Los Angeles herald., 1905-08-13
BY Edgar James Banks

TN ANCIENT Hebrew literature is
story that in the early days of
the world the few descendants of
Adam and Eve, while wandering in the
plain of Shinar, decided to perpetuate
their name by building tower which
would reach to heaven. The level, al
luvial plain of Shinar, which in lat
ter millenniums was called Babylonia
yielded no stones, and for building ma
terial the people were obliged to in
vent bricks of clay and burn them;
for cement they employed the btu
men from the neighboring hot springs.
Soon the tower reared its head toward
heaven.
God, hearing of the tower which his
ambitious people were building, was
displeased with their presumption.
overturned 1t by sending fire down
upon it, and, to prevent them from
repeating their attempt, he gave to
each knowledge of a special language
of his own. The people of the plain
of Shinar, thus unable to understand
each other and confused by the strange
sounds about them, speedily scattered
throughout the earth to escape discord
and find peace. Thus the tower which
caused their confusion was called the
Tower of Babel. To the Hebrews the
story explained the origin of brickmaE-
ing; it accounted for the variety of
languages and narrated how it hap
pened that mankind was scattered
throughout the earth.
Most stories of the ancients, from
whatever part of the world they may
come, or however much or little they
may appeal to our credulity, are based
upon some foundation of fact An in
teresting feature of the work of the
archaeologist is to find the kernel from
which the story has grown.
Theories of Location
OF the Biblical story of Babel, the
name of the tower suggests the locality
in which one must search for it. Since
the great English traveller, Sir John
Mandeville, whose book of adventures,
both real and imaginary, was for CEN
turies so popular, pretended to have
visited Babylon the Tower of Babel
has been associated with one of several
ancient ruins which rise high above the
Babylonian plain. During the past two
years, while exploring in Mesopotamia
for the University of Chicago, have
visited them.
The tower which many of the earlier
scholars supposed to be described in
the Biblical story stands in the plain
about two hours northeast of Bagdad.
Akkerkuf, as it is called by the Arabs
of the vicinity, is a low mound, at one
end of which rises a solid mud-brick
tower more than a hundred feet above
the plain. It's outer casing of square,
burned bricks has fallen away, or it was
taken for the construction of Bagdad
and other modern cities; the large un-
baked bricks of the interior are gradu-
ally wearing away by the rains.
Half century ago. when the scien-
tific explorer who could read the cunei-
form inscriptions upon the bricks in the
ruins, began to explore the country,
Akkerkuf was discovered to be tower
belonging to temple, which stood as
late as 5000 years ago. 1t was therefore
obliged to yield the distinction of being
regarded as the etancient Towel of Babel
to Birs, a ruin close to the city of Baby
lon. At the present time Assyriologists
are generally agreed. and with reason,
that Birs is the tower which even in
ancient times was known asthe Tower
of Babel, and which. gave rise to the
ancient Hebrew story,
Blrs. the modern name of the tower,
is derived from Borsippa, as the ancient
suburb of Babylon, in which it stood,
was called. To visit it one must cross
the Euphrates at the town of Hillah,
which the modern Arabs have built
upon the site of Babylon. Two hours
70 the west rises the enormous ruin.
by far the most imposing in Babylon.
If not In the world It's mountainlilxe
cone, fully 1000 feet In circumference
at the base rises at the present time
1856 feet above the plain; originally II
was much higher. The ascent is SO
steep that the climb up its sides Is diff