little foundation as to render it very dangerous to enter them. In
fact, the base of the rock in which these excavations have been made
is perforated like a honeycomb by the continual action of the sea,
which now washes through the hollows with a roar which may be
heard at a considerable distance, and must in stormy weather be tremendous.
In one of the chambers were several Greek inscriptions
which have been written with ink on the walls; but they are now
so indistinct, that we could not succeed in copying more than a few
words of one of them.'
They are written in what may be called the running-hand of the
Greeks of the Roman Empire, and it is probable that one much
accustomed to this character might succeed, with the assistance of a
strong and steady light, and the frequent application of water to the
inscriptions, in making out more than we were able to do with the
little time we had at our disposal, and the light we were able to
procure. In other parts of the rods were excavated tombs, some of
which were entered by a quadrangular well, in the manner of those
common in Egypt. We found nothing in any of them but scattered
bones, from which we were not able to ascertain the mode of burial
adopted. There can be no doubt that great part of the rock just
described has already been washed away by the sea, which has here
gained considerably on the land; and several wells are now observable
some feet under water, which were of course originally above its level.
In the wall fronting the south, we observed part of an arch
protruding itself from among the rubbish which encumbered i t ;
and found, on clearing it, that it had been constructed without a keystone,
of square blocks, arranged so as to touch each other at the
bottom, and having the interstices above filled up with good cement,
which appeared to be more durable than the stone. We found other
examples of arches so constructed in different parts of the Syrtis
and Cyrenaica. The appearance of the top of the arch just described
had given us hopes of discovering an entrance to some part
of the fortification through the wall in which it was formed; but we
found to our disappointment, on clearing it from the rubbish, that
what we thought would prove the entrance extended no more than
three feet from the external surface; and that all farther advance
was prevented by a solid wall built across it, which appeared to be
part of the original structure. Among the rubbish we found a silver
coin, and several copper ones, so corroded that it was impossible to
ascertain their antiquity.
We should willingly have given a much longer time to the examination
of the ruins at Tabilba than the few hours we were enabled
to bestow upon i t ; but the lateness of the season left us no choice
on the subject, and we had already spent more time at Braiga than
we could well afford to employ in such researches. It must however
be confessed, that if we had doubted the probability of being
able to return and examine them with greater minuteness, we might
have been tempted to stay longer at many places in the Syrtis than
we should perhaps have been authorized in doing.
We have no hesitation in supposing Tabilba to be the site of the
maritirrue stationes of Ptolemy. Its position corresponds so well with
that assigned to the naval stations in question, and its remains are so