ancient road to Petra, by the stations Ad Dianam, Praesidium, Hauara,' and Zadagatta, at ninety-nine Roman miles in all, equivalent to about seventy-eight and two thirds geographical miles.2 The actual direct distance between 'Akabah and Wady Mûsa, on a straight line, is about sixty-four geographical miles; and when we take into account the windings of the way and the steepness of the mountains, the comparison is here sufficiently exact. On this route too, the name and site of Zadagatta (Zodocatha) still exist at Usdakah, about six hours south of Wady Mûsa.1 Further, the same Tables, although somewhat confused on the North of Petra, yet give the distance between it and Rabbah as at least over seventy-two Roman miles; which corresponds well enough with Wady Mûsa, but is fatal to the idea of finding Petra in Kerak. Lastly, Josephus, and also Eusebius and Jerome, testify expressly, that Mount Hor, where Aaron died, was in the vicinity of Petra. 1) The Avaga of Ptolemy, and the Havana of the Notitia Dignitatum. Ptol. V. 17. Reland Pal. pp. 463, 230. 2) The following is the specification of the Tables: From Haila, XVI ad Dianam. XXI Praesidio. XXIIII Hauara. XX Zadagatta. XVIII Petris. Summa XCIX.The station 'ad Dianam' is common to both the routes from Ailah, to Jerusalem and to Petra. It must therefore have lain in the great valley; and the distance of 16 Roman miles from 'Akabah would bring it about opposite the Wady and fountain el-Hendis. It is marked as a small temple of Diana. This point must have been considerably north of the mouth of Wady el-Ithm. The Roman road to Petra appears therefore to have ascended the mountain north of that Wady; and the station Praesidium is probably to be sought in those mountains. It would consequently And to this day the seem, that el-Humeiyimeh did not lie upon the great Roman road; of which Laborde found traces further north upon the mountain. 3) The geographical position of Petra is fixed on the accompanying map at 30° 25' N. Lat. and 35° 38' 9" E. Long. from Greenwich. This Latitude is the mean between that resulting from our routes and Laborde's. Moore and Beke give it at 30° 19′, which appears to be even less correct than their observations at Jerusalem and Hebron; see above p. 432, Note 2. Vol. I. p. 381, Note 2. The Longitude is that found by a comparison of our routes with those of Laborde. See at the end of Vol. III, First Appendix, B. p. 37. 4) See above, p. 572. 5) Josephus Ant. IV. 4. 7. Euseb. et Hieron. Onomasticon: " Or, mons in quo mortuus est Aaron juxta civitatem Petram." mountain which both tradition and the circumstances of the case mark as the same, still rears its lonely head above the vale of Wady Mûsa. In all the district of Kerak, there is no single mountain which could in itself be regarded as Mount Hor; and even if there were, its position in that region would be wholly incompatible with the recorded journeyings of the Israelites. These considerations appear to me to demonstrate the identity of Petra with Wady Mûsa; and also to show as conclusively, that it could not have been situated at Kerak.1 But how or when the name of Petra was dropped, or in what age that of Wady Mûsa was adopted, we have no means of ascertaining. The crusaders found the latter in current use, and speak here only of the "Vallis Moysi." They also speak of a building on the neighbouring mountain, consecrated to Aaron; but they appear to have discovered nowhere any trace of a Christian population.3 Then came other centuries of oblivion; and the name of Wady Mûsa was not again heard of, until the reports of Seetzen in A. D. 1807. During his excursion from Hebron to the hill Madŭrah, his Arab guide of the Haweitât described the place, exclaiming: "Ah, how I weep, when I behold the ruins of Wady Mûsa!”4 The subsequent visits of Burckhardt, Irby and Mangles, Laborde, and others, have put the world in possession of most of the details; yet I apprehend that the historical and antiquarian interest of the place is by no 1) For the question whether there was probably more than one Petra, see in Note XXXVI, at the end of the Volume. 2) See above pp. 565, 567. 3) Guibert speaks of this building as a church; VII. 36. p. 555. Another writer calls it an "Oratorium;" Gesta Dei p. 581. Fulcher incorrectly makes it a monas tery dedicated to St. Aaron; c. 23, p. 405. Not improbably there may have been here originally a Christian chapel, as on Jebel Musa and Mount St. Catharine; but there is no historical trace of any monastery on the mountain. See Note XXXV. 4) Zach's Monatl. Corr. XVII. p. 136. See above p. 568. means exhausted. The scholar who should go thither learned in the lore of Grecian and Egyptian arts and architecture, would be able, I doubt not, still to reap a rich harvest of new facts, illustrative of the taste, the antiquities, and the general history of this remarkable people. Saturday, June 2d. As morning dawned, we rose from our couch of sand in the middle of the 'Arabah; and at 4 o'clock were again upon our way towards the fountain el-Weibeh. Looking back, we could see the Wady through which we had descended from the pass of Nemela, bearing S. 55° E. and marking the course we had travelled during the darkness. We were now more than half-way across the 'Arabah; and continued to travel on nearly W. N. W. through a rolling gravelly desert, with rounded naked hills of considerable elevation. Our guides had usually in the 'Arabah kept one man ahead as a scout; and now, as we approached el-Weibeh, they took double precautions against any enemy; since this and other fountains in the valley, are the usual rendezvous of wandering parties. We came out, at half past 6 o'clock, upon the high but not steep bank of Wady el-Jeib; which here sweeps round quite to the foot of the ascent on the west side of el-'Arabah. We descended into it from the gravelly hills, one hundred feet or more. It is here three quarters of an hour in breadth, and everywhere sprinkled with herbs and shrubs. Just on its western side, where the land slopes up very gradually into a tract of low limestone hills, lies 'Ain el-Weibeh, one of the most important watering-places in all the great valley. There are here indeed three fountains, issuing from the chalky rock of which the slope is composed. Below them, on the border of the Jeib, is a jungle of coarse grass and canes, with a few palm-trees, presenting at a distance the appearance of fine verdure, but proving near at hand to be marshy and full of bogs. This slope continues towards the South, where it becomes wider, and is also sprinkled with herbs; being watered in winter by a Wady called el-Ghamr, with a small spring of bad water, an hour and a half or two hours south of el-Weibeh. As we approached this latter fountain, we could see the verdure around 'Ain el-Ghamr.1 As our scouts had reported that there were no visitors at el-Weibeh, we proceeded directly thither; and reaching it at 7 20', halted more than two hours for breakfast and rest. The three fountains are some rods apart, running out in small streams from the foot of a low rise of ground, at the edge of the hills. The water is not abundant; and in the two northernmost sources, has a sickly hue, like most desert fountains, with a taste of sulphuretted hydrogen. The temperature of the water was 75° F. that of the air being about the same. But the southernmost source consists of three small rills of limpid and good water, flowing out at the bottom of a small excavation in the rock. The soft chalky stone has crumbled away, forming a semicircular ledge about six feet high around the spring, and now a few feet distant from it. The intermediate space is at present occupied by earth; but the rock apparently once extended out, so that the water actually issued from its base.-We could find here no trace of the remains of former dwellings. 'Ain el-Weibeh is situated just on the exterior of a 1) See Burckhardt p. 446. great bend of Wady el-Jeib, which here comes down from the S. by W. and sweeps round almost towards the E. N. E. In it, at some distance below el-Weibeh, we could see the verdure around another place of water, called el-Hufeiry; the water is found by digging holes in the ground, is scanty, and fails in summer. From this point, (at el-Weibeh,) Mount Hor is seen to fine advantage, towering in lone majesty, and prominent above all the peaks which immediately skirt the 'Arabah; but itself lower than the high ridges further east. Indeed, as here seen, this peak, and the rocky groups around Wady Mûsa and next the 'Arabah, appear to belong to a chain further west and lower than the high main chain of esh-Sherah. The latter, beginning from Wady el-Ghuweir, and consisting of round summits and ridges without precipices, runs on continuously as far south as the eye can reach. The lower masses of porphyry, are all along marked by a dark and almost black appearance.1 We were much struck while at el-Weibeh, with the entire adaptedness of its position to the scriptural account of the proceedings of the Israelites, on their second arrival at Kadesh. There was at Kadesh a fountain, called also En-Mishpat;3 this was then either partially dried up, or exhausted by the multitude; so that "there was no water for the congregation." By a miracle, water was brought forth abundantly out of the rock. Moses now sent messengers to the king of Edom, informing him that they were "in Kadesh, a city in the uttermost of his border;" and asking leave to pass through his country, so as to continue their course around Moab and approach Palestine from the 1) The several points seen from the fountain el-Weibeh, bore as follows: Mount Hor S. 25° E. Wady from Pass of Nemela S. 60° E. Wady el-Ghuweir S. 80° E. el- |