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

DURING 19 CENTURY: ASSYRIA AND BABYLONIA 449
west of the temple, which was literally filled with graves,
and compared their forms and contents with the other ones.
As it is impossible to present here the results of a study of
more than 2,500 tombs excavated by all the four expeditions
at Nuftar, including over 1,100 examined during the
fourth campaign, I confine myself to stating in this connection
that with but few exceptions all those excavated tombs
belong to the post-Babylonian period. But it was also ascertained
that prior to the time of Sargon I (about 3800
b. c), as we shall see presently, Nippur was one of the
sacred burial-grounds of the earliest inhabitants of the country,
who cremated their dead there, as thev did at Surghul
and El-Hibba. 1
The most difficult problem confronting me was the explanation
of the ruins at Bint el-Amir and its environments,
owing to the previous removal and frequent
involuntary destruction of much valuable material on
the part of mv predecessors. Some of the results which
I obtained this time were incorporated in my above sketch
of the second and third campaigns. The other more important
ones will be treated briefly below. They may be
summarized as follows : 1. A stage-tower of smaller dimensions
existed at Nippur before Sargon I (about 3800
b. c). 1. In pre-Sargonic times the ground around the
sacred enclosure was a vast gravevard, a regular fire necropolis.
3. One of the names of the stage-tower of Nippur
suggested the idea of tomb to the early inhabitants of the
country. In the course of time certain ziggurrats were directly
designated by the Babvlonians as tombs of the
gods.
4. The stage-tower of Bel did not occupy the centre of the
enclosed platform, but the southwest section of it, while
the northeast part was reserved for " the house of Bel,"
his principal sanctuary, which stood at the side of the
stage-tower. 5. The temple of Bel consisted of two large
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1
Comp. pp. 283, seqq., above.