ϚϠΧΙ (6696).[[518]]
“Tower, by command of the Emperor Isaac Angelus, under the superintendence of Basil ... (?) in the year 1188.”
The twin towers rise to a great height, and are supported along their base by a massive buttress or counter-fort, 1 G1 G2 G3 G4, that stands 23 feet above the present ground-level, and projects from 19-½ to 26 feet beyond the towers.
The tower N, an irregular quadrilateral building in two stories, measures 48 feet by 43 feet; the tower S, also quadrilateral, is 36 feet by 47 feet. But although closely associated, the two buildings differ greatly in style of construction. The masonry of N is irregular, having a large number of pillars inserted into it; often partially, so that many of them project like mock artillery. On the other hand, the tower S is carefully put together with the usual alternate courses of stone and brickwork, and is, moreover, ornamented with a string-course. A similar diversity of style is observable in the counter-fort. The portion about the tower N is built of small stones roughly joined, whereas the portion about the tower S consists of splendid large blocks, regularly hewn, and carefully fitted. Manifestly the towers are not the work of the same period.
The tower N is commonly regarded as the tower of Isaac Angelus; while the tower S has been considered, since Dr. Paspates propounded the opinion, to be the Tower of Anemas,[[519]] which stood in the vicinity of the Palace of Blachernæ, and is famous in the annals of Constantinople as a prison for political offenders of high rank. The chambers in the body of the wall, behind and to the north of the towers, Dr. Paspates thinks, were the cells of that celebrated prison.
How far these views are correct can be determined only after the towers and the chambers in the adjoining wall have been carefully surveyed. The plan attached to this chapter will render the survey easier and clearer.[[520]]
At x was a small arched postern, by which one entered the vaulted tunnel Z, that led through the counter-fort G´ to the gateway l in the north-eastern side of the tower S. The sill of the postern x is now nearly 10 feet above the exterior ground-level, but originally it was higher, so that persons could pass in and out only by means of a ladder that could be withdrawn at pleasure. The postern x, the tunnel Z, and the gateway l are now built up with solid masonry to the spring of the vault, obliging the explorer to make his way on his hands and knees in a most uncomfortable manner.[[521]] Judging from the carefulness of the work, the passage was blocked before the Turkish Conquest.
By the gateway l one enters the lofty vestibule b, now in total darkness, so that all further exploration requires the aid of artificial light. The original floor of the vestibule is buried below a mass of earth which stands at the present level of Z and l.
In the wall to the right is a low arched niche, i; in the wall g, directly in front of the explorer, a wide breach opens into E; while in the wall to the left is a loophole O, now on the level of the present floor of b.
Crawling first through O, one finds one’s self in a spacious vaulted hall, some 200 feet long, and from 29 to 40 feet wide. The lower portion of the hall is filled with débris and earth, piled unevenly upon the floor, in great mounds and deep hollows, which add indeed to the weirdness of the scene, but, unfortunately, render a complete exploration of the interior impossible.