Louisiana capitolian. (Baton Rouge, La.) 1879-1881, 1881-10-29


the ruins of the Kasr or "palace" mound,
Mr.. Rassam has found chambers and
corridors which formed part of the royal
residence Of the King Of Babylon. The
use Of plaster and painted bricks as deco
ration in these chambers affords strong
support to the statements Of the Greek
writer's as to the mode of decorating the
royal residences Of Babylon. On the ex-
treme north of the ruins Of Babylon, and
partly without the eaciente, is the large
mound, called by the natives the Babel
mound. Excavations made here have
brought tolight the remains of extensive
hydraulic works, wells, and conduits
lined with stones, and evidently con-
nected with the Euphrates. The discov-
cry of these remains would seem to indi-
cate that here had stood the hanging
gardens, built by the Babylonian King
for his Median Queen, and the SUPPOSE
ton receives additional support from the
recovery OF small inscribed tablet,
which clearly proves the fondness Of the
Babylonian King for horticulture. A
scribe attached to one of the palace or
temple libraries of Babylonia has trans
mitted to us list of the gardens OF par
adises of the Babyloman monarch, Nero
dachbaladan, the contemporary of Sar-
gon, Sennacherib, and Hezekiah. This
monarch appears to have been lavish
patron Of horticulture, for the list fur
nishes the names of more than sixty gar
dens and parks in and about Babylon
constructed by the royal order.
Leaving Babylon, we now cross the
Euphrates and pass southwest to glance
at the work which has been carried out
on the ruins Of the Birs Nlmroud, the
traditional site of the Tower of Babel,
but really the ruins of the seven-staged
Ziggurat, or observatory tower of tue
great temple of Nebo at Borsippa. Ex-
cavation in the Birs have brought to
| light several chambers of the ancient
temple. and also afforded much infor-
nation regarding the construction of
the stage tower From this site NJ.
Rassam has brought some fragments
from the great mass Of yitrifed bricks;
which has so long been q puzzle to
travellers, and it is to be hoped that
some student Of science may explain
the cause Of this vitrifcation. Babylon
may claim to be the mother of Ninevah
and the cities of Assyria, yet among the
cities of its own land there were those
which could lay claim to far more an
cient traditions, and even to being the
ancestors of Babylon itself. All stu
dents Of history and antiquity will well
come the discovery made by MIR. Ras-
sam of the sites of two of these ancient
cities. whose records and traditions car
ry us back to the days when, perchance
Babylon was as yet "a little village"
While in the neighborhood of Bagdad,
Mr.. Rassam heard from the Arabs of
some ruins on the banks of halt-dry
canal called by the Arabs Yusutiieh,
where plenty of "written-stones were to
be found" The mounds to which his
attention was directed were called Deyr,
and were situated on the North bank of
the canal, about thirty miles southwest
of Bagdad. The test trenches cut in
| the mounds did not bring to light any
| very important remains, only number
of inscribed bricks of the time OF Neb-
uchadnezzar, and no information was
afforded as to the site represented by
the ruins. But if the mounds of Deyr
were drawn blank, more fruitful spot
was awaiting the touch of the explorers
wand to burst forth into rich harvest
OF discoveries. While working at Deyr,
Mr.. Rassam paid visit to the mounds
called by the Arabs Tell Abu Hubba,
where his test trenches soon rewarded
him for the disappointment Of Deyr.
The mounds of Abu Hubba are very ex-
tensive, covering an area over two
miles in circumference, and the position
of the walls and citadel are clearly
marked by mounds and embankments
of debris. Like most Babylonian edi-
fees, the buildings Of Abu Hubba are
built with the angles to the cardinal
points.
The citadel occupied the southern
portion of the enceinte, and its highest
point was on the southwest face, which
was once on the banks of a broad canal
or a branch Of the Euphrates, the bed of
which is now represented by the dry
channel of the Ruthwaniyeh Canal. In
the interior of the edifice an interesting
pair Of rooms were discovered and clear
I