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44 History of Art in Antiquitv. man, a tiny fane surrounded by porticoes, and a ruinous tower, on a square plan — both of which seem to have been tombs. Inspection of these relics, their style, and the proud inscription which appears about the stones, everything indicates that they belong to the time of the great Cyrus, the founder of the Achaemenid dynasty. Fig. 7. — Map of the Polvar valley. Rkclus, XouvelU Giographit, torn. ix. p. 265. The Polvar-Rud, after crossing the plain of Meshed-i-Murghab, runs in a meandering course through narrow valleys, skirted by a path which disappears under the swollen waters of the stream during the rainy season,' when it debouches upon the fertile, well- watered plain of Mervdasht, where it joins the Bend-Amir, and with it disappears into Lake Miris. Here are found the im- ' DiEULAFOv, U Art antiqut, etc., i. PLite II. Google