Jdly 21, 1882.] 



• KNOWLEDGE • 



131 



WEATHER CHAETS FOE WEEK ENDING SUNDAY, JULY 16. 



Sunday, Oth. 



Monday, 10th. 



Tuesday, IIth. 



Wednesday, lixn. 



JSlxday, 16tu. 



Thursday,^ Utu. . Friday, 14tu. • ^« . Saturday, 15th. 



giveJ"i^\tr;t'Se%'nd 1^:^ii^r' '^nJ ^tj: '"'T' °' '"'^''' ^""■r'""?' I-cssnro,thexaI„eswhich th^y indicate being' 



canal excavated in.pre-hietoric times to.unite the two.grand wilter- 



ways- EuphratPB .and Tigris. The name Tello 



1 to the spot 



by the Arabs.'becauso of the nnmber of Tells, or artificial monnds, 

 which cover the buried city of Sirtella (or Zirgulla). .These Tells, 

 which are very numerous, aro scattered over a space of six or seven 

 kilometres the principal one beinf? at the noi-th-east part of the 

 Sronp. The largest mound was occupied by the ruins of a larpo 

 ediGce in the form of an clonpated parallclogmm, called by M. de 

 harzec a temple, but which may have been a palace, or both. The 

 buildiuR was elevated on a massive substructure of crude bricks 

 risinp to a height of fifteen metres above the uniform level of the 

 desert, and having tlio angles directed to the cardinal points of the 

 <:ompa.ss. During the .last two years, M. de Sarzoc's researches 

 have bcdn.chiiUy contined to disinterring, the edifice concealed in 

 this greater mound, and it was in it that were preserved the most 

 valuable. rchcs that liavo been recovered. Almost immediately 

 f.,'","'° workmen commenced cutting a gallery into the 

 hill they came upon the exterior walls, which wore "constructed 

 of burnt bricks cemented with bitumen. All the bricks which 

 have been examined bear the name of Gudea.* In order to more 



M. do Sarzec says " bear the ' cartouche ' of Guden." but does 

 not give any copy. It would be interesting to know if the roval 

 name IS enclosed in an oval, or cartouche, as in Kgyptian 

 hieroglyphs. """^ 



carefully preserve, and arrive at a true comprehension of the archi- 

 tecture of the building, the walls wore first laid bare all round 

 and then an entrance effected by digging away the d^'bris from' 

 some of the doors and windows. This naturallv was a tedious 

 and costly method, but both time and expense were amply repaid 

 by the resnlts. •■ j i- 



In the largest hall or court, which proved to be the central one of 

 the block, were found nine statues of diorite, also a sculptured 

 head, neaily lifesizo. In one of the passages lea.liiig from this to 

 another chamber they came upon portions of a statue with the bust 

 covered with inscriptions, and a small statue of peculiarly short 

 proportions, and carved out of a singularly green-coloured' stone. 

 Almost every jiart of the building produced something, but the 

 great inner conrt proved most prolific, contaiBinp. besides the nine 

 statues mentioned, many fragments of inscribed vases and statuettes, 

 an exquisite small head of beautiful execution, and another nearly 

 life-size, with curled beanl. In this, as in many of the passages and 

 rooms, numerous seals, cylinders, and other objects, were collected, 

 and at the foot of the outer wall, on the north-east face, a mutilatod 

 statue. M. de Sarzec does not tell ns whether he broke open the 

 thick outer walls at the comers in search of record cylinders, a 

 process which, however, after the discovery of the splendid perfect 

 decagonal cylinder of Assurbaiiipal by Mr. llnssani, embodied in the 

 very heart of a corner mass of masonry, seems to bo necessary iu 

 Babylonian explorations. 



