Chap. IV. OF ANCIENT BUILDINGS. 183 



of the atrium varied in thickness from 1 L 

 to 16 inches; and on the side of the trench in 

 the section was a little over 1 3 inches. After 

 the mould had been removed, the floor 

 appeared as a whole moderately level ; but it 

 sloped, in parts at an angle of 1°, and in one 

 place near the outside at as much as 8° 30'. 

 The wall surrounding the pavement was 

 built of rough stones, and was 23 inches in 

 thickness where the trench was dug. Its 

 broken summit was here 13 inches, but in 

 another part 15 inches, beneath the surface of 

 the field, being covered by this thickness of 

 mould. In one spot, however, it rose to 

 within 6 inches of the surface. On two 

 sides of the room, where the junction of the 

 concrete floor with the bounding walls could 

 be carefully examined, there was no crack or 

 separation. This trench afterwards proved 

 to have been dug within an adjoining room 

 (11 ft. by 11 ft. 6 in. in size), the existence of 

 which was not even suspected whilst I was 

 present. 



On the side of the trench farthest from the 

 buried wall (W), the mould varied from 9 to 

 14 inches in thickness ; it rested on a mass (B) 



