INGENUITY AND LUXURY 



in certain ruins near Bologna, Italy. Such habitations 

 are still built in the valley of the Euphrates. 



The rectangular structure in its simplest form con- 

 sisted merely of two bent trees set opposite each other 

 in the ground, their apexes joined by a ridge-pole. 

 It is thus suggestive of an inverted boat. It had no 

 walls, except the gable-ends, and its roof sloped to 

 the ground. The bays were thrown out between the 

 bent-tree arches, which stood always sixteen feet apart. 

 This distance of sixteen feet was not accidental; it was 

 exactly the space required for four oxen to stand abreast, 

 and these bays were used as stalls. The bay thus be- 

 came a unit of measurement, and it still does service 

 through the medium of its modern equivalent, the rod. 



The primitive structure received a notable modifi- 

 cation when its sloping roof was shortened and perpen- 

 dicular walls erected. This was done by lengthening 

 the ends of the tie-beam, until it was the length of the 

 base of the arch formed by the two trees. Then long 

 beams, called pons, or pans, were laid at the ends of 

 the beams and rafters placed between the pons and 

 the ridge-pole. After this the erection of a wall was 

 easily possible. 



The first walled houses were built of wattle-and- 

 daub, then copied in stone and brick. In a somewhat 

 highly developed condition the early walled houses were 

 built on this plan : Within the doorway, which was on 

 the street, stood a covered porch with a screen at the 

 back; this screen, known in England as a speer, had 

 a bench at its base and a shelf along its top. Behind 

 it lay the floor or threshing-floor, which resembled, 



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