To visit the Tombs of the Kings[828], called by the Arabs _Kubur el-Maluk_, we descend a slope, from west to east, which originally was a staircase with wide steps hewn in the rock; but its form has been completely hidden by the quantity of soil mixed with fragments of stone, which have been accumulated by the rain, the wind, and the hand of man. However, I ascertained that it once existed by an excavation at the top of the slope on the west, where I discovered three steps. At the lower end is an aperture of irregular shape, formed in the rock, through which I entered into a cave, after much trouble in clearing away the rubbish that blocked it up, and was able to determine, notwithstanding the accumulation of earth within, that it had never contained sepulchral chambers, but had been a cistern, large though not deep. Towards the eastern end of the wall, on the left hand as we descend, is a round-headed doorway hewn out of the rock, and ornamented with a small incised fillet. It is buried up to the spring of the arch, so that it is necessary to stoop in order to enter it. I began to make an excavation to examine its full height, but the large stones which I found below the surface would have rendered the completion of the undertaking so expensive that I abandoned it. However, I uncovered the door to a height of 8-1/2 feet including the arch. It leads into a rectangular court, open to the air, and surrounded by vertical walls hewn in the rock, as is the floor, which is buried under rubbish formed of the earth brought down by the rains from the fields above, and broken stones thrown in by the Arabs; who, barbarians as they are, exhibit the most provoking indifference to the preservation of ancient monuments, and view with a jealous eye everything that interests visitors, often mutilating what they cannot entirely destroy.