Dec 25 [25 December 1913] Worked all day at Burqu [Qasr el Burqu].
It was so cold in the morning that I could not take a rubbing because
the water froze. Breakfasted in a temp of 28?. Read the Kufic inscrip.
and found a Greek. So it was a Roman fort after all. Abdallah and
Hamad came in safely in the morning, bringing my revolver. Above
my camp, W of the birkeh the stones are covered with Safaitic
inscrips very difficult to read. Had not time to study them properly
before the sun set. The father and grandfather of Uwaiseh are buried
here in two of the tombs outside the qasr. The keep must have been
3 storeys high; one sees the sticking out stones for the floors. Part of
the NE wall has fallen and been built up. Ibrahim lighted a fire of
green shih in the qasr this morning. It smoked abominably and he
was rebuked by Ali. "Smoke is seen far in the morning and sound is
heard far." For the same reason when we make a fire on the march
they are careful to choose dry trees.