THE ANTIQUITIES OF ARLES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2209, 2 July 1896, Page 50

THE ANTIQUITIES OF ARLES.

Under a hot and scorching sun there lies a region but slightly raised above the level of the sea. - It is a vast extent of arid sand, mud banks, and gravel beds, with marshes and lagoons of brackish water, sometimes coated with a thick crust of salt, and often changed in appearance by the treacherous mirage to a beautiful and wide-spreading lake. This desolate spot is the haunt of the ibis tbe pelican.andtheilimingo. Splitary, motionless on one leg, these weird tenants wait upon old Time or, with hoarse cry, flap heavily throngh tbe brooding atmosphere. Unattractive as is this lonely waste, it forms the site of one or two farms, for the hand of man has surrounded it with dykes to prevent the ingress of tbe sea, and has converted a large part of it, by an extensive system of irrigation, into rich grazing-gronnd where sheep, cattle, and ponies are pastured, and ploughed land producing com, madder, rice, and other crops. The corn is threshed after the Eastern method: the sheaves lie in heaps upon ,the threshing floor, and over them a number of horses are driven by a man with a long rein who stands in the middle— whilst the winnowing is performed by throwing the corn into tbe air and letting tbe wind separate it from the chaff. Altogether so un-Euro-pean is the scene- that the beholder might well imagine himself in Africa— certainly not „ih France ; and yet" of Franca this strange country forms a part. It figures on the chart; as Oarma'rgue— an island that has been gradually formed by a oontiuuous accumulation of sand and debris brought down in enormcu« qunatiMas by the swift Rhoneaad its numerous tributaries ' >

•At the apex of the delta, and upon the left, bank of the river, stands the ancient city of Arlea— in fhe time oi Cpnstantine, the largest and most important town in France, and after the fall of the Roman Empire the capital of Burgundy. South-east of Ales—a nd

I reaching almost as far as Marseilles— h a singular stony, plaii "of some 30,000' acres, called the Crau. Like the island of Carmargue, it is probably formed oE the debris deposited by tho Rhone; bur, unlike the delta, it consists entirely of stones— round boulders of all siz?s. What, to outward appearance, could be more hopelessly barren and unproductive? Yer, underneath, grows short sweet grass, that tho sheep feeding there during the winter months are aceus- | toraed to find by turning over the stones. Like Carmargue, the plain of the Crau has been rendered in parts extremely fertile by carefuh irrigation, and where this occurs the vine, olive, almond, and mulberry are produced in abundance, and the very desert rejoices and blossoms as the rose. North of Aries fbws.the broad Rhone, and east of the town stretches a vast cemetery, so venerated in ancient times that the dead were brought from places as far distant as Lyons to be interred in its sacred soil. Despoiled and ruined, it rapidly fellinto decay : its gravestonespagan and Christian— were desecrated, and the most remark iblenpw adorn the museums of Aries and other neighbouring towns. Aries is one o£ those curious old towns that was evidently planned with an eye to' siege. Crossing tbe moat, one passes through an embattled gateway with quaint armorial carvings sadly mutilated by time. The cobblestone streets are very narrow, and, in their labyrinthine windings, remind one of the Kyles of Bu^e ! ' Having saEcly threaded them, the cent re of tho town 13 reached— the Place Royale . Here, hard by the Hotel de Ville, is tho Cathedral of St. Trophimus. Not far distant from the cathedral -afre the remains of the Roman theatre. The two Corinthian columns still standing remind one of the Forum at Rome. Tae.grouud is strewn with the fragments of pillars extending in a line fora considerable distance ; and, beyond the rise— tier above tier in the form of a semicircle— the seats for the spectator*. Near to the theatre is the most celebrated of

the Aries antiquities, tbe great amphitheatre. It measures 459 ft by 3-11 ft, and there still remain" two storeys of GO arches, formed of such enqrmoua blocks of stone as call to mind the giant circle at Stonehenge. Within the walls are vaulted chambers opening on tbe arena, which are supposed to have been the dens of wild beasts. Above them there are five corridors, and 43 rows of seatr, which were capable of accommodating upwards of 20,000 people. The building is believed to be of the time of Titus, and, though cot comparable in interes.t to the Oolosseum at Rome, is in a much better state of preservation. The amphitheatre was in the eighth century converted into a fortress either by the Saracens or by Obailes Martel, who erected four defensive towers, three of which remain.— Qaiter.