Published March 1827, by John Murray, London.
CHAPTER VI.
Entrance of the Syrtis — Extensive Lake, or Marsh, described by Strabo — Remarks of Strabo compared with the actual appearance and extent of the Marsh — Remains considered as those of the ancient Naval Station, described by Strabo, at the Mouth of the Lake — Appearance of another Station more to the northward — Gulf of Zuca — Remarks of Signor Della Cella connected with it — Resemblance of the names Zuchis and Zuca — Non-existence of the Gulf of Zuca in the Greater Syrtis — Error of D’Anville and modern Geographers on this point — Remarks of Signor Della Cella on the terms Marsh and Lake, as applied to the body of water mentioned by Strabo — Dimensions of the existing Marsh — Alleged danger of crossing it — Insulated spots in several parts of the Marsh, corresponding with the accounts of Strabo — Arrival at Sooleb — Appearance of Pasturage in this neighbourhood — Liberality of Shekh Mahommed — Cause of it ascertained — Sooleb occupies the place assigned in modern charts to the Gulf of Zuca — Continuance of the Marsh — Remains near Mahada called Kusser el Jébbah — Story connected with them related by the Dúbbah — Unwillingness of our Arab Guides to cross the Marsh — Cause of this ascertained — Narrow escape of two of our party — Nature of the soil in this neighbourhood — French Inscription left by the boats of the Chevrette — Another left by the barge of the Adventure — Arrive at Mahàd Hassàn, probably the Turris Hassàn of Edrisi — Remains at Mahàd Hassàn — Arrive at Giraff, where the Marsh terminates altogether — Refractory conduct of our Camel-drivers — Improvement in the appearance of the country — Arrival at Zaffràn — Grateful verdure of its Pasturage — Remains at Zaffràn considered as those of Aspis — Their nature and appearance described — Port called Mersa Zaffràn considered as that of Aspis — Difficulties attending this position — Remains on the Beach — Supposed Date of the Buildings at Zaffràn — Remarks connected with them — Castles mentioned by Leo Africanus — Construction of the Forts at Zaffràn.
On quitting the groves and gardens of Mesurata for the wilds of the Greater Syrtis, the first object which presents itself, in the level tract of country already mentioned, is the extensive marsh described by Strabo as occurring after the Cephalas Promontorium. It has not now the character of an uninterrupted sheet of water, as it appears to have had when seen by this geographer, but spreads itself in pools over a wide tract of country, and communicates occasionally with the sea. Many of these pools, are, however, some miles in extent, and were they deep enough would deserve the appellation of lakes. When we passed along the marsh the rainy season had not commenced although a good deal of rain had fallen, and it is probable that, at the close of it, the greater number of the pools are collected into much larger masses. While at Tripoly, Shekh Mahommed was anxious for our departure chiefly on account of this morass, which he represented as being very dangerous, if not wholly impassable, after the long continuance of heavy rains. The dimensions given by Strabo are three hundred stadia for the length, and seventy for the breadth of the marsh, or lake, which he describes; and these measurements correspond quite sufficiently with the appearance of that which actually exists; its length, from Mesurata to Sooleb, being little less than forty miles, and its breadth, from the sea inland, from nine and ten to fifteen. It does not indeed finish wholly at Sooleb, but is contracted in passing that place, to the narrow limits of two and three miles in width, and then continues as far as Giraff. The great body of the marsh may however be considered as contained between Sooleb and Mesurata; for though it extends much further in length and widens itself again after passing the former place, there is no part where it presents so broad, and uninterrupted a surface, as in the space comprehended within the measurements of Strabo, beginning from the Cephalas Promontorium.
Strabo’s lake is stated to have enclosed several islands and to have possessed an υφορμος or naval station, at the point of communication with the Gulf[1]. Several insulated spots are certainly still observable in various parts of the existing marsh; but there are no remains of building which can be attributed to the station mentioned, except those which occur in the neighbourhood of Mesurata. At the distance of about nine miles from that place, are the remains of a kind of causeway of singular construction, extending inland to a length of three hundred and thirty paces from the sea; and forming, with a rising ground on the opposite side of it, what may be called a στομα or communication with the Gulf. The ruins appear to be those of a landing-place; and consist of a long causeway, or terrace, of about ten feet in breadth[2], which widens itself at regular intervals into squares, from which descend flights of steps on either side of the causeway. One end of it is washed by the sea, which has undermined it considerably, and the whole structure is now little more than a heap of ruins.
If this building have not been a landing-place or quay, we must confess that we know not what use to assign to it; and, admitting it to have been one, it immediately becomes evident that it must have been connected with some station for shipping.
The general character of the land along this part of the coast, which rises higher than the level of the lake or morass, would prevent any communication between the marsh and the sea except in this place and the one which we are about to mention. In this place, particularly, such connexion seems formerly to have existed; for here a passage still remains, through the higher land forming the separation, by means of which the waters of the lake might have emptied themselves into the sea, and on one side of this channel is the structure in question which we have supposed to be a landing place. The small vessels of the ancients might have entered this passage, and have found sufficient shelter behind the high land[3] which formed it; on the inner side of which they might also have been hauled up when the current through the channel was too strong for them to remain afloat[4].
Nearer to Mesurata, a little to the southward of the Marábūt of Sidy Abou Shaifa, are the remains of what seem to have been a small fort or station: its outer walls enclose a square of about an hundred feet and there are vestiges of smaller walls within, which appear to have divided it into several compartments. On the north-western side there are some small blocks of stone, about two feet square, which seem to have been the abutments of arches formerly supporting the roof of the building; and which are about eight feet distant from each other. These remains, forming at present nothing more than an imperfect ground-plan, are situated on a low rising ground close to the sea; and between them and point Abou Shaifa the lake may have communicated with the gulf a little to the southward of the point. There are also some slight remains of building in the neighbourhood of this place, as well as in that of the causeway, occupying the low range which runs along the coast: but from the presence of the landing-place, at the communication first mentioned, we should be disposed to adopt it in preference to that at Abou Shaifa, as the στομα, or mouth, of the lake mentioned by Strabo.
Signor Della Cella, in stating that the lake or marsh which we have mentioned, is the same with that laid down by D’Anville and other modern geographers, under the title of Gulf of Zuca, or Succa, has instanced the passage above quoted from Strabo in confirmation of this opinion. But the Gulf of Zuca is represented as an inlet, or creek, of not more than four miles across in any part of it; while Strabo’s lake is in width more than double that distance, and seems to bear no other resemblance to the gulf than that of having a communication with the sea. If, therefore, the Gulf of Zuca, as D’Anville himself has stated, be actually laid down on the authority of Strabo, we should rather look for its origin in another passage of this geographer which occurs before the one we have quoted. In this passage Strabo describes a Lake Zuchis, to which he attributes the peculiarity of a narrow entrance at the point of communication with the sea; while he merely states, in his description of the lake we have first mentioned, that it emptied itself into the Gulf (of the Greater Syrtis).
The similarity of the names of Zuchis and Zuca and the narrow width which is given to the latter would certainly appear to be in favour of our suggestion; but then the Lake Zuchis is in the Lesser Syrtis, near the town of the same name which Strabo has mentioned as being famous for its purple dye and its saltworks; and in pointing it out as that intended by D’Anville, we must suppose that this geographer has confounded the two passages of Strabo, and, consequently, the two lakes, together. As this, however, appears (at least to us) very probable, from the reasons which we have mentioned above, we will submit to our readers the two passages in question[5], on which our supposition is founded, and proceed to consider the lake first alluded to as wholly distinct from the Gulf of Zuca, to which it has really no sufficient resemblance to authorize us in supposing them to be the same.