Explorations in Bible lands during the 19th century - H. V. Hilprecht

DURING 19 ru CENTURY: ASSYRIA AND BABYLONIA 103
it remains a cause of deep regret that after his great discoveries,
Layard did not at once find the same heartysupport
in England as his more fortunate French colleague
so speedily had obtained in Paris. Not even an artist was
despatched to draw the sculptures and copy the inscriptions,
though many of the monuments " were in too dilapidated a
condition to be removed," and though Layard " had neither
knowledge nor experience as a draughtsman, — a
disqualification
which he could scarcely hope to overcome." He
was thus practically prevented by his own government from
making a methodical exploration of Nimrtid. And this
lack of method, system, and thoroughness unfortunately
remained a characteristic feature of most of the following
English excavations in Assyrian and Babylonian ruins, — a
lack felt by nobody more keenly than by Layard, Loftus,
and all the other great British explorers. Let us hear what
Layard himself has to say on this system of unscientific pillage,
justified to a certain degree only at the beginning of
his excavations, but entirely to be condemned as soon as
they were carried on under the auspices of a great nation.
"The smallness of the sum placed at my disposal compelled
me to follow the same plan in the
excavations that I
had hitherto adopted — viz., to dig trenches along the sides
of the chambers, and to expose the whole of the slabs, without
removing the earth from the centre. Thus, few of the
chambers were fully explored, and many small objects of
great interest may have been left undiscovered. As I was
directed to bury the building with earth after I had explored
it, to avoid unnecessary expense I filled up the chambers
with the rubbish taken from those subsequently uncovered,
having first examined the walls, copied the inscriptions, and
drawn the sculptures." From many other similar passages
in his books we quote only the following two, in which he
complains :
" As the means at my disposal did not warrant
any outlay in making more experiments without the promise
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