Six miles beyond Birsis (in a north-easterly direction) are remains of a much more imposing nature than any which we had hitherto beheld. They are those of an ancient city, completely inclosed within walls of uncommon strength and thickness, which are connected at intervals by quadrangular towers, and entered by two strongly-built gateways, placed opposite to each other on the east and west sides of the city. The town of Teuchira (for it is that to which we allude) is situated close to the sea, which, in this part of the plain, is distant about four miles from the foot of the mountains. A part of the town, as well as of the walls, is built upon a rising ground, and the rest is on a level with the plain; one portion of it (to the westward) has been built round a quarry, and what appears to have been the citadel is also constructed on the edge of another quarry to the eastward, which considerably strengthens its position. Without the walls on both sides of the town (we mean on the east and west sides) are also very extensive quarries, in which the tombs of the early inhabitants of the place have at various periods been constructed[11]. In these, as well as on the inner part of the city walls, are a great many Greek inscriptions; such of which as our time allowed us to copy, will be found at the end of the chapter, with further details of the buildings; and in the mean time we refer our readers to the plan of the city annexed. Teuchira, or Tauchira, was a town of Barca, of considerable antiquity: its name was changed under the Ptolemies to Arsinoe, and subsequently (by Mark Antony) to Cleopatris; but its original appellation has survived the others, and it is to this day distinguished by the name of Tauchira, or Tocra, under which it is known to the Arabs. The walls of Teuchira (we are informed by Procopius[12]) were repaired under the emperor Justinian, and they still remain in a state of perfection which sufficiently proves the solidity of the work. They are built of very massy blocks of stone, conformably with the statement of the historian, many of which have formed parts of much earlier buildings, as the inscriptions found upon them demonstrate. Very little of the history of Teuchira has come down to us; and we scarcely know more of it, than that it formed one of the cities of the Pentapolis. Although it is situated close to the sea, which washes the northern face of it, Teuchira could never have been a port; as it affords no protection whatever for vessels derived from its natural position, and there are not the slightest traces now visible of anything like a cothon having been constructed there; which, indeed, it would have been folly to have attempted in the exposed situation of the place[13].