BSY_FB_B-UmmIdjDjimalp024

24

Umm idj-Djimâl

stonework was entirely consealed, and bits of the
finer stucco, a sort of finishing coat, still to be seen
upon the lintels and jambs, show that even the more
highly finished stonework was also covered with plaster.

There are multiplied examples of this sort in all
parts of these ruins, and, in many cases, the then
hard coat which was applied to finished
surfaces, has outlasted the thicker stucco that covered
the rough surfaces of walls. It would seem therefore
most probable that all buildings of all periods
of which there are examples still extant, and of all
classes, were stuccoed. We have examples here
of carved details still showing the fine hard coat
of plaster, and, in one case, an example where
the lines of the coursing of a largely finished building
were scratched upon a stucco surface.

The houses in question have exterior stairs, leading
from the courtyard through the 2 or 3 stories to
the roof showing that the roof was commonly
used as an extra story - probably in hot weather.