Page:The Northern Ḥeǧâz (1926).djvu/82

 a distance of twenty-one kilometers to the Roman fort of al-Ḳwêra. This stronghold was built to the south of a low, isolated, table-shaped rock, generally called ḳâra (diminutive ḳwêra), upon which are situated the ruins of the Nabataean fortress. The distance of twenty-one kilometers makes 14,000 paces, whereas the Tabula Peutingeriana gives it as 24,000 paces. It is well known, however, that the figures indicating distances on the Tabula Peutingeriana have been very unsatisfactorily preserved. We have, therefore, every reason to suppose that an inaccurate “xxiiii” came from a correct “xiiii”—an easy error in Roman figures. Hence al-Ḳwêra would seem to be the Roman station of Praesidio. Beyond al-Ḳwêra the Roman road turns off from the cultivated lowland into the deep Wâdi al-Jitm surrounded by granite mountains, passes through it southward to a point nearly due east of Aila, thereupon turns to the northwest, leaves the râdi about five kilometers north of Aila. and then turning again south arrives at Aila at a distance of forty-five kilometers from al-Ḳwêra. This distance should not be 21.000 paces, as given on the Tabula Peutingeriana, but 30.000. The Roman figure “xx” is on the left and the figure “i” on the right of the red line; this figure “i,” however, is so short that it resembles the stroke of an “x” rather than an “i.” On this road there actually is no place for the station of Ad Dianam, whereas on the Palestine road Ad Dianam would correspond to the Semitic Adian (Ṛaḍjân), a town which was located 32 kilometers, or exactly 21,000 paces, north of Aila on the eastern border of al-ʻAraba (see Musil, Arabia Petraea, Vol. 2, Part 1. p. 254).The station of al-Ḳwêra is situated at the crossing of two important ancient transport routes. One ran from Madian in the south to ancient Petra in the north; the second led in a northeasterly direction from the harbor of Aila (the modern al-ʻAḳaba) by way of Naḳb aš-Štâr to Maʻân. I hold the opinion that the Israelites followed the former road to Ḳadeš, near Petra, and, returning, branched off on the second road to Mount Seʻir, Maʻân, and farther on to Moab (see below, pp. 267—272). the border of the rocks of al-Ḥeǧfe and Abu Sjejle. At 4.28 we arrived at the telegraph line. Twenty-four telegraph poles for an unknown reason had been set up in a southeasterly direction from al-Ḳwêra, and only the farther poles were directed to the southwest. At 4.53 we left the trade route and at 5.05 came upon the watercourse of Bṭajjeḥât, which joins Wâdi al-Jitm. To the west there yawned the black šeʻîb of al-Filk, which comes from the well of al-Ktejfe and separates Abu Sjejle from al-Ḥmejra. Both sides of the watercourse of al-Bṭajjeḥât, as well as all the slopes inclining to the east, are covered with soft sand in which there is an abundant growth of ṛaẓa. Among the green shrubs of ṛaẓa a flock of sheep and goats were grazing, and our guide Sâlem dragged a fat ram to us.

We entered the broad, sheer defile Ḫarm al-Merṣed, which rises to the south between the granite rocks of al-Mdajfen on the west and ʻAtûd on the east. The western half of this defile was covered with a growth of ṛaẓa shrubs (Fig. 22), beneath which we encamped at 6.08 P. M. Our camels munched nothing but ṛaẓa, which they had not tasted for many months, perhaps even for many years, as in the land of the Ḥwêṭât the ṛaẓa is found only in isolated spots. The chief, Sâlem, killed the ram, skinned it, cut up the meat, hacked the bones, and Šerîf and Ismaʻîn stewed it in all the utensils which we had with us. They had plenty of fuel, because the stout, dry trunks and branches of the ṛaẓa burned well and slowly. Sâlem baked the liver and lungs in the ashes. He wound up the intestines, buried them in the sand, divided