Croftcxn — On a Slab with Cuneiform Inscription. 885 



LXIV. — Upon a Sculptured Slab from Nlniveh, with a Cuneiform 

 Inscription in the Library of Trinity Colleqe, Dublin. By 

 Denis Crofton, B. A., M. B. I. A. 



[Eead, 14th of May, 1877.] 



The slab respecting which I make the following record is pre- 

 served upstairs in the College Library, to the left of the visitors' 

 entrance. It was presented to Trinity College in 1853 by Mrs. Bol- 

 land, who, with her husband Mr. Bolland, accompanied Mr. Layard 

 during his first explorations at Mniveh, and brought it thence. I un- 

 derstand that many of the sketches in Layard' s first book were ex- 

 ecuted by Mrs. Bolland. 



The size of the slab is — breadth, 42 English inches ; height, 31 in. ; 

 and thickness, varying somewhat, about 4|-. It has been taken from 

 the north-west palace at Mmrud — the Biblical Calah — and, like all the 

 slabs from Mmrud, is composed of what is called the grey marble of 

 Mosul, which is a kind of mixture of carbonate and sulphate of lime, 

 forming a natural marble. It is not an artificial compound. I have 

 been particular in mentioning this, as, from the quantity of sulphate, 

 it might have been supposed that we had to deal with only a cast, 

 which is not the case. There is the following line of Cuneiform in- 

 scription on the basement : — 



~mr Ei- . y -v - >v - y? . an . ~v . 



HeJcal. Assur - nazir - pal. Icarib. Assur. 



^h . -Ill . HP- -< < . Hf- +' . 



*■ Tcarib. an - nu-u. Ninip. 



^\ Ejpy a* . ►+ yy 'Of . < . 



na - ra - am. A - nu. u. 



Hf- &y<y sje . tfci jp j?F<y . 



Da - gan. g U - su - us. 



Hf- y<« . ey- . y<« . 



Ilui. rabi. 



The slab represents a winged male human figure, probably a priest, 



1 This character is omitted on the Dublin slab. 



2 The slab inscription ends here. 



