Page:History of Architecture in All Countries Vol 1.djvu/210

 178 HISTORY OF ARCHITECTUEE. Part I. as above mentioned, extended 330 ft., but the bulls and the portals there were to those at Koyunjik in the proportion of 80 to 40, which nearly, indeed, expresses the relative magnificence of the two palaces. Inside the great portal at Koyunjik was a hall, 180 ft. in length by 42 in width, Avith a recess at each end, through which access was obtained to two courtyards, one on the right and one on the left ; and beyond these to the other, and apparently the more private apartments of the palace, which overlooked the country and the river Tigris, flowing to the westward of the palace — the principal entrance, as at Khorsabad, being from the city.^ It is impossible, of course, to say how much further the palace extended, though it is probable that nearly all the apartments Avhich were reveted with sculptures have been laid open ; but what has been excavated occupies so small a portion of the mound that it is impos- sible to be unimpressed with the conviction that it forms but a very small fraction of the imperial palace of Nineveh. Judging even from what has as yet been uncovered, it is, of all the buildings of antiquity, alone surpassed in magnitude by the great palace-temple at Karnac ; and when we consider the vastness of the mound on which it Avas raised, and the richness of the ornaments with which it was adorned, a doubt arises whether it was not as great, or at least as expensive, a work as the great palace-temples of Thebes. The latter, however, were built with far higher motives, and designed to last through ages, while the palace at Nineveh was built only to gratify the barbaric pride of a wealthy and sensual monarch, and perished Mitli the ephemeral dynasty to which he belonged. Palace of Esarhaddon, Another Assyrian palace, of which considerable remains still exist, is that of Esarhaddon, comnuuily knoAvn as the South-West Palace at Nimroud. Like the others, this, too, has been destroyed by fire, and the only part that remains sufticiently entire to be described is the entrance or southern hall. Its general dimensions are 165 ft. in length by 62 ft. in width, and it consequently is the largest hall yet found in Assyria. The architects, however, either from constructive necessities or for ])urposcs of state, divided it do"n the centre by a wall sup]>orting dwarf columns, forming a central gallery, to which access was had by bridge galleries at both ends, a mode of arrangement capable of great ^ Layard's excavations here furnish us with what has not heen found, or has been overlooked elsewhere, e. (/., a ramp. or win<lin.ii staircase leading to the upper story (" S'iiK'vcli and liabylon," 41). As explained above, I believe the tops of the walls, which are equal to the floor space below, formed such a story. This ramp at Koyunjik would just suffice to lead to tliem, and goes far to prove the theory. If it was similarly situated at Khorsabad, it would be in the part fallen away.