arch. It is a two-storeyed structure, the upper one of which opens to the east, and is ornamented by four graceful Corinthian columns. Beneath these there was a long inscription, but it is so defaced that I could only decipher a few letters.*

The object which now attracts our attention is the triumphal arch,—a very imposing and elegant piece of architecture of the Corinthian order, but unfortunately partly encased in masonry. It appears to have been enclosed in a large square building erected at a later period (probably the Vandal), when it must have been used as a place of defence. These walls, are, however, now gradually crumbling away, and the arch is beginning to stand forth in all its grace and beauty. It is adorned by four Corinthian columns, and as many pilasters. Its extreme breadth is forty-eight feet, and the span of the arch is nineteen feet, while in thickness it measures twelve feet. The height, owing to the accumulation of stones by which the arch is encumbered, cannot be ascertained. The columns are two feet four inches in diameter, and the length of the capital two feet seven inches. This monument bears a very legible inscription (No. 26) on its architrave; and on the outer wall to the left of this inscription, is the fragment given in the Appendix under No. 27.

At the northern angle of the same wall we have on one stone these letters-BICIID; and on a reversed stone near it, the word-SEVERI.

Leaving this arch of Severus, and proceeding in a northwesterly direction, we find, among a number of other ruins, that of a small Christian church. It is only twenty-seven feet by eleven, and is built of much older materials. Towards the S.W. it has two entrances to which access is given by semicircular steps. Inside it had two rows of fluted columns, which evidently once decorated a different building. Some of these are still standing. At the doors are two much.

* See Appendix I. inscription 25.

thicker than the rest, measuring five feet two inches in circumference, whilst the base of their capitals are no more than three feet nine inches. At the N.E. end are the remains of a thin wall which separates a space of seven feet from the nave. This answers to the rood-screen or roodlofts of both the ancient Eastern and Western churches, introduced in imitation of the Adytum (Advrov) of Pagan temples, or of the "Holy of Holies" of the sacred edifice of the Hebrews in their Theocratic capital. In the walls I observed several Pagan grave-stones, some reversed; and in a pit close to the separated portion, evidently

dug by Arabs who were in search of treasure, I

found this monogram-" Christ, the beginning

and the end," which in itself stamps the cha- AW racter of the building.

Not far from this church, but after passing a kind of hollow way, and nearly facing the citadel, we have the remains of a very extensive edifice, whose magnitude, however, surpassed its solidity. Judging from its remains, this seems to have been a magnificent structure, but what purpose it served it is difficult even to conjecture. It is one hundred and seventy-eight feet six inches in length by one hundred and seventy-four feet three inches in width. Its portico, facing the river, was forty feet in width, and it was ornamented by a number of beautiful Corinthian columns, whose fractured fluted shafts and graceful capitals are now intermingled with the other fallen ruins. A gallery, eighteen feet wide, surrounded this building. The foundations of one hall, measuring seventy-four feet by fifty-nine, are distinctly traced, and in these I noticed a peculiarity which I have not noticed elsewhere. A groove cut with great precision, and about two inches in width by three in depth, runs round the whole foundation, which seems to show that its superstructure was of wood. This may likewise have served the purpose of enlarging the hall, by taking in, at option, the

outer gallery which would give to it a length of upwards of one hundred feet, and a proportionate breadth.

Near this building our attention is attracted to two lofty columns, which apparently belonged to the portico of a temple, of which, however, only shapeless masses of ruins, and some foundations, are the principal remains. Contiguous to these we have the remains of a palace, built of the same materials as the temple-soft, but very white and compact limestone. These two structures have the appearance of greater antiquity than any of the other extant remains of Hydra. Beside subterranean vaults and chambers there are still portions of very massive walls of the palace standing, and one of these walls contains five large windows.

West of these edifices we come upon another Christian church, whose dimensions and form it is more difficult to trace, though from its vast pile of remains it is easy to see that it was of considerable size. This church is built according to the cardinal points of the compass, and principally from the remains of more ancient structures. A vast number of Pagan sepulchral stones likewise formed component parts of its walls, and those are now mingled with the other materials of this once sacred edifice. From one of those monuments I copied the inscription No. 28.

The citadel itself is in the form of an oblong square, measuring seven hundred and twenty-six feet in length, by three hundred and sixty-seven in width, and stands on the left bank of the river, as, indeed, the greater portion of the city *does. It had three gates, one to the east, another to the west, and the third to the south. Near the last gate there are the remains of a bridge, that spanned the river which flows in an easterly direction. The walls are very massive, and the greatest portion of them are still in excellent preservation. Within the citadel are the ruins of several other buildings, one of which has the appearance of a small temple, and it stands nearly in the centre. Attached to the western wall stood