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Generally, the lower chamber had no means of communication with the story above it; at other times a circular aperture, about 7-½ feet in diameter, is found in the crown of the vaulted floor between the chambers.

Portion of the Theodosian Walls (From Within the City).

The lower portion of a tower had evidently little to do directly with the defence of the city, but served mainly as a store-room or guard-house. There, soldiers returning home or leaving for the field were allowed to take up their temporary quarters.^[190] The proprietors of the ground upon which the towers stood were also allowed to use them,^[191] but this permission referred, doubtless, only to the lower chambers, and that in time of peace.

The upper chamber was entered from the parapet-walk through an arched gateway, and was well lighted on its three other sides by comparatively large windows, commanding wide views, and permitting the occupants to fire freely upon an attacking force. Flights of steps, similar to the ramps that led to the summit of the wall, conducted to the battlemented roof of the towers. There, the engines that hurled stones and Greek fire upon the enemy were placed;^[192] and there, sentinels watched the western horizon, day and night, keeping themselves awake at night by shouting to one another along the line.^[193]