'Transactions of the Bombay Geographical Society, from January 1847 to May 1849. Edited by the Secretary. Volume VIII.' [‎291] (400/496)

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Though the tomi of Kirmanshah possesses in itself scarcely a single
feature of interest, the neighbourhood must be viewed as a locality
abounding in antiquarian riches. The extensive plain on which it is
situated, joining that of Mahidasht to the west, extends also some dis
tance to the east beyond the storied rock of Behistan. To the north,
the bold and serrated crags of a spur from the great Shahu range, sur
mounted by the Peak of Parrow, confine its breadth to a distance of
about six miles, while its length may be reckoned as exceeding thirty.
The waters of the Kara-su, flowing from the N. W., are met by those of
the Gfamasab, derived from a IST. Ely. source, a few miles S. E. of the
town. These form the main source of the Kerkha (Choaspes). Over
this vast plain is scattered the remnants of antique edifices, whose very
names are lost in obscurity. Headless columns and baseless capitals, of
an unknown and unique order, border the main road, which passes
through the plain. These serve to attract and excite the attention of
the traveller, who is soon rewarded for his past toils by the sight of
monuments of a more absorbing interest. I allude to the Taki-Bostan
sculptures, and the engraved tablets of Darius at Behistan. The latter, the
most elaborate and extensive in Persia, in connection with the cuneiform
binding them carefully to a stick that she had brought for the purpose, she forced
it with her timy hands as far as her strength would permit, into the earth, at the
head of the grave. Silently, and with measured steps, she then took the road for the
tents of her tribe, which must have been ^it a considerable distance, for I watched
her form upon the desert with my glass as long as she remained in view. It was
a sight I shall scarcely forget—a lone girl in sad converse with the “ sweet dead,” on
the trackless desert, canopied by the clear blue sky, occasioned reflections prejudi
cial to the pomps and unseemly ceremories attending the obsequies of the dead in
our civilized Europe.
In Leviticus, Chap. XIX., verse 27 , <( the corners of the head” is thought by some
to refer to this practice of cutting off the hair : the above rendering, as given in the
English Bible, signifies in Hebrew “ cutting off of the extremities of the hair.” It
was in practice among the Gentiles when mourning for the dead, and is condemned
as an abomination. See remarks on Leviticus appended to the Analytical Bible. The
representation of a horse’s head, occasionally met with on the grave-stones in this
part of Persia, would refer us for its origin to a very early period. The ancient
Gieeks used it as a funeral emblem, and signified il death is but a journey.” See
Greek and Roman antiquities, under the head “ Funus.”
dhe funeral processions in Turkey and Persia are still attended by hired mour
ners. . This is probably a vestige also of ancient Greek usages. These EpijyooboL
of antiquity excel the really bereaved relations and friends of the deceased in their
wailing and lamentations.
VHiiie on the subject of funereal observances, I may as well state that when
employed on the Upper Euphrates, the sacrilegious hands of my companions ex-
umed, from a very ancient sepulchre, contiguous to the old fortress of Halebi, the
mummied remains of its long-buried occupant: one hand and a foot, with the leg-
one, were entire, and I think, from their diminutiveness, must have been those of