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

46 EXPLORATIONS IN BIBLE LANDS
see to be no more than the base of some loftier superstructure,
probably designed for
the double use of a temple and
an observatory ; a style of sacred edifice common with the
Chaldeans, and likely to form the principal object in every
city and town devoted to the idolatry of Belus and the
worship of the stars."
Protected by more than a hundred well-armed horsemen
of the Turkish armv against any possible
molestation from
the marauding Bedouins, who were at open war with the
governor of Baghdad, Porter had the rare opportunity of
inspecting the huge mass of buildings known as El-Birs or
Birs Nimrud, with a feeling of absolute security and comfort.
Rich and Buckingham having described the more
essential features of this grandest of all Babylonian ruins
before, our traveller had nothing to add, but the more to
speculate on the probable age and cause of the destruction of
this " Tower of Belus," of which again he left
us four fairly
good drawings, though in certain prominent details decidedly
inferior to the pen-and-ink sketch published by Rich. It
was Porter's firm conviction that the extraordinary ruin as
it now stands, " and doubtless representing the Tower of
Babel," is the work of three different periods and builders.
As over against the fundamental investigations of his two
contemporaries, who by their accurate description and sober
judgment of Babylonian ruins so favorably contrasted with
the uncritical method of the early travellers, we find in
Porter's
account of Birs (Nimrud) a certain inclination to fall
back into the outlived fashion of previous centuries. According
to his view, the original tower built by Nimrod and
" partially overturned by the Divine wrath," is still to be
recognized in the four lowest stages of the present remains.
" In this ruinous and abandoned state most likely the
tower remained till Babylon was refounded by Semiramis,
who, covering the shattered summit of the great pile with
some new erection, would there place her observatory and