90 
AXUM. 
requesting it, was admitted into the inmost apartment. The whole 
body of the church, consisting of four apartments or rooms, was 
covered with handsome carpets. On my presenting the piece of 
satin, I was desired to kneel down with my face to the ground, 
in which position I continued about two minutes, during which 
time the High Priest recited a prayer over me. This ceremony being 
over, I was led up some square steps of granite to the top of the 
building, which is flatly roofed, covered with mortar and stucco, and 
surrounded with Gothic ornaments. We here measured the size 
of the church, and found it to be one hundred and eleven feet in 
length and fifty-one in breadth. The view hence gives a good idea 
of the situation of the obelisks and of the reservoir, I therefore took 
a sketch of it, which is given among my larger views. 
Hence I was conducted to see two walls lined with stone, which 
are at some little distance from the church, as also a small square 
inclosure surrounded by pillars ; on a seat within which the an- 
cient kings used to be crowned (vide B in plan), as is shewn in the 
Vignette of this volume. In the inclosure behind the king's seat, 
other remains are scattered about in different directions ; but on 
none of these, after a careful and repeated examination, was I able 
to perceive the least appearance of any inscription, excepting one, 
which is very short, in Ethiopic characters, of which the following 
is an exact copy. 
