Page:History of Art in Sardinia, Judæa, Syria and Asia Minor Vol 1.djvu/180

 IÔ2 A History of Art in Sardinia and Jud.ea. courses. Our illustration (Fig. in) shows this method, which was in vogue thousands of years ago, evidenced by multitudinous examples in the royal quarries, a method still practised about Jerusalem. Here, then, the nature and lie of the rock did not determine the height and length of the stones, for no matter the size required, the builder was always able to procure them. The courses dimin- FlG. ii2.— Large Stones in place. De Vogué. Le Temple* p. «, • i • i • i ^ ^i 1 ' ' 5 ish in height as they rise from the ground. On the west face of the wall thé basement exposed to view shows the highest course measuring i m. 90 c, whilst the lowest at this point is barely 1 m. The difference in the length of the blocks is even more remarkable, ranging from 7 m. to o m. 80 c. The block at the south-west angle is 1 2 m. in length by 2 m. in height; whilst Fig. 114.— Dressing oflarge Stones. De Vogué,. Lf Temple, the COmer Stone at the south-east angle, albeit not the longest, is certainly the heaviest seen in the sanctuary wall, weighing over one hundred tons. 1 As might be expected, the stones of great bulk are met with at or near the 1 Recovery, p. 121. Fig. 113. — Marginal groove oflarge Stones. Dp Vogué, Le Temple, p. 5.