Page 233 - Records of Bahrain (2)(ii)_Neat

Topography and archaeology, 1878-1879 559

courso nil round nnd over, and under these there aro smaller masses buried in
mortar fliuto and earth.
137. Tl ougli I searched most carefully, I found no marks oi' writing
anywhere, not even a mason’s mark on any of tho stones.
138. I take it that tho roof of tho tomb, which from tho breadth of the
central passage could not ho made of siuglo trausverso blocks, was unequal to
supporting tho weight of earth piled upon it, and had gradually slipped in.
I say gradually, as at ono place, where thcro was a large mass of stone resting
against the sharp corner of tho wall, tho mortar was still uninjured.
139. The peculiar sinking in or squareness of top of all these mounds
is thus accounted for, and tho hollow channel more or less discernible in all
towards tho top of the mounds will probably indicate where the passage lies.
140. Out of all the number of large tombs, thcro is still one, though not of
the very biggest, whose top is
vet fairly tali and rounded, and
this one will, to a certainty,
repay the labor of openiug it,
if any can do so, as it is of a
size to warrant tho assumption
that the mortuary chambers
have been carefully mortared
and tho air thus excluded.
Original tomb. Present state exaggerated. 14*1- After my disappoint­
ment with the large ono I
should much liko to have tried this, but I had no longer tho time to spare.
142. Tho whole subject may or may not be worth investigation,* but if it
bo, I shall bo happy to give any further help in my
• It is astonishing that no ecicnti*
He societies sbniiltl Imvc sent out to pOWCl'.
cxnuiiiio llicso coasts, wlicro tho climate - . n r\ i i . amai i • . n
it so perfectly adapted to preserve 143. IfOm October lO April tllC Climate 01
everything not attacked by mau. Bahrain is delightful, during the other months of
tho year it would bo impossible to carry on work.
(Sd.) E. L. Duiianu.

J?.S.—Since shutting up my report I have had a visit from Abdullah bin
Itijab, who brought with him two Arabs from tho mainland. They could not
understand the map, but from their verbal explanations it would seem that from
about where in tho map a dotted lino at the bottom of the Bay of Sclwch
marks our ignorance, tho Bay at first narrows considerably, and for some
distanco it then again spreads into a large inland sea, reaching almost to Odaid,
whilst on tho north-west an arm goes upwards towards Zukuuuwych.
This report has been sinco confirmed by the pilot of tho Her Majesty s
S. Vulture.
They say that thcro aro many ruined places inland, but mostly covered up
and hidden by tho sand.
A romarkablo feature on the chart near Odaid is inserted in the rough
copy I have givenf of it, which mentions also
t Appciulcd.
somo of the places near tho coast which arc known
to contain ruins.

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