No. 234. Plan of Tombstones above the Third Tomb.
The soil consisted of black earth, intermixed with fragments of hand-made and very ancient wheel-made pottery, and masses of small knives of obsidian. Besides a small number of Hera-idols, I found there a solid piece of ivory, one inch high and broad, in the form of a beehive, having in the lower flat side a tubular hole for suspension with a thread; while on the convex or globular side is an engraved cross, embellished with five gold pins with flat heads, each of which has a small hole in the centre of its head (see No. 235); also a piece of wood, 4 in. long and 2 in. broad, with beautifully carved spiral lines (No. 222),[276] which seems to belong to a box (νάρθηξ); also two well-polished pieces of wood with sharp points, but otherwise almost in the form of long thin cones.
No. 235.
Piece of ornamented
ivory. (5 M.)
Size 3:4.
In digging deeper I found that, at a distance of 33 ft. from the east side of the circular double parallel row of large slabs which encloses the Agora, the rock suddenly slopes, for a space of 30 ft. in length and width, at an angle of 30 degrees, the perpendicular height of the slope being 16½ ft. Further to the west the rock forms a platform 30 ft. long and broad, with two sepulchres, of which I shall first describe the smaller one, because the aforesaid two tombstones stood at a height of 16½ ft. above its mouth. This sepulchre, which in the Plan B I call the Third Tomb, is 16 ft. 8 in. long, and 10 ft. 2 in. broad, and it is cut into the rock, on the west side 2 ft. 4 in., on the south side 3 ft. 4 in., on the east side 7 ft., and on the north 5 ft. deep.[277] These different depths find their explanations in the slope and in the unevenness of the rock, because the bottom of the tomb is of course perfectly horizontal. At about 9 ft. above the mouth of this tomb I discovered close to it, on the slope of the rock, at a depth of 21 ft. below the former surface, a number of skeletons of men, which had evidently not been on the funeral pyre, but were so much destroyed by the moisture that none of the skulls could be taken out entire. The only objects I found with them were knives of obsidian and five very pretty hand-made vases, two of which are of plain light yellow, the three others of a light green colour, with a rude black ornamentation (see Nos. 236, 237).
Nos. 236, 237. Hand-made Vases of Terra-cotta. Depth 20 ft. Half-size.
ROCK IN CENTRE OF THE AGORA.
Immediately to the north of the tomb in question, and thus in the centre of the Agora, I brought to light the before-mentioned rock which protrudes from the plateau, and has, in my opinion, served as the platform or pulpit (βῆμα) for the orators. It had been split and was overhanging the great hollow in which are the two tombs just referred to. Below this rock, at a depth of 22 ft. below the surface, many Hera-idols, whorls, and other objects were found; also a very curious sort of bronze dagger (No. 238), consisting of two separate two-edged blades, which had been soldered together in the middle, so that the four edges are separated from each other by a quarter of an inch; both blades are 10 in. long, the whole dagger being 13 inches long. The handle has evidently been inlaid with wood or bone, fastened by three small nails of bronze, which are preserved. As I considered one of the overhanging rocks particularly dangerous, I did all I could to keep my workmen back from it; however, as, in order to stimulate the workmen to be very attentive, I am in the habit of giving them a drink-penny for all objects, even the most trifling, which have any interest for science, and as so many small objects were found just below the dangerous rock, two of my workmen always returned to the spot. But seeing that the rock had a crack which widened, I literally dragged the two men from their perilous position, when all at once the rock fell with a thundering crash, and we were all three knocked down by its splinters, but none of us was injured.