FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   231   232   233   234   235   236   237   238   239   240   241   242   243   244   245   246   247   248   249   250   251   252   253   254   255  
256   257   258   259   260   261   262   263   264   265   266   267   268   269   270   271   272   273   274   275   276   277   278   279   280   >>   >|  
th his head. He was indignant at the feelings, which the people of Mourzouk had against the Turiacks, who, he said, pride themselves on having but one word, and performing whatever they promise. The promised camels not having arrived, they hired two of Mahomet el Buin, and with these they proceeded on to Gorma, which they found to be a larger town than any in the wadey, but both walls and houses have the marks of time. The sheik, Mustapha Ben Ussuf, soon visited them. He was an old man, a Fezzaner. His ancestors were natives of the place, and his features might be considered as characteristic of the natives of Fezzan. They had many accounts of inscriptions being in this place, which the people could not read. They were conducted by sheik Mustapha to examine a building, different, as he stated, from any in the country. When they arrived, they found to their satisfaction, it was a structure which had been erected by the Romans. There were no inscriptions to be found, although they carefully turned up a number of the stones strewed about, but a few figures and letters rudely hewn out, and evidently of recent date. They imagined they could trace some resemblance to the letters of Europe, and conjectured that they had been hewn out by some European traveller at no very distant period. Their thoughts naturally went back to Horneman, but again they had no intelligence of his having been there, "In short," as Dr. Oudney says, "to confess the truth, we did not know what to make of them, till we afterwards made the discovery of the Targee writing." This building is about twelve feet high, and eight broad. It is built of sandstone well finished, and dug from the neighbouring hills. Its interior is solid, and of small stones, cemented by mortar. It stands about three miles from Gorma, and a quarter of a mile from the foot of the mountain. It is either a tomb or an altar; those well acquainted with Roman architecture will easily determine which. The finding a structure of these people proves, without doubt, their intercourse here. It is probable they had no extensive establishment, otherwise they would have seen more remains as they went along; they passed by, and saw to the westward, the remains of ancient Gorma. It appeared to occupy a space more extensive than the present town. They were not able to learn from the old sheik, whether any antique coins were ever found, or any building similar to this in the vicinity. Was
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   231   232   233   234   235   236   237   238   239   240   241   242   243   244   245   246   247   248   249   250   251   252   253   254   255  
256   257   258   259   260   261   262   263   264   265   266   267   268   269   270   271   272   273   274   275   276   277   278   279   280   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

building

 

people

 

extensive

 

natives

 
Mustapha
 

letters

 

stones

 

structure

 
inscriptions
 

arrived


remains
 
interior
 

antique

 

sandstone

 

neighbouring

 

twelve

 

finished

 

writing

 

confess

 

vicinity


Oudney
 

Targee

 

similar

 

discovery

 

determine

 

finding

 
proves
 
easily
 

westward

 
architecture

establishment

 

passed

 
intercourse
 

probable

 

ancient

 
acquainted
 
stands
 

quarter

 

mortar

 

present


cemented

 

appeared

 

mountain

 
occupy
 

conjectured

 
visited
 

Fezzaner

 

ancestors

 

Mourzouk

 
feelings