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

DURING 19 CENTURY: ASSYRIA AND BABYLONIA 307
the ancient ziggurrat or stage-tower, as generally asserted,
it follows as a matter of course, that the temple of Bel, of
which it formed part, must also have been situated in the
northeast section, and therefore is hidden under the mounds
immediately adjoining it towards the east. 4. The question
arose, what buildings are covered by the two remaining
groups of mounds to the northwest and southeast of
the temple complex. The important role which from the
earliest times the cult of Bel must have played in the life
and history of the Babylonian people, as testified by the
enormous mass of ruins and numerous passages in the
cuneiform literature, pointed unmistakably to the employment
of a large number of priests and temple officers, and
to the existence of a flourishing school and a well equippec 1
temple library in the ancient city of Nippur. Which of
the two mounds under consideration most
probably repre
sented the residences of the priests with their administrative
offices and educational quarters ? 5. The large open
court to the northwest of the temple, enclosed as it was on
two sides by the visible remains of ancient walls, on the
third by the ziggurrat, and on the fourth by the Shatt en-
Nil, suggested at once that the undetermined northwest
group flanking this court served more practical purpose?
and contained out-houses, stables, store-rooms, magazines,
sheds, servants' quarters, etc., which were not required in
the immediate neighborhood and in front of the temple.
6. It was therefore extremely probable that the houses
of the priests, their offices, school, and library must be
looked for in the large triangular southeast mound (IV),
separated by a branch of the Shatt en-Nil from the temple
proper.
Situated on the bank of two canals, in close proximity
to the sanctuary of Bel, open on all
sides to the fresh
breezes in the summer, and yet well protected against the
rough north winds, which swept down from the snow-capped
mountains of Persia during the winter, this section of the