AL HYMER. 
395 
example that has yet been published. The characters are very 
peculiar. I found some resembling them, with the accompanying 
impression of a dog or lion, on a brick almost entire, amongst 
the ruins at the Kasr. The Abbe Beauchamp mentions having 
seen some with this sort of impresse, but they are extremely 
rare. I must here remark, that I have only given one specimen 
of the inscription on each style of brick ; but there are endless 
varieties, as the millions of scattered fragments show, and which 
might be an interesting pursuit for any future traveller who 
had leisure for the object, to examine, and duly copy the 
result. The most general colour of the Babylonian brick re¬ 
sembles those of a pale yellow from the English kilns ; but in 
almost all instances it is infinitely harder than any I ever tried in 
Europe. Independent of the specimen of ten lines, which pro¬ 
duced this digression, we picked up other relics of the ruin; and 
amongst them several broken pieces of jasper, red and green, 
of various forms, all nicely polished, as having belonged to 
former objects of ornament. Mr. Belino found a fragment of 
black marble, containing an inscription.* 
While standing on the mount of A1 Hymer, we perceived, at 
some little distance to the eastward, a considerable group of 
mounds, appearing nearly equal in height to the one we then 
occupied. To these we directed our horses’ heads; and found 
the distance between the one we left and those to which we 
were going, about 1656 yards ; the intermediate track being 
divided by a deep and highly embanked old canal, which ran 
south 25° east. On its first appearance it gave me so much the 
idea of a ruined wall, that I conceived it possible to have here 
* See Plate LXXVII. (h). 
3 E 2 
