INTERIOR OF A GREEK SEPULCHRE.
INTERIOR OF A GREEK SEPULCHRE.
It was on the morning succeeding the discovery that I went to the spot. The chamber was crowded with people, brought thither by the report which had been circulated the preceding evening in Sayda respecting it. The Turks had already picked out the eyes of one of the most beautiful figures, and otherwise defacedit. Being known in the neighbourhood, my interference had some effect in stopping them from proceeding farther, and I succeeded in convincing such as were then present that the paintings had no Christian symbol, and consequently could not be, as they imagined, any representation of the Holy Supper, or of the Virgin Mary, &c. as they thought them. But party succeeded party, and the task of reasoning with them all was impossible; for, to portraits of the human figure, whether Christian or pagan, the Turks are always enemies. Having no drawing materials, I could only take a hasty sort of outline in ink, which sketch, however, afterwards served me somewhat in the restoration of parts of some of the figures, subsequently destroyed. I again visited the cavern on the following day. Just at this time the plague broke out, and, raging terribly, spread consternation in the village of Abra, and in the town of Sayda. Called away by my medical duties towards others, and by the feeling of self-preservation, which forbade me to risk the danger resulting in pestiferous times from the contact of strange persons, so inevitable in a confined place, the sepulchre was abandoned. I will here anticipate the order of my journal, and relate how I afterwards made copies of these paintings, a rough sketch of which is here given.
The plague ceased in the month of July. I then bethought myself again of the sepulchre, and revisited it. Much injury had been done tothe paintings. The only chance which remained of rescuing them from oblivion was the arrival of some traveller in these parts who could draw. This hope was not realized until the year 1816, when, in the month of March, Mr. William Bankes, the late Member of Parliament for Cambridge University, came to Mar Elias; and, having convinced me, by several drawings which he showed me, that he was an excellent draftsman, I conducted him to the sepulchre. This gentleman compared the paintings in it to those at Herculaneum.
During the lapse of a few months, considerable damage had been caused by the alluvion of mould driven in by the rains. The figures nearest the entrance were covered by it up to the shoulders, and the floor was sodden with wet. Mr. Bankes, nevertheless, executed in two days a perspective view of the interior, in colours. But he carried his projects yet farther: for he formed the design of removing some of these fresco-paintings from their places, and, accordingly, employed a mason to cut them out from the piers of the walls; which was effected in two instances.
Soon after this he departed, and, just at the time, a supply of drawing materials reached me from England. In watching the delineations I had seen made by him, I had conceived them to be inadequate to the purpose of giving a complete representation of the sepulchral chamber, more especially as the ceiling had been entirelyleft out, and some other omissions made, which seemed to me material. I accordingly set diligently to work, and copied them as well as I could.[94]
For the better elucidation of our subject, it will be proper to say a few words on the different kinds of tombs and sepulchres common to the country of which we are now speaking.
The traveller, who visits the Levant, cannot fail to be struck with the numerous excavations which are found near the site of almost every ancient city. These are readily understood from their form to have been sepulchres. They occur in a variety of shapes: some are simple oblong sarcophagi, hewn out of the rock, and only capacious enough to hold one human body; others are spacious grottoes several yards in length and width, in the sides of which recesses or cells were hollowed out as receptacles of the dead; whilst, intermediate to these two, is a multitude of others, the size of which, and the more or less labour bestowed in making them, depended, it may be conjectured, on the means of those who caused them to be excavated.
Through the whole length of the coast of Syria, from Laodicea to Jaffa, we had remarked these sepulchres, and had observed them, likewise, in the interior of the country: as at Heliopolis or Bâlbec, at Malûla, a village on the road from Damascus to Emesa, at Jerusalem, at Damascus, and at other places: but, in every instance, they were open; always in a state of decay, from the effects of time and the weather, and seemed long to have been the haunts of jackalls, or the pens of sheep and goats. In all of them little remained beside the bare rock, out of which they had been chiselled.
A concise description of the various forms observable in these sepulchres may not be unnecessary, as introductory to our particular subject.
The rudest sarcophagi, and such as we may suppose served for the tombs of the common people, were oblong parallelograms (fig. 3), large enough to receive (besides the corpse) a case or coffin enclosing it: these were hewn out on the surface of any convenient rock.[95]Such seem to have been covered with a double pent lid (fig. 1 and 4), which had within a concavity corresponding to the exterior, and in them perhaps were placedterra cottacoffins; a conjecture rendered probable by the discovery made in 1805 of a coffin[96]of this material, found entire in one of these sarcophagi near the city of Sidon.
There was a second sort of sarcophagus (fig. 6), of the same shape, as to the interior, with the first mentioned, and hewn likewise out of the rock; but the rock was chiselled away externally, so as to leave it entirely in relief and insulated.[97]The lids and sides of this sort were plain in some, and in others sculptured into ornaments, mostly consisting of bulls’ heads and festoons of flowers.[98]Of the plain kind several are still remaining on the road from Sayda to Beyrout, near what is called the Guffer or toll-house. This spot has obtained the name of the Jews’ Sepulchres (Kabûr el Yahûd). Numberless fragments of this kind of sarcophagus are to be seen in and near every town in Syria, often of marble, and sculptured in the most finished manner.
VARIOUS SARCOPHAGI HEWN OUT OF ROCKS.
VARIOUS SARCOPHAGI HEWN OUT OF ROCKS.
A third kind of sarcophagus is that hewn horizontally, like an oven, in the sides of rocks. In these were placed earthenware coffins, like that described in the preceding page. The whole length of the cavity was, in one instance which I measured, somewhat more than that of the human body. At the mouth, or at the bottom, or somewhere near it, there was placed a tablet or a stele (fig. 5), with the name of the deceased on it.[99]
Another kind consisted of an arched alcove, excavated in the side of a rock, the base in its whole length being a sarcophagus. Sometimes these were single; at other times they were triple, and then occupied the three sides of a subterraneous chamber; the doorway filling up the fourth. (Fig. 7)
After these come the sepulchres on a larger scale, containing several recesses (fig. 8), in which the sarcophagi are perpendicular to the sides, and not, as just seen, parallel. In some instances these sarcophagi are excavated breast high from the ground, and are of a length and height just sufficient for the sliding in of a coffin. Of these there is one in a garden near Sayda, in tolerable preservation. The chamber is subterranean; and although the inscriptions[100]over the mouthof each sarcophagus are still legible, yet the stucco which coated the walls is, from the moisture which oozes through the ceiling, quite discoloured, and, in many places, crumbled away. In the immediate vicinity of the same city are perhaps a hundred sepulchral chambers, the general conformation of which varies only in the greater or less number of the cells.
These form a sixth class, wherein the cells are squares or parallelograms, having their sarcophagi sunk from the level of the floor. (Fig. 9) Most of them have an arched entrance, where once hung a door. In one or two only can be discovered some indistinct remains of the sculpture which adorned the entrance or the interior. In a few of them some bones are found, but all seem to have been rifled, and marks of the pickaxe are often visible in the sides and in the floors, proceeding, no doubt, from the attempts which have been made to find treasures, supposed to have been concealed in them.
In some places two or more sepulchres are connected with each other by a door of communication, although examples of this are fewer along the coast than in the interior. Near the sea, throughout the whole length of Mount Lebanon and the mountainous chain northwardof it, an argillaceous rock, easy to work and easy of access, afforded great facilities for these excavations, and probably induced each separate family to choose its own tomb apart from that of another: in the interior of the country other causes seem to have operated. Thus, in the modern village of Malûla, on the road from Damascus to Emesa, the modern Hems, where a solitary projecting rock seems to have confined these excavations within a narrow compass, we find innumerable chambers hewn into a variety of forms, close to and above each other, and in many cases communicating. The outer one, by which entrance is obtained to the others, in some instances has its door several yards from the ground, and is accessible only by a ladder, or by steps cut out of the rock, probably to prevent sacrilegious profanation.[101]
Before we come to the sepulchral chamber withthe paintings, I will first say a few words of another of the same kind, discovered posterior to that above mentioned. Its existence was made known to me by one of the boys, who assisted in holding the candles during the time I was employed in drawing. A description of it will serve as a useful step to the gradations which we have been trying to establish in tracing these sepulchres from their simple to their most perfect shape.
It is situate, like the other, on the first rise of Mount Lebanon, within a mile and a half of Sayda, and almost due east of it, above and near to the small village of Heleléyah, and close to the footpath leading from that village to Dayr Mar Elias. The entrance was almost choked up with mould, washed in (as in the foregoing instance) by the winter rains. Being provided with candles, I entered, and found it to be a low vaulted chamber. In the sides and extremity of it were cells, having in their floors sarcophagi, which sarcophagi had evidently been rifled many generations ago. On the ceiling was painted, towards the four corners, a something not unlike a carpenter’s square. The south-east side was totally defaced, and the bottom nearly so. The chamber was hewn out of an argillaceous rock: but it seemed to have been executed with no great care, as the sides and arches of the recesses had many inequalities.
I now proceed to the description of the cavern at Abu Ghyás; this being, as we have already observed,the name given to the sepulchral chamber, near the glen so called.
The ground plan (see fig. 9, p. 346, and p. 340) represents an oblong chamber, 27 feet long by 10 feet wide. On each side were four recesses or cells; and at the bottom, facing the entrance, two. Each recess contained two sarcophagi, two of which were free from rubbish; but, in the remaining cells, the mould covered them so completely as to render it impossible to come at them.
The ceiling was slightly arched, and, from the centre of it to the floor, the height was nine feet. The whole was hewn out of a rock, and worked with much exactitude.[102]It is probable that the descent into it was by steps; but these were now entirely hid by the mould washed in through the aperture, and which, accumulated near the entrance, threatened to choke up the vault altogether. The four sarcophagi not covered with mould were in length about 6 feet 8 inches by two feet wide. In them I found a few human bones. They had no coating, nor any remains to show of what materials the coffins, once deposited in them,had been. The lids of the sarcophagi in the left hand corner were still lying on them in broken fragments, and appeared to have been each composed of one single block of stone, without any sculptured ornaments on it. These sarcophagi, like those we have before described, bore evident marks of having been opened forcibly; for the sake, probably, of the gold ornaments usually left on the persons of the dead; or possibly from fanaticism.
The cells were painted, and each in a different pattern, but always in plain or flowered stripes parallel to each other. It will be observed that one of the recesses or cells was longer than the rest. Was it that the heads of a family, or the founders of a sepulchre, laid claim to this distinction?
Between every two cells was a pier, so that each side consisted of four cells with intermediate piers, and the bottom of two, with one intermediate pier. These were surmounted by a cornice, comprehended in a double border, between which were painted festoons of red roses, tied at each end, and hung on a light blue ground. The piers, which measured 57 inches in height, but varied in breadth from 27 to 40 inches, were ornamented with figures in fresco, 4½ feet in length, painted on a fawn or stone-coloured ground. In three of them the colouring admitted of being examined very closely: but the other six were done in a bold manner, and would not bear the eye too near to them. Seven of the nine figures were representedcarrying a dish, as if for a repast. Over the first was the word ΓΛΥΚΩΝ; on the second pier was a female with a scroll in her hand, apparently a priestess; on the third a female resting on an urn. There was a peculiarity observable in this and two other figures, that lines seemed to have been drawn by the artist for his guidance as to the proportions of the body. The next figure had the word ΚΟΛΟΚΕΡΟϹ: the next ΕΛΙΚΩΝ: the next ΠΕΤΗΝΟϹ: one was without a name: and the last had ΝΗΡΕΥϹ.
The ceiling was not the least curious part of the sepulchre. It has been said that it was arched. On a slate-coloured or light blue ground, scattered roses, with here and there some single flowers of a different kind, were painted in red. Among these were mingled, without any regard to order, wreaths of roses, knotted at the end, which, at first sight, seemed like so many centipedes. Birds of various kinds, with their wings shut, and winged boys in the act of flying, were interspersed.
Thus, then, I have endeavoured to describe, more minutely perhaps than was necessary, the interior of this tomb. But to some persons, lovers of antiquity, such details may not be uninteresting; and I shall perhaps be excused, if, in explanation of the figures and ornaments painted on the walls, I add an ancient inscription, which seems illustrative of them. It is as follows:—
Tib: Claudius Drusi F. Cæs. Aug. Germ. Pont. Max. Trib. Pot. ii Con. Desig. iii Imp. iii P. P. Dec. vij Collegii Fabri M.R. H. S. M. et libertate donavit sub conditione ut quotannis rosas ad monumentum ejus deferant, et ibi epulentur dumtaxat in v. Id. Jul. Quod si negligerint, tunc ad viij ejusdem Collegii pertinere debebit conditione supradictâ.—Tiberius Claudius, son of Drusus, Cæsar, Augustus, Germanicus, High Pontiff, twice Tribune, thrice Consul Elect, thrice Imperator, Father of his country—hereby hath given to seven decurions of the Faber (smith’s?) College of the municipality of Ravenna a thousand Sestertii (£8 1s. 5½d.) and their liberty, on condition that, every year, they carry to his tomb roses, and make one repast in it on the 5th of the ides of July only. But, should they neglect to do this, then will it belong to eight others of the same College upon the above conditions.—Inscription on the tomb of Drusus: vid.Lives of Suetonius, byHenri Ophellot de la Pause, p. 100, vol. iii. 8vo.
Tib: Claudius Drusi F. Cæs. Aug. Germ. Pont. Max. Trib. Pot. ii Con. Desig. iii Imp. iii P. P. Dec. vij Collegii Fabri M.R. H. S. M. et libertate donavit sub conditione ut quotannis rosas ad monumentum ejus deferant, et ibi epulentur dumtaxat in v. Id. Jul. Quod si negligerint, tunc ad viij ejusdem Collegii pertinere debebit conditione supradictâ.—
Tiberius Claudius, son of Drusus, Cæsar, Augustus, Germanicus, High Pontiff, twice Tribune, thrice Consul Elect, thrice Imperator, Father of his country—hereby hath given to seven decurions of the Faber (smith’s?) College of the municipality of Ravenna a thousand Sestertii (£8 1s. 5½d.) and their liberty, on condition that, every year, they carry to his tomb roses, and make one repast in it on the 5th of the ides of July only. But, should they neglect to do this, then will it belong to eight others of the same College upon the above conditions.—Inscription on the tomb of Drusus: vid.Lives of Suetonius, byHenri Ophellot de la Pause, p. 100, vol. iii. 8vo.
This inscription throws light on our subject in two ways—first, from it we learn that it was customary for the living to make feasts in the sepulchres of their deceased relations and friends; and next, to scatter roses over their graves. It is not unlikely, therefore, that the sum appropriated to this purpose might, in the course of years, cease to be paid; and, instead, a representation of that which was before substantially done be substituted: when, as in this case, we should have, painted on the walls, servants carrying dishes, a priestess reading, and another making libations. The ceiling would be sprinkled with roses; and, in a word, we should have the same picture which we actually find here.
But, that such was the custom, we have fartherproof in a dissertation on this very subject inserted in theThes: Antiq: Rom:vol. xii., p. 1074, fol.Lug: Bat:1699: for, in a description of the ancient sepulchres of the family of the Nasones, by J. P. Bellorius, (after having spoken of the several rites customary on the death of great persons,) he goes on in the following words, which are here a translation, the original text being subjoined.[103]
We will only add a few words more touching the flowers, wreaths, and different kinds of garlands, which are found, eitherpaintedor sculptured, in many sepulchres. This, indeed, appertains to a custom of the old Romans, by them borrowed from the Greeks, of not only binding a wreath round the temples of the dead, but also of honouring their tombs by annually strewing flowers and roses, and by sprinkling odours [in them]; for they had a notion that this was grateful to the defunct. And such usages were so prevalent, that many, on the approach of death, tied down their heirs, by clauses in their wills, to the performance of this duty; a large sum of money being set apart for the purpose. This we learn, not only from ancient authors, both Greek and Latin, but likewise from sepulchral inscriptions and decorations: which last, as we gather from ancient tombs still remaining, consisted of wreaths, garlands, foliage, and flowers. Nor did they merely enjoin that these annual obsequies should be celebrated by roses and odours; but, moreover, with this very view, they purchased gardens [or orchards] adjoining their sepulchres, and appropriated the rents of them to their obsequies: which may be inferred from the following inscription.—Long: Patrollus, influenced by the religious observances of his order, did, during his lifetime, make a donation of a hundred fruit orchards, with the building adjoining this sepulchre, in order that, from their rents, an abundant supply of roses and herbs might be appropriated to his patron’s obsequies [might adorn his patron’s grave,] and, some day, his own.The formula most used in ancient inscriptions is—‘That roses be brought annually to his monument:’ because roses were considered more costly than other flowers.
We will only add a few words more touching the flowers, wreaths, and different kinds of garlands, which are found, eitherpaintedor sculptured, in many sepulchres. This, indeed, appertains to a custom of the old Romans, by them borrowed from the Greeks, of not only binding a wreath round the temples of the dead, but also of honouring their tombs by annually strewing flowers and roses, and by sprinkling odours [in them]; for they had a notion that this was grateful to the defunct. And such usages were so prevalent, that many, on the approach of death, tied down their heirs, by clauses in their wills, to the performance of this duty; a large sum of money being set apart for the purpose. This we learn, not only from ancient authors, both Greek and Latin, but likewise from sepulchral inscriptions and decorations: which last, as we gather from ancient tombs still remaining, consisted of wreaths, garlands, foliage, and flowers. Nor did they merely enjoin that these annual obsequies should be celebrated by roses and odours; but, moreover, with this very view, they purchased gardens [or orchards] adjoining their sepulchres, and appropriated the rents of them to their obsequies: which may be inferred from the following inscription.—Long: Patrollus, influenced by the religious observances of his order, did, during his lifetime, make a donation of a hundred fruit orchards, with the building adjoining this sepulchre, in order that, from their rents, an abundant supply of roses and herbs might be appropriated to his patron’s obsequies [might adorn his patron’s grave,] and, some day, his own.
The formula most used in ancient inscriptions is—‘That roses be brought annually to his monument:’ because roses were considered more costly than other flowers.
These remarks are quite in point, and make sufficiently clear the purpose of the ornaments painted in this sepulchre. For, when the survivors of a dead person were unable, for want of funds set apart for that purpose, to bring fresh roses, garlands, &c., and to give banquets in his honour, we may suppose that they then caused, as being next to the reality, a representation of such funereal ceremonies to be depicted on the walls of his sepulchre.
But what is somewhat in confirmation of this ancient custom is a usage which still obtains among the Christians and Mahometans of Egypt. Every year they perform funereal rites at the tombs of their deceased relations. These consist in going to the cemetery, a whole family together; and there, under a tent, or, if rich people, in a small structure raised for that purpose over the tomb, they pass several days, moaning and howling at certain intervals, and then quietly amusing themselves in eating, smoking, conversation, or whatever else they please to do.
Of the antiquity of tombs hollowed out in rocks we have the testimony of the Holy Scriptures, as used by the Jews, and of Herodotus, as common among the Egyptians. The Greeks originally burned their dead: and it was, probably, at the time of the invasion of the Persian empire by Alexander, that the custom of using stone coffins was first adopted by them.