248 Rev. Epwarp Hiwcks on the three Kinds of Persepolitan Writing. 
54, I suspect it is used as a non-phonetic initial in some words where it occurs, 
It signifies ‘a house,” and is written in full, 54, 62 or 63, ta.as. 
65. The first of these characters represents sa, and the second sha, in the 
Persepolitan inscriptions. These were not distinguished in the lapidary cha- 
racter. 
76. [This character expressed the plural termination, whatever that may 
have been; and it may not have been always the same.] The plural was also 
represented by doubling the word, whether represented by a single character or 
by more; by adding a termination ; or by two of these three ways combined. I 
- must observe that the plural sometimes denoted dignity, and not real plurality. 
Thus, in the inscription C, Darius is twice called by Xerxes his “ fathers,” 
in the plural. 
On the interpretation of these inscriptions I am not prepared to enter at pre- 
sent, though I have already made some progress in explaining them. 
N. B.—The remainder of this paper, containing a list of lapidary characters, with transcrip- 
tions of Babylonian and Persepolitan words, is omitted, being superseded by those in the following 
paper. A few sentences which are pointed out in that paper as incorrect are enclosed within 
brackets. 
