Page:History of Art in Sardinia, Judæa, Syria and Asia Minor Vol 1.djvu/70

 52 A History or Art in Sardinia and Jud.ea. slabs, upon which a layer of earth was laid (Fig. 38). Some- times a huge block having a circular cavity in the centre, apparently for the head, forms the upper extremity of the grave. 1 It will be seen that the innermost portion of the vault was taken up by the body, whilst the remaining space was used by sorrowing friends for depositing such objects as the dead were supposed to require in their long journey beyond the grave. The idea of subterraneous chambers, with doorways impossible to any but infants, having been used for other than burial purposes, cannot be entertained, the more so that human remains and other bones, bronze weapons, and terra-cotta vases have been found in them. 2 Consequent on the size and shape of these tombs, there is no in- dication of the bodies having been cremated. They all point exactly ten degrees south, the dead having their faces turned to the first rays of the rising sun. 3 A noteworthy feature in these monuments is the aperture seen in the stela through which the hand was passed for placing libations and offerings. A cir- cumstance of the utmost signifi- cance and which serves to deter- mine that a " cultus " of the dead existed with these islanders, as with all the nations with whom we are acquainted. In all prob- ability the aperture was closed by a slab, and only opened on stated and special days. The elevated position, the peculiar aspect of Sardinian sepul- chres, whose lofty stelae were conspicuous at a distance, notably the remarkable size of the mortuary chamber, attracted the attention of the inquisitive and observant Greeks. Aristotle seems to allude to the customary rites practised around them, when he states that people were wont to sleep near them in the b Fig. 38.— A Giant's Tomb ; a, elevation ; b, longitudinal section ; c, plan. La Marmora, Atlas, Plate IV. 1 La Marmora, Voyage en Sardaigne, Pt. II. pp. 10, 1 figs. 1 and 3, letter I. 8 Ibid, p. 31. 3 Ibid. p. 35. and 30, 31, Plate III.