Page:The Nestorians and their rituals, volume 1.djvu/362

308 determine the order to which they belonged. There are several Arabic inscriptions engraved on the walls of the mosque, but on examination I discovered that these had no reference whatever to the present building, and probably existed before it was turned into a place of worship. A clumsy square minaret has been added to one angle of the enclosure; but like the mosque itself, this is fast tumbling into ruin.

The Kasr, or palace, next claimed our attention, but on reaching the spot where it once stood, we were disappointed at finding little more than the original foundations, marked by lines of massive stones, now standing. A narrow opening in the surface led us to an underground apartment, which the natives call "the prison," and which appears to be co-extensive in dimension with the building which once rose above it. Fifty-six stairs brought us to the bottom of this vault, which measures 120 ft. in height, 60 ft. in length, and 40 ft. in width. Four massive pilasters, left standing when the excavation was made, support the arched roof, and eight buttresses cut in the native rock, extend along two sides of the vault. One angle of the enclosure is occupied by the staircase already mentioned, in the angle opposite is the opening to a subterranean passage, said to extend to beneath the village, whilst in the remaining corners are two narrow cells, which if intended for a place of imprisonment, must soon have proved the graves of the unfortunate victims.

There are two villages standing amidst the ruins of ancient Dara, one containing 40 Armenian, and the other 100 Coordish lamilies. The Christians have a small church and a priest, and are reckoned as belonging to the diocese of Diarbekir. In the evening several of the villagers brought us a few old coins, and on finding that we paid a good price for them, we were soon overwhelmed with similar offers, and succeeded in purchasing a large collection, chiefly Sassanian, Roman, and Saracene of the time of the caliphs. Some of these were afterwards secured from me by the authorities of the British Museum, and I am persuaded that a careful search in this district would bring to light some interesting monuments of antiquity.

The following is Ainsworth's account of this ancient city:

"According to Procopius, Dara was built by Anastasius to re-