ERRATA.

PAGE

50, last line, after material required,' insert a coating of stucco and'

159, line 8, for 'Xantheus,' read Xanthus.'

197, line 22, for Pierrot,' read 'Pierret.'

398, transpose names of cuts, Kneph' and ' Abraxas.'

457, last line, for eighth,' read 'fifth.'

458, fourth line, read no long inscription.'

470, read eighth line of second Sigean inscription thus-o μededaivev me o.

477, in translation of inscription on the tomb of Dexileos, read 'one of five knights killed at Corinth.'

484, in note*, for 'caps,' read' cups.'

485, fourth line from bottom of page, place the Mr.' before 'Newman'

490, in note*, for Epist.' read' Epitaph.'

496-7, for 'Emperor,' read 'Imperator.'

506, col. ii. line 3, for 'fieri hæres fuit,' read fieri hæres fecit.'

508, col. i. line 7 from bottom, for 'lavovoa,' read ‘lavovon.'

512, col. ii. line 10, for uti rogar,' read 'uti rogas.'

HANDBOOK OF ARCHEOLOGY.

First Division.

MONUMENTS OF ARCHITECTURE.

ARCHITECTURE, like the other arts, had its stages of development, from the earliest efforts of primitive man, in the construction of dwellings, which must have been determined solely by his physical wants, until it culminated in those more perfect structures resulting from higher ideas of symmetry and proportion.

Vitruvius lays down three qualities as indispensable in a fine building stability, utility, and beauty. In an architectural point of view, the last is the principal, though not the sole element; and, accordingly, the theory of architecture is occupied for the most part with æsthetic considerations, or the principles of beauty in designing. Of such principles or qualities the following appear to be the most important: size, proportion, harmony, symmetry, and ornament. Size or vastness of proportion impresses with a deep sense of the majesty of human power. The feelings with which we gaze on the gigantic structures raised by different nations, the Pyramids and Temples of Egypt, the Colosseum of Rome, the megalithic monument of Stonehenge, sufficiently attest the truth of this principle.

The qualities in the general disposition of the parts of a building which are calculated to give pleasure to the beholder, are proportion, harmony, and symmetry. Proportion depends essentially upon the employment of mathematical ratios in the dimensions of a building. By harmony is meant the general balancing of the several parts of the design, while symmetry is uniformity in plan.

Next to general beauty or grandeur of form in a building

B

comes architectural ornament. As a general rule it should be confined to the decoration of constructive parts of a fabric.

Each nation had its rules and proportions, and has originated forms peculiar to itself. So definite are the characteristics of the styles of different nations, that from the mere form, carving, or decoration of any structure, its age and its architects can usually be fairly determined.

The architecture of a people is an important part of their history. It is the external and enduring form of their public life; it is the index of their state of knowledge and social progress. The influence of climates and public institutions was particularly displayed in the productions of architecture.

In our West, temples open to the sky would be as little suited to its climate as to our habits. Scenic representations formed more a part of the national customs of the Greeks and Romans than with us; and lastly, the art of war, such as it was among the ancients, imposed other principles on military architecture.

The material also afforded by the country must necessarily have an important influence on the architecture of a people. Thus, where trees abounded, stone was probably a material seldom used, as it entailed a much greater amount of labour than timber; but as stone would neither burn nor rot, it was preferred for all durable purposes. Where wood was plentiful, as in Greece and in Lycia, stone architecture exhibits traces of an original timber construction. The columns were originally posts, and the architraves and triglyphs beams resting on each other. On the other hand, in the plains of Egypt, where building timber is scarce, and where there is abundance of large stone in the mountains, the mason element seems to have prevailed. In such plains as those of Nineveh and Babylon bricks were used, made of dried or burnt clay.

SECTION I.-WALLS-MORTAR-BRICKS.

WALLS: Egyptian.-The walls of inclosure of the Egyptian towns are generally constructed of crude bricks, dried in the sun. Their dimensions are various; the mud of the Nile supplied the material, which, however, required straw to prevent the bricks cracking. Sometimes they bear short hieroglyphic inscriptions enclosed in an oval, which is the stamp of the king under whose reign they were made. Burnt bricks were not

used in Egypt, and when found they are known to be of a Roman time. Egyptian masonry is probably the earliest known to us. It is chiefly remarkable for the enormous size of the stones employed, said to be frequently thirty feet in length; the weight of these masses rendered the use of mortar unnecessary. The most ancient buildings were constructed of limestone, hewn from the mountains bordering the valley of the Nile to the east and west; and that it was used long before sandstone, is proved by the tombs of the Pyramids, as well as those monuments themselves, and by the vestiges of old substructions and ruins in Upper Egypt. Limestone continued to be occasionally employed for building even after the accession of the twelfth dynasty; but so soon as the durability of sandstone was ascertained, the quarries of Silsilis were opened, and this material was universally adopted, and preferred for its even texture, and the ease with which it was wrought. Sandstone was generally used in the walls of the temples of Thebes. Granite was largely employed in the most ancient buildings. The employment of squared granite blocks, and the beauty of the masonry in the interior of the Pyramids, prove the degree of skill the Egyptians had reached at a time long anterior to the building of the walls of Tiryns, and consequently to the rudest attempts in masonry in Italy or Greece. Granite was used in some of the gateways and walls of the temples of Thebes.

The only works of Egyptian architecture known are temples, palaces, pyramids, walls of inclosure, quays, and other public constructions: private constructions, houses, &c., have disappeared in the lapse of time, either because they were built of clay or brick, or of some other as perishable material. The pyramidal or sloping line was a characteristic feature of the Egyptian style in temples and other buildings - the chief object of which was solidity. Another feature was the torus, with lines cut obliquely on it, on the angles formed by the faces of the wall. The walls were surmounted by a projecting cornice. The solidity of Egyptian masonry is well known: it is the result of the good choice of materials, of its extraordinary size, and of the care bestowed on the building. It has been frequently remarked, that in the courses the neighbouring stones were attached to one another by plugs of wood, dove-tailed at each end, and imbedded in the stones. The Greeks and Romans employed bronze and iron for the same purpose. There is no