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

496 EXPLORATIONS IN BIBLE LANDS
peculiarity the horizontal passageway starting at the head
of the stair is about half a foot narrower than the lowest
step. Another remarkable feature of this pre-Sargonic
ascent is to be seen in the tapering of the steps with regard
to their depth, every higher step being smaller in width of
tread than the next one below. 1
Apart from certain
necessary repairs made by later hands
along the top of the dwarf walls on either side of the right
passageway and at the edge of the lower steps, the entire
body of this elevated sidewalk was built exclusively of the
smaller kind of pre-Sargonic bricks. Its inner face adjoining
the central road had a very distinct batter or slope
(easily to be recognized in the illustration opposite page
494), while its outer face was perfectly vertical. It would
seem reasonable to assume that the cause of this difference
in construction is due to the fact that the inner face was
exposed to view, while the outer face was built against the
mud bricks of the city wall. As the present length of the
sidewalk, which on the whole is identical with what it originally
was, is a little over 35 feet, the great bastion of the
city wall through which the road passed must have had
approximately the same thickness.
The three divisions of the earliest gate ran in a straight
line from the moat to the enclosure. But at a subsequent,
though still pre-Sargonic period, a remarkable change took
place, doubtless in
connection with a rebuilding of the walls,
and a slight altering of their course. As we shall see later,
this assertion can be proved positively with regard to Naram-
1 I took the following measurements of the width of tread of the different
steps constituting the lower stair. The lowest step measured 39 cm., the
second 33 cm., the third and fourth 29 cm., the fifth 25 cm., the sixth 23
cm.; the seventh, again being deeper, measured 37.5 cm. A similar observation
was made with regard to the upper stair. The lowest step measured
37 cm., the second 35 cm., the third 33 cm., the fourth 29 cm., the fifth
and sixth 23 cm., the seventh 22 cm.