Page:History of Art in Primitive Greece - Mycenian Art Vol 2.djvu/157

 122 Primitive Grkfx'e : Mycknian Art. dallying among the straw. Thatch does very well for isolated structures, but would be found most inconvenient in contiguous blocks of buildings extending over a large area. To cover a whole pile with a deeply-inclined ridged roof would involve abnormal height. A scarcely more happy note would have been sounded in giving a separate roof to each section of the unit ; for not only would the sloping lines of the lofts cross each other at more than one point, but the gutter of the higher covering would discharge itself with dire effect on the neighbouring and lower roof. Even supposing that such a serious drawback had been satisfactorily met, where could suitable material — i, e, sufficiently water-tight — have been found to be placed at the meeting-points of any two sides } Flat roofs did not suffer from the same disadvantage ; the gentle incline of their surfaces allowed the waters to be slowly drained off, and with a little management they could be conducted from the higher to the lower roofs and on to the ground, without having caused too much damage on the way. Discarding the hypothesis of deeply-inclined thatched cover- ings, at any rate for important edifices, we are left with flat roofs of clay only. These, unless it is wished to see them carried oflf by the first heavy shower, should be nearly horizontal. Huge rugged slabs, or clots of mortar, composed of clay, pebbles, and lime, have been collected in several rooms of the palace at Mycenae. They average six centimetres in thickness ; the traces left by the stalks of bulrushes on one of their sides give us a clue relating to the ingredients that made up the house-covering. These consisted of rushes closely stacked over the joists of the ceiling, followed by a layer of mortar. It may well be that in poorer houses they managed as best they could with clay and chopped straw alone. The superficial layer of earth was levelled out with a roller after the rain. To this end the shafts of ancient columns have been utilized for centuries, and still are so utilized in Eastern regions. Although we have set up flat roofs almost everywhere, the employment of which seems to be demonstrated, at any rate for the principal edifices, we have tried to infuse a little variety in their outward appearance. The citadel shows houses with an upper storey (PI. IX.), having traces of steps which led to the