Page:History of Architecture in All Countries Vol 1.djvu/217

 LiK. II. Ch. III. ASSYRIAN TEMPLES. 185 C € ■"pifjT^iMwiSpi M^^mi are several of royal camps Avhich are interesting. Among the most curious of these are the i-ej^resentations of the tents of the king and liis nobles. One of these is shown in Woodcut No. 77, though how it was constructed is by no means clear. It seems to have been open in the centre to the air, but covered at either end by a sort of hood so arranged as to catch the passing breeze, and afford protection from rain at the same time. The annexed Avoodcut (No, 78), representing the front and one side of the royal horse-tent, gives a good idea of the luxury and elegance that was carried into the detail even of sub- ordinate structures. Temples axd Tombs. Except the Clialdean-formed temples, which have been described in the previous chapter, there are no religious edifices sufficiently complete to enable us to form a distinct idea of what the architectural arrangements of these temi)les were. As belonging to a Semitic people we should expect them to be few and insignificant. So little remains of the temple at Khorsabad tliat it is difficult to say what its original form may have been ; the terrace, liowever, which sup- ]»orted it is interesting, as it shows almost the only instance of a i)erfect Assyrian moulding or cornice betraying a similarity to the forms of Egyptian architecture which we do not find else- where. The curve, however, is not exactly that of an Egyjjtian cornice, being continued beyond the vertical tangent; but this may have arisen from the terrace being only six feet in height, which ^(laced the curve below the line of sight, and so required a different treatment from one placed so high above it as is usually the case in Egypt. The bas-relief on the next page is ])er]iaps the best sculptured rep- resentation that exists of Avhat we miglit fancy an Assyrian temple to have been. The emblem so enshrined is probably the Asheerah, or grove, to the worship of which the Israelites at all times showed such a tendency to relapse, and is one of the most frequent objects of adoration among the Assyrians. As a Semitic ])eo]>le we should hardly ex])ect to find any tombs among them, and indeed, unless the pyramid at the north-west angle of the Nimroud mound is the tomb of Sardanapalus, mentioned by the Greeks,' it is not clear that a single Assyrian sepulchre has yet been discovered. Those that crowd and choke the ruins of Warka and 9. Elevation of Stylobate of Temple. 80. Section I if Stylobate of Temple. 1 See Rawlinson, " Ancient Monarchies," vol. i. p. 398.