626 THE RUINS OF LOU-LAN.
Then comes a wing which measures 5.9 m. in length and 18.03 m. in breadth. It is divided into five rooms, the middle room being the largest, while those on each side of it are merely passage-ways each a meter wide. The walls in this structure were composed of narrow planks reared on end. Here too the roof consisted of woven kamisch mats. These remains lay on the west side of the house, having been swept off and deposited there by the last storm that they were unable to withstand; this happened without . doubt at a much later period than that at which the houses were deserted by their inhabitants. These five apartments appear to have been used as sheepfolds, to judge from the layer, or rather several successive layers, of sheep-dung, a foot thick, which was in a relatively fresh condition, preserved under a thin coating of sand and dust. The smallest apartments were possibly intended for the lambs, after these were separated from the ewes. Finally, at the extreme north-east end of this long complex of buildings is a passage, measuring 3.4 m. by 18.03 m. At the apex of the gable is a massive round strong pole, indicative, apparently, of a roof sloping downwards in both directions. The pole is 3.2 m. high, while the side-posts are two-thirds of a meter lower.
Fig. 285. VIEW OF RUINED HOUSES, MARCH 28.
A comparison of the two sets of buildings on the two separate platforms showed that the smaller single house was not only more carefully constructed, but also more tastefully decorated with wood-carvings, pierced latticed windows of different patterns, turned • pillars, etc. It may have been a small temple, as the little sacrificial clay bowls would indeed seem to indicate, although they alone are not sufficient to justify such a conclu. sion. My first impression, after seeing these two structures only, was. that what we had discovered was a former örtäng, and that the smaller house had
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