Sir R. Ker Porter's Travels. in Georgia, Persia, Armenia, &c. 607 
stamp, of ‘seven lines, however, seemed 
traceable on most of the fractured pieces 
I.took. up to.examine,, This huge, mass 
stands, totally unconnected. with, any, 
other. whatever, if,we may..except the 
remains of protecting lines of wall or em- 
bankment, which,.at certain distances, 
surround. it, on. three of its sides, that. is, 
to, the,,east, north, and. west... The 
western line now terminates near a cous 
ple.of, small modern canals; but there 
ean.bardly be a doubt that. it; originally 
extended to the shore of, the Euphrates, 
whence.theMujelibé. is, distant little: 
more than half a mile. .. 
With regard..to. what. the Mujelibé 
really, was,;my ideas.are,to be drawn 
from what I saw, when, compared) with 
-certain.representations:1 have read con- 
eerning Babylon... All ancient authors 
who, have .written-on.the subject, speak 
of, its,‘( Fortified Palace.” In which 
title, we. must . understand _ a), fortified 
space, of sufficient extent to contain the 
terraced. habitation. of , the, sovereign, 
with his,courts of pomp and ceremony, 
is private temples. to, the gods, his.per- 
sonal. treasury,.and. residences for: his 
officers; of state; and, besides, strong 
lodgments,on the embattled surrounding 
walls, a, fortress, or citadel, to garrison 
the royal body-guard. The situation. and 
style;ef the Mujelibé seem to mark it 
eut.to aye been the citadel of this em- 
battled. palace. Not only its superior 
magnitude presents it as the fittest plat- 
form for military erections and exercises, 
but itscontiguity to the river, and its 
commanding, power of observation on 
all sides, proclaim it, of all others now 
traceable, to be that of most extensive 
command... Hence, to, that purpose I 
would, venture. to assign its original 
destination;and to some period in its 
besieged states, attribute the inhumed 
remains. 
KASR, OR, PALACE, 
_L shall now. proceed to, the. descrip- 
Aion of the remains of ,this.palace, ac- 
cording to the belief, of all, who. haye 
visited the: spot, that it, is.found in the 
wast mound or hill, called by, the natives 
Ahatof the Kasr.., This mass, after the 
Mujelibé,is certainly the most august.on 
Ahis side of the river, standing above,the 
igeneral level, full seventy... feet. 
length is, nearly, 800, yards, its breadth 
600, ; but ifs form is now very irregular. 
Much ofthe local, which this interesting 
spot presented, to the Abbé Beauchamp 
in 1782, and 1o.Mr. Rich.in,1811, has 
now, totally disappeared; the. aspect of 
the;summit and sides suffering constant 
Its ; 
changes from: the everlasting digging in 
its apparently.inexhaustible quarries for 
brick, of .the.strongest and finest mate~ 
rial. From these incessant depredations, 
the whole mass. is furrowed ;into deep 
ravines, many, of considerable length and 
width, crossing, and recrossing each 
other in every direction ; indeed, there is 
hardly a ridge of the mound left that 
does not, at intervals of. ten or fifteen 
feet, slope into: hollows of from forty to 
fifty feet in depth, and some eyen deeper. 
From the unbroken succession of these 
traders. in brick, during the progress of 
so many ages, and the system still going 
on, the minor features of the place are 
not only altered, but the whole surface 
kept in'so decomposed a state, that at 
every step we made, we sunk into dust 
and rubbish. 
In making my own observations on 
the entire mound of the Kasr, througlr 
all the mutations it had undergone dur- 
ing the lapse of seven years, (which,was: 
the space of time between my visit and 
that of Mr. Rich,) I still found, deep in 
the ravines, considerable pieces of wall 
standing; also detached masses of, the 
same, composed of furnace-burnt bricks, 
of a beauty, admirable masonry, .and 
freshness, that indeed struck me with 
similar amazement, when IL. reflected 
that thousands of years had passed away 
since their insertion. It was only 
amongst the huge fragments lying thus 
low in the foundations, that. I observed 
bitumen had been used as a.cement be- 
tween each course of brick: in, all other 
parts of the structure, which appeared 
of sufficient height to be beyond the 
probable reach of water or damp, neither 
bitumen nor reeds could be traced; ,a 
its necessary, attendant, cements, 
inspecting the fragments, accessible to 
examination, I found; that the face of 
eyery brick, (thats, the surface where 
the inscription is stamped,). was Inva- 
riably placed downwards; and, where 
bitumen 
