Which the water issued into a
carefully constructed stone aqueduct, which led directly to the first
mill of the Kythrea series, about a hundred and twenty yards distant.
The temperature was considerably warmer than the air, but I had no
thermometer to mark the difference.
The aqueduct would have carried at least one-third more than the present
volume, which was about twenty-six inches deep, and three feet in width.
The water was beautifully clear and the current rapid, but I had no
means of measuring the velocity.
The stone-work of the aqueduct, always moist from the percolation, must
form a charming exhibition of maidenhair ferns during summer-time, as
the crevices were all occupied by plants, whose leaves, even at this
season (February), were several inches in length.
We strolled up the dry ravine above the spring, and ascended the hill to
an extensive plateau, upon which grew two or three caroub-trees; here
was a sudden change; the soil was red, and we entered the compact grey
limestone (jurassic) which forms the Carpas range. 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.
