Chapter I: Preface

THE Cyrenaica, although bordering on the shores of the Mediterranean, and very little removed from the most civilized nations in Europe, has been rarely visited by travellers, either for pleasure or antiquarian research, owing perhaps to the supposed difficulty presented by the country itself, and by the character of the people inhabiting it.

The former, however, is not only beautiful, but fruitful. The number of olive-trees, now entirely neglected, to be seen everywhere, shows that at one time the inhabitants cultivated this plant to a considerable extent, and enjoyed the advantages of superior husbandry; but this is no longer the case, and the ground now only yields scanty crops of wheat and barley, and indifferent pasture for the rearing of cattle, sheep, and goats. Were the character of the people different and any authority acknowledged amongst them, the present desolation would give place to a different state of things; but this change can hardly at present be expected; and so long as the sentence, passed ages ago, “his hand shall be against every man, and every man’s hand against him,” remains unrevoked, the same restlessness under control and indifference to all social comfort, which now exist, will still characterize the inhabitants. The natural beauty of the country, however, is still unaltered, and plains and hills, well wooded in many parts, meet the eye in every direction, and render it one of the finest provinces in Northern Africa.

Another reason perhaps why Cyrene has not been explored so much as other localities, is that there are few remains of its former grandeur visible above the ground. Were the vast piles of magnificent architecture now gathered in confused heaps on the sand-banks at Thebes and Luxor to be seen at Cyrene, travellers, no doubt, would have made it a greater object of attention than they have done. But all the splendour of the ancient Cyrenaica, with few exceptions, lies buried below the surface of the earth; and here, over the palaces of kings and the remains of former magnificence, the Arabs pitch their tents and the camels browse.

Before commencing the narrative recorded in the following pages, it will be interesting to mention the principal travellers who have visited the country for scientific purposes during the last two centuries.

The first we hear of was Lemaire, who, during the time he was the French Consul at Tripoli, explored the country in 1706, by direction of Louis XIV. He was followed by Paul Lucas, who visited it twice, in 1710 and 1723. After him Doctor Thomas Shaw travelled, in 1738, over those parts, as well as a considerable portion of North Africa, and left an interesting account of his discoveries, and of the manners and customs of the inhabitants.

A French gentleman, Monsieur Granger, a physician by profession, accomplished the overland journey from Egypt to Cyrene in 1760, in company with a robber chief, to whom he promised a high reward on his return. Under this dangerous protection he copied several of the inscriptions that were found there; but these, with his journal, were unfortunately lost before his return to Europe. Our celebrated Abyssinian traveller James Bruce also visited parts of the country 1768-72.

In the present century the first person who visited Cyrene was an Italian, Doctor Cervelli. In 1812, the Pacha of Tripoli, wishing to punish the revolt of his son, the Governor of Derna, sent an armed force into the province, and Doctor Cervelli accompanied the expedition, and collected during his journey some interesting information, which was published by the French Geographical Society. A few years after, in 1817, the same Pacha despatched a second expedition against some turbulent Arabs at Merdj (Barca), and this party was accompanied by another Italian, Della Cella, who travelled as Physician attendant on the Bey, and published an account of his travels, which was translated into English in 1822; but his hurried visit did not allow him sufficient time to collect much valuable information. Cyrene was also visited by P. Pacifique, a missionary from Tripoli, who added some fresh information to that given by Della Cella.

In 1820, a Prussian, General Minutoli, formed a project of making a complete tour of the Cyrenaica, and was accompanied by savants and artists to make his journey of greater importance. As soon as he had arrived at the foot of Mount Catabathmus, which is situated above half- way from Egypt, he lost three of his Europeans, and this misfortune and the obstacles the Arabs opposed to his party so disheartened him that he returned to Alexandria without accomplishing his object.

The ill-success of the Prussian general left the country still insufficiently explored for scientific purposes, and this induced two travellers, Captain Beechey and M. Pacho, to undertake the task.

Captain Beechey and his brother started from Tripoli by land, making the circuit of the Syrtis Major, and explored the whole of the country in 1821-2, drew very correct plans, and fixed the astronomical positions of all the principal towns, and wrote a detailed account of their travels. A surveying vessel at the same time examined and laid down the coast- line.

This party had hardly returned when Pacho, a French artist, visited the country, in 1824-6, and his travels were published in Paris by M. Didot in 1827, in a quarto volume of text, and another containing 100 well- executed plates in folio. He was not aware, when he started, what discoveries Captain Beechey and his brother had made, as their work was not published for some years afterwards; and therefore it was a matter of great regret to him to find on his return that many of his own researches, which had cost him so much labour and trouble, had been anticipated by his predecessors.

Since these two principal works of Captain Beechey and M. Pacho were published, M. Delaporte, the French Consul at Tangier, has contributed to the Geographical Society of Paris the result of his exploration, and M. Vattier de Bourville, during the time he was French Consular Agent at Benghazi, in 1848-9, collected a large number of vases and terra-cotta ornaments from the tombs at that place, which are now deposited in the Louvre, and also made a short visit to Cyrene.

The intrepid traveller Dr. Barth passed over this country before he commenced his more hazardous expedition to Timbuctoo and the central regions of Africa; and lastly Mr. James Hamilton, in 1855-6, who afterwards proceeded inland from Benghazi, across part of the Sahara, to the oases of Augila and Siwah, on his way to Egypt.

Few of the travellers just mentioned remained any time in the country, and it was quite evident that no attempt at excavation to any extent had ever been made before our arrival, as sculpture in excellent preservation was found a few feet under the surface, on the most promising sites, where people would naturally be led to commence their researches.

The valuable works of Beechey and Pacho before mentioned have left but little for future visitors to record, and as all the principal monuments left standing have been accurately drawn and described, it would be superfluous for us to go over the same ground again. The following pages will therefore be principally devoted to an account of the excavations that were carried on by my companion and myself and will also contain a description of the site of Cyrene, its Necropolis, and the surrounding country, together with a brief notice of the sculptures discovered.

The ten plates of unedited Greek inscriptions have been lithographed in fac-simile from impressions of the originals reduced by photography, and a selection from the sculpture has been photographed by Mr. Francis Bedford.

In the absence of Captain Smith, who is at present professionally employed in Persia, I take this opportunity of thanking the Government authorities and the Trustees of the British Museum for their assistance from the commencement of the undertaking until its close, and also to the officers and crews of the _Assurance_ and _Melpomene_, who cheerfully and efficiently carried out the orders of the Admiralty in the removal of the sculpture from Cyrene to the place of embarkation.

Also to Mr. C. T. Newton for his useful advice during the time we were in the country, and for his valuable assistance whilst these pages were going through the press; and to Mr. W. S. W. Vaux, of the British Museum.

E. A. PORCHER.

CONTENTS.

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