Page:History of Art in Sardinia, Judæa, Syria and Asia Minor Vol 1.djvu/322

 292 A History of Art in Sardinia and Jud.ea. the ground, are scarcely what would be expected in the form of a tomb. To these a religious character must be ascribed, akin to that of monuments of the same nature at Gilgal, Bethel, and Brittany. Sometimes the menhir is insulated, as in Fig. 1 78 ; x at other times it forms the centre of a single, a double, or even a treble row of stones (Figs. 1 94-1 96). 2 The central block of Fig. 194 is over 1 2 feet in height. Dolmens, as well as cir- cular and rectangular enclosures are met with side by side in the same district. To this class belongs the menhir group called " Es Mareighât," "smeared " with some thick liquid (Fig. 197). At Minyeh, the best-preserved example (Fig. 198) presents a circle of large blocks rudely piled, with a cubical stone or baetulus in the middle, such as the ancient Semites were wont to consecrate to their chief female deity. To the east, a little courtyard is formed by a single ring of stones. These rude shrines of Moab bear a faint resemblance to the Punic Fig. 194. — Stone Enclosure. Deir Ghuzaleh. Plan. The Suri'ey of Western Palestine, torn. ii. p. 115. Fig. 195. — Stone Enclosure. Deir Ghuzaleh. Front View. temples at Gaulos and Malta, 3 except that these, albeit exceedingly archaic, testify to some progress in constructive art ; if the walls are still built of stones roughly hewn, the doors and the interior show blocks deftly cut and chiselled. Then, too, they are more complicated in plan, with apses at different levels, but taken alto- 1 Quarterly Statements, p. 70, 1882. Some menhirs reach the height of three metres {Ibid., p. 71). 2 Ibid., pp. 71,72. Near Kefrein is a circle, with central stone four metres in diameter. 8 Hist, of Art, torn, iii., chap. iv. § 3.