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

DURING 19TB CENTURY: ASSYRIA AND BABYLONIA 207
sphere of his firman.
But feeling that the exceptional character
of the desired monument " was well worth the risk of
getting into hot water with the authorities, and even with the
villagers," he troubled himself concerning the restrictions
imposed upon him bv law or etiquette just as little then, as
he had done twenty-four years previouslv, when he tore
down the barrier erected by Rawlinson, and occupied the
French territory of Qoyunjuk. However, it cost him considerable
time and anxiety and frequent disappointment before
he obtained the much coveted prize. The excitement
and disturbance among the Arabs of the neighboring tribes
subsequent to his first attempts at cutting trenches in the
promising mound were extraordinary, and at times threatened
to end in serious conflicts and bloodshed.
were moments when he himself lost all
There even
hope of ever reaching
the object of his desire and efforts. But bv profiting
from every temporary lull in the storm, by distributing
occasional small gifts among the dissatisfied workmen, and
bv superintending the excavations, as far as possible, himself,
he overcame the chief opposition, and the strong prejudices
of the owners of graves, so far as to enable him to ascertain
the general contents of the mound, and to make some most
valuable discoveries.
Shortly after the commencement of their operations the
workmen came upon several scrolls or strips of bronze, in
form and execution similar to those in his possession. Originally
about four inches thick, thev had suffered greatlv from
corrosion and other causes, and no sooner had thev been
exposed to the air, when thev began to crack and to crumble,
offering no small difficulty to their safe removal to
Mosul.
Within five davs the whole twisted and bent mass
was uncovered and packed in proper cases large enough to
take in the full length of this remarkable monument. Sixty
feet away to the northwest a second set of bronze strips
was disclosed, half the size of the former, and in several other