The Progress of Ethnology: An Account of Recent Archaeological, Philological and Geographical Researches in Various Parts of the Globe, Tending to Elucidate the Physical History of ManBartlett, John Russell
History
The Progress of Ethnology: An Account of Recent Archaeological, Philological and Geographical Researches in Various Parts of the Globe, Tending to Elucidate the Physical History of Man
Bartlett, John Russell
Anthropology -- History; Ethnology -- History
These ruined cities contain amphitheatres more or less spacious, and
generally in a good state of preservation, temples, aqueducts, and
sepulchral monuments, together with numbers of lesser buildings, the
dwelling houses of the inhabitants. The ruins of Christian churches are
also found in many places, and in one instance a large and elegant
cathedral; the purposes of these are satisfactorily made out by their
inscriptions; and the date of their erection, when not otherwise known,
may be fixed by their style of architecture. The most numerous as well
as the most interesting monuments of these ancient cities, are their
sepulchres. In some instances where a mountain or high rock is
contiguous, it is pierced with thousands of tombs, presenting an
appearance similar to Petræa in Idumea, sometimes called the City of the
Dead. The roads in all directions are lined with tombs and sarcophagi,
many of them covered with elaborate sculptures and inscriptions. It is
by means of the latter, which abound and which exist in a fine state of
preservation, that the names of the cities are identified and other
historical facts brought to light. The following is a translation of the
most common form of sepulchral inscription.
"THIS TOMB APOLLONIDES, SON OF MOLISSAS, MADE
FOR HIS WIFE AND CHILDREN: AND IF ANY ONE
VIOLATES IT, LET HIM PAY A FINE."
Coins too are found, which possess considerable historic interest.
In architecture, we find excellent specimens of the several Grecian
orders, exhibiting both the perfection and declension of the art. The
works of Sir Charles Fellows abound in architectural representations. A
pointed arch was discovered by Lieut. Spratt and Professor Forbes in the
interior of a tomb (a sketch of which is given) among the ruins of
Antiphellas. This conclusively shows, that this peculiar form of the
arch was not first introduced with Gothic architecture, as has been
generally believed, but belongs to a period anterior to the Christian
era. An inscription in the Lycian and Latin was found on the monument.
The language of the ancient Lycians is an important discovery which has
resulted from these researches. A bilingual inscription in Lycian and
Greek first led to the key, and similar inscriptions, subsequently
discovered, have furnished sufficient materials for ascertaining the
values of the several letters of the alphabet, which consists of
twenty-seven letters, two of which are still doubtful. Able
disquisitions on the language have been written by Mr. Sharpe and
Professor Grotefend.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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