994 
and still contain a considerable quan- 
tity of good fresh water. The arches 
which form the roofs of the cisterns, 
are covered with earth a considera- 
ble depth, which appeared to me to 
have preserved them in their very 
perfect state. The cisterns are at 
least a quarter of a mile south from 
the principal ruins of the city. 
There are the remains of a noble 
amphitheatre, about two hundred 
yards in circumference, taking its 
extent from the bighest seats in the 
galleries ; it is of an oval shape, the 
principal entrances into it, are one 
at each end, at the bottom,’ or 
ground floor of the building; these 
two entrances have been very broad. 
There are sixteen other .entrances 
for the spectators, eight on each 
side, perfectly uniform, and from 
each entrance there is a staircase to 
ascend into thegalieries. From the 
bottom, or ground floor of the am- 
phitheatre, to the lowest seats in the 
galleries, is about thirty feet perpen- 
dicular. solid wall, -quite smooth ; 
the whole has been burlt with hewn 
stone, generally of a large size, 
harder than our lime-stone, and of a 
yellowish colour. 
Near the amphitheatre are the 
remains of several large marble co- 
lumns, standing in rows, at equal 
distances. There appears to have 
been an immense pile of building 
standing on the highest ground: I 
conceived it must have been the ci- 
tadel. Within this building there is 
a bath of semi-circular form, and 
almost perfect; the whole of the 
bath is beautifully inlaid with Mo- 
saic work ; in which are drawn se- 
veral female figures, swimming in 
various attitudes, as perfectly as in 
any painting; being done with va- 
rious coloured marbles, they do not 
seem-in the least to have lost their 
2 
ANNUAL REGISTER, 1806, 
colour. There are several aquatic 
fowls, drawn in the same style, above 
the human figures; the whole are 
coloured so as to resemble nature. I 
was much mortified that I could not | 
take away any of those figures entire, | 
having no instruments to cut them J 
out, and it is very difficult to make 
anyimpression upon the mosaic-work, | 
being so strongly cemented together ; 
it has been so very highly finished, | 
that [ could not distinguish it as 
mosaic-work, without a very narrow | 
examination, Near the bath are’ 
the ruins of many very elegant builds }) 
ings, which I imagined to have been 
temples, or some other publ € works : | 
one of the most perfect bas two rows 
of pillars in the inside, and a gallery 
stillentire, by which T walked round 
the whole of the building on the 
outside. This temple is an oblong, 
about forty yards in length, an ene 
trance at each end: at present it 
has no roof over the centre of the 
building, being only covered on each 
side, as far as the two rows of pillars, 
I observed particularly in this build. 
ing, that all the masonry was very 
handsome, highly finished, and not 
of the massy structure that I have 
often observed amongst other ancient 
ruins ; the pillars, and the whole of 
the building are quite plain, without 
any carved ornaments, 
Very near this temple is an im 
mense heavy pile of building, which 
seems to have been a place of con- 
siderable strength; the stones with | 
which it has been built are very 
large, 1 am persuaded many of them 
would weigh three tons. The whole 
of this building is arched over : upon | 
a careful examination of this heavy | 
pile, it appeared to me to have been 
a prison. There is a very large hall 
which seems to have been upon the } 
ground-floor,’ and into this hal] there } 
are 
