seed for curiosity, to deposit in our museum.

We finished breakfast, had the tents struck, and the mules laden, all
before the sky began to look red, announcing the coming sun.

The castle of 'Ajloon was a very conspicuous object on the mountainous
horizon of the east.

I then spent about three hours in exploring the Roman antiquities of the
place when it bore the name of Scythopolis. These are all contained
within or along a natural basin, of which I here give a rough map.

[Picture: Scythopolis]

The general form is that of an oval, the centre of which has four
pediments for the arch of a bridge, or a triumphal arch, over a rivulet
that traverses the whole obliquely. From this central square of four
pediments extends right and left one long colonnade, or dromos. Within
the basin, but on the south bank of the water, is the theatre; on the
north, and outside of the oval, is the lofty mound, surmounted by
fortified buildings, forming the acropolis, the _Hhus'n_, which is
visible for miles and miles over the country. In the S.E. corner is the
modern village--a very insignificant one, but with remains of a Christian
church, for I should suppose the Moslems never built so good a mosque at
Beisan. Of course the present inhabitants use it for their devotions.
The building is all angular, with a square tower at the south end. The
principal doorway--that at the north end--is perforated into a walled-up
large pointed arch.

The principal object of my curiosity was the theatre, which, like all
those of the Romans and Greeks, is a building of nearly a semicircle in
form, with the extremities connected by a chord or straight line; this
latter was the _proscenium_ or stage, and is near 200 feet in length.
Upon the ground-plan, at half distance from the centre to the outer
curve, the _vomitories_ or passages for entrance and exit begin, leaving
an open area; these are formed in concentric semicircles, divided across
by radii, all coming from the one centre.

Over these passages the seats for spectators are constructed, rising
higher as approaching to the outer curve--and the dens for the wild
beasts, when they were to be exhibited, were under the front seats. The
vomitories are of the most perfect design for utility, and still remain
in complete preservation, all vaulted over with admirable workmanship.

[Picture: Ground plan of the Theatre]

I looked about in vain for the