Rhotean Promontory upon our left, and beheld, upon the sloping side of it, the Tumulus, considered, and with reason, as will presently appear, the Tomb of Ajax. Coming opposite a sandy bay, which Pliny, speaking of that tomb, precisely alludes to as the naval station of the Greeks', we beheld, at a distance upon the Sigean Promontory, those other Tumuli, which have been called the Tombs of Achilles and Patroclus. Upon a sand bank, advanced into the Hellespont, and formed by the deposit of the principal river here disembogued, which I shall for the present designate by its modern appellation of Mender, appeared the town of Koum-kalé.

CHAP. III.

caused by the Waters of the Mender.

A very singular appearance takes place at the mouth Appearance of this river: as if it refused to mix with the broad and rapid current of the Hellespont, it exhibits an extensive circular line, bounding its pale and yellow water: this line is so strongly traced, and the contrast of colour between the salt and the fresh water so striking, that at first I believed the difference to originate in the shallowness of the current, at the river's mouth, imperfectly concealing its sandy bottom; but, upon sounding, this was not the case. An appearance só remarkable, characterizing these waters, would not escape, an allusion at least, in the writings of a Poet who was lavish in the epithets he bestowed upon the Scamander

66

(1) How exactly does this position of the Portus Achæorum coincide with the remark made by Pliny in the following passage: Ajace ibi sepulto xxx stad. intervallo à Sigeo, et ipso in statione classis suce." Plin, Hist. Nat. lib. v. p. 278. L. Bat. 1635.

CHAP. III.

Udjek Tape.

Scamander and the Hellespont. It has been reserved for the learning and ingenuity of Mr. Walpole, to shew that the whole controversy, as far as it has been effected by the expression ΠΛΑΤΥΣ ΕΛΛΗΣΠΟΝΤΟΣ, is founded in misconstruction; and that instead of 'broad Hellespont,' the true reading is salt Hellespont.'1

Coming opposite to the bay, which has been considered as the naval station used by the Greeks during the war of Troy, and which is situated on the eastern side of the embouchure of the Mender, the eye of the spectator is attracted by an object predominating over every other, from the singularity of its form, as well as the peculiarity of its situation, so admirably contrived to overlook that station, and all the low coast near the mouth of the river. It is a conical mound, rising upon a line of elevated territory, which appears behind the bay and the mouth of the river. It has therefore been pointed out as the tomb of Æsyetes, and is now called Udjek Tape2. If I had never

heard

(1)It has been objected, that Homer would not have applied the epithet Tλarus to the Hellespont. Commentators have anticipated the objection, and urged, that although the Hellespont, near Sestus and Abydus, is not λatùs, but only a mile in breadth, yet that in its opening towards the Egean, at the embouchure of the Scamander, it is broad. Περὶ τὰς ἐκροὰς τοῦ Σκαμάνδρου, are the words of the Venetian Scholiast. See also the Lexicon of Apollonius; and Eustathius, p. 432. But the objection, if it be one, should have been answered at once, by saying, that wλarùs 'EXATOVTOS is the Salt Hellespont.' IIλaròs, in this sense, is used three times by Aristotle, in Meteor. lib. ii.; and Hesychius gives the same meaning. It may be observed, that Damm and Stephanus have not mentioned it in their Dictionaries." Walpole's MS. Journal.

(2) See the Vignette to this Chapter.

heard or read a single syllable concerning the war of Troy, or the works of Homer, it would have been impossible not to notice the remarkable appearance presented by this Tumulus; so peculiarly placed as a post of observation, commanding all approach to the harbour and the river 3. I afterwards observed that it afforded a survey of all the Trojan Plain; and that, from whatsoever spot it was regarded, this cone, as a beacon, was the most conspicuous object in the view.

After

CHAP. III.

(3)

"The difficulty of disposing exactly the Grecian camp is very great. This is owing to the changes on the coast, and the accretion of soil mentioned by Strabo, which, however, the stream of the Hellespont will prevent being augmented. If, as Herodotus asserts, the country about Troy was once a bay of the sea, (lib. ii. c. 10.) the difficulties of determining the precise extent and form of coast are considerable. In examining the country at the embouchure of the Meander, where the soil has increased to the distance of six miles since the days of Strabo, I was struck with the difficulty of determining the direction of the coast, as it was to be seen in the days of Darius, and Alexander; in the time of Strabo, and Pliny; and the Emperor Manuel, who encamped there in 866. Yet this difficulty does not lead me to doubt the events that took place there and at Miletus, any more than I should doubt the encampment of the Greeks at Troy, because I could not arrange it in agreement with the present face of the coast.

"The situation of the Grecian camp by a marsh, has been objected to. But what is the fact? Homer says, the illness and disease, which destroyed the Greeks, .were inflicted by Apollo (the Sun). They were, without doubt, the same with the putrid exhalations which now arise from marshes on each side of the river; and which bring with them fevers to the present inhabitants of the coast, when the N.N.E. wind blows in summer, and the South in the beginning of autumn.

"It is to be regretted, that the Empress Eudocia is so concise in what she says about Troy, and the plain which she visited in the eleventh century. She says, "the foundation stones of the city are not left;" but, as she adds in an expression from the Gospels, ἡ ἑωρακυῖα μεμαρτύρηκεν, she was able probably to give some particulars which would have been now interesting. See Villoison Anec. Græc. tom. i." Walpole's MS. Journal.

72

CHAP. III.

Koum-kalé.

FROM CONSTANTINOPLE TO THE PLAIN OF TROY.

After these few observations, concluding this short chapter, the Reader is perhaps better prepared for the inquiry which may now be introduced. Notwithstanding the numerous remarks which have appeared upon the subject, it is my wish to assure him, that our local knowledge of the country is still very imperfect; that the survey carried on by travellers has always, unfortunately, been confined to the western side of the river; that my researches will add but little to his stock of information ; but that, while much remains to be done, it is something for him to be informed, there still exists sufficient evidence of Homer's frequent allusion to this particular territory, to remove, from the mind of any admirer of truth, all doubt upon the subject.

We landed at Koum-kalé, literally signifying Sand-castle, and hired horses for our expedition. The neck of land on which this place has been built is usually considered of recent formation, and it is true that no soil has been yet accumulated. The castle stands, as its name implies, upon a foundation of sand; but it may be noticed, that the rapidity with which the waters of the Hellespont pass these straits, must prevent any considerable deposit from the river near its mouth.

General Observations on the Topography of Grecian Cities-Evidence of the Trojan War independent of Homer-Identity of the PlainImportance of the Text of Strabo-Plan of the Author's Expedition- River MENDER - Tomb of Ajax-Cement used in the AÏANTEUM-Plants-Halil Elly-Inscription — Thymbreck Tchiblack-Remarkable Ruins-Probable Site of PAGUS ILIENSIUM-and of CALLICOLONE-Route from the BEYAN MEZALEYAntient Sepulchre and Natural Mound Opinion concerning Simoïs-Prevalent Errors with regard to Scamander-Ruins by the CALLIFAT OSMACK-Inscriptions-Village of CallifatMedals-Remains of New Ilium.

A PEC

PECULIAR circumstance characterized the topography of the cities of Antient Greece; and this perhaps has not been considered

VOL. II.

L

CHAP. IV.