Page:Mount Seir, Sinai and Western Palestine.djvu/258

212 us to the Dead Sea next morning, we started down the eastern side of Wâdy 'Arabah instead of crossing to the opposite side, as we should have done had our original route to Gaza been maintained.

I went across myself in order to take observations from the other side of the valley, as well as to survey the detail. The valley is here about ten miles broad; the main water channel runs down the western side, and takes the name of Wâdy el Jeib with the main course alongside.

The hills on the western side are low, and much weathered, being of a soft, easily disintegrated limestone. It was late when I found the camp on the eastern side of the valley, and under the circumstances of camp moving continuously along the eastern side of the valley, I was compelled to give up attempting to do the western side, as it was quite beyond the power of myself and camel. I regret therefore that there is here an unsurveyed gap in the work.

Camp was moved next day to 'Ayûn Abu Werideh, or Buweirdeh; it was impossible to find out the exact name, as the Arabs themselves were divided on the subject. I am inclined to think Buweirdeh is the correct name. It is almost impossible to collect the correct nomenclature when travelling so rapidly through a country, with Arabs from a different district; and though I took every means in my power to determine the names definitely, I am not at all confident that in all cases I have obtained the correct names, or nearly as many as might be collected by a more prolonged visit to the neighbourhood. A good deal of blown sand from sand dunes in the valley lead up to the springs which break out in several places from some soft loamy soil in the valley, and form several small streams full of reeds, tamarisk, bushes, and palms, &c.; the water is slightly brackish.

Near the springs Armstrong observed terraces of an old town of considerable extent. There are numerous little mounds of artificial appearance; fragments of coloured pottery abound. The foundation of a building is seen, the stones having a very old and time-worn look, and portions of an aqueduct, level with the ground, are traceable from one of the springs leading to the site.

Next day I was able to obtain good observations from Samrat Fiddân, from which the Lisan in the Dead Sea was clearly visible.

A considerable perennial stream of water runs down Wâdy Fiddân, only losing itself when the valley opens on the plain of Wâdy 'Arabah. Doubtless the plain, east of Jebel Fiddân was a most fertile garden in former times