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 Illustrations Engraving of Persepolis in 1850 original description: The city of Persepolis was magnificent both in plan and in execution. The engraving shows the royal palace. It was surrounded by three walls, the first 32 feet high furnished with battlements, the third 120 feet high, and built of stone. It inclosed a quadrangle, on the eastern side of which was the rock with the royal tombs, which had no proper entrance, being cut in the rock; the corpses were elevated by machinery, and thus deposited in their appropriate places. On one side of these ruins, which are about six miles from the ruins of Shohel-Minar, are fragments of two porticoes which stood at right angles to each other, and formed an entrance to a larger flight of stairs leading to another portico, composed of a double row of six pairs of columns, behind which was situated a spacious court-yard surrounded by colonnades. The two first-mentioned porticoes had colossal pillars on either side, at the foot of which stood the fabulous animals, some of them somewhat resembling the Egyptian sphinx, but in Persia the head of a priest was substituted for that of a female. Some were probably intended for a horse or unicorn, which is frequently mentioned in the Persian mythology. Between the two pillars were four double columns. The capitals were surmounted by horses, which supported the entablature. The capitals of the second portico were plain. The porticoes had ceilings of stone-slabs. The fronts of the royal tombs, known as the ruins of Nakshi Rustam, were built of a hard dark stone, in large blocks, very closely jointed; and the columns were of white marble.. More Illustrations More Ancient Sent by Darius Kadivar Got any interesting old photos of ordinary people, places, political leaders, activists... anything? Send to times@iranian.com
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