626 kbport — 1878. 



round is occupied by wandering tribes of Bedouin Arabs with their goat flocks ; 

 to the east it is a mass of basalt which has flowed over the country, and down to 

 the shores of the lake ; to the west are the limestone hills of Safed. 



From the subsequent camp at Meiron, the triangulation required a considerable 

 arnoimt of attention. The Jebel Jerniuk, the highest peak in Galilee, reaching an 

 altitude of 3930 feet, had been observed from the south, but now it was necessary 

 to ascend and observe from it ; this was accomplished, and the triangulatiou thrown 

 well forward to the north, but the triangulation would not allow of a descent to 

 the low unhealthy Huleh marshes as early as had been hoped. The village of 

 Meiron is a famous Jewish place of pilgrimage, for there Rabbi Shamai and Hillel 

 and the Great Simeon Ben Jochai lie buried. The rocks around are honeycombed 

 with ancient tombs, and there still remains an almost perfect facade of au 

 ancient synagogue, dating probably from the second century after Christ. The 

 principal results of the survey of this district were the discovery of three dolmens. 

 During the course of the survey, eight dolmens were discovered, and as these are 

 the first that have been noted in Palestine, it adds a new district to those already 

 known to possess these rude stone monuments, and may be a connecting link be- 

 tween the ancient inhabitants of Europe and India. 



The remains of two synagogues, unobserved hitherto, were discovered, one at 

 Sufsaf and the other at El Jish. These add considerably to our knowledge of these 

 interesting buildings, and the discovery of the Roman eagle engraved in relief in 

 the synagogue of El Jish adds new proof that these buildings are due to Roman 

 influence over a subjugated people. The eleven specimens that remain of these 

 buildings were carefully examined and planned during the course of the survey 

 where it was possible to trace the original work. 



The triangulation and survey of the country round Dibl, to which the camp 

 moved on May 3rd, took twelve days ; a number of curious ruins were visited, and 

 special plans and photographs were made. The country to the west was rugged 

 and rocky, covered with brush-wood, and occupied by Arab tribes. Deep ravines 

 and gorges carried the winter rains down to the sea, and in many parts of this wild 

 country a European had never before been seen. To the east, the country was 

 more open and cultivated ; there are not many springs, but numbers of rock-cut 

 cisterns and large pools for collecting the winter rains at almost every village. 



On the 16th, camp was moved east to Kades, and from the camp much of the 

 plain of the Huleh and the low country was surveyed. The ruins of the Temple of 

 the Sun were planned and photographed. 



On the 24th, the party again marched northwards, and, having pitched camp at 

 Taiyebeh, the triangulation was carried to its most northern point, the great 

 Crusading castle of Beaufort. From a study of the masonry of the four Crusading 

 castles that defended the northern frontier of the kingdom, Beaufort, Toron, Hunin, 

 and Banias, and after comparison with others in different parts of the country, 

 Lieut. Kitchener is led to suppose that they are none of them older than Crusading 

 times, except a portion of Banias, which appears to be slightly older work ; and, 

 therefore, that none of them date, as most travellers assert, from Phoenician or even 

 Roman times. 



On the 2nd of June, camp was moved to Banias, the Oaesarea Philippi of the 

 New Testament, and the Panium of Josephus. The triangulation was here suc- 

 cessfully closed on this side by observing from the Castle. This was the ancient 

 acknowledged source of the Jordan springing out of the cave of Pan in the face of 

 a precipitous rock, and rushing at once in a strong stream through the tangled 

 groves of luxuriant vegetation to the plain below, there to be joined by its rivals in 

 modern writings, the Leddan and the Hasbany. The Hasbany, with less flow of 

 water than either of the other two streams, and joining them after their junction, 

 when they form a mighty stream, cannot be followed as a source of the Jordan. 

 When the other two divide into almost equal streams, the longest course leads to 

 this fountain of Banias, the true source of the Jordan; 



In discussing the great depression of the Jordan valley, which is merely a con- 

 tinuation of the great valley extending through Syria, dividing the Lebanon from 

 the Anti-Lebanon, and down which the Leontes and Jordan rivers flow, Lieut. 



