could the stone, without which his art was powerless, be
introduced.

But as the lateral development of Assyrian buildings was great, so too was
the field offered to the Assyrian sculptor. It has been calculated that the
sculptured slabs found in the palace of Sargon would, if placed in a row,
cover a distance of nearly a mile and a half. Their superficies is equal to
about an acre and a half. By this it will be seen that sculpture played an
important part in the decoration of an Assyrian palace, but as it was
confined to the lower part of the walls, some other method had to be
invented for ornamenting those surfaces on which the chisel could not be
used. In Chaldaea, where there was so little stone, it was practically the
whole building that had to be thus contrived for. In both countries the
problem was solved in the same fashion--by the extensive use of enamelled
brick and painted stucco, and the elaboration of a rich, elegant, and
withal original system of polychromy.

Explorers are unanimous in the opinion that neither burnt nor sun-dried
brick was ever left without something to cover its nakedness. It was always
hidden and protected by a coat of stucco.[339] At Nineveh, according to M.
Place, this stucco was formed by an intimate mixture of burnt chalk with
plaster, by which a sort of white gum was made that adhered very tightly to
the clay wall.[340] Its peculiar consistence did not permit of its being
spread with a brush; a trowel or board must have been used. The thickness
of this cement was never more than one or two millimetres.[341] Its
cohesive force was so great that in spite of its thinness it acted as an
efficient protector. It has often been found in excellent condition, both
upon flat and curved surfaces, upon the walls of courtyards and chambers,
on the under sides of vaults, wherever in fact a stone casing did not
supply its place.

It would seem that some buildings had no outward ornament beyond the
brilliant whiteness of this stucco, the effect of which may be seen at the
present day in the whitewashed houses of the East. The glare of such a wall
was happily contrasted with the soft verdure that sometimes grew about it,
and the dark blue of the sky against which its summit was relieved. Such a
contrast gives importance and accent to the smallest building, as painters
who treat the landscapes of the South thoroughly understand.

We have reason to believe, however, that as a rule the white stucco s