Page:History of Art in Sardinia, Judæa, Syria and Asia Minor Vol 1.djvu/64

 46 A H [story of Art in Sardinia and Jud.ea. point of divergence between talayots and nuraghs is, that in the former the flight of steps leading to the platform on the top is always outside. This difference, however, is more apparent than real ; for La Marmora, whose drawing we reproduce, dis- tinctly states that, owing to some of the slabs in the facing having fallen, the remaining ones yield convenient steps for reaching the top. 1 This is confirmed by many scholars, who had better oppor- tunities for studying these monuments than fell to the lot of La Marmora in his flying visit. They ascertained that the upper storey and terrace, now destroyed, were formerly possessed of an intervening flight of steps. 2 The length of time during which nuraghs were built is unknown, but it is evident, from their number and the vast area they cover, that they were the work of several generations. Nothing is to be deduced from the fact that the arches of a Roman acqueduct rest upon the Nora Niiragh, which must have presented as ruinous an aspect, when the Romans used it as a foundation, as it does in the present day ; 3 and it is quite possible that nuraghs had long been abandoned in a city occupied by the Phoenicians and the Romans afterwards, whilst they continued to be built in the more retired parts of the country ; for a deep-seated custom of several hundred years duration is not easily set aside. We are doubtful as to the expediency of dividing nuraghs into two categories, as has been proposed, viewing as older, those almost entirely constructed with unhewn stones, and as comparatively modern, those exhibit- ing traces of the hammer, since such divergence may be due to the nature of the material employed, varying from one district to another, or to fortuitous circumstances, such as hurried building in one set of towers, whilst great care and leisure were bestowed upon another. In scores of these monuments the stonework presents slabs of smaller dimension and better prepared as it rises from the ground, although there are no indications showing dif- 1 La Marmora, Voyage en Sardaigne, p. 348. 2 Juan Ramis y Ramis, quoted by La Marmora {Voyage en Sardaigne, p. 551). See also Mas Baléares e nuraghes Sardes, apuntes arclieologicos de Don Francesco Martorelli y Pina ordenados por Salvador Sampere y Miquel, pp. 199 and 203. Barcelona, 1879. The inner stairs are specially mentioned by Curnia and Di Puenta Caja. Cf. Olio y Quadrado, Historia de la isla de Menorca, torn. ii. p. 375, 1876 : "Los talayots son atraversados por una escalera interior o una galeria simple o bifurcada con nichos o alcobillas a los lados." 3 La Marmora, Voyage en Sardaigne, Pt. II. p. 52.