Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1900-11-06
ANCIEN / CITY EXHUMED.

ANCIENT CITY EXHUMED.
Chronicles of days long before thos,
of Abraham have been upearlhed from
the desert sands OF Mesopolamis.
DR.. Herman V. Hllpreoh t, curator O
the BsbyloDian section Of the Univer
sity OF Pennsylvania Museum M, has re
turned to Philadelphia from Asia Mi.
nor, and told Of the discovery of the H.
orsry OF the Temple of Baal. at Nip.
pur, OF which the Bible has told. Iu
IL we're records of civilization dating
back to the time when Adam and Eve
we're supposed to have lived in the
Garden of Eden, OF which the world
before had had not certain Knowledge
DR.. Hilprecht regards this discovery as
perhaps the most important arcbseolo-
| gicsl work of the nineteenth century.
Speaking of the discovery Of the
Temple OF Baal, or Bel library, be
i5a0:-"Hitherto We have possessed
i nothing more than the Knowledge OF
the probable contents of such IL
brary. from copies found 10 the Royal
Library of AshurbaDspsl in Nineveh,
which was discovered sixty years ago.
This royal Library, however, was a
compilation of documents gathered
from all over Babyolonia so far as was
at that time known.
"fhe library of clay tablets uneartb.
ee this year at Nippur contains writings
not only in the characters used 2 200
years before the christina era, which
we're the very latest in the collection,
out the majority were in cuneiform
characters peculiar to the more ancient
writings. They cover every branch OF
he literature of that early period long
before the day of Abraham, and tell OF
a civilization of which no word has
come down to us."
He explained that Nippur before
2200 3. G. was the capital OF northern
Baby ylo0ia, but it was then sacked by
he Elsmites, and Babylon arose as
the chief city of Baby loDia.
"Only one wing Of the library haF
been excavated," he ooDtioued, "and
almost $4,000 documents have been
rescued frow the ruins his year. They
we're made of unbaked clay, aDd there
fore suffered considerably by ths COL
lapse OF the building, and by the humid
lty of the ground. We have all the
fragments, however. They are now on
the way from Bsssora to CoDstantiDo-
pie, where they will arrive in the course
of six months.
Among the valuable documents are
lists OF words written in two Languages
-Sumerisn and Baby bylonian-gram.
ma ical exercises, chronological list,
hymus, written often IN terms
closely approaching the Old Testament
psalms, proverbs, Astronomical and as
trologicsl texts, tablets giving en- in
veutory of the Temple, the different
gods worshipped, end the income oI
the temple.
"All these are invaluable contriru-
lions to our knowledge of the ancient
world, and they will considerably in.
crease our knowledge of the two most
ancient languages OF the human race.
"They Will largely affect our knowl-
edge OF the life, the religion. and the
arts of the Hebrew, whose earliest
roots are bound up with the history OF
Bsbylonia. The library OF the Temple
at Nippur was lost to human knowledge
about the time that Abraham went cut
of Ur into Palestine, and it gives Us
clear historical setting for that impor.
tant event. We will be able TO tell
what is purely Babylonian and what 10
purely Hebrew.
"Through other discoveries we have
made, my former discoveries and re.
searches about the time of Ezra and
Nehemiah We received new impulse
by reason OF tablets we found together,
with two hundred inscribed Hebrew
boles. The arguments are conclusive
that the large mass of the Jewish exiles
transported by Nebuchadnezzar after
the destruction of Jerusalem were sci
tied at Nippur and alongside the canals
in the neighborhood."
Nippur, DIR. Hilpreoht said, is seventy
miles south Of Bagdad, and almost east
of the Afiel swamps, inhabited by
Troublesome Bedouins, The ruins form
large mound, rising 100 to 200 feet
above the desert, irregular IN shape. A
persoa can walk around this mound 10
an hour aud quarter. A stream di-
yides it into tWo parts.
On the eastern side is the temple OF
Bsal. with the residences OF the priests
and the temple library. On the west
ern side the people live. Excavations
have been carried on by about four
hundred native workinemeD, superin'
tended in gangs by experienced arche'
ologists.
An interesting find was the great
eastern gate of Nippur, which dates
from the fifth millennium B. c. The
system OF fortifcation of that period
was revealed, and at the foot Of them
were weapons used by the Oldest in-
habitants. Baked clay balls were used
as missiles.
While digging for walls DR.. Hilprecht
came across o great building entirely
helow the desert. II was more
than six hundred feet long on the
front. and at least two stories
high. On top of 1t were ninety feet Of
robbish. From indications and objects
found. including children's play things,
DIR. Hilprecht believes this building
could not have been erected latter than
1000. B.C. He regards this discovery
as the chic result of the expedition.
In the western centre of the southern
mound of the temple he found the