Los Angeles herald., 1906-09-23


Dump Heap Of Riches
I3v the side Of the ruins of the ancient
ternple was the old dump heap upon
which the temple priests of 64OO years
ago discarded the broken and worthless
utensils now those fragments of ala
ba ster. onyx and marble. engraved ana
in1aid with ivory and bright stones are
art treasures of great value. The tenn
pIe was the Oldest in the world or
ra ther the mound contained the ruins
of several temples, each of which was
built upon the fallen walls of an earlier
one. The structure nearest the sur
face contained brick inscriptions dating
from 275O Il. c. Just beneath IT was
an inscription upon gold Writien
thousand years earlier; little lower
were vase Inscriptions from 1900 y. G"
and still little but the surface OF the
mound had been touched. Down be-
meath these ancient ruins we dug tor
thirty feet through still earlier struc-
lures, and below them all, on the sanu
of the desert level. was Il thick layer OF
crude pottery fra gments left there Dy
the first settlers of Mesopotamia. HOW
long ago those settlers cncamped IN
that spot no one can tell. yet 1t appears
that more than 10000 years ago there
was an advanced civilization IN tne
valley of the Tigris and the Euphrates.
While searching through the ruins OF
hose early ages. objects which showed
nc workings Of the mind of carry MAJ, MAJ,
were sDe Cially valuable. A conch shell
from which a section had been cut so
hat It formed a dish, while the ValVc
became q groove for the wick, was the
first lamp of primitive man, adopted
when he learned that mutton rat Woulu
burn, and the campfire was no longer
sufficient for his needs. Later, wne1
the she'll was not at hand, he cut MS
shell-sha ped lamp from blocks of mar
BILE and alabastcr. Thus the sea smell
is the ancestor of all lamps.
At Babylon the Germans are stiil
continuing the work which they began
six years ago. The history Of Babylon
and the nature of its fall are such that
antiquities of great age or value arc
not expected. The cavators are con-
tent with the few late Babylonian IN
scriptions, and with the plan OF thS
city and constructions of Nebuchad-
nezzar which they are patiently re-
Nealing.
Excavators' Hardshps
The work of the excavator, fascinat-
ing as it may seem, consists of little
more than series of hardships, ale
Waited occasionally by a discovery of
Importance. In the Ottoman empire
the first and often the most difhcult [
step is to obtain from the sultan tn e
permission to excavate, and years and
large sums of money are often spent
for this purpose. The greater part of
those who seek the eXcavator's trade
abandon the quest in despair; permiS-
sion to excavate at Bislnya was granted
after three years of constant applica-
tion, and then only when an America n
fleet was in Turkish waters. The irade
when once granted remains in force for
two years. The eXcaVator is required
to deposit sum of of 5000 as a guar
antee of good faith and to pay salary
of about 500 a month to a commits
sioner who Is appointed to accompany
him to the field, and to take charge OF
the antiquities which may be discov-
cred. All antiquities belong to the
Turkish government, and the exca-
Gator has the right only to Ike photo
graphs and copies of them.
In Italy, Greece and Egypt the ex-
cavator may prosecute his work with
perfect safety, but when he enters the
, remoter parts of Babylonia, he is in one
of the most dangerous portions Of the
world In the interior of the desert,
as at Bismya and Mugheir, the Bedouin
are as wild as ever they were, and
| the eXcavator who would go among
! them is required to take protection
| from the government. At Bismya we
/ had guard of eight soldiers, all arm ed
in some mysterious way with the dis
carded Springfield rifles of our civil
war. This guard was supplement ed
by an equ,.l number of watchmen Sc
/ lected from the tribe of Arabs in whose
| territory we We're and in addition
every man employed at the excava-
( tions was required to own gun which
was always lying ready at his side OF
! the trench VIII he was working. Even
with this strong guard we were fire.
quently attacked during the early days
of the excavations, and at night the
firing of guns to frighten away the
robbers was almost incessant, until the
I lawleSs wand erers had learned that we
were strongly protected.
The finding of water in the desert is
always serious matter for through il
may be found by digging into the sand
1t Is generally salty. Sometimes it may
be brought by caravan, but this Is gen.
orally impra cticable, for the desert
tribes waylay every passing traveller