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

DURING 19TB CENTURY: ASSYRIA AND BABYLONIA 153
which continued to be inhabited for centuries after the commencement
of the Christian era, Senkere, rather smaller in
height and extent than the former, shows no trace of any
considerable occupation later than the
Neo-Babylonian and
Persian periods. From the very beginning it was therefore
evident that Loftus' labors at this site would be repaid by
much quicker and more satisfactory results than at Warka.
The two principal mounds of the ruins, which measure over
four miles in circumference, were first examined. Thev
contained the remains of the
temple and stage-tower of the
Sun-god, as was readily ascertained by a few trenches cut
into their centre and base. The stage-tower, about four
hundred paces to the
northeast of the temple ruins proper,
shows the same peculiarities as the Buweriye at Warka and
other similar buildings. From inscribed bricks taken from
this mound it was proved that Hammurabi, of the so-called
First Dynasty of Babylon (about 2250 b. c), and Nabonidos,
the last king of the Neo-Babylonian dynasty ( 556-539
b. c),
were among those who repaired this verv ancient structure.
It was of course out of the question for Loftus to make
an attempt to uncover the temple of the Sun-god completely,
in order to restore its original plan, within the few
weeks which he was able to devote to the excavations at
Senkere. However, he showed that upon a large platform
or terrace constructed six feet above another larger one,
from which the former receded seventy-four feet, there stood
a large hall or chamber entirely filled with rubbish. The
walls of this building, which doubtless formed the main
feature of the whole oval mound, were in part preserved,
being still four feet high. While cleaning its characteristic
entrance, formed by ten stepped recesses, Loftus was fortunate
to discover two barrel-shaped clay cylinders. They
were duplicates, bearing the same inscription. A third
copy was soon afterwards discovered at a distant part of the
ruins. From these cuneiform records and from numerous