Page:History of Art in Primitive Greece - Mycenian Art Vol 1.djvu/367

 340 Primitive Greece : Mycenian Art. the primitive layer was covered by the subsequent stratum left by the classic age. On the north side the foundations of the temple rest on the rock, but on the south front they stand on silted- up earth three metres deep ; it was within these accu- mulations that walls of two different ancient periods came to light. The first to appear were built of small stones bonded with clay, enclosing narrow cells. Then, a little below, there were others made of much larger blocks, cemented and dressed fair, which crossed each other at right angles, and enclosed an area which turned out to be a vast courtyard, paved with lime concrete. These walls had a coating of lime. Over the court- yard, as well as over the site of the ancient edifice, hastily-built and closely-packed wretched hovels have left but faint traces of their ephemeral existence. Accordingly, by following the jets of the massive and therefore older walls, we shall easily make out their circuit, and obtain a ground-plan coinciding in every respect with that of the similar buildings, whether at Troy or Tiryns, to which the name of palace has been applied. The main division is a large hall with a double vestibule set back to back ; a great court, and around it several minor apart- ments, but how distributed is no longer clear. Two roads led up to it, and the whole block was surrounded by a wall of great strength. From the Lions Gate, the main path ascended towards the acropolis, turning the temenos on the north, up the southern slope of the hill, reaching the palace close under the court ^ The royal mansion planted on the rocky height — here very abrupt — which served as pedestal to it, towered far above the remainder of the acropolis, than its fellows of Tiryns and Troy. Hence, to bring the path to the foot of the palace, many rock-cuttings would have been required. Another plan was adopted. As stated, the path stops by an outer courtyard (Fig. ii6, r), preceded by a vestibule whose entrance bears no trace of either door or holes in the ground- sill (a) ; but right of this ante-room was a small chamber (6), which may perhaps have been a porter's lodge. From the courtyard started a stairway, two metres forty centimetres broad, of which twenty steps are in good preservation, and two more ^ A description of a road built with alternating courses of large and small stones, which from the Lions Gate ascended towards the acropolis, will be found in AtXHovy 1 89 1.