Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 8.djvu/34

20 Are not the Nimroud bas-reliefs all that remains to us of the social life of the great Assyrian empire? If costume, armour, household furniture and implements, are all part of the history of manners, if these relics are in themselves worth studying, so too must be those representations which teach us how they were applied in daily life.

Having considered the monuments of Imitative, I will now pass on to the monuments of Constructive Art, and the products of the useful and decorative arts generally, or of Handicraft, from all which may be elicited a kind of latent history, rather implied than consciously stated, not transmitted in writing, nor even in words.

Of all monuments of Constructive Art, the most abiding, the most impressive and full of meaning, are the architectural. The first object of the Archaeologist, in studying a building, should be to ascertain its date, the race by whom, and the purpose for which it was erected. But his task does not end with this primary classification; he ought to indicate the value of Architecture as evidence for the Historian, to read and interpret the indirect record it embodies.

Of many aspects in which we may regard Architecture, these three may be especially noted. First, it is an evidence of the constructive power of a race, of their knowledge of mechanical science. Secondly, being an investment of capital, it is a measure of the financial resources of a nation at a particular period, a document for their financial history. Thirdly, we must consider Architecture as the great law which has in all time regulated the growth and affected the form of painting and sculpture, till they attain to a certain period in their development, and free themselves from its influence. I shall say a few words on each of these three points.

First of Architecture, as evidence of constructive power: In all building operations more or less of the same problems have to be solved.

The purpose of the edifice, the space allotted for the site, the quantity and quality of the building material, and the law of gravitation, prescribe a certain form. These are the external necessities within which the will of the architect is free to range. The problems he has to solve may be more or less difficult; the purpose of the building may dictate a more or less complicated structure; the site and building