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

DURING W'B CENTURY : ASSYRIA AND BABYLONIA 479
remained nothing else to be done but to try to solve the
problem in connection with our excavations along the southeast
enclosing wall of the court of the ziggurrat as far as
this was possible. The attempt was crowned with a fair
amount of success beyond that which could have been anticipated
(comp. the zinctype, p. 470).
While tracing the panelled outer face of the last-mentioned
wall, our workmen were suddenly stopped in their
progress both at the eastern and
southern ends of the long
and deep trench by a cross-wall joining the former at a
right angle. In order to ascertain the course and nature
of these two walls they were ordered to follow them for a
certain distance by means of tunnels cut along their inner
faces at about the level of Naram-Sin's pavement. These
tunnels revealed the existence of numerous ash-graves in
the lower strata, and enabled us to determine that the
two walls were constructed of the same unbaked material
and adorned with the same kind
of panels as the southeast
wall of the temple enclosure. The northeast wall was
traced forty-eight feet without reaching its end, when the
excavations were suspended in order not to destroy valuable
remains of constructions which might have been built
against it. For the same reason the southwest tunnel was
cut less deep, especially as the evidence gained from it
sufficed to confirm the results obtained from the other
tunnel. It could no longer be doubted that a second,
somewhat smaller court, in which Bur-Sin's sanctuary stood,
adjoined the court of the ziggurrat on the side of its
principal
entrance. This outer court seems to have extended to
the edge of the depression which represents the ancient bed
of a branch of the Shatt en-Nil. An opening in the low
narrow ridge running along its northern embankment, and
evidently marking the remains of an ancient wall later occupied
by Parthian houses, indicates the site of the gate which
once gave access to it.
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