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this word, with or without the determinative, to signify ‘ sheep 
and goats,’ including both species. The determinative, how- 
ever it was read, when it stands alone, seems to signify sheep 5 
and another word, the plural of which is often joined with its 
plural, probably signifies ‘goats.’ In the pavement inscrip- 
tion at Nimrid, this pair of words seems used as equivalent 
to chi-int, | SZ. 
‘«¢ The word which I interpret lion consists of three charac- 
ters, whose ordinary values are mal, sir, and khu. It may be 
considered as certain that all these are not their values in this 
group; but I have no idea how the Assyrian group should be 
read. It is probable, however, that some among the tablets of 
interpretation that are in the British Museum may solve 
this enigma. 
‘¢ I believe that ‘bull’ is denoted by a group of which the 
ordinary values of the characters would be wr and makh. ‘The 
first of these seems to be a determinative, and the second has 
yery probably some other value in this combination. 
‘«¢ Other animals are mentioned, on which I do not feel that 
I can throw any light. I confine myself to two, which it re- 
quires more knowledge of natural history than I possess to 
identify. 
‘The first is named the nakhir, which, according to the He- 
brew value of the root, would signify ‘the snorter.” It is 
mentioned three times in the Assyrian inscriptions that I have 
seen, and in three different connexions; but they are all in 
inscriptions of the same king, the builder of the North-west 
palace at Nimrfid. At the end of the tribute of the maritime 
cities of Syria, Tyre, Sidon, Gubal, &c., he mentions ‘ teeth 
or tusks of the nakhirii, the produce of the sea.’ He says, 
‘that he embarked in ships of the Arvadites, and killed the 
nakhir in the great sea. The noun is here in the accusative 
singular definite, which would seem to imply great rarity. He 
speaks of the nakhir much in the same way as the Americans 
speak of ‘the sea serpent.’ Lastly, he speaks of setting up 
