'Transactions of the Bombay Geographical Society, from September 1850 to June 1852. Edited by the Secretary. Volume X.' [‎80] (213/458)

80
COMMANDER F. JONES.
though traversed with minor branches of the Dijeil, which, not many
years previously, had been open, but were now closed. In an hour
and ten minutes we came to the deserted villages, called W&zun and
Safiyeh, from agricultural families of these tribes formerly inhabiting
them. These stand upon the site of an ancient town * which encom
passed a quadrangular fortress, of great apparent antiquity, whose re
mains, worn down to a high tumulus, similar to the strongholds seen
in the plains of Shahri-zur,f are quite distinct, having a deep hollow in
the centre that evidently marks the side of the well from whence its
garrison derived the supply of water in times of strife and confusion.
It is now called Al-Hyr, J and nothing is known of its history at pre
sent either directly or by tradition. NNW. of this position, a mile
and a half distant, we came upon the well-known line of an ancient
canal, of considerable size, stretching from the NE. It can be traced,
in a direction of 240°, to the old bed of the Tigris. It was recognized
instantly as a branch originally emanating from the Katul-al-Kosrawi,
the large conduit now on the other side of the great river. The
Tigris indeed, by its irruption to the East, separated this and many
other similar branches from the trunk-stream, causing universal de
struction at the period. The guide erroneously styles it the Nahrwan,
though the name is conclusive of its origin. Its singular position,
lopped off it is from the great artery, and standing immediately
to the West of the small dry bed, called Shatayt, shows that the
latter water-course is of comparatively recent date : we can see its wind
ings about a mile North of our present position, and about the same
distance to the East, where it severs the canal. Proceeding onwards
in a line of North, as near as possible, in ten minutes we crossed the dry
bed of the Shatayt, and in an hour and five minutes beyond, the broad
stream of the Tigris was gained, immediately to the West of the
opening, or depression rather, § from whence the Shatayt bed—on the * * * §
* See Appendix N.
•j* I have described some of these, at length, in a narrative of a journey through parts of
Persia and Kurdistan. See Trans. Boml. Geo. Soc. for 1848.
$ Th s name, I believe, is sometimes applied to the old Persian fire-temples. There may
have been one on this site in the Sassanian period. See also Appendix N.
§ This opening of the Shatayt will be found noticed by me on a steam tour on the Upp® 1 *
Tigris; Beng. Asiat. Jb'wni.dJ, April 1847 2?. 305. The stream at times carries away wlioe
fields of cultivation, and joins itself with the waters in the Tarmiyeh Lake. I should Pave
mentioned, when speaking of Akbara, that the Shatayt had been spanned by a bridge, for tne
remains of a solid structure are just discernible in its bed that formerly comiected tne
towns on either bank,