at the hands of Crœsus. These ruins thus claim our first consideration. Fortunately for the preservation of these remains the village of Boghaz-Keui lies just below the boundaries of the ancient site, and is also a day’s journey from the nearest modern towns of any importance, namely, Yuzghat and Sungurlu. In ancient times, however, the place seems to have been connected by a system of engineered roads with other portions of the country. The royal road which traversed Phrygia,[473] linking, it is supposed, by the Hermus valley with Sardis and the west, held on towards the Halys[474] without other apparent objective than to approach this city. To the south also a similar royal road has been traced for miles,[475] scouring the surface rocks northwards from Injesu (near Cæsarea), leading towards a ford of the Halys near to Bogche. The Persian posts from east to west are credited with having followed this northern route, although the direct road from Carchemish to Ephesus or Smyrna, whether by way of the Cilician Gates or by one of the passes leading down on Cæsarea, did not need to approach, much less to cross, the Halys river at all. It is indeed possible that the earliest continuation of the route passed eastward by the valley of the Tochma Su,[476] while a northern objective may be found in the old-time importance of Sinope as seaport. These considerations however, only increase the importance of Boghaz-Keui as the focus of the system. Nowadays, as we have seen,[477] the main routes run differently, adapting themselves to changed conditions, and the place which was once the apparent centre of all activities in the interior is now without economic interest, a wonderful memorial of the past.