[74] See further, Chap. V.
[75] Fig. 6, B.
[76] Such jars, or alabastra, were highly esteemed; and the royal factory need not surprise us, since the king not only employed them for his own use, but sent the larger sort away as presents. In the Persian period we know that Xerxes despatched some as royal gifts, inscribed with his own name and titles, as far afield as Egypt and the western coast of Asia Minor.
[77] See above, p. 28, Fig. 5.
[78] See Fig. 6, F; this portion of the ground-plan of the palace is given on a larger scale in Fig. 9.
[79] Fig. 9, b, c and d.
[80] Fig. 9, f and g. The courts (numbered on the plan 1-3) are square like the small courts or light-wells in the rest of the palace, and like them were evidently left open in order to give light and air to the chambers round them. In the Persian period one of them (No 1) was roofed over wholly or in part, as the bases for two pillars, formed of palm-trunks, are still in place, which were clearly intended to support roof-beams. These are indicated by solid circles on the plan.
[81] See above, p. 30, Fig. 6, d.
[82] See p. 42, Fig. 9, e.
[83] Fig. 9, 1. This is the court roofed in during the Persian period (see p. 44, n. 1), evidently to secure the king a second covered passage-way when passing from the Throne Room or from some of its adjoining chambers to the private palace.