ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 



A visit to the island of Zapatera in the same lake brought to light 

 some fifteen of these idols in a perfect condition, besides some frag- 

 ments. Several stones of sacrifice were also found. Mr. Squier says 

 of these last discovered statues, " They are very different from those 

 discovered by Mr. Stephens at Copan. There is no attempt at dra- 

 pery in any of the figures. Some are erect, others seated, and still oth- 

 ers are in crouching or reclining postures. The material, in every 

 case, is a black basalt. A few of the figures, from defects of the 

 stone, have suffered somewhat from the weather, but less from this 

 cause than from the fanaticism of the conquerors." By excavating, 

 much broken pottery was discovered, many of the fragments of which 

 are painted in bright colors. Two of the smaller statues were remov- 

 ed to be forwarded to New York. One of them represents a tiger 

 springing with open mouth upon the head and back of a sitting fig- 

 ure. New York Literary World. 



NEW DISCOVERIES AT NINEVEH. 



LETTERS containing notices of Mr. Layard's new discoveries at Nin- 

 eveh and its vicinity have appeared from time to time in various Eng- 

 lish journals, and from them we have compiled the following account, 

 which does not pretend to be chronologically arranged. 



A Mr. Rolland, writing from Nineveh, where he is assisting Layard, 

 says, " The first two or three days at Mossul I spent in examining 

 the first excavations at Koyunjik, where fresh slabs are being every 

 day brought to light. Two new colossal bulls and two colossal fig- 

 ures were discovered while I was there, at the entrance of the city 

 gates ; and the pavement at the gateway, marked with ruts by chariot- 

 wheels, was also uncovered." At Nineveh, he afterwards writes, 

 " I am sinking wells in all directions, and am not without hopes of dis- 

 covering subterranean chambers, which I am convinced must exist. In 

 one place, considerably below the level of any of the hitherto discov- 

 ered monuments, a brick arch between two walls of brick has been un- 

 covered ; it is a puzzle to us all. Another great discovery is an im- 

 mense stone wall of most solid masonry inside the brick pyramid. 

 The workmen are laboring to force an entrance into it, but their prog- 

 ress is necessarily very slow, not exceeding a foot or two in a day." 

 During the temporary absence of Mr. Layard and the writer, the work- 

 men had opened a trench, by Layard's direction, " to show my wife a 

 certain slab which he had buried ; in doing so, they uncovered three 

 copper caldrons of immense size, and some huge dishes of metal. 

 Layard carefully removed the earth from one caldron which was par- 

 tially filled with it, and discovered an immense variety of ivory orna- 

 ments, an iron axe-head, and innumerable other articles, which for the 

 present I must forbear to mention, having promised secrecy. Layard 

 removed as many as he could, and covered the rest with earth. It is 

 by far the most important discovery that has yet been made." 



At a later period extensive excavations were made in parts of the 

 mound of Nimroud nut before explored, and the result was the discov- 

 ery of the throne upon which the monarch, reigning about 3,000 years 



