Page:History of Art in Phœnicia and Its Dependencies Vol 1.djvu/316

 294 HISTORY OF ART IN PIKF.NKTA AND ITS DEPENDENCIES. enframed between two large rosettes ; the smaller of the two shows a lion bringing down a stag ; the larger, the fabulous Chinucra, whose home was placed by the Greeks in Lycia, the country that- faced the northern shore of Cyprus 1 (Fig. 215). Here too both animals and rosettes are of oriental aspect. The wealth accumulated in the Cyprian temples is proved not only by the words of Tacitus and the variety of objects discovered at various points in the island, but also by the famous Treasure of Curium, which was found intact by General Louis Palma di Cesnola, a discovery which is enough by itself to render his name illustrious. Never, perhaps, has explorer been more fortunate or more skilful in making the best use of his Ood fortune. We have inven an O O O account of the explorations elsewhere, and we must wait till we come to speak of Phoenician jewelry and work in the precious metals before we describe many of the objects in detail ; at FIG. 215. Stone step. F'rom Cesnola. present we have only to draw attention to a curious architectural arrangement which should be studied by all future explorers in the island. One of the temples at Curium had a true crypt (Fig-. 216), which was reached by a staircase leading to a low and narrow corridor (A A) ; the latter gave access to four semi-circular chambers (c, i), E, F) hollowed in the limestone rock and communicating with one another by doorways (B B). Beyond the last of these chambers there was another narrow^ corridor, but the air in it was so bad that the excavators had to retire without exploring it to the end. The first three chambers were all the same size ; i - feet 8 j inches high, by 23 feet 3 inches long, and 21 feet 4 inches wide. The fourth (F) was a little smaller. The booty found in these 1 See HOMER, Iliad, vi. 181.