as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah/’ and again it 
is said,* “ Babylon is fallen, is fallen ; and all the graven 
images of her gods He has broken into the ground.” 
68. Nothing can be seen now of that famous city but heaps 
of rubbish in which are mingled, in utter confusion, broken 
bricks, pottery, and remnants of enamelled tiles of different 
colours and designs. These latter, which are only found at 
the kasir, or palace, are mentioned both in sacred and profane 
writings. Ezekiel alludes to them in the 14th and 15th 
verses of the 23rd chapter, and Diodorus the Grecian historian, 
says concerning them, “that the walls and towers of tho 
palace were covered with tiles of different colours representing 
hunting scenes, wherein were shown different kinds of wild 
beasts with Semiramis on horseback brandishing a spear, and 
near her, Ninus in the act of killing a lion.” 
69. At the mound of “ Babel ” 1 followed the excavations 
of the Arabs who were digging for bricks and stone, and 
uncovered four exquisitely-built wells of red stone placed 
parallel, and within a few feet of each other, in tho northern 
centre of the mound. They are so beautifully and scientifically 
built that it vexes one to see the Arabs breaking them for 
the sake of making lime of tho stone obtained therefrom. 
Each well is built of circular pieces of stone, which must 
have been brought from a great distance. Each stone, about 
3 feet in height, had been bored and made to fit the one 
below it so exactly, that one would imagine that tho whole 
well was hewn in one solid rock. These wells are connected 
with a subterraneous arched vault communicating with an 
aqueduct supplied with water from the Euphrates ; and even 
now, when the river is high, tho water is seen to ooze out 
through the debris in the watercourse. These wells, which 
were about 140 feet high, must have supplied the Hanging 
Gardens with water, as they doubtless stood higher than any 
other building in the city. 
70. I found it would be only waste of money and labour 
to excavate at Imjaileeba, or kasir, because from the deep 
ditches existing, and the nature of the rubbish which had 
been thrown up, I was convinced that there could be no 
ancient remains of any value left there, so I contented myself 
by having a trial at its centre for a week, and abandoned it 
for other localities not far distant which had not been so much 
turned up. These were the other ruins of the city called 
Omran and Jimjima, and in both'[these spots I was amply 
* Isaiah xxi. 9. 
