Page:A History of Art in Chaldæa & Assyria Vol 1.djvu/160

 A HISTORY OF ART IN CIIALD.EA AND ASSYRIA. inhabited by Nestorians (Fig. 40). It includes a modified kind of portico, the pillars of which are suggested or rather demanded by the necessity for supporting the ceiling. Supposing such an arrangement to have obtained in Meso- potamia, of what material were the piers or columns composed ? Had they been of stone their remains would surely have been found among the ruins ; but no such things have ever come to light, so we may conclude that they were of timber or brick ; the roof, at least, must have been w ? ood. The joints may have been covered with protecting plates of metal by which ]](. ^9. Yitv c.f a To n and its Palaces. Kouyundjik. From Layard. their duration was assured. We have a curious example of the use of these bronze sheaths in the remains of gilded palm- trees found by M. Place in front of the harem at Khorsabad. He there encountered a cedar trunk lying upon the ground and incased in a brass coat on which all the roughnesses of cedar bark were imitated. The leaves of doors were also protected by metallic bands, which w r ere often decorated with bas-reliefs. Must we conclude that stone columns were unknown in Chaldsea and Assyria ? As for Chaldaea, we have no positive information in the matter, but we know that she had no building stone of her