Page:History of Art in Phœnicia and Its Dependencies Vol 1.djvu/180

160 HISTORY OK ART IN PIKKMCIA AND ITS DK.I'KNDKNXTKS. Of the fourth monument nothing remains but two blocks which seem to have belonged to a kind of obelisk the rest of which has disappeared. There are no signs of any plinth. 1 Finally, the Burdj-cl-Bczzak^ of which we have already had occasion to speak, is also crowned by a pyramid (Figs. 6 and 87)." Ve have already explained that it is distinguished from other Arvadite tombs by the fact that it is not built, like them, on the top of a chamber. Its blocks have been shaken and dis- placed by earthquakes ; the soldiers and brigands who have inhabited it at various times, have done much to hasten its ruin, and yet it is still the most important and the best preserved building that has come down to us from ancient Phoenicia, for the o other tombs at Amrit are little more than monoliths. Its present aspect is that of a cubical mass of masonry built with horizontal courses and vertical joints ; the stones are more than sixteen feet long, and are laid without cement. On exploring the heap of debris gathered at its foot, it was discovered that this tomb was originally surmounted by a pyramid, of which nearly all the materials were found. It is likely that when the building was turned into a fortalice the pyramid was demolished for the sake of obtaining a Hat roof, which would be useful for defence. The tomb as it stands is thirty-seven feet high. Judging from the angle of the facing stones the crowning pyramid must have been a little more than sixteen feet high. Its former appearance may be gathered from M. Thobois's restoration (Fig. 6) ; its present state is shown in Fig. 87. In the interior there are two chambers, one above the other, and each opening to the outer air by a narrow door, or rather window. On their walls there are marks where the partitions between the -niches have been torn away. It is difficult now to decide whether these partitions were attached after the tomb was finished, or whether they formed an integral part of the stones of which it was composed. In any case, both chambers were honey- combed with niches, the upper one having twelve (Fig. 100) and the lower three. Our view of the lower chamber (Fig. 101) shows a hole like the opening of a sepulchral pit in the middle of the floor. This was made, however, by the workmen of Dr. Gaillardot, one of the 1 RKNAN, Mission, pp. 80-90. - Ibid. p. 75.