A Subject for Antiquaries 281 
composing the so-called scrub as one penetrates from the low-lying 
country into the valleys of the sierras, alone makes a most fascin- 
ating subject for observation. 
And in addition to the Zoology and Botany, what marvellous 
geological formations present themselves to the traveller amid the 
great tangled masses of the sierras and their surrounding foot- 
hills. And again who could fail to draw inspiration from the 
mysterious remains of bygone ages which are to be found in the 
least frequented and apparently utterly uninhabitable parts of this 
country? Naturally enough Andalucia abounds with wonderful relics 
of the Moorish dynasties which endured for over 700 years and of 
which the most modern must date at least from some time in the 
fifteenth century. During some of my climbs to the summits of 
remote and unsignified cliffs I have come across the remains of 
well-designed and strongly built forts, clearly the work of the Arab 
invaders. Again I have met with elaborate Roman ruins dating 
possibly from 2,000 years back. But beyond and in addition to 
these are the various rock fortresses, dwellings, sepulchres, cisterns 
with steps and fortified approaches, all cut out of the solid rock, of 
the creators of which I have been unable to obtain any information 
at all, although I have spared no trouble in the matter. Who the 
races were who thus dwelt in these desolate spots in the sierras, 
accessible only by tortuous goat-tracks and often involving some 
stiff climbing, is to me at present an insoluble mystery. I venture 
to mention the subject here in the hope that some readers of this 
book may be antiquaries who will follow up the matter. 
But I must go back to my birds. Amid the caverns and 
crannies of the mountains, both limestone and sandstone, there is 
a bird-life all of its own. True is it that some of the species, as 
will be seen, are found in other situations, but those which | 
describe form part and parcel of the life in the more remote places, 
where Vultures and Eagles seek for peace and security. First and 
