carvings, representing the fore part of an uræus or basilisk serpent,
uprearing itself against the wall of the shrine, which were continued
along the entire front of the chamber. There was also an internal
ornamentation of the roof, consisting of a winged circle of an Egyptian
character--a favourite subject with the Phoenician artists[620]--the
circle having an uræus erect on either side of it, and also of another
winged figure which appeared to represent an eagle.[621] The monolithic
chamber was emplaced upon a block of stone, ten feet in length and
breadth, and six feet in height, which itself stood upon a much smaller
stone, and overhung it on all sides. A flight of six steps, cut in the
upper block at either side, gave access to the chamber, which, however,
as it stood in a pool of water, must have been approached by a boat.
The entire height of the shrine above the water must have been about
eighteen feet.

Some other ruined shrines have been found in the more distant of the
Phoenician settlements, and representations of them are common upon the
_stelæ_, set up in temples as votive offerings. On these last the uræus
cornice is frequently repeated, and the figure of a goddess sometimes
appears, standing between the pillars which support the front of the
shrine.[622] There is a decided resemblance between the Phoenician
shrines and the small Egyptian temples, which have been called
_mammeisi_, the chief difference being that the latter are for the most
part peristylar.[623] M. Renan says of the _Maabed_, or main shrine
at Amrith:--"L'aspect général de l'édifice est Egyptian, mais avec une
certaine part d'originalité. Le bandeau et la corniche sur les quatre
côtés de la stalle supériere en sont le seul ornement. Cette simplicité,
cette sévérité de style, jointes à l'idée de force et de puissance
qu'éveillent les dimensions énormes des matériaux employés, sont des
caractères que nous avons déjà signalés dans les monumens funéraires