Proceedings of the expedition to explore the northern coast of Africa, from Tripoly eastward

by Frederick William Beechey; H. W. Beechey

Ravines, whose sides are equally covered with wood and verdure, cross the road very frequently, in their course from the mountains to the sea; and most of these, as there is nothing like a bridge over any of them, must be nearly impassable in winter. The force with which the water rushes down the ravines in the rainy season is evident from the slightest inspection; the ground being furrowed and torn up in the parts which form the beds of the torrents, and encumbered with trees and stones of various sizes, washed down from the mountains and from the sides of the ravines. Open spaces are occasionally met with in the woods, some of which are of considerable extent; these were probably once cultivated, but are now thickly covered with grasses of various kinds, among which we often observed a great proportion of oats produced spontaneously from the soil[6].

Several towers of very solid construction are scattered over this plain in various directions; and one of them will be found to correspond very well with that called Cafez, by Edrisi. It is situated at about the same distance (four miles) from the sea; and has likewise a wood to the eastward of it, as he mentions[7]. It may be reckoned at fifteen miles from Bengazi, and not far from it, also to the eastward, are the lakes described by Edrisi in the neighbourhood of Cafez, separated, exactly as he mentions, from the sea by ridges of sand, and running along parallel with the beach[8]. The water of these lakes is stated by Edrisi to be sweet, but it is certainly, in the present day, brackish. The Arab name of one of these (Zeiana, or Aziana) would seem to point out the neighbourhood of Adriana, laid down by Cellarius between Berenice and Arsinoe, or Teuchira; and many ground-plans of buildings, chiefly dwelling-houses, may be observed at the distance of about three-quarters of a mile from the lake, which probably occupy the site of that town.

At sunset, on the second day, we arrived at Birsis, where there are a number of wells, and mutilated fragments of building, of which it would be impossible to make any satisfactory plan, without a great deal of previous excavation. Birsis occupies a very fertile plain, where there is usually an Arab encampment, and is distant about thirty-one miles from Bengazi, and seven from the city of Teuchira. It is five or six miles from the Cyrenaic range, and about a mile and a half from the sea. A little to the S.W. of Birsis, are other remains of building, which assume a more decided character, and appear to have formed part of a town. Several arched door-ways are still remaining, and some of the walls of the houses are standing, to the height of about ten or twelve feet from the present level. The spot on which they stand is now much overgrown with high grass and shrubs of various kinds, and the buildings have been occasionally added-to by the Arabs; so that it requires a good deal of attention to make out their original plans. We were cautioned by the natives, who saw us making our way through the high grass and bushes which encumber the ruins, to beware of the serpents, which they said were very numerous in the place; we, however, saw no more than two, one of a dark colour, about five feet in length, and another of smaller dimensions. The Arab name for this place is Mabny, and Mably (as we heard it pronounced by different persons residing on the spot); and appears to be a corruption of Napoli, or Neapolis, with no other change than might reasonably be expected from the peculiarities of Arab pronunciation[9].

Neapolis is, however, laid down by Ptolemy between the cities of Teuchira and Ptolemeta; and Mably (or Mabny) is seven or eight miles to the S.W. of the former of these places; so that it will not correspond in position with the city which its name appears to indicate. We may at the same time observe, that in the position assigned by Ptolemy to Neapolis we could perceive no remains which were indicative of a town; that we know of no town, described under another name, as occupying the site of Mably; and that the resemblance of that appellation to Nably, which would be the Arab pronunciation of Neapolis, is too close to be wholly overlooked.

Between Birsis and the sea (from which we have already said it is distant about a mile and a half) are the remains of two towers, occupying the summit of a range of sand-hills on the beach, and which we were unable to visit, in consequence of the marsh which runs along the foot of the range, and separates it from the cultivated land. The country about Birsis and Mably is highly productive, wherever it is cultivated, and agreeably diversified with shrubs and brushwood, among which are a few fig-trees. The plain is here about six miles in breadth (from the sea to the foot of the mountains); and its general appearance, as the Arab tents were seen to rear themselves among the low wood and cultivated lands in which they were pitched, was highly indicative of what one might imagine of patriarchal comfort and tranquillity[10]. We found the Arabs very hospitable and obliging, and one of our party, who had strayed from the rest, and taken shelter at night-fall in one of their tents, was received and entertained with great kindness and liberality; a sheep having been killed expressly for his supper, and the women of the family employed for two hours in preparing it, in the most savoury manner with which they were acquainted. While the mutton was occupying the united attention of the most accomplished cooks of the household, (the mother, one of the wives, and the two eldest daughters of the host) another wife had prepared a large dish of barley-cakes and fried onions, over which was poured some hot melted butter: a great portion of this very speedily disappeared before the repeated attacks of the hungry guest, whose appetite for the savoury meat which was afterwards served up to him was not quite so great as the dish deserved; the skill of the young wife who had cooked the first mess was in consequence highly commended by her spouse, who could no otherwise account for the great portion of meat which was left, than by supposing that the first dish was most to the stranger’s taste; never dreaming that a pound of dough, besides butter and onions, could in any way tend to diminish a man’s appetite.

Six miles beyond Birsis (in a north-easterly direction) are remains of a much more imposing nature than any which we had hitherto beheld. They are those of an ancient city, completely inclosed within walls of uncommon strength and thickness, which are connected at intervals by quadrangular towers, and entered by two strongly-built gateways, placed opposite to each other on the east and west sides of the city. The town of Teuchira (for it is that to which we allude) is situated close to the sea, which, in this part of the plain, is distant about four miles from the foot of the mountains. A part of the town, as well as of the walls, is built upon a rising ground, and the rest is on a level with the plain; one portion of it (to the westward) has been built round a quarry, and what appears to have been the citadel is also constructed on the edge of another quarry to the eastward, which considerably strengthens its position.

Without the walls on both sides of the town (we mean on the east and west sides) are also very extensive quarries, in which the tombs of the early inhabitants of the place have at various periods been constructed[11]. In these, as well as on the inner part of the city walls, are a great many Greek inscriptions; such of which as our time allowed us to copy, will be found at the end of the chapter, with further details of the buildings; and in the mean time we refer our readers to the plan of the city annexed.

Teuchira, or Tauchira, was a town of Barca, of considerable antiquity: its name was changed under the Ptolemies to Arsinoe, and subsequently (by Mark Antony) to Cleopatris; but its original appellation has survived the others, and it is to this day distinguished by the name of Tauchira, or Tocra, under which it is known to the Arabs.

The walls of Teuchira (we are informed by Procopius[12]) were repaired under the emperor Justinian, and they still remain in a state of perfection which sufficiently proves the solidity of the work. They are built of very massy blocks of stone, conformably with the statement of the historian, many of which have formed parts of much earlier buildings, as the inscriptions found upon them demonstrate.

Very little of the history of Teuchira has come down to us; and we scarcely know more of it, than that it formed one of the cities of the Pentapolis. Although it is situated close to the sea, which washes the northern face of it, Teuchira could never have been a port; as it affords no protection whatever for vessels derived from its natural position, and there are not the slightest traces now visible of anything like a cothon having been constructed there; which, indeed, it would have been folly to have attempted in the exposed situation of the place[13].