422 MR horneman's TRAVELS. 
ed to employ. The language appears to be abori- 
ginal, and to be a dialect of that spoken by all the 
native tribes in this part of Africa. 
Siwah is particularly remarkable for a monument 
of antiquity situated a few miles to the westward. 
This, which, by the natives, is called Umme- 
beda, consists of a large mass of ruins in such a 
state of dilapidation, as to make it difficult to dis- 
cover the original purpose for which the structure 
was destined. There are evident remains of an 
exterior wall of great strength, and about 300 
yards in circumference. In the centre are found 
the ruins of what appears to have been the princi- 
pal edifice. It is about twenty-seven feet in height, 
twenty-four in width, and ten or twelve paces in 
length. The walls are six feet thick, and construct- 
ed, particularly in the roof, of very large blocks of 
stone, cemented with small stones and lime. The 
interior of the walls is decorated with hierogly- 
phics, and appear to have been partly painted. 
From the whole description, compared with that 
of Browne, and with the ancient writers, there 
seems very little doubt, that this is the celebrated 
shrine of Jupiter Ammon, the object of unbounded 
veneration in the ancient world. The vicinity of 
the fertile oasis of Siwah, and the catacombs found 
in the neighbouring mountains, strongly tend to 
support this opinion. 
On leaving Siwah, the road was for some time 
