110 Ruins of the Tower of Babel Discovered. [March, 



little shaded with a yellow tint. Under a clear sun, and as a whole, 

 this ancient monument of human skill and daring, presents a fine 

 blending of colors, which sets the painter's pallet at defiance. Be- 

 fore being baked, the bricks had been covered with characters traced 

 with the accuracy of the hand of a writing-master. Near the top of 

 the letters, the straight strokes were adorned with flourishes resem- 

 bling the heads of nails. All was neat, regular and severe ; and in- 

 deed those who saw these specimens of ancient calligraphy affirm 

 that the fathers of the human race wrote a better hand than their 

 children. 



Another curious fact arrested the attention of the exploring party. 

 The sacred record runs thus : " And it came to pass as they journey- 

 ed from the East that they found a plain in the valley of Shinar, 

 and they dwelt there. And they said one to another — Go to, let us 

 make bricks and burn them thoroughly ; and they had brick for 

 stone — or instead of stone — and slime had they for mortar." Mod- 

 ern skeptics may ask : '• Where could these builders obtain all this 

 bitumen ?" for a vast quantity must have been demanded to meet the 

 wants of so many trowels.' It is a singular coincidence that Mr. 

 Place discovered a fountain, at a small distance from the Tower, 

 whose waters flow in such abundance as almost to form a river. The 

 stream would force its way into a river in the vicinity, did not the 

 people hasten to stop it by setting the bituminous flood on fire, when 

 they tranquilly wait till the fire is extinguished for want of aliment. 

 Thus the old fountain still pours out inexhaustible quantities of bit- 

 umen, or slime, which supplied those old builders in their vast en- 

 terprise. Bitumen also adds to the durability of bricks, as well as 

 firmly consolidates them in the masonry. Could anything be added 

 to the marvel of the coincidences ? Thus travels and expeditions 

 in Assyria become Biblical corollaries, and new proofs are never 

 wanting of old truths. 



Among the interesting discoveries of Mr. Place, were certain 

 inscriptions on fillets of gold, silver and copper, and also upon a 

 metal now unknown, and which has somewhat the appearance of 

 ivory. It has been submitted to the experiments of an intelligent 

 metallurgist, and its qualities will soon be ascertained. 



Some very curious photographs, taken by the expedition, com- 

 pleted their labors, one of which was of the ruins of the palace of 

 the famous Queen, 8emik.a.Mis. This ancient monument, situated on 

 the hight of a mountain raised by the hands of men, overlooks the 



