The ruins cover a sandy plain stretching along the bases of a range of mountains called Jebel Belaes, running nearly north and south, dividing the great desert from the desert plains extending westwards towards Damascus and the north of Syria. The lower eminences of these mountains, bordering the ruins, are covered with numerous solitary square towers, the tombs of the ancient l'almyrenes, in which are found memorials similar to those of Egypt. They are seen to a great dis tance, and have a striking effect in this desert soli tude. Beyond the valley which leads through these hills, the ruined city first opens upon the view. The thousands of Corinthian columns of white mar ble, erect and fallen, and covering an extent of about a mile aad a half, present an appearance which travellers compare to that of a forest. The site on which the city stands is slightly elevated above the level of the surrounding desert for a cir cumference of about ten miles ; which the Arabs believe to coincide with the extent of the ancient city, as they find ancient remains whenever they dig within this space. There are indeed traces of an old wall, not more than three miles in circum ference ; but this was probably built by Justinian, at a time when Palmyra had lost its ancient im portance and become a desolate place ; and when it was consequently desimble to contract its bounds, so as to include only the more valuable portion. Volney well describes the general aspect which these ruins present In the space covered by these ruins we sometimes find a palace, of which nothing remains but the court and walls ; some times a temple whose peristyle is half thrown down ; and now a portico, a gallery, or triumphal arch. Here stand groups of columns. whose sym metry is destroyed by the fall of many of them ; there, we see them ranged in rows of such length that, similar to rows of trees, they deceive the sight and assume the appearance of continued walls. If from this striking scene we cast our eyes upon the ground, another, almost as varied, presents itself : on all sides we behold nothing but subverted shafts, some whole, others shattered to pieces, or dislocat ed in theirjoints ; and on which side soever we looked, the earth is strewed with vast stones, half buried ; with broken entablatures, mutilated friezes, disfigured reliefs, effaced sculptures, violated tombs, and altars defiled by dust.' It may be right to add, that the account which has been more recently given of these ruins by Captains Irby and Mangles, is a much less glow ing one than those of other travellers, English and French. They speak indeed with admiration of
the general view, which exceeded anything they had ever seen. But they add: Great, however, was our disappointment when, on a minute exami nation, we found that there was not a single column, pediment, architrave, portal, frieze, or any architectural remnant worthy of admiration.' They inform us that none of the pillars exceed four feet in diameter, or forty feet in height ; that the stone scarcely deserves the name of marble, though striking from its snowy whiteness ; that no part of the ruins taken separately excite any interest, and are altogether much. inferior to those of Baalbec ; and that the plates in the magnificent work of Messrs. Wood and Dawkins do far more than justice to Palmyra. Perhaps this difference of esti mate may arise from the fact that earlier travellers found more wonderful and finished works at Palmyra than their infonnation had prepared them to expect ; whereas, in the latter instance, the finishcd representations in the plates of Wood's great work raised the expectations so hig,hly, that their disappointment inclined the mind to rather a detractive estimate of the claims of this ruined city —Tadmor in the wilderness. The present Tadmor consists of numbers of peasants' mud huts, clustered together around the great temple of the sun. This temple is the most remarkable and magnificent ruin of Palmyra. The court by which it was en closed was 179 feet square, within which a. double row of columns was continued all round. They were 390 in number, of which about sixty still re main standing. In the middle of the court stood the temple, an oblong quadrangular building, sur rounded with columns, of which about twenty still exist, though without capitals, of which they have been plundered, probably because they were com posed of metal. In the interior, at the south end, is now the humble mosque of the village.
The remains of Palmyra, not being of any direct Scriptural interest, cannot here be more particu larly described. Very good accounts of them may be seen in Wood and Dawkins, Ruins of Palmyra, °the, wise Taa'mor in the Desert ; Irby and Mangles, Travels ; Richter, Wallfahrten ; Addison, Da mascus and Palmyra. The last work contains a good history of the place ; for which see also Rosenmfiller's Bib. Geog. translated by the Rev. N. Morren ; and in particular Cellarius, Dissert. de Imp. Palmyreno, 1693. Besides Wood's great work, excellent views of the place have been pub lished by Cassas in his Voyage Pittoresque de la Syne ; and more recently by Laborde in his Voy age en Orient.