The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1881-08-24
larchemish, the Capital of the
Hittites.
Second Article. l
BY W. ST. CHAD BoscAwEN.


AS at Nineveh, Babylon, and the most
asient cities of Chaldea, so at Carche-
liih we find the acropolis or citadel
orned by huge mound, towering high
!bove the city and the river. The
acropolis at Carchemish rises 173 feet
above the river. In Babylonia, on the
plains OF Shinar, these mound-built cita-
dels are relics of the old Akkadian ira
dltions of those who, iourneying from the
East, came and dwelt in the lowland,
and whose first act was to build "tower
or high place" whose head should reach
to Heaven (Gen. XII: y. These lofty
mounds were copied by Assyrians and
by Hittites, and over the plains all
around Jerabhis and on either bank of
the Euphrates may be seen these
mounds, breaking the monotony of the
plains. At Tel Arpad, the ancient
Arpad q Kings, xviii 34), and at Tasha-
tan, the ancient Pethor Numb. xii ::
81, the birthplace of BALKAN, both but
short distances from Carchemish, we find
similar lofty mounds. In the days of
Sanger, King of Carchemish (B. @. $3.50,
upon the top of this mound was the royal
abode-the dwelling of the Kings of
the Hittites;' and fortunate discovery
has rescued from the oblivion of an
Assyrian gravemound an original repre-
sentation of this royal abode, made
twenty-seven centuries ago, by the
bronze-workers of the Court of Nineyeh
In 1877, M. Hormuzd Rassam recovered
from the ruins of the great war temple
of Imgur Bel, now marked by the mound
of Balawat, near Nimrud, the splendid
bronze gates on which were represented
the grand campaigns of Shalmaneser II
(B. G. 859). Upon these grand records
of royal conquests are figured many of
the Hittite cities, and among them the
capital, Carchemish; and, though treated
In somewhat conventional style, we can
see that the representation agrees in a
remarkable manner with the ruins. In
this representation the mound built aero
polls, crowned with stately edifces, is
clearly to be seen, and it is evident that
at that period the mound was occupied
by two distinct blocks Of buildings, the
one group being twice the size of the
other, an arrangement which the remains
at Jerabhis show to have existed. At
the extreme west portion of the mound
was smaller quay, which appears to
have formed the royal landing place.
Within the Enclosure the scene can be
described by no filter term than chaos
There is hardly one stone standing upon
another, and mass Of debris of all
periods, from Hittite sculptures Of ten
centuries before Christ to Arab huts of
ten years ago. How truly in these ruins
of the buried city do we see the fulflment
Of the prophets's warnings against those
who afflicted the people. There is mot
one stone upon another and the abomina-
ton Of desolation reigns supreme" How
wildly do these ruins bring before us
the utter destruction so often mentioned
by the Assyrian kings as the punishment
OF the rebellious cities. II captured,
threw down, dug up, and burned with
nre, turning them to ruins and heaps"
ihe excavations on this site were CON
quoted for the trustees of the British
Museum by Mr.. Patrick Henderson, II.
b. M. consul at Aleppo, and many in
ttferesting discoveries have resulted from
the explorations made. Following the
mode adopted in the explorations car
lled out on the mounds at Nineveh and