The tombs are of every variety of form and disposition, from
vaulted receiving sepulchres, like that shown in Plates 31 and
32, to free-standing sarcophagi, — one of the most interesting,
but by no means one of the best preserved, of which is illus-
trated in its present condition and original appearance by Plates
33 and 34. The carving upon this latter chest, although badly
weathered, is so characteristic in design, that if its shattered
sides are discovered during the future investigations, it will
well repay transportation, notwithstanding its great weight.
Farther from the gates of the city are mounds of debris,
which mark the situation of extensive monuments, so hope-
lessly overthrown that an understanding of their construction



128 ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
was not possible without excavations, for which the first year
allowed no time.
One branch of the road which passes the street of Tombs
continues directly to the north, crossing the Satnioeis at a
point indicated upon the map of the city, Plate i. Here were
discovered considerable remains, which afford the only known
example of an ancient Greek bridge, Plate 35. The structure
is certainly the only existing instance of a work of this kind
in which the principle of the lintel, so tenaciously adhered to
previous to the age of the Diadochi, has been consistently
carried out. The fact that the Greeks seldom attempted the
execution of monumental works of engineering, such as were
so often undertaken by the Romans, made wooden bridges
much more common than those of stone, even in such impor-
tant positions as the passage between Aulis and Chalkis, where
a bridge connected the island of Euboea with the mainland.
