344 
RUINS OF BABYLON. 
tiquity of the skeleton beyond all dispute. This being extracted, 
a little farther in the rubbish, the skeleton of a child was found ; 
and it is probable that the whole of the passage, whatever its 
extent may be, was occupied in a similar manner. No skulls 
were found, either here or in the sepulchral urns at the back of 
the river.” Some observations on these urns, and their situa¬ 
tion, will be made hereafter. - But to return to the excavation 
itself: I found the reeds in its sides as pliable and fresh as if 
they had been gathered yesterday. From amongst them, pro¬ 
jected a huge beam of date tree, nearly in a state of decay. The 
wall on one side of this passage, as far as I went down, is 
formed of burnt brick intermixed with sun-dried ; and evidently 
constructed in haste, being merely a front of mortar and casual 
bricks, put together without regular arrangement: from which 
may be concluded, that the bodies found here had not been de¬ 
posited in a spot originally intended for that purpose. 
In traversing the summit of the Mujelibe, I observed, on a 
spot about 20 feet lower than its highest point, a great portion 
of erect building, smooth and well finished; another similar 
piece of wall joined it, forming, together, an angle that seemed 
part of some former chamber in the solid body of the pile. 
Between these walls, loose fragments had either fallen in, or 
been cast there purposely; but confused as they were, the irre¬ 
gular heaps were bound together with mortar. Not far distant 
from this angular remains, and towards the western end, a sort 
of circular lump of brick-work tapering towards the top, rises 
from a deep bed of rubbish. In this fragment, each stratum of 
mortar is four inches and a half thick, while the intermediate 
courses of brick are merely broken pieces, thrown together 
without the smallest care; but the hardness of the mass is in- 
