382 Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 



LXIII. — Ox the Beick Ixsceibed "with Archaic BABrioxiAx Charac- 

 ters, ix the ITrsETDi or Teixity College, Deblix. By Dexis 

 Ceoetox, B. A., M. E. I. A. 



[Bead, April 9, 1877.] 



This ancient monument is a brick of [Nebuchadnezzar, and conse- 

 quently about 2400 or 2500 years old. I have been unable to find 

 out who was the donor, or how it came into the ITuseum — but it tells 

 its own tale of previous history. It measures 31 - 5 centimetres in length, 

 31 in breadth, and 7* 5 in height. The inscription, which is on the 

 top, measures about 15\5 centimetres in length, by 9*5 in breadth, 

 and is disposed in six lines. It has evidently been moulded into its 

 rectangular form, and the inscription impressed by a stamp, whilst the 

 material — which is a highly aluminous clay — was yet soft. It has 

 then been probably sun-dried, and exposed to some considerable heat, 

 such as might be obtained by baking in an oven, but there are no 

 marks of vitrif action, or any evidence that it has been exposed to the 

 heat of a furnace. The hue is of a light brownish, or buff colour, 

 and it weighs 11 # 6362 kilogrammes. 1 The inscription is as follows : — 



t Hf- -Tfcit m m htm -^ . 



Nabu - Icu - dur - ri - uzur. 



m in . 



2T=T ft* IMT . 



SAG. GA. TV. 

 DA. pallu. 



. y HF- -We 1^1 -^ 



Nabu - pcdlw - uzur. 



© II! . T !eT . 



Same. Ba - hi - lu. anaku. 



1 The weight and size by the English standards are : weight, 25 lb. 101 oz. avoir- 

 dupois. Length, 12i inches; breadth, 12-^- in. ; height, 3 in. Inscription, length, 

 6* in. ; breadth, o{\ T in. 



