Marvels Under Our Feet; From the Subterranean World - Softcover

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1888 edition. Excerpt: ... depth of that great mountain, these awful idols, with their mysterious altar of human sacrifice, looked very preadamitic and imposing. They seemed to sit there waiting for some great summons which should awaken and reanimate these 'kings of the earth, who lie in glory, every one in his own house.' seated on rocky thrones. This inner shrine is hewn at We wandered through many chambers, in which the air is so calm and undisturbed that the very smell of the torch es of the last explorers of these caverns was perceptible. In Abyssinia the rock-churches of Lalibala likewise give proof of an ancient state of civilisation, strongly contrasting with the barbarisrn of the present times. Like the temples of Ellora, some of these curious structures have been hollowed out of single blocks of stone left standing in the centre of open courts excavated in the bosom of the rock, while others are completely subterranean. Though far inferior in magnificence and extent to those wonderful edifices, they are yet very remarkable. The courts, in which the three principal monolithic churches are respectively dedicated to our Saviour, to the Holy Virgin, and to St. Emmanuel, communicate with each other by narrow passag-es, the whole thus forming a continued series of excavations. The Church of St. Emmanuel is forty-eight feet long, thirty-two feet broad, and forty feet high; but it is surpassed in size by the Church of the Holy Virgin, where the rock walls of the court are moreover perforated with sepulchral vaults and with cells for the habitation of monks. The town of Lalibala is situated in a beautiful country, 7000 feet above the level of the sea, on the slope of the mighty Ascheten mountain, and commands a pro-. spect of Alpine...