These ruins, each of which represents a period of several centuries, form a mound big with the monuments of three distinct ages.

The tower is, therefore, the apex of a cone, from which the descent is equally steep on all sides, and which is only approached by a series of steps.

To give in a few words an idea of the height of this tower, we may compare it to the obelisk of Luxor on its pedestal.

The pedestal of the tower of Issoudun, which hid within its breast such archaeological treasures, was eighty feet high on the side towards the town.

In an hour the cart was taken off its wheels and hoisted, piece by piece, to the top of the embankment at the foot of the tower itself,--a work that was somewhat like that of the soldiers who carried the artillery over the pass of the Grand Saint-Bernard.