Page:Biblical Libraries (Richardson).djvu/277

 balustrade passage-way for the upper bookcases.

At the foot of the walls runs a ledge about 40 inches high and 46 inches wide which bears the traces of a row of pillars standing out a short distance from the wall. This also runs around the middle apse. In the walls themselves there are regular niches 20 inches deep and 9 feet high and 40 inches wide, three each on the north and south side, and two on each side of the apse. The floor and walls were inlaid with various colored marbles. Apparently the quadrangular niches contained wooden cases for the rolls. In the middle of the apse possibly stood a colossal figure of Athena.

The excavators at first thought that the hall was lighted by an opening in the roof, but on farther study it appeared that there was certainly a row of windows in the second story.

Besides the central hall there was a