386 Proceedings of the Royal Society 
at the distance from Jerusalem given in the Talmudic writings. The 
fatigue of the work was here much increased by the great power of 
the sun, in a district entirely hare of trees and composed of steep 
ridges of white marl with precipitous limestone gorges, the only 
water obtainable being warm and brackish and at times very scanty 
in quantity. 
On the 15th of November the broad plains of Jericho were 
reached, and a district of about 200 square miles north of the Dead 
Sea was surveyed. No traces of the Cities of the Plain were, how- 
ever, found, and the conclusion resulting from a careful examination 
of the ground was that these towns probably stood east of the Dead 
Sea or higher up the Jordan valley, where fresh water would be 
found to supply them. The plains of Jericho are deficient in water 
supply, and the soil is so deeply impregnated with salt that it 
seems impossible that it should ever have been cultivated within 
historic times. 
At Jericho the expedition suffered severely from an epidemic of 
malarious fever, which so weakened the party as to render field 
work impossible during the winter. Mr Tyrwhitt Drake narrowly 
escaped with his life, and only three members of the party of twenty- 
five individuals remained unaffected. The winter months were passed 
at Jerusalem, and the weather experienced was unusually severe, 
seven falls of snow occurring in the hills, while the Jordan valley 
was flooded and rendered impassable. 
In the end of February 1874 the expedition again took the field, 
and the most difficult and dangerous part of the survey was, during 
the next two months, carried through successfully. 
This task consisted in the exploration of the Jordan valley 
between the plains of Jericho and the Sea of Galilee — a district 
entirely uncultivated and inhabited only by nomadic Arabs living 
in tents. The supplies were brought down from Jerusalem or 
Shechem, a distance often of two days’ journey, and the party was 
obliged to trust entirely to itself for defence, as the Turkish govern- 
ment exercises but little control over the Bedawin. The work was 
interrupted by constant storms, and the oppression of the atmosphere 
at a level 1000 feet below the sea was found extremely trying. 
The water supply was very uncertain, and for ten days the party 
were obliged to rely on the salt springs of Wady Maleh. During 
