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

DURING 19TB. CENTURY: ASSYRIA AND BABYLONIA 395
against the latter, if we imagine its front face continued
farther down, stood another interesting structure (No. 8).
Its top was three feet below Naram-Sin's pavement, and
accordingly two feet higher than the base of the curb,
from which it was distant about four feet. It was 13 feet
long, 8 feet wide, and constructed of unbaked bricks laid
in bitumen. The upper hollowed surface of this massive
concern was surrounded by a rim of bitumen, 7 inches high,
and was covered with a layer of white ashes 1V2 inches
in depth, which contained evident remains of bones. To
the southwest of it Haynes discovered a kind of bin also
built of crude bricks and likewise filled with (black and
white) ashes about a foot deep. He arrived at the conclusion,
therefore, that this was an altar, " the ancient place
where the sacrificial victims were burned." This explanation
is possible, but not probable. In fact, the enormous
size of the structure and the rim of bitumen, which
necessarily would have been consumed at every large sacrifice,
speak decidedly against his theory. Besides, an Old-
Babylonian altar has an entirely different form on the
numerous seal cylinders where it is depicted. My own
explanation of this structure will be found in connection
with the results of the fourth expedition.
3. Directly below the east corner of Ur-Gur's ziggurrat,
and parallel with its northeast and southeast faces, was another
building, exhibiting the peculiar ground-plot of an
L (No. 7), but with regard to its original purpose even
more puzzling than either of the two structures just described.
Its top was on a level with Naram-Sin's pavement,
while its foundation was laid eleven feet below it.
This solid tower-like edifice, disconnected with any other
structure in its neighborhood, " had an equal outside length
and breadth of 23 feet" (northeast and southeast sides), and
was about 12 feet thick. " Its splendid walls, which show
no trace of a door or opening of any kind, were built of large