THE LATEST DISCOVERIES IN BABYLONIA. 



185 



and the seventh stage, which they intended to add, was never 

 erected ? There is niucli that we have to learn about this 

 wonderful construction, wliich, rising in its majesty 200 *Baby- 

 lonian feet or more, must have been a conspicuous and brilliant 

 landmark — like many another in that land — upon tlie Baby- 

 lonian plain. 



With regard to the discoveries made by the German explorers 

 at Babylon, I was hoping to be able to say a few words, but the 

 time needed to get a recently-published book from Germany 

 w^as too great. I need only say, at present, tliat an outline of 

 these will be found in my paper " Discoveries in Babylonia and 

 the Neighbouring Lands," which was read before the Institute 

 on February 15th, 1909. For the sake of completeness, 

 however, I recapitulate here with further details something of 

 what I then said, and show some new slides, the best of which 

 a I'riend, with very great kindness, has been so good as to give me. 



From the extant remains Babylon is estimated by Delitzsch 

 to have been about as extensive as Munich or Dresden, but there 

 must have been a great extension of the city outside the inner 

 walls. Any outer defences which the Babylonian capital may 

 have had would seem long since to have disappeared. Whether 

 it will be worth wdiile excavating the land around the inner 

 city is doubtful, but the German explorers have probably 

 formed an opinion upon this point. 



i^orth of the Temple of Behis and the Tower lay the palace 

 built by iS'abopolassar (probably on the site of some smaller and 

 more ancient erection), and enlarged by his son N'ebuchadrezzar. 

 The throne-room was a noteworthy chamber, tastefully decorated 

 in enamelled brick. On the eastern side of the palace ran 

 the sacred procession-street, on the right of which lie the ruins 

 of the temple of the goddess Xin-niah, " the sublime Lady," 

 spouse of Merodach, who, with him, created mankind. Pro- 

 ceeding northwards, one comes to the Istar-gate, with its 

 decorations in enamelled brick showing the dragon, the lion, 

 and the bull of Babylon. The ruins of the Mn-mah temple 

 have an altar before the entrance. Dr. Koldewey, the architect 

 of the exploration party, has made a very attractive restoration 

 of this building, with its lofty entrances facing the street and in 

 the courtyard. One would like to know how these buildings 

 were lighted. A number of inscriptions were found in E-mah 

 (the temple of Nin-mah), some of them referring to the 

 buildings of Babylon in general. They were of the Assyrian 



See, however, the note upon the above, p. 192. 



