Page:Africa by Élisée Reclus, Volume 2.djvu/219

 This museum, mainly of local origin, is rendered all the more valuable by the marvellous panorama which unfolds itself to the view of the observer from the lofty terrace of Byrsa. At his feet lie the lake, the shimmering sea, the town of Goletta, Mount Bu-Kurneïn recalling the outlines of Vesuvius, the distant

Zaghwan peak, and, in the immediate vicinity of the plateau, the sparkling and winding waters of the former Carthaginian ports.

On the steepest side of the rock of Byrsa, now covered with vegetable mould, Beulé has brought to light the remains of walls in some places still 16 feet in height, and similar in construction to the so-called Cyclopean walls. A bed of cinders, filled with metal fragments, pieces of glass, and potsherds, is probably a remnant of the fire which preceded the capture of Byrsa by Scipio. The wall