To face [page 187].
Being built in a fort, the construction of the temple is necessarily very simple. Eight unornamented pillars support the roof, and, like the walls, are stuccoed with yellow ochre; at the further end was a recumbent figure of the goddess, with a golden crescent on her head. From the tariff of sacrifices which was posted up at the entrance I made my own selection, paying the sum of five shekels; and having made my offering, I obtained permission from the governor of the fort, who was an old acquaintance, to take my party on to the terrace upon the roof, whence there was a fine view of the city. Chamai, Bichri, and Abigail joined us there. Looking towards the sea, we had on our left the Cothôn and the Admiralty palace, and on our right the island which had been the original nucleus of the colony, and the trade-harbour which separated it from the mainland. Landwards rose the white buildings and terraces of the city, threaded by dark winding streets, and studded with domes painted red and brown, and culminating towards the south in the massive citadel, the residence of the sacred suffect. A double line of fortifications encircled the whole city both by land and sea, and outside this a moat and palisade, that followed the undulations of the soil, formed a third advanced line of defence; beyond this again stretched the country with its rich foliage and yellow crops, amongst which lay imbedded the snow-white terraces and brown domes of the country-houses, farms, and cisterns.[34]
The Cothôn at Utica, although not to be compared with the harbours at Tyre and Sidon, is still the finest of any that have yet been constructed in our western settlements, and is well adapted to the climate. It is 480 cubits, or nearly three-quarters of a stadium square, and is capable of holding as many as four hundred ships of war; a small dry basin is annexed to it, having a passage flanked by two lofty columns, and leading into the great harbour of the arsenal. On three sides it is bounded by paved quays, twelve cubits wide, which are very little above the level of the water; the fourth side being formed by a strong mole. Behind the quays rises a wall of rubble-work faced with Maltese stone, in which at regular intervals are pierced the arched openings that form the entrances to the dry docks. The dry docks, as I had told Hannibal, are sixty in number; they are sixteen cubits high, but as they are only forty cubits long by twelve broad, they will only hold small vessels like the Cabiros, larger ships being sent for repairs into the basin in front of the arsenal. The docks are covered in by a flat pavement which forms a second quay as wide as the lower one; upon this, over the docks, and partitioned symmetrically with them, stands the range of magazines and storehouses, fourteen cubits high, of which the flat roofs form a third terrace, which is on a level with the city. The whole of these fine edifices are built upon cisterns.
On the innermost side of the harbour the lowest quay is broken in the middle by the jetty which maintains the same level, and connects the quay with that of the Admiralty; the shore end of it breaks the line of magazines, and is a wide open space, generally thronged with busy crowds; it terminates in a flight of paved steps that leads up to the second and third terraces, from the uppermost of which, through openings in the embattled wall that encloses the whole, there is direct access into the city.
The entrance to the Cothôn is defended on one side by the fortress containing the temple, and on the other by two more forts connected by a curtain, and these form the boundary of the mole. The channel, at the mouth, is considerably encroached upon by the towing-quays, which are so broad as only to allow a passage thirty cubits in width. The outer basin of the arsenal is defended in a similar manner by two forts, one of them being at the other extremity of the mole; and other forts have been erected, one at each end of the interior side of the Cothôn, the lower storey of one of them being appropriated as another temple. A solid embattled wall starts from the mole, and after running round the arsenal and its outer basin, joins the city wall at the left-hand fort, while a corresponding wall, pierced by a lofty square opening, flanked by loop-holes, separates the basin from the arsenal. As a connoisseur in such matters, Hannibal pronounced the whole to be wonderfully well devised, and expressed his conviction that, protected as they were by their forts and by the wall that was connected with the city wall, the Cothôn and arsenal were capable of resisting the most determined assault.
The mole itself is a remarkably fine structure. It is built upon piles, and extends the whole length from the arsenal-basin to the entrance; it is no less than twenty-four cubits thick, and its massive substance of rubble is pierced by slanting apertures or air-holes, the effect of which is to rebut the waves and very materially to diminish their shock. The noble work does great credit to Adonibal, under whose supervision it was constructed.
The Admiralty palace in the centre is a handsome edifice, consisting of a main building flanked by six circular towers and four bastions. It is a large irregular parallelogram, with one of the round towers at each exterior angle, and having an open court in the middle, upon which open all the apartments of the palace, and around which runs a gallery on pillars, supporting two tiers of arches. The two other round towers are on the sides of the gateway on the north front of the palace, which opens on the naval suffect's private landing-place; there is likewise a gateway on the south front, which is protected by walls pierced with loop-holes and built into the sides of the palace. It was through this gateway that I had myself passed into the outer court-yard, and from which I had been conducted up one of the two interior towers, of which only the tops were visible from the spot where we were now standing.
After leaving the temple, I conducted my party along the quay to the open space at the end of the jetty, and then mounting the steps, we passed through the arches in the enceinte of the Cothôn, thus making our way towards the city. We passed the baths, and taking a turning to the left, wound our path upwards in the direction of the Bozrah; there, at the base of the plateau on which the citadel is built, is a large square, the common resort of the sailors; under the shadow of the trees was a number of stalls for the sale of food and drink; there was likewise music as well as amusements of various kinds; and at the farther end was a market for the disposal of wild animals, ivory, slaves, and whatever else was the produce of the interior of Libya. For many hours of the day the place is thronged by people of every rank; and musicians, acrobats, men with monkeys, dancers of both sexes, hawkers of caps and sandals, singers, vendors of cakes, fruit, and cooling drinks, all press upon the sailor fresh from his voyage, and endeavour to attract for themselves a share of the shekels which he is sure to have brought on shore. It had not been my intention to come to this spot, but early association made me almost involuntarily turn my steps in this direction.
Everybody seemed bent on pleasure, and it was not long before I saw several groups of my own men laughing, shouting, singing and pushing along in true sailor fashion, jostling their neighbours, and buying wine and other drinks from every hawker that they met.