Page:History of Art in Sardinia, Judæa, Syria and Asia Minor Vol 1.djvu/234

 i4 A History of Art in Sardinia and Jud.v.a. located along the remaining- sides of the court, or in the building which we have placed right and left of the doorway, behind the open walk. Ezekiel is alluding to these chambers when he writes : " And the hooks were an hand broad, and upon the tables the Mesh of the offering " [Ezek. lx. 43). These rooms or butchers' shops were walled up at the back ; we have supposed them open- ing like a porch into the court, with a light awning or curtain, which a movement of the hand could draw back or across the arch - — a custom of general practice in warm countries. Here, upon suspension hooks " a palm broad," hung the skins and quartered animals. Next to these, at the south-east and north-east angles, were twin chambers for the priests ' facing two small squares at the opposite angles, where for the sake of symmetry and the general economy of the plan we have put two corresponding apart- ments, that doubtless existed here albeit not specified in the text. A glance at our cut (Fig. 135) will illustrate better than word- painting the advantage of having at the four corners of the court buildings to break the monotonous outline of the long colonnade. The sanctuary as the centre, round which were grouped immense courts with glistening pavement and vast edifices, could not but be possessed of a porch analogous to the pylons of the inner enclosures, save that its proportions were on a greater scale, and that instead of measuring 25 cubits, as the other doorways, it was 50 cubits from side to side, with a projection of five cubits either way on the body of the temple, making its entire width 60 cubits by 20 (Fig. 136). Somewhat in front of the façade were twin pillars one on each side. To them we will refer again later on, when we shall adduce our reasons for having detached them from the edifice. The centre of this block of masonry, in the line of the temple, was occupied by a vestibule 20 cubits long by 1 1 broad, 2 with remaining space on the sides for a narrow stairs, a porter's lodge, and passages leading to the little squares of the sanctuary, or on to the passage which ran along the small outer chambers (Fig. 137). These means of egress to the north and south fully coincide with the text we are following. 3 The orientation of the temple 1 Read Ezek. xl. 44-46. 2 The 20 cubits' length in the text are clearly meant for the vestibule, since the greater dimensions of the porch are in the other direction from east to west. 3 1 Kings vi. 5, S-10; Ezek. xli. 6-1 r.