DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.619#0022
THE TBMENE OF APOLLO AXD OTHER DEITIES.
13
not have been cleared away so completely before
laying the foundation of the second temple. It is
possible that all this five feet of earth was placed
under the first temple to begin with, and intrin-
sically I should think this the most likely; only
the considerations that it would raise it to an
awkward height, and that the rubbish trench
would hardly have been cut so deep behind it in
that case, renders this idea less likely. We may,
however, see an indication that the first temple
stood as high as the later one, as a paving of slabs
of limestone, each about three feet long by a foot
wide, all broken and tilted up, was found on the
northern side of the temple site, just below the
thick pavement of chips of the second temple, and
at about level 300 inches; and about fifteen feet
south-west of this was a hard mud foundation laid
at the same level, also below the chip pavement.
These seem to show that the first temple must
have stood nearly as high as the second temple;
that the muddy sand five feet thick was an artificial
mound on which the first temple stood; and that
the thick bed of limestone chips at level 312 to
327, in which the fragments of the first temple
were found, are just the smashings of the first
temple in situ, bedded down and flattened to form
the pavement for the second temple. The
masonry of the first temple seems to have been
partly executed a little way on the east of the
"trench with bowls," as there were found quan-
tities of limestone chips, much being burnt, mixed
with charcoal, and sculptors' trial scraps. As
this was all limestone, it probably belonged to the
construction of the first, or limestone temple, and
not the second, or marble temple.
The architecture of the first temple, so far as
we can recover it, is shown in pi. iii. The frag-
ments of the sculptured necking were found in the
pavement of limestone chips made for the second
temple. The base and volute were found by
Arabs digging in the site, before I was aware of
any temple existing there; and so first called my
attention to what had seemed unpromising ground
owing to the abundance of late Eoman pottery,
which covered it. The volute was smashed up
and carried off before I could return with my
camera, in spite of my offering to buy it; the
base I secured a good photograph of, while the
finder stood by, hammer in hand, waiting to
smash it. Had I known that these were the last
pieces of this building, I should have stretched my
authority, and seized them by main force.
17. Of the other objects dedicated in this temple,
beside pottery, some interesting examples were
found. Many statuettes in limestone, about one to
two feet high, have been placed here, but, strange to
say, nothing but the legs and bases were found:
of smaller figures a few were found, and one good
one, which has only lost the feet (pi. ii.); this
represents a worshipper coming with a libation
bowl in his hand. Such seems to have generally
been the motive of these votive statuettes, as we
see in the case of the curious group (pi. ii.) of
two figures (of the front one only a hand remains)
offering a bull for sacrifice, ornamented with the
vitta; by the hinder figure two vases are standing
on the ground, one a large double-handled
amphora of the early type, coloured red on the
top to represent wine, and the other a nearly
globular vase with a lid having a handle on the
top of it, perhaps such as was used for corn.
Another figure of a worshipper is more Egyptian
in style; it is (pi. ii.) a seated figure, with a
table of offerings in front of it, lying on which are
represented four tall vases with covers, or possibly
four fish. A piece of a larger statue was found,
of about half life-size; it is of rude style, merely
a rough hewn mass at the back, and smoothed
into a rounded surface in front, with a sort of
moulding running down the middle, representing
the edge of the garment; a broad line of red runs
down either side, like the streaks on amphorae.
At first I thought it might even be a piece of
architectural work, but small statuettes of the
same style re-assured me of its nature. These
limestone figures are of the early part of the
sixth century B.C., and form an intermediate link
13
not have been cleared away so completely before
laying the foundation of the second temple. It is
possible that all this five feet of earth was placed
under the first temple to begin with, and intrin-
sically I should think this the most likely; only
the considerations that it would raise it to an
awkward height, and that the rubbish trench
would hardly have been cut so deep behind it in
that case, renders this idea less likely. We may,
however, see an indication that the first temple
stood as high as the later one, as a paving of slabs
of limestone, each about three feet long by a foot
wide, all broken and tilted up, was found on the
northern side of the temple site, just below the
thick pavement of chips of the second temple, and
at about level 300 inches; and about fifteen feet
south-west of this was a hard mud foundation laid
at the same level, also below the chip pavement.
These seem to show that the first temple must
have stood nearly as high as the second temple;
that the muddy sand five feet thick was an artificial
mound on which the first temple stood; and that
the thick bed of limestone chips at level 312 to
327, in which the fragments of the first temple
were found, are just the smashings of the first
temple in situ, bedded down and flattened to form
the pavement for the second temple. The
masonry of the first temple seems to have been
partly executed a little way on the east of the
"trench with bowls," as there were found quan-
tities of limestone chips, much being burnt, mixed
with charcoal, and sculptors' trial scraps. As
this was all limestone, it probably belonged to the
construction of the first, or limestone temple, and
not the second, or marble temple.
The architecture of the first temple, so far as
we can recover it, is shown in pi. iii. The frag-
ments of the sculptured necking were found in the
pavement of limestone chips made for the second
temple. The base and volute were found by
Arabs digging in the site, before I was aware of
any temple existing there; and so first called my
attention to what had seemed unpromising ground
owing to the abundance of late Eoman pottery,
which covered it. The volute was smashed up
and carried off before I could return with my
camera, in spite of my offering to buy it; the
base I secured a good photograph of, while the
finder stood by, hammer in hand, waiting to
smash it. Had I known that these were the last
pieces of this building, I should have stretched my
authority, and seized them by main force.
17. Of the other objects dedicated in this temple,
beside pottery, some interesting examples were
found. Many statuettes in limestone, about one to
two feet high, have been placed here, but, strange to
say, nothing but the legs and bases were found:
of smaller figures a few were found, and one good
one, which has only lost the feet (pi. ii.); this
represents a worshipper coming with a libation
bowl in his hand. Such seems to have generally
been the motive of these votive statuettes, as we
see in the case of the curious group (pi. ii.) of
two figures (of the front one only a hand remains)
offering a bull for sacrifice, ornamented with the
vitta; by the hinder figure two vases are standing
on the ground, one a large double-handled
amphora of the early type, coloured red on the
top to represent wine, and the other a nearly
globular vase with a lid having a handle on the
top of it, perhaps such as was used for corn.
Another figure of a worshipper is more Egyptian
in style; it is (pi. ii.) a seated figure, with a
table of offerings in front of it, lying on which are
represented four tall vases with covers, or possibly
four fish. A piece of a larger statue was found,
of about half life-size; it is of rude style, merely
a rough hewn mass at the back, and smoothed
into a rounded surface in front, with a sort of
moulding running down the middle, representing
the edge of the garment; a broad line of red runs
down either side, like the streaks on amphorae.
At first I thought it might even be a piece of
architectural work, but small statuettes of the
same style re-assured me of its nature. These
limestone figures are of the early part of the
sixth century B.C., and form an intermediate link