. The story of architecture: an outline of the styles in all countries. ofs were composed of hugebeams carrying layers of earth, when simple vaultswere not employed. Doorways were often of ebonyencrusted with silver, flanked with colossal statueshaving human heads and bodies of winged lions orbulls, and symbolizing wisdom, power, and ubiquity,while the bas-reliefs surpassed in number and extentthose of any other country in the world, often stretch-ing unbrokenly for miles. Besides these materials, the inhabitants were byno means strangers to luxurious furnishings of everydescription, especiall
. The story of architecture: an outline of the styles in all countries. ofs were composed of hugebeams carrying layers of earth, when simple vaultswere not employed. Doorways were often of ebonyencrusted with silver, flanked with colossal statueshaving human heads and bodies of winged lions orbulls, and symbolizing wisdom, power, and ubiquity,while the bas-reliefs surpassed in number and extentthose of any other country in the world, often stretch-ing unbrokenly for miles. Besides these materials, the inhabitants were byno means strangers to luxurious furnishings of everydescription, especially in Persia. For in the palaceof Xerxes (Ahasuerus) at Susa (Shushan) we aretold that there were white, green, and blue hang-ings, fastened with cords of fine linen and purple tosilver rings and pillars of marble ; the beds were of * Birs Nimroud. f Genesis, xi, 3, 120 ASSYRIAN STYLE AND WESTERN ASIA. gold and silver, upon a pavement of red, and blue,and white, and black marble. And they gave themdrink in vessels of gold (the vessels being diverseone from another). *. FlG. 30.—Elevation of Dirs Nimroud. What is true of Persia is true also of Nineveh andBabylon, where luxury hardly differed in quantity orkind. All Chaldean temples were used as observatories,and here astronomical investigations were nightly car-ried on and traced upon soft-clay tablets, afterwardto be burnt in permanentlv and handed down to pos-terity. Birs Nimroud, at Borsippa (Figs. 30 and 31)-isgenerally considered the most interesting, from beingprobablv identical with the Tower of Babel. It com-prehended a sanctuary rising above seven rectangu-lar terraces set one upon the other. The lowest meas-ured two hundred and sevent v-two feet at the side,and each ol the others scaled forty-two feet less thanthe one directly below it. Steps led up to the sum-mit, and the walls of the platforms were gorgeouslyglazed with vitrified brick. * Esther, i, 6 and 7. BIRS NIMROUD. 121 The lowest story was jet black, the colo
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, bookidstoryofarchi, bookyear1896
