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

430 EXPLORATIONS IN BIBLE LANDS
the most southern group of mounds' on the eastern side of
the Shatt en-Nil (IV). 5. The distinguishing features in
the modes of burials practised at ancient Nippur, and the
various tvpes and forms of pottery once used, by means of
well-defined strata, dated documents, and accurate labels,
in order to obtain satisfactory rules for dating the numerous
vases which, so far, we had been unable to assign to any
period of Babylonian history with a reasonable degree of
certainty. 6. To these important problems, at Mr. E. W.
Clark's special request, was added the task of excavating
completely the large building with its colonnade on the
west side of the Shatt en-Nil (VII), which had been discovered
and partly explored by the first expedition (comp.
pp. 308, 313), and which received some attention also
during the second campaign by Dr. Peters (comp. pp. 337,
seqq.), who assigned it to the Cassite period (about 1300
b. c), while the present writer had declared it to be Parthian
(about 250 b.
c).
In order not to influence Haynes unduly in his own judgment,
and to secure for him a necessary amount of liberty
of action in the field within the bounds of a clearly defined
course, it
was decided not to communicate to him the reasons
for our plans nor the hopes we expected to realize by their
proper execution. Accordingly we confined ourselves to
positive instructions with regard to
the manner in
which his note-books were to be kept, the preserving
and packing of the
the use of photography,
antiquities desired for transport,
and impressed upon him the following rules as a basis for
his operations: 1. To devote only one third to one fourth
of his force to the methodical exploration of the temple
mound ; to select the east section of the court of the ziggurrat
and the enclosing wall of the latter as the object
of his mission ;
and to pay greater attention to the peculiarities
of the different layers than had been the case in the
past. 2. While recommending " the whole of the mounds "