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79. After I had made arrangements for the continuation of 
the excavations in Babylon I returned to Baghdad for the 
purpose of visiting a new mound, called Tel-loh, on the Shat 
el-Hai, the river which runs in Southern Mesopotamia, between 
the Tigris and Euphrates, about 150 miles to the south-east of 
Babylon, where I had heard there were some ancient remains 
discovered. I might have gone direct all the way by land 
from Hillah, but I was told that the journey would be very 
fatiguing and inconvenient for want of provisions and habi- 
tations on the way, whereas by going to Baghdad I could go 
all the way by water, partly by steamer and partly by native 
craft. Here I could excavate for only three days, because, 
firstly, I could not spare the time, as I lost no less than six days 
on the voyage ; and, secondly, I found on arriving there that 
Tel -loh was not included in my firman, that district having a 
few years back been taken from the Baghdad pashalic and 
added to the vilayet of Basra, which had been constituted into 
an independent province. However, I managed during my 
short stay there to dig out some inscribed objects, which 
have proved to belong to a very early age, somewhere about 
2,000 years b.c. 
80. Some French travellers had visited the place a few 
years back and made a few excavations there ; and to show what 
damage can be done to valuable antiquities by allowing private 
individuals to dig for their own personal benefit, I will relate 
what took place in reference to a very old black basalt statue 
in sitting posture, which was discovered there some years 
back. The Arab who first found it cut its head off and took 
it away to sell, and on account of some misfortune that befell 
him while it was in his possession, he broke it to pieces and 
threw it in the river ; then a French traveller cut the hands 
off and sold them to the late Mr. George Smith for the British 
Museum ; and afterwards the French Consul at Basra cut off 
the bust and carried it away with him ; and when I was there 
I came upon the lower part, which was covered with inscrip- 
tion, and had I deemed it worth the expense I might have 
been the fourth spoiler of what the Arabs call, “ Loh, the idol 
of the infidels.^ This mound is very large, but low, and in 
some places we had only to dig about 6 inches and found 
records of the past. 
81 . I then returned to Baghdad, and after having sent away 
to England the different antiquities found at Babylon, Birs 
Nimroud, and Tel-loh, and made some arrangements for 
continuing the explorations at the former place, I started for 
Kala Shergat and Mossul along the western border of the 
Tigris. 
