When Machajrus and Callirrhoe were inhabited (if, indeed, the former was ever more than a fortress, or tlie latter a bathing establishment occasionally resorted to), and when the plain of .Jericho was occiii)ied with the crowded population necessary for the cultivation of its balsani-gardens, vineyards, sugar-plantations, and palm-groves, there may have been a little more life on the shores. But this can never have materially att'ect- ed the lake. The track along the western shore and over Ain-Jidy was then, as now, used for secret maraud- ing ex|)editions, not for peaceable or commercial traffic. What transport there may have been between Idiunica and Jericho came by some other channel. Josephus appears to state that the IMoabites crossed the sea to in- vade Judah {Ant. ix, 1,2); and he informs us that tlie Romans used boats against the fugitive Jews ( War, iv, 7, G; comp. iv, 8, 4). A douljlfid jiassage in Josephus (see Heland, Palcpst. p. 2o2), and a reference by Edrisi (ed. Jaubert, in Eitter, Jordan, p. 700) to an occasional
venture by the people of "Zara and Dara" in the r2th century, are all tlie remaining allusions to the naviga- tion of the lake known to exist, until Englishmen and Americans launched their boats on it for puqjoses of scientific investigation. The temptation to the dwell- ers in the environs must always have been to ascend to the fresher air of the heights, rather tlian descend to the sultry climate of the sliores. It is not strange that the Dead Sea was never navigated to any extent : fish do not exist in it, and the sterile character of the shores made water transit of little importance.
Costigan, an Irish traveller, was the first, in modern times, to navigate this Sea of L>eath. Having descend- ed the Jordan iu a little boat, he crossed to the peninsu- la of Lisan. For three days he had no fresh water, and he was carried to Jerusalem to die. No record of his journey has been found. In 1837 Moore and Beek had a light boat conveyed from Jafla. They succeeded in visiting some points, and making a few experiments with boiling-water, which were tlie first to prove that the lake was below the level of the ocean. Ten years later. Lieutenant Molyneux, of the British navy, took a boat down the Jordan, visited the peninsula, and took some soundings. He was able to return to his ship, but died sliortly afterwards. A brief record of his voyage is given in the Journal of the R. G. 8. vol. xviii. The expedi-tion of Lynch, in 1848, was the only one crowned with success. This was in part owing to the superior organization and strength of the party, and iu part to the fact that it was undertaken at a comparatively cool season — April and May. Even tliis, however, was too late; several of the partj' took fever, and one — Lieuten- ant Dale — died. The unfortunate expeditions of Cos- tigan and Molyneux were made in Juh' and August re- spectively. Winter is the proper season for any such undertaking. Kain sehlom falls on the shores; the air, during the depth of winter, is fresh and balmy, and cold is almost unknown.
Josephus gives a brief description of the Dead Sea {War, iv, 8, 4) : and several Greek and Roman authors, scientific as well as geographical, speak of its wonders. Extracts from the principal of these may be seen in Yx^XunCiS Pahestina (p. 238-258). Among modern writ- ers, the following may be consulted with advantage: Seetzen, in Zach's Monatliche Correspondenz, vols, xvii, xviii. xxvi, xxvii ; Burckhardt, Ti-arels in Syiia ; Irby and Mangles, Travels; Wilson, Lands of the Bible; Rit- ter, Pal. und Syr. ii, 557-780; Poole, in Journal of R. G. S. vol. xxvi. The books containing the fullest and latest accounts are: Robinson, 7ii6. Res. i, 501-523; ii, 187-192; and Physical Geof/r. ofPal.p. 187-216; De Saiil- cy, Voyage autoiir de la MerMorte, and Voyar/e en Terre- Suinle ; Tristram, The Land of Israel, p. 242-366 ; Land of Moab (1873) ; Lynch, Official Report, which contains Anderson's Geological Reronnoissance (published at the National Observatory, Washington, 1852) ; Ridgaway, The Lord's Land, p. 344^64. There is an old mono- graph on the Dead Sea by Wiihner, iJe n^rn D^ (Helmst. 1712); and a recent one by Fraas, iJas todte Jleer (Stuttg. 18G7). See Dead Sea.
SALT, VALLEY OF (Heb. n\^ X^S, Gey Melach, but twice with the article, nbatl 5; Sept. Te/SfXe//, Fei-uXtd, KoiXas [«r 0«p«ys] tmv aXwj'; v. r. rijfiaXd, Tai/ifXa ; Vulg. Vallis Salinanan), a certain valley— or perhaps more accurately a '• ravine," the Hebrew word yey appearing to boar that signification— in which oc- ciirred two memorable victories of the Israclitisli arms.
1. That of David over the Edomites (2 Sam. viii, 13; 1 Cliron. xviii. 12). It appears to have immediately followed his Syrian campaign, ami was itself one of the incidents of the great Edomitish war of extermination. Tiie battle in the Valley of Salt apjiears to have been conducted by Abishai (I Chron. xviii, 12), but David and Joab were both present in person at the battle and in tlie inirsuit and campaign which followed: and Joab was left behind for six months to consummate the
SALT, VALLEY OF
270
SALTZMANN
(loom of the conquered country (1 Kings xi, 15, 16; Psa. Ix, title). The number of Eilomites slain in the battle is uncertain : the narratives of Samuel and Chron- icles both give it at 18,000, but this figure is lowered in the title of Psa. Ix to 12,000. See David.