58 BASIIAN". 



building — wlietlier temple, tlieatre, triumphal arcli, tomb, 

 or church — is of Roman or later date, the private dwellings 

 are, as a rule, 1,800 years older. 



In the larger buildings, the frequent use of the arch, and 

 the introduction of classical ornamentation, are of them- 

 selves proofs o f a late origin, and our wish to recognise in 

 the smaller and ruder houses the dwelling-places of a pre- 

 historic race, was frequently frustrated by the discovery of 

 friezes and classical inscriptions built into their interior 

 walls. The stone doors and shutters, which attract the 

 attention of all travellers, are characteristic of the country, 

 not of any period in its history, and we found them alike 

 in the Roman temple, the Christian church, and the Sara- 

 cenic mosque. The finest specimens, notably that of which 

 a picture is given in Mr. Porter's book, are covered with 

 Roman ornaments. 



The Pentateuch tells us that Baslian was once inhabited 

 by giants, and it has been argued that the size of the stone 

 houses shows that they were built by a race of abnormal 

 stature, and proves the date of their construction. In 

 reality, however, the private dwellings are the reverse of 

 gigantic, and the rooms they contain are to modern ideas 

 small. If gates are sometimes found eight feet in height, 

 they are (as far as we saw) always in positions where ani- 

 mals as well as men had occasion to j)ass under them, and 

 those found at the present day in similar situations are 

 of the same dimensions. The stone doors guarding the en- 

 trances to the vineyards around Tabreez are larger and 

 more massive than any we saw in Bashan. 



The extent and number of the ruined towns are used as 

 an argument that they are the remains of the sixty fenced 

 cities conquered and destroyed by Moses. Travellers are 

 too apt to forget that Syiia formed a portion of the Chris- 

 tian Empire of Constantinople, and that in the fifth century 



