11 
and Wady Atiyeh. These afford an excellent road, and the 
ascent to the Tih plateau is so gradual that no difficulty is met 
with. The Pass of Nakb Mirad, discovered by Professor 
Palmer, is by no means an easy one. 
Having once mounted to the level of the Tih desert, a 
gradual descent across a succession of large open plains, with 
abundance of pasturage, would lie before them, and they would 
reach Jebel Mugrah without any trouble. Here we must place 
Kadesh Barnea, but whether at the south-eastern point near 
the head of Wady Garaiyeh, where there is a road running- 
northwards, or on the western side at Ain Kadeis, further 
exploration must determine. 
The name of the latter place is a strong point in its favour,- 
and there is abundance of water and vegetation in its neigh- 
bourhood, and many traces of ancient habitations. I had 
hoped that I should have been able to settle this point last 
year, but the disturbed state of the country, owing to constant 
raids of the Arabs from the east of the Arabah, and the 
excessive drought, prevented my exploring the southern face 
of Jebel Mugrah; when this has been done, this important 
question will, I trust, be set at rest; and here, and in the 
exploration of the whole of the Negeb, or “ south country” of 
the Bible, remains much interesting work for future ex- 
plorers. 
The Chairman, in conveying the thanks of the meeting to the author of 
the paper, said it showed that Mr. Holland had such a personal knowledge 
of the subject as was seldom met with. (Cheers.) 
Mr. A. Y. Newton asked : — Were they to infer that there were no 
indications existing, of the Israelites in the Sinaitic Peninsula, either as 
records on rocks or otherwise ? 
Rev. F. W. Holland said : — He did not think there were any records on 
the rocks. The Sinaitic inscriptions certainly had nothing whatever to do with 
the Israelites, and although there were one or two inscriptions which 
appeared to be older than those ordinarily met with, he thought they were 
not nearly as old as the time of the Exodus. It was exceedingly difficult to 
judge of the date of the inscriptions, and very great mistakes had been made 
about them. In the case of an inscription which contained the words, 
“IWAZA4> MONAXOZ,” one writer was of opinion that the monks 
of old had written it, but Major Macdonald had told him that he knew the - 
monk who had written this. (Laughter.) He himself had made inscriptions, 
and from a little distance had not been able to tell which were his, from the 
colouring. The inscriptions on the granite were made by bruising the dark 
colouring of the rocks by means of stones ; those on the sandstone were 
