Some mors Palaces other than at Prrsepolis. 365 over a fine landing-place approached by four flights of steps. Did the arrangement put forth by Dieulafoy have any existence in fact at Susa ? For our part we find some difficulty in admitting it ; in any case, we are quite positive that naught resembling it
- ever was seen at Persepolis.
This premised, we will proceed to give some general indica- tions in regard to the size and peculiar architectonic shapes of the building. The surface covered seems to have been 9200 square metres ; the external groups or porticoes were each 70 m. long, by 1 7 m. 50 c. deep. The number of the pillars was seventy-two, all told ; thirty-six in the square phalanx and twelve for each external portico. Of these not one is in place. The measurements taken by Dieulafoy* however, of the extant bases and drums have enabled him to determine the total height of the pillar including the capital, which he puts at 19 m. 25 c ; * and the entire elevation of the building with the entablature at 26 m. 25 c* The simple type of capital, where the bulls repose directly on the shaft, occurred in the external groups; in the inner colonnade were reproduced the four distinct forms which characterize the complex type. The central hall had round bases, whilst those of the outer porticoes were bell-shaped. A vast court would seem to have occupied the space immediately In front of it ; it was entered by a kind of pylon, analogous to the two specimens of the Persepolitan platform. Flights, seemingly wider and as easily ascended as at the Takht-i-Jamshid, served to connect the different levels. Their crenelated parapet was overlaid with glazed tiles (Fig. 178). We also hear of a path that wound its way, between two walls, to the landing-place flush with the palace, to enable the king to drive to the door without getting out of his chariot It is im- possible for us to give a detailed account of the arrangements seemingly traceable on the site, or describe the long ramps, or the gates which communicated with the town. We wished, however, to point out the dominant lines of the Susian palace, in order to prove that it was a sumptuous reception-room akin to the pair at Persepolis, more particularly the Great Hall of Xerxes. The number, the height, and the way the pillars were distributed, are practically identical in both ; in both the two orders of In diameter is z m. 58 c.
- These figures were taken from the poster or hand-InU which aocompanied
IMenlafo/s restoratioiM deposited in the Champ de Man. Digitized by Google
