46 The Eev. Edward Hincks on a Tablet in the British Museum. 



wood laid both horizontally and vertically ; that these compartments were 

 numbered, and that the records belonging to each year were placed together 

 in one compartment. When the wood decayed, as it must needs have done 

 in the course of twenty-four centuries, the tablets would all fall to the ground, 

 and be broken and mixed together, as they were found to be. Although, 

 therefore, there is no date at present attached to the Tablet, it is highly proba- 

 ble that it was placed with other Tablets of the same year in a compartment, 

 the wood of which bore the date of the year. 



It is an interesting question what this year was. It appears from several 

 Tablets that the king, to whom this record-chamber belonged, was the son of 

 Esarhaddon. His reign commenced, according to Ptolemy's Canon, in 667, 

 B. C, and lasted twenty years. Before looking further, it is first to be consi- 

 dered whether any of these twenty years can be that referred to. Now, I find 

 by the Tables in the third volume of Vince's Astronomy, tliat in the day which 

 commenced at noon of the proleptic Julian, 27th March, 652 B. C, the sun's 

 longitude was 359' 31' 12" at 3* 4' 15" p. m., mean Greenwich time, which was 

 about the time of sunset at Babylon. Twelve hours after, at Babylonian sun- 

 rise, the sun's longitude was 0' 0' 16". This, then, was the day when the day 

 and night were equal ; and if it were the sixth day of the month, the first 

 would be that which began at noon of the 22nd March. I have calculated by 

 the aforesaid Tables the places of the sun and moon at Greenwich noon of the 

 21st March ; and I found that the moon was then 30' 40" before the sun. The 

 conjunction would have taken place about 54' sooner, that is, about two hours 

 after Babylonian noon. It would have been impossible for the new moon to 

 be seen that evening ; and, of course, the following day, the 22nd, would have 

 been the first of the month. In this year, therefore, 652 B. C, the phenomenon 

 recorded would have occurred. 



It may be supposed, however, that as it might have occurred in other years, 

 there is no certainty that it was to this year that the inscription refers. In 

 answer to this, I remark that no year within nineteen of this can be thought of; 

 and that, in 671 B. C, it is not probable that the event occurred as recorded. 

 In that year the conjunction of the siui and moon occurred on the 21st March 

 18'' 15' 26" after Babylonian noon, as I have calculated from Vince's Tables. 

 I believe that more accurate Tables are in existence, especially for the moon, 



