Leaving Kâna at 5.20, and crossing the mouth of the valley from Jefât, we came to a fountain or cistern, at the foot of the hills, where the flocks and herds were gathering for water at evening. We now proceeded along the base of the northern hills on a course about west; having the glorious plain upon our left. On our right was the high ridge and point of Deidebeh. The whole eastern portion of the plain has no outlet, being shut in on the east by hills; so that in winter it becomes a lake, extending sometimes as far west as to the road between Kâna and Rummâneh. On the south of this part of the plain rises a steep and almost isolated ridge, dividing it from the plain of Tu'rân and Kefr Kenna beyond. This ridge ends on the west not far from Rummâneh; and the plain of Tu'rân is drained by a Wady passing down through uneven ground into the southwestern part of el-Buttauf. This latter again is drained off southwest to the great Wady Melik.

We reached Kefr Menda at 6 o'clock. Not finding our tent and luggage as we expected, we had nothing left, but to push on to Seffûrieh. After about a quarter of the way, we met the muleteers coming from that place. They had again taken the wrong road, and gone to Seffùrieh unwittingly. It was after 7 o'clock before the tent was pitched, near the large well of Kefr Menda. We had done a hard day's work.

Kefr Menda is a considerable village at the foot of the northern hills; the summit Deidebeh impending over it, a little towards the east. On the west the road to 'Akka crosses a low swell, and descends into Wady 'Abilîn as it passes down from Kaukab. Among the people of the village are some of the descendants of Dhâher el-'Omar. The great well of the village was said to be fourteen fathoms in depth, besides seven fathoms of water. Around it lay three ancient sarcophagi as drinking-troughs; one of them sculptured on the side with rather elegant festoons. Two lids of sarcophagi were also built into or upon the wall of the reservoir above; and near by was a small ancient basin of variegated limestone. These were all the traces of antiquity that we saw; but they sufficiently mark the place as ancient. Van Egmond and Heyman speak of it in their day as walled and defended by several small forts.1

From this village there is an extensive view over the whole great plain of el-Buttauf and its environs. At the west end of

Capernaum, there surely was, in the desire to be present at the wedding, a motive sufficient to induce him to make the circuit; which said circuit, moreover, does not amount to one half of the alleged thirty miles. M. de Saulcy expresses great regret and some complaint (pp. 420, 421), that I did not visit Kefr Kenna. Did he

VOL. III.-10

visit the more northern Kâna? And if not, do not his remarks fall back upon himself?

Van Egmond and Heyman, II. p. 15. Lond.-Kefr Menda is also mentioned in the Jewish Itineraries after the crusades ; Carmoly, pp. 255, 383, 455.

the plain and overlooking the whole, is a large Tell, called elBedawiyeh. Nearly south of us was Seffùrieh with its ancient tower; and beyond it, the Wely Neby Sa'id above Nazareth. In the southeastern part of the plain were the villages Ba'ineh el-'Ozeir, Rummâneh, and Khirbet Rûmeh. In Rummâneh we have, in all probability, the Rimmon of the tribe of Zebulun.1 Rûmeh is on a low Tell further west; and may well represent the Ruma of Josephus, mentioned in his narrative of the siege of Jotapata. Whether the Rumah once named in the Old Testament was the same, we have no means of determining.3

2

Tuesday, April 20th. We set off from Kefr Menda at 8.15, for Seffûrieh, without a guide, along the beautiful plain. The fields were every where covered with a low wild plant, with large serrated leaves; which the Arabs called 'Akûb. At 8.40, Tell Bedawiyeh was close on our right; having at its foot a ruined Khân of the same name, and a well. Here comes in the road from 'Akka to Seffûrieh by way of 'Abilîn; and the Khân was doubtless erected for the benefit of travellers and caravans passing from 'Akka to Tiberias or to the bridge of the Jordan below the lake. This Tell is mentioned by Pococke; who speaks of a village on the summit, which we did not notice. Just beyond the Khân we crossed the water-bed of the plain, with small pools of water. It is here called Wady Bedawîyeh, and passes down southwest as a not wide plain between low ranges of hills; those on the right of the Wady being covered with olive trees, and those on the left with oaks. Further down, it is called Wady Khulladîyeh from another Tell; and runs to Wady Melik. In the plain, above the Khân, it receives the Wady coming from Tur'ân, which passes down west of the intervening ridge, through the hills between Seffûrieh and Rummâneh. As the water-shed in el-Buttauf is nearly on a line between Kefr Menda and Rŭmmâneh, it follows, that the head of Wady Melik, by which all this district is drained, is strictly above Tur'ân, not far from Lubieh.

At 9.5 there was a fork of the roads; one leading direct to Seffûrieh, and the other lying more to the right along a valley towards Bethlehem. Here we waited five minutes for the mules to come up.

We now took leave of this noble and extensive plain; which of old belonged to the territory of the tribe of Zebulun. It may, without hesitation, be regarded as the "great plain" called

1 Josh. 19, 13. 1 Chr. 6, 77 [62] See Vol. II. p. 340. [iii. 195.]

2 Gr. Povuá, Jos. B. J. 3. 7. 21. Ritter Erdk. XVI. i. p. 760.-It is mentioned also in the Jewish Itineraries; Carmoly, pp. 186, 383, 454.

$ 2 K. 23, 36.

Pococke, II. i. p. 61. The well is also spoken of by Van Egmond and Heyman, II. p. 15. Lond.

5 Rummâneh, the Rimmon (or Remmon) of Zebulun, is in this plain. Josh. 19, 13.

Asochis, spoken of in this region by Josephus; so named from a city Asochis, where the Jewish leader for a time had his residence. But in respect to the city Asochis, the case is not so clear. The only data for judging as to its position are, first, the obvious presumption that it was in or near the plain which bore its name; and then the circumstance, that it was apparently on the direct road between Sepphoris and Gabara. Both these data point very decisively either to Tell el-Bedawîyeh or to Kefr Menda. Each of these places occupies a conspicuous position on the western border of the plain, and might well give name to it; and each lies directly on the way between Seffûrieh and Kubarah. But Tell el-Bedawiyeh has no appearance, so far as we saw, of being an ancient site; while Kefr Menda is doubtless ancient, and has been a strong place. Could we certainly assume, that the term Kefr does not imply an ancient name; or that the place might once have borne two names; the balance of probability, so far as the facts are yet known, would seem to preponderate in favour of the identity of Kefr Menda and the ancient 'Asochis."

We followed the Seffûrieh road; and, soon crossing a low ridge, descended into a valley coming down from the right. We were now at the foot of the hill on which Seffûrieh is situated. Here were fragments of columns and sculptured entablatures built into the walls of the fields along the road; and also a number of sarcophagi sunk in the rocks. At 9.30 we reached the village, a collection of mean and miserable houses, lying on the southwest declivity of the hill, not far below the ancient tower that crowns the summit. In the open place, as we rode up, lay a large double column; which probably once belonged to the early cathedral. Just east of it are the remains of the Gothic church, often mentioned by travellers as marking the house of Joachim and Anna, the reputed parents of the Virgin. The high arch of the middle aisle, and the lower ones of the side aisles, are still standing; but the eastern end appears to have

1 Jos. Vit. 41, péya medíov, év & diérpiβον· Ασωχίς ἐστιν ὄνομα τούτῳ. Comp. §§ 45, 68. B. J. 1. 4. 2. Ant. 13. 12. 4. -The phrase péya medíov in Josephus is usually applied to the great plain of Esdraelon; as Ant. 5. 1. 22. ib. 8. 2. 3. etc. But here the context definitely limits it to el-Buttauf; and Josephus himself likewise employs the same epithet (uéya Tedíov) in speaking of the plain of the Jordan around Jericho; B. J. 4. 8. 2. Zeitschr. d. morg. Gesell. III. p. 59.

The Jewish legates went from Sepphoris to Asochis, and thence to Gabara; Jos. Vit. § 45.

3 It will be worth the attention of future

travellers, to examine this Tell more particularly, in reference to this very ques tion.

4 Gr. Ασωχίς, Αζωχίς, Ασωχή, the latter in a few manuscripts; Reland Palæst. p. 605. Suidas has a form ̓́Ασωχιρ, which Reland regards as a mere error; p. 606. But E. G. Schultz adopts it, and compares with it the name el-'Ozeir; and thus assumes the identity of that village with Asochis. This is rightly rejected by Gross; and is but one of the many instances of haste and rashness exhibited by Schultz, in his comparison of names; Zeitschr. d. morg. Ges. III pp. 52, 62.

been wholly destroyed; and is now built up by a common modern wall, like those of the houses around.1

The tower or fortress on the summit of the hill is of ancient date. It is a square of about fifteen paces (say 50 feet) on each side. The lower courses of stones all around it are regularly bevelled; and most of them are dressed smooth. One stone on the east side is six feet long by three high; and there are others nearly as large upon the south side. Here, on the south side, the traces of antiquity are the most extensive; and yet the fragment of a column is built in crosswise in the upper part of the wall. On the south, too, is a later portal, with a Gothic arch. The corners of the tower, for several courses at the bottom, are square; but higher up are rounded off.

The historical notices of Seffùrieh, once the strongest place of all Galilee, have been given in a former volume; and I deem it unnecessary to add anything further here."

We could here look out over the plain of Tu'rân and Kefr Kenna; and could see the course of the Wady by which it is drained into el-Buttauf. The whole tract immediately around Seffûrieh appears to be drained off in the same direction.3

We did not visit the great fountain of Seffùrieh, about half an hour distant on the way to Nazareth, and celebrated in the history of the crusades. The people of the village get their supply of water from it; and it is copious enough to drive eight pairs of millstones within a short distance. I regret that we did not pass that way.

We left Seffùrieh at 9.55; taking with us a guide, who did not "saddle" his ass, but rode his beast without a saddle. We passed down the hill southwest; and then pursued a general course of S. 80° W. At 10.30 we crossed Wady Seffùrieh, coming from the great fountain on our left, and here forming a fine basin with a stream flowing through it. The valley sweeps round to the W. S. W. and we followed along its left side for fifteen minutes; when it turned W. N. W. the stream still flowing in it. We still kept along it among fine fields of grain till 11 o'clock; and then began to diverge from it, rising along the low rocky slope on our left. This was covered with shrubs of oak and many fine oak trees, with rich pasturage among them; and such was the character of other hills and the rolling region round about. At 11.15, being still near the brow of the

1 Maundrell, Apr. 20th. Pococke, II. i. p. 62. Hasselquist, Reise p. 177. Clarke's Travels in the Holy Land. 4to. p. 407 sq. To judge from his description, Dr Clarke must have looked at these ruins with saucer eyes. See also above, Vol. II. p. 346. [iii. 203.]

3

2 See Vol. II. p. 344 sq. [iii. 201 sq.] Bearings from Seffürieh: Kefr Menda 349°. Khirbet Rûmeh 23°. Rummâneh 42°. Kurûn Hattîn 78°. Tell el-Bedawîyeh 335°.

See Vol. II. p. 345. [iii. 202.]

valley below, we were opposite the valley or narrow plain coming from Tell el-Bedawîyeh. That Tell was in sight; as also Tell el-Khulladîyeh in the Wady, more than a mile distant from us. That valley is here called Wady Khulladîyeh. It unites with Wady Seffûrieh; and farther down the united valley takes the name of Wady Melik. The village of el-Musheirefeh, apparently surrounded by a wall, was not far distant on a hill south of the Wady.1

2

We now proceeded across the rolling tract, covered with oaks and fine pasturage; and came at 11.45 to Beit Lahm, the Bethlehem of Zebulun. It is a very miserable village; we saw none more so in all the country. We could find no trace of antiquity, except the name. This occurs but once in Scripture; is simply mentioned in the Onomasticon of Eusebius and Jerome; and has ever since been forgotten. The French in their survey in 1799 overlooked the place; and, although travellers have often passed near it, none has noticed it, except R. Joseph Schwarz in 1845.3

We here came in view of the two villages Semmûnieh and Jebâtha, which we had seen in our former journey; corresponding to the ancient Simonias and Gabatha.*

Leaving Bethlehem at 12 o'clock, we came at 12.40 to Jeida, also a miserable village, with no traces of antiquity. It lies upon a low swell running out into the great plain of Esdraelon, and sinking gradually to the level of the latter. It is on the route between Haifa and Nazareth; and has therefore sometimes been mentioned by travellers.5 We halted here for lunch; though we found no shade. Meantime a train of baggageanimals, with the baggage of a party of French travellers, coming from Haifa, passed up the valley on the northwest of the village.

We set off again at 1.35 for Tell Shemmâm in the great plain, lying nearly in a direct line towards Lejjún. As we advanced, we found the plain ploughed in some parts, with much fine pasturage; but the greater portion was lying waste. The soil here was a red sandy loam, like that of el-Buttauf. We came at

E. g. by Schubert III. p. 204.

Bearings at Jeida: Sheikh Bureik 270°. Tub'ûn 301°. Kuskus 317°. Um el-'Amad 9°. These four are on the hill or swell beyond the western valley.Zebdeh 89°. Semmûnieh 96°. Jebâtha

131°. Beit Lahm 30°. Khuneifis 135°. Mujeidil 117°. Tell esh-Shemmâm 203°. Tell el-Mutsellim 179°. Tell Kaimôn 237°. Tell el-Kúsis 254°. Tell eth-Thôreh 185°. These five Tells are in, or connected with the great plain.