In the trench close to the Lions' Gate I have been obliged to stop the work for a time, the Archæological Society of Athens having promised to send an engineer to repair the Cyclopean wall above and beside the gate, and to fasten the sculpture of the two lions with cramp-irons, so as to secure it against the shock of an earthquake.
In the large second trench I have brought to light a second wall of smaller stones, 12 feet high, which runs parallel with the great circuit wall, and thus forms a curve of about the third part of a circle. It enters the adjoining field, which is now being excavated, and its direction parallel with the great circuit wall seems to have been unintentional. It is not, however, vertical, but its western face slopes at an angle of 75 degrees with the horizon, like the great tower of Ilium. It deserves attention that here and there we see in this wall wrought flat slabs, which give the impression that the wall belongs to a later period than the Cyclopean circuit wall. On this wall are two parallel rows of large, closely-joined slabs of a calcareous stone, which show the same inclination as the wall, and appear to form, with the part in the adjoining field, a full circle. If so, the wall, on which these rows of slabs stand, can only have been built for the purpose of supporting them in this lower part of the Acropolis, and of raising them to the level of their prolongation on the much higher neighbouring ground. It deserves particular attention that on the inner side of the supposed circle, namely, on the side towards which the parallel rows of slabs incline, the vacant space has evidently been filled up with débris to the very top of the wall immediately after its completion.[200]
THE THIRD SCULPTURED TOMBSTONE.
I frequently found here, at a depth of from three to four feet, ashes of burnt animal matter, also masses of bones of animals, but no bones which I can identify as human, for no skull has turned up. The space between the two slanting parallel rows of slabs was filled with débris, mixed with innumerable fragments of beautiful archaic pottery, and a great many Hera-idols, but no bones were found there. Within the curve, and very near to the two parallel rows of slabs, I brought to light two more sculptured tombstones of a hard calcareous stone (see Nos. 141, 142), one of which is in the same line with the two sculptured slabs which I have already described, and only 1 ft. 5 in. south of them. It is 3 ft. 8¾ in. broad at the base, and 3 ft. 7½ in. at top; 6 in. thick, and 4 ft. 2 in. long; and thus the line of the three tombstones together is 13 ft. 8 in. long. This newly discovered third tombstone (No. 141) shows, like the two others, on its western side, a sculpture in bas-relief, which is divided by a horizontal fillet into two compartments, and is encompassed on all sides by two parallel fillets. Of the upper part of the stone a piece, apparently about one foot high, is missing. In the upper compartment is represented a warrior, whose head and neck are not now visible on account of the breaking of the stone. He is represented standing on a chariot drawn apparently by only one horse[201], the outstretched hind and fore legs and the uplifted tail of which seem to indicate that he is running with great velocity, just as on the two tombstones already described; the fore and hind legs of the horse are not separated, but appear as one broad leg. In this case the reins with which the warrior guides the horse are well indicated by one broad band; also the horse's tail is less bushy and better proportioned, but the rest of the animal's body is a perfect copy of that of the horse on the preceding bas-relief. The chariot-box is here exceedingly low, and very small when compared with that of the chariot on the other tombstone, but it is not less remarkable, because it is surrounded by a band or fillet (ἄντυξ), which is double on the lower part. Just behind this chariot-box is represented an enormously broad two-edged knife, the handle of which terminates in a very thick knob. As such a knife can never have existed, I presume that the artist intended to represent here a two-edged sword with a thick knob at the end of the handle, but that for want of space he made it very short, without however diminishing its breadth, for which there was room enough. The one wheel which is visible is much like that of the chariots on the other tombstones, for it has also only four spokes, forming a cross round the axle. The adversary on foot, who is visible on the right side, and whose upper part is likewise missing owing to the breaking of the stone, does not stand on the same level as the horse and the chariot, but he appears as if hovering in the air, on a level with the warrior in the chariot. He assaults the latter with a long lance, on which can be seen an object of a peculiar form, which much resembles one of the plain Trojan idols,[202] and must have served to attach the lance to the shoulder.
In the lower compartment we see two large circles, forming a figure of eight, lying horizontally, and in each of the two circles six spirals, of which the adjacent parts are linked together alternately, on the inside and outside, by curved bands in relief. Below the sculpture at the foot of the tombstone we see two spiral ornaments imperfectly scratched in the stone, as if the artist had made a trial sketch of what he was going to carve on the tablet. Our present artists make their sketches on paper, but the early Mycenean sculptor had neither paper and pencil nor pen and ink at his disposal, and so he made his trial sketch on the stone itself, but on its lower part, which was to be sunk into the ground and was therefore hidden from the eye.
No. 142. The Fourth Tombstone, found above the Sepulchres in the Acropolis. (4 M.)
About one-ninth of the actual size.
At a distance of only 10 feet south of the sculptured tombstone last described, and almost in a straight line with the three slabs, is the fourth tombstone (No. 142), carved with a bas-relief which likewise faces the west. This stêlé is also a trapezium, 6 in. thick, 6 ft. high, 4 ft. broad at the lower end, and 3 ft. 10½ in. at the upper end. Of the upper end a piece, probably about a foot long, is missing. That side of the stêlé which faces the west has a broad border to the right and left, and the remaining space is divided into three vertical compartments of equal breadth, which reach down to more than half the height of the stone. With the exception of two vertical lines, which form a border to the right and left, the middle compartment is left unsculptured, and was probably intended to represent a column. The two side compartments contain a broad wave-pattern, which represents the coils of a serpent, and descends vertically from the top to the bottom, following the direction of the fillets. Though it is only in low-relief, it appears to be vigorously carved. If, as Dr. Fr. Schlie observes to me, we had to show this pattern (a) by broken straight lines, we should do it in the manner shown by the pattern (b).