RECENT DISCOVERIES IN THE REALM OF ASSYRIOLOGY, ETC. 133 



And here comes the more interesting part of this im- 

 portant inscription : — 



"When Gudea was building the temple of the god E- 

 girsu, E-girsu, Iris beloved lord, delivered all things unto 

 him * from the upper sea to the lower sea. In Amalu m 

 (= Amanu m or Amanus in northern Syria), the mountain of 

 cedar, he Las cut and caused to be brought from the 

 mountain cedar [trees] whose [length] was 70 (?) cubits ; f 

 cedar [trees] whose [length] was 50 cubits, box(?) -[trees] $ 

 whose length was 25 cubits." With this wood he made 

 various parts § of the temple E-ninnu as well as a fane called 

 E-mag-ki-a-sig-de-da-na (^f ~£>& ^f ft ^ t#Y ^H -4)- 

 He also had trees cut down, near the city of Ursu, in the 

 mountains of Ibla (£jf J^f ^ft ^ ^ SfZjtf ^U ^ ttl 

 uru Ursu D.S. gursag lbla-ta). These trees are called Zabahi," 1 

 C^I ft 3=T A^)> & a ku C^f <^f-*Tfy *jfcf = Assyrian Asuhv), 

 Tulubu m (%=f ^y *^y «g- ££}), and JTim- (^y ^, lit,, " wood of 

 the mountain 5 '), and were used as beams in E-ninnu. Stone, 

 called nagal (£^f ^^f *|f— ),_was brought from ^f-^Jjy ^y itt 

 (Umalu™, also readable Umanu™, Samalu™, and Samanu m ), in 

 the mountains of Menua (^[ ^f^f >p — "y^- Yy 9 ursa 9 Menua), 

 and from ^fr^yi £- *^\ (Musalla or Siqj.saUa), in the moun- 

 tains of Phoenicia (^f f— i£^ Martu). This stone was made 

 into slabs (_^[ J£S- Y f)) for the construction of the temple 

 of E-ninnu. 



Other stone, called sirgal gabbia (>-^>*- *^\— ^Pf ^ Tp 

 a kind of limestone), was brought from Tidalu m or Tidanu'" 



of these. Cf. Briinnow, " Classified List, 1 ' Nos. 8478 and 8479. For the 

 legend of the Zu-bird, see Sayce's " Religion of the Ancient Babylonians " 

 (Hibbert Lectures for 1887), p. 293 ff. 



* ififci £^ JL^ ^ ^4 *^llh Kis-bi gal-mvnakad. 



t The word which I here translate as " cubit " was, in reality, a measure 

 of about twelve inches. 



\ Better, perhaps, " cedar-beams," and "box-beams," notwithstanding 

 that the words used are probably to be completed >-] J^TTTJ a11 ^ *~] 1^\ 

 (cedar tree(s) and box tree(s)) respectively. In Old English the word beam 

 meant " tree " — compare the compound wudu-beamas, " trees of the wood." 



§ The words employed, and which cannot at present be rendered with 

 any certainty, are as follows : ^ ^it ^""* ^ *^] £jrj_ >-^j— £^ T £y J$^ , 



4 £S my j^ <hw. ma ^ m\ hi ^t j^> 



and t-KT jV>. ^ £X ^ jfS.. ^ and ^fcT fe~ are 

 probably simply terminations. 



