XXVII DESCRIPTION OF THE BUILDINGS 309 



and found ourselves in a large courtyard, the outer wall 

 of which bore signs of temporary structures having been 

 built against it. I examined this wall carefully, but 

 could see no signs either of battlements or of a platform 

 having existed behind it. The main building itself was 

 three stories high ; its outer walls presented some 

 curious ornaments, probably intended for the Abys- 

 sinian cross. The elaborate upper portion of these 

 figures was cast in a solid piece of terra- cotta raised 

 work, the sunken surface of which was covered wath 

 plaster, in order to set the lines in bolder relief. A 

 circular stone staircase led us to the first floor, where 

 the two chief rooms were 66 feet by 18, and 24 

 feet by 18. In many places the floors had fallen in 

 owing to the beams rotting, and examining them was 

 rather a risky undertaking. They bore some trace of 

 having been fired, and one could still see w ht^re the 

 mirrors described by Bruce had been fixed ; though, 

 needless to say, no fragment of glass or copper-frames 

 remained. The south-west corner of the building was 

 carried up in a square tower, the top of which was 

 castellated, as were also the main walls ; behind this 

 was a second square tower, but with a domed roof; it 

 was in this that the staircase was placed. A little to 

 the south-east was a small building in which, my guides 

 said, prisoners of importance were incarcerated ; but the 

 place was in a ruinous state, and although I climbed 

 into one of the rooms, I could see no evidence of its 

 having been used for this purpose. 



I then went across to a long courtyard, measuring 

 130 feet by 24, which lies to the west of Yasous' 



