No. 324. Vessel of Terra-cotta. Sepulchre III. Size 7:10.

HAND-MADE VASE OF TERRA-COTTA.

There were also found with the three bodies of the third sepulchre the small hand-made vessel of terra-cotta (No. 324), which shows, on a light yellow dead colour, the following ornamentation of a dark red colour: three circular bands and a spiral line interlacing eight circles, each of which contains a palm-leaf; every two circles are further intersected by two large round spots.

No. 325. An object of Alabaster. Sepulchre III. Size 7:10.

No. 325 is of alabaster, but looks as if it were of shell; it represents two hands joined together in juxtaposition and forming a hollow; all the fingers are distinctly visible. The use of this object is difficult to explain, it being too heavy to have served as a spoon or trowel.

In the same tomb I found a second piece of splendidly polished rock-crystal; its form is more than a hemisphere; it has a perforation in the middle of the bottom, and another on each side. Its interior has paintings of a lively red colour. Its use is altogether inexplicable to me; were it not for the paintings I should believe it to be the handle of a sceptre; but as it is, it can never have served as such.

There were found in the same sepulchre an entire but quite plain silver vase, with one handle; a broken silver vessel with a spiral ornamentation, and a broken plain silver goblet; also a silver vase ornamented with a horizontal row of twelve golden stars of repoussé work, but unfortunately so much broken that it cannot be photographed. I may further mention a large bronze knife with a wooden handle.

I also found in this third tomb the copper-plated mouthpiece of a large vase, which consists, according to Professor Landerer, of a composition of silver and lead; the mouthpiece has probably only been plated with copper in order to plate this latter again with gold. Further, an alabaster cup, a fragmentary bronze vase, two very large copper vases with two handles, a large copper caldron (λεβης), with two handles, and two others with three handles. All these objects are similar to those found in the fourth tomb, of which the engravings will be given in the next chapter.