Sunday March 7. [7 March 1909] Up at 5.30. Walked round the town
after breakfast. The big tiled foundations are possibly remains of
Diocletian's fortification. In one place the peasants had dug down at
least 20 ft to the floor of a chamber. The small tile work probably
Arab. The stone work too. The so called church is certainly Arab and
not earlier than the 9th or 10th c, probably the latter on account of the
pendentives which are of brick. The whole construction is made out
of tile and stone gathered up among the ruins. Very little tile is used,
but the dome b.... is entirely of tiles, small. Also there is a round stone
and brick tower at each corner of the enclosure. It was probably the
Kal'ah. There are two modern kubbehs in the cemetary [sic], one
dated 1217 AH. At the SE angle of the town is a small tower, round
and domed, built entirely of small tiles. We took an hour to get across
the Khabur, the animals cd not cross loaded. Consequently it was
8.10 when we all rode off. The whole flat ground near the Khabur was
covered with Arab potsherds, plain, green and blue. At 9.10 we
passed again over ground covered with the same sherds - we were
riding about a mile from the river. At 9.15 we saw vestiges of kanats,
probably from the Nahr Dawwarin. At 10 we saw to the left a quarter of
a mile away the Mazar of Muhammad al Inam opposite Mayadin [Al
Mayadin]. The big castle of Rahaba was a landmark all the time. At
10.35 we saw vestiges of the smaller set of tiles scraped out of the
ground by the Arabs. They had been laid in mortar. At 10.50-11.5 a
big Tell called El Krah - the sherds continuous on the ground from the
place of tiles to here. On the top of the mound many small tiles dug
out by the Arabs. This must have been a big place, much green and
blue pottery. Arab graves. The reading was 254 to Rahaba and
2061/2 to Imam Ali which stood up in the Shamiyyeh [Shamiyah]. All
this country must have been well watered from the canal. At 12 we
passed opposite the village of Tiyana and cultivation along the river.
At 12.10 we got to a big mound called Busayih and lunched till 12.40.
There were no tiles here but the mound formed a 4 square enclosure,
the side to the river open. It looked like a fort. Then we rode inland
and at 1.20 reached the mounds of Jemmah 1/2 a mile from the river.
A very large tract surrounded by a deep moat and wall. I think it
possible that the inland moat was a part of the Duwwarin canal. The
reading from the SW end was 290 to Rahaba and 261 to Imam 'Ali.
Here the Arabs had scraped and revealed a little below the surface a
bit of solid asphalt pavement. No Arab pottery and very little of any
kind. I think this must be the site of Zeitha. At the SE end is an Arab
cemetary with a few of the smaller tiles in fragments. We got down to
our camping ground at 2.30 and found the animals just in. They
therefore took a little over 6 hours. We are just below the village of
Dernich where Sheikh Hassan el Nejris lives and had a garden. His
father was killed last year in the Shamiyyeh by the 'Anazeh. The
village lies about half a mile below 'Ishara which stands up on a high
mound but is hidden from my camp by a wooded island. This country
belongs to the 'Agedat. We saw no tents today. A good deal of
cultivation here. Fattuh and Selim had to cross to Mayadin to buy
corn. There was none at El Buseira [Busayrah]. They got in at 3.50.
Hot day, temp. 70? when we camped; cold later. [Written at top of
page:] An eagle the size of a Turkey. Kat'a [Qat'ah]