[76]. Loftus, ‘Chaldæa and Babylonia,’ p. 188.
[77]. This chapter and that next following may be regarded as, in all essential respects an abridgment or condensation of the information contained in a work published by the author in 1851, entitled, ‘The Palaces of Nineveh and Persepolis Restored,’ the only real difference being that the more perfect decipherment of the inscriptions since that work was published has caused some of the palaces and buildings to be ascribed to different kings and dynasties from those to whom they were then assigned, and proved their dates to be more modern than was suspected, for the oldest at least. The order of their succession, however, remains the same, and so consequently do all the architectural inferences drawn from it. Those readers who may desire further information on the subject are referred to the work alluded to.
[78]. Published in 1862, in the ‘Athenæum’ journal, No. 1812.
[79]. This plan, with all the particulars here mentioned, are taken from Layard’s work, which is the only authority on the subject, so that it is not necessary to refer to him on every point. The plan is reduced to the usual scale of 100 ft. to 1 inch, for easy comparison with the dimensions of all the other edifices quoted throughout this work.
[80]. The whole of the information regarding Khorsabad is taken from M. Botta’s great work on the subject, and its continuation, ‘Ninive et l’Assyrie,’ by M. Victor Place.
[81]. These particulars are all borrowed from M. Place’s great work, ‘Ninive et l’Assyrie,’ folio. Paris, 1865.
[82]. Space will not admit of my entering into all the reasons for this restoration here. If any one wishes for further information on the subject, I must refer him to my ‘Palaces of Nineveh and Persepolis Restored,’ published in 1851. Nothing has occurred during the twenty-three years that have elapsed since that work was published that has at all shaken my views of the correctness of the data on which these restorations were based. On the contrary, every subsequent research has served only more and more to convince me of their general correctness, and I cannot now suggest any improvement even in details. [It should be noted that the author’s theory as to the covering over of the Assyrian halls with a flat roof carried on columns has never been accepted by foreign archæologists, and no trace has ever been found of the foundations which would be required to carry such columns. M. Place, who conducted the excavations at Khorsabad, and Messrs. Perrot & Chipiez, who, among others, have devoted much time and research to the subject, are of opinion that the halls were vaulted. It would be difficult now to determine the possibility of building vaults of thirty feet span in crude or unburnt brick, because we have no means of testing the resistance to crushing which such bricks might afford. The brick voussoirs found by M. Place in the arches of the town gates had been prepared in special moulds, and so completely dried that liquid clay had been used to cement them together. In some of the large halls, far away from the walls, and in some cases in the centre of the rooms, huge blocks of hard clay were found with their lower surface curved and covered with a layer of stucco; these masses were sometimes many metres long, one to two metres wide, nearly a metre thick. According to M. Place they formed part of a barrel vault covering the halls, and their size would account for the immense thickness of the walls constructed to carry them and resist their thrust, as well as for the peculiar shape of the halls; that is, their length as compared with their breadth. The sculptured slabs would seem to have been carved to be seen by a high side-light, which suggests openings of some kind, just above the springing of the vault, and above the flat roof of the smaller halls round.—Ed.]
[83]. These gateways are extremely interesting to the Biblical student, inasmuch as they are the only examples which enable us to understand the gateways of the Temple at Jerusalem as described by Ezekiel. Their dimensions are nearly the same, but the arrangement of the side chambers and of gates generally are almost identical. These gates had been built 100 years at least before Ezekiel wrote.
[84]. Layard’s excavations here furnish us with what has not been found or has been overlooked elsewhere, e.g., a ramp or winding staircase leading to the upper storey (‘Nineveh and Babylon,’ 461). As explained above, I believe the tops of the walls, which are equal to the floor space below, formed such a storey. This ramp at Koyunjik would just suffice to lead to them, and goes far to prove the theory. If it was similarly situated at Khorsabad it would be in the part fallen away.
[85]. [This assumption is speculative, no trace of such dwarf columns having been found; to raise a solid wall thirteen feet thick to carry a gallery seems unlikely.—Ed.]