Page:History of Architecture in All Countries Vol 1.djvu/254

 222 HISTORY OF AUCHITECTURE. Part I. 4100 ft. in circumference; at present it is found to be 1180 ft. in diameter, and consequently about 3700 ft. in circumference at the top of the basement, though of course considerably more below. It is situated on the edge of a rocky ridge, which is made level on one side by a terrace-wall of large stones, 60 ft. in height; above this the mound rises to the height of 142 ft. : the total height above the plain being 228 ft. The upper part of the mound is composed of alternate layers of clay, loam, and a kind of rubble concrete. These support a mass of brickwork, surmounted by a platform of masonry; on this one of the steles described by Herodotus still lies, and one of the smaller ones was found close by. The funereal chamber was discos ered resting on the rock at about 160 ft. from the centre of the mound. Its dimensions were 11 ft. by 7 ft. 9 in., and 7 ft. high ; the roof flat and composed of large stones, on which rested a layer of charcoal and ashes, 2 ft. in thickness, evi- dently the remains of the offerings which had been made after the chamber was closed, but before the mound had been raised over it. There are in the same locality an immense number of tumuli of various dimensions, among which Herr Spiegelthal fancies he can discriminate three classes, belonging to three distinct ages ; that of Alyattes belonging to the most modern. This is extremely probable, as at this time (b.c. 561) the fashion of erecting tumuli as monuments was dying out in this part of world, though it continued in less civilized pai-ts of Europe till long after the Christian era. The tumuli that still adorn the Plain of Troy are probably contem- porary with the older of the three groui)s of those around the Gygean Lake. Indeed there does not seem much reason for doubting that they were really raised over the ashes of the heroes who took part in that memorable struggle, and whose names they still bear. The recent explorations of these mounds do not seem to have thrown much light on the subject, but if we can trust the account Chevalier gives of his researches at the end of the last century, the case is clear enough, and there can be very little doubt but that the Dios Tope on the Sigjean promontory is really the tomb of Achilles.^ Intensely interesting though they are in other respects, Schliemann's discoveries on the site of Troy have clone very little to increase our 1 " Toward the centre of the monu- ment two large stones were found leanins; at an angle the one against the other, and forming a sort of tent like in Woodcut rj2. nndcr whieh was presently discov- ered a small statue of Minerva seated on a chariot with four horses, and an urn of metal filled with ashes, charcoal, and burnt bones. This urn, which is now in the possession of the Comte de Choiseul, is enriched in sculpture with a vine branch, from which is suspended bunch- es of grapes done with exquisite art." — "Description of the Plain of Troy," translated by Dalzel, Edin. 1791, p. 149. If this is so, this is no doubt the vessel mentioned. "Iliad." xvi. 221, xxiii. 92: "Od.," xxiv. 71, and elsewhere. But where is it now? and why has not the fact of its existence been more insisted upon ?