Page:Travels & discoveries in the Levant (1865) Vol. 1.djvu/340

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290
TRAVELS AND DISCOVERIES

tomb, and the workmen said that the defunct was a shabby fellow not to have left a coin to pay Charon with.

In the nest field to the south I found another grave, containing similar common pottery and a bowl of thick well-preserved glass. Contiguous to this, on the south, was a grave lined with large square tiles with flanged edges, and covered with a stone. Outside the tiles were two rows of deep cups, placed one within the other, and lying horizontally on their sides. This grave contained many vases, all broken, two coarse terra-cotta reliefs, a silver ring, two silver fibulæ of very ordinary workmanship, a large calcedony polished for engraving, and a copper coin as naulon. Inside this grave were layers of shingle. I found in this field a whole cluster of graves, the bearings of which evidently followed no fixed rules. In one of them were a bronze arrow-head and a number of broad-headed iron nails, which may have served to hold together a wooden coffin or casket. I sound one instance of the same mode of interment in large earthen jars, which I had noticed in the Troad two years ago. (See ante, p. 135.)

The contents of the graves up to this date are not very promising. The pottery is generally coarse and unvarnished. In one grave I found a cup of late black ware, ornamented with a Dionysiac subject in relief. This kind of ware is seldom to be met with, and belongs to the Macedonian period.

In spite of the small success up to this date, I find great pleasure in the kind of life I am leading here. I remain in the fresh air all day long, enjoying the