66 
SCULPTURED ROCK. 
on three of its sides; one of which sides being placed close to 
another stone, forming a continuation of the front of the masonry, 
proves that its original position was not where we found it, and that 
it must have stood on some building, where all the figures met the eye. 
The mountains which surround the site of these ruins have a re¬ 
pelling dreariness that is not to be described ; yet on meeting one 
morning a shepherd whose goats were scattered about the ruins, I 
could not help being struck with the air of superiority which he put 
on, when he asked me, “ Have you any thing like this in your 
country ?” This, indeed, was a very common question put to us by 
the natives whenever they met us busily employed in examining what 
had never attracted their attention. 
Three miles further, on the same range of mountains, are to be seen 
some sculptures carved on the face of the rock, of very rude workman¬ 
ship, and bearing evidence of the age of Shapour. They are difficult to 
be discovered, because they are situated in the corner of a nook of the 
mountain, and being of a very low relief are not easily seen, unless the 
sun strikes full upon them. The best guide to them, is the source of 
a rivulet of very pure water, that rises about an hundred yards from 
them on this side Shiraz. By keeping close to the mountain they are 
discovered immediately behind the first projection of rock, at the foot 
of which this stream flows. We were conducted thither by a peasant, 
who called them Nakshee Rustam, a name which seems to be given to 
all similar objects. Close to his village, that stands near the hill of 
the Mader-i-Suleiman, we were shown the scarcely to be distinguished 
scratches of an inscription which we supposed to be Pehlavi; and just 
above it, on the mountain, an excavated tomb. 
The above-mentioned sculptures consist of two tablets, each contain¬ 
ing two figures. On the first we distinguished a female form receiving 
a flower (or something like it) from a male figure. The globe, which 
characterises the Shapourian sculptures, rests on the head of one of the 
figures on the second tablet; and the figure that faces it, holds out its 
hand, in which we thought that we discerned a ring. 
