New-York daily tribune., 1859-02-09

than came 10 Il, and formed good harb,r for theit
Roeys. At preseBt The sea does not come up to wtlii
cevt mes 2f i, owing 10 the gradual deposits from
the ne shboripg bs. Utica stood macy siegss with.
ont being destroyed, ard amorg others by Se.pio 10
20i B. G., Hho attacked it by ami lend ~itnoa:
being able to cvepoTer it. After the fall Of Carthage
IN l16 b. C., this town made the capital Of the
Roman possessions in Africa, and after the former
the largest CITY in this part Of the world The town
is bster kB0.n account Of the great Republican
Cato wto in 20 b. c. sfter having been defeated and
unable TO escape from C&sar put an end to his days
within its WALL.
The Tuins row occupy long strip Of land sur-
rounded by maIsby ground the land Oh the west rising
to econfiderabe elevation and sinking gradually down
until i ninges sith tls plain Here must formerly
have formed an island as it falls down TO the same
level inside Of il, end is Gov marshy ground AT tais
pOirt there is hot mineral spring. vii ch bubbles up
urder the shade Of date tree. The tortoisss, "bch
abound here, are 20 tame thst as soon as any one
mhkes his appearance they come ttotDg up over the
stones from tie reeds and lift their heads up as in tho
act Of begging and will take any biscuit OF other food
out Of ones hand and will not leave again until they
find cut that there is nothing ~ be got; IL al
ciher places where the water is cold and s.agu int
these animals imme dately they anybody pop their
heads under the woter and disappear.
"ALout baf mile from this The north side there
il smother piece Of land which by It's present appear,
ance was most probably surrounded by water, aud by
the large blocks Of masonry st Standing which may
be mary miles off, was. 10 all likelihood, tic ar
senal, and would have been well situate for the
CohOp as on tfe inside there would have been good
shelter fer their meD-of.war. We observed Oh the
surrounding ground, overlooking this, large semi
circular buildng which from its form was first taken
for heater but by its position was probably used
for public seats as from this place the inhabitants
would have commanded good view, and 10 the fore
ground have their vessels and arsenal On the slope
of the h all sides, there are remains Of buildings,
ard by the appearance Of them must formerly nave
been tbicBy populated town, ana ny the quahtiAes
vaId
hsse contained buildings Of great vIlue The pnnci-
pal ones still TO be above the ground are tie am
pbitheater cisterns equeduct, tbeater, an1 arches
which were once triumpha or forped the gates Of the
tosn.
"Tle aqueduot ran in the direction Of the western
nights, bu. lost sight Of it about half mile from the
csttrns, where the land rises to higher inc cinaon
probably it was continued upderg ground. This must
have bsen solid structure, and the cement, or the n
sde which formed the watercourse, Is still ie good
pressrvaiioD.
I" The ampbitheater is not built above the surlace,
but .xcavated in the SOIL It's length on the summit
measures go feet, and might have been filled with
water from the aqueduc. or the cist.rn, and there
seems to have been subterra5ean drain led from
here down TO the low ground by the arsenal, which
might have been used rs q common sewer, as well as
for empyDg the anphitheeter, for which latter use it
would have been very beneficial in keeping u clean
ard in good order. On asking tue Arabs if they had
ever been up it, they said no, as there was door
with swords spre ad IN all drec,ioLs to prevert any
ogress. The ciserns are six in number only 81 feet
from the tmphtheater: They are each l3j feet long,
by l9 feet inches in breadth and IL feet in hi1ht,
ard probably mere as the ground is being continually
filed up they all communicate with each other by
little arches placed about bait their length; they are
well built with orched roofs and some Of them ara
stl very perfect. The only TOW made Of them u
for shelter for cattle and horses out OF the sun OF IL
bad weather.
On one side of these cs'erus IS the present village
Of Boo-shser consisting Of few mi.ersbe mud hus,
r.-lF = 1l-IN H.
culivating few patches of land with corn aud tend
sc some focls Of cattle and sheepa strong contrast
with the magnificent buildings and riches th's place
once contained, which for length Of time have fallen
into u mass Of runs and their owners long snce gone
TO their homes.
"Between the amphitheatre and the marabets is
hollow way. Round these tOmbs OF their saints there
is modern Mabommedau buri ground, spread over
the slope Of the hill, which would have prevented us
excayating much in this direction. little distance
bcyo.d this stood the citadel, defended by ditch to
the west and rendered strong on the other sldes by
their great steepness. From TINS spot there was
very extensive view the land Immediately aroond
being plain formed by the alluvial deposit from io
neighboIDg hills, and in tue distance, a. the ioot o,
billy range, Porto Fsrna, and t9rtner east saru tie
Jaard Of XambT8. as well as the shores on eacl
side Of tie Gulf Of Tuns The buildings on the site OF
Cs,,h,ee are also visible from here, and beyond
ths high land of Zowana and Jebel Recess During the
Sun the black tents OF the Bedouns are seen DOT
ted about in all directions.
"Below the citsdel toward the northeast, must
have been the principal part of the town, particularly
or the island by the numerous remains OF edhces ana
brob en- columns Of marble and granite lying on the
surface On the lower ground are the ruins OF thes
ter and short distance from il trlumphal arch, as
it appears and further TO the southeast ruins OF some
considerable buildings.
The arch seems 70 have been built in the came way
as the arches of Titus aud Nespasisn at Rome with
lar 20 central arch aui smaller az each s1e mis-
was buried within two feet of the keystone, and on
level with the plain, and therefore thought that 10y
digging down TO tho foundation II would at once snow
tho difference az the level the town once had, and
the hight now above the sea. This was accordingly
tried; but we came upon water within three feet OF
the surface and AS il Continued ooZing IN az we de-
scended and not having any pumps 10 get nd OF II, We
were obliged to abandon il. -
"Tbe Necropol,s was on tie high ground about 300
yards 10 the westward Of the ciseIns and we hnd not
time 10 eScavste about II; but We ssceftalned IRON
the Moors that jars and bones were found IN large
Qnaptities short distance IN the ground. 10 the
westward Of this again, was large hollow, which
might have formerly been used for races, &c We
were ployed in excavatng on these ruins only three
weeks and therefore had not sufficient time ior max
inc many important discoveries but We were proOa-
bv the rs party on this spot for the purpose If an.
ti6uarian research, although trenches had been
opened in places for procuring stones and marble
for building.
"On the islard We first commenced upon where
broken columns lie scattered about in all directions,
which appeared 10 have been formerly highly polished
We soon came upon marble heads, some IN good
preservation, richly ornamened cnnices ataTs, in-
scTiptiops, coins, rings, sc.
"'On the slope OF hill below the citadel we came
upon the floor OF a house that contained several mag
nifoent mosaic psvomepts one large room, measuring
q feet by "a with very chsste design OF different
colOred marbles, and by continuing along we came
upon an slcove covered with ii wild animals sur
rourded by net, each end being hauled in by two
men in cuiiously shaped boats. This one was taken
M entire and sert home with several Others to the
British Museum in her Msiestys ship Supply.
"Tbis ancient site is far removed from any town,
the nearest being Farms, and few people ever visit
this spo., except it may occasionally be wanierlns
4 .l..nn IL n