Page:Mount Seir, Sinai and Western Palestine.djvu/55

Rh fossils which had hitherto been discovered in any of the strata older than the limestones of the Tîh, and by which the geological age of the Desert Sandstone could be determined. It happened that some uncertainty still prevailed regarding the determination of these fossils, and the consequent age of the formation; one authority having maintained that the strata were of Carboniferous age, another that they were of Triassic. Under these circumstances it was desirable that more specimens should be collected, and that if possible the age of this great formation—which, as Russeger supposed, extends from Nubia at intervals through the Sinaitic peninsula, and northwards into the valley of the Jordan—should be finally determined. There were many points in the geology of the Sinaitic district requiring elucidation, and the geological map of the Ordnance Survey, published in 1869, required additions, especially in the district west of the Gulf of Akabah. We, therefore, determined to take a line of march from Jebel Mûsa to Akabah, which would skirt the borders of the Jebel el Tîh, and take us through a district comparatively little known. From Akabah we were to take a course along the Wâdy el Arabah to the southern shores of the Salt Sea—making topographical and geological observations throughout—and thus to join up the triangulation of the Sinaitic peninsula with that of Western Palestine. From the southern shores of the Salt Sea we were to work our way to Jerusalem by the western shore, Ain Jidi and Hebron; and subsequently the geological reconnaissance of Western Palestine and the Jordan Valley was to be carried out. This programme embraced a region of great interest; and would open a route for future travellers, which in its entirety had not hitherto been traversed; although, in one way or another, the district embraced by it had been visited by various travellers. To what extent we were able to accomplish our purpose, and with what results, will appear in the sequel. As regards the scientific details, I shall only introduce them here when they appear likely to be of general interest, and when they are necessary in order to make the narrative intelligible.