Q06 Lieut. Mignan's Account of the Ruins of Jliwaz. 



Several mounds form one connected chain of rude, unshapen, flaked 

 rock, lying in such naturally formed strata, that the very thought of any 

 part of the materials having been accumulated by human labour from a 

 distant site is scarcely admissible. The soil on which these ruins rest 

 appears peculiarly soft and sandy ; the country does not apparently become 

 rocky until the immediate vicinity of Shuster, and even water-carriage 

 from thence is attended with considerable toil and expense. Yet the height 

 of these mountainous ruins and misshapen masses, induces me to admit the 

 notion that the site was by nature elevated at the time the city was built, 

 although from the flatness of the surrounding country I should be inclined 

 to oppose such a conjecture ; more particularly as I never heard of any 

 mountains between the Shut-ul-Arah and the Bucktiani chain (which are to 

 be seen from lience extending from the north-west to the south-east), 

 nor do I believe there is a single hillock. Let me not be supposed to 

 exaggerate when I assert, that these mountains of ruin, irregular, craggy, 

 and in many places inaccessible, rival in appearance those of the Bucktiani 

 chain, and are discernible from them, and for nearly as many miles in an 

 o])posite direction. 



It is a singular fact, that almost every mound I passed over was strewed 

 with shells of different sorts and sizes. I observed them also on the water's 

 edge along the banks of the Karun ; therefore we may suppose that at 

 some former period the river, or more probably canals from it, flowed 

 through the city. Glass of all colours is equally abundant, and the frag- 

 ments of pottery are remarkably fresh. 



Many of the burnt bricks that lie on the surface of the mounds appear to 

 have borne some written character ; but exposure to the weather, and 

 probably occasional inundations, caused by the melting snows of the 

 adjacent mountains, have nearly effiiced all traces of it; though, as I have 

 already mentioned, the character on the hewn stone is as fresh and plain as 

 if only just from the sculptor's hands. No bitumen was observable on the 

 bricks, which I much regretted, as it would have afforded a strong proof of 

 the antiquity of the spot.* The circular perforated stones that I have already 

 alluded to appear in many places to have formed aqueducts, as I followed 



* I met with a few small intaglios, generally denominated seals, and probably used as such, 

 similar to those found at and near Babylon ; the villagers assured me they had procured them 

 when digging for briclcs, which I think is not unlikely. 



