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feet above the level of the plain, the foundations of its inclosure being still perfect and traceable, as in the annexed figure (fig. 11.). The ancient city is thought to have sur

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rounded the fortress, and that formerly the city was nearer the sea than at present. Bryant, with his usual ingenuity, has found in its general form a type of the long ship of Danaus, which, we confess, our imagination is not lively enough to detect. On the east of the fortress are quarries, which furnish stone similar to that whereof it is built. It had entrances from the east and the west, and one at the south-eastern angle. That on the east, lettered A, is pretty fairly preserved, and is approached by an inclined access, B, 15 ft. wide, along the eastern and southern sides of the tower, C, which is 20 ft. square and 40 ft. high, passing, at the end of the last named side, under a gateway, composed of very large blocks of stone, that which forms the architrave being 10 ft. long, and over which, from the fragments lying on the spot, it is conjectured that a triangular stone was placed; but thereon is no appearance of sculpture. D is the present entrance. The general thickness of the walls is 25 ft., and they are formed by three parallel ranks of stones 5 ft. thick, thus leaving

Fig. 12. GALLERY.

two ranges of galleries each 5 ft. wide and 12 ft. high. The sides of the galleries are formed by two courses of stone, and the roof by two other horizontal courses, sailing over so as to meet at their summit, and somewhat resembling a pointed arch. See fig. 11. That part of the gallery, fig. 12., now uncovered, is about 90 ft. long, and has six openings or recesses towards the east, one whereof seems to have afforded a communication with some exterior building, of whose foundation traces are still in existence. The interval between these openings varies from 10 ft. 6 in. to 9 ft. 8 in.; the openings themselves being from 5 ft. 6 in. to 4 ft. 10 in. wide. It is probable that these galleries extended all round the citadel, though now only accessible where the walls are least perfect, at the southern part of the inclosure. There are no remains of the south-eastern portal. It appears to have been connected with the eastern gate by an avenue enclosed between the outer and inner curtain, of which avenue the use is not known. Similar avenues have been found at Argos and other ancient cities in Greece. The northern point of the hill is least elevated, and smaller stones have been employed in its wall. The exterior walls are built of rough stones, some of which are 9 ft. 4 in. in length and 4 ft. thick, their common size being somewhat less When entire, the wall must have been 60 ft. high, and on the eastern side has been entirely destroyed. The whole length of the citadel is about 660 ft., and the breadth about 180 ft., the walls being straight without regard to inequality of level in the rock.

ance.

34. The Acropolis of Mycene was probably constructed in an age nearly the same as that of Tiryns. Pausanias mentions a gate on which two lions were sculptured, to which the name of the Gate of the Lions has been given (fig. 13.) These are still in their original position. It is situate at the end of a recess about 50 ft. long, commanded by projections of the walls, which are here formed of huge blocks of square stones, many placed on each other without breaking joint, which circumstance gives it a very inartificial appearThe epistylium of the gate is a single stone 15 ft. long and 4 ft. 4 in. high. To the south of the gate above mentioned the wall is much ruined. In one part something like a tower is discernible, whose walls, being perpendicular while the curtain inclines a little inward from its base, a projection remained at the top by which an archer could defend the wall below. The blocks of the superstructure are of great size, those of the substructure much smaller. The gates excepted, the whole citadel is built of rough masses of rock, nicely adjusted and fitted to each other, though the smaller stones with which the

interstices were filled have mostly disappeared. The southern ramparts of the citadel and all the other walls follow the natural irregularity of the precipice on which they stand. At

its eastern point it is attached by a narrow isthmus to the mountain. It is a long irregular triangle, standing nearly east and west. The walls are mostly of welljointed polygonal stones, although the rough construction occasionally appears. The general thickness of the walls is 21 ft., in some places 25; their present height, in the most perfect part, is 43 ft. There are, in some places, very slight projections from the walls, resembling towers, whereof the most perfect one is at the south-east angle, its breadth being 33 ft. and its height 43 ft. The size of the block whereon the lions are sculptured is 11 ft. broad at the base, 9 ft. high, and about 2 ft. thick, of a triangular form suited to the This block, in its appearance, resembles the green basalt of

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recess made for its reception. Egypt.

35. In this place we think it proper to notice a building at Mycene, which has been called by some the Treasury of Atreus, or the tomb of his son Agamemnon mentioned by

Pausanias. This building at first misled some authors into a belief that the use of the arch was known in Greece at a very early period; but examination of it shows that it was formed by horizontal courses, projecting beyond each other as they rose, and not by radiating joints or beds, and that the surface was afterwards formed so as to give the whole the appearance of a pointed dome, by cutting away the lower angles Fig. 14. (fig. 14.). It is probably the most ancient of buildings in Greece; and it is a curious circumstance that at New Grange, near Drogheda, in Ireland, there is a monument whose form, construction, and plan of access resemble it so strongly that it is impossible to consider their similarity the result of accident.

TREASURY OF ATREUS.

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A representation of this may be seen in the work by Mr. Higgins which we have so often quoted, and will, we think, satisfy the reader of the great probability of the hypothesis hereinbefore assumed having all the appearance of truth. By the subjoined plan (fig. 15.) it will be seen that a space 20 ft. wide, between the two walls, conducts us to the entrance, which is 9 ft. 6 in. at the base, 7 ft. 10 in. at the top, and about 19 ft. high. The entrance passage is 18 ft. long and leads to the main chamber, which, in its general form, has some resemblance to a bee-hive, whose diameter is about 48 ft. and height about 49. (fig. 16.) The blocks are placed in courses as above shown, 34 courses being at present visible. They are laid with the greatest precision, without cement, and are unequal in size. Their Fig. 15. PLAN OF TREASURY OF ATREUS. average height may be taken at 2 ft., though to a spectator on the floor, from the effect of the perspective, they appear to diminish very much towards the vertex. This monument has a second chamber, to which you enter on the right from the larger one just described. This is about 27 ft. by 20, and 19 ft. high; but its walls, from the obstruction of the earth, are not visible. The doorway to it is 9 ft. high, 4 ft. 7 in. wide at the base, and 4 ft. 3 in. at the top. Similar to the larger or principal doorway, it has a triangular opening over its lintel. The stones which fitted into these triangular openings were of enormous dimensions, for the height of that over the principal entrance is 12 ft., and its breadth 7 ft. 8 in. The vault has been either lined with metal or ornamented with some sort of decorations, inasmuch as a number of bronze nails are found fixed in the stones up to the summit. The lintel of the door consists of two pieces of stone, the largest whereof is 27 ft. long, 17 ft. wide, and 3 ft. 9 in. thick, calculated, therefore, at 133 tons weight; a mass which can be compared with none ever used in building, except those at Balbec and in Egypt. The other lintel is of the same height, and probably (its ends are hidden) of

Its exterior has two

the same length as the first. Its breadth, however, is only one foot parallel mouldings, which are continued down the jambs of the doorway.

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36. The stone employed is of the hard and beautiful breccia, of which the neighbouring rocks, and the contiguous Mount Eubora, consist.

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It is the hardest and compactest breccia which Greece produces, resembling the antique marble called Breccia Tracagnina antica, sometimes found among the ruins of Rome. Near the gate lie some masses of rosso antico decorated with guilloche-like and zigzag ornaments, and a columnar base of a Persian character. Some have supposed that these belonged to the decorations of the doorway; but we are of a different opinion, inasmuch as they destroy its grand character. We think if this were the tomb of Agamemnon, they were much more likely to have been a part of the shrine in which the body or ashes were deposited.

37. It is conjectured that the treasury of Minyas king of Orchomenus, whereof Pausanias speaks, bore a resemblance to the building we have just described; and it is very probable that all the subterranean chambers of Greece, Italy, and Sicily were very similarly constructed. Fig. 17. represents the entrance to the building from the outside. As the architecture of the early races whereof we have been speaking will be further discussed in investigating other monuments, we do not think it necessary to enlarge further in this place on what we have termed Pelasgic or Cyclopean architecture.

Fig. 17.

TREASURY OF MINYAS.

SECT. III.

BABYLONIAN ARCHITECTURE.

38. The name prefixed to this section must not induce the reader to suppose we shall be able to afford him much instruction on this interesting subject. The materials are scanty; the monuments, though once stupendous, still more so. "If ever," says Keith, in his Evidence of the Truth of the Christian Religion, "there was a city that seemed to bid defiance to any predictions of its fall, that city was Babylon. It was for a long time the most famous city in the Old World. Its walls, which were reckoned among the wonders of the world, appeared rather like the bulwarks of nature than the workmanship of man.” The city of Babylon is thus described by ancient writers. It was situated in a plain of vast extent, and divided into two parts by the river Euphrates, which was of considerable width at the spot. The two divisions of the city were connected by a massive bridge of masonry strongly connected with iron and lead; and the embankments to prevent inroads of the river were formed of the same durable materials as the walls of the city. Herodotus says that the city itself was a perfect square enclosed by a wall 480 furlongs in circumIt is said to have had numference, which would make it eight times the size of London. bers of houses three or four stories in height, and to have been regularly divided into streets running parallel with each other, and cross ones opening to the river. It was surrounded by a wide and deep trench, from the earth whereof, when excavated, square bricks were formed and baked in a furnace. With these, cemented together through the medium of heated bitumen intermixed with reeds to bind together the viscid mass, the sides of the trenches were lined, and with the same materials the vast walls above mentioned were constructed. At certain intervals watch-towers were placed, and the city was entered by 100 gates of brass. In the centre of each of the principal divisions of the city a stupendous public monument was erected. In one (Major Rennel thinks that on the eastern side) stood the temple of Belus; in the other, within a large strongly fortified enclosure, the royal palace. The former was a square pile, each side being two furlongs in extent. The tower erected on its centre was a furlong in breadth and the same in height, thus making it higher than the largest of the pyramids, supposing the furlong to contain only 500 feet. On this tower as a base were raised, in regular succession, seven other lofty towers, and the whole, according to Diodorus, crowned with a bronze statue of the god Belus 40 feet high.

Fig. 18.

TEMPLE OF BELUS.

See fig. 18., in which the dotted lines show the present remains, according to Sir R. K. Porter's account in his Travels. The palace, serving also as a temple, stood on an area 1 mile square, and was surrounded by circular walls, which, according to Diodorus, were decorated with sculptured animals resembling life, painted in their natural colours, on the bricks of which they were depicted, and afterwards burnt in. Such was the city of Babylon in its meridian splendour, that city whose founder (if it were not Nimrod, sometimes called Belus,) is unknown. Great as it was, it was enlarged by Semiramis, and still further enlarged and fortified by Nebuchadnezzar. We shall now present, from the account of Mr. Rich, a gentleman who visited the The first grand mass of spot near thirty years ago, a sketch of what the city now is. ruins marked A (fig. 19.), which the above gentleman describes, he says extends 1100 yards in length and 800 in its greatest breadth, in figure nearly resembling a quadrant; its height is irregular, but the most elevated part may be about 50 or 60 ft. above the level of This mound Mr. R. the plain, and it has been dug into for the purpose of procuring bricks. distinguishes by the name of Amran. On the north is a valley 550 yards long, and then the second grand heap of ruins, whose shape is nearly a square of 700 yards long and broad; its south-west angle being connected with the north-west angle of the mounds of Amran by a high ridge nearly 100 yards in breadth. This is the place where Beauchamp made his observations, and is highly interesting from every vestige of it being composed of buildThe bricks are ings far superior to those whereof there are traces in the eastern quarter.

of the finest description, and, notwithstanding this spot being the principal magazine of them and constantly used for a supply, are still in abundance. The operation of extracting the bricks has caused much confusion, and increased the difficulty of deciphering the use of this mound. In some places the solid mass has been bored into, and the superincumIn all these excavations bent strata falling in, frequently bury workmen in the rubbish.

walls of burnt brick laid in lime mortar of a good quality are to be seen; and among the ruins are to be found fragments of alabaster vessels, fine earthenware, marble, and great "In a quantities of varnished tiles, whose glazing and colouring are surprisingly fresh.

hollow," observes Mr. Rich, "near the southern part, I found a sepulchral urn of earthen

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ware, which had been broken in digging, and near it lay some human bones, which pulverised with the touch." Not more than 200 yards from the northern extremity of this mound, is a ravine near 100 yards long, hollowed out by those who dig for bricks, on one of whose sides a few yards of wall remain, the face whereof is clear and perfect, and appears to have been the front of some building. The opposite side is so confused a mass of rubbish, that it looks as if the ravine had been worked through a solid building. Under the foundations at the southern end was discovered a subterranean passage floored and walled with large bricks in bitumen, and covered over with pieces of sandstone a yard thick and several yards long, on which the pressure is so great as to have pushed out the side walls. What was seen was near seven feet in height, its course being to the south. The upper part of the passage is cemented with bitumen, other parts of the ravine with mortar, and the bricks have all writing on them. At the northern end of the ravine an excavation was made, and a statue of a lion of colossal dimensions, standing on a pedestal of coarse granite and rude workmanship, was discovered. This was about the spot marked E on the plan. A little to the west of the ravine at B is a remarkable ruin called the Kasr or Palace, which, being uncovered, and partly detached from the rubbish, is visible from a considerable distance. It is "so surprisingly fresh," says the author, "that it was only after a minute inspection I was satisfied of its being in reality a Babylonian remain." It consists of several walls and piers, in some places ornamented with niches, and in others strengthened by pilasters of burnt brick in lime cement of great tenacity. The tops of the walls have been broken down, and they may have been much higher. Contiguous to this ruin is a heap of rubbish, whose sides are curiously streaked by the alternation of its materials, probably unburnt bricks, of which a small quantity were found in the neighbourhood, without however any reeds in their interstices. A little to the N. N. E. of it is the famous tree which the natives call Athelì. They say it existed in ancient Babylon, and was preserved by God that it might afford a convenient place to Ali for tying up his horse after the battle Hellah!" "It is an evergreen," says Mr. R., " something resembling the lignum vitæ, and of a kind, I believe, not common in this part of the country, though I am told there is a tree of the description at Bassora." The valley which separates the mounds just described from the river is white with nitre, and does not now appear to have had any buildings upon it except a small circular heap at D. The whole embankment is abrupt, and shivered by the action of the water. At the narrowest part E, cemented into the burnt brick wall, there were a number of urns filled with human bones which had not undergone the action of fire. From a considerable quantity of burnt bricks and other fragments of building in the water the river appears to have encroached here.

Fig. 19.

PLAN OF HABYLON.

39. A mile to the north of the Kasr, and 950 yards from the bank of the river, is the last ruin of this series, which Pietro della Valle, in 1616, described as the tower of Belus, in which he is followed by Rennell. The natives call it, according to the vulgar Arab pronunciation of those parts, Mujelibè, which means overturned. They sometimes also apply the same term to the mounds of the Kasr. This is marked F on the plan. "It is of an oblong shape, irregular in its height and the measurement of its sides, which face the cardinal points, the northern side being 200 yards in length, the southern 219, the eastern 182, and the western 136. The elevation of the south-east or highest angle, 141 feet. The western face, which is the least elevated, is the most interesting on account of the appearance of building it presents. Near the summit of it appears a low wall, with interruptions, built of unburnt bricks mixed up with chopped straw or reeds and cemented with clay mortar of great thickness." The south-west angle seems to have had a turret, the others are less perfect. The ruin is much worn into furrows from the action of the weather, penetrating considerably into the mound in some places. The summit is covered with heaps of rubbish, among which fragments of burnt brick are found, and here and there

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