The Savannah morning news., 1903-07-05

ments, in which were raised platforms
Tor beds) of brickwork
The most ambitious feature of the
plan was an open court with a colon
made, which was reached from the en-
trance through a couple of ante-rooms,
From this court a number of small
rooms open off, and opposite the por-
tlco are the two largest apartments in
the palace. A smaller court stood be-
tween the servants quarters and the
superior rooms of the "harem" In
both these courts were columns of
burned brick, succeed with fine plas-
ter In the principal one were four cir
cular columns on each side, with a
square one at each angle, all built up
on foundations of burned brick, while
the court itself was paved with crude
brick. The columns We're plainly "Ba-.
nylonlan limitations of Doric columns"
and, in fact, the characteristics of the
building throughout are, as Prof Hill
precht points out, entirely un-Baby-
lonlan and much more like the fea-
lures of the ancient Greek houses on
Delos." The balanced plan, the treat
ment of the entrance, the columns
themselves, are all plain evidence of
the correctness of Hilprecht's dating of
the building.
Use of stuccO.
In view of their very limited choice
of material, the builders may be par
doned for using stucco; and the in
genulty they displayed in constructing
the tapering columns with specially
nodded bricks and in building up the
capitals with two distinct patterns of
holdings is far ahead of the work of
the earlier builders at Nippur.
AT many widely separated points of
the site interesting buildings were dis
covered, including the now famous eli
brary," but it is impossible to give any
description of all of them, owing to
lack of space. All that can be at
tempted is to deal with the mound I'M
der which lay the remains of the great
temple and ziggurat of Bel.
To the presence of this edifice an
cient Nippur owed its sanctity and
fame, if not its very existence; and to
the unearthing of the temple and the
attempt to restore its plan much of the
energy of each of the American expedi-
tons has been devoted. Owing to the
unscientific methods of excavating fol-
lowed by the early diggers, the task
has been much complicated; and before
an entirely trustworthy plan of the
earliest buildings can be secured many
of the dump-heaps deposited on and
close to the mounds which cover the
ziggurat and its Enclosures will have to
be removed. The particular mound
which marks the position of the zig
gurat is the highest point at Nippur,
and it forms an important landmark
for many miles in the flats of Lower
MesopOtamia. About a third of its ex-
tent has been explored so far; and as
a result of his personal study of the
remains and the reports of the archi-
tects attached to the last expedition.
Hilprecht is able to put forward a clear
picture of the place at different stages
of it's history.
The upper strata of the mound con-
tanned the remains of a huge fortified
building, grouped around a citadel
which covered the ziggurat of the early
temple, Hilprecht proves that this
building belonged to the Parthian Pc
riod (thus disposing of Peters theo-
ries as to its very much earlier con-
struction); and he regards 1t as the
palace of Prince or Governor. Orig
inally, he believes, this fortress "con-
sisted of two courts. = which did
not communicate with one another, ex-
cept perhaps by means of g. large stair
case" The outer court has not yet
been fully uncovered; but the other
contained domestic quarters, barracks,
store rooms, and offices in one quarter,
in another part finely built rooms,
which were in some cases constructed
with double walls for the sake of cool
ness, and would, therefore appear to
be the apartments of the Prince and
his chief officers; and in a third Sec
ton, which is only partially excavated,
stood the "harem' buildings. The cita-
del was an immense platform, cruel
form on plan, which rose about thirty
feet above the surrounding buildings of
&c, hod Of efa
not lower than twenty feet, rising from
it's center. A well-the only one in con-
nection with this structure discovered
in the whole inclosure-was carried
down from the citadel through the core
of the ziggurat to wate- level, thus
assuring a supply of water in case of
the most stubborn siege. Indeed, this
fortified palace must have been we'll
nigh impregnable; for all the buildings
mentioned were Enclosed by yet another
strong wall, which, when excavated.
still rose to a hight of over sixty feet
was more than thirty feet thick
at it's top almost forty feet at its
base = and was strengthened by
huge buttresses at its corners and 8"
smaller ones erected at equal distances
between them"
An Earlier Building Below.
Below this building were the remains
of an earlier one, of a very similar
character, of the Seleucidan period, of
which, however, the excavators dis
covered only the most fragmentary
traces, so that 1t appears the later
builders demolished the earlier work.
Lower still were the remains of the
old temple.
When 1t is remembered that the
temple site was occupied over 1000
years and that the building under
went many alterations. engagements,
and patching at the hands of success
sive Kings and Governors, who fire.
quently paid scant attention to the
work Of their predecessors, tearing
down walls and leveling buildings
Just as best suited their own schemes,
it will be readily understood that the
task of attempting a restoration of
any particular period Is no easy one
At present nothing in the nature of a
final decision upon many points can
be attempted. All that can be done
is To Dresent some general idea of the