The San Francisco call. [volume], February 13, 1898, Page 18, Image 18

About The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913

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18
BRICK OF KING SARGON I-NIPPUR.
WITHIN the past thr<*e years
surprising discoveries have
been made in Babylonia by
the scholars of Europe and
America. They are of such
a character as to unsettle
much that has been accepted by the
world for centuries. At the present
time Assyriologists are busily engaged
in furthering the work, with the hope
of supplementing the discoveries al
ready made. France, England and the
United States have men of scholarship
and excavators of courage on the scene
—all engaged in an endeavor to get to
the uttermost date.
. The work now in progress will be ac
tively pushed for many years to come.
The illustrations accompanying this
article, loaned by Dr. Hilpreeht of the
University of Pennsylvania expedition,
will give a good general idea of the re
sults of the excavations. The meanings
of these fragments, worse than the pro
verbial Greek to the layman, are eas
ily mastered by the Assyriologists, and
it is by means of these examples that
the history of the world has been car
ried back so many thousands of years.
Two years ago Sargon I and Xarain
Sin were believed by the world to rep
resent the earliest stage of civilization,
the father and son reigning in Baby
lonia in succession a few hundred
years less than four thousand before
the birth of Christ. And even this was
not wholly conceded, no less a scholar
than Niebuhr contending that these
two kings were unhistorieal and th^ir
reigns only legendary. But the Univer
sity of Pennsylvania expeditir.-n some
time since established the existence of
these two kipgs beyond all doubt. Nu
ns monuments of these rulers have
been brought to light in the mounds of
Nippur, oldest of the world's cities. Not
only this, but there have been un
earthed from beneath the ruins of the
VALENTINES SHOWING WHAT TWO BIG NATIONS THINK OF ONE ANOTHER
SOME
OF
THE
PERTINENT
THINGS
ABOUT
ENGLAND
AND .
THE
ENGLISH
THAT
ARE
CARICA
TURED
IN
AMERICAN
PAPERS.
temple o-f Sargon, from beneath the
foundation of his city, many thousand
SOUTHEASTERN CORNER OF THE TEMPLE TOWER OF UR-GUR.
Uncle Sam to "J. Bull, Esq."
THE SAX FRANCISCO CALL, SUXPAY, FEBRUARY 13, 1898.
OLDEST RECORDS FOUND
OF HUMAN BEINGS
Scholars Seeking Civilization's Dawn in
the Ruins of Babylonia.
Remarkable Discoveries Recently .Made by tfye
Jlssyriologists of Two Continents.
cuneiform scripts by which history can
now be written backward three thou
sand years beyond tho days of Sargon.
The cuneiform scripts of Sargon and
his son and those of Nebuchadnezzar
are after all not very dissimilar, while
the texts found deep dcrwn below the
temple of Bel (Baal) are to those of the
>n period as is the writing of a
child to that of a man. The French ex
pedition, which has been at work far
ther south, confirms these general re
sults and places the age of. the world,
in civilization, from seven thousand t_/
ten thousand years before Christ. Thus
Sargon I, instead of representing the
dawn of civilization, can stand for lit
tle more than the middle chapter of the
ages before Christ. The whole effect of
the great w<>rk is confirmatory of the
Bible No conflict can result between
the new B. C. 7000 and the Biblical B.
C. 4004. This Biblical date was fixed
by the scholars of two hundred and
fifty years ago, who were as wise in the
matter as the excavations and tradi
tions of their period permitted.
The work has been done under the
greatest of difficulties. The famous
English explorer Sir Henry Layard re
tired discouraged from the great mound
of Nippur, where the American expedi
tion has toiled for several years, in the
campaign previous to the present for
thirty-four months continuously, often
in heat of 120 degrees in the shade,
with sand storms and biting insects as
almost constant terrors, and with
treacherous Arabs, very willing to rob
and kill, as frequent companions. The
first American expedition left the Uni
versity of Pennsylvania in ISBB. Since
that time about $100. 000 has been ex
pended, contributed by a few citizens
of Philadelphia. The work of the first
expedition covered the period of 1888
89. The staff consisted of Dr. John P.
Peters, director; W. Herman v. Hil
precht. Assyriologist, and J. H. Haynes,
excavator.
The laborers, 200 Arabs, were fur
nished by the Turkish Government,
which has always, through Dr. Hil
precht, been a party to the work. Tur
key has had its reward as the excava
tions have progressed in the increase of
Its store of objects of antiquity.
The second expedition, entering the
field later, in 1889, resumed the work
with 400 Arabs, securing some 8000 tab
lets, several stamps in terra cotta, hun
dreds of vases bearing inscriptions, and
many bowls and other antiquities.
It was from this expedition that came
the sensational results. For three years
the members of the expedition worked,
pursuing their purpose beneath the
burning sun for nearly three years
without cessation. Inspired by the ever
opening, ever widening discoveries re
vealed to them as they delved down
deep beneath the temple of Bel. There
was made a thorough examination of
the lower strata of the temple as de
pcribed by Dr. Hllprechi in his monu
mental work, "The Babylonian Expedi
tion of the University of Pennsyl
vania." Three sections were excavated
down to the water level of the old de
parted river Shatt-en-NIL A systematic
study of Babylonian drainage was
made and the two most ancient arches
of Babylonia were unearthed by Mr.
Haynes. Structures built by Naram
Sin and pre-Sargonlc buildings and
vases were found. Four hundred tombs
of various periods and forms were ex
cavated and their contents saved.
Twenty-one thousand cuneiform tablets
were found and taken away, tablets
containing history as plainly written to
the Assyriologist as are the text books
of our colleges and universities to their
students to-day.
Many fragments were also found,
among them contracts dated in the
reign of Dungi, son of I'r-(;ur, of many
Cassit"' kings hitherto unknown, of Da
rius and of Artaxerxes Mnemon. The
torso of an inscribed statue, hundred*
of vase fragments, ruins of what was
an old fountain in terra cotta baa re
lief, water cocks, drain tiles, fifty clay
coffins and burial urns — these were
among the other finds. The
savants of Europe and Amer
ica agree that by the great
results obtained, the studies of ancient
history, paleography and philology
have been badly upset and a universal
revision is held to be necessary.
The vast ruins of the Temple of Bel
are situated near the empty bed of the
Shatt-en-Nil, which divided Nippur
Into two parts. Out of the midst of
the ruins there arises a conical mound,
whose top is about one hundred feet
above the level of the surrounding
BELOW THE PLATFORM OF KING SARCON,
Showing a wall cround a Shrine arjd an open drain, near the mouth
of which a Keystone Arch. 5000 B. C, was found.
John Bull to "U. Sam, Esq."
NORTHWESTERN FACADE OF THE FfIMOUS TEMPLE TOWER.
plain. The crest c.-f the mound is about
lil'tj- feet above the surrounding debris.
In this mound are the ruins of the
great Temple of Bel. To the care of
this temple the kings of Babylonia ap
plied ihemselves as to a religion.
Shrines were added, its beauties were
enhanced, and there is every evidence
that the sanitary arrangements were
good and that they were not allowed to
fall into bad condition.
At the time of Ur-Gur, B. C. 2800, the
ziggurat, or temple tower, stood on the
northwestern edge of an immense plat
form which formed the pavement of the
whole temple inclosure. This platform
was made entirely of sun-dried bricks,
not inscribed, identical "with the mass
of crude bricks forming the body of the
temple tower. Below the platform of
Ur-Gur was another pavement, consist
ing of two courses of burned brick.
These were fifty centimeters square and
eight centimeters thick. Most of them
were stamped. Dr. Hllprecht believes
that the inscriptions on these bricks
and on some door sockets establish the
identity of Shargani-Sharali with Sar
gon I, and states that this second plat
form was apparently laid by Sargon
and relaid by his son, Naram-Sin.
Another striking illustration of the
activity of Naram-Sin was found In the
ruins of the outer wall of the city. The
foundation of this wall was placed on
solid clay, two-thirds of a meter be
low the water line of the river, or five
meters below the plane of the desert.
This foundation was built of worked
clay with cut straw, and was raised to
a height of five and a half meters. The
top of the foundation was thirteen and
three-quarters meters wide, and upon
this, it is Justifiable to assume, a great
wall was raised to some unknown
height. The ruins of this wall, were
there nothing else, would establish the
leading position of Nippur in the world
during that city's existence.
■ ■
"Seen my boy Tommy anywhere,
Mrs. Rook?"
"Well, no, I hain't seen Mm, but
there's a fight at the other end of the
street."
SOME
OF
THE
PERTINENT
THINGS
ABOUT
AMERICA
i
AND
THE
AMERICANS
THAT
ARE
CARICA
TURED
IN
ENGLISH^
PAFERS.