62 EXPEDITION TO THE 



of stones heaped up in the form of mounds, which arc sup- 

 posed to be the remains of small works, thrown up for the 

 defence of the gateway, and so situated that one mound will 

 protect two gateways. Although the general opinion 

 seems to be favourable to the idea, that this stone wall was 

 erected as a fortification, we by no means consider this as 

 proved. All the stones which are found there, if arranged 

 so as to form the highest possible wall, would probably not 

 rise above four and a half to five feet; but in order to 

 afford the wall any degree of solidity, it would be neces- 

 sary to give it such a breadth as would probably reduce 

 its dimensions to less than three feet. On the part of those 

 who do not consider this as the remains of a military 

 work, it may be argued that we have no proof of these 

 stones having ever formed a wall; that they may have 

 been gathered for the purpose of forming the elliptical 

 pavement which they now present. That this may have 

 been constructed for motives which we cannot at present 

 conceive of, is no proof that such motives may not have 

 existed ; further, it may be said that, admitting these stones 

 to be the remains of a wall, it is not probable that it was made 

 for military purposes, as a work of this kind would certainly 

 not have been erected for the protection of a small force, 

 and as a large number of persons collected in it would have 

 been quite unprotected against arrows and other missile 

 weapons. That the situation, though a commanding one, 

 appears quite untenable for want of water, which can only 

 be procured by descending the hill towards the river, in 

 which case the party venturing out would be exposed to 

 be cut off by the enemy. A spring was, it is true, observed 

 within the elliptic enclosure; but the small quantity of 

 water which it affords at present, renders it improbable 

 that it should have been at any time sufficient for tlie con- 



