DOMAIN I. SJDEROUS. 



ation. It is singular that Denon, who has given 

 such a minute and interesting account of the isle 

 of Philoe, should have taken no notice of these 

 remarkable monuments. He speaks indeed of 

 large blocks of stone covered with hieroglyphics, 

 but mentions nothing but granite in that quarter ; 

 and basalt could scarcely have escaped the atten- 

 tion of a French traveller. 



The columnar form is far more commonly as- 

 sumed by the basaltin, than by the real ancient ba- 

 salt : yet it is found even among other substances. 



" Columns of porphyry are not rare; and, among 

 other places, are found near Dresden, several feet 

 in length, and not more than two inches in diame- 

 ter*. Columns of petrosilex compose a large 

 portion of a mountain near Conistone lake. Very 

 perfect quadrangular prisms of argillaceous schis- 

 tus are found near Llanurst Rubble slate as- 

 sumes the columnar form at Barmouth. The 

 limestone near Cyfartha, in Glamorganshire, is 

 divided into very regular acute rhomboidal prisms : 

 even the sandstone of the same district is not 

 unfrequently columnar; and one of the beds of 

 gypsum at Montmartre is distinctly divided into 

 pretty regular columns. Sandstone, clay, argil- 



* Strange's granitic columns, near Verona, are jwrphyritic, with 

 a paste or basis. Spallanzani. 



