Notes On A Visit To Saida In July, 1869.

375 , " We observe on the right a circlet of upright stones , to which a curious legend is attached , " & c . It is probable that it is this rectangle that is referred to , since at a short distance the stones appear as though in a circle .

Saida is described in "Robinson ' s Biblical Researches " : The houses and city walls are built of freestone ashlar , said to be dug up , for the most part , from ruins existing at a few feet below the surface , in the vicinity ofthe city . Some of the stones in the walls of the private houses have incised characters on them ; on one house I noticed three stones about twelve feet from , the ground , each with

a mark like the Phoenician aleph . Onmaking inquiries , I could not hear of any sunken marginal-drafted or " bevelled " stones having been dug up ; the old stones appear to be squared , or ashlar , without a conspicuous draft . In the castle or citadel which is above the city , the older portion of the wall ( ascribed to Louis IX ., A . D .

1253 ) is of two constructions : one portion is built of very small ashlar , and on it I could see no characters cut ; on the other portion , which may be of the same age , but is built of old material , I observed three or four characters , two of them , a cross and an arrow , high up out of reach ; but close to the ground was a triangle , in course of construction , which is probably completed by

this time , if the artist engaged on it has kept to his work . The stones of this portion are about twenty-two inches long , and thirteen inches high ; two or three only of the stones have any marginal draft .

i could see no characters on the stones of the inside walls of this upper castle , but I here only made a very hurried examination . In the seacastle tho walls are evidently of very different ages , but none of the visible portions appear to have been built before our era , and there appear some reasons to suppose that the older portions may have been constructed bthe Moslems or

y in the time of the Crusades ; for example , in one portion of what appear to be the older walls , huge granite columns are used as through bonds , just in the same way as they are at Ascalon and Cajsarea , and in the upper part of the east wall of the Haram area at Jerusalem .

If , however , we were certain that the older visible walls of this castle were built by the Moslems or Crusaders , there would still be the probability that tho present that the present stones , as they now appear , were used in the latter part of the Roman Empire , and that they may have been used previously , iu another form , at an earlier period , for there is an arched doorway , very well preserved ( of which an elevation is given ) , which is very similar in its details to examines of Roman architecture

( rustic work ) given by \ itruvius , and tho stones generally in their bevel appear to be of a Roman typo . The impression I obtained from the two visits I paid to the castle is that tho stones were at one time ashlar , without a draft , and probably with the present Phoenician marks on them ; that they were cut down in the time of tho Hainan occupation of the city , and the marginal draft

was then sunk and tho bevel cut , and that again they were used at a later period , without being reworked , by the Moslems or Christians . I have , however , to remark that in some cases what appear to bo modern buildings abut against the old walls , and have preserved portions of them in a manner that is very surprising , if we are to suppose them to be of very

great antiquity . The stones in tho older portions of this castle are bevelled , but they differ very much from those at Jerusalem , to which tho term bevel does not appear appropriate . They ( at Saida ) aro formed by sinking a draft about two inches deep round the margin , and then bevelling oft' the projecting face at an angie of 45 ° . In some oases it appeared as though the draft and bevel had been cut over a portion ofthe Phoenician sign . In comparing , however , the bevelled stones of Saida

Notes On A Visit To Saida In July, 1869.

with those of Jerusalem , the difference in the nature of the stone must not be forgotten ; a di-aft sunk only from a quarter to three-sixteenths of an inch , similar to those on the stone ofthe Harem esh-Sherif , would appear very insignificant on the open freestone of Saida , and would probably be worn away in a very few years if exposed to the weather .

Dr . Thomson , at page 158 of " The Land and the Book , " gives some very interesting particulars upon this subject , some of which I take the liberty of quoting : — " Most of the towns along the Syrian coast , however , are built of an argillaceous sandstone , mixed with comminuted shell , which , though porous and easily cut , will yetif protected from the weather , last forages ; but ,

, when exposed , it disintegrates rapidly , and soon melts away to dust . This process is hastened every time the ruins are worked over for new buildings . The stones must always be re-cut before they are put into a wall , and , after being thus reduced two or three times , they become too small for use , are thown into the fields , and quickly dissolve In other places , where the material is

compact limestone , and not subject to these causes of destruction , it is broken up and burnt to lime . " The larger visible stones in the sea-castle are generally under two feet iu height , and about four feet in length ; . it is possible , however , that there may be much larger stones of a more ancient wall in situ in the thickness of the present walls , for on creeping through a broken

portion of the northern wall overhanging the sea I found above my head a stone which measured quite 8 ft . north and south , east and west , and I could see no signs , of any joint . This stone , then , would be in keeping with those which still remain on the reef of rocks forming the ancient harbour , the largest of which measures about lift , by 12 ft . and about five feet in height , and weighs about thirty-five tons . I could see no signs of any bevel or draft on the stones forming the walls of the

harbour , although dowel holes cut in these stones and in the rocks are very distinct . Mons . A Durighello , tho vice-consul for France , took a great deal of trouble in showing me whan was most interesting at Saida , especially the Phoenician tombs in which so much has been found ; but I was disappointed to find that the nature of the rock in which they are cut

prevents them being finished off in any manner , and the sides in many cases have been coated with plaster , so that they now have a very dilapidated appearance . I could neither see nor hear of any red paint marks on the plaster similar to those w-o have found on the walls of the Haram csli-Shcrif . The sarcophagi are generally cut out of the solid mountain limestone ( the tombs being

sandstone ) , and have devices on them which I have seen in Palestine ; at Selurieli , the sarcophagus built into the cornei- of the tower is very similar to those found in these tombs at Saida . There is the rectangle with the triangle at each end , and also tho disc ( suu ?) with the band underneath ; the device of tho rectangle with the triangle at each end was also to be seen on the

Phoenician sarcophagi near tho river Damii , and I have seen it in Palestine , more especially over a ruined bridge on the caside of the Jordan , where tho Zerka issues into the plain above the ford of Damieh . M . Durighello was kind enough also to show me all the little pieces of pottery which ho had lately found in his excavations , and I noticed that they are precisely

similar to what wc fiiiel at Jerusalem in the middle of our sections , below the early Christian pottery , and above the pottery found at the south-east angle of the Haram . I did not see any pottery similar to what has been lately found at Cyprus . Mr . Arbela , the English Consular agent , was ^ good enough to show me some columns he had found in his garden . Of one , the pedestal , base , and capital are lying together : on the pedestal is an inscription in Greek ( of which I have an excellent squeeze ) , dedicated to the