Bristol news. [volume] (Bristol, Va. & Tenn.) 1867-189?, 1873-03-11
SCIENTIFIC.
What May be Found i'm AsSyria
Expected Results of Re
ncwed Excavations.

GAPcCaCu hCsuftS 81 ktc-
newed Excavations.
We have pleasure in presenting /:
second paper from the pen of Mr.
George Smith. indicating the nature
of the discoveries which may reward
further explorations in the valleys O
the Euphrates and Tigris. The now
famous decipherer writes Ms follows
In my former communication | gave
short account of some of the histor
ical fruits of cuneiform researches.
would now point out few of the re.
suits which We may hope to obtain by
renewed excavations in the Euphra
tes region. The Arabs and other in
habitants of the Mesopotamian val.
leys have little or no estimation for
ancient relics. The winged bulls and
eagle headen kings laid bare by the
energy of Layard and other explorers
excited their momentary wonder ;
but after the first languid admiration
the principal sentiment of such people
was extreme surprise that Europeans
should take so much interest in rub.
bish of old unbelievers. Yet, a
sense of the value of these old sites
fingers still in the common belief that
immense treasures of gold and jewels
are somewhere hidden beneath the
ruined cities. Let us now
speak Of these veritable and really
existent riches. 1t is fact well
known to Assyrian scholars that Our
present collections from the regions,
although of great interest, form only
a small portion of the treasures of the
Assyrian and babylonian mounds. -
The antiquities already recovered.
besides the light they throw on an
cient history and customs, also point
out very suggestively the character
of the objects which we may hope to
obtain by future work and the most
promising spots in which to seek
them.
The histories of almost all ancient
people show at their commencement
a number of NEUROLOGICAL stories
which are of great interest in regard
to any inquiries into their origion and
early history. There are traces of a
large and s,ngularly rich collection of
these legends both in Assyria and
Babylonia, but few of them have yet
been recovered. A good example of
such documents is the cuneiform ac-
count of the descent of the goddess
Ishtar into Hades. In her downward
journey to the internal regions she
passes through seven gates, and parts
with some ornament or article of at
tire at each gate. The whole account
is most curious as showing the relig.
ious opinions of that age, and the
story has some striking parallels in
the poems and legendary stories of
other and later countries. Again. the
annals of Babylonia and Assyria were
written like the mythological and re-
ligious records. on clay teblats, and
these surprisingly interesting annals
must extend much beyond what we at
present know. Of the earlier por-
tions of this ceramic history few
fragments only have yet been recov.
cred. Sargon, who ruled over Assy-
ria and Babylonia more than seven
hundred years before the Christian
era, states in his inscriptions that
three hundred and fifty kings had
reigned over these countries before
lIis time. Two-thirds of those mon
archs have yet to be discovered even
by appeliation, to say nothing of the
prodigious roll of their deeds and glo.
rieS. Their memorials and histories
lie buried under the mounds of Kuuy-
unjik, Nimrud Kalah Soerghet, and
other places in Assyria, while the
mounds round Sura, Hymer, Hillah,
Warka. and host of other sites in
Babylonia are, doubtless, perfect
treasure-houses of ancient lore.-
Bound up with the history of these
early kings, moreover, is the question
as to the date of the origin of the
great Hebrew nation. Abraham,
father of his race. left Ur Of the Chal.
dees during the time of Chedorlao-
mer, who ruled over Western Asia
from Persia to the Mediterranean.-
The Babylonian records, when recOv-
cred, will determine for US the date
of Chedorlaomer. and thus settle this
most important question.
Another point of great interest on
which we may expect new discoveries
TO throw light is the question as to
the origin of the Scientific race itself
of which the Hebrew people forms
one family. In very early times
Western Asia was inhabited by tribes
of men whose language was totally
different from that of its present in
habitants. These early communities
founded the civilization of Babylonia.
At least two thousand years before
the Christian era the aborgines in
question were conquered by the great
Shemitic stock, from which have de-
scended the Jews. Arabs, Syrians.
and Assyrians. Until we recover all
that lost history which now lies buried
under the Babylonian mounds we
shall not know the exceedingly i'm
portant truth as to this and many
other chronological questions. Furth-
er, great interest has been naturally
taken in my recently-discovered
Chaldean account of the food. but
the record of that precious tablet is
only one out of many stored in the
Royal Library the others pf the class
being doubtless equally nteresting.-
From them-when they are obtained
we shall ascertain the views of the
Babylonians on the creation. the his
tory OF man before the food, and
many similar points. All these re-
cor.,,s ard others we're translated
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