mplest case of all, we find, on
entering, an arched chamber, thirteen feet five inches long by seven
feet two inches wide, from which there opens out, opposite to the door
and at the height of about four feet from the ground, a deep horizontal
recess, arched, like the chamber. Near the front of this recess is a
further perpendicular excavation, in length six feet ten inches, in
width three feet three inches, and in depth the same. This was the
actual sarcophagus, and was covered, or intended to be covered, by a
slab of stone. In the deeper part of the recess there is room for two
other such sarcophagi; but in this case they have not been excavated,
one burial only having, it would seem, taken place in this tomb. Other
sepulchres present the same general features, but provide for a much
greater number of interments. In that of Darius Hystaspis the sepulchral
chamber contains three distinct recesses, in each of which are three
sarcophagi, so that the tomb would hold nine bodies. It has, apparently,
been cut originally for a single recess, on the exact plan of the tomb
described above, but has afterwards been elongated towards the left.
[PLATE LIII., Fig. 1.] Two of the tombs show a still more elaborate
ground-plan--one in which curved lines take to some extent the place
of straight ones. [PLATE LII., Fig. 2.] The tombs above the platform of
Persepolis are more richly ornamented than the others, the lintels
and sideposts of the doorways being covered with rosettes, and the
entablature above the cornice bearing a row of lions, facing on either
side towards the centre. [PLATE LIII., Fig. 2.]

[Illustration: PLATE LIII.]

A curious edifice, belonging probably to the later Achaemenian times,
stands immediately in front of the four royal tombs at Nakhsh-i-Eustam.
This is a square tower, composed of large blocks of marble, cut with
great exactness, and joined together without mortar or cement of
any kind. The building is thirty-six feet high; and each side of it
measures, as near as possible, twenty-four feet. It is ornamented with
pilasters at the corners and with six recessed niches, or false windows,
in three ranks, one over the other, on three out of its four faces. On
the fourth face are two niches only, one over the other; and below
them is a doorway with a cornice. The surface of the walls between the
pilasters is also ornamented with a number of rectangular depressions,
resembling the sunken ends of beams. The doorw