Page:History of Art in Sardinia, Judæa, Syria and Asia Minor Vol 2.djvu/132

 ii6 A History of Art in Sardinia and Jud^a. towers to strengthen it, so as to render the city capable of sus- taining a siege, and close up the pass if necessary. A complete drawing of the system of defence would be highly interesting ; but, for obvious reasons, all we were able to do was to check those of our predecessors and note some details which had escaped them. On the city side, the palace was protected by two forts of about equal size, midway between it and the wall. The cliffs which supported them are defended by steep precipices towards the north of the hill, and at the other sides by a double wall, which encompassed the area on which rose the towers, thus form- ing a citadel of considerable strength. They are called Sari- Kale " Yellow Fortress," and lentje-Kale, '' New Fortress," by the natives (Fig. 299). In the construction of these forts they adhered as a rule to what is technically called *' ashlar " work ; but here and there specimens of frankly polygonal masonry are encountered ; and besides chambers, each had a cistern excavated on the top, so that the garrison, if victualled, could hold out even when the town was in the hands of the enemy, until relieved by reinforcements from without. Beyond the wall, along the bed of the stream, were advanced posts or redoubts. The place on this side was strongly guarded by precipitous rocks, which extended to the bottom of the ravine ; but if the enemy approached the town across the mountain ridges, they would be on a line with these commanding positions ; and against this eventuality walls with polygonal arrangement had been provided. The city wall, from four to five metres in thickness, ran between these outposts and the inner towers. Its construction was more or less irregular ; the larger blocks were reserved for the exterior, and the space between the facings was filled in with rubbish and small stones. A more careful system of masonry is observable about the gateways. A ditch with retaining wall, which in places (where it was rock-cut) is still in good preservation, surrounded the town on three sides, at the distance of 20 m. from the rampart, sloping at an angle of 39 or 40 degrees, and constituted a glacis partly rock-cut, or flagged over to prevent the earth slipping down. A walk over it must at all times have been a very arduous undertaking, and even now would be impossible, but for the grass and shrubs which have grown between the stones. It is only by placing the foot against them at each slab, and holding