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B!
SUANETIA 2oy
Let us enter one of these houses or barns. It contains a
single larq-e, dark room :
two
or tliree boulders form the hearth ;
the furniture consists of a few wooden stools or benches scattered
about the earthen lioor ; in the corner is a raised wooden platform
with skins and cushions, the family couch. By groping up
a nari-ow
passage we may i-each the entrance to the tower; ladders or
notched logs, easily removable, lead from storey to storey. The
CHUKCH WITH FRESCOES AT LEXJER
ladders are short, and to gain each storey one has to scramble up
the last few feet by projecting stones left in the wall. Skulls and
horns of wild goats lie about on the landings ; on the top storey
are loop-holes for firing. The towers are built of unsquared blocks
of granite or slate, and generally whitewashed. At Ushkul,
however, the two castles have been left their natural dark colour.
In the upper and more lawless communities w^ood was, until
quite lately, very sparingly employed. In Lower, or Dadish Kilian's
Suanetia, timber balconies, barns, and even houses built of un-
VOL. I. o