The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1895-09-27
THE TOWER OF BABEL.
10 Be Reproduced In Miniature
for the Atlanta Fair.
~ eature of the Coming Exposition That
VIII BE Interesting and Instruetiye
to Visitors OF All Ages
and CalIings.

The Smithsonian Institution is pre-
pairing a miniature model of the Tower
OF Babel for the exposition of Atlanta.
1t will be in all respects, so far as pos
sible, faithful reproduction of the
famous original. The latter was the
greatest of the many magnificent tenn
pies OF Babylon, being one hundred and
forty feet high. That does not seem
much compared with the Washington
monument, but people in those days
were not accustomed to tall structures,
and the ancient capital of AsSyria was
situated in the midst of a vast plain,
where there were no natural elevations
to serve for comparison. The model
in question, says the Washington Star,
VIII be five feet eight inches square on
the first story. When it is stated that
the first story of the actual Tower of
Babel was seventy-two feet square, a
notion will be given of the proportion.
The original building was constructed
in diminishing stories, each one being
smaller square than that beneath.
This was a common style of architect
ure in Assyria, and from it evolved the
Egyptian pyramid. The stories for the
model are square wooden frames of diff
ferent sizes, so made that they may be
superposed one upon another. These
frames, after being put together, will
be faced on the outside with a veneer
of plaster of paris, which will initiate
the sun-dried bricks of which the tower
was composed
The building of the model is under
the charge of DIR. Palmer. The work,
however, is superintendent by DIR. Cyrus
Adler, who has made exhaustive
study of the historic Tower of Babel.
Mechanically speaking, the most diff
cult part of the job is the casting of the
plaster of paris that is to initiate the
bricks Every brick on the exterior of
the structure is represented and this is
accomplished by making a single mold,
in which the little bricks are labori-
ously indicated. From this mold many
casts are made, and SO the whole sur
face is covered. The Babylonians had
no stone. and so they were obliged to
employ for all their buildings such sun
dried bricks. They did not under
stand the use of molds for the purpose.
Naturally, structures of such material
soon crumbled and did not last very
long.
The Tower of Babel stood upon an
elevated platform of earth six hundred
feet square. This was surmounted
and retained by wall of bricks ten
feet high. Both platform and wall
viii be represented in the model, which
will be quite an imposing affair when
finished. The stories will be painted
in different colors, to initiate the orig
inal building, according to descriptions
given of it in Assyrian literature The
first story was black, in honor of
Saturn; the second story of orange, for
Jupiter; the third story red, for Mars;
the fourth story covered with plates of
gold. for the sun; the fifth story white.
for Venus; the sixth story dark blue,
for Mercury, and the seventh story
covered with plates of silver, in honor
of the moon
The old Babylonians were worship
ers of the sun, and knew lot about
astronomy. The Tower of Babel was
an observatory from which the priests
gazed upon the stars in the heavens,
drawing portents from them, pre-
sumably for sale at so much portent.
The model will have no windows, for 1t
is not known whether or not the orig
inal edifice possessed any. Nobody, as
vet, has been able to discover how the
houses of the Assyrians were lighted.
1t may be that all the light required
for this mighty temple was admitted
from the top, which was presumably
open to the sky. The stairs were on
the outside, and not on the inside of
the building. They also will be shown.
In fact. no detail will be omitted that
may help to give a notion of the exact
appearance of this wonderful edifice of
antiquity.