176 



ANCIENT CITY. 



preserved inscription. There is no theatre. The 

 necropolis is below, and apart from the main 

 mass of ruins. Among the tombs is a remarkable 

 heroum, twenty feet square, one side of which 

 is very perfect, and strangely ornamented with 

 carved representations of the severed limbs and 

 trunk and various parts of the body of some dis- 

 membered warrior. 



" Several other sepulchral monuments bear 

 sculptures ; on one is represented a battle-scene, 

 a fight between horsemen and foot-soldiers. 

 All these carvings are rude, and in barbarous 

 taste. There are many inscriptions, but no trace 

 of the name of the city occurred in any. 



" From the number of churches and other 

 buildings, this city must have been a place of 

 some importance, even at a late period. Now it 

 is desolate ; not a person was met near it. The 

 elevation of the site is about four thousand feet 

 above the level of the sea. My guide left the 

 ruins satisfied I had extracted no money from the 

 stones, but sadly puzzled as to the purpose of 

 bringing away copies of the inscriptions. 



"I was sorry to learn from Nicolo, that our 

 presence and stay here, although very kindly 

 allowed, was attended with considerable incon- 



