TRIPOLY TO BENGAZI.

83 to other markets for sale. There are two springs of very good water near ZelTten, which supply a small pond ; and in this place the ladies of the place are accustomed to wash and cleanse their wool, their clothes, and, occasionally, themselves, before they fill their jars for home consumption.

The port called Mersa Zelften is an insignificant cove, that would scarcely afford shelter to a boat. It is formed by a few rocks above water ; may be about one hundred yards across, and appears to have no more than five or six feet water in it. Here also are two springs of good water, which would afford a constant supply, if the Arabs would take the trouble of excavating a cistern, and of protecting it from the surf. To the N.E. of the Mersa, at the distance of from half a mile to three-quarters of a mile off shore, the sea broke over sunken rocks : the cliffs are of sand-stone, and about thirty feet in height.

The many ruins which exist in the vicinity of ZelTten, and the frequent appearance of building-stones, and shafts of marble columns, protruding through the mud walls of the village, contribute decidedly to point it out as an ancient site, and it was probably the Cisternae or Cinsternas Oppidum of Ptolemy ; which is the first town mentioned by this geographer after the Tr/iuv — the Cephalas Promontorium of Strabo — in the tract of country between that point and the Cinyphus.

Among the sand hills which almost surround the village, we found several imperfect ground plans ; and near the beach is the tomb of a Marabut, supported by marble columns, which however are of very M 2