Sir Ry Ker Porter's Travels,in Georgia, Persia, Armenia, &c. 
“The only objects now) seen above its 
desolate’ surface} are two small Maho- 
medan 
Meaning dratories; or places of\ prayer. 
The one bears’ the name of Makam 
Thraham Khali; the otherthatofMakam 
Stheb' Zeman 3 but’ botleare hearlyyin 
yuiis: “Standing on’ this super-eminent 
mound, as a‘ central’ position, fronrit:I 
miadéomy observations on all the remains 
‘yet visible! within! what must haye been 
the’ gréat’ ehcdimpassing quadrangle of 
‘thé sacred euclésure! ‘Phe great mound 
‘alld’ the great tower occupied the inte- 
Vidt space Of the quadrangle, with a large 
open area strétchitig’ on: all sides of 
them} but, on looking towards the north, 
where-theaiéa measured across between 
‘three‘and ‘four hundred feet, at that dis- 
‘tance 'T observed mounds of varied eleya- 
tions ‘in wiconneeted ‘lieaps, filling the 
‘etound froin that ‘line to the bank-of the 
‘great cinalT mentioned having: passed 
‘in my approach to the Birs:) Clustering 
‘ranges of these remains appear to conti- 
“nue, “eurvine round to the east ; then a 
‘vactilim “ocenurs; "then they’ commence 
‘agaip, running from the eastward in a 
‘similar Sweeping direction along the 
‘soutliéra’ frotit of the great, mounds, 
M by of these latter vestiges are but very 
fal ; yet they ‘aré sufficient to prove the 
‘existence of former stractures on those 
“Spots; and thé regular plan of their dis- 
“4 on.” There are; likewise, answer- 
ans chains, of ‘apparent greater conse- 
“Quetice, to°1he west, ‘rising about 200 
baneet thems supreme pile ; and these 
‘connect themselves with others' to the 
“north and ‘south.’ | 
*°"Rrom the elevation on which I stood, 
¥ traced; withéut difficulty, the lines of 
embankment also, which had com- 
passed the whole ‘sacred’ area. ©The 
extent of their broken remains appears 
‘to agree Very nearly with'that mentioned 
y Herodotus as inelosing the) ground 
“of the temple’ of Belus; he describing 
‘it’ to be quadrangular, on: ‘each side 
‘MMeasaring two stadia, or one thousand 
“feet,”"'O extending my view beyond 
* the’ boundary, to’ the'south, all seemed 
‘flat; arid’ desert; to the westward, the 
' Same’ traékléss ‘waste presented itself; 
“but towards the north-east, very consi- 
‘derable’ marks of buried ruins were vi- 
“sible to! a’ vast’ distance. Inca direction 
south’ 50° east, I could ‘plainly discern 
hé golden euipola’of Mesched Ali; and,’ 
‘ 
tok 
in the’ same’ line’ ©f) the’ ‘horizon, but 
“about ’30° more to the eastward, I saw 
‘the dark summit of ‘@ very lofty mound, 
which ‘I calculate to be the same-men- 
buildings;"'called) iKoubbés;; ” 
603 
tioned by; Mr. ‘Rich, in. his)‘, Memoir on 
the “Ruins: of>Babylon,”. distant many 
miles from their Loundaries;,.and,,.to 
which» notice,»he| adds. the),interesting 
eioumstance, ihat)ia few,years,jago,.a 
cap, or diadem, of pure gold;;and.some 
othersarticles)of the, same metal,; were 
found:theres by: the: Khezail Arabs; but 
who; tefused sto. give them upto. the 
pasha.’ Had-they-been resigned to him, 
and :preserved,;an opportunity. of exa- 
mining» such, antiquities. would ., have 
been very desirable. | So, high.a.mass of 
ruin as the mound presented, ean hardly 
be ‘supposed to, cover,any thing less than 
the remains of a fortress, a palace,. or 
one of those-enormous piles consecrated 
to religion, and) astronomy, which. ap- 
pears to have -been-erected in every city 
of Babylonia;..answering in, general 
shape at, least, as well, as purpose, to 
the great center of Sabian worship, the 
Temple of Belus, in, Babylon itself. 
Besides the mound LE haye ;just. men- 
tioned, as that of the diadem, I saw from 
the height.,on-,which, I continued. to 
stand, many distant. points,, to which 
my companions gaye. the names. of 
Koubbés and tombs, and added several 
curious traditions respecting them. 
During my traversing the, ruins, both 
of the tower,and the mound, I picked 
up curious fragments of brick. and, bi- 
tumen, besides pieces of broken,marble, 
and several thin copper ‘coins in.a very 
corroded states , With respect,to the 
specimens of rick, bothjsun-dried, and 
fire-burnt, there were, ample; quantities 
everywhere; giving: us an, jidea,., how 
very opportune the furnaces might haye 
been, which manufactured the jlatter,, to 
exccute the, mad. judyments .of either 
‘Nimrod or Nebuchadnezzar. The bricks 
which compose the tower, and its ‘ap- 
pending objects, are) mostly stampt with 
three lines of ‘inscription, in ,the,cunei- 
form, or, as :it:is commonly called, ,the 
Babylonian character. , Somejextend to 
four, or evenosevenslines;)but,,though 
differing in this respeet,| the dimensions 
of all are:theisame;,the,only superiority 
appears’ in! those; of .seven lines; being 
better stampt ihan those with the fewer 
numbers. || However; T\could, only draw 
theseiobservationsfrom fragments about, 
and I examiined;a’ great (many ;.entire 
detached! bricksonoto being ow to be 
found onthesruins «1 have already men- 
tioned, that the: bricks\of- Babylon are of 
two kinds, sunsdried ,and_ fire-burnt. 
The former sis generally largest, as it is 
of a:/coarsen faljnic:than,the latter; but 
lits solidity seems, by proof, to be equal to 
the 
