The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1911-02-28
CAME TO Light.
Ancient Records About Babylon Being
Found and Deciphsred.
INTERESTING. STUDY

INTERESTING. STUDY
Everyday Affairs in City Long An
tedating Birth Of Christ-The
Arahtu Canal Fully Described
Vital Importance Of the Waterway
to Welfare Of the People.
/ 4 correspondent of The London
standard gives some interesting de-
tails of store OF cuneiform written
tablets recently discovered at the an
Client town OF Dilbat, near Babylon.
| The tablets tell in graphic manner
the story OF the citizens, their busi-
ness transactions, disputes and ev-
eryday life. 3
They are not the usual royal edicts
and records, but what may best be
termed family archives. They re-
late to very early period, being
mostly dated in the reigns Of the
/ predecessors of that mighty mon
arch Hammurabi, who codified the
Babylonian laws, and so were COM
I.posed at the period Of the first Baby
lonian dynasty.
From these newly found tablets
and previously deciphered references
! in the records Of Babylon we now
know that Dilbat was small Baby
lonian town on that great master
piece Of Mesoputamian engineering,
the Arahtu canal:
"The canal" says the correspond
ent, "'must have kept near to the
great river Euphrates, for 1t washed
1.-THE southern face Of Babylonian' g
ramparts and upon it opened one OF
the great city's gates dedicated to
1.-The god Uras. 1t led away south
ward to Dilbat, which, as the newly
found records inform us, was built
between the canal and the Euphrates,
for some of the tablets refer to pieces
Of property in land or houses, de-
iscribed*as within the city or its snb-
urbs,: as bounded by the river, and
others by the canal. AS the present
natives Of the district will not re:
veal the site Of their find we unfor-
tunately do not yet know precisely
where Dilbat stood. ;,. SO rs
a"The Arahtu canal not only wat
iered the soil and so produced the
crops, but carried upon Its surface
1.-THE: harvestsS II. had dcreated. Y Thus
an old tebt says it was the 'bringer
Of the life to Babylon Dilbat was
probably the great southern granery
for the capital, for Hammurabi, In
his long autobiographical panegyric
boasts that he extended the planta-
tions of Dilbat and accumulated corn
for Ip.' 4
when the Arahtu was irst con-
structed' it would be difficult to say,
but it's benefits to their people caused
| the kings always to keep it in re-
pair, and vice versa, invaders. OF
Babylonia in war time damaged it
as a preliminary to starving out the
capital. .
!"The special deity of Dilhat was
Ip, probably a shortened form OF
Nimip, and his temple was called
Imbi Anum, Proclaimed Of Anu.
There was city wall coeval with the
foundation of the city, and restored
by King Sumu-Abu, predecessor OF
Hammurabi. The, town appears to
have possessed three harbors OF
dies and market, and one can imag-
Inc the busy hum of commerce upon
| it's streets and wharves.
"The documents rescued from Its
ruins almost all concern the sale OF
renting of houses and lands and
fields or the hire and purchase OF
cattle and crops. Dilbat being the
center of a rich agricultural district
The terms employed are common tc
all the Babylonian cities. The
ground and the houses are clearly
defined by the enumeration Of neigh
boring properties and the names ol
the vender and purchaser, and at the
end of the bargain the deed discloses
comes the oath sworn befors the god
of the city in the temple and also an
Invocation of the reigning king. The
Dilbat scribes also added clause
placing the ones Of any subsequent dis
pute Of the deed upon the seller
For all the contests concerning the
property A.. 3D. is responsible Fin.
ally follows the names Of The wit
nesses, and often also the scribe OF
the tablet, and generally several sig
nets Of the persons concerned.
Legally the vender should always
seal the tablet, but if he has not q
signet then some or all OF the wit
nesses applied theirs. Properly
speaking also, the tablets should have
been in duplicate. The first was in
scribed and baked and copied, then a
cover of soft clay placed over or
around 1t and the document re-en.
crossed upon this cover from the
copy, so that it could be referred to
at any time by paying the required
fee at the record office.
"In case of dispute as to its ac-
curacy for an extra sum the outer