(2.) Nimrud consists of a similar enclosure of con-
Plan of Kuyunjik and Nebbi Yuuus.
by dams, of which traces still exist. In addition, one or more ramparts of earth were thrown up, and a moat excavated between the inner walls and the Khosr, the eastern bank of which was very considerabh' raised by artificial means. Below, or to the south of the stream, a third stream, excavated in the compact conglomerate rock, and about two hundred feet broad, extended al-
Mouud of NiiurQd.
secutive mounds — the remains of ancient walls. The system of defences is, however, very inferior in impor- tance and completeness to that of Kuyunjik. The in- dications of towers occur at regular intervals ; 108 may still be traced on the northern and eastern sides. The area forms an irregular square, about 2331 yards by 2095, containing about 1000 acres. The northern and eastern sides were defended by moats, the western and southern walls by the river, which once flowed im- mediately beneath them. On the south-west- ern face is a great mound, 700 yards by 400, and covering about GO acres, with a cone or pyramid of earth about 140 feet high rising in the north-western corner of it. At the south- eastern angle of the enclosure is a group of lofty mounds called by the Arabs, after Nim- rod's lieutenant, Athur (comp. Gen. x, 11). According to the Arab geographers this name at one time applied to all the ruins of Nimrftd (Layard, Nin. and its Remains, ii, 245, note). Within the enclosure a few slight irregulari- ties in the soil mark the sites of ancient hab- itations, but there are no indications of ruins of buildings of any size. Fragments of brick and pottery abound. The Tigris is now one and a half miles distant from the mounds, but sometimes reaches them during extraordinary floods.
(3.) The enclosnre-walls of Khorsabad form a square of about 2000 yards. They show the remains of towers and gatewaj-s. There are apparently no traces of moats or ditches. The mound which gives its name to this group of ruins rises on the north-west face. It may be divided into two parts or stages, the upper about 650 ieat square and 30 feet high, and the lower, adjoining it, about 1350 by 300. Its summit was formerly occupied by an Arab
village. In one corner there is a pyramid or
cone, similar to that at Nimrud, but very infe- rior in height and size. Within the interior are a few mounds marking the sites of propylaa and similar detached monuments, but no traces of consider- able buildings. These ruins were known to the early Arab geographers by the name of " Saraun," probably a trdditional corruption of the name of Sargon, the king who founded the palaces discovered there.
(4.) Sherif Khan, so called from a small village in the
NINEVEH
118
NINKVEH
Mounds of Khorsabad.
neighborhood, consists of a group of mounds of no great size when compared with other Assyrian ruins, and without traces of an outer wall. Selamlyah is an en- closure of irregular form, situated upon a high bank overlooking the Tigris, about 5000 yards in circuit, and containing an area of about 410 acres, apparently once surrounded by a ditch or moat. It contains no mound or ruin, and even the earthen rampart which marks the walls has in many places nearly disappeared. The name is derived from an Arab town once of some importance, but now reduced to a miserable village inhabited by Turcomans.
2. The greater part of the discoveries which, of late years, have thrown so much light upon the history and condition of the ancient inhabitants of Nineveh were made in the ruins of Nimrfid, Kuyunjik, and Khorsabad. The first traveller who carefully examined the supposed site of the city was Mr. Rich, formerly political agent for the East India Company at Bagdad ; but his inves- tigations were almost entirely confined to Kuyunjik and the surrounding mounds, of which he made a survey in 1820. From them he obtained a few relics, such as in- scribed pottery and bricks, cj-linders, and gems. Some time before a bass-relief representing men and animals had been discovered, but had been destroyed bj' the Mohammedans. He subsequently visited the mound of Nirarud, of which, however, he was unable to make more than a hasty examination (Xarratire of a Resi- dence in Kurdistan, ii, 131). Several travellers described the ruins after Mr. Rich, but no attempt was made to explore them systematically until jM. Botta was ap- pointed French consul at Mosul in 1843. While exca- vating in the mound of Khorsabad, to which he had been directed by a peasant, he discovered a row of up- right alabaster slabs, forming the panelling or skirting of the lower part of the walls of a chamber. This cham- ber was found to communicate with others of similar construction, and it soon became evident that the re- mains of an edifice of considerable size were buried in the mound. The French government having given the necessary funds, the ruins were fully explored. Tliey consisted of the lower part of a number of halls, rooms, and passages, for the most part wainscoted with slabs of coarse gray alabaster, sculptured with figures in re- lief, tlie principal entrances being formed by colossal human-headed winged bulls. No remains of exterior architecture of any great importance were discovered. The calcined limestone and the great accumulation of charred wood and charcoal showed that the building had been destroyed by fire. Its upper part had entirely disappeared, and its general plan could only be restored by the remains of the lower story. The collection of Assyrian sculptures in the Louvre came from these ruins.