NEMROOD TEPESSE, 
278 
whole way up to its summit, the different layers of sun-dried 
brick or clay, of which it is composed, may be traced with great 
precision. But the several courses vary so much in height, that 
some are twelve, others eighteen, or twenty feet; while every 
brick in each layer of the course is united to its neighbour by a 
thin lining of pure slime ; no other cement whatever being- 
visible ; though each horizontal division between these courses 
is marked by a stratum of reeds, similar to those which at pre¬ 
sent grow all over the marshy parts of the plain. They bed 
every fifth or sixth layer of brick, to a thickness of two inches, 
lying regularly one over the other, unmixed with any other 
substance ; and, as the adjacent part of the bricks gradually crum¬ 
ble away, these strata project from the surface, and are very 
distinguishable at a considerable distance. Their state of pre¬ 
servation is indeed wonderful; the only apparent difference, 
between them and the gathered growth of the present year 5 
seeming to be, that these of so remote a harvest are of a darker 
hue. I drew a large quantity out, and found many of them two 
feet in length. It does not appear that in constructing these 
sun-dried bricks, any straw was mixed with the fabrick ; and 
in examining various fragments of burnt brick, I sought in 
vain for a morsel of bitumen. The whole of this curious pile 
seems to be solid, excepting where certain square perforations, 
going directly through, must intersect each other in the heart of 
the building, and were, probably, intended to preserve it from 
damp, by the constant succession of free air. There is also, on 
its northern face (which is nearly perpendicular,) and at a con¬ 
siderable elevation from the base, an opening of an oval form, 
rather larger than a common-sized window ; but it does not 
penetrate farther into the pile than six or eight feet. 
