516 MERGE TO GYRENE.

tombs; but they are all so much decayed that it was not worth while making plans of them, and those farther from the city are in no better state ; some are filled with sand washed in by the sea, which has encroached considerably upon the land at Apollonia, and surrounds occasionally some very conspicuous tombs which form striking objects to the westward of the town.

On the two islands which are opposite the town there are some excavations and remains of building ; but as we had no boat with us, and none is to be found in the neighbourhood, Apollonia, not being used in modern times as a port, we were unable to ascertain their precise nature. The islands are very small, but the town receives great protection from them in northerly gales, although the shelter which they afford is not sufficient, we should imagine, for vessels, even if there should be water enough inside them.

By the 20th June we had completed our plan of Apollonia, which, from the incumbered state of the ruins, was no easy task to accomplish, and we think that little more could be satisfactorily made out without removing the heavy blocks of stone which are everywhere scattered over the town : but this labour would probably be greater than the object appears to demand, since the ground-plans which remain are not of any great antiquity, and, with the exception of the churches, and perhaps the other buildings which we have given, do not seem to call for much more attention than we were able to bestow upon them. We must confess we should have liked to remain there a little longer to have excavated about the largei theatre, where statues would probably be found ; we say the larger