Page:History of Art in Phœnicia and Its Dependencies Vol 1.djvu/218

 I9& Hi.vroKY OF ART IN PHCF.NICIA AND ITS I )KI'KNDKNCIKS. inexhaustible of that timber upon which the ancients set the highest value, the sweet-smelling, incorruptible cedar. But although the fame of that beautiful wood was not undeserved, the great rains that wash the whole Syrian coast in winter ended by giving a good account of the cedar planks of which these coffins were made ; their shapes, however, may be restored from the nails and clamps Kir,. 135. Sarcophagus from Sidon. I.ouvre. Length 7 feet 4 inclio. by which they were held together ; these have been found in many cases on the floors of the tomb-chambers. Strong iron rings with iron rods attached to them and bent into right angles (Fig. 136)' have also been dug up. The use of these rods may easily be guessed ; they afforded a good hold for the rings. The ends of the double rod were driven deeply into the planks which formed Fl<;. 136. Iron holdfast and coffin handle. From Kenan. the coffin sides ; the rest was then bent flat with the planks, the ring standing out above and acting as a handle by which the coffin could be lifted or slung.- These rings correspond, in fact, to the 1 The length of the straight part of this double rod gives the thickness of the coffin wall, viz. 8 inches. - See the note from the Journal des Fouilles of GAILLARDOT, in the Mission de Phcnicie, additions and corrections, pp. 866, 867.