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

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EXPLORATIONS IN BIBLE LANDS
and which were generally lined with bas-reliefs illustrating the
king's wars against Elam, Babylonia, the Arabs, etc.
While
breaking down the walls of one of these rooms, he found
a large terra-cotta.prism, unfortunately crumbling to pieces
when exposed to the air, but soon afterwards replaced by
the fragments of a second. They were duplicates, and contained
the annals of Ashurbanapal, equally important for
our knowledge of the history and tor a study of the language
and grammar of that prominent period of Assyrian
art and literature.
During the first three months in 1854 the fortunate
explorer was busv in excavating the palace as tar as he
could. But his funds were limited and quickly exhausted.
At the beginning of April he was obliged to dismiss the
different gangs of workmen employed at Ooyunjuk and
Nimrud and to return to England. The acceptance of a political
appointment at Aden prevented him from going out to
Nineveh again in the same year, as the British Museum had
planned. His place was filled by Loftus and by Boutcher,
who acted as the artist of the former. They had been for
some time in Southern Babylonia, carrying on excavations
at a moderate rate on behalf of the Assyrian Excavation
Fund.
This was a private society organized for the purpose
of enlarging the field of English operations in Assyria and
Babylonia, as the parliamentary grant secured by the British
Museum was considered quite inadequate for the proper
continuation of the national work so gloriously initiated
Lavard. The thought and spirit which led to the founding
of this society were most excellent and praiseworthy, but the
method and means by which its representatives endeavored
to reach their aim were neither tactful nor wise, and finally
became even prejudicial to the very r interests thev intended
to serve. Instead of placing their contributions and funds
with a statement of their desired application at the disposal
of the British Museum, that great national agency for all
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