490 
MERGE TO GYRENE. 
tains which overlook Apollonia, down which it then winds in a zig- 
zag direction, till it reaches the plain on the sea-coast below at no 
great distance from the port*. 
The whole of this road has been anciently paved, excepting the 
parts which have been cut through the rock, where deep marks of 
chariot-wheels are still observable. It has also had tombs on both 
sides of it, extending the greater part of the way, and has been 
defended by forts, the remains of which are visible near the edge 
of the lower range of hills. The country through which it passes 
is highly interesting and beautiful ; near Cyrene it has been cleared 
from the wood which originally covered it, and appropriated to 
the cultivation of grain : this part is fertile in the extreme, and is 
succeeded by beautifully undulating ground overspread with flower- 
ing shrubs, which thicken as they approach the top of the lower 
range, where they are lost in dark forests of pine extending them- 
selves down to the beach. The intermediate space between the 
corn-land and the forest has probably been laid out in villas and 
country residences, for we observed many ground-plans of buildings 
scattered over it which are not those of tombs or military works. 
As this part is wooded, the remains are not visible till they are 
very closely approached, so that there are probably many which 
have never been visited and certainly many which we never ex- 
amined ourselves; not indeed owing to want of inclination, but to 
the circumstance of our not having more time at our disposal 
than was necessary for objects of more immediate importance. 
* Apollonia, formerly the port of Cyrene. 
