Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1897-08-06

Important Scientific Discoveries
which wm support Bible
Theories.

BY the way OF the correspondence OF
the London Times important and inter
es,lng news reaches this country OF the
remarkable success Of the American
explorations In northern Babylonia
The credit for tho undertaking and It's
support belongs TO the university OF
Pennsylvania and a small number Of
liberal contributors. The work mas
been in progress for nearly ten years
though interrupted during three years
v troubles among the Arabs ana thu
usual vexatiuus difficulties with the
por;e. The success of the expedition
Wis II sured from the outset, the site OF
the ancient city Of Babylon being To-
o. ed beyond a doubt. The number
and importance Of the treasures OBJ
tanned have fur exceeded the most
;sanguine expectations Of the explorers,
and place the expedition In the front
rang OF archaeological researches.
The earlier expeditions Of 1886-9O
| we're under the direction Of DIR. Peters,
and resulted 10 securing nearly 10000
tablets and inscribed objects, the most
Important being those relating TO Sar-
gon I. ami his son, Marin Sin, whosr
date, B. G. 0 800, he'd been regarded
by many IS the starting point OF Baby
loniau history. Local and govern
men al difficulties having been over
CINE, the explorations were renewed
in 1893, and have continued up
10 the present time, under the direc-
lion of Mr.. I. II. Haynes. The later
results have been astonishing. They
add macy chapters to the early history
Of the ace and carry back the founda-
lions of Babylon to q possible date OF
1000 or 1000 years before the Chris
tian era. The researches have been
prosecuted on the systematic lines en-
ployed by C~urtius, Schliemann and
IPetrie, each stratum of the ruins being
laid bare before the underlying stratum
is disturbed. and the position of every
obi oct being noted with care as well as
being fixed by the aid OF photography.
The great mounds of Nufar are
situated ON the east bank Of the Shat
EN- mil, a main artery navigation canal,
,a.oh !. Nv 1.sbr. IN ancient times
connected Babylon with the Persian
lGulf. The central feature of the ruins
IS a vast 'conical mound, called by the
Arabs Bint ell ANN, t.the sAmir's
Daughter" which rises7t . height OF
yearly t~wenty-nlnes metres above the
surrounding plain. This mound marks
the site Of the great zlgguras, or temple
stage tower, first built By Ur Gun, or
Ur.Bahee, de he was formerly called,
about b. G. $500, aud subsequently
repaired and added to by later
monarchs. This immense mound was
the central point OF the explorations
conducted by Mr.. Haynes. 1t was in
the second pavement below the tower
that the large, kiln burnt bricks were
found, bearing the stamps of Sargon /.
and Naram-Sin, his son.
In 1895 Mr.. Haynes gave his at
tention to a rampant of mounds, north
west OF the temple, and soon reached
results such as were never dreamed of
by the most ardent advocate Of Baby
lenian explorations. Beginning at the
upper stratum, excavations were made
to the virgin soil, passing through de-
bris Of ruined buildings, broken pot
sery. fragments Of inscribed stones and
well-constructed drains, to the depth
Of 9.25 metres. At a conservative
estimate of the time necessary to build
up such a mass of debris, the date OF
800 or 1900 years before the time of
Sargon l. /, not too early for the low
est sti alum. The material gathered is
enormous. Over rs, 900 tablets, as
well as numerous inscribed fragments
II vases and stei@, have been removed
Among these were found some written
in a most archaic character. OF which
Professor HiIprecht has constructed a
complete text Of 1872 lines
The full record of the results OF this
work wilt be- awaited impatiently BY
numerous arcs@ ,Iogists. What reve-
~IatioDs further explorations will make,
and what will be the sum total Of ad-
ded knowledge concerning early civil
lization, cannot be told. But enough
is known to awaken intense interest
and enough to bring credit on the or
ganizers and promoters Of the enter
prise. Above all Mr.. Haynes deserves
honor. He is entitled to a place IN the
front rank of explorers, and also OF
heroes. The amount of labor accom-
! pl.s.oa " a- ec:.e. and the
difficulties surmounted have been
great. For thirty-two months he lived
alone, as far as civilized companions
were concerned, among the widest
Arab tribes in Mesopotamia, and in q
| climate Of fever varied with cholera.
At least one determined attempt was
made on bis life. He enjoys the we'll
earned reward Of his heroism and per.
severance.
plavfu1 With Words.