Manual of Egyptian archæology and guide to the study of antiquities in EgyptFor the use of students and travellers . Fig. 38. Plan of fortress of Semneh. placed at irregular intervalquirements of the defences ; they had no parapets,and took the place of towers. They added muchto the security of the fortress as they commandedthe access to the top of the walls, and enabledthe besieged to direct a flank attack against theenemy if any attempt was made to force the mainwalls. The interval between these counterforts iscalculated so that the archers could sweep the wholeintervening space with their a
Manual of Egyptian archæology and guide to the study of antiquities in EgyptFor the use of students and travellers . Fig. 38. Plan of fortress of Semneh. placed at irregular intervalquirements of the defences ; they had no parapets,and took the place of towers. They added muchto the security of the fortress as they commandedthe access to the top of the walls, and enabledthe besieged to direct a flank attack against theenemy if any attempt was made to force the mainwalls. The interval between these counterforts iscalculated so that the archers could sweep the wholeintervening space with their arrows. Both curtainsand salients are in crude brick, with large beams SEMNEH. 37. built horizontally into the mass. The outer face isin two sections, the lower one almost vertical, theupper one sloping at an angle of about 70 degrees,an arrangement which made it extremely difficult ifnot impossible toscale the walls. Thewhole of the en-closure inside thewalls was filled inafter the fashion ofa terre-plein almost ^^-35-S^/^-ffJ^ platform at ., b. to the level of the ramparts (fig. 39). Externally the covering wall ofdry stone was separated from the main building bya foss 100 to 130 feet wide ; it followed the generalline of the main wall with considerable accuracy, andvaried from 5 to 10 feet in height according to the situation. On the northit was cut by the wind-ing pathway leading tothe plain. These arrange-ments, clever as they were,could not save Semnehfrom falling into the handsof the enemy ; a largegap on the south sidebetween the two salients
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, bookpublishernew, booksubjectart
