The total length of the cathedral is 172 feet 6.5
inches. Length of apse (included in above) 30 feet 9 inches; breadth of
apse 32 feet 3 inches; breadth of cathedral 74 feet 1 inch;
circumference of pillars 15 feet 3 inches, there being 12 pillars in
all.
On the outside walls are the marks of various cannon-shot which appear
to have been successfully resisted by the soft but tough sedimentary
limestone, which is of similar quality to that used in the construction
of the fortress. I observed that the impact of the shot has been
confined to the immediate neighbourhood of the blow, and that the
concussion has not been communicated to the adjoining stone, but has
expended itself in crumbling the opposing surface to the depth in which
it was eventually imbedded. It would be interesting to try some
experiments upon those walls of Famagousta (which may already require
repair or alteration) with modern heavy artillery, as should this stone
exhibit unusual powers of resistance it may become valuable. Nothing
would be easier than to fire a few rounds from a ship's battery to prove
the question.
The courtyard of an ancient Venetian palace now forms the British
parade-ground. This faces the cathedral entrance, and is ornamented by
piles of marble cannon-shot, which are upwards of ten inches in
diameter; these were the Venetian relics of the siege of 1571.
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