At times, the battle became entirely obscured in dust, and one could hear only the sound of stones plinking against the parked tanks.
Syrian troops have occupied the Castle of Ibn Maan above the Roman city of Palmyra and parked tanks and armoured vehicles in the Valley of the Tombs to the west of the old city.
Increasing numbers of pro-Mubarak supporters were massing at the entrance to Asr al Nil bridge, where for the moment they seemed to be stopped by a dense crowd around two parked tanks.
A recent headline in The Times of London read, "Rome Parks Tanks on Rowan's Lawn," referring to the Most Rev. Rowan Williams, archbishop of Canterbury and the spiritual head of the Anglican Communion.
When soldiers first parked tanks on Istanbul's Bosphorus Bridge and the sound of low-flying fighter jets buzzed around Turkey's second city, few people immediately understood what was happening.
To help us follow the multimillion-year story, Baxter gives each of these individuals an evocative name, like Purga, Roamer and Capo, and he seasons his scientifically informed prose with illustrative metaphors that can seem jarringly anachronistic: armored ankylosaurs "like parked tanks," winged pterosaurs like "high-flying aircraft".
Arab officials point out that in addition to parking tanks outside Mr. Arafat's compound to ensure that he does not travel, the Israelis have been chipping away at the symbols of his authority -- wrecking police stations, the airport, the harbor and offices of the Palestinian radio.
On the Bosphorus bridge, where coup plotters had parked tanks to stop cars crossing to Europe from Asia, pro-government protesters allegedly beheaded a soldier.
Over at 1 Rector Park, one tank, which sits opposite the elevators, is also a favorite.
