John Denison Champlin Jr.

“ When Balbus decorated his theatre, in the time of Augustus, with four small columns of this stone, it was noted as an unprecedented occurrence; but, in the reign of Claudius, Callistus, a freedman of that emperor, adorned his banquet hall with thirty large columns of alabastrites. The ancient quarries were reopened by Mehemet Ali, Viceroy of Egypt, to obtain material to build his mausoleum at Cairo. The four magnificent pillars of this marble that support the baldacchino over the altar in the church of San Paolo fuori le Mura, in Rome, were presented by him. Each is a monolith forty feet long. ”

“ The celebrated Carystian marble, the cipolino verde of the Italians, derived its name from Carystus, a town at the foot of Mount Oche, in the island of Eubœa, where it was quarried. The temple of Apollo Marmarinus of Carystus was named from this quarry. It is a true steatitic limestone or cipolin, and is of a beautiful grayish green, with white zones and spots, and sometimes sprinkled with different colors. It was easily obtained in very large blocks, suitable for columns, and was largely used in the temples and other public buildings in Athens and Rome. ”

“ Even if her history were lost to us, these varied bits of stone would tell in language stronger than words the story of her universal dominion, when her ships sought every clime, and every land paid tribute to her luxury. This piece reflects the glowing suns of Numidia, that the green of Tempe's Vale; this was quarried on Pentelicus, this in storied Chios, and these tell of Gallic and of Hispanic conquest. Many have a double history, having served to decorate some forum or temple of the East before its spoliation by a Mummius or a Sulla. ”

“ The depression of the shotts lies at the foot of the Aures Mountains, spurs of the main chain of the Atlas, partly in the province of Constantine in Algeria, and partly in Tunis. Its western extremity is in latitude 34° 30' N, longitude 5° 65' E., and it extends thence eastward two hundred and thirty-five miles to within about thirteen miles of the foot of the Gulf of Cabes, or Gabes, in the Mediterranean, anciently the Lesser Syrtis, from which it is now separated by an isthmus of sand. The breadth of the depression is about thirty-seven miles. ”

“ A green marble called Memphites was quarried near Memphis in Egypt.
There were many other varieties of green marble known to the ancients, such as the red-spotted green antique, having a dark-green ground marked with small red and black spots and white fragments of entrochi; the marmo verde paglioco, yellowish green; and leek marble, of the color of a leek; but they exist only in small fragments, and their quarries are unknown. Another variety of green marble was found in the island of Tenos. ”

“ It is more intensely black than any marble now quarried, the black marbles of France appearing almost gray beside it. It occurs only in sculptured pieces, and its origin is unknown; but Faujas discovered a quarry which had been worked by the ancients, about two leagues from Spa, not far from Aix-la-Chapelle, the marble of which closely resembles the ancient specimens. The largest masses known of nero antico are two columns in the church of Regina Cœli at Rome, but there are also some fine specimens in the Museum of the Capitol and in other collections. ”

“ Some is as bright as gold (giallo dorato) , some of an orange-shade (giallo capo) , and some, extremely rare, of a canary-color (giallo paglia) . The ancient writers compared it to saffron, to sunlight, and to ivory grown yellow with age. Some of it is variegated with black or dark yellow rings. The grain is exceedingly fine. Its colors are derived entirely from carbonaceous matter. Among the finest existing specimens of this marble are the large columns in the Pantheon at Rome, and a single pair in the Arch of Constantine. ”

“ On the south side are sand hills and moving sands.
All the shotts are alike in general features. All have flat bottoms with an inclination too slight to be perceptible to the eye, and all form basins which receive water-courses. The soil of all contains a great quantity of salt, which whitens their bed in dry places. ”

“ Through the foresight of the subtle Libyans, who hid the tripod, the prophesy was unfulfilled, but many noble cities were afterward built north and east of Tritonis, and along the coast of Syrtis Minor. Indeed, so numerous were they, and so flourishing as trade-centres, that the country was named Emporia. All the ancient writers agree in praising it for its wonderful riches and fertility. Says Scylax: "This region, which is occupied by Libyans, is most magnificent and fertile; it abounds in fine cattle, and its inhabitants are most beautiful and wealthy." ”

“ There are three quarries on the mountain, and the largest has several lateral cuttings. The marks of the ancient wedges are everywhere visible, and it is evident from the manner in which the blocks were taken out that the utmost care was exercised to avoid waste. In consequence of the numerous fissures through the beds, comparatively small blocks could be obtained, generally not more than five feet in length.
Parian marble is of a yellowish white, very near the tint of white wax. Theocritus compares it to the color of teeth. ”

“ He argues that the northwest winds, which prevail in summer, would be less violent than now, and the southwest winds, which blow during the remainder of the season, would be charged with vapor and cause a greater fall of rain in Algeria, Sicily, and South Italy, without materially modifying the climate. ”

“ The expedition entered the depression on the northwest side of Shott Melrir. The soil there is sand and marl, charged with salt. The many streams which traverse the country have, with a few exceptions, no running water, excepting in winter and spring, the season of rains and of the melting of snow in the mountains. ”

“ At a later date Tritonis appears as three connected lakes, called, respectively, Libyca, Pallas, and Tritonis, which some recognize in the Shotts Melrir, El-Rharsa, and El-Jerid, It is probable that the mouth became gradually blocked up with sand, and the lake, no longer receiving sufficient water from the Mediterranean to supply the waste from evaporation, separated into several smaller seas, which, by continued desiccation, became transformed at last into their present condition. ”