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

500 EXPLORATIONS IN BIBLE LANDS
its original thickness. From the excavations carried on at
the extreme southeast end of the ridge, it seems to follow
that some parts, possibly representing bastions, must have
been at least 40 feet thick.
The fragment of wall laid bare (No. 3) is nearly 300 feet
long. Its building material was enormous crude bricks made
of well-worked clay mixed with chopped straw. These
adobes are exceedingly tough in texture, regular in form, and
measure 19 inches square by 3 inches. Many of them are
stamped with Naram-Sin's well-known legend 1 upon their
lower faces. Our excavations did not reveal any traces of
buttresses and panels on the outer face of the wall.
The sole
attempt at relieving the monotony of the structure seems to
have consisted in the use of heavy return angles (Nos. 4 and
5 in the above sketch), similar to those which characterize
the long pre-Sargonic wall disclosed by the fourth expedition
on the west side of the Shatt en-Nil.
angles (No. 5) is
In one of these
a fine water-conduit of baked bricks laid in
bitumen and still rising to a height of sH ^eet - ^
*
s * n suc^
an excellent state of preservation that we scarcely can realize
that it was constructed nearly six thousand years ago. The
lower part of this drain is a solid base, a little over 6 feet
wide, 8 feet deep, and 2 feet high, covered on its top with a
heavy layer of bitumen. The only evidence of a former
batter of the wall is found in the two sides of the conduit
(which is 4 feet 8 inches deep), each course of brick receding
slightly from that below it. 2
In 1895 Haynes unearthed
a large number of terra-cotta cones and water spouts at the
base of the small section of wall examined by him. 3
None,
however, were discovered five years later when we subjected
the whole ridge to a most careful examination. The reason
1
Comp. p. 388.
2
Most measurements given and certain architectural details stated in my
sketch
above were obtained from Fisher's report on the outer wall.
3
Comp. pp. 424, seq., above.