RENEWAL OF EXCAVATIONS AT KOUYUNJIK.--FIRST VISIT TO NIMROUD.--STATE
OF RUINS.--RENEW EXCAVATIONS IN MOUND.--VISIT OF COLONEL
RAWLINSON.--MR. H. RASSAM.--THE JEBOUR WORKMEN AT
KOUYUNJIK.--DISCOVERIES AT KOUYUNJIK.--SCULPTURES REPRESENTING MOVING
OF GREAT STONES AND WINGED BULLS.--METHODS ADOPTED.--EPIGRAPHS ON
BAS-RELIEFS OF MOVING BULLS.--SCULPTURES REPRESENTING INVASION OF
MOUNTAINOUS COUNTRY, AND SACK OF CITY.--DISCOVERY OF
GATEWAY.--EXCAVATION IN HIGH CONICAL MOUND AT NIMROUD.--DISCOVERY OF
WALL OF STONE.--VISIT TO KHORSABAD.--DISCOVERY OF SLAB.--STATE OF THE
RUINS.--FUTHLIYAH.--BAAZANI.--BAASHEIKHAH.
We were again in Mosul by the 12th of October. The Jebours, my old
workmen, had now brought their families to the town. I directed them to
cross the river, and to pitch their tents over the excavations at
Kouyunjik, as they had formerly done around the trenches at Nimroud. The
Bedouins, unchecked in their forays by the Turkish authorities, had become
so bold, that they ventured to the very walls of Mosul, and I felt it
necessary to have a strong party on the ruins for self-defence. The
Jebours were, however, on good terms with the Bedouins, and had lately
encamped amongst them.
About one hundred workmen, divided into twelve or fourteen parties, were
employed at Kouyunjik. The Arabs, as before, removed the earth and
rubbish, whilst the more difficult labor with the pick was left entirely
to the Nestorian mountaineers. My old friend, Yakoub, the Rais of
Asheetha, was named superintendent of the Tiyari workmen, for whom I built
mud huts near the foot of the mound.
The work having been thus begun at Kouyunjik, I rode with Hormuzd to
Nimroud for the first time on the 18th of October. It seemed but yesterday
that we had followed the same track. We stopped at each village, and found
in each old acquaintances ready to welcome us. From the crest of the hill
half way, the first view of Nimroud opened upon us; the old mound, on
which I had gazed so often from this spot, and with which so many happy
recollections were bound up, rising boldly above the Jaif, the river
winding through the plain, the distant wreaths of smoke marking the
villages of Naifa and Nimroud. I dismounted at my old house, which was
still standing, though somewhat in ruins, for it had been the habitation
of the Kiayah during my absence, and to avoid the vermin swarming in the
rooms, my tent was pitched in the court-yard, and I dwelt entirely in it.
The village had still, comparatively speaking, a flourishing appearance,
and had not diminished in size since my last visit. The _tanzimat_, or
reformed system of local administration, had been introduced into the
pashalic of Mosul, and although many of its regulations were evaded, and
arbitrary acts were still occasionally committed, yet on the whole a
marked improvement had taken place in the dealings of the authorities with
the subjects of the Sultan. The great cause of complaint was the want of
security. The troops under the command of the Pasha were not sufficient in
number to keep the Bedouins in check, and there was scarcely a village in
the low country which had not suffered more or less from their
depredations. Nimroud was particularly exposed to their incursions, and
the inhabitants lived in continual agitation and alarm.
By sunrise I was amongst the ruins. The mound had undergone no change.
There it rose from the plain, the same sun-burnt yellow heap that it had
stood for twenty centuries. The earth and rubbish, which had been heaped
over the excavated chambers and sculptured slabs, had settled, and had
left uncovered in sinking the upper part of several bas-reliefs. A few
colossal heads of winged figures rose calmly above the level of the soil,
and with two pairs of winged bulls, which had not been reburied on account
of their mutilated condition, was all that remained above ground of the
north-west palace, that great storehouse of Assyrian history and art.
Collecting together my old excavators from the Shemutti and Jehesh (the
Arab tribes who inhabit Nimroud and Naifa), and from the tents of a few
Jebours who still lingered round the village to glean a scanty subsistence
after the harvest, I placed workmen in different parts of the mound. The
north-west palace had not been fully explored. Most of the chambers which
did not contain sculptured slabs, but were simply built of sundried
bricks, had been left unopened. I consequently directed a party of workmen
to resume the excavations where they had been formerly abandoned. New
trenches were also opened in the ruins of the centre palace, where, as
yet, no sculptures had been discovered in their original position against
the walls. The high conical mound forming the north-west corner of
Nimroud, the pyramid as it has usually been called, had always been an
object of peculiar interest, which want of means had hitherto prevented me
fully examining. With the exception of a shaft, about forty feet deep,
sunk nearly in the centre, and passing through a solid mass of sun-dried
bricks, no other opening had been made into this singular ruin. I now
ordered a tunnel to be carried into its base on the western face, and on a
level with the conglomerate rock upon which it rested.
As I ascended the mound next morning I perceived a group of travellers on
its summit, their horses picketted in the stubble. Ere I could learn what
strangers had thus wandered to this remote region, my hand was seized by
the faithful Bairakdar. Beneath, in an excavated chamber, wrapped in his
travelling cloak, was Rawlinson deep in sleep, wearied by a long and
harassing night's ride. For the first time we met in the Assyrian ruins,
and besides the greetings of old friendship there was much to be seen
together, and much to be talked over. The fatigues of the journey had,
however, brought on fever, and we were soon compelled, after visiting the
principal excavations, to take refuge from the heat of the sun in the mud
huts of the village. The attack increasing in the evening it was deemed
prudent to ride into Mosul at once, and we mounted our horses in the
middle of the night.
During two days Col. Rawlinson was too ill to visit the excavations at
Kouyunjik. On the third we rode together to the mound. After a hasty
survey of the ruins we parted, and he continued his journey to
Constantinople and to England, to reap the laurels of a well-earned fame.
My readers would be wearied were I to relate, day by day, the progress of
the excavations, and to record, as they were gradually made, the
discoveries in the various ruins. It will give a more complete idea of the
results of the researches to describe the sculptured walls of a whole
chamber when entirely explored, instead of noting, one by one, as dug out,
bas-reliefs which form but part of the same subject. I will, therefore,
merely mention that during the months of October and November, my time was
spent between Kouyunjik and Nimroud, and that the excavations were carried
on at both places without interruption. Mr. Cooper was occupied in drawing
the bas-reliefs discovered at Kouyunjik, living in Mosul, and riding over
daily to the ruins. To Mr. Hormuzd Rassam, who usually accompanied me in
my journeys, were confided, as before, the general superintendence of the
operations, the payment of the workmen, the settlement of disputes, &c.
His services were invaluable, and of the greatest consequence to the
success of my labors.
The Arab workmen were divided into several classes, and their wages varied
according to their respective occupations, as well as according to the
time of year. They were generally paid weekly by Hormuzd. The diggers, who
were exposed to very severe labor, and even to considerable risk, received
from two piastres and a half to three piastres (from 5_d._ to 6_d._)
a-day; those who filled the baskets from two piastres to two and a half;
and the general workmen from one and a half to two piastres. The earth,
when removed, was sifted by boys, who earned about one piastre for their
day's labor. These wages may appear low, but they are amply sufficient for
the support of a family in a country where the camel-load of wheat (nearly
480 lbs.) is sold for about four shillings, and where no other protection
from the inclemencies of the weather is needed than a linen shirt and the
black folds of an Arab tent.[31]
The Kouyunjik workmen were usually paid in the subterraneous galleries,
some convenient space where several passages met being chosen for the
purpose; those of Nimroud generally in the village. A scene of wild
confusion ensued on these occasions, from which an inexperienced observer
might argue a sad want of order and method. This was, however, but the way
of doing business usual in the country. When there was a difference of
opinion, he who cried the loudest gained the day, and after a desperate
struggle of voices matters relapsed into their usual state, every one
being perfectly satisfied. Screaming and gesticulation with Easterns by no
means signify ill will, or even serious disagreement. Without them, except
of course amongst the Turks, who are staid and dignified to a proverb, the
most ordinary transactions cannot be carried on, and they are frequently
rather symptoms of friendship than of hostility.
By the end of November several entire chambers had been excavated at
Kouyunjik, and many bas-reliefs of great interest had been discovered. The
four sides of the hall, part of which has already been described,[32] had
now been explored.[33] In the centre of each side was a grand entrance,
guarded by colossal human-headed bulls.[34] This magnificent hall was no
less than 124 feet in length by 90 feet in breadth, the longest sides
being those to the north and south. It appears to have formed a centre,
around which the principal chambers in this part of the palace were
grouped. Its walls had been completely covered with the most elaborate and
highly-finished sculptures. Unfortunately all the bas-reliefs, as well as
the gigantic monsters at the entrances, had suffered more or less from the
fire which had destroyed the edifice; but enough of them still remained to
show the subject, and even to enable me in many places to restore it
entirely.
The narrow passage leading from the great hall at the south-west corner
had been completely explored. Its sculptures have already been
described.[35] It opened into a chamber 24 feet by 19, from which branched
two other passages. The one to the west was entered by a wide doorway, in
which stood two plain spherical stones about three feet high, having the
appearance of the bases of columns, although no traces of any such
architectural ornament could be found. This was the entrance into a broad
and spacious gallery, about 218 feet long and 25 wide. A tunnel at its
western end, cut through the solid wall, as there was no doorway on this
side of the gallery, led into the chambers excavated by Mr. Ross, thus
connecting them with the rest of the building.
I have already described the bas-reliefs representing the conquest of a
mountainous country on the southern side of the great hall.[36] The same
subject was continued on the western wall, without much variety in the
details. But on the northern, the sculptures differed from any others yet
discovered, and from their interest and novelty merit a particular
notice. But before giving a description of them, I must return to the long
gallery to the west of the great hall, as the sculptures still preserved
in it form part of and complete this important series.
The slabs on one side of this gallery had been entirely destroyed, except
at the eastern end; and from the few which still remained, every trace of
sculpture had been carefully removed by some sharp instrument. Along the
opposite wall (that to the right on leaving the great hall) only eight
bas-reliefs still stood in their original position, and even of these only
the lower part was preserved. Detached fragments of others were found in
the rubbish, and from them I ascertained that the whole gallery had been
occupied by one continuous series, representing the different processes
adopted by the Assyrians in moving and placing various objects used in
their buildings, and especially the human-headed bulls, from the first
transport of the huge stone in the rough from the quarry, to the raising
of these gigantic sculptures in the gateways of the palace-temples. On
these fragments were seen the king in his chariot, superintending the
operations, and workmen carrying cables, or dragging carts loaded with
coils of ropes, and various implements for moving the colossi.
I will commence, then, by a description of the sculptures still standing
in their original position in the gallery. A huge block of stone (probably
of the alabaster used in the Assyrian edifices), somewhat elongated in
form so as to resemble an obelisk in the rough, is lying on a low
flat-bottomed boat floating on a river. It has probably been towed down
the Tigris from some quarry, and is to be landed near the site of the
intended palace, to be carved by the sculptor into the form of a colossal
bull. It exceeds the boat considerably in length, projecting beyond both
the head and stern, and is held by upright beams fastened to the sides of
the vessel, and kept firm in their places by wooden wedges. Two cables are
passed through holes cut in the stone itself, and a third is tied to a
strong pin projecting from the head of the boat. Each cable is held by a
large body of men, who pull by means of small ropes fastened to it and
passed round their shoulders. Some of these trackers walk in the water,
others on dry land. The number altogether represented must have been
nearly 300, about 100 to each cable, and they appear to be divided into
distinct bands, each distinguished by a peculiar costume. Some wear a kind
of embroidered turban, through which their long hair is gathered behind;
the heads of others are encircled by a fringed shawl, whose ends hang over
the ears and neck, leaving the hair to fall in long curls upon the
shoulders. Many are represented naked, but the greater number are dressed
in short chequered tunics, with a long fringe attached to the girdle. They
are urged on by taskmasters armed with swords and staves. The boat is also
pushed by men wading through the stream. An overseer, who regulates the
whole proceedings, is seated astride on the fore-part of the stone. His
hands are stretched out in the act of giving commands.
[Illustration: Head-dress of Captives employed by Assyrians in moving Bull
(Kouyunjik).]
The huge stone having been landed, and carved by the Assyrian sculptor
into the form of a colossal human-headed bull, is to be moved from the
bank of the river to the site it is meant to occupy permanently in the
palace-temple. This process is represented on the walls of the great
hall. From these bas-reliefs, as well as from discoveries to be hereafter
mentioned, it is therefore evident that the Assyrians sculptured their
gigantic figures before, and not after, the slabs had been raised in the
edifice, although all the details and the finishing touches were not put
in, as it will be seen, until they had been finally placed.[37] I am
still, however, of opinion, that the smaller bas-reliefs were entirely
executed after the slabs had been attached to the walls.
In the first bas-relief I shall describe, the colossal bull rests
horizontally on a sledge similar in form to the boat containing the rough
block from the quarry, but either in the carving the stone has been
greatly reduced in size, or the sledge is much larger than the boat, as it
considerably exceeds the sculpture in length. The bull faces the
spectator, and the human head rests on the fore-part of the sledge, which
is curved upwards and strengthened by a thick beam, apparently running
completely through from side to side. The upper part, or deck, is
otherwise nearly horizontal; the under, or keel, being slightly curved
throughout. Props, probably of wood, are placed under different parts of
the sculpture to secure an equal pressure. The sledge was dragged by
cables, and impelled by levers. The cables are four in number; two
fastened to strong projecting pins in front, and two to similar pins
behind. They are pulled by small ropes passing over the shoulders of the
men, as in the bas-reliefs already described.
On the bull itself are four persons, probably the superintending officers.
The first is kneeling, and appears to be clapping his hands, probably
beating time, to regulate the motions of the workmen, who unless they
applied their strength at one and the same moment would be unable to move
so large a weight. Behind him stands a second officer with outstretched
arm, evidently giving the word of command. The next holds to his mouth,
either a speaking-trumpet, or an instrument of music. If the former, it
proves that the Assyrians were acquainted with a means of conveying sound,
presumed to be of modern invention. In form it undoubtedly resembles the
modern speaking-trumpet, and in no bas-relief hitherto discovered does a
similar object occur as an instrument of music. The fourth officer, also
standing, carries a mace, and is probably stationed behind to give
directions to those who work the levers. The sledge bearing the sculpture
is followed by men with coils of ropes and various implements, and drawing
carts laden with cables and beams.
A subject similar to that just described is represented in another series
of bas-reliefs, with even fuller details. The bull is placed in the same
manner on the sledge, which is also moved by cables and levers. It is
accompanied by workmen with saws, hatchets, pick-axes, shovels, ropes, and
props, and by carts carrying cables and beams. Upon it are three officers
directing the operations, one holding the trumpet in his hands, and in
front walk four other overseers. Above the sledge and the workmen are rows
of trees, and a river on which are circular boats resembling in shape the
"kufas," now used on the lower part of the Tigris, and probably, like
them, built of reeds and ozier twigs, covered with square pieces of hide.
They are heavily laden with beams and implements required for moving the
bulls.
On a fallen slab, forming part of the same general series, is the king
standing in a richly decorated chariot, the pole of which, curved upwards
at the end, and ornamented with the head of a horse, is raised by
eunuchs. From the peculiar form of this chariot and the absence of a yoke,
it would seem to have been intended purposely for such occasions as that
represented in the bas-relief, and to have been a kind of moveable throne
drawn by men and not by horses. Behind the monarch, who holds a kind of
flower, or ornament in the shape of the fruit of the pine, in one hand,
stand two eunuchs, one raising a parasol to shade him from the sun, the
other cooling him with a fan. He appears to have been superintending the
transport of one of the colossal sculptures, and his chariot is preceded
and followed by his body-guard armed with maces.
The next series of bas-reliefs represents the building of the artificial
platforms on which the palaces were erected, and the Assyrians moving to
their summit the colossal bulls. The king is again seen in his chariot
drawn by eunuchs, whilst an attendant raises the royal parasol above his
head. He overlooks the operations from that part of the mound to which the
sledge is being dragged, and before him stands his body-guard, a long line
of alternate spearmen and archers, resting their arms and shields upon the
ground. At the bottom of the slab is represented a river, on the banks of
which are seen men raising water by a simple machine, still generally used
for irrigation in the East, as well as in Southern Europe, and called in
Egypt a _shadoof_. It consists of a long pole, balanced on a shaft of
masonry, and turning on a pivot; to one end is attached a stone, and to
the other a bucket, which, after being lowered into the water and filled,
is easily raised by the help of the opposite weight. Its contents are then
emptied into a conduit communicating with the various watercourses running
through the fields. In the neighbourhood of Mosul this mode of irrigation
is now rarely used, the larger skins raised by oxen affording a better
supply, and giving, it is considered, less trouble to the cultivator.[38]
It would appear that the men employed in building the artificial mound
were captives and malefactors, for many of them are in chains, some
singly, others bound together by an iron rod attached to rings in their
girdles. The fetters, like those of modern criminals, confine the legs,
and are supported by a bar fastened to the waist, or consist of simple
shackles round the ankles. They wear a short tunic, and a conical cap,
somewhat resembling the Phrygian bonnet, with the curved crest turned
backwards, a costume very similar to that of the tribute bearers on the
Nimroud obelisk. Each band of workmen is followed and urged on by
task-masters armed with staves.
The mound, or artificial platform, having been thus built, not always, as
it has been seen, with regular layers of sun-dried bricks, but frequently
in parts with mere heaped-up earth and rubbish, the next step was to drag
to its summit the colossal figures prepared for the palace. As some of the
largest of these sculptures were full twenty feet square, and must have
weighed between forty and fifty tons, this was no easy task with such
means as the Assyrians possessed. The only aid to mere manual strength was
derived from the rollers and levers.
Behind the monarch, on an adjoining slab, are carts bearing the cables,
wedges, and implements required in moving the sculpture. A long beam or
lever is slung by ropes from the shoulders of three men, and one of the
great wedges is carried in the same way. In the upper compartment of this
slab is a stream issuing from the foot of hills wooded with vines,
fig-trees, and pomegranates. Beneath stands a town or village, the houses
of which have domes and high conical roofs, probably built of mud, as in
parts of northern Syria. The domes have the appearance of dish-covers with
a handle, the upper part being topped by a small circular projection,
perhaps intended as an aperture to admit light and air.
[Illustration: Village with the conical Roofs, near Aleppo.]
This interesting series is completed by a bas-relief, showing, it would
seem, the final placing of the colossal bull. The figure no longer lies
horizontally on the sledge, but is raised by men with ropes and forked
wooden props. It is kept in its erect position by beams, held together by
cross bars and wedges,[39] and is further supported by blocks of stone, or
wood, piled up under the body. Cables, ropes, rollers, and levers are also
employed on this occasion to move the gigantic sculpture. The captives are
distinguished by the peculiar turbans before described.[40]
We have thus represented, with remarkable fidelity and spirit[41], the
several processes employed to place these colossi where they still stand,
from the transport down the river of the rough block to the final removal
of the sculptured figure to the palace. From these bas-reliefs we find
that the Assyrians were well acquainted with the lever and the roller, and
that they ingeniously made use of the former by carrying with them wedges,
of different dimensions, and probably of wood, to vary the height of the
fulcrum. When moving the winged bulls and lions now in the British Museum
from the ruins to the banks of the Tigris, I used almost the same means.
The Assyrians, like the Egyptians, had made considerable progress in rope
twisting, an art now only known in its rudest state in the same part of
the East. The cables appear to be of great length and thickness, and ropes
of various dimensions are represented in the sculptures.
On comparing representations of similar works among the Egyptians, it will
be found that they succeeded in removing masses of stone far exceeding in
weight any sculpture which has yet been discovered in Assyria. Yet it is a
singular fact, that whilst the quarries of Egypt bear witness of
themselves to the stupendous nature of the works of the ancient
inhabitants of the country, and still show on their sides engraved records
of those who made them, no traces whatever, notwithstanding the most
careful research, have yet been found to indicate from whence the builders
of the Assyrian palaces obtained their large slabs of alabaster. That they
were in the immediate neighbourhood of Nineveh there is scarcely any
reason to doubt, as strata of this material, easily accessible, abound,
not only in the hills but in the plains. This very abundance may have
rendered any particular quarry unnecessary, and blocks were probably taken
as required from convenient spots, which have since been covered by the
soil.
There can be no doubt, as will hereafter be shown, that the king
represented as superintending the building of the mounds and the placing
of the colossal bulls is Sennacherib himself, and that the sculptures
celebrate the building at Nineveh of the great palace and its adjacent
temples described in the inscriptions as the work of this monarch.
Unfortunately only fragments of the epigraphs have been preserved. From
them it would appear that the transport of more than one object was
represented on the walls. Besides bulls and sphynxes in stone are
mentioned figures in some kind of wood, perhaps of olive, like "the two
cherubims of olive tree, each ten cubits high," in the temple of
Solomon.[42] Over the king superintending the removal of one of these
colossi is the following short inscription thus translated by Dr.
Hincks:--
"Sennacherib, king of Assyria, the great figures of bulls, which in the
land of Belad, were made for his royal palace at Nineveh, he transported
_thither_." (?)
The land of Belad, mentioned in these inscriptions, appears to have been a
district in the immediate vicinity of Nineveh, and probably on the Tigris,
as these great masses of stone would have been quarried near the river for
the greater convenience of moving them to the palace. The district of
Belad may indeed have been that in which the city itself stood.
Over the representation of the building of the mound there were two
epigraphs, both precisely similar, but both unfortunately much mutilated.
As far as they can be restored, they have thus been interpreted by Dr.
Hincks:--
"Sennacherib, king of Assyria. Hewn stones, _which_, as the gods[43]
willed, were found in the land of Belad, for the _walls_ (?) (or
foundations, the word reads '_shibri_') of my palace, _I caused the
inhabitants of foreign countries_ (?) and the people of the forests
(Kershani), the great bulls for the gates of my palace to _drag_ (?) (or
bring)."
If this inscription be rightly rendered, we have direct evidence that
captives from foreign countries were employed in the great public works
undertaken by the Assyrian kings, as we were led to infer, from the
variety of costume represented in the bas-reliefs, and from the fetters on
the legs of some of the workmen. The Jews themselves, after their
captivity, may have been thus condemned to labor, as their forefathers had
been in Egypt, in erecting the monuments of their conquerors; and we may,
perhaps, recognise them amongst the builders portrayed in the sculptures.
From the long gallery, we have unfortunately only three fragments of
inscriptions without the sculptured representations of the events
recorded. The most perfect is interesting on more than one account.
According to Dr. Hincks it is to be translated:--
"Sennacherib, king of Assyria ... (some object, the nature not
ascertained) of wood, which from the Tigris I caused to be brought up
(_through_ ?) the Kharri, or Khasri, on sledges (or boats), I caused to be
carried (or to mount)."
The name of the river in this inscription very nearly resembles that of
the small stream which sweeps round the foot of the great mound of
Kouyunjik.
In the fragment of another epigraph, we have mention of some objects also
of wood "brought from Mount Lebanon, and taken up (to the top of the
mound) from the Tigris." These may have been beams of cedar, which, it
will be hereafter seen, were extensively used in the Assyrian palaces. It
is highly interesting thus to find the inhabitants of Nineveh fetching
their rare and precious woods from the same spots that king Solomon had
brought the choicest woodwork of the temple of the Lord and of his own
palaces.
On a third fragment similar objects are described as coming from or up the
same Kharri or Khasri. I have mentioned that the long gallery containing
the bas-relief representing the moving of the great stone, led out of a
chamber, whose walls had been completely uncovered. The sculptures upon
them were partly preserved, and recorded the conquest of a city standing
on a broad river, in the midst of mountains and forests.
The last bas-relief of the series represented the king seated within a
fortified camp, on a throne of elaborate workmanship, and having beneath
his feet a footstool of equally elegant form. He was receiving the
captives, who wore long robes falling to their ankles. Unfortunately, no
inscription remained by which we might identify the conquered nation.
It will be remembered that excavations had been resumed in a lofty mound
in the north-west line of walls forming the enclosure round Kouyunjik. It
was apparently the remains of a gate leading into this quarter of the
city, and part of a building, with fragments of two colossal winged
figures, had already been discovered in it. By the end of November, the
whole had been explored, and the results were of considerable interest. As
the mound rises nearly fifty feet over the plain, we were obliged to
tunnel along the walls of the building within it, through a compact mass
of rubbish, consisting almost entirely of loose bricks. Following the rows
of low limestone slabs, from the south side of the mound, and passing
through two halls or chambers, we came at length to the opposite entrance.
This gateway, facing the open country, was formed by a pair of majestic
human-headed bulls, fourteen feet in length, still entire, though cracked
and injured by fire. They were similar in form to those of Khorsabad and
Kouyunjik, wearing the lofty head-dress, richly ornamented with rosettes,
and edged with a fringe of feathers peculiar to that period. Their faces
were in full, and the relief was high and bold. More knowledge of art was
shown in the outline of the limbs and in the delineation of the muscles,
than in any sculpture I have seen of this period. The naked leg and foot
were designed with a spirit and truthfulness worthy of a Greek artist. It
is, however, remarkable that the four figures were unfinished, none of the
details having been put in, and parts being but roughly outlined.
The sculptures to the left, on entering from the open country, were in a
far more unfinished state than those on the opposite side. The hair and
beard were but roughly marked out, square bosses being left for carving
the elaborate curls. The horned cap of the human-headed bull was, as yet,
unornamented, and the wings merely outlined. The limbs and features were
hard and angular, still requiring to be rounded off, and to have
expression given to them by the finishing touch of the artist. The other
two figures were more perfect. No inscription had yet been carved on
either sculpture.
The entrance formed by these colossal bulls was fourteen feet and a
quarter wide. It was paved with large slabs of limestone, still bearing
the marks of chariot wheels. The sculptures were buried in a mass of
brick and earth, mingled with charcoal and charred wood; for "the gates of
the land had been set wide open unto the enemy, and the fire had devoured
the bars."[44] They were lighted from above by a deep shaft sunk from the
top of the mound. It would be difficult to describe the effect produced,
or the reflections suggested by these solemn and majestic figures, dimly
visible amidst the gloom, when, after winding through the dark,
underground passages, you suddenly came into their presence. Between them
Sennacherib and his hosts had gone forth in all their might and glory to
the conquest of distant lands, and had returned rich with spoil and
captives, amongst whom may have been the handmaidens and wealth of Israel.
Through them, too, the Assyrian monarch had entered his capital in shame,
after his last and fatal defeat. Then the lofty walls, now but long lines
of low, wave-like mounds, had stretched far to the right and to the
left--a basement of stone supporting a curtain of solid brick masonry,
crowned with battlements and studded with frowning towers.
Behind the colossal figures, and between the outer and inner face of the
gateway, were two chambers, nearly 70 feet in length, by 23 in breadth. Of
that part of the entrance which was within the walls, only the fragments
of winged figures, discovered during my previous researches, now remained.
The whole entrance thus consisted of two distinct chambers and three
gateways, two formed by human-headed bulls, and a third between them
simply panelled with low limestone slabs like the chambers. Its original
height, including the tower, must have been full one hundred feet. Most of
the baked bricks found amongst the rubbish bore the name of Sennacherib,
the builder of the palace of Kouyunjik. A similar gateway, but without any
remains of sculptured figures, and panelled with plain alabaster slabs,
was subsequently discovered in the inner line of walls forming the eastern
side of the quadrangle, where the road to Baashiekhah and Baazani leaves
the ruins.
At Nimroud discoveries of very considerable importance were made in the
high conical mound at the north-west corner. Desirous of fully exploring
that remarkable ruin, I had employed nearly all the workmen in opening a
tunnel into its western base. After penetrating for no less than
eighty-four feet through a compact mass of rubbish, composed of loose
gravel, earth, burnt bricks, and fragments of stone, the excavators came
to a wall of solid stone masonry. I have already observed that the edifice
covered by this high mound was originally built upon the natural rock, a
bank of hard conglomerate rising about fifteen feet above the plain, and
washed in days of yore by the waters of the Tigris. Our tunnel was carried
for thirty-four feet on a level with this rock, which appears to have been
covered by a kind of flooring of sun-dried bricks, probably once forming a
platform in front of the building. It was buried to the distance of thirty
feet from the wall, by baked bricks, broken and entire, and by fragments
of stone, remains of the superstructure once resting upon the basement of
still existing stone masonry. This mass of rubbish was about thirty feet
high, and in it were found bones apparently human, and a yellow earthen
jar, rudely colored with simple black designs. The rest of this part of
the mound consisted of earth, through which ran two thin lines of
extraneous deposit, one _of pebbles_, the other of fragments of brick and
pottery. I am totally at a loss to account for their formation.
I ordered tunnels to be carried along the basement wall in both
directions, hoping to reach some doorway or entrance, but it was found to
consist of solid masonry, extending nearly the whole length of the mound.
Its height was exactly twenty feet, which, singularly enough, coincides
with that assigned by Xenophon to the stone basement of the wall of the
city (Larissa).[45] The stones in this structure were carefully fitted
together, though not united with mortar, unless the earth which filled the
crevices was the remains of mud, used, as it still is in the country, as a
cement. They were bevelled with a slanting bevel, and in the face of the
wall were eight recesses or false windows, four on each side of a square
projecting block between gradines.
The basement, of which this wall proved to be only one face, was not
excavated on the northern and eastern side until a later period, but I
will describe all the discoveries connected with this singular building at
once. The northern side was of the same height as, and resembled in its
masonry, the western. It had a semicircular hollow projection in the
centre, sixteen feet in diameter, on the east side of which were two
recesses, and on the west four, so that the two ends of the wall were not
uniform. That part of the basement against which the great artificial
mound or platform abutted, and which was consequently concealed by it,
that is, the eastern and southern sides, was of simple stone masonry
without recesses or ornament. The upper part of the edifice, resting on
the stone substructure, consisted of compact masonry of burnt bricks,
which were mostly inscribed with the name of the founder of the centre
palace (the obelisk king), the inscription being in many instances turned
outwards.
It was thus evident that the high conical mound forming the north-west
corner of the ruins of Nimroud, was the remains of a square tower, and not
of a pyramid, as had previously been conjectured. The lower part, built of
solid stone masonry, had withstood the wreck of ages, but the upper walls
of burnt brick, and the inner mass of sun-dried brick which they encased,
falling outwards, and having been subsequently covered with earth and
vegetation, the ruin had taken the pyramidal form that loose materials
falling in this manner would naturally assume.
It is very probable that this ruin represents the tomb of Sardanapalus,
which, according to the Greek geographers, stood at the entrance of the
city of Nineveh. It will hereafter be seen that it is not impossible the
builder of the north-west palace of Nimroud was a king of that name,
although it is doubtful whether he can be identified with the historical
Sardanapalus. Subsequent discoveries proved that he must himself have
raised the stone substructure, although his son, whose name is found upon
the bricks, completed the building. It was, of course, natural to
conjecture that some traces of the chamber in which the royal remains were
deposited, were to be found in the ruin, and I determined to examine it as
fully as I was able. Having first ascertained the exact centre of the
western stone basement, I there forced a passage through it. This was a
work of some difficulty, as the wall was 8 ft. 9 in. thick, and strongly
built of large rough stones. Having, however, accomplished this step, I
carried a tunnel completely through the mound, at its very base, and on a
level with the natural rock, until we reached the opposite basement wall,
at a distance of 150 feet. Nothing having been discovered by this cutting,
I directed a second to be made at right angles to it, crossing it exactly
in the centre, and reaching from the northern to the southern basement;
but without any discovery.
The next cutting was made in the centre of the mound, on a line with the
top of the stone basement wall, which was also the level of the platform
of the north-west palace. The workmen soon came to a narrow gallery, about
100 feet long, 12 feet high, and 6 feet broad, which was blocked up at the
two ends without any entrance being left into it. It was vaulted with
sun-dried bricks, a further proof of the use of the arch at a very early
period, and the vault had in one or two places fallen in. No remains
whatever were found in it, neither fragments of sculpture or inscription,
nor any smaller relic. There were, however, undoubted traces of its having
once been broken into on the western side, by digging into the face of the
mound after the edifice was in ruins, and consequently, therefore, long
after the fall of the Assyrian empire. The remains which it may have
contained, probably the embalmed body of the king, with vessels of
precious metals and other objects of value buried with it, had been
carried off by those who had opened the tomb at some remote period, in
search of treasure. They must have had some clue to the precise position
of the chamber, or how could they have dug into the mound exactly at the
right spot? Had this depositary of the dead escaped earlier violation, who
can tell with what valuable and important relics of Assyrian art or
Assyrian history it might have furnished us? I explored, with feelings of
great disappointment, the empty chamber, and then opened other tunnels,
without further results, in the upper parts of the mound.
It was evident that the long gallery or chamber I have described was the
place of deposit for the body of the king, if this were really his tomb.
The tunnels and cuttings in other parts of the mound only exposed a
compact and solid mass of sun-dried brick masonry. I much doubt, for many
reasons, whether any sepulchre exists in the rock beneath the foundations
of the tower, though, of course, it is not impossible that such may be the
case.[46]
From the present state of the ruin it is difficult to conjecture the exact
original form and height of this edifice. There can be no doubt that it
was a vast square tower, and it is not improbable that it may have
terminated in a series of three or more gradines, like the obelisk of
black marble from the centre palace now in the British Museum. Like the
palaces, too, it was probably painted on the outside with various mythic
figures and devices, and its summit may have been crowned by an altar, on
which the Assyrian king offered up his great sacrifices, or on which was
fed the ever-burning sacred fire. But I will defer any further remarks
upon this subject until I treat of the architecture of the Assyrians.
As the ruin is 140 feet high, the building could scarcely have been much
less than 200, whilst the immense mass of rubbish surrounding and covering
the base shows that it might have been considerably more.
During the two months in which the greater part of the discoveries
described in this chapter were made, I was occupied almost entirely with
the excavations, my time being spent between Nimroud and Kouyunjik.
Wishing to visit Baasheikhah, Khorsabad, and other ruins at the foot of
the range of low hills of the Gebel Makloub, I left Nimroud on the 26th of
November with Hormuzd and the Bairakdar. Four hours' ride brought us to
some small artificial mounds near the village of Lak, about three miles to
the east of the high road to Mosul. Here we found a party of workmen
excavating under one of the Christian superintendents. Nothing had been
discovered except fragments of pottery and a few bricks bearing the name
of the Kouyunjik king. As the ruins, from their size, did not promise
other results, I sent the men back to Mosul. We reached Khorsabad after
riding for nearly eight hours over a rich plain, capable of very high
cultivation, though wanting in water, and still well stocked with
villages, between which we startled large flocks of gazelles and bustards.
I had sent one of my overseers there some days before to uncover the
platform to the west of the principal edifice, a part of the building I
was desirous of examining. Whilst clearing away the rubbish, he had
discovered two bas-reliefs sculptured in black stone. They represented a
hunting scene, and were executed with much truth and spirit. They belonged
to a small building, believed to be a temple, entirely constructed of
black marble, and attached to the palace. It stood upon a platform 165
feet in length and 100 in width, raised about six feet above the level of
the flooring of the chambers, and ascended from the main building by a
flight of broad steps. This platform, or stylobate, is remarkable for a
cornice in grey limestone carried round the four sides,--one of the few
remains of exterior decoration in Assyrian architecture, with which we
are acquainted. It is carefully built of separate stones, placed _side by
side_, each forming part of the section of the cornice. Mr. Fergusson
observes,[47] with reference to it, "at first sight it seems almost purely
Egyptian; but there are peculiarities in which it differs from any found
in that country, especially in the curve being continued beyond the
vertical tangent, and the consequent projection of the torus giving a
second shadow. Whether the effect of this would be pleasant or not in a
cornice placed so high that we must look up to it, is not quite clear; but
below the level of the eye, or slightly above it, the result must have
been more pleasing than any form found in Egypt, and where sculpture is
not added might be used with effect anywhere."
Many fragments of bas-reliefs in the same black marble, chiefly parts of
winged figures, had been uncovered; but this building has been more
completely destroyed than any other part of the palace of Khorsabad, and
there is scarcely enough rubbish even to cover the few remains of
sculpture which are scattered over the platform.
The sculptures in the palace itself had rapidly fallen to decay, and of
those which had been left exposed to the air after M. Botta's departure,
scarcely any traces remained. Since my former visit to Khorsabad, the
French consul at Mosul had sold to Col. Rawlinson the pair of colossal
human-headed bulls and winged figures, now in the great hall of the
British Museum. They had stood in a propylaeum, about 900 feet to the
south-east of the palace, within the quadrangle, but not upon the
artificial mound. In form this small building appears to have been nearly
the same as the gateway, in the walls of Kouyunjik, and like it was built
of brick and panelled with low limestone slabs. From the number of
enamelled bricks discovered in the ruins it is probable that it was richly
decorated in color.
Trenches had also been opened in one of the higher mounds in the line of
walls, and in the group of ruins at the S. W. corner of the quadrangle,
but no discoveries of any interest had been made. The centre of the
quadrangle was now occupied by a fever-breeding marsh formed by the waters
of the Khauser.
We passed the night at Futhliyah, a village built at the foot of the Gabel
Makloub, about a mile and a half from Khorsabad. Near Futhliyah, and about
two miles from the palace of Khorsabad, is a lofty conical Tel visible
from Mosul, and from most parts of the surrounding country. It is one of
those isolated mounds so numerous in the plains of Assyria, which do not
appear to form part of any group of ruins, and the nature of which I have
been unable to determine. Its vicinity to Khorsabad led me to believe that
it might have been connected with those remains, and might have been
raised over a tomb. By my directions deep trenches were opened into its
sides, but only fragments of pottery were discovered.
From Futhliyah we rode across the plain to the large village of Baazani,
chiefly inhabited by Yezidis. There we found Hussein Bey, Sheikh Nasr, and
a large party of Cawals assembled at the house of one Abd-ur-rahman
Chelibi, a Mussulman gentleman of Mosul, who had farmed the revenues of
the place.
Near Baazani are a group of artificial mounds of no great size. Having
examined them, and taken leave of the chiefs, I rode to the neighbouring
village of Baasheikhah, only separated from Baazani by a deep watercourse,
dry except during the rains. Both stand at the very foot of the Gebel
Makloub. Immediately behind them are craggy ravines worn by winter
torrents. In these valleys are quarries of the kind of alabaster used in
the Assyrian palaces, but I could find no remains to show that the
Assyrians had obtained their great slabs from them, although they appear
to be of ancient date.
I have mentioned, in my former work, the Assyrian ruin near Baasheikhah.
It is a vast mound, little inferior in size to Nimroud, irregular in
shape, uneven in level, and furrowed by deep ravines worn by the winter
rains. Standing, as it does, near abundant quarries of the favorite
sculpture-material of the Assyrians, and resembling the platforms of
Kouyunjik or Khorsabad, there was every probability that it contained the
remains of an edifice like those ruins. There are a few low mounds
scattered around it, but no distinct line of walls forming an inclosure.
During the former excavations only earthen jars, and bricks, inscribed
with the name of the founder of the centre palace at Nimroud, had been
discovered. A party of Arabs and Tiyari were now opening trenches and
tunnels in various parts of the mound, under the superintendence of Yakoub
Rais of Asheetha. The workmen had uncovered, on the west side of the ruin
near the surface, some large blocks of yellowish limestone apparently
forming a flight of steps; the only other antiquities of any interest
found during the excavations were a few bricks bearing the name of the
early Nimroud king, and numerous fragments of earthenware.
It is remarkable that no remains of more interest have been discovered in
this mound, which must contain a monument of considerable size and
antiquity. Although the trenches opened in it were numerous and deep, yet
the ruin has not yet probably been sufficiently examined. It can scarcely
be doubted that on the artificial platform, as on others of the same
nature, stood a royal palace, or some monument of equal importance.
[Illustration: Bulls, with historical Inscriptions of Sennacherib
(Kouyunjik).]