'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.' [‎514] (603/905)

514
JERASH.
[CHAP. XX.
Village of Souf. This village contains about 40 clay-built houses, and
Souf - is the principal place in the picturesque district called Moerad
at the western side of Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. El Deir. In the neighbourhood
there is an ancient square building, on which are some inscrip
tions ; and close to the village are several caverns ; here, also,
three copious springs issue from beneath a rock, and, soon
uniting, they have the name of the Keruan: at one hour s
distance south-eastward the stream flows through Jerash.
Remains at The walls of ancient Gerasa form an irregular parallelo-
Jerash - gram along both sides of this stream ; but the most interesting
portions of the remains extend from north-east to south-west,
along the right bank. At the latter extremity there is a fine
triumphal arch, a naumachia, a theatre, and a small temple:
in front of this last is a spacious semicircular colonnade, from
which the remains of a street maybe traced, in a north-easterly
direction, to the extremity of the town; the columns are of
different sizes on each side, and display two orders of archi
tecture. This street is crossed at right angles by one almost
in the centre, and by two others nearly equidistant from it.
The first of the three is a little way northward of the centre,
and it runs from a bridge over the stream towards some high
ground north-westward, on which are the remains of a very
fine Corinthian temple, with a double row of columns in front,
and a single row along the three other sides. The second,
which is parallel to the former, has in the centre an open
rotunda, with four entrances, a theatre at the north-western,
and an arched building, probably a palace, at the south-eastern
extremity; and the third has in the centre four large cubical
masses of stone, like those in the middle of the great portico
at Palmyra; it has also a ruined building, with the remains
of a small transverse street at the north-western and a fine
bridge at the south-eastern extremity. Not far from the
latter there is an extensive arched building, possibly a palace ;
which is the principal ruin on the left bank of the river. The
higher parts of the ground on each side are occupied with the
remains of private dwellings ; and, beyond these, on the north
western side, there is an extensive necropolis, displaying a
number of finely-executed sarcophagi. The coup-d ceil pre-