Page:History of Art in Primitive Greece - Mycenian Art Vol 1.djvu/303

 278 Primitive Greece : Mvcenian Art. rectangular block of masonry, built of irregular sandstone, having a round hole in the middle (Fig. 8i). The mass, one metre twenty centimetres in diameter, was at first mistaken for a Fio. Si. — PIsm of pil-offering. well or cistern." In clearing out the central cavity, however, it was discovered that the circling masonry only reached to a depth of ninety centimetres ; below it there was nothing but Fig. 83. — Tnutnene section of pit -ofTe ring. earth. Accordingly, says Dorpfeld, with whom we are at one, we must regard it as an altar of a distinct character, which we would call a "pit-offering" {Fig. 82).^ Among the few pits as ' Tiryns. « Ibid.