OF THE ARROW-HEADED CHARACTER. 499 
triangular style was used in producing the arrow- 
headed characters, as alluded to in the preceding 
remarks. That it was a three-sided or triangular 
style, as given above, there can be no doubt, as 
that question is set at rest by my having disco- 
vered an absolute impression of its extremity, as 
seen in Fig. 6, at A. The reason for a triangular 
style being employed, may be found in the much 
greater convenience which such a form would 
present, inasmuch as any one of the three cor- 
ners might be employed, and yet produce exactly 
similar characters, while the flat surface, or side 
next the finger, would not only serve as a conve- 
nient surface for the finger to press the style into 
the surface of the moist clay ; but moreover, this 
same flat surface would at all times serve to show 
the operative, or brickmaker, when his style was 
correctly placed with respect to the surface of the 
clay, which is a point of much importance in the 
production of perfect arrow-head characters, inas- 
much as were this not attended to, and the style 
brought in contact with the surface of the clay, in 
an inclined position, either to the right or left— 
as at A or B, Fig. 7, instead of as at C—we 
should: produce characters by no means so cor- 
rectly formed as those generally met with in 
Babylonian inscriptions, whether on bricks or pot- 
