On the extreme verge
of the plateau of red soil we had an admirable example of the formation
of the conical mounds of earth, two or three of which already existed,
while others were in process of development from the melting-away of the
soil during heavy rains. As the surface dissolved under the action of
rainfall, it flouted down the steep inclinations, until a base was
formed, at the expense of the upper area; by degrees gullies were
created in the rear, and these would rapidly become deeper under the
action of running water, until they reached the lower level of the base.
A circle thus formed, an apex would be the natural result of the
denudation and decay of the upper surface which would produce a cone. A
sudden shower compelled us to take refuge beneath a caroub-tree whose
dense foliage saved us from a thorough soaking. The ground having become
slippery, we returned upon our narrow and soapy route with some caution,
but the careful animals who were well accustomed to these dangerous
paths carried us safely to our camp.
It is extraordinary that the water-power of Cyprus has of late years
been so neglected by the authorities, as the island must from ancient
times have mainly depended upon its springs in the absence of dependable
seasons. Kythrea is an example of the importance that was attached to a
stream of running water, as the town was established by the Athenians,
and in former ages an aqueduct of masonry extended for twenty-five miles
to Salamis; in the neighbourhood of which ruins of the old work are
still existing.
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