TOMBS. 



9 



arch-lidded tombs, with Lycian inscriptions. 

 Above is the lower acropolis, a long ridge of 

 buildings, many of them of Cyclopsean archi- 

 tecture. Among them is a small theatre, or 

 odeum, and a gigantic portal, shattered appa- 

 rently by an earthquake. We then ascended 

 to the base of the rock of the greater acropolis, 

 finding on our way a remarkable group of sar- 

 cophagi. They are arranged so as to form a 

 square round an enormous central sarcophagus, 

 with a pedestal-formed summit. This sarcopha- 

 gus was the largest we met with in Lycia. Its 

 interior is remarkable, the sides being surrounded 

 by a projecting ledge or shelf. The tombs of 

 the square bear no inscriptions, but are pecu- 

 liarly ornamented, the cement which covers their 

 sides being scored so as to represent the appear- 

 ance of a regularly-built stone wall, exactly as 

 we sometimes see on plastered houses at home. 

 The stone at Pinara, though hard and durable, 

 being a conglomerate, is not favourable for in- 

 scriptions ; and the ancient inhabitants seem to 

 have been in the habit of coating it with a fine 

 mortar, or cement, and on that carving the letters. 

 We ascended the acropolis rock by the only 

 pass, a steep and difficult path cut on its side. 



