Within the enclosure a series of superposed buildings on the higher ground gave token of successive ages of occupation, and partially covered the site of a palace, which was found at a depth of seven or eight feet below the surface. This has not been completely uncovered, but the details of the portico and the sculptures which adorned its façade, show that it was generally similar to the chief Hittite palace (of Aramaic times) at Sinjerli, which was still in use in the eighth century B.C. Probably most of the construction had been made in unburnt brick, which had largely been reduced to mud, leaving, as usual, little trace of original arrangement; but the sculptured slabs which had adorned the entrance remained standing in position, and enable the plan of the building to be traced. The doorway seems to have been divided and supported in the middle by a round column,[684] and to have been flanked on either hand by a square wing-tower, distantly suggestive of the Egyptian pylon. It was approached by two broad steps reaching from side to side, leading up to a platform or threshold paved with large flagstones. This formed the main threshold, twenty-four feet in width and seven feet in depth. The pavement was continuous in the wings only far enough to serve as foundations for the facing slabs of the corner towers: the ornamental pedestal just mentioned was also set upon it. [Illustration: PLATE LXXVIII SAKJE-GEUZI: ENTRANCE TO A PALACE, WITH SCULPTURES _in situ_] Turning to the scheme of decoration,[685] the main feature is found in two life-size and realistic representations of lions, one on either side, guarding as it were the entrance to the building of which they formed the corner-stones. The forequarters and heads of the animals are carved in the round, and project beyond the frontage of the wall, while the body and hindquarters are in high relief, being continuous with the other sculptures that adorn the flanking walls. In detail of execution these beasts are fashioned after the models already familiar from earlier descriptions.[686] The forepaws are side by side and slightly advanced; the further hind leg is advanced, and the tail droops down and forward, ending in a curl between the feet. The mane is full, with a ruffle round the throat, and the hair is specially thick upon the shoulders and below the belly, as in other instances. That which is striking about these and, indeed, the other sculptures of this series, is their sharpness and preservation, which enables us to look upon them with renewed interest and refreshment, especially after contemplation of the weathered reliefs from which Hittite art has previously been almost wholly known and judged. Though ‘provincial’ work, the snarling defiant realism of these lions has never been surpassed in any specimen of oriental art. Architecturally, it has been noticed, they formed the corner-stones of the building, and the line of the front wall is indicated by the stops