well out slightly
towards the middle, and the flexion of the lines almost follows the
contour of one of those little clay cones upon which the kings were wont
to inscribe their annals or dedications. This flexure was probably
not intentional on the part of the architect, but was owing to the
difficulty of keeping a wall of such considerable extent in a straight
line from one end to another; and all Eastern nations, whether Chaldaeans
or Egyptians, troubled themselves but little about correctness of
alignment, since defects of this kind were scarcely ever perceptible in
the actual edifice, and are only clearly revealed in the plan drawn out
to scale with modern precision.*

* Mons. Heuzey thinks that the outward deflection of the
lines is owing "merely to a primitive method of obtaining
greater solidity of construction, and of giving a better
foundation to these long facades, which are placed upon
artificial terraces of crude brick always subject to cracks
and settlements." I think that the explanation of the facts
which I have given in the text is simpler than that
ingeniously proposed by Mons. Heuzey: the masons, having
begun to build the wall at one end, were unable to carry it
on in a straight line until it reached the spot denoted on
the architect's plan, and therefore altered the direction of
the wall when they detected their error; or, having begun to
build the wall from both ends simultaneously, were not
successful in making the two lines meet correctly, and they
have frankly patched up the junction by a mass of projecting
brickwork which conceals their unskilfulness.

[Illustration: 250.jpg PLAN OF THE EXISTING BUILDINGS OF TELLOH.]

Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from Heuzey-Sarzec.

The facade of the building faces south-east, and is divided into three
blocks of unequal size. The centre of the middle block for a length
of 18 feet projects some 3 feet from the main front, and, by directly
facing the spectator, ingeniously masks the obtuse angle formed by the
meeting of the two walls. This projection is flanked right and left by
rectangular grooves, similar to those which ornament the facades of the
fortresses and brick houses of the Ancient Empire in Egypt: the regular
alternation of projections and hollows breaks the monotony of the facing
by the play of light and shade. Beyond these, again, the wall surface
is broken by semicir