8^ ACCOUNT OF PETRIFACTIONS 



circle, lined with a narrow rim of white, apparently a sort of lime, which 

 was the last sohd stratum of this curious concretion. The rest v/as filled 

 with loose earth and gravel dust, which crumbled off the moment it was 

 broken : many of the particles of gravel, however, adhered to the interior 

 coat of the shell. The diameter of this subject was, at the exterior j about 

 two inches, and at the interior, one and quarter inch. When broken, the 

 parts resembled the splinters of a hand grenade. 



Near the bottom of the northernmost hill there is a small cave; one of 

 those excavations which are to be seen in every part of the country, and 

 oiice the residence of a Faqueer who dug it for the purpose. This would 

 hardly deserve to be noticed but for the surprising manner in which the 

 superincumbent stratum supports itself from the mere cohesion of its 

 parts,. ^ .:,ii-: ■;:.:- 



This cave is divided into two parts, the entrance being an open space, 

 somewhat in imitation of a choultry, but of a very irregular shape. It is 

 about eighteen feet wide, six feet high and twelve feet deep in the mid- 

 dle: the sides are of unequal depth, owing to the irregularity of the rock 

 at the entrance. The roof is cut quite horizontally, and was formerly 

 supported by two pillars about two feet thick, cut out of the same solid 

 stratum as the rest. One of these is now fallen to the ground. 



The second and innermost part is a recess of a nearly circular form, 

 the communication of which opens in the center of the iirst one. It is 

 about nine feet deep, by seven feet wide, and six feet high. On each side 

 of its entrance, and on the outside, there are two sorts of niches, about 

 two feet deep, which c^n, hardly ever have been of any use. 



