the whole was crowned by a convex, moulded, and overhanging cornice. The interior consisted of two chambers, each occupying the whole square of the building, excepting only the thickness of the walls, which was about ten feet, and in their height extending from the base to the summit of the edifice. This building faced N. by E. and S. by W.; and on the northern side were the chief entrances into each of the chambers. The passage into the lower-chamber was from four to five feet wide, and its top flat. It appeared to have been once fastened by a door, as the sill for a bar still remained, but the upper stone was too much fretted and broken to trace those for the hinges, although in the upper one were round cells like those used for the stone doors in the Hauran; they were here double. The room within was not now more than six feet high, though evidently much filled up by dirt, as at the southern end, where highest, were seen the tops of three shallow niches, just appearing above the rubbish, occupying the whole breadth of the room, and divided by pilasters. A portion of something like a head remained near, and the whole seemed like the shallow niches for statues found in many of the tombs of Egypt, and more particularly in the Great Cave at Gartāsi. At this end was the appearance of a smaller entrance above the niches, now filled up with stones; and either robbers or others had lately harboured here, as there were marks of recent fires, with straw and ashes, and the place was swarming with fleas. There was no visible communication between this and the upper chamber, nor were there any steps leading up to the proper entrance to it from without, so that it could only have been intended to be entered seldom, if at all, after being once closed. This chamber is more lofty, perhaps twenty feet high, and each of them are roofed over with two large beams of stone, that suffice to cover them completely. The original work was massy and excellent, but time and the effects of earthquakes have shaken it, and severed the stones in many places. On the central stone of the small layer, like a frieze, on the northern front, and exactly over the

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doors of entrance into the chambers, are apparent traces of an inscription, but too much worn to decypher even in what character it was cut. It was probably a tomb of the ancient Aradii or Arphadites.*

To the north of this, about a quarter of a mile, and a little on the right of the common road, on an eminence hewn throughout with old quarries, we came to what appeared like the pedestal of a large square obelisk. Its base was seven paces square; and, after two ranges of steps, was a square pedestal, about eight feet square every way, with a square block of stone upon it, sloped away at the top in a pyramidal form, but not going high enough to come to a point, so that its top was flat; the whole might be about fifteen feet in height, and composed of two stones besides the base. It faced E.S.E. and W.N.W., and on its western face had been an inscription, but the stone being soft, and eaten out

* The former power and importance of Aradus, and the bad character of its inhabitants, may be inferred from the particulars of the history in the ancient writers, some extracts from which may be sufficiently interesting to be introduced here.

This island was surrendered by its king, Strato, to Alexander, as well as the city of Marathus, opposite to it.-Quint. Curt. lib. iv. c. 1. Fr. ed. p. 409.

When Alexander was marching from Tripolis towards Phoenicia, after his victory over the army of Darius at Issus, he was met on the way by Strato, the son of Genostratus, who was the king of Aradus, and of all the neighbouring islands. Quintus Curtius says, the neighbouring coast, which is probably more accurate, and this prince putting a crown of gold on the Macedonian conqueror's head, surrendered into his hand the island Aradus, and Marathus, a wealthy and populous city on the continent, over against it, as also Marianné, and whatever territories besides he had in possession. Arrian. Hist. Alex. book ii. c. 14.

The Aradians growing high crested and insolent, abused the Marathenian ambassadors, who crying out against their impiety, challenged the sacred regard that ought to be had to supplicants, and the security and protection due to ambassadors; upon which some of the audacious young fellows presently knocked them on the head. Then these murderers and their co-partners got together in a general assembly, and, adding one piece of wickedness to another, contrived an impious and vile design against the Marathenians; for, taking the rings off the fingers of them that were murdered, they writ letters to the Marathenians, as from the ambassadors, by which they informed them that the Aradians would within a short time send them aid, to the end that the Marathenians might receive the Aradian soldiers into their city, and so be surprised, thinking they were really and without fraud sent to them as auxiliaries.

by the sea air, like the stones at Alexandria, it was almost obliterated. I could trace an A in the centre of the upper line, and a à at the end, and in the second line these letters were just visible in succession,

YAKON,

very rudely cut and disproportionate to each other in size. From this pedestal, the two towers and the island of Arwad bore N.W. in one, the former about 300 yards, the latter from four to five miles. Due north by east of this pedestal, about twenty paces, was a passage of entrance into sepulchres below. This lay N.N.E. and S.S.W., the entrance being on the northern side by a gentle decli

But the Aradians failed in their wicked design; for, when they had laid an embargo upon all the ships, that none might discover their treachery to the Marathenians, a certain seaman, a neighbour to the Marathenians, commiserating their condition, and being accustomed to sail on the neighbouring sea, took a ship, and in the night passed over that narrow cut, about eight furlongs in breadth, and discovered the fraud of the Aradians to the Marathenians. The Aradians, therefore, when they understood their plot was discovered, forbore sending the letters.- Fragments of Diodorus Siculus, Book xxvi. c. 97. Arte Christ. 140. See also Strabo, lib. xvi.

The Aradians supposing that they had got an opportunity to destroy those of Maratham, sent privately to Ammonius who was viceroy of Syria under Alexander Bala, and with a bribe of 300 talents, prevailed with him to deliver up Maratham (a city of Phoenicia ; whereupon Ammonius sent Isidore to the Marathenians, who by his speech was to pretend some other matters, but, in truth, went to seize upon the city, and to deliver it up to the Aradians. The Marathenians being ignorant that they were designed for destruction, yet, observing how that the Aradians were higher in the king's favour than themselves, refused the king's soldiers entrance into their city, and resolved to make their addresses as supplicants to the Aradians. They forthwith, therefore, sent ten of the most eminent of their eldest citizens as ambassadors to Aradus, who brought with them an humble address and supplication, and the oldest images of their gods which they had in their city, hoping that upon account of their kindred, and moved with reverence to the gods, the Aradians would be appeased, and their anger diverted. As soon as they landed, according to the commands given, they addressed themselves as supplicants to the people; but the Aradians' blood being up, they slighted the usual and common laws of supplicants, and cast off all reverence of their kindreds' images and the gods; and therefore broke the images and trampled them most shamefully under their feet, and attempted to stone the ambassadors; but some of the senators interposing themselves between them and the rage of the people, (scarce restrained from stoning them, notwithstanding the reverence they owed the senators,) commanded them to be conveyed to prison.-Fragments of Diodorus Siculus, b. xxxiv. c. 29.

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vity and a flight of ten steps. The passage was about five feet broad, and ten feet high at its end, hewn down out of the solid rock, and covered by one large block of stone extending all its length and breadth. At the end of this passage was a small arched doorway, which led into a chamber, excavated on a gentle descent, being eight paces long, four broad, and about six feet in height. On each side were three cells for sarcophagi, going in endways into the rock, and being about the ordinary size in height and breadth, but extending in a great way, each of these following a few inches lower than the other in the sloping line of the chamber. At the end of this was a plain doorway leading into another cham.. ber now nearly filled with dirt, and beyond this a third, over which must stand nearly, if not exactly, the monument described above, and which was, no doubt, intended to mark the innermost of these chambers, as the principal part of the sepulchre. We could find no traces either of painting, stucco, sculpture, or inscriptions, or any marks of the fastenings of doors.

The two towers to the N.W. are also sepulchral monuments, and are very similar in design and execution to the last described. The first or southernmost of all these has a circular pedestal of about six feet high, with four fronts of lions or sphinxes, showing their heads and standing on their fore-feet only, forming four projecting corners, and making the square of the pedestal just eight paces. The lions are much disfigured, but in the S.E. one the features are still perfect, as well as a deep collar that went around under the neck and ears.

Above this pedestal stands a circular column of one single stone, about twenty feet high, formed into two divisions by mouldings, the lower divisions being about twelve and the upper eight feet high. The upper one recedes inwards about a foot from the under one, so as to be of less diameter; and about two-thirds its height the same moulding as below is repeated, from which the top rounds away into a concave semi-globe. The stone is much decayed by the sea air; and a tree, which has thrust itself up

3 U

up

through the pedestal on the eastern side, has torn away almost half of the upper column on the same front, like the banian trees of India, which operate more than time to destroy the monuments of that country.

The sepulchre of this is a few paces to the south of it, and descends by steps into chambers for sarcophagi, as described by Maundrell faithfully, as far as we could see, though now the inner chambers could not be reached.

To the N.W. of this was the second tower, consisting of a square pedestal at the base, eight paces on each side, and about ten feet high. On it stood a circular shaft, about fifteen feet in height and twelve feet in diameter, and above it was another stone, about six feet high, in the form of a six-sided pyramid. The sepulchre of this was on its south side, but now quite inaccessible, large bushes choking it completely up.

Both of these fronted within a quarter of a point of the four cardinal points, but we could see no traces of an inscription on either of them. Near them are many square spaces left by quarries; some seemingly designed for other uses, but now sown with corn, as the rain drains in here and fertilizes the soil.

N.E. by N. from hence we saw a sort of open temple, the walls of enclosure being four feet thick and twelve high, hewn down out of the solid rock. There were small arched and other square doors of entrance, and on the inside were portions of rock wall, as if of former divisions; the sills for the bar of the arched door, as well as the sockets for its hinge, were visible, the original door no doubt being of metal or stone. Within are seen niches in the walls as if for offerings; and without, in one or two places, appearances of mutilated statues. The whole appeared to be about 100 feet square, and was, perhaps, an open temple to one of the Phoenician divinities.

To the N.E. of this, at the distance of less than a quarter of a mile, we met with a still more decided monument of that kind. This was a large open court seventy-five paces square, or about 150