THE site of the ancient city of Cyrene is called by the Arabs,
_Shahat_—a name which is rather indefinite, as it includes, besides the
city, the adjoining district to the east, north, and west, that to the
southward being called _Grennah_, a corruption evidently of the original
Greek name. As the Fountain of Apollo is well known throughout the
Cyrenaica, the traveller desirous of visiting Cyrene should ask for
_’Ain Shahat_, the Fountain of Shahat.
To understand the position of Cyrene, it is necessary to consider the
general configuration of the country. From near Benghazi on the west to
beyond Derna on the east, a range of hills about 1,000 feet high runs
nearly parallel to the shore, at a distance from it varying from one to
three miles. This range in the neighbourhood of Cyrene forms the
northern or seaward boundary of a belt of table-land about eight miles
in breadth, the southern or inland boundary of which is a second range
of hills parallel to the first, and rising about 1,000 feet above the
table-land. An upper plateau extends many miles inland from the summit
of this interior range, at an elevation of nearly 2,000 feet above the
level of the sea.
The lower range is exceedingly steep, and in many parts precipitous; so
that, except at particular places, it is quite impassable. The upper
range, on the other hand, although steep, is not precipitous, and is
intersected by numerous ravines or _wadys_ leading from the plateau
above. Thus the face of this range presents to the eye a succession of
rounded ridges, with intermediate furrows of various depths. Cyrene
stands on the edge of the upper plateau, and occupies the summits of two
of the ridges and the upper part of the intervening furrow.
One of the principal features of this site is this furrow or ravine
between the two hills on which the city is built. It begins near the
eastern wall of the city, and widens as it descends towards the face of
the hills, where it is bridged across, so to speak, by a massive
retaining wall, behind which it is partially filled up and levelled, so
as to form an artificial platform. The Fountain of Apollo here issues
from a passage in the rock on the western side, and the water, after
traversing the platform, falls over the retaining wall into the ravine
below.
This copious fountain of delicious water doubtless led the original
Greek colonists to settle at Cyrene. The excavated channel from which it
flows is in many respects so remarkable, that it deserves more than a
cursory notice. The following description, which was verified by Captain
Porcher, is given by Beechey:—
“The channel is formed entirely in the rock from which the stream
issues, and runs in an irregular course for nearly a quarter of a mile
into the bowels of the mountain. The sides and roof of the passage are
flat, where time and the action of the current (which is very strong)
have not worn them away; but the bottom is encumbered with stones,
bedded fast in a quantity of clay which has accumulated about it and
against the sides. The general height of this subterranean channel is
scarcely five feet, an elevation which we found rather inconvenient, for
it obliged us to stoop a good deal in advancing; and as it would not
have been possible to examine the place properly, or, indeed, to have
preserved the light, without keeping the head and body in an upright
position, we usually found the water making higher encroaches than its
chilling cold rendered agreeable.
“In some places, however, where there appear to have been originally
flaws or fissures in the rock, the roof was irregular, and there was
room to stand upright, an occurrence of which we very gladly availed
ourselves, to the great relief of our knees. We found the average width
from three to four feet, although in the places just mentioned it was
occasionally as much as six feet; and were it not for the clay which has
been collected against the sides, we should often have suffered from
their roughness. From the irregularity of the course of the passage we
were obliged to take bearings very often, and at each time we stopped
for this purpose we took down the distance, measured with our chain,
between the point we stopped at and the last; so that, after much
trouble, we succeeded in obtaining a tolerably correct plan of the
whole. The length and course of the channel will be seen in the plan of
Cyrene. Within forty feet of the end of the channel (that is to say,
about 1,300 feet from its beginning at the foot of the cliff) it becomes
so low that a man cannot advance further without creeping upon his hands
and knees, and then finishes in a small aperture scarcely a foot in
diameter, beyond which, of course, it is impossible to penetrate.
“We observed, after continuing our route for some time, that the clay
which we have already mentioned had been washed down in considerable
quantities by the current, was occasionally plastered against the sides
of the passage, and smoothed very carefully with the palm of the hand;
in this we thought we perceived that something like letters had been
scratched, which we should scarcely have thought it worth while to
examine, had we not been curious to know what Europeans had visited the
place before us. Our first conclusion was that some of our own party had
taken this method of writing their names on the wall; and it never for a
moment occurred to us, that the characters, whatever they were, which
might be traced on so perishable a surface, were of more than very
recent formation. Our surprise may, in consequence, be readily imagined,
when we found, on a closer examination, that the walls of the place were
covered with Greek inscriptions; some of which, from their dates, must
have remained on the wet clay for more than fifteen hundred years. They
consist, of course, chiefly in a collection of names; many of which are
Roman, and the earliest of the most conspicuous dates, which we remarked
and copied, were those of the reign of Diocletian. They are, in general,
very rudely scratched, with a point of any kind (a sword, or a knife,
perhaps, or the stone of a ring) and often with the point of the
fingers.
“Several hours had elapsed from the time of our entering the channel to
that of our reappearance at its mouth; and we really believe that the
Arabs of the place, who had collected themselves round the fountain to
see us come out, were extremely disappointed to find that no accident
had befallen any of our party, in spite of the demons so confidently
believed to haunt its dark and mysterious recesses. For our own parts,
we could not help laughing very heartily at the ridiculous appearance
which each of us exhibited on first coming to the light, covered as we
were from head to foot with the brown clay accumulated in the channel of
the fountain, which had adhered too closely to be washed away by the
stream, although its current, as we have mentioned, was extremely
rapid.”
The mouth of the channel is in an open chamber cut in the face of the
cliff, the bottom of which is about five feet lower than the bed of the
stream, which falls over in a little cascade. Immediately above the fall
the bottom of the channel is deepened and widened so as to form a cavity
about six feet long and two feet deep. Filled, as it always was, with
the clear, cool water of the fountain, a more delicious bath could
hardly be imagined. It was, in fact, a perfect luxury during the long
summer of our residence at Cyrene. The water was of the uniform
temperature of 55° Fahrenheit, fresh and cool in summer, and not too
cold in winter.
[Illustration: Pl. 12.
FOUNTAIN OF APOLLO
E. A. Porcher, delt., T. Picken, lith.
London. Published July 1st. 1864 by Day & Son, Lithographers to the
Queen &c., Gate Street Lincoln’s Inn Fields.
Day & Son, Lithrs. to the Queen]
The face of the cliff over the entrance to the chambers is marked by a
channel cut in the rock, into which the pediment of a portico appears to
have been inserted, as shown in the sketch Plate 11. On a part of the
cliff, at right angles to this face, and immediately over the entrance
to the fountain is the following inscription:—
LΙΓΔΙΟΝΥΣΙΟΣΣΩΤΑ
ΙΕΡΕΙΤΕΥΩΝΤΑΝΚΡΑΝΑΝ
ΕΠΕΣΚΕΥΑΣΕ
Λιγ Διονύσιος Σώτα ἱερειτεύων τὰν κράναν ἐπεσκεύασε. This inscription is
published, Böckh, Corpus Inscriptionum, III. No. 5134.
[Illustration: Pl. 13.
GENERAL VIEW OF ONE OF THE HILLS IN THE NORTHERN NECROPOLIS OF CYRENE
E. A. Porcher, delt., T. Picken, lith.
London. Published July 1st. 1864 by Day & Son, Lithographers to the
Queen &c., Gate Street Lincoln’s Inn Fields.
Day & Son, Lithrs. to the Queen]
Nearly parallel to the centre ravine, is another bounding the city on
the south, called the _Wady Bil Ghadir_, or Valley of Verdure, which
extends across the lower plateau to the sea. Several fountains pour
their waters into it at Cyrene, so that even in the height of summer it
quite justifies the name it bears. Its western side, which is very steep
and rugged, is clad with fine old cypresses, and lower down, the myrtle
and oleander grow in luxuriant abundance. The form of the city is nearly
that of a right-angled isosceles triangle, the hypothenuse of which,
facing the N.W., is formed by the general line of the face of the hills
overlooking the lower plateau. Of the two sides containing the right
angle, the southern is formed by the Wady Bil Ghadir, and the eastern,
by an artificial line on the upper plateau, between the Wady Bil Ghadir
and the face of the Cyrene range.
[Illustration: PLATE 14.—LARGE TOMB AT THE EASTERN END OF THE NORTHERN
NECROPOLIS.]
From this description, it will be seen that the city is naturally
defended on two of its three sides, by a deep rugged ravine and the
steep faces of a high range of hills. The remaining side, the east, is
defended by a wall still distinctly traceable, the continuation of which
is so carried along the edge of the Wady Bil Ghadir, and over the brows
of the hills into the central ravine, where it joins the massive
retaining wall already mentioned. The _enceinte_ being thus completed,
the summit of the western hill was chosen with great judgment for the
citadel. On its exterior sides are the Wady Bil Ghadir, several hundred
feet deep, and the steep face of the hill itself cut into a succession
of escarps and terraces of rock. Quite unassailable on two of its sides,
and nearly so on a third, the citadel is cut off from the rest of the
city by an inner wall of defence, well provided with flanking towers,
which is carried along the edge of the centre ravine and across the hill
to the Wady Bil Ghadir, where its junction with the main wall of the
city is marked by the conspicuous ruins of a lofty tower.
[Illustration: PLATE 15.—TOMB IN THE NORTHERN NECROPOLIS.]
By far the most striking remains of the former grandeur of the city are
the cemeteries, which consist, for the most part, of tombs hewn out of
the solid rock, many of which are still, in very perfect condition. They
extend for miles in every direction outside the walls of the city, but
the most remarkable are in the steep face of the range of hills
overlooking the lower plateau, and in the sides of the ravines by which
this range is intersected. The cemetery in the Wady Bil Ghadir, and on
the face of the hill beyond it, is the most picturesque, and probably
the most ancient, while that immediately below the city, to the N. and
N.E., is the most extensive. The tombs on the upper plateau, to the
southward of the city, are generally built above ground, except in the
sides of small ravines, where sepulchres are excavated in the scarped
face of the rock.
[Illustration: Pl. 16.
RANGE OF TOMBS IN THE NORTHERN NECROPOLIS OF CYRENE
E. A. Porcher, delt., T. Picken, lith.
London. Published July 1st. 1864 by Day & Son, Lithographers to the
Queen &c., Gate Street Lincoln’s Inn Fields.
Day & Son, Lithrs. to the Queen]
The tombs on the faces of the hills are generally arranged in long
terraces, the rock being cut or stepped into a series of perpendicular
escarps in which the tombs are excavated. The roads which follow the
terraces in front of the escarps, are consequently flanked on one side
by tombs for a considerable distance from the city. Besides these rows
or streets of tombs, others occur irregularly, where the formation of
the rock happens to be adapted for their excavation. There are some,
also, wholly or partially built, and on the slopes between the terraces
the rock is frequently cut into groups of single sarcophagi. The
excavated tombs are of almost endless variety. In some, the façade is
cut out like the front of a small temple, with columns, architraves,
pediments, &c., nearly all of which are of the Doric order. The columns,
with the recess behind, form a portico over the entrance to the tomb,
which generally consists of a rectangular chamber, with recesses round
the sides for the reception of the sarcophagi.
[Illustration: Pl. 17.
INTERIOR OF A TOMB IN THE NORTHERN NECROPOLIS OF CYRENE
E. A. Porcher, delt., T. Picken, lith.
London. Published July 1st. 1864 by Day & Son, Lithographers to the
Queen &c., Gate Street Lincoln’s Inn Fields.
Day & Son, Lithrs. to the Queen]
[Illustration: PLATE 18.—TOMBS TO THE WESTWARD OF WADY BIL GHADIR.
_From a Photograph._]
In tombs of this description, but without porticoes, the entrance is
simply a doorway cut in the face of the rock, in some instances
perfectly plain, in others embellished with lintels and pilasters, or
with busts, as in Plate 19. The interior of this one is shown in Plate
33, and shows that the peculiar form of the chamber depended on the
soundness of the rock. The chamber itself is usually without ornament of
any kind, but in many tombs its walls are adorned with fresco-painting
or carving. The sarcophagi are frequently arranged in tiers, in long
narrow recesses, with three or four placed lengthways in each tier, as
shown in Plates 20 and 32. In some cases, the sarcophagus is simply a
trough, like a horse’s manger, cut longitudinally in a niche in the side
of the chamber, as shown in the section (Plates 17 and 31); in others,
where the tomb consists of a single chamber, or a succession of
chambers, without recesses or niches, the sarcophagi are either placed
on the floor or dug out of the rock beneath it, like shallow graves.
The above are the principal varieties of the construction of what may be
called the _chamber_ tombs.
Among the painted tombs, the only one that remains to exhibit the skill
of the artist is situated on the side of a ravine, in the middle of the
Northern Necropolis, and immediately under a range of tombs shown in
Plate 16. The exterior is perfectly plain, and contains only a small
chamber with a sepulchral vault in the centre. All the walls were
originally covered with paintings; and by the appearance of the colours
that are still left, and come out, when wetted, as bright as the day
they were put on, show that the former inhabitants must have understood
the art to perfection, as the damp of so many centuries has not yet
obliterated them.
On one side is a procession, composed of thirty-six figures, performing
a solemn march; some having on rich dresses, whilst others are covered
with very little drapery, giving the idea of the lower classes of the
people of Cyrene taking their subordinate part in the festival. At the
head of the painting is a piece of furniture, near which are some young
people employed in cooking,—no doubt, showing what followed their
popular festivals. Near the end are three mitred people standing near a
pedestal, and a table covered with crowns and palm-leaves. A number of
Greek names are scratched over the picture, denoting, probably, the
people shown in the drawing.
The paintings on the opposite side to this have nearly disappeared, and
the other two are occupied with hunting scenes, and a variety of games.
[Illustration: PLATE 19.—A TOMB EMBELLISHED WITH FIGURES IN THE NORTHERN
NECROPOLIS.]
In one part a deer and hares are seen escaping from dogs, and a hunter
in the act of letting loose another. Near this there is a group of
wilder animals, such as a bull attacked by a lion, a leopard and gazelle
chased by dogs, and spears flying about in all directions. These seem to
allude to the worship of Diana, one of the principal divinities of the
Cyrenians.
On the remaining side are gladiators attacking each other with short
swords, and defended by shields,—boxing, wrestling, and chariot-races.
These last may be particularly noticed, as the Cyrenians were extremely
eminent for their equestrian talents, and especially for their skill in
charioteering; and seem to have excelled all the neighbouring nations so
much in this sport, that they sought to perpetuate their fame by having
their coins struck with them.
[Illustration: Pl. 20.
TOMB FOR 105 SARCOPHAGI IN THE NORTHERN NECROPOLIS OF CYRENE
E. A. Porcher, delt., T. Picken, lith.
London. Published July 1st. 1864 by Day & Son, Lithographers to the
Queen &c., Gate Street Lincoln’s Inn Fields.
Day & Son, Lithrs. to the Queen]
All these paintings were published by Pacho, as well as others that have
now disappeared; and, to give the reader some idea of how these tombs
were formerly ornamented, and the expense the inhabitants must have
incurred to embellish this city of their dead, we will give a short
account of one that was seen both by Pacho and Beechey. A series of
paintings were found on the metopes of the frieze in the interior, and
the walls were coloured light green, making the chamber appear as though
it was intended more for a habitation for the living than a receptacle
for the dead. These appear to have been the different occupations of a
black slave. First, a friendly conversation; then the education of a
young girl; the pride of dress; the relaxation of the swing; the bath,
so necessary in this warm climate; and, lastly, the death-bed on which
the negress is laid, with her eyes closed, and the white Cyrenian
standing by her side in the attitude of grief, lamenting her decease.
[Illustration: Pl. 21.
INTERIOR OF A PAINTED TOMB IN THE NORTHERN NECROPOLIS OF CYRENE
E. A. Porcher, delt., T. Picken, lith.
London. Published July 1st. 1864 by Day & Son, Lithographers to the
Queen &c., Gate Street Lincoln’s Inn Fields.
Day & Son, Lithrs. to the Queen]
By the description of these two tombs the reader can easily understand
what a magnificent necropolis this must formerly have been; and when the
exteriors, as well as the interiors, were ornamented with sculpture,
combined with the beautiful scenery around, the traveller would have
been well repaid by a visit to it.
[Illustration: PLATE 22.—INTERIOR OF A TOMB IN THE NORTHERN NECROPOLIS.]
In Plate 21 is shown the interior of a tomb in the Northern Necropolis,
where the painting is still very perfect and the colours bright.
In Plate 17 is a highly ornamented tomb adjoining the Kenissieh, with
the height of eleven feet. The shells over three of the sarcophagi are
cut out of the solid rock, and are in as good a state of preservation as
when they were first sculptured. The niche on the right and the nearest
to the entrance was ornamented round the arch with a band of bright
vermilion, and the centre filled up with garlands, birds, and three
figures, the centre and largest one with wings.
In Plate 22 is seen a smaller tomb, also with shells more gracefully
shaped, and equally in as good a state of preservation.
Quarries were met with in many places, and these, after the buildings in
the vicinity had been erected, and when no longer required, were also
converted into tombs, according to the general practice of the Greeks.
Plate 23 shows the interior of one that has been used for this purpose,
situated on the upper part of the hill in the Northern Necropolis. It
had a large chamber measuring 27½ feet in length, and 13 feet in
breadth.
[Illustration: PLATE 23.—INTERIOR OF A TOMB CUT IN THE SIDE OF A QUARRY
IN THE NORTHERN NECROPOLIS.]
A class, perhaps not less numerous, consists of tombs without chambers,
the sarcophagus recesses being cut directly into the face of the rock.
These recesses, which contain several tiers of sarcophagi, like those
already described (Plates 20 and 32), run into the rock perpendicular to
the line of the escarp, or nearly so. Each tomb consists of from one to
ten or twelve such recesses, separated from each other by thin
partitions. Their fronts are quite as varied as those of the chamber
ones, some being perfectly plain, while others have the ends of the
partitions made to represent columns or pilasters, surmounted by
architrave, frieze, and cornice. In some tombs of this description,
where the rock fails, the _Order_ is completed with masonry. In the
western cemetery, many of these _recess_ tombs, if we may so call them,
are provided with porticoes like those already mentioned, and
consequently have an outer façade with columns, and an inner one with
pilasters, like the front of a Greek temple. The inner façades, not
being exposed to the action of the weather, are still in an almost
perfect state of preservation. Even in the minutest detail of the
architecture they are finished with the greatest care and nicety, the
fluting of the pilasters, the moulding of the cornice, &c., having that
peculiarly delicate sharpness for which the buildings of the Greeks are
so remarkable. Plate 37 represents one of these internal façades,
showing the colours as they still exist.
[Illustration: Pl. 24.
INTERIOR OF A LARGE TOMB IN THE NORTHERN NECROPOLIS OF CYRENE
E. A. Porcher, delt., T. Picken, lith.
London. Published July 1st. 1864 by Day & Son, Lithographers to the
Queen &c., Gate Street Lincoln’s Inn Fields.
Day & Son, Lithrs. to the Queen]
[Illustration: Pl. 25.
TOMBS IN THE NORTHERN NECROPOLIS OF CYRENE
E. A. Porcher, delt., T. Picken, lith.
London. Published July 1st. 1864 by Day & Son, Lithographers to the
Queen &c., Gate Street Lincoln’s Inn Fields.
Day & Son, Lithrs. to the Queen]
In tombs of all kinds the entrances to the chambers, and the openings of
the recesses, have been closed by single slabs of stone, either quite
plain or panelled like a door.
The tombs are as various in size as in design. In some, the chamber is
not more than six feet square, and hardly high enough to stand upright
in, while others may be found with a total length of seventy, and a
height of from ten to fifteen feet.
[Illustration: PLATE 26.—TOMBS IN THE NORTHERN NECROPOLIS (CALLED BY THE
ARABS “KENISSIEH”).]
One of this length is shown in Plates 24 and 35, which was the longest
we saw for a single tomb. A short distance from this one, higher up the
hill, and flanking the path that led to Marsa Sousah, was a much more
extensive range of tombs, which were called by the Arabs the Kenissieh,
and seems from the great number of sarcophagi to have been used as a
public cemetery. A plan of the interior has been given by Pacho, and the
exterior is shown in Plate 26, and extended to a much greater depth into
the side of the hill, as it measured 128 feet by 68 feet in breadth. In
the interior we found a large marble sarcophagus, and two marble
pedestals with the following inscriptions:—
ΑΡΓΕΙΟΣ ΑΓΑΘΟΚΛΕ
ΕΝΙΟΣ LΚ
ΑΡΓΕΙΟΣ
ΔΕΙΝ
The _built_ tombs are constructed on the same principles as the
excavated ones. The greater number of them contain two compartments,
similar to the recesses, with four sarcophagi in two tiers in each
compartment (Plates 28 and 36); but many other kinds occur, some of
which are of great size. Unlike the rock tombs, which from their nature
are almost indestructible, most of these are now in ruins.
Fewer inscriptions exist in the tombs than might have been expected.
Those which we found were generally only a list of names.
The sites of the cemeteries seem to have been chosen with great care, as
they occupy many of the finest positions around the city. Those on the
faces of the hills command a magnificent view of the lower plateau,
bounded in the distance by the sea. One of these is shown in Plate 27.
It is situated to the westward of the Temple of Apollo, and immediately
below the theatre in that quarter, and had the finest external façade.
It was originally ornamented by a colonnade of six pillars, 75 feet in
length, and by its size and finish was doubtless intended for some
family of importance. The principal room measured 41 feet by 37 feet,
with a height of 15 feet, and in it were found fragments of marble
sarcophagi, with elaborate bas-reliefs. It is now used by the Arabs as a
large granary for their corn, and has lost some of its beauty in
consequence of the falling away of the middle part of the colonnade from
the rock to which it was joined. The ravines, also, which have been
selected are remarkable for their picturesque beauty. On the upper
plateau, to the southward and eastward of the city, where most of the
built tombs are to be found, every undulation of the surface is taken
advantage of. In addition to the large cemeteries in the more immediate
neighbourhood of the city, the roads in all directions are flanked by
tombs for several miles, like the Via Appia, at Rome.
[Illustration: PLATE 27.—LARGE TOMB ON THE FACE OF THE WESTERN HILL OF
CYRENE.]
The various plans and sketches we have given will, it is hoped, enable
the reader to form a pretty accurate idea of the appearance of these
truly wonderful cemeteries. In regard to extent, variety, and wonderful
preservation, the Necropolis of Cyrene, as a whole, is probably quite
unrivalled.
[Illustration: Pl. 28.
BUILT TOMB ON THE SOUTH-WEST SIDE OF CYRENE
E. A. Porcher, delt., T. Picken, lith.
London. Published July 1st. 1864 by Day & Son, Lithographers to the
Queen &c., Gate Street Lincoln’s Inn Fields.
Day & Son, Lithrs. to the Queen]
Of the city itself very little remains to be seen. A few walls cropping
a foot or two above the surface of the ground, and some broken columns,
mutilated statues, and blocks of stone strewn about in different places,
are almost the only objects that attract the attention of the traveller
on first walking over the site of the city; but many traces of former
buildings are discovered on a more minute examination of the ground. As
already stated, a central valley traverses the city from south-east to
north-west, dividing it into two portions, the Eastern and Western. Of
the two, although nearly equal in extent, the Western contains by far
the greater number of remains of ancient buildings; but the part of the
city most thickly covered with ruins is the artificial platform at the
mouth of the ravine, in front of the Fountain of Apollo. On the south-
eastern side of the city, around the head of the valley, the ground is
covered with ruins of a much later period. Their general style and
appearance leave little doubt of their being the remains of the
Christian city of Cyrene, in the time of the Byzantine empire.
[Illustration: Pl. 29.
RUINS OF THE CHRISTIAN CITY OF CYRENE
E. A. Porcher, delt., T. Picken, lith.
London. Published July 1st. 1864 by Day & Son, Lithographers to the
Queen &c., Gate Street Lincoln’s Inn Fields.
Day & Son, Lithrs. to the Queen]
We shall presently have occasion to describe the remains of the
principal buildings, in giving an account of our excavations.
Many of the ancient roads can be easily traced for several miles from
the city. The one to Apollonia, the seaport of Cyrene, is quite distinct
the whole way, a distance of about twelve miles. Passing the city wall
on the side of the eastern hill, opposite the Fountain of Apollo, it
descends to the lower plateau by a uniform incline about two miles in
length, through the north-eastern cemetery, on the face of the range.
For the greater part of the descent it is made by cutting into the side
of the hill, the escarp thus formed being taken advantage of for the
excavation of tombs, as already explained. Where a sufficient width is
not obtained by simply cutting into the rock, the road is widened by
embanking and revetting the lower side. In the descent of the lower
range, the road is similarly constructed. Great skill is shown by the
way in which it is laid out, so as to reduce the steepness of the
gradient as much as possible. Another road, similar in every respect to
this one, leaves the city at the large retaining wall at the mouth of
the centre Wady, and descends to the lower plateau along the face of the
western hill. Many roads also exist on the comparatively level ground of
the upper plateau. Of these, the most important is the one by which we
first approached the city, and which, without doubt, was the great
highway of the west leading to Barca, Ptolemais, Teuchira, and Berenice.
It enters the city by a gateway in the southern wall, near the head of
the Wady Bil Ghadir. But perhaps the most remarkable road, if we
consider the care and labour shown in its construction, is the one
leading down the Wady Bil Ghadir, and along the face of the hills to the
westward of the city. It leaves the city by the gate of the western
road; whence, after making a sudden bend to the north, it follows the
bottom of the Wady to near its mouth. In one place, where the bottom of
the ravine is very narrow, the rock is cut away like a wall on each side
to make room for the road. At this point, and at intervals lower down,
may be seen the remains of an aqueduct cut in the rock to convey the
water of the various fountains in the valley round the face of the
citadel hill. It could not possibly have led to the city itself, and was
therefore most probably made for the irrigation of gardens on a lower
level. The greater part of it is an open conduit cut in the face of the
rock; but at some points it is cut like a small tunnel.
On the south of the citadel, where the ravine approaches the face of the
range, its bed falls abruptly to the level of the lower plateau, causing
the stream from the fountains above to pour over the rocks in a
succession of waterfalls. The road, which to this point had followed the
bottom of the Wady, had consequently to be turned to the left along the
face of the hill, which at this corner becomes a sheer precipice both
above and below. The road is carried round it by means of a huge
retaining wall built up to the proper level from the bottom of the
cliff. It is still nearly perfect throughout its entire length, except
at the end in the ravine, where a few of the stones have been displaced.
About the middle of the wall, the cliff recedes some 30 or 40 feet, and
as the wall is carried straight across, a platform of considerable size
is thereby formed. Here a copious fountain of delicious water issues
from a cavity in the face of the cliff, from which a small aqueduct cut
in the rock runs along the side of the road for several miles. Close to
the fountain it was formerly hollowed out into a series of troughs, so
arranged that, by the overflow of each passing to the next, they were
always full,—a slight indication of the attention paid by the Cyrenians
to the wants of the horses, for which their country was so celebrated.
One can easily fancy the citizens of Cyrene halting in their evening
drives at this beautiful spot to water their horses and enjoy the
extensive view of the magnificent scenery around. On one hand is the
high and rugged face of the cliff overhanging the ravine below; on the
other the steep hill of Cyrene rising from the beautiful valley of
verdure at its base; while far below lies the varied surface of the
lower plateau, stretching away for miles to the dark blue line of sea
beyond.
The following graphic description of this scene is given by Beechey:—
“The steep sides of the descent are thickly overgrown with the most
beautiful flowering shrubs and creepers, and tall trees are growing in
the wildest forms and positions above and below the roads. The Duke of
Clarence (when the choice of his death was proposed to him) had a fancy
to be drowned in a butt of Malmsey: and we think, if we found ourselves
in a similar dilemma, that we should pitch upon some part of this
charming ravine, as the spot from which we could hurl ourselves through
myrtles and oleanders into the pure stream which dashes below, with more
pleasure than one could leap with from life into death in most other
places that we know of. We must, however, confess that, in passing along
the dangerous parts of the galleries here alluded to, no such fancy ever
entered our heads; and we took especial care, notwithstanding the beauty
of the descent, to keep closer to the high rock on one side of the road
than to the edge of the charming precipice on the other.”
From this point the road winds along the face of the hill towards the
westward, gradually descending to the level of the plain. Near the
platform it is flanked on the left by a most picturesque row of
excavated tombs, the interior façade of one is given in Plate 37. Before
reaching the plain, the road crosses a small ravine, which contains a
larger number of highly finished tombs than any other part of the
Necropolis. One of them, published by Beechey, had a suite of
allegorical figures painted on the metopes of the inner façade; but on
visiting it we were much disappointed to find the beautiful front
completely destroyed, the whole of the entablature being roughly cut
away, evidently for the purpose of obtaining the paintings.[2] It is to
be hoped that they at least were safely removed, and that this beautiful
tomb was not destroyed altogether in vain. It is, doubtless, right and
proper that the remains of ancient art brought to light by excavation,
or which, from their position, are liable at any moment to destruction,
should be removed to a place of safety, where they may be studied and
admired; but it is certainly carrying out this practice to an
unwarrantable extent to destroy a beautiful structure that has survived
the ravages of two thousand years, for the sake of what by itself is of
comparatively little value.
[Illustration: Pl. 30.
WADY MŬCHGŬN, TWO MILES TO THE WESTWARD OF CYRENE
E. A. Porcher, delt., T. Picken, lith.
London. Published July 1st. 1864 by Day & Son, Lithographers to the
Queen &c., Gate Street Lincoln’s Inn Fields.
Day & Son, Lithrs. to the Queen]
[Illustration: Pl. 31.
CYRENE. PLAN OF AN ORNAMENTED AND PAINTED TOMB IN THE NORTHERN
NECROPOLIS. BY COMMANDER E. A. PORCHER R.N.
Day & Son, Lith. to the Queen]
[Illustration: Pl. 32.
CYRENE. PLAN OF A TOMB IN THE NORTHERN NECROPOLIS, CAPABLE OF HOLDING
105 SARCOPHAGI. BY COMMANDER E. A. PORCHER R.N.
Day & Son, Lithrs. to the Queen]
[Illustration: Pl. 33.
CYRENE. PLAN OF A TOMB IN THE NORTHERN NECROPOLIS. BY COMMANDER E. A.
PORCHER R.N.
_Day & Son, Lithrs. to the Queen_]
[Illustration: Pl. 34.
CYRENE. PLAN OF A TOMB IN THE NORTHERN NECROPOLIS. BY COMMANDER E. A.
PORCHER R.N.
Day & Son, Lithrs. to the Queen]
[Illustration: Pl. 35.
CYRENE. PLAN OF A TOMB IN THE NORTHERN NECROPOLIS. BY COMMANDER E. A.
PORCHER R.N.
_Day & Son, Lithrs. to the Queen_]
[Illustration: Pl. 36.
CYRENE. PLAN OF A BUILT TOMB ON THE S.W. SIDE OF THE CITY. BY COMMANDER
E. A. PORCHER R.N.
Day & Son, Lith. to the Queen]
[Illustration: Pl. 37.
ELEVATION OF THE INTERNAL FACADE OF A TOMB IN THE WESTERN NECROPOLIS OF
CYRENE. Shewing the Colours as they now exist, by Commander E. A.
Porcher R.N.
London. Published July 1st. 1864 by Day & Son, Lithographers to the
Queen &c., Gate Street Lincoln’s Inn Fields.]
About a mile from the face of the range, the Wady Bil Ghadir is joined
in the lower plateau by the continuation of the central ravine of the
city. The space thereby enclosed is an almost perfectly level plain,
about a mile in length and three-quarters of a mile in breadth. The soil
is exceedingly rich, and yields at the present day the finest crops of
grain in the country. Spread like a map at the base of the hills,
directly in front of the city, it seems specially suited for a large
ornamental garden, and was most probably laid out as such by the
inhabitants of Cyrene. It lies immediately below the Fountain of Apollo,
and an aqueduct, as we have already mentioned, conveyed to it the stream
from the fountains of the Wady Bil Ghadir; so that there was a
sufficient supply of water available for its irrigation even during the
droughts of summer. It is, moreover, protected by the high hills of
Cyrene from the scorching blast of the _Gibli_—a wind from the desert
that not unfrequently destroys all the vegetation exposed to it. With
its trees and flowers thus perpetually refreshed and protected, it must
have formed one of the most pleasing features in the beautiful landscape
seen from the city and terraces above.
Besides the Wady Bil Ghadir, two other ravines in the immediate
neighbourhood of Cyrene are remarkable for the picturesque grandeur of
their scenery, the Wady Mûchgûn to the west, and the Wady Leboaitha to
the east of the city. The former, the widest and deepest Wady in the
range, is filled with fine old olive-trees, many of which are covered in
summer with clusters of honeysuckle.
The upper plateau around Cyrene is destitute of trees. Hardly a shrub is
to be seen in this direction within three or four miles of the city.
Grass, however, grows luxuriantly, so that the surface of the ground,
except during the heat of summer, quite resembles the green sward of old
pasture-land in England.
[Illustration: PLATE 38.—TOMBS ON THE WESTERN SIDE OF WADY BIL GHADIR.]
The comparatively limited scope of the present work not admitting of
further illustration, the reader is referred to the archives of the
British Museum for other interesting details of this Necropolis.