Hogarth, David G.; Smith, Cecil Harcourt [Contr.]: Excavations at Ephesus: the archaic Artemisia: Text (London, 1908)

54

The Archaic Artemisia of Ephesus.

has been related, in the discovery of an earlier Basis, of different material and
smaller dimensions, underlying the courses seen by Wood.

The western wall of this earlier Basis did not appear till —3'57, i.e., nearly
•40 below the surface of the highest courses of the later structure. It proved
to be constructed of blocks of green schist laid in five courses which progress in
height from top to bottom, the highest having a vertical dimension of '21, the
lowest of '29. The whole height of the wall is 1 • 21. The outward face is of
good upright tooled ashlar. The blocks have flat beds and upright joints
throughout almost the whole thickness of the wall, which varies from • 58 to -42 ;
and they fit tightly together, retaining in their interstices traces of a fine white
clay used as mortar (Fig. 13). The whole wall stands on a double-coursed

foundation of yellow lime-
stone slabs, varying from ' 19
to M2 in thickness, which
project a little from both
faces ; and these in turn are
bedded on a layer of white
clay, from "15 to mo thick,
which rests on the bottom
marsh-sand (Fig. 14). From
the top course to the sand-
bed the total dimension of
the wall is 1 ■ 50. As our
clearance proceeded, the
other three walls of the rect-
angle came into view ; but their highest remaining courses lay at lower levels.
The most ruinous was that on the east, only one course of which survived
above the foundation. In all other respects, however, the N., E. and S.
walls, with their foundations, correspond with the west wall, and show a
significant feature in common with it—they have no inner faces, the green
schist blocks being only roughly shaped at the back. The rectangle, therefore,
was intended to be filled in with a solid core, bonded with the outer casing :
and consequently it may safely be assumed that the filling actually found inside
is coeval with the walls. The rectangle measures, in all, 4*34 along its western
and eastern faces, and 2-86 along the northern and southern, length standing
to breadth as nearly as possible as 3:2.

The filling of the interior, which was eventually removed by us entirely on
account of the treasure it contained, was composed of fragments of laminated

Tig. 14. Lower Courses of W. Wall of A Basis.