Chap. II. TELASGIC OR CYCLOPEAN.

13
interstices wctC filleil have mostly disappearecl. The soiitliern rain]);irt<; of tlic citadel and
all the other walls follow the natural irregularity of the precipice on which tliey stand. At
its eastern point it is attached hy
a narrow isthmus to the mountain.
It is a long irregular triangle,
standing nearly east and west-
The walls are mostly of well-
jointed polygonal stones, although
the rough construction occasionally
appears. The general thickness of
the walls is 21 ft., in some places
25
;
their present height, in tiie
most perfect part, is 4:5 ft. There
are, in some places, very sliglit
projections from the walls, resem-
bling towers, whereof the most
perfect one is at the south-east
angle, itr l)readth being 33 ft. and
Its height 4:5 ft. Tiie size of the
block wliereon the lions are scnl))-
tured is 1 1 ft. broad at the base,
ft. high, and about 2 ft. thick,
of a triangular form suited to the
et(.ss mule for its rcci-ption Ilus block, m its ijipc i\ uiee, resembles the green basalt of
;i5. In this (dace we think it projier to notice a buililing at Mycene, which has been
called by some the Treasury of Atreus, or the tomb of his son Agamenuion mentioned by
i'ausaiiias. This building at first misled some authors into
a belief that the use of the arch was known in Greece at a
very early period
;
but examination of it shows that it was
formed by horizontal courses, jjrojecting beyond each other as
they rose, and not l)y radiating joints or beds, and that the sur-
face was afterwards formed so as to give the whole the ap-
pearance of a pointed dome, by cutting away the lower angles
(Ji(/.
14.). It is jirobahly the most ancient of buildings in
Greece
;
and it is a curious circumstance that at New Grange, near Urogheda, in Ire-
land, tliere is a monument >vhose form, construction, and plan of access resemble it .so
ur AXABUS.
strongly that it is im ssible to consider their similarity the result of accident. A repr
sentation of this may be seen in the work by I\Ir. llig-
gins which we have so often quoted, and will, we think,
\
satisfy the reader of the great probability of the hypothesis
hereinbefore assumed having all the ajjpearance of truth.
By the subjoined plan
(Ji;/.
15.)
it will be seen that a
space 20 ft. wide, between the two walls, conducts us to
tlie entrance, which is 9 ft. 6 in. at the base, 7 ft. 10 in. at
the top, and about 19 ft. high. The entrance passage is
18 ft. long and leads to the main chaml)er, which, in ils
general form, has some resemblance to a i)ee-hive, whose
diameter is about 48 ft. and height about 49.
(Jig.
16
)
The blocks are placed in courses as above shown, 34 courses
being at present visible. They are laid with the greatest
precision, without cement, and are unequal in size. Their
KiK.
IS. PLAN oi- THKAsiKv OK ATRKus.
avcragc liciglit uiay be taken at 2 ft., though to a spectator
on tlie tloor, from the effect of the perspective, they appear to diminish very much towards
the vertex. This momunent has a second chamber, to which you enter on the right from the
larger one just described. This is about 27 ft by 20, and 19 ft. high
;
but its walls, from the
obstruction of the earth, are not visible. The doorway to it is 9^ ft. high, 4 ft. 7 in. wide
at the base, and 4 ft. 3 in. at the top. Similar to the larger or principal doorway, it has a
triangular opening over its lintel. The stones which fitted into these triangidar openings
were of enormous dimensions, for the height of that over the principal entrance is 1 2 ft.,
and its breadth 7 ft. 8 in. The vault has been either lined with metal or ornamented with
some sort of decorations, inasmuch as a^ number of bronze nails are found fixed in the stones
up to the summit. The lintel of the door consists of two pieces of stone, the largest whereof
is 27 ft. long, 17 ft. wide, and 3 ft. 9 in. thick, calculated, therefore, at 133 tons weight ; a
mass which can be compared with none ever used in building, except those at Balbec and
in Kgypt. The other lintel is of the same height, and probably (its ends are hidden) of