A RIDE ACROSS THE PELOPONNESE. 201 



fields of waving corn alternated with great stretches 

 of newly-ploughed land, brought us to the foot of the 

 ridge on which the city of Agamemnon was built. 



Leaving the carriage in the village below, we took 

 the path upward. Having gained the first height, we 

 came at once, on the left, upon the famous Treasury 

 or Tomb of Atreus. Its wonderful hive-like structure 

 is too well known to need more than a passing men- 

 tion here. The immense size of the stones with which 

 it is cased inside, and the extreme nicety of their 

 cutting and fitting, testify to an age Avhose mechanical 

 appliances must have been of great efficiency. The 

 rude ornamentation over the doorway shoAvs, however, 

 that art was in its infancy when the mason's craft 

 had reached a high point of excellence. 



Climbing a little higher we came upon a second 

 tomb of similar though less perfect structure. It has 

 fallen in from about half-way up, and the interior is 

 blocked with a great pile of masonry, which was 

 cleared aside to some extent by Dr Schliemann. 

 Nothing of any importance, however, was found here. 



A steep footpath led us up from this point to the 

 famous Gateway of the Lions. The Avail on the left- 

 hand side of the gateAvay, both inside and outside, is 

 of very fine rectangular masonry. The gateAvay itself 

 is on a larger scale than I had anticipated. The 

 entrance must be some tAvelve feet high, and the lions 

 carved on the huge stone Avhich forms the lintel are 

 about five feet in height. 



