Note 125 — BOOK VI.

Carthage. Shaw, p. 81, etc., of his ‘Travels in Barbary,’ describes the remains of Carthage existing in his time (circa 1750), in particular the great cistern (of which he gives a plan at p. 75), ‘which had very little suffered,’ and ‘the famous aqueduct, a great part whereof is still standing:’—‘We see—a long range of its arches, all of them intact, 70 feet high, supported by columns 16 feet square ... the channel being high and broad enough for an ordinary person to walk in.’

Bruce says, ‘We passed ancient Carthage, of which little remains but the cisterns, the aqueduct, and a magnificent flight of steps leading up to the Temple of Esculapius.’ He gives (p. 130) a drawing of the aqueduct, which Col. Playfair describes ‘as one of the greatest works the Romans ever executed in North Africa.’ ‘It was destroyed by the Vandals, restored by Belisarius, the general of Justinian. On the expulsion of the Byzantines it was once more cut off, restored by the Arabs, again destroyed by the Spaniards, and finally restored by the present Bey, Sidi Saduk, at a cost of 13,000,000 francs.’—Lieut.-Col. Playfair in ‘Footsteps of Bruce,’ p. 128.