Page:History of Art in Primitive Greece - Mycenian Art Vol 2.djvu/102

 Description and Restoration of Tomb I. 73 the upper edge of the lintel x, we learn the nature of the applied pieces which formerly stood there ; namely, human or animals' heads ; as the Mycenian artist, however, rarely attacked the human face, and seems to have delighted in the representation of huge animals, lions or bulls, we incline for animal figures. Remem- bering the castle gate, we have, like Donaldson before us, placed here lions' heads, the symbols of strength and courage. In the corners, at point Y, are dowel-holes, which denote the former presence of two other applied pieces ; the small number of sealing-holes does not allow us to surmise what these were. We have assumed that there once stood here an eagle or hawk, or some such-like figure. In describing the present state of the building, we adverted to the marks left by the door on the threshold (Fig. 256, rr, v). These indicate that two-thirds only of the wing were movable — the panel comprised between R and v remaining fixed — so as to facilitate the movement of the unwieldy heavy door to and fro. The same reason counselled the curtailing of the height of the folding-door ; had it been carried up to its present elevation, five metres sixty centimetres, the labour involved in swinging it round would have been well- nigh impossible ; hence the necessity of an impost or quiescent part This, in our plate, takes up about one-third of the total height of the hollow. Was the portal closed by a grating, as conceived by Donaldson ? We wot not. A sepulchral door must have been solid, to shut out light and prying eyes. We assume it to have consisted of wooden planks with a bronze plating, after the fashion of the Balawat Gates. ^ These metal plates are relieved by such forms as meet the eye throughout the building. The door is surrounded by a separate case, borrowed from a Mycenian rock-cut tomb, where it is painted (Fig. 234). As regards the mechanism of the lock, it has been evolved out of information gleaned in the Homeric poems. We have indicated the holes for the hook which served as key, by removing which the bolting beam could be drawn in and out at pleasure, by means of cords fastened to a ring which is seen between the holes in question. The excavations of 1878 have shown that the wall coping of the dromos was neither horizontal nor "stepped."^ The junction between the front wall and those flanking the approach ^ History of Art 2 Thiersch, Die Thoios,