'The Expedition for the survey of the rivers Euphrates and Tigris, carried on by order of the British government, in the years 1835, 1836, and 1837; preceded by geographical and historical notices of the regions situated between the rivers Nile and Indus. In four volumes. With fourteen maps and charts, and embellished with ninety-seven plates, besides numerous wood-cuts. Volume the first.' [‎524] (613/905)

524
PALMYRA.
[CHAP. XX.
a mile and a half westward of the temple of the Sun, with a
wilderness of columns in every state, from the most finished
specimens of art to that of complete destruction. A closer ex
amination is not, however, free from disappointment, in conse
quence of the mixed nature of the architecture, and the columns
being of different ages and various sizes.
The castle, once no doubt the acropolis, occupies a pro
minent situation near the S. S.-eastern extremity of the ruins,
where its massive walls rise to about 100 feet in the form of a
parallelogram 600 yards long by 400 yards wide. It is sur
rounded by a ditch ; and the entrance, over which there is an
inscription, is through a double gateway on the south side ; the
interior contains a spacious quadrangle constructed with im-
The great mense blocks of stone, within which was the celebrated temple
temple. dedicated to the tutelary deity of Syria. The present entrance
is through a low door in a miller's hut, and this being passed,
the interior presents a square enclosure of 679 feet each way,
with two rows of columns all round the inside. The temple
itself is 124 feet long by 47 feet wide; it is in a good style of
architecture, having a peristyle of 140 columns, and the
remains of enclosures forming suites of apartments, which, as
Heeren justly remarks, are similar to those of a splendid khan,
suited for the accommodation of the brother merchants of
ancient Tyre, at this stage of their journeyings to and from
Babylon. The entrance gate nearly faced the setting sun, and
its soffit presents a zodiac similar to ours. 1
About 200 yards W.S.W. of this building, there is a richly-
ornamented archway and 12 Corinthian columns, in the best
style; and some little distance onward, at the intersection of a
cross street, are four very large pedestals, on each of which
there probably was a statue. Parallel to this, on the southern
Colonnade. side, are the remains of an extensive colonnade, also a large
cistern; from which, at about 30 feet below the surface, a
conduit appears to have conveyed water to the temple and
acropolis. Amongst the masses of ruins prolonged towards
the N.W. may be distinguished numerous columns of smaller
1 Volney's Travels, vol. II., p. 276.