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

252 EXPLORATIONS IN BIBLE LANDS
connection with draining. There is much in favor of
Heuzey's view that the origin of the arch may possibly
be traced to the peculiar form of the native reed-huts
called sari/as by the Arabs of modern Babylonia (comp.
the illustration on p. 160). They are the regular dwelling
places of the poor Ma'dan tribes which occupy the marshy
districts of the interior to-day, and they doubtless represent
the earliest kind of habitation in the " country of canals and
reeds " at the dawn of civilization. The common mortar
found in the buildings of the lowest strata is bitumen (comp.
Gen. ii :
3), which was easily obtained from the naphtha
springs of the neighboring regions, while at least three different
kinds of cement were employed in later centuries
(comp. p. 32, above).
Vessels of different shapes and sizes were made of terracotta
and stone, sometimes even of shell handsomely decorated.
It is a remarkable fact that in material, form, and
technique the earliest Babylonian vases often strikingly resemble
those found in the tombs of the first dynasties of
Egypt. A kind of veined limestone or onyx geologically
known as calcite appears as a specially favorite material in
both countries. The art of melting, hardening, casting, and
chasing metals, especially copper and silver, was well established.
The chemical analysis of early metal objects by the
late Dr. Helm 1 has recently shown that the ancient Babylonian
brass founders who lived about 4000 b. c. used not
only tin but also antimony, in order to harden copper and
at the same time to render it more fusible. Statues and
bas-reliefs are less graceful and accurate in their design
and execution than realistic, sober and powerful through
their very simplicity. In order to give more life and expression
to animals and men carved in stone or cast in
metal, the eyes of such statues are frequently formed by
1
Comp. Helm and Hilprecht in Verhandlungen der Berliner anthropologischen
Geselhchaft, Feb. 16, 1 901, pp. 157/^.