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few feet round the bottom, where bricks have to some depth been 

 forced out ; but notwithstanding, the tower apparently stands in 

 perfect stability. The style of building, and the general appear- 

 ance of this tower, agrees precisely with that at Damghan. and with 

 similar structures at Semnoon, Bostan, and other places. 



Immediately below the roof a fascia contains an inscription, and 

 at about thirty feet from the bottom a second one bears also an in- 

 scription, which seemed to be in the old Arabic characters ; but 

 Mr. Frazer's Meerza could not make out more than that there were 

 some memorials evidently expressive of the date. The situation of 

 the tower is supposed to have been that of the ancient city of Jor- 

 jawn, surrounded as it is by mounds of earth, bricks, and pottery, 

 the usual detritus of an oriental town, but no other building re- 

 mains standing in its neighbourhood.* 



Most of the extensive ruins, so thickly scatlered throughout this 

 country, are by tradition ascribed to the Ghebres; and the rem- 

 nants of the dwelling-houses resemble, in almost every particular, 

 those inhabited by the present fire-worshippers, some thousands of 

 whom live in the city of Yeza.-f- This tower, in accordance with 

 those described by Han way, greatly corroborates the evidence derived 

 from his observations. 



At the present day but few fire-temples remain in Persia, Ma- 

 hometan zeal having levelled the greater part; however, besides 

 those whicJi are still standing,! ^^' Morier describes a square fire- 

 house twenty-four feet long, near the tomb of the famous Rustam ; 

 from the small windows, which are situated only one on each side, 

 it may be inferred that this was merely a place for the preservation 

 of the sacred flame ; and not very far from it are two raised altars, 



* Narrative of a Journey into Khorassan, p. 613. 

 f Frazer's Journey info Khorassan, Appendix, p. 22. 

 J Macdonald Kinier's Geographical Survey. 



