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

DURING 19TB CENTURY: ASSYRIA AND BABYLONIA 107
Until the present day this
black obelisk has remained one
of the choicest historical monuments
ever rescued from the
mounds of Assyria. Layard
was not slow in
recognizing the
exceptional value of this precious
relic. It was at once
packed carefully, and a gang of
trustworthy Arabs were placed
near it at night, until shortly
afterwards, on Christmas day,
1846, with twenty -two other
cases of antiquities, it could be
safely sent to Rawlinson, who,
a few months later, wrote the
first
tentative exposition of the
contents of its inscription. 1
The first four months of
1847 were devoted principally
to the exploration of the large
northwest palace of Ashurnasirapal,
where the sculptures and
inscriptions, not having been
exposed
to a conflagration, as a
rule were found in admirable
preservation. By the end of
April, Layard had explored
twenty-eight halls and chambers,
sometimes painted with
figures and ornaments on a thin The Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser II.
coating of plaster, but more
frequently cased with alabaster slabs representing the monarch's
wars and hunting expeditions, large winged figures
1
In a letter addressed to the Royal Asiatic Society, dated June 19, 1847.