144 Cincinnati Society of Natural History. 



the Chaldeans and ancient Babylonians, ur pre-Semites With the 

 Chaldeans, from the beginning to the deluge, was 120 .wr/ of 360 

 years each, or 43,200 years. In the very most ancient Babylonian 

 account of the flood, taken by George Smith, from the cuneiform 

 tablets of Nineveh, the use of this number with 1080 and 360 is 

 made so as to bring out a play upon these numbers, 432 and 324. 

 Khasisatra is relating to Ishdabar (Semitic compound word, 

 meaning '■'■ Man-WorcV) the events of the deluge. He says, in 

 regard to constructing the Ark, and furnishing it: "I poured on 

 to the exterior 3 times 3600 (10800) measures of asphalt, and 3 

 times 3600 (10800) measures of asphalt within. 3 times 3600 

 (10800) men, porters, brought on their heads the chests of provis- 

 ion. I kept 3600 chests for the nourishment of my family, and 

 the mariners divided among themselves 2 times 3600 (7200) 

 chests," that is, each porter had 2 chests. Here 10800 is used 3 

 times, 'making 32400, or our number 324. Add 3600 mentioned 

 once and we have 36000, to which, if we add the remaining 

 7200, we have 43200, wherein, by the combination, we obtain 

 the other of our numbers 432. The intention to show the relation 

 is obvious. These are the familiar numbers, with a like play upon 

 them, in the Mound Builder works, but with the relation estab- 

 lished as an interchangeable play upon geometric shapes and line- 

 ar measures. The Chaldean account uses the numbers with rela- 

 tion to time and capacity measures, and men. The probably most 

 important use of this number 432, with 234, was astronomical. 

 Together 432 and 234 make 666. We see that 10800X3=32400 

 is a, manifest play upon the number 432, and 32400 is the half of 

 64800. Let 64800 feet be the circumference of a circle, that is 

 practically tlie circumference of the great Newark Circle, 2880 X 

 22.5. The diameter of this circle will be 20626. 470o4^feet. 

 But as seconds in time measure 20626^. 'joo seconds, is the radius 

 seconds of a circle whose circumference is 360 degrees, and this 

 particular radius is made use of in the common astronomical 

 formula of to-day for finding the sun's distance. So, also, the 

 ancient Egyptian Cubit, "Nilometer," has been measured as 

 20.625 British incites (Wilkinson). Use it as 20.62647 B. inches, a 

 difference of .00147 of an inch in 20+inches, and the details of 

 construction of the Great Egyptian Pyramid can be recovered, 

 in the actual measures (British) made of those details by the most 

 careful experts. Now 20625 is of itself a most important number, 

 and shows itself in the constructive frame-work of the denominations 



