Page:History of Architecture in All Countries Vol 1.djvu/382

 350 ROMAN ARCHITECTUEE. Part L Another monument of very singular and exceptional form is found at Igel near Treves, in Germany. It is so unlike anything found in Italy or indeed anything of the Roman "i"Y age, that were its date not perfectly known ^ from the inscription upon it, one might I^M rather be inclined to ascribe it to the age of tlSuJi Francis I, than to the latter days of the Roman Empire. The form is graceful, though the jjilasters and architectural ornaments seem somewhat misplaced. It is covered with sculptures from top to bottom. These, however, as is generally the case with Roman funereal monuments, have no reference to death, nor to the life or actions of the person to whom ^'^f^^'^TTF^ the monument is sacred, but are more like the scenes painted on a wall or ornamental stele anywhere. The principal object on the face represented in the woodcut is the sun, but the subjects are varied on each face, and, though much time-worn, they still give a very perfect idea of the rich ornamentation of the monuments of the last age of the Empire. The Tour Magne at Nimes is too im- portant a monument to l)e passed over, ■ though in its present rixined state it is almost more difficult to explain than any other Roman remains that have reached our times. It consists of an octagonal tower 50 ft. in diameter, and now about 120 ft. high. The basement is extended beyond this tower on every side by a series of arches supporting a terrace to which access was ^^S?;M obtained by an external flight of steps, or rather an inclined plane. From the marks in the Avails it seems evident that tliis 231. Mouuiiieiit at Igel, near terrace oriijinallv supported a pei'istyle, or, Treves. (From Scluiiidt's "An- .,, ^ ,. , , -hit- i • .i tiquities of Treves.") possibly, a range 01 chambers. W itniii the basement is a great chamber covered by a dome "of rubble masonry, to which no access could be obtained from without, but the interior may have been reached through the eye of the dome. From the terrace an important flight of steps led upwards to — what ? It is almost impossible to refrain from answering, to a cella, like those which crowned the tomb temples of Assyria. ii fc<<< I; i:^ ^Bd fss: •f^A