a a 
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May 11, 1871) 
NATURE 
35 

site of Hagar’s well). Here are very numerous primeval stone 
remains, the most remarkable being piles of stones placed in 
rows at the edges of the cliffs which face the East. Cannot they 
be the remains of the old Baal worship followed by the Amorites, 
whose name is still preserved in the country to the north of W. 
Muweéileh, at Dheigat el ’Amerin (the ravine of the Amorites), 
Ras ’Amir, and Sheikh el Amiri? At various places on our 
route, especially at ’Uggabeh—between Nakhl and W. Garayieh 
—on S. el’Ejmell, S.’Araif in Wady Lussan, we found very large 
numbers of cairns, stone circles with graves, and open spaces, 
which, to judge from the burnt earth within them, seem to have 
been designed for sacrificial purposes ; also enclosures, girt by 
rude stone walls ; and, in W. el Biyar, circular dwellings, some 
of which are still standing, quite perfect. In W. Rowag nearly 
every hill is topped by a cairn ; there are three on the summit of 
Jebel Araif, and we noticed that they frequently occurred as far 
north as Bir Seba and EI] Milh (Molada). 
At Muweéileh and near a neighbouring spring, Ain Guseimeh, 
are several caves. At the former place there is one cut in the 
face of the cliff, and entered by a staircase, ascending from a 
smaller cave below ; this has been at one time the dwelling of a 
Christian hermit, as we noticed crosses rudely painted in red 
and traces of frescoes. At this place, too, we found, with the 
exception of one place in W. Lussan, the first signs of regular 
cultivation in former times. Stones are laid in lines across the 
wady-beds to check and, at the same time, distribute the 
drainage, and to prevent the soil being washed down bya sudden 
seil or flood. ; 
Our next point was 27 Birein, so called from the two wel/s in 
the wady ; here are traces of considerable ruins, a fsktyeh, or 
reservoir, and aqueduct, the latter ruined, and the former nearly 
so. In the wady are some old /x¢meh or terebinth trees, remark- 
able as being the first trees, with the exception of two ‘‘seyals” 
or acacias, that we had seen since leaving Sinai. About six 
miles N.W. of El Birein lie the ruins of El ’Aujeh, confounded 
by Dr. Robinson with ’Abdeh, which I shall presently mention, 
situated on a low spur running into W. Hanein. This valley, 
however, on account of a superstition attaching to its real name, 
has always been called by the Arabs, when speaking to travellers, 
W. Hafir. Some five or six square miles of the wady are covered 
with ruined walls of gardens and fields ; the sides of the water- 
course are built up with large stones, and dams still exist across 
it, though all the valley is now barren and neglected. Ten miles 
to the east of El ’Aujeh we discovered the ruins of a fortress 
called ‘‘El Meshrifeh,” jerched on a projecting spur, and 
defended on two sides by steep cliffs, which overlook a broad 
plain formed by the sweep of Wady el Abyadh as it debouches 
from Jebel Magrah ; the south face of the cliffis fortified by escarp- 
ments and towers of massive masonry, and on the summit are 
ruins of several houses, and of a small church ; on the third side 
a thick wall runs across the level crest of the spur. Beneath the 
towers and in connection with them are numerous rock-hewn 
chambers ; also traces of a more ancient and, indeed, primeval 
wall, and pieces of masonry of a date far anterior to the rest of 
the buildings. 
On the plain above mentioned and three miles and a half to 
the S.E. of El Meshrifeh we found the ruins of a considerable 
town called S’baita. This name seems to have been heard of by 
former travellers, who confounded the site with Rehaibeh ; but I 
believe we were the first Europeans to visit the ruins. Here, as 
in many other cases, we experienced considerable difficulty, owing 
to the apprehensions of our Bedawin, who did their best to dis- 
suade us from going there. I succeeded, however, in taking 
sketches and photographs of the chief points of interest. The 
town contains three churches, which, like those at El Aujeh el 
Meshrifeh and S adi, must, I think, be referred to the 5th century. 
There are also two reservoirs, and a tower with a rudely orna- 
mented gateway. With the exception of a fragment or two at 
El Aujeh, this was the only instance of sculpture we saw, and 
not a single inscription was anywhere to be found. 
The structure of the buildings at S’baita is worth noticing: the 
upper stories of the houses are supported on wide, low-spanned 
arches two feet wide with intervals of three feet between them, 
and upon these is placed the flooring of the upper rooms, which 
consists of narrow slabs of stone. Numerous ruined towers and 
walled gardens and enclosures, extending to a distance of several 
miles from the town, attest its former importance. The vineyards, 
too, marked by the ‘‘ Teleilat el ’Aneb,” which I mentioned 
before, extend over large tracts in this neighbourhood. 
From S’baita we went to Rehaibeh, examining e7 route the 


ruins of S’adi,* which do not seem to have been visited or even 
heard of by former travellers. At Rehaibeh the ruins are of 
much greater extent than at S’adi, but so confused that it is im- 
possible to trace the plan of any single building. There are 
numerous wells, cisterns, and other remains of cultivation in the 
neighbourhood. From Rehaibeh we went to Khalasah and 
Bir Seba: the ruins at the former place have nearly disappeared, 
as the inhabitants of Gaza find it cheaper to send camels for the 
already squared stones than to quarry them near their town. 
Owing to the drought we found Bir Seba barren and deserted, 
though our Arabs assured us that in good seasons the grass is 
knee-deep, and furnishes ample pasturage for countless flocks and 
herds. Our unlooked-for appearance in out-of-the-way districts 
was usually considered by the natives to be in some manner con- 
nected with the exceptional drought, and on several occasions we 
were either implored to bring rain or cursed for the want of it, 
since the Arabs firmly believe that every /Vasrdui holds the 
weather under his control. 
From Bir Seba we went to Jerusalem, and, after a short stay 
there, returned to Hebron, where we engaged three of the 
Jehalin Arabs, with their camels, to convey our baggage to Petra. 
Taking a new route, we passed Tell Arad and El Milh, and 
struck into the unexplored mountains of the ’Azazimeh, where we 
discovered the ruins of the El ’Abdeh (Eboda), which are of 
considerable extent, and similarly placed to those of El Mesh- 
rifeh, most of the dwellings here, as there, being half excavated 
and half built. Of the buildings now standing, the greater part 
are of Christian times. The natives are perfect savages, and 
detained us for two hours from visiting the ruins by collecting in 
a gang tothe number of thirteen on the top of a pass, singing 
their war-song, throwing down stones, and occasionally firing 
off one of their old match-locks in bravado, and swearing by God 
and the Prophet that no one should come up. As the pass was 
very narrow, almost precipitous, we judged it best to propitiate 
them, a task accomplished, after much discussion, at the cost of 
eight shillings. They then escorted us to the ruins, where we 
took such measurements and photographs as we required. From 
’Abdeh we went through the ’Azazimeh mountain, a region so 
awfully desolate as to defy description, struck the ’Arabah at the 
junction of W. Jerafeh with W. Ghamz, and crossed thence 
to Petra. Here the Liyathineh fully maintained their character 
for brutality and insolence. Infidels in all but the name of 
Moslims, they are descended from the tribe of Khaiberi Jews, 
who bear such a bad character in Arabia. To add to our dis- 
comfort, we were snowed up for two days ina tent only just 
large enough for us both to lie down in. During a stay of six 
days, however, Petra was thoroughly examined by us and accu- 
rately mapped. We then bent our steps northwards, and at El 
Barid, about seven miles from Petra, discovered a colony of dwell- 
ings and temples cut in the rock, and some rudely chipped 
Nabathzean inscriptions. The walls and ceilings of the rock- 
chambers were decorated with frescoes, some coarse others well 
executed. We next travelled down the ’Arabah to the Dead 
Sea, and having examined the Lisan, went up into Moab. Here 
we stopped about three weeks and wandered over the country in 
search of inscriptions, as Mr. Palmer had specially come to 
ascertain if another Moabite stone was in existence. At last, 
however, we both came to the conclusion that above ground 
there are none. From Moab we crossed the Jordan, near Jericho, 
and returned to Jerusalem. 
(To be continued.) 
SCIENTIFIC SERIALS 
Tue fifth part ofthe nineteenth volume of the Pa/contographica 
recently published, is devoted to the description by Prof. Schenk, 
of fossil plants from the north German Wealden formation. The 
plants here described and figured upon 8 plates are all cryptoga- 
mous, and with the exception ofa single Chara, and four Zgzise/a 
belong to the group of ferns, of which 21 species are noticed ; but it 
must be remarked that Prof. Schenk has considerably lessened the 
apparent number of species by reducing a great many of the 
names given by former authors to the rank of synonyms. At 
the same time he describes and figures seven forms as new species, 
one as the type of a new genus, JMarsilidium, belonging to the 
Rhizocarpeze, and he also establishes the new genus Matonidium 
for Laccopteris Gopperti, Schimper. The other new species be- 
long to the genera Sphenofteris, Alethopteris, Laccopteris, Olean- 
* S’adi is two-and-a-half miles E.S.E. of Rehaibeh. 


