The signs here referred to were guessed by Buckingham (about 1816) to be possibly some distinctive tokens of Arab tribes; but he seemed rather inclined to connect them with marks that are found in Indian caverns, or those on the rocks about Mount Sinai.

He was thus nearer to the truth than the latest of travellers, De Saulcy, who, with all his knowledge of Semitic alphabets, says of some of these graffiti, or scratchings, at ’AmmÂn, which he copied: “Tout cela, je regrette fort, est lettre close pour moi. Quelle est cette Écriture? Je l’ignore.” (Voyage en Terre Sainte. Tom. i. p.256. Paris, 1865.)

They are characters adopted by Arabs to distinguish one tribe from another, and commonly used for branding the camels on the shoulders and haunches, by which means the animals may be recovered, if straying and found by Arabs not hostile to the owners.

I have, however, seen them scratched upon walls in many places frequented by Bedaween, as, for instance, in the ruined convents, churches, etc., on the plain of the Jordan, and occasionally, as at ’AmmÂn, several such cyphers are united into one complex character.

Appendix A characters

* * * * *

B.—Page 367.

Considerable discrepancy may be found among the transcripts furnished by travellers in their published works, of the Greek votive inscriptions about the entrance of the cavern of Pan at Banias.

I give the following as the result of careful study of them in 1849, and again, after the lapse of six years, in 1855, each time examining the writing, under varieties of light and shade, at different hours of the day.

There are some other inscriptions, which are entirely blackened with smoke, in the niches, made perhaps by ancient burning of lamps or of incense there. This is particularly the case in one large hollow made in the rock, which has almost its whole surface covered with Greek writing. Within this hollow a niche is cut out, now empty.

Sculptured niche

One small niche has its inscription so much defaced by violence that only the letters ??? are connectedly legible.

This sculptured niche has no inscription, but only the pedestal on which the statue was placed.

Ornamental niche

This ornamental niche has beneath it, on a tablet, the words as at present legible.

The inscription in the highest situation is as follows:—

Inscription in the highest situation

Beneath this is the following:—

Inscription beneath

Above the smoked recess, but below an upper niche, we find—

Inscription below upper niche

In this inscription “the emperors” can mean no others than Vespasian and Titus, who had had one and the same Triumph in Rome on account of the conquest of Judea; and this very title is used in Josephus, (“Wars,” vii. xi. 4,)

Greek title

It is peculiarly suitable to that place, inasmuch as Titus, previous to leaving the country, had celebrated there the birthday of his brother Domitian, with magnificent public spectacles—amid which, however, more than 2500 Jews were destroyed for popular amusement, by burning, fighting, and in combats with wild beasts.

Although these are copied with much painstaking, there may be errors unperceived in some of the letters; but at least one of the words is misspelt by the provincial artist, namely, ????O.