ARCHITECTURE. 263 In its present state this tomb is still sixty-nine metres above the level of the plain. The turf covering the mound was cut to some depth around its base, when the stone construction which formed the shell of the vault was disclosed ; more cuttings were made across the mass to the centre, occupied by the funereal chamber, in which, doubtless, had been deposited the royal body, but which the explorers found empty. During his borings, Spiegelthal found traces of other galleries that, in all likelihood, had been made in antiquity by treasure- FIG. 160. Perspective view of the interior of tomb. seekers (see plan, Fig. 159, A, B). He followed their direction and thus attained his goal. 1 700-702 ; and in Abhandlungen of the same learned society, 1858, pp. 539- 556, appeared a memoir, by Von Olfers, entitled " Ueber die Lydischen Koenigsgraeber bei Sardes und der Grabhuegel des Alyattes nach den Bericht des Kaiserlichen Generalconsuls Spiegelthal zu Smyrna," with lithographed plates. 1 The trench A, B in map (Fig. 159) was opened by Von Olfers, when he came upon galleries that had been excavated by treasure-seekers. By clearing and following them, he reached the mortuary chamber.
