The five great monarchies of the ancient eastern world; or, The history, geography, and antiquites of Chaldaea, Assyria, Babylon, Media, and Persia . cksdisposed in a pattern. Eeceived within the portals,the visitor found himself in front of a long wall ofsolid stone masonry, the revetement of the lower ter-race, which rose from the outer court to a height of atleast twenty feet. Either an inclined way, or a flightof steps—probably the latter—must have led up fromthe outer court to this terrace. Here the visitorfound another portal or propylsBum of a magnificentcliaracter. Midw^ay in the south
The five great monarchies of the ancient eastern world; or, The history, geography, and antiquites of Chaldaea, Assyria, Babylon, Media, and Persia . cksdisposed in a pattern. Eeceived within the portals,the visitor found himself in front of a long wall ofsolid stone masonry, the revetement of the lower ter-race, which rose from the outer court to a height of atleast twenty feet. Either an inclined way, or a flightof steps—probably the latter—must have led up fromthe outer court to this terrace. Here the visitorfound another portal or propylsBum of a magnificentcliaracter. Midw^ay in the south-east side of thelower terrace, and about fifty feet from its edge, stoodthis grand structure, a gateway ninety feet in width,and at least twenty-five in depth, having on each sidethree winged bulls of gigantic size, two of them fifteenfeet high, and the third nineteen feet. Between thetwo smaller bulls, which stood back to back, present-ing their sides to the spectator, was a colossal figure * ^riiesc portals were discoveredby M. Ilaco, M. llottas successor atMosul. I cannot find that anj re- presentatii^ns of tbcm have been i) 362 THE SECOND MONARCHY. Chap. VI. strangling a lion—the Assyrian Hercules, accordingto most writers. The larger bulls stood at rightangles to these figures, withdrawn within the portal,and facing the spectator. The space between thebulls, which is nearly twenty feet, was (it is probable)arched over.^ Perhaps the archway led into a cham-ber, beyond which was a second archway and aninner portal, as marked in Mr. Fergussons plan ; butthis is at present uncertain.^ Besides the great portal, the only buildings as yetdiscovered on this lower platform, are a suite of notvery extensive apartments. They are remarkable fortheir ornamentation. The walls are neither lined withslabs, nor yet (as is sometimes the case) painted; butthe plaster of which they are composed is formedinto sets of half pillars or reedings, separated fromone another by pil
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