Page:The Journal of Classical and Sacred Philology, Volume 1, 1854.djvu/362

 352 Journal of Philology. This answered very fortunately; for they discovered in a few hours, that the deeper they dug, so much the more the building increased at the base, which afterwards afforded them stones, not only for making lime, but also for building. At the end of four or five days, after having made a great discovery one after- noon, they saw an opening like the entrance into a cellar ; they took a candle and descended into it, where they found a beau- tiful large square chamber, adorned on all sides with marble columns, with their bases, capitals, architraves, friezes, and cornices sculptured and carved in half-relief; the intercolumnia- tions covered with white glass, fillets or flat-bands of different coloured marbles, ornamented with mouldings or sculptures con- formable to the rest of the work, and properly suited to the white ground of the wall, where were only to be seen small figures (") and all kinds of battles cut in half-relief. Having at first sight admired this, and after having considered in their mind the singularity of the work, they then took down, knocked to pieces, and broke it, for the purpose of using it as they had done the rest. Besides this chamber, they found afterwards a very low door, that conducted to another, like an antichamber, where there was a tomb with its sarcophagus and its lid of white marble, very beautiful and shining admirably, which as they had not sufficient time, they did not open, retreat having already been sounded. The next day, after they had returned, they found the tomb open, and the ground covered all over with very small pieces of cloth of gold, and fragments of the same metal; which made them think that some Corsairs (/>), who then infested the whole of this coast, having had some intima- tion of what had been discovered in that place, came there during the night and took off the lid of the tomb ; and it is supposed that they found there great riches and treasures. Thus this superb sepulchre (v), accounted one of the seven wonders and marvellous works of the world, after having escaped the fury of barbarians, and existed for the space of about 2247 years ( r ), buried among the ruins of the city of Halicarnassus, was discovered and pulled down, for the purpose of fortifying the castle of St Peter, by the Knights Crusaders of Rhodes, who were quickly after driven from it by the Turk('), and at the same time from the whole of Asia (Minor) (').