Page:History of Art in Primitive Greece - Mycenian Art Vol 1.djvu/372

 My. 345 masonry ; the stones are still unsquared, laid in mud, and of no great size. No layer of lime or even clay is seen on the walls, and the floors have no concrete. The houses were paved with round stones, over which was spread a bed of earth beaten down. The walls are unpierced by any doorways, and preserve a mean height of two metres. Hence, on the first blush, one is tempted to see here simple foundations, covered in by-gone days by later substructures ; but as the foot of these walls is practically flush with the paths still perceptible on the rock which once skirted them, the notion has to be abandoned ; furthermore, the pisi flooring of these apartments proves that they formed part of the building. The only alternative, then, is that they were the store-rooms of the house ; above them came the first storey, where the family lived. It was approached, as most houses in Argolis are now approached, by an exterior staircase parallel to the facade of the building (Fig. 117). The chambers on the ground-floor in all probability were only lighted by narrow slits pierced in the walls ; a trap-door may have led to them from the upper storey.' Curiously enough, burials were discovered in 1 Schliemann, describing the ruins of the house which he identified with the l>alace of Atridffi, also noticed that the chambers he was uncovering showed no trace of doors.