Early in the morning we sent a scout to procure us a good guide from the camp of the ʻAlâwîn situated near the defile Ḫarm al-Merṣed. Tûmân and Rifʻat, accompanied by a soldier, set out for the peak of al-Mlêḥ, rising to the northwest, south of which there is a spring of the same name; whereas another spring called Abu Turrah flows to the northwest of al-Mlêḥ. Meanwhile I changed the photographic plates, sketched the surrounding district, recorded the names of the various hills and valleys, and gave out necessary medicines to the soldiers. Toward noon the scout returned with a guide. The chief of the ʻAlâwîn, Sâlem eben Ḥammâd eben Ǧâd, wished to accompany us and wanted to take with him his negro and another man, but I would not consent to this latter plan, fearing that these famished and unnecessary companions would be likely to deprive us of our small stock of supplies. At first Sâlem remonstrated. However, when Ismaʻîn told him that if he went by himself he would obtain the remuneration which would otherwise be divided among three, he ordered his two companions to go back to camp. In the afternoon Mḥammad with two scouts led our camels to the spring of al-Ašhab, not returning until three o’clock. Rifʻat and Tûmân had been back for some time, and we had everything ready for our departure. Having loaded the baggage on the camels, we started off at 3.08 for a lengthy march southward along the trade route.
The level plain of al-Ḥmejẓa, over which we passed, is shut in on the west by the granite wall of the Abu Sjejle mountain, while on the east it gives place to numerous isolated, sandy hills of various shapes, among them Salaḳa, Abu Ḥalḳûm, ar-Ruḥbi, al-Mḫarûḳ, ar-Ratama, ʻAṭra’, ʻEmûd, al-Ḥṣâni, and al-Aḥejmer. At 4.02 we crossed the šeʻîb of Abu Sjejle, which starts at the well of the same name on
of the map. The symbol indicating a temple at the station of Ad Dianam perhaps originated from the fact that Adian—the Semitic name of the station—was twisted into Ad Dianam by the designer and that either he or a copyist drew a symbol belonging properly to the military camp and harbor of Aila in such a way as to make it apply to the neighboring station of Ad Dianam, which it transformed into a temple. The red line of the Syrian highroad bends off to the south after its division from the Palestinian line. This bend tallies perfectly with the actual state of things.
From the station of Zadagatta to the city of Aila, by way of Ad Dianam, is represented as 81,000 paces, or about 120 kilometers, while the actual length of the Roman road with all its turnings is not more than 64,000 paces, or 95 kilometers. If we exclude the 16,000 paces from Ad Dianam to Aila and reckon the distance direct, assuming that the roads diverged at Aila, we obtain 65,000 paces, which accords with the actual distance (approximately 64,000 paces). The positions of the two stations Hauarra and Praesidio can be determined accurately. At 20,000 paces from Zadagatta (the modern aṣ-Ṣadaḳa) we reach the spring of al-Bêẓa and the extensive ruins of the city of al-Ḥomejma. Everything indicates that this city was built by the Nabataeans and thus antedates the Roman epoch. It controlled the most convenient and the shortest road leading from the south along the western foot of the aš-Šera’ range to the city of Petra. The name Hauarra has the same signification as al-Bêẓa’ or al-Ḥomejma. From the northern part of the ruins of al-Ḥomejma the Roman road runs.