ched through another apartment, corresponding to the Greek
_pronaos_. In such a case, care seems to have been taken so to arrange
the outer and inner doorways of the vestibule that persons passing by
the outer doorway should not be able to catch a sight of the shrine.
Where there was no vestibule, the entrance into the cell or body of the
temple seems to have been placed at the side, instead of at the end,
probably with the same object. Besides these main parts of a temple, a
certain number of chambers are always found, which appear to have been
priests' apartments.

The ornamentation of temples, to judge by the few specimens which
remain, was very similar to that of palaces. The great gateways were
guarded by colossal bulls or lions see [PLATE LV.], accompanied by the
usual sacred figures, and sometimes covered with inscriptions. The
entrances and some portions of the chambers were ornamented with the
customary sculptured slabs, representing here none but religious
subjects. No great proportion of the interior, however, was covered in
this way, the walls being in general only plastered and then painted
with figures or patterns. Externally, enamelled bricks were used as a
decoration wherever sculptured slabs did not hide the crude brick.

[Illustration: PLATE 55]

Much the sane doubts and difficulties beset the subjects of the roofing
and lighting of the temples as those which have been discussed already
in connection with the palaces. Though the span of the temple-chambers
is less than that of the great palace halls, still it is considerable,
sometimes exceeding thirty feet. No effort seems made to keep the
temple-chambers narrow, for their width is sometimes as much as
two-thirds of their length. Perhaps, therefore, they were hypaethral,
like the temples of the Greeks. All that seems to be certain is that
what roofing they had was of wood, which at Nimrud was cedar, brought
probably from the mountains of Syria.

Of the domestic architecture of the Assyrians we possess absolutely no
specimen. Excavation has been hitherto confined to the most elevated
portions of the mounds which mark the sites of cities, where it was
likely that remains of the greatest interest would be found. Palaces,
temples, and the great gates which gave entrance to towns, have in this
way seen the light; but the humbler buildings, the ordinary dwellings of
the people, remain buried beneath the soil, unexplored and even unsought
for. In this en