500 
THE TOMB. 
in years, attended me to the building, and were very impatient 
at the length of my investigations ; however, I would not be satis¬ 
fied till I saw the interior; and with much difficulty I persuaded 
them to admit me. The door opens into the north-western 
side of the tomb ; the whole width of the side being sixteen 
feet ten inches ; of which measurement, the entrance dividing 
it, occupied two feet ten inches. The height of the door 
was exactly four feet. Four layers of stones composed the ele¬ 
vation of this superstructure. The first gave the sides of the 
entrance; the second served as its lintel; the third presented a sim¬ 
ple projecting cornice; and, what may be called the fourth, formed 
its pediment and sloping roof. Just over the door are two ledges, 
which, from their parallel, I should suppose held an inscription. 
When I entered, 1 found that the thickness of the walls was one 
solid single mass of stone, measuring five feet from the outside 
to within. The extent of the chamber was seven feet wide, ter 
long, and eight in height. The floor was composed of two im¬ 
mense slabs, which joined nearly in the middle of the chamber, 
crossing it from right to left. But I lament to say, that im¬ 
mediately opposite the door, both the floor and the wall are much 
injured by the several invaders of this ancient tomb. The marble 
surfaces are cruelly broken ; and in the floor particularly, deep 
holes are left, which plainly show where large iron fastenings 
have been forcibly torn away. Doubtless their corresponding 
points attached some other mass to this quarter of the building; 
similar depredation being marked in the marble of the wall. I 
searched every where for some trace of a cuneiform inscription, 
but in vain; the place where most likely such a one would have been, 
if any existed within the tomb, is on the right of the entrance; 
where it has probably been obliterated to make room for the pre- 
