10th Thermidor, 1836: We have excavated the drainage system of the abbey. It proves to be a complex work of engineering. I may base my next presentation at the Academy on what it has to tell us about the technology of the Oasis Basin in the second century.
News from Hieronymus, who is still at Chayi: they have uncovered a structure in the desert to the east of the city, which they believe pre-dates the earliest Chayi settlements. They must have been ruins even then. Hieronymus describes the major feature as being very large blocks, worn by time and the desert sands. Hieronymous suspects that the area was originally quite fertile, speculating about the possibility of lush vegetation. I think it is much more likely that it was a military bastion of some sort.