SECTION III—THE OLD PORT OF TiZ
Châhbâr, situated at the entrance of the wide but shallow Châhbâr bay, is a small port with a population of about 2,000, serving what scanty trade there is from the valleys in the eastern portion of Persian Makrân. Its anchorage, poorly protected as it is, appears to be considered better than any other along the arid and desolate coast of the Ikhthyophagoi as far as it lies within the Persian border. No remains of early occupation are to be seen at Châhbâr, but such had been reported at Tiz, a small village and harbour, some 5 miles farther on the east coast of the bay.' So the first day of our brief halt at Châhbâr was used for a preliminary visit to Tiz, paid by boat in the company of the local governor, a genial elderly officer from Tabriz who did not hide his dismay at having been recently exiled to this barren land. The rapid inspection we made of the Tiz valley after landing under the picturesque cliffs which line the shore near its narrow entrance (Fig. 25 ) , showed that the site offered sufficient interest for a closer survey.
So after another day at Châhbâr spent in making necessary arrangements, including the purchase of Persian silver money unobtainable anywhere before, we set out for Tiz with camels on January 26th. The march of about 6 miles, short as it was, was not without some antiquarian interest. After we had skirted the sandy beach for about 1 - miles and ascended a narrow nullah over steep ledges of sandstone, the track brought us to the southern edge of a rocky plateau. This proved to be defended by a massive, if coarsely built, wall stretching for a considerable distance both along the coast-line and also eastwards ( see the sketch plan, Plan 9) . It could be traced for about 1 miles along the top of the cliffs which overlook the coast at a height varying from about 260 to 300 feet. The line is broken only for short stretches where the rocky ledges of calcareous sandstone on which the wall was built have fallen away through erosion, or where the slopes below were too steep to need defence. The wall, about 8 feet wide at its foot, was built with rough pieces of the rock quarried in situ and laid in irregular courses without any plaster. On top it was provided with a parapet about 2 feet thick.
About 300 yards beyond the point where this defensive line was struck, the track turns away to the north and, descending in a wide rock-lined ravine for about three-quarters of a mile, then passes through another and better-preserved line of wall as marked in Plan 9. Here a wall of similar construction was found standing intact to a height of 8 feet for a distance of 77 yards. It ascends the
1 For some account of Tiz, containing rather dich's paper, `Notes on Ancient and Medieval vague references to its antiquities, cf. Col. Hol- Makrân', Geogr. Journal, 1896, April, p. 395 sq.
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