Page:History of Art in Phrygia, Lydia, Caria and Lycia.djvu/106

 9O HISTORY OF ART IN ANTIQUITY. masses on the right and left have not been touched by the chisel, and preserve their uneven and natural saliences. But the central fragment was cut in such a way until a fa9ade-like aspect was obtained, terminating in a very pointed pediment. A false door, preceded by three steps, enframed in wide double posts, appears in the middle of the facade, at about one-third of the whole height of the rock (Fig. 51). The effect of the whole is satisfactory. The marriage of simple architectural shapes with the virgin por- tions of the rock is exceedingly happy ; we find here united the picturesque rugged outlines of nature, with the human interest supplied by a work of art, and the latter, as an index of the mind that created it, never fails to excite our curiosity and call forth our sympathies. The circular opening seen in the pseudo-door is certainly a late, perhaps a modern degradation, made by treasure-seekers to enable them to penetrate into the inner chamber, which they supposed to exist behind. The irregular cutting of the narrow aperture is enough to prove that it did not form part of the original plan, but was hastily pierced to the size of a dormer-window to allow a child to get in, when, being disappointed in their object, they suspended their operations. But for this, however, the real and only entrance, near the summit of the rock, would not have been suspected. Now, anybody by putting his head through the aperture can see the well into which the body was lowered, as it was conveyed to its last abode. The grave where the body was laid was no more than the bottom of the well or chimney, 4 m. 30 c. high, opening towards the middle of the vertical fa9ade. Reference to our per- spective section, through transverse axis (Fig. 52), shows that, as soon as the dead was placed in his stony bed, the mouth of the well was sealed down with care by two stout slabs, the marks of which 60 c. apart may still be seen. Their arrangement and the salience of the upper stone over the one below are indicated by dotted lines in plan (Fig. 53). As the walls of the well would not be seen, little care was bestowed on their appear- ance and effect, so that they were left almost in the rough ; the builders being content to invest the sepulchre with the utmost solidity, so as to guard it against unwelcome visitors and profana- tion. As at lasili Kaia, here also the false door is furnished with a double case ; the second or inner being set back from the first. The general arrangement is identical, and the differences are