533 
MERGE TO GYRENE. 
and the edge of the descent was here, as in front of the fountain, 
skirted by a wall running along the whole line of the cliff, till it 
joined that which enclosed Cyrene to the westward. From this 
portion of the mountain descend five large ravines, once thickly 
wooded with pine and other trees, which have been cleared for the 
use of the town, and to disencumber the ground appropriated to the 
tombs. Some of the ravines are, however, still partially wooded, in 
many places very thickly, and springs of excellent water are found in 
various parts of them. 
The north side of the town, from its present appearance, does 
not seem to have been ever much inhabited, and very few remains 
of dwelling-houses are observable there. The buildings Avhich still 
exist are however of an interesting character, and excavation would 
be particularly desirable in this part. Two eminences which rise 
conspicuously aboA^e the general level of the summit are occupied by 
the ruins of spacious temples, and close to the Avestern wall of the 
city is all that remains of the stadium. The largest of the temples 
(we mean the sedes, without the columns) is a hundred and sixty- nine 
English feet in length, and its breadth sixty-one feet. It is of the 
Doric order, in its early style ; and the capitals, AAhich with the 
columns are lying on the ground, still exhibit marks of excellent 
taste and execution, though very much defaced by time ; they 
measure nine feet across, and the capital and abacus are of one 
piece. The form of this building is peripteral ; but the columns on 
the sides appear to have been tAvelve in number, which is one more 
than is alloAved to temples of that class by Vitruvius, supposing the 
