'Solomon's cisterns, which are situated about three miles from Tyre to
the south east, are of an octagonal form built of gravel and cement that
form a solid stone. The elevation of the largest above the level is
twenty-seven feet on the south side, and eighteen on the north; a walk
round on the top eight feet wide, a step below twenty-one feet broad, a
stream leaves it turning four mills. There are two smaller ones turning
two mills at a small distance to the northward of the large one. Their
original shape appears to have been square, but now much disfigured. The
large one is thirty-three yards deep, the people believe it has no
bottom and that the water is brought there by genii. Where it comes from
no one knows, but it is always full. I think these cisterns originally
supplied Tyre with water; I traced the remains of an aqueduct from them
nearly to the walls but better than half way across the isthmus, so that
I think they are of a later date than the time of Solomon because the
aqueduct could not be built over the isthmus before the isthmus was
made. They are on the whole the most curious relics of antiquity I have
seen, they must at least be 2300 years old and they are in no way
injured, but the supply of water is constant even in the wannest
weather. The country for seven miles round is a perfect level: I think
the water must be brought by some underground drain from the mountains
in the distance to the eastward. The story is that Solomon among the
presents made to King Hiram for his assistance in building the Temple
built for him these cisterns, but they are not mentioned in the Bible,
and I think the story improbable for reasons before mentioned, and that
Solomon certainly had not such good artificers as King Hiram himself.

'By the bye there are considerable remains of the old port, a mote, by
the ruins of which you can easily trace its extent.

'Haipha and St. Jean d'Acre, Mt. Carmel and the river Kishon "that