re sh wb Slo! en ree ooh sk ‘In the name of God, the merciful, the compassionate. There is no God but God; Muhammed is the messenger of God. Built this castle the Sheikh Adhiab the “Adwan, at the barn* of Heshbon in the year 1191 (of the Hejirah), and it was done in the month Robia el Awal ; then in the month Ramadan.’ The account given by the Arabs to Sir C. Warren with regard to this and to the Shdinet Sukr was that they were erected when Ibrahim Pasha (in 1840) commanded the ’AdwAn to live in houses; but the date thus obtained would represent 1773 a.D., and, if correct, makes the Shfinet edh Dhiadbeh considerably older. The Shanet Sukr and the Shinet Makbil en Nimr are said to be also of the same date, and to have been erected in the time of the great grandfather of Kablan en Nimr, which agrees very well with the date obtained, allowing thirty years to each generation. Y al LEG) Y WY TB cs _. A. Scale x35. \ ZA a ASI \ PLAN. SECTION. Cross SECTION. On the east slope of the hill below the Shinet edh Dhidbeh is a small tomb, or Zofa, in the rock. It is 74 feet long, 6 feet wide, * The word 3 is used in Western Palestine for a threshing-floor, and the explanation was obtained on the spot (~ Endor). 28 218 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE and 5 feet high, with a ledge 4 inches wide on one side and a groove 4 inches deep on the other, as though for a slab fitted 1 foot 3 inches above the floor. The entrance is only 2} feet high and wide, with a rock step in front. The face of the rock is cut back on either side of this door, forming recesses about 24 feet across and 3 feet high. The sill of the door is 24 feet above the floor inside, and on the left side (entering) are remains of bolt-holes of the door, with a hinge socket at the top on the right. Below this on the east is a small cave, now partly closed by a dry- stone wall of ancient materials, with an old lintel-stone placed over its entrance. Between the tomb and the cave are ruined foundations of rudely-cut and uncut stones. These are called Khirbet esh Shineh, “ruin of the barn,’ from the Shfinet edh Dhidbeh. The rock has been quarried, and a little trough a foot square is cut in one place. A rude tomb with three rough arcosolia, or recesses, was also observed. About a quarter of a mile north-east of the Shineh is a group of broken tombs, or £okzm, like the last. One appears to have been origi- nally 7 feet long and 4 feet broad. These tombs face east and north. Near them is a curious cutting in the rock—perhaps the remains of a shaft-tomb (as at Tyre)—subsequently destroyed in quarrying. The shaft is 6 feet 6 inches high to the top of the scarp, and 1 foot 6 inches wide, and cut back also 1 foot 6 inches in the face of the rock. The recesses on either side at the ground level (the foot of the scarp) are 24 feet square, and cut back 14 feet. In the stream below is a curious boulder pitted full of holes, some 6 inches in diameter, in rows like the cup hollows in dolmens. Shtinet Sukr (j&e &y, ‘barn of the falcon’—proper name).— This is a ruined hamlet east of the stream, near Shtinet edh Dhidbeh, having a small modern mill still working, fed by a masonry lade from the Hesban stream. There are remains of modern-looking stone cottages, with a little tower and stores for corn, and a ruinous wall surrounds the site. The lade forms a sort of fosse on the west side of the ruins, which appear to have been erected in recent times of old materials ; perhaps, as stated to Sir C. Warren by the ’Adwan, in the days of Ibrahim Pasha. About 300 yards north of the tower, or granary, which is conspicuous at the above site, there are two sarcophagi cut in detached boulders (see Stimieh). One was measured and found to be 5 feet 9 inches long, and SHUNET SUKR 219 1} feet wide and deep, with a flat rim for the cover-stone 6 inches wide. The rock, or boulder, measured about 7 feet by 3 feet in length and width. The second sarcophagus measured 5 feet 9 inches by 2 feet, and 1 foot 9 inches in depth. It has a raised rim 1 foot high and 4 inches thick to prevent the entrance of rain. The Shiinet Sukr itself is the building with the tower in the hamlet ; the masonry is modern, and the south door has a pointed arch. The outer walls at the site are loopholed in places. The tower measures 32 feet north and south by 47 feet east and west. Over the doors of several of the cottages ancient lintel-stones with designs have been built in. They appear to be of Byzantine origin, perhaps brought from the ruins of Heshbon onthe hill above. One is 4 feet long by 1 foot 3 inches high, with a diaper pattern. A second, 1 foot high by 1 foot 4 inches ise CT NIA > <| i long, has a Greek cross in relief in a sunk circle. A third has a similar design, flanked by two sunk discs. A fourth, 3 feet 2 inches long by 1 foot 2 inches high, has a central design with six rays, and on the left a cross with four crosslets. The lintels have been daubed with henna in places in dots, as in the shrines of Western Palestine. It is remarkable that in this case, as at “Ain "Amman and ’Ain 28—2 220 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE Hesban, the cross appears to be used as though of good omen by the Arabs. They, however, always refused to acknowledge that these were crosses at all. Visited August 18 and September 16. Shtinet Makbil en Nimr.—See Stmieh. Shtiinet Nimrin.—See Tell Nimrin. Sidd Bareiz (yy a, ‘cliff of the bare land’).—The words Sidd and Sadeh are used by the Bedawin of a cliff or bank. This was observed also in the Jordan valley west of the river, and in Assyrian Sadeh means ‘a hill. This is a cliff west of “Arak el Emir. The name is not on the reduced map. Sidd ed Daghamah (uel do, ‘dark cliff’).—This is a cliff of dark sandstone on the north side of Wady Naatr. Sidd Khuweilid (sys os, probably ‘cliff of mole-rats’"—K huld being the Syrian form* of Khulnud, the Spalax Typhlus).—This is a cliff north of Wady Ayan edh Dhib. Es Sindbarat (wlysrodl, ‘the firs’).—A conspicuous group of fir- trees on the high ground, which is otherwise bare of trees. It probably indicates that the great wood called Hirsh Amriyeh has been thinned considerably, leaving these few trees. Firs are found in many places on the ridges of Jebel ’Ajlun, and in the great wood north of ’Arak el Emir. Es Stierfiyeh (cds pol, ‘the woolly, probably an old Zuph or Mizpeh).—Foundations, ruined walls, and cisterns remain here, on the plateau west of 'Amman. It seems not impossible that this may be the Mizpeh of Moab (1 Sam. xxii. 3), to which the parents of David were sent ; but another equally possible site for that town would be Sifa, east of Tell Maain, which is, perhaps, more probable. Sufr Jeriah (dsyn sho, ‘the yellowness of Jeriah’).—Applies toa ridge with yellow rocks on the west of Wady Jeriah. * Here, as usual, the Syrian form is archaic, being the Hebrew =e, rendered ‘ weasel.’ SIBMAH 221 SIBMAH. Stimia (lye, or dpeye, probably ‘towering’).—This ruined site seems possibly to be that mentioned in the Bible under the names Sibmah and Shibmah * (Num. xxxii. 38; Josh. xiii. 19 ; Jer. xlviii. 32 ; cf Isaiah xvi. 8-9). Jerome, commenting on the passage in Isaiah, speaks of Sabama as hardly 500 paces from Heshbon. The present site is two English miles from Heshbon, but Jerome’s knowledge of Perzea was not very exact, and no other similar name is found in the district. Shebam of ae “/ Feetw 5 o 20 “0 60 80 100 120 140 150 feet Reuben (Num. xxxii. 3) is presumably the same, and in all the passages mentioned this town is classed with those of the Mishor, or Belka Plateau. The mention of the Vine of Sibmah may be illustrated by the discovery of rock-cut wine-presses in the hills south-east of S m ia—near Muntar el Mushukkar, and Umm el Hadawiyeh, and at Kurn Kebsh. The existing ruins are south of the stream of Wady Hesban, consisting * smesspy supposes the Beth of the Hebrew to become the Arabic Wau. The confusion of these letters is very common in the Samaritan dialect. 222 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE of a small ruined building—apparently a monastery—with a modern water- mill, fed by a lade from ’Ain Stimieh, the stream from which flows into Wady Hesban from the south. There are ruined houses beneath the fort or monastery, and rock-cut sarcophagi further down on the north-east, beside the stream of Wady Hesban. There is also a dolmen on the hill to the south-west. Each of these ruins must be described in detail. The fort or monastery is on a cliff, with a sheer face on the north 40 or 50 feet in height. The building measures 120 feet along its east wall, and 80 feet along the south wall. The bearing of the former is 18°. There is a projecting portion in the north-west angle, as though to give flank defence. The modern name of the building is Shdnet Makbil en Nimr, ‘the barn of Makbil of the Nimr family,’ after a chief who lived three gener- ations ago—a brother, apparently, of Kablan I. It seems probable, however, that he only repaired an older building, the general plan of which is distinguishable amid the more modern chambers constructed within the walls. There was a courtyard, with a vault or cistern beneath, and with chambers to the north and south. On the east was an entrance- gate, approached by a narrow path on the face of a very steep slope. The cistern is of good masonry of Roman appearance, like that found in Byzantine towns, and the roof is a round-arched barrel vault, cemented. West of the cistern are remains of an arcade of round arches, with the narrow keystone, graduated voussoirs, and broad haunch-stones—as in so many Byzantine buildings. These seem to have formed part of old vaulted foundations beneath the courtyard. The eastern wall of the enclosure is partly built of drafted masonry, the stones rudely dressed cl in ce NET MY iy aa - Ve mh i i a with an adze. Three stones were measured in the outer or east face of this wall. The first is 2} feet long, by 1 foot 8 inches high, the draft very irregular, 6 inches at the top, 3 inches at the bottom, 6 inches to the left, 1 foot 3 inches to the right; the boss projects 4 inches, and is irregularly SIBMAH 223 shaped. The second stone is 1 foot 5 inches high, 1 foot 8 inches long; the draft is 3 inches wide all round, and projects 5 inches. The third stone is £ foot 7 inches high, and 1 foot 4 inches long; the draft is as in the preceding, the boss projecting 8 inches. It is doubtful whether these stones are in their original situation. Within the fort is a doorway near the east, with a lintel above it. The lintel-stone is 3 feet 10 inches long, and 1 foot 5 inches high, with an even draft of 3 inches width on all four sides. In the middle of the raised face—which is well dressed—is a cross potent (the Jerusalem cross), 7 inches square, incised, and well cut. Near this is another stone, broken, measuring 1 foot $ inches in height, 1 foot 9 inches long, with a draft between 3 and 4 inches wide on three sides (the end being broken off) ; and a geometrical design of a tis ——S hexagon, with radiating leaves in a circle 8 inches in diameter, is irregularly placed in a corner of the raised face. Near it is a kind of bracket, or voussoir, with two curious cones projecting 3 inches. There is another gateway in the west wall of the fort, the original jambs of which remain, possibly zz sz¢w, in the foundation course. The gate was WX SS i S oH lille a IS ie — Warr TT j Ht 1 Jil! Scale 3y.' 1 foot g inches wide, and the jambs are carved with bases of pilasters rudely executed in low relief. The pilaster-shafts were about a foot wide, but the details are almost too much worn to measure. The two pilasters differ, and one seems to 224 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE have been cut off on the side. They may have belonged to an earlier building. The lintel above is not 2% sz¢u, but placed on the Arab masonry of the latest restoration. It has a rude design of cubes, with § diagonal lines joining them, anda border with a rough dog-toothed TIFT {= pattern. The dog-tooth moulding on this stone has considerable interest for purposes of comparison (see "Amman, Arab period), because we here find in use, at least as early as the sixth century, exactly the same moulding observed at "Amman (perhaps in the ninth). It differs from the dog-tooth moulding in relief used by the Crusaders. It is also interesting to find here and at Shinet Sukr the Jerusalem Cross and the cross with four crosslets, which are generally known as becoming the arms of the Crusading kingdom of Jerusalem in the twelfth century, but which, in Moab, occur with remains evidently not later than the beginning of the seventh century. The building thus described seems evidently to have been a Roman, or, more probably, Byzantine structure, re-used by the Arabs about a century or rather more ago. The position is commanding, though the hill rises higher behind, and the stream from the spring “Ain Stimia, on the west, some ALAA 50 yards off, is picturesque. There are two stunted palms and some small wild figs beside it, and the lade leading to the little modern mill is fringed with canes and brambles. The water is clear and the supply fresh and perennial. Between the spring and the fort are the fallen ruins of a small town. The masonry is well cut, and the stones are of proportions similar to those above noticed. These seem to be remains of houses rather than of any public buildings. East of the fort, and rather higher up the hill, some 40 or 50 paces from the east wall of the fort, as above described, are remains of a tower foundation ; on the south-east the rock has been scarped down, and a flat platform is thus formed. The faces towards the north-west are of masonry. The building measured 20 paces along the north-west face, and 14 paces along the south-west. A stone was measured in this wall 5 feet 3 inches long, 2 feet high, with a draft 4 inches wide and the same in depth. It appears probable that stones have been taken from this tower to build the walls of the fort. North of the tower, rather lower down, are three rock- SIBMAH 226 cut tanks close together. They each measure about 3 paces north and south, by 2 paces east and west, and are in one line, east and west (a pace of 24 feet). The remains near the stream of Wady Hesban, north-east of Stmieh, are, perhaps, older than anything on the cliff; they include a remarkable tablet and some tombs and sarcophagi. The tablet is cut in the north face of a large fallen block of limestone close beside the brook. It is sunk back some 6 inches into the face of the stone, and is 7 feet 3 inches high and 8 feet wide. It was carefully examined, but no traces of any inscrip- tion were detected. Immediately east of this, on the north brink of the stream, is a sarcophagus about 6 feet long, and further east a pier of modern-looking masonry, as though a bridge had spanned the stream. There are remains of walls for mill-lades all along the valley between Saimieh and Shinet edh Dhidbeh, but only two mills are now working, namely, that at Shtinet Sukr and that at Stimieh, both belong- ing to the ’Adwan chiefs. On the south bank of the stream, just east of the great tablet, are other fallen boulders, having small chambers cut in them. One of these was found to measure 2 feet in height, 1 foot 9 inches in width, and the same to the back. The entrance, 14 feet high, was rounded, as was the roof of the chamber, and the floor sunk 6 inches lower. This is in the east face of a large rock, which seems possibly to have been moved by earthquake, or by some other cause, after the niche, or chamber, was cut, as the floor of the latter is not now horizontal. East of this another boulder had a chamber measuring 4 feet by 3 feet, having a well-cut door 1 foot 9 inches wide and 24 feet high. There are remains of the sidestones of an ancient 29 226 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE road close by. A little lower down the slope is a boulder, in the upper surface of which a double sarcophagus is cut. The boulder measures 6 feet wide by 8 feet long; each sarcophagus is 5 foot ro inches long, north and south, and 1 foot 7 inches wide, with a partition between SARCOPHAGI. 5 inches thick, and a sunk rim of the same dimension all round. On the east side of the block, 2 feet from the ground, is a recess 2 feet 8 inches wide, 1 foot 2 inches tothe back. The rock is 3 feet high ; the sarcophagi are I foot 6 inches deep. West of this is another rock, with three Dolmen W. of Simia. View from South’ Plan of Dolmerv W of Stimia’ sarcophagi, or graves, sunk in it; they are 6 feet long, 1 foot 9 inches wide, and 1 foot 6 inches deep, with a sunken margin for the lids. The rock is 7 feet by 11 feet. These sarcophagi are about 200 yards north- east of the fort at the bottom of the hill. On the plateau opposite Simieh, on the north, are the dolmens of el Kaltia (see under that head), but a single dolmen was found on the hill to the south-west of this site. The covering-stone measured 5 feet by SIBMAH 227 7 feet, and was about a foot thick ; it was supported on three stones, and a small endstone was found on one side, as though to stand on. A hole 6 inches in diameter and 2 inches deep (a cup-hollow) occurs in the upper face of the covering-stone. The clear height under this stone is 2 feet 10 inches. Near the dolmen is a cave, called ’Arak Jubr, ‘cave of the hero.’ As regards the small chambers in the boulders, others were found near el Kalfia and at el Mareigh4t; and there are others on Jebel Osha, possibly of the same character. If they were intended for sepulture, the corpse must—in many cases, at least—have been placed in a crouching attitude. The entrances are often well cut, but the limestone is not very hard. It seems possible that they might have been excavated by flint implements, and in each case they occur with rude-stone monu- ments, belonging, probably, to the later stone or bronze age. It was the early practice of this prehistoric period to bury in a crouching posture (according to Sir J. Lubbock), and it seems not impossible that these are very early tomb chambers. There is a somewhat similar chamber - at the Kulat el Ghttleh (Sheet XVII., ‘Memoirs of Western Survey,’ vol. iii., p. 131), but no other example has been found west of Jordan. The rock-cut sarcophagi somewhat resemble those at Seffirieh (‘Western Survey,’ Sheet V., vol. 1, of Memoirs, p. 330); they belong, no doubt, to the Roman period between the second and the seventh centuries. It is remarkable that no traces were found of the cover-stones, which may, however, as at Seffdrieh, have been very rough. It appears, on the whole, probable that in this ruin we may recognise a town still standing under the name Sabama in the fourth century a.D. Canon Tristram (‘ Land of Moab,’ p. 346) speaks of several tablets like the one above mentioned, but without inscription. In the course of three visits the surveyors, however, could only find one. Sir C. Warren (‘Quarterly Statement,’ 1869, p. 287) speaks of only one, and makes the boulder 30 or 40 feet high. The ancient road mentioned above appears to lead down to the Ghor. Visited August 20, and September 12, 1881. Sutihah (dapa., ‘the plain’)—A few ruins of rough walls with a cistern. It is on the plateau south-east of Maain. 228 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE Tahtnet Dhiab (GkS ayal, ‘the mill of Dhiab ’).—See Shiinet edh Dhiabeh. The mill is on the east side of Wady Hesban, and flour is ground at it. Tahtinet Jédeh (sssyndyalb, ‘mill of Jédeh’).—Jédeh is said to have been one of an older tribe dispossessed by the ’Adwan. There are two mills named from him, one in Wady Kefrein, one near Tell Iktanu. Taihin (.sse).—Ruins north of the Rujm Taihin ; they appear to be the remains of houses of the Roman or Byzantine period. The foun- dations are of well-cut stones of large size, but the site is a small one. Tala el Aly ( de! @lb, ‘the lofty ascent’). Talat el Benat (cskJI ab, ‘ascent of maidens’).—A con- spicuous knoll east of Ain Minyeh, used as a trigonometrical point. Talat Heisah, or el Heithah (au dab).—This is the valley with a path leading up on the south side of Mount Nebo. It may, perhaps, be a corruption of the Hebrew Luhith. The ascent of Luhith (Is. xv. 5; Jer. xlviii. 5) might very well be that leading to the plateau near Nebo. Talat el Makharrakat (usyaJ! adb, apparently ‘ascent of flat places’; from .gy&).—See Freytag’s Lexicon. Talat Reiyeh (a) dslb, ‘well-watered ascent’).—Omitted as doubtful. Tassin (yeb).—A ruined village with foundations of houses and small ruined watch-towers ona flat ridge. It was explored, but nothing of interest was observed. Et Teim (weed, ‘the desert ; cf Lane and Freytag).—This is a large ruin—a Byzantine town on two sides of a flat valley north-east of Ma’ain. Foundations and walls of houses, caves, cisterns, remains of rough masonry, and cairns of stone remain. Burckhardt suggested its identity with Kiriathaim (Jer. xlviii. 1; Ezek. xxv. 9), which is, however, now fixed at Kureiyat, further south. Teleil Muslim (hue jes ‘the little mound of Muslim’),—Is said to be the grave of a warrior. TELL EL HAMMAM 229 Teleilat el Beid (Ag! csduh, ‘the little white mounds’). Et Tell (31, ‘the mound’).—A conspicuous knoll north-east and close to esh Shemsani. There is an old sheep-fold on the top. Tell Abu Kurr (55 yi Sy, ‘mound of the flat ground ’).—A mound, possibly natural, close to the stream of Wady Kefrein. Tell Bileibil (+4 , ‘mound of the bulbuls’).—This is a hill- spur, with sides artificially scarped, and with a flat top. It is of very large size. Tell Deheileh (hss Js, ‘hollow mound ’).—This name appears to apply to a hill-spur east of Kefrein. Tell Dufianet esh Shanab (Cussd! kes ji, ‘mound of the cemetery of Shanab’).—Arab graves near Shanab. Tell Ghassitl (Seale ae ‘mound of the water used for washing ’). —There are several little hillocks of sand here strewn with pottery and glass. Tellel Hammam (placd! cs, ‘mound of the hot bath ’).—This takes its name from the thermal spring to the west called el Hammam, (see under that heading). The ruin on the mound is called Kuriet el Hammdm, but the real name is probably lost. The ruin is not important. The Tell is a flat natural hillock. Foundations and heaps of small stones remain. This Tell marks approximately the northern limit of the great dolmen field, which extends southwards to the vicinity of Tell el Mataba (which see). There on oi sf le are some twenty or thirty dolmens at least on the spurs near el Maberah, and others again to the north-east, near Ain el Meheiyineh. Under the head el M4aberah, a curious monument of this class is described. The 230 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE dolmens near it and above Tell el Hammam on the east are small, and are roughly constructed of brown crystalline limestone. They are, however, very well-pre- served specimens. Five A (ij of them were here PU Z== sketched by Captain Conder, one having a Hist. capstone 7 feet long, supported about 4 feet from the ground. The others consist of three, four, or five stones, and are about the same size. Tell Hebbeseh (Acces a perhaps named from ’Ain Hebbeseh, which see).—A natural hillock of limestone at the foot of the hills. On the south are ruins about 20 to 30 yards across, consisting of rough stones of the peculiar dark brown limestone of the district.. Many dolmens exist round it. Tell Iktanu (SI (oA natural hillock of dark limestone and basalt, about 100 feet high and 4o yards in diameter. On the top there are many heaps of limestone blocks, but no walls standing. It has been proposed to identify this spot with Zoar (see Tell esh Shaghtr), on the supposition that its name means ‘little’; but the pronunciation was very carefully ascertained, and the K is a Caf, not a Koh, as would be necessary if it were connected with the root jop, while the T is a Zaz, and not a Zeth. ‘The suggestion can therefore hardly be maintained. Tell el Jorfeh (aja) As ‘mound of the bank ’).—A little hillock, on which lay two pillar-stumps. It seems to be perhaps an old site. Tell Kefrein.—See Kefrein. Tell el Mahder.—See el Mahder. The name applies to a small mound west of the principal ruin in the valley. It is omitted from the reduced map as unimportant. Jorpan VaLiey DoLmMeEns. Tell el Mataba (qlbu} aa ‘sealed mound ’).—From this Tell the rude-stone monuments occur along the low spurs just above the plain in FORDAN VALLEY DOLMENS 231 great numbers, as far north as Wady el Kefrein—a distance of 24 miles. It was estimated that in this distance at least 200 to 300 monuments must exist, but they are generally smaller and ruder than the fine examples described under the heads el Masltibiyeh and el Kurmiyeh. They are all of hard crystalline limestone blocks. Some of the more northern speci- mens are described under the heads Tell el Hammam and el Maberah. The group was, however, not so carefully examined as were those above mentioned, in consequence of want of time. The Arabs know of no other group of such remains between those at Kefrein here noticed, and the group discovered in 1820 by Irby and Mangles, beside the road from the Damieh to es Salt, south of the Zerka or Jabbok, and—as in the present instance—close to the east edge of the Jordan plain. Close to the Tell is a stone circle, possibly modern, 30 paces (45 feet) in diameter, and beside the road. The wall is higher than usual on the south-west, where it stands 4 feet high, being about 2 feet in other parts. The stones are rudely heaped together, and not regularly arranged. The Tell itself is a large natural hillock, on which five monuments stand in a rude circle—or, ‘rather, arc of a circle—which measures 70 paces or 60 yards in all, from the most north-eastern to the example furthest south-west. This group appears to be the one mentioned by Canon Tristram (‘Land of Moab’). The dolmens were measured and described by Lieutenant Mantell. No. 1 is a very peculiar monument, unlike any other observed in Moab, but not unlike some of the cists found in tumuli in England (see Fergusson’s ‘ Rude-stone Monuments,’ pp. 142, 158). Three stones, 6 feet, 34 feet, and 12 feet respectively in length, are placed end to end in a line bearing 347°, or nearly north and south. The first, or northern stone, is 44 feet high, 2 feet 3 inches thick, and has a curious slit in its upper face 14 feet long, 5 inches broad, 1 foot deep. The middle stone is 3 feet high and 21 inches thick. The third, or southern stone, is only 14 inches thick, but is 5 feet high. On the inner or west side of this line of stones three stones project at right angles, forming compartments. The southern of these three stones is 6 feet long, 3 feet high, 14 feet thick. The middle stone is 4 feet g inches long, 4 feet high, 15 inches thick, and has through it a hole measuring 2 feet 10 inches 232 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE either way.* The third stone is 5 feet long, 3 feet high, and 10 inches thick. i j LIT ene s = eS eh aes iste al } ( i il (ll : Elevation of A.B. Plan of N° 1. Seale of Feet Pe NS Be epg eg = 9s no eet In addition to the stones so arranged there are two other blocks. One * Holes in menhirs are well known in Cornwall, in Scotland, etc. They are often con- nected with the superstitious custom of ‘passing through ’—e.g., crawling through a menhir or under a dolmen. Perhaps this holed stone had such an original use. FORDAN VALLEY DOLMENS 233 has fallen within the middle compartment, and measures 6 feet by 74 feet, and about 14 to 2 feet in thickness. The second stone, fallen west of the northern compartment, is 7 feet square and 2 feet thick. This monument is towards the north-east side of the Tell, and is surrounded by a sort of platform, or flat mound, of undressed stones measuring about 20 yards in diameter. Possibly a grave may exist beneath this mound. The arrangement of the stones is most like that of the contiguous dolmens at el Masltibiyeh. The monument does not seem to have been covered with any cairn or mound in either case. No. 2 is 14 paces (35 feet) west of the preceding, on the flat surface of the Tell. In this case a single stone, perhaps a fallen menhir, is sur- rounded by a circle 9 paces (22 feet) in diameter. Traces of smaller stones 2 were observed west of the large one, e Sy and within the circle. The large stone ; (cf the menhirs L N O at ’Amméan) rh! Weg ai [\ ‘4 eon it il) oy : ie e yy) : : vil i wal is Hye a : - # Lil ut) ne ni A : “Qa omy e J ui ELEVATION OF A IN ce 2. SKETCH PLAN oF No. 2. lies in a line 350° true bearing, and is 11 feet long and 5 feet high at the south end, tapering towards the other. It is 14 feet thick, and on one side (the eastern) there is, near the southern end (which is, perhaps, the base), a hollow 14 feet long, 8 inches wide, and sunk 6 inches. The stones composing the circle are flush with the present surface of the Tell, which has, no doubt, gradually risen since the monument was erected. ‘No. 3, 23 paces (57 feet) west-south-west of the last, has two side- stones placed approximately in the same line with the last stone (350° true bearing). These are 44 feet apart; one of them measures 16 feet in length, 5 feet in height, 1 foot in thickness ; the other is ro} feet long, 1 foot thick, and 24 feet high. There is a small endstone only 6 inches 30 234 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE high, and a floorstone 8 feet by 44 feet, but no traces were found of any capstone. The remains of a circle surrounding this monument were ob- served. About a third of the circumference is visible, and the dolmen is not quite in the middle of this enclosure. The circle, or platform, was about 10 paces (25 feet) in diameter. Similar circles of small stones occur also round the dolmens near Tell el Kady and at el Kurmiyeh, and in the Jaulan examples.* No. 4 is 9 paces south of the last, and is a small menhir standing erect all alone; it is 4 feet high, s- 34 feet wide at the base, and 9g inches thick. The broad sides (as in the Hajr el Manstb; ¢ el Mareighat) are on the north and south. This menhir is towards the west side of the Tell. No. 5 is 24 paces east of the curious monument which has been called No. 1. It is a somewhat similar structure, and, as in Nos. 1 and 3, there Pian OF No. 3. N°S Tell el Mataba ** Herr Schumacher (‘Across the Jordan,’ pp. 63, 64, 70, 152) gives drawings of two or three dolmens at ’Ain Dakk4r and Tisil in the Jaulan. He says that the dolmens in the former group are always built on terraces, and shows one surrounded by a quadrangular enclosure. He also refers (p. 67) to circular openings in the stones, such as Irby and Mangles noticed at the Jabbok in the group they visited. YORDAN VALLEY DOLMENS 235 is no trace of any covering or table stone. No. 5 consists of five stones, two placed end to end, north and south ; two others parallel to these and 43 feet from them (clear internal measure); while the fifth is an endstone on the south. The two southern stones are 10 feet long each; the western of the two is 1 foot thick, 3 feet high; the eastern is 13 feet thick and 33 feet high. The two northern stones are respectively 7 feet and 74 feet long; the first, or western, of these is 14 feet thick and 2 feet high, the eastern 14 feet thick, 3 feet 3 inches high. The endstone is 44 feet long, 14 feet thick, 4 feet high. The south-eastern stone has, in its south-east angle, a niche 1 foot long, 8 inches high, 4 inches deep (compare No. 2). This monument appears to have been surrounded by a platform, which was about 20 yards in diameter, and covered with small stones heaped up to the very foot of the dolmen. In addition to this remarkable group, five other examples were recorded by Lieutenant Mantel]. The first (No. 6) is a dolmen some 300 yards east of the Tell, and near the road. The capstone is 7 feet square and 15 inches thick. It is supported on three stones, one each side, one at the end. The sidestones are 3 feet apart in the clear. One is 6 feet high, 44 feet long, 8 inches thick. The other is only 2 feet high, 5 feet long, 1 foot thick, but a smaller stone is here placed above the sidestone, to support the cap in the required position. The second example (No. 7) is a single stone (like that described as No. 2). It is 6 feet long, 10 inches thick, and 14 feet wide or high. Probably it has fallen down on its side. It was surrounded by a rude platform of stones, about 5 paces (12 feet) in diameter. These platforms and circles resemble those on, or within, which the dolmens found in Algeria sometimes stand (cf Fergusson’s ‘ Rude-stone Monuments,’ pp. 398, 401). Near some of the dolmens of this group—within a radius of 10 yards —a great many small stones, measuring about 6 inches to a foot across, are piled up, but these are not sufficiently numerous to indicate any cairn cover- 30—2 236 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE ing the dolmen. They were observed also in some cases at the’ Kurmiyeh group, and elsewhere, and they seem possibly to have been there placed by the shepherds as propitiatory offerings to the ghouls supposed commonly to inhabit the dolmens. The practice of erecting such little cairns, as memorials of individual visits, is, however, common to many early races, as, for instance, to the Celts of Scotland. It is also a Jewish custom at Jerusalem and elsewhere. The examples further north were not so large, and were rudely formed without either platforms or circles surrounding them. They were explored by Captain Conder, who measured five examples (see Tell el Hammam). Close to the menhir No. 7 Lieutenant Mantell measured subsequently three other dolmens. The first was 18 paces south of the menhir, and had a capstone 10 feet by 5 feet, and 24 feet thick. The sidestones were 2 feet 3 inches high, and one 3 feet 8 inches long, 1 foot 2 inches thick, the other 4 feet 3 inches long, 24 feet thick. The next example, 13 paces south-west of the last, has a capstone 8 feet by 4 feet, and 1 foot thick. The sidestones are 4 feet 3 inches high, and 8 feet long, and 3 feet apart in the clear. The third example is only 4 paces west of the last. The topstone has disappeared. One sidestone is 6 feet long, 2 feet 9 inches high, and 14 feet thick. The other side- stone is 54 feet long, 1 foot only in height, and 14 feet thick. These examples are fairly representative of the remains in this group, including menhirs, dolmens, circles, etc., all together at one site. The extraordinary stone called Mensef Abu Zeid is in the plain not far west of the dolmens. It should be observed that Wady Hesban appears to be a great centre of the dolmen builders, and it is very remarkable that careful exploration did not lead to the discovery of a single example north of Wady Kefrein, although the stream of Nimrin seems an equally likely site for such remains. Explored October 26 and 27, 1881.* * The following is a list of dolmen centres at present known in Syria : - 1, Maslubiyeh, 150 specimens. 600 to are : 2. Mareighat,“150 specimens. joo | EXE es 5 ed : eee Kurmiyeh and el Kalu’a, 50 specimens. =e es | 4. Ghor es Seisaban (Tell Matab’a), 300 specimens. Una 5. ‘Amman, 20 specimens. NIMRIM 237 Tell el Meselhah (dhs) Ss, ‘mound of the place of weapons’). —Near Tell er Rameh on the north. There are some half-dozen under- ground dwellings in the Tell, said to be ancient; they have entrances built of masonry, and are inhabited by the Ghawarneh, who are serfs of the ’Adwan. These are apparently regarded as storehouses for arms. Tell el Mustah (claw) A ‘flat mound ’).—Traces of ruins on a flat mound east of Tell Bileibil. NIMRIM. Tell Nimrin (.)4 (3, ‘mound of Nimrin’).—The Hebrew Beth Nimrim, or Beth Nimrah, meaning ‘house of abundant waters’ (cf Josh. xiii. 27; Num. xxxii. 3; Is. xv. 6; Jer. xlviii. 34). ‘The waters of Nimrim,’ mentioned by the prophets, are the perennial streams of good drinkable fresh water in Wady Nimrin. The stream bathes the north foot of the Tell, and is surrounded with canes and shrubs. It flows asa brook, even in autumn, in the deep Wady Shaib, where its course is hidden by canes resembling Wady Kelt. The stream is fed by springs in the mountains north of the Survey, and the head-waters are found in the magnificent ’Ain Jeidfir at es Salt. This site was known to Eusebius and Jerome (see Reland’s ‘ Palestine,’ ii, p. 650) as being five Roman miles north of Lybias (Tell er Rameh). It is called BnOvaBoay and BnOveupa. The confusion of the B and M was probably due either to a South of the Jabbok (Irby and Mangles). . Sfif and northwards (Finn, etc.). Wady Waleh (two menhirs, Irby and Mangles). g. Near Banias (Tell el Kady). Discovered by Conder in 1882. 10. Galilee (Upper and Lower). Five dolmens and a circle. 11. South of Sidon. A quadrangle of menhirs. 12. Bashan. (See Herr Schumacher’s report.) aD The following are the ancient circles discovered by the Survey party. Others occur south of the Zerka M@a’ain. Hadanieh. Kom Yajtz. Neba. El Mahder. Ras el Merkeb. El MAaberah. Umm Huvwatt. See descriptions under those heads. 238 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE clerical error or to local pronunciation, as in the cases of Jamnia=Jabnia, Gie.-ete. The Tell is a conspicuous object in the plain, being very white and lofty, and surrounded with dark groves of the szdr, or lotus-tree. It resembles Tell Kefrein, but is flatter. On the top there are three masonry tombs like the Kabr Fendi el Faiz, which are graves of the chiefs of the elder, or Diab branch, of the ’Adwan. Smaller graves sur- round them, and with exception of scattered stones there are no other remains on the mound. The water in the stream to the north was found to have a temperature of 75° F., and this with an air temperature of about 95° in the shade. East of the Tell is a small modern shdéneh, or ‘barn’ tower, and remains of a mill lade. Tell Nimrin was visited by Sir C. Warren (‘Quarterly Statement,’ 1870, p. 285). He speaks of a sculpture on one of the tombs which escaped the observation of Captain Conder. It resembles that on the tomb at ’Ain Hesban, described under that heading, ‘a man on horse- back with a sword hanging in the air in front of the horse’s head.* A capital was also found by Sir C. Warren lying on the mound. Betu Haran. Tell er Rameh (sy)! \s).—This is the ancient Beth Haran (Num. xxxii. 36; a town of Gad, Josh. xiii. 27). In the Talmud it is called Beth Ramtha, =mpn mn (‘Tal Jer Shebiith, ix. 2), and to Eusebius and Jerome it was also known as Beth Ramtha (‘ Onomasticon’). Jerome informs us that Herod named this town Livias, after the wife of Augustus. Josephus speaks also of Libyas (Antiq., xiv. 1, 4) east of Jordan, probably the same place. Reland, however, seems to confuse this place with Julias, or Betharamphtha (Antiq., xviii. 2, 1), which seems to be Bethsaida, and in this he is followed by Neubauer and others (cf. Reland, vol. 1., p. 496; vol. ii, pp. 642, 869). The mound of er Rameh is the most conspicuous feature of the Seiseban plain, and with Kefrein, Nimrin and Tell esh Shaghtr, certainly marks the site of an ancient town of importance. The Tell is 22 paces (55 feet) across at the top, and 70 feet high. The white tomb of Dahis * See "Ain Hesban. The account exactly applies to the carving at the latter place. ZOAR 239 ‘occupies the summit resembling the Kabr Fendi el Faiz, or the Kabr Mujahed on Tell Kefrein. There are also six or eight Arab graves round this monument, and on the south-east is the sacred place of el Khudr and the Kabr Said (see under those headings). The Tell is very white, and contrasts with the dark groves of lotus which surround it. There are remains of foundations on the top and on the slopes, just visible above the surface. The stream of Wady Hesban on the north gives a fine perennial supply of fresh water. ZOAR. Tell esh Shaghatr (yew! J). —The word has no meaning in vernacular Arabic, but it may possibly be a corruption of the Hebrew syy, or Zoar, ‘little, a word which in Arabic becomes Saghir, js. Exception may, perhaps, be taken to the change of the Tzadi to Shin; but it is certain that Sad and Sin are interchanged in Bedawin dialects (as in Sak, etc.), and that Sin and Shin are also interchanged (as in Sejerah for Shejerah, etc.). It is thus quite possible that in course of time the change may have occurred from Zoar to Saghir, and from Saghir to Shaghtr. The identification was first suggested by the Rev. W. F. Birch, in the ‘ Quarterly Statement’ of the Palestine Explora- tion Fund. The situation of Tell esh Shaghir fits well the requirements of Zoar. It is on the border of Moab (Jer. xlviii. 34) and of the Jordan plain (Deut. xxxiv. 3). In the lowlands (Gen. xix. 19), and not far from the vicinity of the Cities of the Plain with which it is enumerated (Gen. xiv. 2) in the Vale of Siddim, ‘ which is the Salt Sea.’ As regards the traditional site of Zoar in the fourth century little need be said, as the authority is of so small a value. A place named Zoar was the station of the Equites Sagittarii Indigene (Notitia Imperii Romani), and the see of a bishop of Palestina Tertia in the fifth century (see Reland, ‘ Palest. Illustr.,’ i, pp. 217, 230). It was south of Beth Nimrim (‘ Onomasticon,’ s.v.; Reland, ‘ Palest. Illustr.,’ p. 1066), and Eusebius (under the name Bada) says it was above the Dead Sea, and was in his own time a Roman garrison (Reland, p. 622). The remarks 240 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE on these traditions, which will be found under the heading Khirbet Belath, should be compared. Antoninus Martyr (czvca 570-600 a.D.), one of the few monkish travellers who have left us any notice of the sites beyond Jordan, says: ‘ De Jordani usque ad locum illum in quo Moyses de corpore exivit sunt millia octo et exinde non multum longe ad Segor, in quibus locis sunt multi eremiti.’ He thus seems to place Zoar in the hills—perhaps at Khirbet Belath. The remains of the cells of hermits, such as those to which he alludes, arefoundat ed Deir and Muallakat Umm el Kenéffid. By the place of Moses’ death he evidently means Mount Nebo, and it is not impossible that his Segor is really Siaghah on that ridge. This may also be the Bela and Zoora of the ‘Onomasticon’ (see Khirbet Belath), in which case Canon Tristram has revived the early Christian tradition in placing Zoar at Siaghah (which he calls Ziara), but there can be little doubt as to the approximate site of the real Zoar. The site of Tell esh Shaghar is a whitish hillock of hard limestone, with a rounded rocky surface. It measures 170 paces (530 feet) north and south, by 55 paces (140 feet) east and west, and is highest to the south, where it is about 4o feet above the general surface of the plain. On the north it slopes gradually into the plain. On the east the rock has been quarried. On the north-west is a little hollow about 6 inches across, whence issues a small spring, which flows a few yards even in autumn. On the east again, some 15 yards away on the Tell, there is another larger spring surrounded with rushes and grass, the water from which flows down the Tell. Some 300 to 400 yards west of the Tell there are a few foundations of small stones, 1 foot to 13 feet long, which are quite rough. This ruin is about 50 yards across, and appears to have been that of a little hamlet. Visited October 27, 1881. Thoghret el Beida (\aJ! 8,8, ‘the white pass’).—A moun- tain-pass with road. Thoghret el Ghazlaniyeh (43.353) 83), ‘pass of the gazelles’). —A road here crosses the ridge. ET TUBKAH 241 Thoghret es Sajtir (sys! 8533, ‘pass of trees’).—This is a common corruption for Shejerat ‘trees,’ and is interesting as bearing on what is said under the head Tell esh Shaghtir. The pass in question is covered with fine oaks. The name is not written on the reduced map, but applies close to Ain eth Thoghrah, and Sheikh el ’Ajemy. Tor Sebeit (aun yb, ‘the bare hilltop ;’ from bk», ‘ bare’). Tor Zebneh (44) y4b, ‘the erect rock; for ayly=asS); cf ‘Lane’s Lexicon’). Et Tadafir (sq5lbl, ‘the leapings’)—A plot of ground near Ain Fudeili. It is probably named from the cascades in the stream. This name is omitted from the reduced map. Et Tubkah (sb), ‘the plateau’ or ‘terrace’).—A small ruin with foundations and ruined walls. Tubkat el Musheirfeh (a5yy%0! db, ‘the terrace of the little high place’)—Near Ras el Musheirfeh. A rocky top with founda- tions, and a rude-stone circle. A large tree occurs here with a cairn beneath. Tuweiyil el "Azzam (else ub, ‘the peak of the lion’).—This is a knoll near Ain Minyeh. Tuweiyil el Ghorban (yb! hgh, ‘the peak of the ravens’), Umm ’Abharah (s;e.e el, ‘mother of the Styrax Officinalis,’ or ‘mock orange’—a shrub common here).—A small ruin of walls and foundations. Umm ’Areijat (whys e ‘mother of ascents’).—A few walls. Umm el ’AsAfir (jxsleal el, ‘mother of sparrows’).—The hill west of Ain Hesban. The name is not on the reduced map. Umm Askak (as) el ‘mother of paths’).—A plateau covered with many camel-tracks east of el ’Al. Umm ’Ashireh (4).45 rh ‘mother of the tribe ’).—A hill-spur on the south side of Wady ’Aydn edh Dhib. 31 242 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE Umm el Buruk (yJI el, ‘mother of tanks’).—A ruin in a flat open valley, named from the rock-cut tanks here existing. The ruined “ova ee ve site lies north of the principal tank, which _— i is cut in a flat layer of rock, and has steps L en /7/ \eading down in the south-west corner along the west wall. This tank i8 4o feet Yj? | wide east and west, by 37 north and south ; oe YY 7 | the stair consists of eight risers, each step = about 2 feet broad and 1 foot high, A a _ thin partition of rock (10 inches broad) is N left on the east of the flight, and a lintel- stone is placed at the end of this partition (which is 21 feet long), resting on the ground on the west side of the tank and on the partition; this stone is 7 feet 4 inches long by 3 feet, by 14 feet thick. The tank is 8 feet deep on the south, all of rock; on the north the rock reaches up 5 feet, anda wall of two courses of stone, each 14 feet high, makes the depth equal to 8 feet. South of this tank there are two tombs cut in the face of a cliff, about 10 feet high, which faces north. They are of the kind described as ‘ rock- sunk’ in the ‘ Memoirs of the Western Survey,’ and were found in Western Palestine in Byzantine ruins (vol. ii, p. 320), and also in Crusading ruins (vol. i, p. 385; vol. ii., p. 322), and at Jerusalem, on Olivet, where they seem to be of Crusading date, but may be as early as the fourth century. The tombs at present under consideration have an alcove covering the shaft above ground, which is not found in the other cases mentioned ; but this is probably due to their position in the cliff instead of being on flat ground. The alcove is 2 feet 8 inches high, and as wide as the shaft under it; the shaft is 4 feet 4 inches deep to the bottom, 6 feet long, t foot 8 inches wide, not including the flat rim for a cover-stone, which is 3 inches wide at the ends, and 9g inches at the sides. The two graves at the bottom of the shaft, under avcosola, are 6 feet long, 2 feet wide, and the arch rises 1 foot ro inches from the floor. These two tombs—alike in plan—have their alcoves facing north-east (Fig. 2, next page). About 100 yards west of this pair of tombs is another in the same cliff of different character; it is a square chamber, 11 feet 2 inches east and iii VT Hip) Scale 10 \N \ & 3 Oy o 20 30 feat \ 2 2 Ly ll Ml Mi wY , . \ - XS XN \ ~ A \ \ GL Gy Fic 6. Elevation of Door a FIGS SN X WN Fic 4. \ KK - Fics. 2, 3.—UmmM EL Buruk (Rock-cur Tomps). Fics. 4, 5, 6.—Umm ex. HanArisn Fic. 1.—Umm re, Burux (Pian oF Rock-cuT STABLE). (Rock-cuT Toms). 31—2 244 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE west, 11 feet 9 inches north and south. It is 5 feet from floor to roof, with a door on the north 5 feet 2 inches wide, and 4 feet in height, with a flat top and a false arch or recess rising 2 feet 4 inches; a couple of steps lead down inwards in the passage, 44 feet long, leading to the door from the face of the cliff (Fig. 3, preceding page). Round the chamber runs a bench 14 inches high, and 15 inches wide except at the back, where it is 44 feet wide. On this side a grave is sunk in the bench, 6 feet 4 inches long, 1 foot 10 inches wide. Beyond this tomb further west is another tank, with side-chambers or troughs. It measures 17 feet east and west, by 21 feet north and south, and the depth varies from 24 feet to 15 inches. It séems too large to have been a wine-press, though this is the possible use of the excavation. North of this tank is a small cistern 2 feet 8 inches square and 4 feet deep, with a square covering-stone having a hole in the middle 8 inches in diameter. There is a cliff further west again, with another tomb in it. The ruined town or village immediately north of the remains just PAIL A described shows foundations of houses supported on (| round-arched barrel vaults. ANTWNIo CPS 8 xte O-EAYT The whole site only occu- We NOH Ces “HME pies some 50 yards east ONEIN IWN m., War aie STA west was found lying a lintel 3 feet long, and 1 foot 1 inch high, having a mutilated Greek inscription on a winged tablet : ANTONIOS POY®OZ EAYT QETIOHZE - - - - - HME ONE ------ IQN This records the building of something at his own expense by Antonius Rufus. The limestone block is so much weathered as to be barely decipherable in part. There is another lintel-stone, 2 feet 5 inches long, 1 foot 1 inch high, lying near, also with a winged tablet in very low relief, but, if ever inscribed, it is now too weather-worn to show any trace of lettering. It lies north-east of the former. Much of the material used in the house-walls is flint. The barrel UMM EL BURUK 245 vaulting of the cellars is of good ashlar. There are fragments of cornice with egg pattern much defaced. Cisterns cut in rock also occur, and there is a stone on which a rude Arab inscription has been scrawled. A cave entered by a well-mouth was examined, but the only other interesting feature of the site was a subterranean rock-cut stable towards the east side of the ruin, of which a plan was made. It consists of four chambers entered from the south. The central chamber is 13 feet wide, by 18 feet to the back; that to the east about 7 feet by 14 feet, with a door on the south now blocked with stones; and a door, and south of it a sort of window, communicating on the west with the central chamber. The flat rock-roof of the latter is 84 feet from the floor ; the east chamber is 6 feet high. The third chamber, west of the central one, is 7 feet wide east and west, and 18 feet long. The partition of rock between it and the central chamber is pierced by a door towards the south, and by four openings, under which are troughs or mangers 8 inches deep, and 35 feet from the floor at the top (2 feet 10 inches at bottom) ; they are 3 feet 5 inches long, 2 feet 2 inches wide, and the rock-sides 3 inches thick. The pillars between measure 16 inches by 26 inches, and support the roof. The end pier by the door is 1 foot by 26 inches. The fourth chamber, reached by a door in the south wall of the last, is about 15 feet square, and had a door, now choked, on the east. Nothing has yet been found exactly like this supposed stable in the course of the Western Survey (Fig. 1, p. 243). The general impression obtained from the character of the masonry, and from the form of the letters E = and Q in the inscription, is that the ruins at this site are of the early Christian period—fourth to seventh centuries of our era. Visited August 23, 1881. Umm ed Dubaa (ghell el ‘mother of hyenas’).—A heap of stones and some small ruined flint towers near esh ShemsAéni. Umm ’Erneh (ajo el, ‘mother of the nose’).—A sharp-pointed knoll with a heap of stones, on the brink of the descent to the Hammam ez Zerka. Umm Haleilifeh (dagbabe e! apparently ‘mother of confede- rates ’).— These ruins are south of the conspicuous tree east of Jubeihah, 246 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE which was the most northerly trigonometrical station of the Survey. The ruins resemble those of Jubeihah, with a small watch-tower in the middle. Walls, heaps of stones, and caves were found among the trees, but nothing of distinctive character. The site may have been an ancient Heleph, as the name occurs west of Jordan in the Heleph of Naphtali. Umm el Hanafish ( skell e ‘mother of vipers’).—A small Byzantine town, with an ancient road on the north, situated in a flat valley. On the east is the little hillock of Khirbet Hamzeh, which may be best described under the present head. On the road north-west of the ruin lies a broken sarcophagus of the ordinary size, with its lid beside it. Heaps of pottery-chips, and other fragments, piled on and beside it, seem to show that the spot is held sacred by the Arabs. Near this, on the west, the rock has been quarried. The town occupies a sort of low mound, and on the lower part of this, towards the north-west, a ‘rock-sunk’ tomb was measured, like those found west of Jordan(cf Umm el Buruk). The shaft in the present instance is 7 feet deep, 6 feet long, 3 feet wide, but under-cut below, making a tomb about 6 feet by 9 feet (Fig. 4, p. 243). North of this is an attached, or rock-cut, sarcophagus without a lid. The city mound is about 200 yards across, with ruins of houses and vaults of rude masonry, and occasional pillar-stumps. The stones are from 1 foot to 3 feet in length, and, as a rule, are not squared. The vaults have the usual barrel form, with well-cut voussoirs, graduated from a narrow keystone to broad haunch-stones. Towards the east, by a fallen pillar stump, was found a fragment of ornamental lintel with a honeysuckle pattern. The stone measured 3 feet by 2 feet. The ornamentation is evidently Roman of a low type. At the bottom of the mound, on the east, are fallen pillar-shafts, perhaps marking the site of a chapel. The most conspicuous building is the A7zisv, or tower, which is a small fort at the foot of the hill on the south-west. It measures 41 feet 1o inches along the north wall outside, and 34 feet along the east wall ; the bearing of the former is 75°; the walls are 4 feet thick. The west wall is standing to a height of 15 feet, and has three loopholes. The UMM EL HANAFISH 247 north and east walls are standing about 8 feet high; the south wall is entirely destroyed, and the tower was perhaps once breached and taken from this side. The stones in these walls are from 18 inches to 40 inches in length, and the height of the course is about 1 foot. The outer stones are drafted, but not those on the inside of the wall. The draft is generally 2 inches wide, andthe face within projects 1 inch; both boss and draft have been - rudely dressed. North-west of this tower, on the south side of the Tell or mound, is a modern sacred circle of the usual type, with a lintel on the south-west side of unusual height, the clear space under the stone being 3 feet. As usual (cf "Ain HesbAn, etc.), the ploughs and other property of the Arabs are stored within. The knoll east of this town supports the Khttrbet Hamzeh, where a small church or temple seems to have stood close to the town, with a cemetery on the slopes below. On the top of the knoll were found pillar-shafts, some standing, some fallen, but no regular plan could be made out. They are 1 foot 9 inches in diameter, and stand about N CLL 3 feet high. A base was also found, 1 foot high and 1 foot 7 inches in diameter at the shaft. This base and the top of some of the shafts were pitted with holes, evidently made by shepherds for playing the Mankaleh game ; and in one case the pebbles used in this game remained in the holes. Below this group of pillars, on the east, is an alcove cut in rock facing eastwards, 9 feet wide, 5 feet high in the middle, 4 feet deep to the back, with an arched shape, like an avcosolzum. It is probably the entrance to a tomb, the door or shaft of which is hid beneath the surface (cf Umm el Buruk). Large coarse tessere were strewn on the hill, and stones once composing the walls of the building, which are generally well dressed. South of the pillar-shafts was found an Ionic capital (cf Siaghah, el ‘Al, etc.), 1 foot 10 inches in diameter of shaft. Some rock-cut cisterns were 248 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE also found on or west of the knoll. The cemetery is on the south-west slope, and consisted of rock-sunk tombs and rock sarcophagi. In some cases the tomb shaft was covered with a lid like that of a sarcophagus. The most western example had a shaft 44 feet long, with an arcosolium about 6 feet long each side at the bottom (Fig. 5, p. 243). There are two others like it, and further east is a group of three sarcophagi arranged in the flat rock, two parallel, one across at the end, each about 6 feet by 2 feet. In each case the heavy stone lid had been pushed on one side a little way, and this, no doubt, was done in order to rifle the tomb (Fig. 6, p. 243). Graves of this class are very rare in Western Palestine, but occur at Seffarieh (‘ Memoirs,’ vol. 1., p. 330). The probable date of these ruins would be about the fourth cen- tury A.D. Visited September 17, 1881. Umm Huwatt (bya el. The root means ‘to wall in’).—There are remains of old stone circles here resembling that at Hadanieh, whence the name. It is deep down in WAady Kefrein. The name is omitted from the reduced map, as the site was not exactly fixed. It is east of Abu Safa. Umm Jereisat (Sbiya el, ‘mother of bells ’),—There are founda- tions here, and dolmens, which are described under the head Wady Jideid. Umm el Kehakir (,3k3) e’ ‘mother of stone-piles’).—A ruin on a knoll east of Kefrein. The road here crosses the Thoghret el Ghazlaniyeh, and comes in view of the sacred tombs at Tell Rameh and Tell Kefrein. The Arabs consequently erect on the knoll Kehakir, or small stone-piles—called also Meshahed—such as are common in Syria. Neby Masa is also visible. Umm el Kenafid (sal e! ‘mother of hedgehogs ’).—A good- sized ruin at the top of Wady Hesban, just below the plateau of the Belka. There are half a dozen modern houses on the Tell, and enclosures with drystone walls. Ruins of walls of rude masonry occur on the slopes and terraces of the Tell, which has a flat top about 150 yards across. UMM EL KENAFID 249 About a quarter of a mile to the south-east, where a cave and cistern are marked on the map, stands a pillar on the rock, 2 feet 8 inches high and 2 feet thick ; one side has been cut flat. There is a cistern partly of rock, partly of masonry above the rock, close to the pillar ; it has the usual ‘ bell-mouth,’ and near it are remains of a rock- cut wine-press ; there is also a cave, and foundations remain of a building about 90 feet east and west, by 50 feet north and south. A few rudely- dressed stones are scattered near. In the valiey below the Tell is the “Ain Umm el Kenafid on the south-west, and the valley here becomes narrow and deep. A little further down in a cliff, on the east side, is seen high up the entrance to a hermit’s cave called Muallakat (‘the overhanging’ or ‘ precipitous place’) Umm el Kenafid; it is now used as a granary by the Arabs. Passing down further, the valley is found clothed with terebinths, and on the path is a great boulder in which a tomb is cut ; it is 8 feet 8 inches long, and 4 feet in width, and 4 feet high ; the door is 3 feet high, 2 feet wide. A slab seems to have been placed on a setback of g inches in the chamber, 14 inches from the floor. The boulder is 12 feet square, the door on the south. A second, which has fallen on one side, with a similar chamber, was found near. Visited August 23, 1881. Umm el Kindib (SI rh probably an error for ee. The word is pronounced Chindib or Jindib, and with the Jim is a well-known word. It is, therefore, to be rendered ‘mother of the locusts ’).—The ruin is that of a former village, or small town, on a spur; but it does not appear to be very ancient. The rock is extensively quarried on the south, and beside the road, on the hill, lies a rock-cut drinking-trough. The Arabs were busy cleaning the mud out of wells on the south-west of the mound, supporting the ruined houses, and thus preparing for the rains. Water is stored in the old wells and cisterns in all parts of this district where no springs exist. Caves, cisterns, foundations of un- squared stones, mostly of chert or the flinty rock which runs in bands through the chalk, are numerous at this spot. 250 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE On the hill to the west there is a quadrangular enclosure about 100 yards north and south, by 4o yards east and west, built of one course of unshaped flint-blocks. The guide called it a Kemnétseh, or ‘church,’ but it is more probably only a garden. North of it a rock-cut cistern was found, having a little pan cut in the rock beside it about 10 feet square. The rain ran from the pan into a little round well or filter 1 or 2 feet deep and 3 feet in diameter, where the water settled, the clean water flowing over it into the cistern. The ancient enclosures north of this site are described under the heading Rujm er Rak. Umm el Kutifeh (a&,b3)1 es ‘mother of the St. John’s wort ’).— A long ridge by which the road ascends from Kefrein to ’Arak el Emir. Wild-flowers are plentiful here in spring. Umm Kuseir (jo el ‘mother of the little house or tower ’).— Professor Palmer renders Kusr ‘palace ;’ but it is not generally used in this sense in Palestine, meaning usually a square tower or house. It isa small ruin, with scattered stones and foundations of houses. Umm el Léz (jh el ‘mother of almonds ’).—This is a hilltop south-west of Arak el Emir. Umm el Medaris (j)hu! ¢l, ‘mother of threshing-floors’).—This is a hill close to ’Arak el Emir. Umm Rasein (yl) rh ‘mother of two heads’).—A hill with two tops south of Maain. Umm Restim (pe ch ‘mother of traces,’ z.e., of ruins or of Arab camping-grounds, etc.).—It is a place south of ’Ain ener without any ruins of importance. Umm er Rumam (asl el, ‘mother of heights’).—Possibly this name may be connected with the Hebrew m»3\p5~ (Amos i. 14), rendered ‘palaces, but meaning fortifications, or high places. They were con- nected with Rabbath Ammon, and the present ruin is close to that city on the south. Only a few foundations now remain on a high spur with a cliff beneath ; but the situation is appropriate for a citadel guarding the town on this side, as the ridge is higher than that of the fortress of “Amman. Umm es Semmak (44) el, ‘mother of sumach-trees ’—there are, however, no trees now).—See ’Aweilet Umm es Semmak. The ruin UMM SUWEIWINEH 251 is extensive, being that of a Roman or Byzantine town. Pillar-shafts and capitals, with pedestals and pilasters, occur fallen among the foundations of public buildings and houses. The plans of the buildings could not be made out. Umm esh Shtiamir (pl al e ‘mother of hemlocks’).—A hill- top south of MAain. Umm Suweiwineh (443 gh 900 el ‘mother of little flints ’).— Remains of a small town; the houses all built of chert or flint, which is rudely chipped into blocks of convenient size. There are some small towers or square houses in the ruin, which are conspicuous from a distance. The place stands on flat ground, with a precipice and a deep valley to the west. There are many of these flint villages in ruins on the "Amman plateau, at “Abdtin, Khiirbet Sar, and elsewhere, which are very con- spicuous on account of the dark colour of the flint. They may probably be erections of the early Christian period, resembling the flint towns near Beersheba (at Tell Saweh, etc.), which are found in a similar district where the bands of chert run through the soft chalk. Visited October 10, 1881. Umm Zueitineh.—See el Mareighat. Wady Adamah (a3! (sols, ‘valley of Adam,’ or of ‘red earth’). Wady el Adeimeh (ayes gssly, ‘valley of the streak ’)—See el ’Adeimeh. Wady Abu en Nam! (Jl 9! Gols, ‘valley of ants ').—There is also a plot of ground further north called Abu en Naml, and there is a Wady en Naml west of Jordan. These names may perhaps be derived from the legend which is to be found in the Koran (Sura xxvii. 18, called en Namleh) of the visit which Solomon paid to the valley of ants accom- panied by his troops and by the genii. The localization of such legends in Syria is common, e.g., the Tanntr, the ‘city of the grove,’ the place where Saleh’s camel was killed, all which are shown by the Syrian Moslems, not in Arabia, but in Palestine. Wady Abu Nukleh.—See Bir Abu Nukleh. Wady Abu Redeineh.—See Abu Redeineh. 32—2 252 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE Wady Abu Reghif.—See Abu Raghif. This name is not on the reduced map. Wady Abu Turfah,—See ’Ain Abu Turfah. Wady ’Ajeirman.—See Ain ’Ajeirman. Wady ’Amman.—See ’Amman. Wady ’Amr (pe upper surface, and a Sy SS ) . gale — curious boss 2 feet in diameter, and some 6 inches high — perhaps natural. The south side- stone is 84 feet long, 34 feet high, 21 inches thick. On the north No. 14. are two sidestones, 3 feet long by 5 feet high, and 5 feet long by 7 feet high, each 2 feet thick. The clear width is 3 feet, and the mean height 5 feet, beneath the table-stone. There are several smaller stones lying round, which may have formed some sort of enclosure. No. 15 is fallen some 4 paces south-east of the last, and the contour of the hill is, in fact, here lined with dolmens, including Nos. 11 to 16. In the present case only the sidestones were found, measuring 5 feet by 24 feet, and 2 feet 3 inches apart. No. 16 is 4 paces south-east of the last, and leans over, as though about to fall. The general impression was that these lines of dolmens had WADY FIDEID 257 been shaken by earthquake, and had fallen downhill over the lower side- stone in some instances. The present example, seen from the south-east (see sketch), looks like a demi-dolmen; the capstone is 11 feet by 9} feet, the lower sidestone 10} feet long, 54 feet high, while the other is quite a small stone. No. 17 belongs to another group, and is some 15 yards west of the last, higher on the hill. It is interesting for comparison with some on the No. 17. Kurmiyeh hill (see Nos. 7, 8, 16, 17, 20 of that group). The view from the west shows a flat block supported on others, and measuring 84 feet by 6 feet, the top surface being 2 feet from the ground. It did not appear to be a fallen dolmen. No. 18, rather lower down, and some 12 paces north of the last, is west of No. 14. The topstone was 6 feet by 34 feet. The sidestones were 44 feet by 3 feet 4 inches, and 54 feet by 3 feet, both 18 inches thick. There was in this case a floorstone 4 feet by 2 feet 9 inches in measure- ment. No. 19 is about 15 paces west of the last, and consisted of large blocks fallen down. No. 20 is a well-preserved specimen 17 paces south-west of No. 17. It has a capstone of triangular shape (roughly speaking), the base and height ee of the triangle being about 54 feet. The : ne RO two sidestones are each 74 feet long, one pS being 24 feet high and 18 inches thick, the other 54 feet high by 2} feet thick. There is also an endstone, but, as is usually the case, the capstone does not rest upon it. The sidestones are not parallel, but converge to suit the shape of the capstone. 258 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE No. 21 is 45 paces west of the last. It seems to have been shaken, and the sides are built up with several stones. The cap is 8 feet long by 54 feet wide, and the clear height at one end is § feet. No. 22 is remarkable for the great size of the capstone as compared with its low supports. It stands only 6 paces south-west of No. 21, and the capstone measures 10 feet by 8 feet. The clear height beneath is 25 feet, and the sidestones are only 34 feet apart. The western, or downhill, sidestone is 9 feet long, 34 feet high. The topstone is pierced with a hole, which may be natural or artificial. No. 23 is about 20 paces west of the last, and has fallen down; the capstone measures 84 feet by 5 feet, and is 2 feet thick. One sidestone was 9 feet long, 44 feet high, 15 inches thick ; the other was 7 feet long, 18 inches high, and 2 feet thick. No. 24, about 20 paces south-west of the last, has also fallen down- hill northwards. The topstone is very large and heavy, 9 feet by 7 feet, avi . | tigi wits by 2 feet 3 inches in measurement. The sidestones were g feet long, 34 feet high, 4 feet apart. Several blocks lie round, as though forming part of an enclosure, or perhaps another dolmen. No. 25 is 6 paces south of the last; it had a small topstone 5 feet square, I foot thick, with a rounded upper surface. No. 26, about 7 paces south-west of No. 23, had no apparent capstone. One sidestone was 8 feet long, 54 feet high, and 24 feet thick; a second, to the west, 2} feet by 3 feet. It may be an unfinished example. WADY FIDEID 259 No. 27.—This is close to the next, 50 yards south of Nos. 23 and 24, and higher up the hill. It is only a pace north of No. 28, and the two together, viewed from the north-west, form one group—No. 27 to the left, No. 28 to the right, and higher up. They are very distinct specimens. No. 27 has a capstone 74 feet long, 44 feet wide, 1 foot thick. The side- stone measured was 5} feet by 34 feet, by 1 foot thick; the clear height under the cap is about 3 feet, and the sidestones 44 feet apart. It will be seen in the sketch that another stone lies against one side, as if for extra support. No. 28 is immedi- ately south of the last, and is a very well- shaped specimen. The capstone is of great length, 12 feet by 8 feet, by 14 feet in thickness, One of the sidestones is 75 feet long, 35 feet high, 2 feet thick. The other is 18 inches thick, and the same as the preceding in length and height. They are 3 feet apart. There is a depression in the capstone, which may, however, be natural. No. 29 is 50 yards west of the last group of two; it has no capstone og 4 No. 28 from North. 260 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE left, and may have been unfinished. The sidestones are 5 and 54 feet long, 4 feet high, 2 feet apart, 1 foot thick. No. 30, close to the last, has a capstone 8 feet by 54 feet, and 2 feet thick, and sidestones 3 feet by 34 feet, and 14 feet thick, the clear height under the table is 34 feet, and the width 2 feet. The top stone is broken, and there is an endstone. No. 31, about 30 paces south of No. 28, at the top of the slope, with a flat plateau south of it, has fallen over. The capstone was 11 feet by 54 feet, and 14 feet thick. No. 32 is 16 paces south of No. 28, and thus north of the last. It is very low, and has fallen over. The topstone measured 8 feet by 3 feet. No. 33, adjoining the last on the south-east, is an irre- gular monument, the topstone of which appears to be broken. \==— The sidestones are 7 feet 4 z=. inches and 44 feet long, 24 feet high, and 24 feet apart. No. 34 is 15 paces south- east of the last, and has fallen down. One of the sidestones was 9 feet long, 5 feet high (unless, indeed, this be the capstone). Nine, ne reall SS ! ad 1 int nt No. 38. Nos. 35 to 38, inclusive, are fallen specimens within 15 paces of the last. No. 39 is also fallen some. 30 paces further south-east. No. 40.—This is the first of another group on the same hill, but further south-east than those as yet enumerated, 100 paces south-east of No. 32. They are on the slope, and lower down than the next group. WADY FIDEID 261 No. 40 presents a flat stone 10 feet by 8 feet, and 23 feet thick, supported by several stones piled at the sides. No. 41, about 50 yards from the last eastwards, and No. 42, close beside it, are fallen in ruins. No. 43, higher up the slope, some 80 yards above No. 40, is very interesting, as compared with the example at el Kurmiyeh (see No. 20 under that head). The flat stone is 85 feet square, supported on various flat slabs. No. 44.—This belongs to another group of two, about 300 yards from the last on the south. It is a fine example, with two sidestones and an endstone. The capstone is 11 feet by 9 feet, the sidestone 7 feet long, 44 feet high. There are several blocks round it. No. 45, close by, 5 paces to the north-west, is fallen. No. 46.—This is about 100 yards west of the last on the flat plateau which com- mands a fine view of the Ghor and Nebo, and of the western watershed, including Neby Samwil on the south, and Jebel Hazkin, north of Nablus, on the north. This example is fallen, but appears to have been of medium size. No. 47 belongs to another fine group on flat ground, at the top of a flat slope, falling eastwards into Wady Jideid. It is about 200 yards south- east from No. 44, and is also fallen, but of average size. No. 48, about 150 yards north-east of the last, and 100 yards west of the next, has a capstone 11 feet square broken in two, and supported on 262 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE sidestones ro feet long, 44 feet high. The average interior height is 3 feet 9 inches, and the width 4 feet. This has no good western view. No. 49 is a fallen example, 20 paces north of the next. No. 50 is one of the best built examples of the group. The capstone is large, being 12 feet by 8 feet. The clear space beneath is 4 feet high and 34 feet wide. The sidestone is 84 feet long, sa = Hi and there is also a floor- stone. This is at the edge of the flat ground, near a steep descent. No. 51, about 10 paces west of the last, is a fallen example of medium size. Between this and the preceding are some fallen stones 4 or 5 feet long, which may indicate another dolmen of medium size. No. 52, near No. 50, on the south-east, approaches the demi-dolmen type. The cap- stone is 10 feet by 8 feet; the downhill sidestone is 8 feet long, 6 feet high, and there is also an endstone. No. 53, close beside the last, on the east, is a fallen mass. “WADY FIDEID 263 No. 54, about 20 yards west of No. 52, is well preserved, but smaller. The capstone is 6 feet by 5% feet ; the sidestone 4 feet high, 54 feet long, and the clear height, under the table, 2 feet 9 inches, with a width of 3 feet. Near this is a rude cave or chamber, 6 feet by 5 feet. No. 55 belongs to a group 100 yards south of the last. It is, perhaps, the best built and preserved of all on the hill, with floorstone and endstone. The stones seem possibly to have been rudely hewn. The capstone is 5 feet by 6 feet; one sidestone 7 feet long, 6 feet high, 25 feet thick. The endstone is 3 feet wide, 5 feet high, but the capstone does not rest on it. The other sidestone is 7 feet long, 6 feet high. Thus a tall man can stand up inside this fine dolmen. ; No. 56 is 30 paces west of the last (see sketch), and is a well-shaped example. The clear space beneath the cap is 44 feet high, 24 feet wide. Nos. 57, 58, 59 are fallen close together, north of No. 56, and north- west of No. 55. No. 60 is 20 paces south-east of No. 55. The capstone (see sketch) is 8 feet square, the sides are 4 feet apart, the clear interior height is 3, feet. No. 61 is a smaller example, 15 paces to the south-west of the last. The topstone is broken, but its upper surface was only 4 feet from the ground. 264 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE No. 62, east of the last, is fallen, and was of medium size. No. 63, at the south end of the plateau, 250 yards south of No. 56, is fallen. About 200 yards south of No. 56 are two or three very small ah re eal se at ase ON We (AMI? peek TCG = oN ss Ug atau vy 1 No. 61. structures, flat stones 5 or 6 feet long, raised up on a single stone beneath ; they are 100 yards apart. Nos. 64 and 65, 200 yards south of No. 63, and higher up on the east slope of the spur, are ruined dolmens of moderate size. No. 66, about a quarter of a mile from No. 63, and, perhaps, 700 yards from No. 56, is also ruined or destroyed, and of medium size. No. 67 is a small one, 20 paces south of the last, with fallen topstone. No. 68, about 200 yards north-east of No. 67, is a very low one of small size. Looking northwards at the plateau, on which Nos. 50, 55, 56, 60, 66, are the most conspicuous objects, one sees the ridge of Jebel Osha appear- ing between Siaghah and Nebo. The examples noted thus far belong to the north and east slopes of the spur, which runs out northwards from the Masltibiyeh ridge to the Hadanieh circle ; but there are other dolmens further west on the north- west slopes of the same spur, which were next visited. South of them all, the top of the spur is crowned with a ruined cairn (see el Maslibiyeh). No. 69 is north of the cairn, and roo yards distant down the slope. It is higher up, however, on the spur than the former dolmens, which are to the east. This is a fallen example of medium size. No. 70, lower down the hill, is a well-defined trilithon, apparently shaken by earthquakes. The capstone measures ro feet by 7 feet, the sidestone is 11 feet long and 44 feet high, and the clear width between the sidestones is 4 feet. WADY FIDEID 265 No. 71, close to the last, is fallen, but was about the same size. Nos. 72 to 78, within 100 yards east of No.71, are small ruined specimens. No. 79 is a very small one, 100 yards north-east of No. 70. No. 80, about 300 yards east of No. 70, on the upper part of the highest No. 70. slope of the hill (see sketch), is a small low example. The capstone is 6 feet long, and its upper surface only 3 feet from the ground. Nos. 81 and 82 are little examples, lower down the slope than the last. No. 83 is beside the road which comes from el Masltibiyeh to ’Ain Jideid, on flat ground near the foot of the highest slope. This specimen is built of five stones, including floor and end stones. The sidestone is 44 feet high, 65 feet long, and the clear space is 44 feet wide. No. 84 is a fallen specimen 100 yards east of the last. No. 85 is a small one 20 paces north-east of the last. No. 86 is a small speci- men on the same roadside with, and about 30 paces north of, No. 83. = Nos. 87 to go stand in a line on the west of the same road, north and south, and about 10 paces apart. They are fallen, but the capstone in the two first is 8 feet long, and oe 5 feet long in the second two. No. 91 (see sketch) is north of the last group, and south-west of No. 56, and about 200 yards north of No. 83. It is a well-preserved 34 )) 1 Sy "y = en hn We A) sin ai Wyn iy fie Hi 266 ‘THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE specimen, having two sidestones, instead of one, on one side. The capstone is about 7 feet square, and the clear height beneath it is 5 feet. No. 92, some 70 yards west of the last, is also well-preserved. The side- stones are 8 feet long, the clear interior height is 4 feet. | No. 93, east of the last, has a capstone only 4 feet long and small sidestones, the clear interior height being only 3 feet at the highest point. This, if not over- turned, was a sort of demi-dolmen, or rocking-stone. Nos. 94, 95, 96 are small fallen specimens, north of the last, about 200 yards distant. Nos. 97, 98, 99, on the west side of the road above-mentioned—west of Nos. 26 and 27, and about 100 yards distant—are small fallen specimens. On and near the road are also some pointed stones, 3 or 4 feet high, and a fallen block with a chamber about 4 feet long in it. The next group is further south along the road to el Masltibiyeh, and east of the cairn on the top of the spur already noticed. The first of the group (No. 100) is the furthest south-west, and about half a mile from No. 83. Itisa remarkably fine specimen, and the blocks appear to have been hewn. The table-stone is not horizontal, and measures 13 feet by 10 feet, being 14 feet thick. The larger sidestone is 10 feet long and 7 feet high. The average clear space is 54 feet under the topstone, and the width q feet. Theré is an WADY FIDEID 267 endstone about 44 feet high. There are also hollows in the upper surface of the capstone. There are tribe-marks on the endstone, which might be mistaken for letters. No. 101 is about 100 yards north of the last, and the cap is 9 feet by No. 101, 7 feet, and 24 feet thick. It has an endstone, and the mean height under the capstone is 4 feet 3 inches. No. 102 is 60 yards east of the last, and is something like a demi-dolmen; being constructed ona slope. The capstone is 1o feet by 8 feet; the mean breadth is 3 feet 3 inches, with a clear height of 4 feet in the middle under the capstone. Nos. 103, 104, 105, close together, south-east of the last, are fallen specimens of medium size. No. 106, about 250 yards north-east of No. 102, resembles it closely. No. 107, beside the road, south of the last, about 80 yards distant, is a smaller specimen, the topstone 7 feet by 6 feet, the clear height beneath 3 feet, and the clear width 3 feet 3 inches. It has an endstone. No. 108 is a fallen specimen just east of the last. No. 109, about 50 yards north of No. 107, on the road, is about the size of No. 106. Nos. 110 and 111 are fallen specimens of medium size between No. 109 and the next. No. 112 is a remarkably well-shaped specimen, suggestive of having 34—2 268 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE been built with hewn blocks. This is the furthest north of the present group of 13 (Nos. 100 to 112), including several magnificent specimens. The capstone is 9 feet by 10 feet, and 1 foot thick. One sidestone is 10 feet long, 63 feet high, but not vertical ; the clear space beneath is 34 feet wide, 6 feet high. There is an endstone of these same dimensions, and a floor-stone, which has been broken at some time or other, but which rests on rock only beneath; this reduces the height of the clear space. There are roughly-excavated holes in the upper surface of the cap- stone, probably artificial, though possibly natural. The next group, placed together with the preced- ing because belonging to the same system, is found on the slopes south and east of the hill of Ktei- jiyeh, and east of the Hadanieh circle. It in- cludes fifty examples, some of which are very large and well-formed dolmens. No. 113.—This is a very fine specimen, standing alone, and furthest east of all, on the edge of the plateau of the Belka, at the head of WAdy Jideid, west of Rujm Jazel, and north of Umm Jereisat (see map). The topstone measured 84 feet by 54 feet, and the clear height beneath is 34 feet, with a width of 3 feet. . The downhill sidestone is 5 feet high and 9 feet long; the uphill 35 feet high and 8 feet long. There is also and enstone, and several smaller blocks lie Plan of No. 118. WADY FIDEID 269 round the dolmen. The topstone (see plan) is pitted all over with small hollows, no less than forty in all being counted. The largest, on the lowest part of the stone (which has a slight cant), is 10 inches in diameter and 9g inches deep. Five of the larger hollows are in one line, with a channel communicating between them (cf ’Ammian), the others are round the outer edges of the stone. No. 114, north-west of the last, and on the spur east of the Kdeijiyeh knoll, is also a fine specimen. The capstone is 10 feet by 8 feet, and one of the side- stones is 10 feet by 4 feet 3 inches, by 24 feet thick. The clear space is 3 feet 9g inches high, and 5 feet wide. There are four holes in the upper surface of the capstone, about 7 inches in diameter and 5 inches deep, No, 114. and a yet larger hollow or basin 14 feet in diameter and nearly a foot deep near the middle. No. 115, about 50 yards further north, is a fallen specimen. No. 116, close to the last, has a capstone 8 feet square, and a sidestone 9 feet long, 54 feet high (downhill side). The mean in- terior height under the capstone is only 3 feet, and the breadth 34 feet. There is an endstone as well. No. 117, lower down the northern side of the slope, not far from the valley bed, isa remarkably fine specimen, well-built of slabs, which may have been hewn. It has a capstone, two sidestones, an endstone, a floorstone, and a small stone resting on one sidestone and on the endstone. The capstone is 8 feet long, 74 feet wide, 2 feet 3 inches thick. The sidestones are each about 94 feet long, 64 feet high. The floorstone is 270 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE 5 feet by 3 feet 3 inches, and 14 feet thick. Thus the interior chamber is No. 117. 5 feet high, 9 feet long, and 34 feet wide. The chief peculiarity of this Mo. 117.—Plan ground level. example consists, however, in the well-cut cup-hollow in the upper surface of the floorstone. This is 1 foot in diameter and 6 inches deep, very well shaped. It was possible, by lying flat, to see under the floorstone, but there was no appearance of any hollow in the rock, such as a sunk grave. The monument stands on bare slippery rock near the valley bed. No. 118, about 23 paces south-east of the last, is a demi-dolmen, on the rocky slope ; the stone which forms the table is 7 feet long. No. 118. No. 119. No. 119, about 50 paces east of No. 117, is a comparatively small specimen ; one of the sidestones measured 5 feet by 33 feet. WADY $IDEID 271 No. 120, about 50 paces further east again than the last (see sketch), is a well-shaped dolmen. The chamber is 5 feet high, 3 feet wide; the sidestone 5 feet high, 9 feet long. soe No. 121.—Crossing over the rocky a bed of the ravine northwards, this specimen is found about 120 yards east of the last. The clear height under the capstone is 4 feet, the width 3 feet; the sidestones are e 7 feet long (see sketch). No. 121. No. 122, close to the last, is a fallen specimen. No. 123, 60 yards west of the last, on the north side of the ravine, is rather larger than No. 121. Nos. 124 and 125, about 50 paces south of No. 120. These are very remarkable specimens, as indicating that the flat stone is the real No. 125. ratio entis of these monuments ; they occur on the hillside, 50 paces south of No. 120, higher up. The flat stones are about 7 feet long. No. 126, about 70 or 80 yards north of No. 117. The topstone has a hole in it 2 feet 9 inches by 1 foot 9 inches, and 6 inches deep; the side- 272 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE stone is 44 feet high, and 11 feet long. This is so high up as to com- mand a view extending to Mount Gerizim. No. 127.—This is a demi-dolmen, south of the last (see sketch). In the upper stone there is a slit 2 feet long, 8 inches wide, 8 inches deep—a sort of channel ; perhaps, however, not artificial. No. 128, about 50 yards west of No. 117, is fallen. No. 129, about 30 paces south-west of the last, is also fallen. No. 130, close to the last, is merely a small stone, raised on one yet smaller at one end. There are a good many single stones lying about on the hillsides here, which were probably connected in some way with the dolmens. Nos. £31, 132, 133, on the eastern slope of the Kteijiyeh hill, are all fallen. No. 134 is a fine specimen on the same slope. As usual, the side- stones have their length parallel to the contours. The uphill stone is 44 feet high, 9 feet long. There is an endstone 54 feet high, 34 feet broad. The capstone is broken ; beneath it is a clear interior height of 4 feet, and there is a floorstone 6 feet long, 34 feet wide, 1 foot 3 inches thick. In this is a hollow, partly broken away, about 10 inches in diameter, and the same in depth. No. 135.—This is the first of a groupwhich occurs south of No. 113, and north-east of the Rujm el Meseiyik, on the edge of the Belka WADY JIDEID 273 plateau ; with the next, it was not measured, but was about the size of No. 113. No. 136.—See the last. Nos. 137, 138, 139, 140, near the last, are fallen, making a group of six in this direction. No. 141 is on the north side of Wady Jideid, and south of the Kfeijiyeh hill. It is of medium size. No. 142, at the bottom of the great descent along the road to Hada- nieh from the east, just before crossing Wady Jideid. A small low dolmen, very rough but quite distinct, all by itself. No. 143, with the rest following, was measured and sketched by Lieutenant Mantell. It belongs to a conspicuous group south of el Kteijiyeh, low down at tthe head of WAady Jideid. This is the most eastern, and partly ruined, the topstone having fallen. It was 9 feet by 8 feet, by 2 feet in thickness. The sidestone was 9 feet long, 4 feet high, 1 foot thick. No. 144, about 30 yards south of the last (see sketch), is a magnificent dolmen, the topstone 12 feet by 9 feet, and 20 inches thick. The side- stone is 11 feet long, 6 feet high, 2 feet thick. In the upper surface of the cap- No. 144. W. Jideid. stone are three holes, each 3 or 4 inches in diameter, and about 2 inches deep. There is a floorstone in this specimen. a UN No. 145; about 30 yards No. 146. WV. Jideid. south of the last, and lower down. This is fallen, the topstone measuring 10 feet by 84 feet, by 15 feet thick. 35 274 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE No. 146 has a capstone much tilted, 10 feet by 9 feet, and one of the sidestones is 8 feet high, 105 feet long, 14 feet thick. There are in this last group, south of the Kiteijiyeh knoll, sixteen other fallen specimens, making a total of 162 dolmens measured and ex- amined in this valley. The observations concerning the groups of el Kurmiyeh and el Kaliia apply equally to the present larger group, which presents no peculiarities, save in Nos. 117 and 134, where the cup-hollow is in the upper surface of the floorstone. The channels of No. 113 may be compared with those in the great southern dolmen at ’Amman. As regards the present group generally, it will be observed that the space beneath the table is rarely more than 4 feet high, and about 33 feet wide. This allows of anyone standing by the dolmen being able to reach the upper surface of the table. The trilithons cannot be con- sidered to be very appropriate forms for huts or for tombs, and such specimens as Nos. 124 and 125 are very instructive. They are evidently small specimens of the same class, but cannot be either tombs or houses, as they are too small and low; they seem clearly to be intended as tables for some purpose. There seems to be no arrangement of the dolmens, but the probable centre is the great circle of Hadanieh. Explored September 21, 23, 27, 28, 1881. Wady el Jindil (x! oly, ‘the valley of hard rock’).— Omitted from the reduced map for want of space. Wady el Joéfeh (d5sJ! (sits, ‘ valley of the hollow’). Wady Jéfet el Ghazlaniyeh—See under J 6feh. Wady el Jorfeh (a sJ! (sls, ‘valley of the bank’). Wady el J tteismeh.—See el Jieismeh. Wady Kedish (oS cssls, ‘valley of the pack-horse’). Wady el Kefeir.—See Kefeir. Wady el Kefrein.—See el Kefrein. Wady Keradeh (ssl, (sls, ‘valley of goblins ’).—See Khirbet Kerddeh. Wady el Khaneizir (pjesI (sols, ‘ valley of the little pig’). BARKAT’S JUMP 275 Wady el Kittdr (LM! oly, the root means ‘to drip ’).— Omitted from the reduced map for want of space and as valueless. Wady Kuseib.—See Ras Kuseib. Wady el Mahfeh (aan! (sal). Wady el Makabalein.—See el Makabalein. Wady Manatt Faras Barkdat (uly joys les (sly, ‘valley of the place of the jump of the mare of Barkat ’).—Barkat (‘ blessings’ or ‘increase’) is a common Arab name, and another name of the famous black hero, Abu Zeid, ‘father of increase,’ son of Rizk, ‘ sustenance,’ and Khadra, ‘the green or fertile one.’ The legend of Abu Zeid is localized by the Belka Arabs in the Jordan Valley (see Mensef Abu Zeid), and the present name is probably connected. The Arab heroes (Abu Zeid, Zir, etc.) are represented as being so heavy that no ordinary horse was able to support them ; but the feat may, perhaps, have been that of an actual Arab rider, or of his mare. This name applies to the first valley north of Kefrein, which runs due west into Wady Jéfet el Ghazlaniyeh. It is too long a name to write on the reduced map. Wady MA4stih.—See Khirbet Masth. Wady Mebna Beit el Maganyeh (eS) aa bee coils, ‘valley of the building of the rich man’s house’). Wady Medeisesat (slomde csily, ‘valley of hiding-places oy Wady el Mehatteh (aaa! (sly, ‘valley of the camp’). Wady el Mehterkeh (ass! (uly, ‘valley of the place burnt with fire’). WaAdy el Mejeddrin (. 4! (gsly)—This means in Arabic ‘valley of the persons afflicted with small-pox,’ or similar pustules, and may take its name from some such outbreak in an Arab camp. Wady el Mekheiyit—See Rujm el Mekheiyit. Wady Mensef Abu Zeid.—See Mensef Abu Zeid. Omitted from the reduced map as unnecessary. Wady el Merkeb.—See Ras el Merkeb. Wady el Meshabbeh.—See ’Ain el Meshabbeh. 327-2 276 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE Wady el Mesheiyideh.—See el Mesheiyideh. Omitted as un- necessary on the reduced map. Wady el Mes-hiar (jsy5-! (suls, ‘the enchanted valley \.—_The Siz and Sad are hardly distinguishable among the Arabs, as all the Syrian educated persons affirm. This may perhaps, therefore, be yyxo-, ‘flat.’ Wady el Minhar (jaw! sols, ‘valley of the place of sacrifice,’ according to Moslem custom). Wady el Mubrakah (Sy! (otls, ‘valley of the kneeling- place ’).—See Rujim Mubrakat Naket en Neby. Wady el Mujerr (jal Gols, ‘valley of the place of pasture ’).-— May, however, be a Bedawin corrupt pronunciation of the next. It is “omitted from the reduced map as doubtful. Wady el Mukerr (ji! sly, ‘ valley of the plain’). Wady el Mureijib.—See el Mureijib. Wady el Musheirfeh.—See Ras el Musheirfeh. Wady Naatr.—See ’Ain Naaar. Wady Naheir (jeg codls, ‘valley of the little stream’). Wady en Nar (,W) (sols, ‘the valley of fire’). Wady en Nefidiyeh (deniJ! sols, ‘the fruitful valley AG Wady Nimrin.—See Tell Nimrin. Wady en Nteijis.—See Kusr en Nueijis. Wady en Nustry.—See ’Ain en Nusiry. Wady el ’Oshir.—See Rujm el ’Oshir. Wady Rafiah.—See Rujim Rafiah. Wady er Rameh.—See Tell er Rameh. Wady er Rameileh (she yJI cssly, ‘the sandy valley’ diminutive). —This is omitted for want of space, and as of no value, on the reduced map. Wady er Ramleh (aj! (suly, ‘ the valley of sand’). Wady er Rishshah (cles cssls, ‘the valley of high herbage’). Wady er Rtak.—See ‘Arak er Ruak. Wady Shafa (at (oly, ‘the equal valley’). CALLIRHOE 277 Wady Shaib (qe csils, ‘valley of the little hill-spur ’). Wady esh Shita (JI (sols, ‘valley of rain or of winter ’).—It is the winter camping-ground of the ’Abbad Arabs. It has a fine perennial spring in its bed, which supplies a stream turning mills (now ruined in part) near el Areimeh (see Ain el Bahhath and el ’Areimeh). Probably, therefore, the name refers to winter residence, not to any supply of torrent-water. Wady es Sir (ye! ossls, ‘ valley of the sheepfold,’ but see under Arak el Emir, the probable derivation). Wady Umm Haleilifeh.—See Umm Haleilifeh. ' Wady Umm Kaleib (ads e! sls, ‘valley of the water-pot’). Wady Umm Luweizeh.—See Ummel Léz. Wady Umm er Rumam.—See Umm er Rumam. _ This is omitted, as not required, on the reduced map. Wady Umm Shitiamir (y+lye e! csuly, ‘valley mother of hem- locks’).—This is a small valley leading down west to Wady Hesban, from the ridge west of el ’Al, just south of Shtinet Sukr. It is not named on the reduced map. A small solitary dolmen was found in it, consisting of a rough stone some 7 5 feet long, supported on two smaller Dolmen in W Umm Shiuamir. blocks, the upper surface being about 2 feet from the ground. This small example is at a spot whence the Kurmiyeh hill can be seen. There are several single blocks near it—compare el Kurmiyeh. Wady Umm Suweiwineh.—See Umm Suweiwineh. Wady Zerka Mdadain.—A magnificent gorge 2,000 feet deep, forming the south boundary of the work. See Hammdm ez Zerka, and Ain ez Zerka. At length we reached the brink of the gorge—here some 1,700 feet deep—the stream being, near the springs, still 1,600 feet above the Dead Sea. Tawny cliffs of limestone capped with chalk rise on the north, and are seamed with gulleys, where the marl has been washed down like snow-streaks left in summer, beneath the cliffs. On the south, a steep brown precipice with an undercliff of marl, and a plateau stretching thence to another and yet another ridge; beyond and above this plateau (on which are the stone heaps of 278 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE Macheerus), appeared the shining waters of the lake and its western cliffs, fading away into a blue mist on the south. But the central feature of this ghastly scene of utterly barren wilderness was the great black bastion projecting from the southern cliff, and almost blocking the gorge—an outbreak of basalt which shows like a dark river in the valley of Callirhoe, as seen from the west side of the Dead Sea. It resembles the high spoil-heaps of an English coal-mine, and bears witness to the volcanic action which has made the springs in this gorge of boiling heat, and which no doubt accompanied the sudden depression of the enormous fault now known as the Jordan Valley. It took a full hour to reach the bottom of the gorge, and the scene beneath was wonderful beyond description. On the south, black basalt, brown limestone, gleaming marl. On the north, sandstone cliffs of all colours, from pale yellow to pinkish purple. In the valley itself the brilliant green of palm clumps, rejoicing in the heat and the sandy soil. The streams, bursting from the cliffs, poured down in rivulets between banks of crusted orange sulphur deposits. The black grackle soared above, with gold-tipped wings, his mellow note being the one sound re-echoed by the great red cliffs in this utter solitude. The brooks (which run from ten springs in all) vary from 110° to 140° F. in temperature, and fall in little cascades amid luxuriant foliage, to join the main course of the stream, which is far colder and fresher, flowing from the shingly springs higher up the valley, and forming pools beneath white rocks of chalk, which we found full of fish, and hidden in a luxuriant brake of tamarisk and cane. The weather being very hot, the thermal streams were not smoking, but a strong smell of sulphur was very perceptible at times. Crossing three rivulets, from each of which our horses, apparently aware of the heat of the water, shrank back in fear, we reached the principal hot-spring, which has formed a ledge of breccia-like deposit in the valley, just north of the basalt cliff. Here the chasm is narrowest, and the main stream below could be seen winding among the black boulders, which impede its course, with the dark precipice frowning as though about to fall, like Sinai in the ‘ Pilgrim’s Progress.’ The stream has bored through the sulphurous breccia, and runs in a tunnel of its own making, issuing from this hot shaft atout 100 feet lower, in the gorge itself. Here our Arab friends stripped and steamed themselves, sitting on a frail platform of retem boughs, over the boiling spring, which is surrounded with incrustations, white, yellow, or orange, of pure sulphur. Here we heard again the legend of Solomon’s black demon slave, who discovered this healing bath for his master, and we observed remains of a channel, leading probably to the baths, now buried beneath the incrustations from the stream. And of all scenes in Syria, even after standing on Hermon, or among the groves of Banias, or at Engedi, or among the crags of the Anti-Lebanon, there is none which so dwells on my memory as does this awful gorge, ‘ the valley of God’ by Beth Peor, where, perhaps, the body of Moses was hid—the fair flowing stream which Herod sought below the gloomy prison of John the Baptist at Machzerus—the dread chasm where the Bedawin still offer sacrifices to the desert spirits, and still bathe with full faith inthe healing powers of the spring.—Conder’s ‘ Heth and Moab,’ p. 145, 1st edition. Watat en Nam (aad! wslby, ‘the smooth lowlands’).—This applies to the plateau below Nebo, on the west. El Weibdeh (siug/I, ‘the pass’).—This is a ruined village with remains of rough walls and rock-cut cisterns. It stands on a pass by which the road from ’Amman to es Salt crosses. VAFUZ 279 El Yadadeh (sugstJ!).—This is a site beyond the Survey—a conspicuous mound on which are remains of an ancient town. Two small modern houses have also here been built by a man from es Salt, who has recently settled here. Yajuz (jss4).—This is an important site which some writers have supposed to represent Jahaz,* but erroneously, as the two names have not a single letter in common. It stands high on the south side of a valley among hills covered with scattered oaks, and has a quarried cliff to the south. On the east is the ancient circle of Kém Yajuz, described under that name. On the north-west is the spring of "Ain Yajiz (see under that head), with a few ruins. The ruins are those of a Roman or Byzantine town. Vaulted substructures with round-arched tunnel vaults (compare Kefeir el Wusta) remain. The arches are, however, rough. The mortar joints are packed with stone chipsp—a common feature of Byzantine masonry. A rough square cistern is cut in rock and sur- rounded with troughs. It was apparently intended for rain-water. Some drafted stones of large size were noted, as at all Byzantine ruins of any importance. The site is on the north edge of the Survey. The principal building in the place may very probably have been a Roman temple. It measures about 230 feet by 80 feet, and is divided in two by a wall. On the west side are two chambers, and the rock-cut cistern above mentioned is to the west again. The walls are standing to a height of 10 feet or more. A fine group of oaks occurs beside the building. Visited October 10, 1881. El Yiserah (&ym.J!),—This might, perhaps, be the place called * The site of Jahaz has long been sought, but no identification made, since neither Yajiz nor Yisera bear any resemblance to the Hebrew word, which is ¥M, or MYM), that is in Arabic Yakhsah, or Yahsah. As regards its position (see Deut. ii. 32; Num. xxi. 23; Josh. xiii. 185; Jer. xlviii. 21), it was in the vicinity of Heshbon, and in the wilderness (Midbar). It should, apparently, be sought east of the Survey district in the Beni Sakhr country. Among the names collected beyond the Survey is that of Rujm Makhsiyeh (apace : )s which contains the necessary root. The site is not shown on any map, but it is in the vicinity of Jawah and Yadideh, or just where Jahaz might be expected to lie, in the Midbar, or waterless country east of Heshbon. This appears to be the nearest approach toa discovery of Jahaz yet made. Ziza, the site suggested by Rev. Selah Merrill, though in the right direction, cannot be considered identical, as not one letter of the root is found in the name of Jahaz. 280 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE Jessa (Iscoa), between Medeba and Heshbon, known to Eusebius (see Reland, ‘ Pal.,’ ii., p. 825), which he supposed to be Jahaz. The site is that of a ruined village on a knoll in low ground. On the north is a rock-cut cistern which had just been cleared in expectation of the rains. The masonry is small and rude. Some rude vaults and round arches of unshaped stones remain standing. Visited September 26, 1881. Ez Zaby (ey), ‘the dwarf’).—This is a sacred spot near Khtrbet Kefrein. A circle exists here resembling the other modern circles of the Arabs (see ’Ain HesbAn, etc.), but with its trilithon on. the south instead of on the west, as is usual, Ez Zaby is said to have belonged to a tribe inhabiting the Haurdn, who are said to place the lintel- stones of their circles on the south. The name is omitted for want of space on the reduced map. Zejibet el ’Al (\WI aye. This is an Arab mispronunciation for Zekibet el Al. 3) means ‘an entrance,’ and the name applies to a site north of el ’Al, where there are rocks and caves. The word also means ‘a narrow road, and may apply to the road here ascending by Umm el Kenafid).—The vicinity is described under Umm el Kenéafid. The name is omitted on the reduced map. Ez Zellakah (eJ,\, ‘the slippery place’)—Omitted, as not of value, on the reduced map. Ez Zeranik (hl, ‘the runlets’ of water). ZLarah (s513).—This is south of the Survey, on the Dead Sea shore. The spelling was ascertained carefully, and proves that there is no con- nection with the Hebrew Zoar. It might, perhaps, be Zareth Shahar (amwA may, Josh. xiii. 19, ‘in the mount of the valley,’ poyn 4m), as the zadi does occasionally become Zazu—e.g., Hazztr for Hazor. APPENDIX A. ACCOUNT OF THE SURVEY OPERATIONS. Tue Survey party reached Palestine in the spring of 1881, and were engaged first in a tour through Northern Syria, which led to the recovery of Kadesh on Orontes, secondly in organization and in shifting the base from Beyrout to Jerusalem—a step necessitated by the outbreak of a rebellion in the Haurdn. When all was finally ready on June rst, the Turkish authorities refused to allow the Survey to be commenced, and this necessitated a delay due to reference home. During this time a great deal of revision work was done in Judea between Bethel, Hebron, and Ramleh. Finally, on August 16th, Captain Conder and Lieutenant Mantell, with half the native party, marched down to Jericho, where they met Sheikh Goblan en Nimr, and crossed Jordan on the following day. A contract having been arranged with the ’Adwan Arabs, the rest of the party was ordered over Jordan. Messrs. Black and Armstrong arrived at’Ain Hesban on August 26th. The interval had been occupied by Captain Conder and Lieutenant Mantell in reconnaissance and the exploration of ruined sites. The triangulation commenced in very hot weather on August 30th. The base-line was measured and remeasured on September 2nd and 4th. In consequence of a skirmish between the ’Adwan and the Beni Sakhr, the camp was moved to ’Ain Fudeili on September roth. On the 2oth it was again moved south to Wady Jideid, and on the following night the Governor of es Salt arrived at the old camp with the intention of ordering the suspension of the work. On the 23rd a Turkish officer was sent to Wady Jideid to inquire into the pro- ceedings of the Survey party, and on the 27th private intelligence was 36 282 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE received of the intention of the Turkish Government to compel the party to desist from their work. On September 29th the camp was again moved to ’Ain Minyeh, and the survey of the ’Adwd4n country was carried to the extreme southern limit. An attempt was made to come to terms with the Hameideh, in order to go yet further south; but this failed, as the Hameideh could not be induced to select any representative chief, the whole district being in a state of anarchy. It was, therefore, determined to extend the Survey northwards. On October 5th the camp reached Amman, and on the 7th a per- emptory summons was received from the Governor of es Salt, ordering the party to desist from work and to leave the country. The matter was referred to Jerusalem and Damascus, and the party meanwhile continued its operations. On October 16th Mr. Black was invalided home in consequence of repeated attacks of dysentery, and left for Jerusalem. On October 20th the camp was moved to ’Arak el Emir, and on the 23rd another summons was received from es Salt. The Waly of Syria, in spite of the representations made to him by the Consul at Jerusalem, refused to allow even a temporary continuance of the Survey while re- ferring the matter to the Porte, and ordered that the party should be directed to withdraw. On October 25th the camp was removed to Kefrein, and survey operations were continued until the 28th, when the whole party recrossed the Jordan. The indoor operations commenced November Ist, and were continued during the winter. On November ioth and 17th, the Siloam tunnel was explored and carefully surveyed. On November 28th, after a severe storm, the party took refuge in Jerusalem, and the native staff were dismissed. The party was fully employed all the winter in the reduction of the field-work. In February of the following year, by direction of the Committee, Captain Conder visited Constantinople, and obtained the promise of a new firman, which has not yet been signed. Returning to Jerusalem in March, Captain Conder was honoured with the invitation to attend their Royal Highnesses Prince Albert Victor and Prince George of Wales on their tour through Palestine. The royal party APPENDIX A 283 visited the Hebron Mosque on April 5th, 1882, and a report and plan drawn up by Captain Conder and approved by Colonel Sir C. W. Wilson, K.C.B., R.E., was sent to H.R.H. the Prince of Wales, who gave it to the Com- mittee of the Palestine Exploration Fund (see ‘Memoirs Western Palestine Survey,’ vol. iii., p. 333). The royal party crossed the Jordan on April roth, camping at ’Arak el Emir. On the 11th, Amman was reached ; on the 12th, es Salt ; on the 13th, Jerash ; on the 14th, the Jabbok River; on the 15th, the royal party recrossed the Jordan. Opportunity was taken of this tour to clear up various points which had arisen during the course of the office-work in Jerusalem. The royal tour continued to Banids, where, on April 25th, an interesting discovery was made of basalt dolmens not noticed by the surveyors in 1877. The Princes finally left Beyrout on May 6th, and the Survey party was withdrawn soon after. Captain Conder was appointed to the staff in Egypt on August 5th, and invalided home on October 1st. In consequence of illness he was unable to rejoin the Palestine Exploration Society until May 1oth, 1883, when he was employed on the present Memoir and its plans. C. B.C. 36—2 APPENDIX B. THE TRIGONOMETRICAL AND BAROMETRICAL OBSERVATIONS. Base-line.—This extends from Kefeir el Wusta on the south to Hesban on the north. The construction was as shown, the portion a c being obtained by construction as the ground is rough, and the point a is ona Tell raised considerably above the plain on which the base is measured. s * Kefeir Tyco / \ — A c D The reason of the adoption of this construction was the convenience of obtaining a good view from each end of the trigonometrical base. From p a fine view is obtained on rising ground in a flat open plateau, but c is in a hollow between low hills, whereas a is a very conspicuous point on a high Tell visible from all sides. The ground along the line Bc is flat and at the same level as c, while from c to p the plateau is well suited for the measurement of a base conveniently directed with reference to the general direction of the Survey. It will be seen from the triangu- lation diagram, that a very good extension was obtainable from the base— large well shaped triangles springing from the first lines, and connecting the Eastern Survey with old stations west of Jordan. The south end of the base was marked on the headstone of a grave on the low knoll west of the ruins of Kefeir el Wusta. A whitewashed cairn was built over this point after the observations had been taken. The APPENDIX B 285 north end was marked on a large stone on the Tell at Hesban, over which, when the operations were complete, another cairn of about the same height (5 feet) was constructed. The line c D was twice measured from its southern end with a light chain, which on each day of use was carefully compared, both before and after the measurements had been taken, with a standard steel-chain marked for the mean summer temperature by day for Palestine. The corrections due to the stretching of the chain were applied, and the results of the measurement and remeasurement of c D were : First measurement 2 - 28,704°6 links. Second i - 3 = 208766 4, Difference - - - 2 links=1°3 feet. The mean length used was therefore 28,705°6 links. The triangle a B c is an equilateral triangle, in which the side B c was measured, and the angles a 8B c carefully observed and made equal each to 60° with theodolites. The three sides being equal, a careful measure- ment of B c gives the length of the remainder of the base, viz. ac. The line B C was twice measured with a steel tape corrected by the standard. This operation was carried out by Captain Conder and Lieutenant Mantell, while Messrs. Black and Armstrong were measuring the line c D. The results were : Ft. In. First measurement - - - - 1,485 3 Second 9 - - - - 1,485 1 Difference - - - - 2 These measurements give a total of 30,955’9 links for the line a p— the trigonometrical base. The base-line thus measured was afterwards reduced to the level of the sea, giving a difference of 2°74 feet in the whole length ; but as all the trigonometrical stations were at a considerable elevation above the sea this reduction was not used in calculating the triangulation. The total length above given is 3°87 miles, which is rather shorter than the Jaffa base, and shorter by more than half a mile than the Esdraelon base west of Jordan. The difference of the two measurements 286 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE of the Jaffa base was 4 link. The two measurements of the Esdraelon base differed by 3 links. The eastern base is thus quite equal to those west of the river, and the character of the triangulation is better, because the theodolites used were two new 8-inch instruments, those used for the Western Survey being 7-inch. Triangulation.—This was carefully worked out in 1883 by Mr. T. Black. The stations east of Jordan, from and to which observations were taken, are 21 in all,* including the tree on Neby Osha, the elevation of which was ascertained to be 3,597 feet above the Mediterranean. The height of Mount Nebo was the most important point to ascertain. It was found to be 2,643°8, which is 300 feet higher than the elevation given on Baedeker’s maps, which give the height of Heshbon correctly. The longitude of Mashita was ascertained by several lines to be about a mile further west than that given on Canon Tristram’s reconnaissance map. His latitude is approximately correct. The eastern triangulation was connected with the old stations at Rujm el Bahr, Kasr el Yahtid, Neby Samwil, Kurn Sartabeh, etc. Observations were taken during the winter of 1881 from Neby Samwil and Kasr el Yahtid to the cairns erected by the surveyors east of the river, and the connection of the station of el Haud with Kasr el Yahtd is thus made complete, while a very fine triangle is obtained between the latter point and Zabbfid and Kurn Sartabeh, the longest side being more than 24 miles in length. The result of the calculations was that each trigonometrical station is fixed to within a circle of 20 feet radius at the very extreme on plan. A calculation of the eastern base from the length of the old line between Kasr el Yahtid and Kurn Sartabeh differs only by 8'9 feet from the mean measured length, These limits of error are of course invisible on plan, since to the scale of 1 inch per mile a length of 20 feet is represented by zit of aninch. The position of the stations east of Jordan is thus fixed absolutely in connection with the Admiralty longitude and latitude of Jaffa, on which the Survey of Western Palestine depends. The methods of the Eastern Survey were exactly the same used west of the river and described in the ‘Memoirs’ (vol. i., Pp. 31-39), with * Outside the Survey the position of the hill above the important ruined palace of Mashita has been fixed, giving the line of the Haj road, and the corner of Kal’at Ziza is also fixed. APPENDIX B 287 exception that mercurial barometers and the sextant for astronomical observation were not used in 1881. It is therefore not necessary again to enlarge on this subject. DIAGRAM OF TRIANGULATION SHEWING CONNECTION WITH WESTERN SURVEY, SHEET 5 "Poysi;Iad ApRw/e AAAYNS NYFiSIM x WENO OF BASE / ~\ AIX XS. ENDOF BASE ae V MASLUBIYE HAS yx MINYEHS TELL MAIN PPVELUL REFERENCE, Solid Lines Now AA Dotted Lines Old B----A Heights.—The elevations of the trigonometrical stations were obtained with the theodolites; and Mr. Black’s calculations show that they were 288 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE extremely accurate.* None of these heights can be considered to be more than 5 feet in error either way when the corrections for curvature and refraction have been applied. A traverse 60 miles long from station to station, when closed on the original station, gives a difference of only 10 feet. The absolute elevations above the Mediterranean depend on the old observations at Rujm el Bahr and Kasr el Yahtid. The former of these is checked by comparison with the line of levels run by Sir C. W. Wilson from the Mediterranean to the Dead Sea, and a traverse thence to the Kurn Sartabeh gave the old height within a very few feet. As regards Aneroid Readings, the experience of the Western Survey showed that the mercurial barometer does not give satisfactory results in fixing the heights of camps when they are as frequently changed as is necessary in rapid survey, especially on account of the autumn storms and of the great difficulty of getting simultaneous observations at sea-level. It was therefore determined that the height of the camps should, when- ever possible, be ascertained by levelling from a trigonometrical station, or by comparison of the barometrical readings at such stations. The camp at Ain Minyeh was fixed by levelling as being 2251 below the station at Talat el Benat, but the other camps being in deep valleys, where they were (purposely) hidden from view, this method could not be employed. The aneroids were therefore read at all the trigonometrical stations, and the camp heights made to depend on these readings. This method, which was found also west of Jordan to be better than the use of the mercurial, gives very fair results when the proper corrections for aneroid index error and for temperature are applied. The places fixed by aneroid observations may, it is considered, be relied on within 30 or 4o feet at least. Our observations do not, it is true, agree always with heights given by former explorers; but as the heights in question are found to be incorrect within 100 and even 200 feet at points which are now fixed by trigonometry within 5 feet, it has not been considered necessary to take former observations into consideration, as they evidently * Outside the limits of the Survey the following heights are also fixed by vertical angles : Jebel Osh’a_ - - - - - - 3,597 feet. Jelil_ - - - - - - - 2,701 The former is north of the Survey, the latter is south-east of the south end of the base, and its position was fixed by the triangulation. ” APPENDIX B 289 either do not apply to the same exact spot, or else are less accurate than those now obtained. The number of the aneroid observations is 219 in all, in an area of 500 square miles.* It has been found to lead to great confusion if any attempt is made to take readings at any places not easily recognisable by name or otherwise on the Survey sheets. fate of Progress ——This was about 250 square miles per month, including the measurement of the base-line and the special survey of "Amman. The rates west of the river were from 50 to 330 square miles per month (the latter in the Philistine plains in 1875), but the average was not over 200 square miles per month. The reason of the increase was that the country east of the river is easier to survey. At this rate the Survey, if not interrupted, would have reached 2,000 square miles per annum, and would have been complete possibly in two more years. Ci Rs C, * Forty-six are omitted from the map from want of space. 37 APPENDIX C. THE ARAB TRIBES EAST OF JORDAN. THE country surveyed belongs to the dominant tribe of the ’Adwan. Their south boundary is the Zerka Maain, their north limit is the Zerka Shebib, or Jabbok ; on the west they extend to Jordan, and on the east they are bounded by the Survey limits, viz, Wady el Habis, Samik, “Ameireh, el Kahf, and thence by the Haj road. This gives a total area of 1,000 square miles. There are many tribes allied by marriage to the ’Adwan, and all of these as far north as Heshbon are collectively known as Belka Arabs. They belong to older tribes, among whom the ’AdwaAn grew up, and the power of the latter now depends on their alliance with these small tribes, whom they call Zadé’a, or ‘ belonging’ to them. The Ghawéarni, in the Ghor, are real serfs of the ’Adwan, but the Belka Arabs have their own chiefs, and are not now serfs. The’Adwdn sheikhs have also black Nubian slaves, who have lived with them for several generations, and some of these sheikhs have, I believe, black wives, as well as Arab consorts. The Belka plateau, from the ’Adwan boundary eastwards to the Haj road, and southwards to the Arnon, belongs to the powerful tribe of the Beni Sakhr (also called the Sakhtr), who, when not at feud with the ’?AdwaAn, send their numerous flocks of camels to drink at the streams of ‘Amman and Heshbon, in the ’Adwan country. This tribe is generally on bad terms with the ’Anazeh tribes, who inhabit the deserts east of the Haj road, and extend northwards to Damascus and Palmyra. There are some Beni Sakhr families also in the Hauran, and they claim a sort of supremacy over the country of the Hameidi, which, by right of the strongest, they enter at will. APPENDIX C 2g The Hameidi include various small clans, or families, which range south of the Zerka M4ain as far as Kerak. They have no recognised supreme chief, and their character is very bad. They are allied to the notorious Sheikh Mujelli of Kerak. Like the Belka Arabs, they sow a little corn, which they take on donkeys to the market at Jerusalem. In the midst of these tribes a colony of native Christians is established at Madeba. They were converted at Kerak in 1880 by Jesuit missionaries from Jerusalem, and established themselves early in 1881 at the ruined town of Madeba. North of the Survey is found the town of es Salt, and from this town northwards the Gilead hills are full of villages with a settled population. The Arabs of this district are various clans of the Beni Hasan and small tribes of the Sukr (found also at Beisdn), and of the Beni Kaleib (a famous old Arab tribe). The latter are mostly thieves, and are found on the east shores of the Sea of Galilee. In enumerating these elements of the population, we must not forget the Circassian colony established by the Sultan at ’Ammdan about 1879, which is, however, neither prosperous nor likely to become so. Tue ’ADWAN. . The ’Adwan (yl, ‘enemies’) trace their descent from a certain Fowzan Ibn es Suweit (expo)! 3) 41b94), who belonged to the Defir tribe (yx), in the Nejed. He fled on account of a blood feud, having slain his cousin, and found refuge with the tribe of the Kordah (#255), at SAmik. This information, with all that follows, was obtained from Sheikh Kablan en Nimr. The Defir tribe, in the Nejed, is said now to be reduced to a single family, though in the time of Fowzan it was large and important. The present representative is Hamed el Heiyadreh. The tribe was destroyed by the Southern Sakhfir and by the Hajaiyir Arabs, who are found south of Kerak. Fowzan married a daughter of Sheikh Abu Heider, of the Kordah tribe. He had two sons, from whom sprang the present two divisions of the tribe; the elder was Saleh, whose descen- dants form the ’Ashiret es Saleh, or ‘ Saleh tribe. His second son was Jedid, from whom are descended the ‘Ashiret en Nimr, or ‘ Leopard tribe.’ The chief of the eldest branch, now in power, is’Aly Diab (son of Diab), who is a sort of Government official recognised by the Turks in the ’Adw4n country. The chief of the younger branch was the aged Sheikh 37—2 292 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE Kablan en Nimr, who was very anti-Turkish, and a great favourite with the Belka tribes, who hate’Aly Didb. The tents of ’Aly Diab in summer are pitched in the plateau anywhere north of el Al; in winter he descends by Arak el Emir to Nimrin. The tents of Sheikh Kablan were pitched some- times near Jubeihah, and later on at’Ain Fudeili, whence in winter the tribe descends to Kefrein. The two families are allied, but not very friendly, and the lands in the Jordan Valley are regularly owned, and are marked out by boundaries. Maize is grown in the Seiseban by the Ghawarni | serfs of the ’Adw4n, and corn is sown further north, especially near the Jabbék. A few mud huts are also .used instead of tents at Kefrein, Nimrin, etc., in winter. The 'Adwan pedigree was thus given by Sheikh Kablan: FowzAn Ipn ES SUWEIT MARRIED A KORDAH. WIFE. | | Jedid, married Kordah wife. Fadl, married ’Ajermeh wife. . Kablan, now 70-80 years old.* . Fahed married ’Adwan wife. . Fowaz, a boy. "Aly Diab, now about 40-50. Sultan, now a boy. 1. Saleh, married Kordah wife. 2. ’Adwdn, whence the tribe name. Hamdan, married Kordah wife. 3. Hamdan. Shedid a 3 4. Nimr ’Adwan. ’Adwan 3 . 5. Saleh. . Nimr re 43 6. Diab. Kablan, married B. Sakhr wife. qs 8. O90 HPI AK EWd A This pedigree may not be absolutely accurate, as one would expect more instead of fewer generations in the earlier branch. As the Arabs cannot write, it was handed down by memory. If we allow 30 years for a generation, it would appear that Fowz4n must have fled from the Nejed some 200 years or more ago, or in the seventeenth century. The subdivisions of the Belka tribes allied by marriage to the ’Adwan are as follows : 1. Arab el ’Ajermeh, at Hesb&n, SAmik, as far south as Kabr ‘Abdullah and east to Umm el Hanafish. The principal chiefs are Sheikh Mustafa esh Shehwan, Sheikh Faleh el Hasan, Sheikh Selim Abu ’Afash. * Since dead, 1888.—C.R.C. APPENDIX C 293 The 'Ajermeh are perhaps the oldest Belka tribe : they are subdivided into three clans—the Sifa, the Harafish, and the Mutertyin ( set yh). They march with the Dajah, on the north, near el Baniyat, and Merj el Hamam. 2,’Arab esh Shawdabkeh, at Mushukkar and el Jereineh, anda few near Minyeh. Sheikh Daibis (j.,5) and Sheikh “Abd el Kader. They are related to the ‘Ajermeh, and both are very ancient Belka tribes. 3. Arab el Yezaideh (sy);,J!), near Madeba and Hanina and el Maslibiyeh. Sheikh Felah Abu Kharaibeh. 4. ’Arabel’Aw4zim (poly), at Minyehand eastwards to Maain. Sheikh ’Aly Abu Wundi, now about 70 years old. They are a very courteous and fine-looking tribe. Another branch of the ’Awdazim is said to camp near’Amman. Their southern branch has qo tents, and the northern 60, making 100 in all. These northern ’Awazim were found in 1882 encamped at Jubeihah under Sheikh Hasein. 5. Arabes Suwadayir (s.2l,~), at Abu Nukleh ; are allied to the ’‘Ajermeh. Sheikh Barkat en Nafia. 6. ’Arab el ’Afeish4t, also ’Ajermeh. Sheikh Selim Abu ’Afash and Sheikh Saleh Abu Jabr. They are found near Naatr and Umm es Semmak. 7.’Arab el Ghaneimat, at Jebel Neba, Wady Jideid, “Aydin Musa, el Kefeir, as far north as Kabr Abdallah. They have 100 tents, and their chief is Sheikh Marzik Abu el Ghanem. We found them courteous and communicative. 8.’Arab ez Zafafi (.63!), mear Jawa and Khareibet es Sak, and some also at Abu Zagheileh, near the Zerka M4adin. The southern group has 4o tents; the northern are under the principal chief, Sheikh Sail Abu Hadid; the southern under Sheikh ’Aid el Meltsh. Another chief of the north branch is Sheikh Heleil el ’Amian. These, with the next (No. 9), are collectively known as the ’Arab Ibn Hadid. In all, there are six clans, viz., Zefafeh, Juadmseh, Diat, Haneiteiyin, Rakkat, and Bareikat. They have black slaves, called Dhareiwat (csly)3). 294 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE 9. Arab Abu Jamis, or Juadmseh, west of Amman, and at Ammin, are related to the Dajah. Their chief is Sheikh Felah el ’Ais. 10. “Arab ed Dajah, in the Merj el Hamam, under Sheikh Diab esh Shawarbeh. 11. ’Arab el ’Abb4d, round ’Arak el Emir, a large tribe. The *Abbad, in fact, are a third branch of the ’Adw4n, having the Mutluk thrice repeated as a Wusm, as is explained later in treating of tribe- marks, and occupying the slopes north of Wady Naafr. Their sub- divisions are : "Arab el MunA4sir (;,ol+), under Sheikh Said ’Abd el Muhdi, in the Ard et Tubkah, west of ’AmmaAan. "Arab el Fokdaha (ls), under Sheikh Felfh esh Shedad, at Arak el Emir. "Arab ez Zitid, under Sheikh Ruweiyij el Mufléh, north of the last, near Mahas and Belal. ‘Arab el Bukktr (58) and “Arab el Rahdmneh, under Sheikh Shayid, north-west of es Salt, at ’Aireh and Burkah. "Arab el Jurdm, under Sheikh Mftsa Abu Naim, at Serhdn and Allan, north of es Salt. "Arab el Hajahjeh (dele), under Sheikh el Judeia, at Meiserah, north of es Salt. ‘Arabes Sinabreh (sybJl) and “Arab el Lehwi4rAt, under Sheikh Feiyad es Sinabreh, at Jilad and Kuseib, north of es Salt. ‘Arab Abu J4br, east of el Baniyat, appear also to belong to this same tribe. 12. ’Arab et Towdabiyeh, north of ’Arak el Emir. These clans may be considered to average at most 100 tents each. The encampment of ’Aly Diab consists of 80 tents, and the total of the Belka tribes, together with the ’Adwan, consists of not more than about 2,200 tents, or 11,000 souls, in an area of 1,000 square miles, or eleven souls per square mile, which is less than the average of America, but a very probable result for a deserted district like Moab. APPENDIX C 295 Beni Hasan. The subdivisions of this tribe were thus stated by Sheikh Kablan : 1and 2. Arab el Khaleileh and Arab ez ZuwA4herah, under Sheikh’Aly esh Shehddeh, at Kamsheh, Mersa, Rumman, and Birin. 3. Arab el KhawAldeh, under Sheikh ’Aly el Ibrahim, are north of the Jabbok, in the Ard el Haweish. 4.’Arab el ’Amfdsh, under Sheikh Kasim el Kallab, at el Ghuweirah and Belamah. 5. Arab el Khazadaleh, under Sheikh Muhammad en Nimr, at Tejaniyeh and Belamah. 6. Arab el Beni Helil, under Sheikh Muhammed el Hirhashi, near Naimeh. 7.’Arab el MeshAalkhah, in the Jordan Valley, north of the Jabbok, near the tomb of the Moslem general, Abu ’Obeideh Ibn el Jerrah (time of Omar). They were formerly a large tribe, and their chiefs were called Emirs. Their present leaders are Sheikh Saleh el Fatr and Sheikh Fadl er Robia, Beni SAkuHr. The leading family of this tribe (yao (54, ‘sons of the rock’) is that of Faiz. The celebrated chief, Fendi el Faiz, who exacted black- mail from Tiberias as late as 1878, died soon after on a journey, and was buried in the ’Adwan country in the Jordan Valley (see under the head Kabr Fendi el Faiz). He left eight sons, and these - quarrelled, half the tribe allying itself to the ’Adwan, half (under Satm) making a league with the ’Anazeh. Satm was killed in a skirmish with the Adwan in May, 1881, and the tribe became reunited in September, 1881, under his brother Satam, who is on good terms with the Governor of es Salt, and who gave information to Muhammed Said Pasha, while conducting the Hj, of the presence of the Survey party in the ’Adwa4n country. The divisions of the Beni Sakhr, according to Sheikh Kablan, are: 1. ’Arab ez Zebn, in the vicinity of Wady Themed, north-east of Dibon, include: The Faraj - - - - 40 tents. Muslim - - - - = 30 4, Othman - - - = BO. 45 Meharib - - - =) 30) og Shemamit - - A = 65 4; Total 215 tents. 296 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE 2. "Arab el Ghubein, round Ziza and Umm el ’Amed, including : Hamid - - - - 40 tents. Meteir - - - - 60 , Dagheim - - - = 40 55 Jahawasheh_ - 2 = - 100 ,, Faiz (the ruling family) - - 20 ,, Dahamisheh - SO 45 Total 310 tents. 3. Arab el Hakeish ( sian); including : Salim - - - - - 40 ,, Saheim - : 2 2 BOn sj Bishir - - : z - 40% S’Adneh = 2 a. BO. yy Belafineh - 7 : - 100 4, Zeidan - - - 2450 4, Total 410 tents. 4. Arab el Khadir (je4), including : Kanowah : 3 Oa Beradh’ah - - - - 100 ,, Fadl - : : 7 - 200 ,, Reiy’aneh ; = : - 200 ,, Total 570 tents. Grand total 1,505 tents. These are all inhabitants of Moab, making 7,500 souls. There are other branches of the Beni Sakhr in the Haurdan, called Arab el Khareisheh and ’Arab es Sirhan. Note on THE Locat DIALEcT. One of the greatest difficulties respecting the nomenclature arises from the peculiar pronunciation of certain letters by the Arabs, which renders their dialect difficult for townsmen to understand. They use also peculiar words, but this does not materially affect the nomenclature. Dhal is pronounced generally like Zain, or else like Dad, by both the Bedu and the Fellahin. This is an archaism, and in words like /dhu, the ‘ear,’ the sound is in the mouths of the Fellahin the same as in Hebrew. The is pronounced like Sz, and like Ze, which are also archaisms. Sad is not distinguishable from Szz among the Bedu, and very rarely among the Fellahin. This is the opinion of Syrian educated persons, and has been noticed by Landberg and other scholars. Qaf is pronounced in five ways in Syria. Among the Bedu it is generally a hard g; but in some words, such as Rafik, or Kurn, it is indis- APPENDIX C 297 tinguishable from the /2, which is pronounced by Fellahin and Bedawin like the English 7, and by some townsmen like the French 7, and never hard, like ¢ as in Egypt. Kaf is almost invariably pronounced like c/ in ‘chaff, and is thus easily distinguishable in both Bedu and Fellahin dialects. Lam and Nun are interchanged, and so are AZem and Num in certain cases, among both Beduand Fellahin. Lamm and Fe are also interchanged. Waw is often pronounced when it does not really occur by the Bedu (see back, el ’Ameireh). Ye. The vowel-point accompanying this letter is very vaguely pro- nounced by the Arabs, who attach no importance to the difference between the sounds ay, ey, or z. Tripe-Marks OF THE Arass (AUS AM). The Arabs are not always willing to tell these, but the following were collected, and are of interest, as showing the Arab derivation of the tribes : | Called Wusm el Mutluk. The mark of the elder ’Adwan branch is the Himyarite numeral one. [| The second, or younger ’Adwan branch, bear the Himyaritic numeral two, II| The ’Abbad, the third branch of the ’AdwaAn, bear the Himyaritic numeral three. | The Ethiopic Gimel is the tribe-mark of the ’Ajermeh. It is combined with one, two, or three strokes for either of the three sub- divisions of the tribe. /\ Another ’Ajermeh mark; is possibly a Lamed, as in Ethiopic. © The mark of the Dajah is the Ain, as in so many Semitic alphabets. 2) The Beni Hasan mark resembles the Himyaritic Resh. ? The Mihmasah, or ‘ coffee-spoon, is the mark of the Beni Sakhr. It is the Himyaritic Yod. t The mark of the Faiz family is the Himyaritic Tza. It occurs with a single stroke for the eldest son of the family. 38 298 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE >< The mark of the Jibbir, said to be Beni Sakhr. This is the Himyaritic Tau.* Called Rijl el Ghurab, or ‘raven’s foot; is also said to be a Jibbtir mark. It is the Himyaritic Cheth. © The mark of the Khurshan Beni Sakhr; approaches the Him- yaritic Vau. OO Another mark of the Belka Arabs is the old Ethiopic Vau. Said to be the mark of the Sherarat, who are Beni Sakhr ; is the Himyaritic Tzadi. c— > A mark of the Shalan, who belong to the ’Anazeh clans, It is like a Himyaritic Beth badly formed. ©) A mark~of the Kowabkeh, who are also of the ’Anazeh; approaches the Nabathean and Palmyrene Beth. 7 Amark of the Shawabkeh; is very like of that of the ’Ajermeh, to whom they are akin. “T1 Called el Bab, ‘the door; is a mark of the Khadir branch of the Beni Sakhr. It is the Himyaritic Beth, and retains the name. The Arabs cannot write; they seem unaware of the fact that these marks are letters, which show their own origin. Other indications of the Himyaritic origin of these tribes are noted under the heads Jineinet Belkis and Kusr en Niteijis. These indications agree with the history of the Beni Ghassan, who settled in the Hauran, and who were probably the subjects of Zenobia. Their chief, Thalaba, was descended from ’Amr Muzeika, the Azdite, who migrated north in 120 a.p., and who was descended from Kahlan, brother of Himyar, descended from Kahtan of Yemen. The Beni Ghassan were converted to Christianity, and from them originates the Melchite sect in Syria. Ourcomparison has been with the South Semitic alphabets, and the forms °? W 1 have no relation to any North Semitic letters, but are distinctly Sabean. The | might be a Nabathean Zain, but it is evidently used as a * Concerning this mark and another =} , whichis the Ethiopic Tau (see Kal’at Ummeh), Sheikh Kablan denied strenuously that it was intended for the Christian cross. He did not know it was a letter, but said it was a very old Arab mark. It will be seen that he was quite right, but the cross is found built into an Arab tomb at ’Ain ’Ammién, as described under that head. There seems, however, reason to suppose that the Christians of Salt sometimes use the cross asa Wusm. APPENDIX C 299 numeral, as in Sabean. These marks belong to the Beni Sakhr and ‘Adwan, who are of South Semitic origin. Some of the other marks may, however, be compared with Nabathean and Thamudite alphabets of Eastern Palestine. Thus, 9 is the Abushadhr Daleth, A is the Thamudite Samech, J) is the Thamudite Beth, and 9 is used by Thamudites, as well as by Sabeans, for Yod; while J, as above-men- tioned, is Nabathean, rather than Sabean. These marks, excepting 2 which is Beni Sakhr, and probably of Sabean origin, belong to the older tribes, ’Ajermeh, Beni Hasan, Kowabkeh, and Shawabkeh, which may probably be of Nabathean origin. The fiercer Nejed tribes found them in possession when they invaded the Perzean deserts. Geka 38—2 APPENDIX D. GEOLOGICAL NOTE. Tue Moab plateau was not visited by Dr. Hull during his geological expedition, but the general structure is well understood, being a continua- tion of that found east of the great fault in the Arabah, a fault which runs north to the Huleh Lake. The Nubian sandstone forms the base of the Moab plateau up to a level of about 1,000 feet above the Mediterranean ; at its foot are white marls similar to those on the west side of the valley, where they rest on the crystalline limestone, which appears in the Koruntul cliffs. These marls are unconformable to the dip of the sandstone, and are fairly horizontal in bedding. They rise in some of the foot-hills to a level 500 feet above the Mediterranean, belonging to the oldest of the Jordan Valley or Dead Sea formations, and their occurrence is evidence of the deposits which followed the formation of the Jordan Valley fault (see ‘ Tent Work in Palestine,’ vol. ii., pp. 40-44). Above the Nubian sandstone east of Jordan comes a hard crystalline limestone, which is the same found west of the river. This, on an average, rises to about 2,500 feet above the Mediterranean; z.e., with a thickness of 1,500 feet. This formation dips westward, and copious springs are thus found on the western slopes of the Moab plateau all along the surface of this formation. The cliffs and gorges are similar to those of the Judean desert, where the same formation occurs at a lower level, due to the contortion of the strata on the west side of the Jordan Valley in consequence of the fault. Above the crystalline limestone comes the softer cretaceous limestone found in Western Palestine, where the Nummulitic beds form part of the APPENDIX D 301 series. This formation on the surface of the plateau is worn away east- wards, so that the water-courses are deflected from a ridge running north and south close to the western edge of the plateau. The formation is pervious, and no springs occur. The level attained is about 3,000 feet above the Mediterranean. Alluvial deposits and recent gravel-beds and marls occur in the Jordan Valley east of the river at the same levels as on the west. Volcanic formations occur on the south side of the Zerka Maain, where are numerous hot-springs (see Wady Zerka Maain), a fine black basaltic outbreak forming a cliff in this gorge just south of the principal hot-spring. On the plateau north of this valley there are also basaltic centres at “Ain Hamarah (80° F.) and at the Hammet Minyeh. Further north basalt occurs at Tell [ktanu, near which is the hot-spring of el Hammam (see under that head). The surrounding rocks are here all hard lime- stone. The general result of observations made by the present writer on both sides of the Jordan Valley and throughout Palestine, Moab, and Northern Syria in the years 1872-5, 1881-2, confirmed the views of the French geologists as to the formation of the valley, and was further confirmed by the professional visit of Dr. Hull. Cie, APPENDIX E. GENERAL REMARKS ON THE RUDE-STONE MONUMENTS. Tue discovery of so many dolmens and menhirs within the limits of the Survey is the more remarkable because they are not found in Western Palestine, except in a few cases in Galilee. They occur in Gilead, north of the Survey, andin Bashan. In 1882 I founda group near the sources of Jordan. They are also known in Asia Minor, in Armenia, in Cyprus, in Pheenicia, in Arabia, in the Sinaitic desert, and on the south shores of the Mediterranean, as well as in Europe, Persia, India, etc. The probable reason of their absence in Palestine is that they have been purposely destroyed. The monuments found include cairns, stone circles, menhirs (or single standing stones), dolmens (or stone structures, with a capstone supported on upright stones), and demi-dolmens on hillsides, one end of the cap- stone resting on the ground. These are described under the heads Ain el Minyeh (p. 11), "Amman (p. 22), Hadanieh (p. 99), el Kaltia (p. 125), el Kurmiyeh (p. 159), el MareighAt (p. 185), Mensef Abu Zeid (p. 193), Neba (p. 202), Serabit el Mushukkar (p. e12), Tell el Hammam (p. 220), Simia (p. 226), Tell el Mataba (p. 231), Wady Jideid (p. 254). Another peculiarity of these dolmen-fields in Moab consists in the great number of the monuments discovered at each of the centres. In some cases the dolmens nearly touched each other. In England such monuments are found singly or scattered. In Algiers the dolmens are, perhaps, as numerous as in the country beyond Jordan, and, like those dis- covered by Herr Schumacher in Bashan and by Lieutenant Mantell in the Jordan Valley, the Algerian dolmens stand on stepped terraces or plat- APPENDIX E 393 forms. No holed dolmens were found in Moab, but Irby and Mangles appear to describe correctly certain dolmens near the mouth of the river Jabbok which have a hole in the endstones resembling the holes in stone chambers—apparently tombs—which are supposed to have been intended to allow entry and exit to the soul of the person buried. The question of the origin of these structures is treated at some length in ‘Heth and Moab,’ chapters vii. and viii. Some antiquaries regard dolmens as tombs, though the use of dolmens not covered by a mound for such purpose is unproven, while the mounds of prehistoric tumuli existing in so many countries show how improbable is the theory that such mounds may be washed away. The position of many dolmens, especially at el Masldbiyeh, is inconsistent with the idea that they were once covered with mounds. These monuments seem more probably to have been either habitations or altars. The following facts as to the Moabite dolmens are important to antiquaries : ist. They do not appear to have been ever covered by mounds. 2nd. They stand on bare rock, and have no excavated grave beneath. 3rd. They occur in large groups almost invariably in the vicinity of a spring or stream.* 4th. Their stones are generally unhewn, but in some cases chipped rudely into shape. 5th. They very rarely occur on hilltops, being usually on the slope. 6th. The stone is that of the immediate vicinity—limestone—except near Tell el Kady, where basaltic stones were found. 7th. There is no orientation, the sidestones being usually parallel to the hill contour. 8th. Many of these monuments are very small, suitable neither for sepulture nor for a dwelling, but better adapted for the purpose of a sacrificial table. gth. Cup-hollows occur in some cases, generally very rudely formed. At ’Ammian, etc., the cups are connected by channels. * Stonehenge stands on the down as near as possible to the Avon. Kitt’s Cotty House is on the slope above the Medway fords, and so in other cases. There was a British village by Stonehenge, and it is possible that in Moab—as in England—the reason for the vicinity of dolmens to water is that they belonged to an ancient inhabited site. 304 THE SURVEY OF EASTERN PALESTINE 10. No ring-markings were found in connection with these cups.* 11. The dolmen builders were apparently illiterate, and probably uncivilized. It is doubtful if they knew the use of metal. 12. They were not able to deal easily with heavy weights, as is evident from the stones having been, as a rule, moved downhill, and to no great distance. The Arabs call the dolmens Jy! usy—Biytt el Ghil (‘houses of the ghouls’), believing them to be inhabited by evil spirits. The less superstitious, however, regard them as »bl.—JMJundtir, or ‘ watch- towers,’ which is an unfortunate explanation, because the dolmens hardly ever occupy a commanding position, being usually on low ground or on hill slopes. The dolmens do not appear to have been regarded with dislike by either Romans or Arabs, since they are not thrown down by the latter, and since they occur in the immediate vicinity of the Roman city at ’Amman. The standing stones of el Mareighat, are among the most remarkable specimens of such erections, and the circles at Ain el Minyeh are equally valuable to the antiquary. The monuments described under the head el Kurmiyeh include some in which the topstone is supported on hori- zonta] slabs instead of sidestones. These clearly were not graves, but rather resemble the ‘rocking-stones’ of our own islands. * The peculiar holes in sides of menhirs have been already noticed (see "Amman menhir N, note). They occur also in British monuments, where they appear to be ‘ swearing-holes,’ where the persons swearing by the stone placed tlreir fingers or arms in the stone. URS: INDEX OF ANCIENT NAMES. PAGE | PAGE Ashdoth Pisgah - - - - - 89 | Jogbehah - S , : 3 - III Azor - = : - 2 - 153 | Luhith (Ascent of) - - z - 228 Baal Meon or Beth Baal Meon - - 176 | Medeba - : z 3 - 178 Baal Peor - - - - - - 12 | Nebo- - : z 2 2 - 198 Bela - - - - - - - 147. Nimrim— - - z 3 z - 237 Beth Haran = ne iS - 238 Philadelphia 3 = : : - 19 Beth Jeshimoth- -~— - - - 156) Pisgah - - = = 8g, 154, 198 Callirrhoe - - - - - 102, 277. | Rabbath Ammon - - : - 19 Elealeh - 7 - - - - 16 | Samega - 2 - A - 210 Heshbon - - - - - 104,159 | Sibmah~ - - : - - 221 Horonaim - - - - - - 253 , Tyrus - - 7 - 7 Sn S65 Jabbok (River) - - - - - 5 | Zareth Shahar - - - - - 280 Jahaz - - - - - - 279 | Zoar - : : : - i - 239 Jazer - - - ss 2 : - 91 , Zophim (Field of ) 2 é - 198 Jessa - - - - - - - 280 END OF VOL. I. BILLING AND SONS, PRINTERS, GUILDFOKD. jit pl nant ealtaad died WOE AX *#}™HRMMEAM CRA ER AW \« AX «« CRE AC AX A Y \\ \ Yyy tjj4 ti \ SS SY SS \\ WAC ~ SS ANS XX \ Yj \ \ \ \ \ \ ~~ AAS S ‘ \ ‘ \ : — \ UA as \ \ ~ _ AK S CN