CHAPTER XIV.

THE chambers at Nimroud had been filled up with earth, and the sculptures thus preserved from injury. The surrounding country became daily more dangerous from the incursions of the Arabs of the desert, who now began to encamp even on the west bank of the Tigris. It was time, therefore, to leave the village. As a small sum of money still remained at my disposal, I proposed to devote it to an examination of the ruins opposite Mosul; particularly of the great mound of Kouyunjik. Although excavations on a small scale had already been made there, I had not hitherto had time to superintend them myself, and in such researches, the natives of the country cannot be trusted. It is well known that almost since the fall of the Assyrian Empire, a city of some extent, representing the ancient Nineveh, although no longer the seat of government, nor a place of great importance, has stood on the banks of the Tigris in this part of its course. The modern city may not

have been built above the ruins of the ancient; but it certainly arose in their immediate vicinity, either to the east of the river, or to the west, as the modern Mosul. The alabaster slabs, which had once lined the walls of the old palaces, and still remained concealed by the earth forming the mound, had. been frequently exposed by accident or by design. Those who were settling in the neighborhood, soon found that the ruins offered an inexhaustible mine of building materials. The alabaster was dug out to be either used entire in the construction of houses, or to be burnt for lime A few years ago a bas

relief had been discovered in one part of the ruins, during a search after stones for the erection of a bridge across the Tigris. The removal of slabs, and the destruction of sculptures, for similar purposes, may have been going on for centuries. There was, therefore, good reason to doubt whether any edifice, even in an imperfect state, still existed in Kouyunjik. I knew that under the village, containing the tomb of the prophet Jonah, there were remains of considerable importance, probably as entire as those discovered at Nimroud. They owe their preservation to the existence, from a very remote period, of the tomb and village above them. Portions of sculpture, and inscriptions, had frequently been found, when the inhabitants of the place had dug the foundations of their dwellings. But the prejudices of the people of Mosul forbade any attempt to explore a spot so venerated for its sanctity.

The edifices at Nimroud, being far distant from any large town, when once buried were not disturbed. It does not appear that after the fall of the Empire any place of importance rose near them, except, perhaps, Selamiyah, which is now but an insignificant village, although it may formerly have been a small market town. It is three miles from the mound, and there are no remains near it to show that, at any time since the Assyrian period, it attained a considerable size. It may, consequently, be inferred that the great mound of Nimroud has never been opened, and its contents carried away for building purposes, since the destruction of the last palace, except, as it has already been mentioned, when a late Pasha of Mosul endeavored to remove one or two slabs to repair the tomb of a Mussulman saint.

By the middle of May, I had finished my work at Nimroud. My house was dismantled. The windows and doors, which had been temporarily fitted up, were taken out; and, with the little furniture that had been collected together, were placed on the backs of donkeys and camels to be carried to the town. The Arabs struck their tents and cominenced their march. I remained behind until every one had left, and then

turned my back upon the deserted village. We were the last to quit the plains of Nimroud; and, indeed, nearly the whole country to the south of Mosul, as far as the Zab, became, after our departure, a wilderness.

Half way between Mosul and Nimroud the road crosses a low hill. From its crest, both the town and the ruins are visible. On one side, in the distance, rises the pyramid, in the midst of the broad plain of the Jaif; and on the other may be faintly distinguished the great artificial mound of Kouyunjik, and the surrounding remains. The leaning minaret of the old mosque of Mosul, may also be seen springing above the dark patch which marks the site of the town. The river can be traced for many miles, winding in the midst of the plain, suddenly losing itself amongst low hills, and again emerging into the level country. The whole space over which the eye ranges from this spot, was probably once covered with the buildings and gardens of the Assyrian capital-that great city of three days' journey. At an earlier period, that distant pyramid directed the traveller from afar to Nineveh, when the limits of the city were small. It was then one of those primitive settlements which, for the first time, had been formed by the congregated habitations of men. To me, of course, the long dark line of mounds in the distance, were objects of deep interest. I reined up my horse to look upon them for the last time-for from no other part of the road are they visible—and then galloped on towards Mosul.

In excavating at Kouyunjik, I pursued the plan I had adopted at Nimroud. I resided in the town. The Arabs pitched their tents on the summit of the mound, at the entrances to the trenches. The Tiyari encamped at its foot, on the banks of the Khausser, the small stream which flows through the ruins. Here the men and women found a convenient place for their constant ablutions. They were still obliged, however, to fetch water, when required for other purposes, from the Tigris; that from the Khausser being considered heavy and unwholesome. It is rarely drank by those who live near the

stream, if other water can be obtained from wells, or even from natural pools of rain water. The nearness of the ruins to Mosul, enabled the inhabitants of the town to gratify their curiosity by a constant inspection of my proceedings; and a great crowd of gaping Mussulmans and Christians was continually gathered round the trenches. I rode to the mound early every morning, and remained there during the day.

The French consul had carried on his excavations for some time at Kouyunjik, without finding any traces of building. He was satisfied with digging pits or wells, a few feet deep, and then renouncing the attempt, if no sculptures or inscriptions were uncovered. By excavating in this desultory manner, if any remains of building were under ground, their discovery would be a mere chance. An acquaintance with the nature and position of the ancient edifices of Assyria, will at once suggest the proper method of examining the mounds. which inclose them. The Assyrians, when about to build a palace or public edifice, appear to have first constructed a platform, or solid compact mass of sun-dried bricks, about thirty or forty feet above the level of the plain. Upon it they raised the monument. When the building was destroyed, its ruins, already half buried by the falling in of the upper walls and roof, remained of course on the platform; and were in process of time completely covered up by the dust and sand, carried about by the hot winds of summer. Consequently, in digging for remains, the first step is to reach the platform of sun-dried bricks. When this is discovered, the trenches must be opened to the level of it, and not deeper; they should then be continued in opposite directions, care being always taken to keep along the platform. By this means, if there be any ruins, they must necessarily be discovered, supposing the trenches to be long enough; for the chambers of the Assyrian edifices are generally narrow, and their walls, or the slabs which cased them if fallen, must sooner or later be reached.

At Kouyunjik, the accumulation of rubbish and earth was very considerable, and trenches were dug to the depth of twenVOL. II. 7

ty feet, before the platform of unbaked bricks was discovered. Before beginning the excavations, I carefully examined all parts of the mound, to ascertain where remains of buildings might most probably exist; and at length decided upon continuing my researches where I had commenced them last summer, near the southwest corner.

The workmen had been digging for several days without finding any other remains than fragments of calcined alabaster, sufficient, however, to encourage me to persevere in the examination of this part of the ruins. One morning as I was in Mosul, two Arab women came to me, and announced that sculptures had been discovered. They had hurried from the mounds as soon as the first slab had been exposed to view; and blowing up the skins, which they always carry about with them, had swam upon them across the river. They had scarcely received the present claimed in the East by the bearers of good tidings, and the expectation of which had led to the display of so much eagerness, than one of my overseers, who was generally known from his corpulence as Toma Shishman, or fat Toma, made his appearance, breathless from his exertions. He had hurried as fast as his legs could carry him over the bridge, to obtain the reward carried off, in this instance, by the women.

I rode immediately to the ruins; and, on entering the trenches, found that the workmen had reached a wall, and the remains of an entrance. The only slab as yet uncovered had been almost completely destroyed by fire. It stood on the edge of a deep ravine which ran far into the southern side of the mound.

As the excavations at Kouyunjik were carried on in precisely the same manner as those at Nimroud, I need not trouble the reader with any detailed account of my proceedings. The wall first discovered proved to be the side of a chamber. By following it we reached an entrance formed by winged bulls, leading into a second hall. In a month nine chambers had been explored.