Page:History of Art in Primitive Greece - Mycenian Art Vol 2.djvu/169

 Primitive Greece: Mvcenian Art. distance, and prevented injury to the side-walls. We learn from the bas-relief over the Lions Gate (PI. XIV.), and the decoration of one of the Mycenian tombs (Fig. 286), that the ceiling which supports this triple architrave is composed of round joists, closely packed together, like the corresponding timbers of Lycian architecture," The pair of .square beams which form the return- ing angle at the sides enframe the joists and prevent displace- I''rG. 299.— The Mycenian palace. Second epoch. Pailial longitudinal section through vefilibule. ment ; the heads of the round pieces form, above and beyond the joists, a continuous series of juxtaposed discs. On these roundels, again, is placed a second joisted floor or ceiling, the com- ponent parts of which intersect the longitudinal timbers {Fig. 300). Finally, crowning the entablature, is a raised plate, protected by a thin metal cuirass, which serves to keep the clay mattress in place. The decoration, in this style of building, is exceedingly simple, 1 Hislory of Art.