203 
Papirius Cursor is said by him to have been the first to bring a 
sun dial into Rome, twelve years before the war with Pyrrus, and 
this was fixed in front of the Temple of Quirinus, but Varro 
states that it was brought from Catania by the Consul M. 
Valerius Massula, at the time of the first Punic War, and placed 
on a column behind the Rostra in the Forum. 
This shows the ancient origin of the sun dial. An ancient dial 
is preserved in the Museum at Portici.* 
Astronomical tablets have been found among the ruins in 
Assyrian Palaces. These are described by Mr. George Smith.t+ 
He says the summer quarter extended through the months of 
May, June, July and part of August. The autumn quarter begun 
in August and ended in November. The winter quarter extended 
from November to February. The Assyrian year consisted, like 
the Jewish, of twelve lunar months, and in order to keep it in 
accordance with the Solar year, an inter-calary month was some- 
times added. He discovered an Astrolobe, or rather a portion of 
one, in the Palace of Sennacherib. In this, he says, the heavens 
and year are represented by the circular form of the object, and 
round the circumference, which was divided into twelve parts, 
corresponding to the twelve Signs of the Zodiac, the number of 
degrees was marked. Inside these there were twelve other 
divisions near the pole, forming a second and inner circle, and in 
each of these twenty-four divisions the principal prominent star 
was inserted. 
In the Valley of the Euphrates (he observes) there were observa- 
tories in most of the large cities, and professional astronomers 
took regular observations of the heavens, and a report made by 
some of these has been discovered, ard is given in his work.} 
fee eee 
* See Journal of B. Arch. Assoc. Vol. xix. 
+ Assyrian Discoveries, 1875. 
t Page 409. 
