VOLUME IX NUMBER 4University RecordAUGUST, 1904RECENT REPORTS FROM THE EXPEDITION OF THE ORIENTAL EXPLORATION FUND(BABYLONIAN SECTION).Dr. E. J. Banks, Field Director of the Expedition (Babylonian Section) of the OrientalExploration Fund of the University of Chicago,has made the following reports from Bismya:REPORT NO. U." Bismya, April 1, 1904." Since my report of last week we haveworked five days in III, clearing out the variousrooms and streets as we have come to them.Among the finds of the week is a tomb in whicha number of objects were found " Another object of interest is a marble statuette of a seated figure, apparently a reproduction of the larger statues from the temple. Thehands are folded ; the hair is braided and hanging down at the sides ; and the skirt is providedwith folds. It has no inscription. We havealso found a headless terra-cotta statuette of thesame form, but this I take to be much later." I am inclosing a copy of an inscription on aseal cylinder which was also found in III, andof a perfect tablet upon which I think I see thename of Dungi, king of Ur, as upon the bricksof the temple."The ruins in this part (III) of Bismya,although very deep, contain inscribed objectsonly near the surface, and those objects, usuallyof the greatest antiquity, are few in number,and are found in groups as if forming private collections The only places where tabletsof a later date have been discovered are inPalace I, and a few days ago I discovered twotablets with late Babylonian writing in a smallconical mound near the west corner."In comparing the archaic characters on thefragments of vases from the temple with thosefound at Nippur, I am convinced that wehave inscriptions as old as any from Nippur. It therefore seems advisable to searchas thoroughly as possible in the lower strata ofthe temple I have decided to put all ofthe men at work in the temple, with the hopeof finding the body of another statue or otherinscribed vase fragments, and I see no reasonwhy the temple should not be thoroughly excavated at once. I would estimate a month'stime with the present number of workmensufficient "Apart from some walls of mud bricks farbelow the surface of the temple hill, the loweststratum of a more substantial material consistsof scattered blocks of white limestone, which Itake to be the foundation of a temple constructedbefore burned bricks were employed at Bismya.Above this layer of limestone is a meter of clay,upon which rests a solid wall of well-preservedplano-convex bricks, reaching in places to theheight of nearly two meters. These bricks aregenerally considered to antedate Sargon and131132 UNIVERSITY RECORDNaram Sin. Near the level of the top of thewall of plano-convex bricks, but reaching to aconsiderable distance out to the sides, is thefoundation of a temple constructed of longgrooved bricks, which I take to be the development of the plano-convex bricks. In a chamberof this temple I found the inscription of NaramSin, and I am inclined to believe that this foundation was constructed by him. Above it isanother of square bricks, some of which areinscribed with the name of Dungi, king of Ur.Above Dungi's foundation I can find nothingof a later date, and if any structure ever existedupon it, it has been worn away by the weatherand carried off by the strong winds."We therefore have traces of four builderswho employed material more substantial thanclay. A careful examination of the bricks mayreveal traces of others." The most interesting thing about the templeis that below the layer of clay upon which thepre-Sargonic temple rests is a stratum of debrisin which the large statue and the greater partof the fragments of the inscribed vases werefound. The conclusion, then, is that the statueand vases belonged to the temple of limestoneblocks, and that, when it was destroyed to makeroom for the temple of plano-convex bricks,these objects were broken and buried in itsruins. We may then give tentative dates to thevarious foundations. Beginning at the top:" The First is of Dungi, 2750 B. C."The Second possibly of Naram Sin, 3750(?)B.C."The Third, of plano-convex bricks, in thefourth millennium B. C." The Fourth, of stone blocks, possibly fromthe fifth millennium B. C " I cannot too strongly urge the necessity ofmore money immediately, for, apart from theextremely great success of the excavations, it isnext to impossible to carry on the work with thesum now at my disposal. I have reduced the number of watchmen to three and the soldiers to two for the purpose of cutting down my expenses,and for the same reason I have not purchased a horse, which is a necessity. The workmen number about 120, and in case of an attack,which may occur any day, it is not sufficient forprotection. An increase of the workmen woulddecrease the dangers to which we are exposed.To prolong the work here after two years ....seems an unnecessary exposure of life andhealth, for there is no part of Mesopotamiamore inhospitable than this. Personally I donot mind the dangers nor the fierce sandstorms,but I believe it is for the best interests of theUniversity to complete the work here while wehave the irade "REPORT NO. 16."Bismya, April 15, 1904." Since my last report we have worked at thetemple five and one-half days with a force of120 men, and the results have been more satisfactory than I anticipated. I am inclosingcopies of four inscriptions taken from fragments of vases, all of which were found outsidean inner wall near the north corner of the templeinclosure. Along this wall we are finding fragments of marble vases of various sizes andshapes, and with them fragments of planoconvex bricks, indicating that when the templein which these bricks were employed, was razed,the rubbish was dumped outside the wall. Itis this dump which we are now excavating, andalthough we have hardly begun it, we have discovered four inscribed fragments, one perfectmarble vase, an engraved marble lamp, nearlyperfect, the hind parts of two marble bulls, andseveral basketfuls of fragments of white marble,onyx, soap and sandstone vases, and of otherobjects. Very little terra-cotta is found in thisancient stratum, and I am anticipating valuableresults." Near the same place we have uncovered adrain built of plano-convex bricks, and a fewcentimeters above it is a second drain identicalin construction, except that the bricks employedUNIVERSITY RECORD 133are larger and marked with two grooves running parallel with the longer sides. Thus Ihave a clue to the markings on the bricks —something for which I have long been working.It is thus evident that the earliest of the groovedbricks were marked with two parallel lines. Itis now certain that after the temple of planoconvex bricks was destroyed, the site witnessedat least five reconstructions or additions beforethe time when other bricks were employed. Thebricks of these five builders were marked asfollows: [J]i In no case arethe bricks of one stamp used with those ofanother or on the same leveL I am expectingto find traces of three other builders whosebricks are marked ^ |^y ^ , for bricks ofthis description are found elsewhere in theruins of Bismya. If, as is generally supposed,the bricks employed by Sargon and Naram Sinwere very large and square — two varieties ofwhich have been found in the temple — we havetraces of at least five kings who reconstructedthe temple between the time when the planoconvex bricks were discarded and the reign ofSargon, and perhaps a clue to the date of thefirst brick temple."The excavation of the temple should benearly finished within the next ten days. Weare now sinking a shaft in the very center of thehill, digging out the perpendicular drains andfollowing about the inner walls of the inclos-ure "REPORT NO. 17."Bismya, April 22, 1904." Since my last report we have worked at thetemple four full days and two half -days withj 22 men. Of the finds the most striking objectis a large bronze spike terminating in a finelyshaped lion, a design of which I am inclosing. The spike is forty-eight centimeters long. Itmay bear upon its right side an inscription inraised characters, like Hittite, but the raisedparts are more likely the result of corrosion.Whether it is inscribed or not, it is an object ofvery great value, especially as it was found twoand one-half meters below the platform ofplano-convex bricks, in the pit which we aredigging in the center of the hill. It must antedate this temple, and is therefore one of themost ancient bronze objects "During this week four of the gangs wereemployed at the north corner of the inclosurein what I have termed the dump of the planoconvex brick temple. On the northwest side ofthe platform of this very ancient temple is aninclined plane leading up to it, and when thetemple was razed, its ruins were dumped in thecorner at its side. About fifteen basketfuls ofthe fragments of marble vases have been recovered; among them are six inscribed fragments, copies of which I am inclosing, togetherwith the copy of another vase inscription whichwas found in the southeast trench of the temple.By putting fragments together, a number ofvases are now nearly perfect; a design of oneis inclosed When the work at this pointis finished, I hope to have a good representativecollection of^ vases of marble and other stonesused in the service of the temple which mustdate not far from 4500 B. C."The importance of the temple of planoconvex bricks is daily becoming more evident.Its platforms, which can now be traced on thenorthwest and southwest sides, appear to havebeen more extensive than those of the latertemples which stood above it, and to have anappearance of solidity which they lack. I hopethat during the next few days its excavationmay be completed, and that we may be able toprepare a detailed plan of it." Other gangs have been employed during thepast week in digging to the bottoms of threeperpendicular drains. Two have been reached134 UNIVERSITY RECORDat the level of the sand. One has twenty-ninerings; the other, twenty-six; the third, whichhas not yet been finished, has been dug to thedepth of thirty-two rings." It is getting warm here. The past week thethermometer has been at 96 ° in the coolestplace we could find, and at seven o'clock thismorning in the court of the house it registered112° in the sun. There were three days ofsandstorms this week, and it is on that accountthat work was discontinued two half -days."REPORT NO. 19."Bismya, May 6, 1904." In the list of finds inclosed are two objectsof special interest, which were found during thefive days' work of the past week. One is afragment of a large inscribed marble vase resembling the type found at Nippur, and although the writing is nearly defaced, I aminclosing a copy of all that I can see. Theother object is a large fragment of a very largeplano-convex brick-shaped tablet, inscribed onboth sides in the most archaic characters. Thefragment, which is nearly the quarter of thebrick, contains 70 lines of writing ; the originalmust have contained nearly 300. I have beentrying to prepare a copy of the inscription to inclose this week, but the pressure of work maynot permit me to do so. It is by far the mostvaluable inscription yet discovered at Bismya,and possibly the most valuable of all the veryancient inscriptions ".... I am now digging off the ,top of thehill (IV), that we may safely go deeper intoit. Thursday one of our men was buried by alandslide, and when dug out was unconscious,but he is not seriously injured." There seems to be very little wall at IV, andthe two large rooms appearing on the west sideof the hill confirm my impression, obtained froman evident order in the arrangement and character of the tablets, that a school existed here."Last Wednesday we were surprised by the appearance of four visitors: Rev. Mr. Ussher,of Philadelphia, and Miss Brinton; the othersare missionaries from Bagdad. Mr. Ussher,who has just visited the excavations at Nineveh,Kalah, Shergat, and Babylon, when seeing theresults here, became enthusiastic over Bismya.The visitors, the first we have had, will shortlyleave via Nippur, and Mrs. Banks will go withthem, to stop in the cooler climate of Bagdad."REPORT NO. 20."Bismya, May 13, 1904."Our visitors left Wednesday, May 11, andwith them Mrs. Banks, who will remain inBagdad during the summer. Last Monday,together with Mr. Ussher and Dr. Bridgestock,I visited Fara, and I beg to inclose a paper onmy impressions of the work of the Germans atthat point " In the lower part of the room were a number of round tablets, a copy of one of which Iam inclosing, and which I take to be a copyingexercise."We are now working on a trench connecting I and IV, to discover what buildings, ifany, occupied the intervening space. We areclearing out a plano-convex well at IV, in whichwe are now at the depth of twelve meters, andare finding an extraordinary amount of entireand broken pottery; other gangs are clearingout the remaining rooms of IV, but are findingnothing."The heat, although it is but the middle ofMay, is becoming intense, and the men, evenwhen urged by the sheikhs to remain, arebeginning to leave. The thermometer has registered 1200 in the early morning at the excavations. This extreme temperature is due to thehot sand. Outside the sand belt, and in thecultivated tracts, as at Affedj, the weather iscomparatively cool. It will be but a matter ofdays when most of the workmen will leave, andthose who are forced to remain will be able towork but two or three hours in the early morn-UNIVERSITY RECORD 135ing and in the evening. However, I shall continue the work as long as it is possible to do so.I am preparing to spend the summer in preparing a final report on the temple, and incopying tablets, unless I am instructed to dootherwise." In the absence of a map, I am inclosing thisrough design that you may be able to understand the relative positions of the various hillsin which excavations have been made. Thesquare roughly represents the high ground.The highest hills are on the southwest side, andthere the chief work must be done, while everypart of the square must be worked over."impressions from the excavations by thegermans at fara and abu hatab." The ruins of Fara and Abu Hatab are situated four hours by horse south of Bismya, andabout an hour distant from each other. Herethe Germans, under Koldewey, have carried onexcavations for nine months, with a force varying from 300 to 500 men."Fara, the larger of the two ruins, is somewhat smaller than Bismya, a little more thanhalf a mile in its greatest diameter and abouttwenty feet above plain level at its highest point.Its shape is somewhat suggestive of a crescent ;its soil is permeated with salt and is black andsoft. The bed of an ancient canal appears onthe southeast side of the ruins, and some distance away on the other side are a few lowridges representing the ancient burial place." The excavations at Fara began at the northwest corner, and consist of a series of paralleltrenches about eight feet wide and four deep,running entirely across the ruin and out into thedesert at the sides. At the appearance of a wallthe course of the trench was changed until thebuilding of which the wall was a part wascleared. One small palace not far from thenorthwest corner came to light, and near thecenter of the ruins a much larger palace, nearwhich is an enormous well. The well, which I had no time to measure, may be twenty feet indiameter and forty feet deep, and is built up entirely of plano-convex bricks laid in every conceivable position. Running down one edge isan ordinary Babylonian drain built up withterra-cotta rings. Nearly a half of the bricks ofthe wall has been removed to furnish materialfor the large house constructed for the use ofthe excavators." If the reports of the workmen formerly employed at Fara may be trusted, it was threemonths after the excavations were opened before a single object of value was discovered,and all of the antiquities carried away, with theexception of a bronze head of a deer, which itis said was found in a palace near the center,came from the southeast side. In this palace,at the very end of the ruin, were found a number of stone vases, some of them entire andsome with brief inscriptions, and in the dump ofdirt near by I picked up a small, perfect, white-marble vase which had escaped the attention ofthe workmen. In the same palace were foundsome good baked-clay tablets, 250 in number,so the former workmen say. In every part ofthe ruins immense numbers of terra-cotta vasesappeared." By far the most interesting object at Farais the sewer which emptied into the canal. Itswalls are a meter apart and a meter high, andupon them rests a perfect arch of plano-convexbricks, perhaps the oldest arch known andprobably older than the one found beneath thetemple at Nippur. In the cemetery beyond thecanal a wall twenty feet or so in width wasuncovered, and along its side and a meter belowthe surface a few round terra-cotta coffins wereunearthed. Fara seems to have possessed notemple, or, if so, it was not provided with atower, as in later Babylonian cities."As in the sewer and well, the bricks inevery part of the ruin are plano-convex, or amodification of them. The plano-convex bricksare very small and the others, nearly double their136 UNIVERSITY RECORDsize, measure 29 X 15 X 5 cm., and are less convex. Some are marked with a single groove;others with three small circular holes, as ifpunched by the end of a walking-stick." Comparing the bricks with others found atBismya, it is easy to assign an approximatedate to the city which the ruins of Fara represent. At Bismya, below the great square bricksof Sargon, 3800 B. C., are found long thinbricks marked with four grooves, and stilldeeper bricks with three and two grooves invarious positions. Still deeper are the planoconvex bricks. At Fara nothing of a later datethan plano-convex bricks appears upon the surface, the city being one of the most ancient ofBabylonia, the last king who built there having ruled generations before 3800 B. C. Thereis reason to believe that Fara ceased to existas early as 4000 B. C. The shape and materialof the marble vases, fragments of which arescattered on the surface, are identical with thosefound in the stratum of plano-convex bricks atBismya, and again certify to the extreme antiquity of the ruin. That the Germans found fewtablets is not surprising, for the city did notexist during that period when most of the tablets from Nippur and Abu Habba were written."What city the ruins of Fara represent isuncertain. I doubt if the Germans know itsancient name. It is certain that it is not Isin,the name of the place which they hoped to discover." Great credit is due Koldewey for his patient, systematic work. His trenching, a systempeculiar to himself, gives the impression ofthoroughness, and the way he finishes the work,as he goes from one end of the ruin to the other,increases the impression. However, in Arabia,where troubles with the Arabs are likely toterminate the excavations at any moment, itwould seem advisable to excavate the mostpromising points first. At Fara nothing wasfound for three months, but the work wentsteadily from one end of the ruin to the other, and only at the farther end were objects of anyvalue discovered. When less than a month wasrequired practically to finish the work, one ofhis men was killed in an Arab battle, and thegovernment closed the excavations. It wouldseem that the richest treasures of the ruin maylie under the little corner of the mound still untouched, and there they must remain." At Abu Hatab, a small, low, and rather insignificant ruin of a later date, the same systemof trenching was employed. The results, it issaid, were few."REPORT NO. 21."Bismya, May 20, 1904." I am pleased to report that among the findsof the past week are a number of objects ofvery great interest. The first, perhaps one ofthe most valuable things yet discovered at Bismya, is about a quarter of a large, plano-convex,brick-shaped tablet, inscribed with about eightylines of the most archaic form of characters.The fragment does not belong to a similar onewhich was found a few days ago. You willnotice that in the copy of the inscription whichI am inclosing occur the forms of the signsx and y, which, according to Hilprecht, are evidences of different periods in the developmentof cuneiform, and cannot therefore appear inthe same inscription. I am also inclosing acopy of an inscription upon a small fragment ofa stone tablet, and of another, upon half of anonyx-like marble vase. All of these objectswere found at IV. Two more brick stamps ofNaram-Sin have been discovered, but both arevery fragmentary. They bear the same inscription which is upon the one previously discovered, and are like it in every way, exceptingthat their backs are provided with knobs insteadof with a semicircular handle. A third bronzetablet has been discovered. It is badly corroded,but I take its inscription to be identical withthat on the other two. Although I bought it ofa Montifik woman, I believe that it was stolenby one of the workmen from the temple.UNIVERSITY RECORD 137" I am also pleased to report that I have discovered the fragments of four bricks, bearingupon the edge a fourteen-line inscription ofKurigalzu, whom I regard as one of the latestbuilders at Bismya. The writing is very indistinct, but I hope to be able to send a copy of itlater. I have also another brick inscription, acopy of which I am trying to prepare to inclose."I am inclined to believe that IV may contain the ruins of an Ishtar temple. My reasonsare that in the large tablet-room of this structure were found the brick stamps speaking ofNaram-Sin as the builder of the house of Ishtar,if I read the inscription rightly; in the ruinswe found three small, obscene bas-reliefs —things which one could easily associate with therites of the Ishtar worship; inscribed vasefragments which would be more likely to befound in a temple than in a house ; and finallythe general plan of as much of the building asis now uncovered. No traces of a Ziggurafhave yet appeared. All of the finds in IV werefound on the level of the floor of this structure,and we are now working to clear the entirehill to that level, moving from three to fourmeters of dirt. The most modest of the bas-reliefs to which I have just referred representsa rude figure seated or squatted upon a decorated stool. The modeling is very fine andreminds one of the best Greek or Roman art,but it was found together with objects of thegreatest antiquity." Cut through the floor of this building arethree oval-shaped holes which I cannot yetunderstand. One of them, but half a meter inits greatest diameter, is six meters deep and isenlarged at the bottom, so that the entire holeresembles a huge boot. The Avails are of lib-bin ; consequently, the hole could not have beenconnected with any water- works. Along theirsides small niches were cut to assist in climbingin and out, and the entire walls show marks ofancient picks. The holes do not seem to havebeen graves, or places for cold storage, or drains, or shafts sunk by illicit antiquity diggers, as the workmen assert. Nothing but puredirt was found in them. If a temple stood here,they might have been used in connection withits service. A plano-convex brick wall in thevicinity has been cleared out. It is cistern-shaped, 67 cm. in diameter at its top, and 130below. At the bottom twelve meters below thesurface were found at least one hundred plates,broken and whole, two large vases, ten smallervases, one perfect marble vase, fragments ofanother, a marble slab, and two lapis-lazulibeads of a shape found in the tombs. We arenow clearing out a square brick well a fewmeters away."While digging a trench along the ridge ofone of the side hills of IV, which I designateas IVa, we have come upon two houses, and inone of them were found a number of tablets. Iam finding upon the tablets from this and otherparts of Bismya the name of the city UD.-NUN.KI, but in nothing that I have here can Ifind the pronunciation of this combination.That it is the name of the city there is no doubt."The difficulties in our way have becomequite serious during the past few days. A battlebetween the Montifik and the El-Bedin occurred near here this past week, and three of theEl-Bedin were killed and their flocks stolen.The occasion is that Hamud Pasha, the chiefof this branch of the Montifik, is grazing hiscamels and has pitched his tent in El-Bedinterritory. The result of the battle is that ablood-feud exists, and our workmen, afraid toremain in the vicinity, have been demandingtheir money that they may leave. One of thesheikhs came to take his men away, but as Iexplained that they were safer with me thanwith him, they remained. However, about fortymen, driven by fear, the increasing heat, andthe sandstorms, which seem to grow moreterrific and numerous with the heat, have gone." To add to the difficulties, Ahmud, my right-hand man at the excavations, the only one138 UNIVERSITY RECORDwhom I can trust to any extent, suffered a rupture in some unaccountable way, and is nowlaid up. The Montifik will probably move in afew days, and as they have not yet attacked us,as everyone has expected and as it was reportedthat they would do, they may leave us in peace.Although I shall continue to work as long aspossible, I do not think I can keep the men formore than another ten days, and our only courseis then to go to Bagdad to pass the summer, orto await further instructions."EXTRACTS FROM A LETTER FROM REV. MR.USSHER." Bagdad, May 20, 1904.". . . . For the past two months and moreI have been visiting the various points inTurkey-in-Asia at which excavations are beingcarried on in the interests of science, wholly forpersonal pleasure. Yesterday I returned froma week's visit to Bismya, where I received acordial welcome from Dr. E. J. Banks, of whosemagnificent work under the most trying circumstances surely you and your Universitymay justly feel proud ".... During the past four months Ihave visited all the fields of work in operationexcept Tel Lo. This includes Nineveh, Nim-roud, Kaleh Shergat, Toprak Kalah, Babylon,Babel, Nippur, Tel Ibrahim, Fara, Abu Hatab,and Bismya — a journey which none of the explorers in this field have taken. May I not feelsomewhat qualified therefore to speak thus? 1can assure you, after having seen them all,studied their methods, made the personal acquaintance of those in charge, and feeling fairlywell informed as to the results, that Bismya willadd a crowning glory to them all, not even surpassed by Nippur, of which the University ofPennsylvania is so proud, and justly so. Bismya, after four months of the most economicalmanagement, under the trials and deprivationswhich none of the other excavators have experienced because they are all differently situated (save perhaps Fara where the Germans wereobliged to cease working), has yielded a sufficient return to reimburse the University ofChicago manifold, and open up new fields of research in the language, religion, and arts ofpre-Sargonic history hitherto unknown. Bismya seems to have been a ruin before Nippurbegan to be great, such is its antiquity."REPORT NO. 23."Bagdad, June 11, 1904." We reached Bagdad June 1 by way ofAffedj, Nippur, and Hillah. I arranged withSheikh Selman to maintain eight watchmen atBismya at an expense of one lira each permonth, and he has given me a sennet or contract to protect the house and its contents, andto prevent digging at the ruins during my absence. Should he not keep this contract, he isresponsible to the government, for a sennet is athing of power among the Arabs. We thentook boats for Affedj and the next morningvisited Nippur."A comparison of Nippur with Bismya wasof extreme interest to me. The two ruins arealmost identical in shape and are similarlydivided by canals. At Nippur the temple is onthe side of the canal; at Bismya, upon anisland in it. Nippur is fully three times ashigh as Bismya, but Bismya is the greater inextent, and it is only along the southwesternborder that it is a little higher than the desertlevel. At Nippur the ruins on the surface arecomparatively modern; at Bismya, Sargonicand pre-Sargonic ruins are on the surface. AtNippur nine-tenths are post-Sargonic ; at Bismya nine-tenths are pre-Sargonic. The bricksfrom Nippur are mostly square, or of lateBabylonian origin; few are plano-convex. Idid see three small bricks with two grooves.At Bismya there are few square bricks. Ninetyper cent, are either plano-convex or grooved,showing that Bismya was a ruin before Nippurhad risen to importance. At Nippur the canaland vegetation about may have assisted greatlyUNIVERSITY RECORD 139in raising the general level of the land; atBismya the sandstorms have worn away theruins, and the desert level has changed butslightly since the earliest times. Consequently,the amount of work required to excavate atNippur is many times greater, for the antiquities are deep and dirt must be carried to agreater distance ; at Bismya the most ancientobjects are on or near the surface, and the dirt,comparatively little in quantity, mai' be leftnear the excavations. I am confident that during the five months' work at Bismya as greata portion of the ruin has been excavated as thethree expeditions to Nippur have accomplished.An estimate that one-fifth of each ruin has beenexcavated would not be far out of the way. Inresults, we cannot expect to find objects insuch large quantities as have been found atNippur. Bismya has nothing post-Christian,no Parthian coffins, no Hebrew bowls, and butfew late Babylonian tablets. Ninety per cent.of the objects of value found at Bismya are pre-Sargonic, therefore less in quantity, but greaterin value."Excavations may be carried on at Nippurwith the greatest ease. There are no sandstorms of importance, for the oldest trenchesare not filled. A deep trench in Bismya wouldbe filled in a month. Nippur is surrounded bycultivated land, and good soft water is alwaysat hand. At Bismya we are five miles fromwater, excepting that from our own well, andthat is rapidly becoming bitter. There is onlybarren sand about us. The difference in temperature at the two ruins in summer time mustbe about 15 °. Affedj close to Nippur has agood market and affords protection by peoplewho are not quite Bedawi. At Bismya it isdifficult to obtain money; provisions of allkinds are brought from a good distance, and allour dealings are with the most noted of thedesert robber tribes, the El-Bedin. WhileNippur is in a malarial district, I do not thinkthat malaria at Bismya is possible. "As we left Bismya, cholera was raging atDiwanieh and other places in the vicinity, andwe escaped quarantine at Hillah by presentinga paper stating that we had not touched at anyinfected places, and by the payment of a baksheesh. At Hillah it was very difficult to get acarriage to Bagdad, as people were trying toleave. Since then cholera has broken out atboth Hillah and Bagdad." In Bagdad we have rented a house near theconsulates. I am retaining Ahmud and the twoservants whom I wish to take back to Bismya.Haidar Bey, the commissioner, has taken ahouse near by."You probably have long known the pronunciation of U D. N U N. K I. In the Brun-now which has just arrived I notice that it maybe pronounced "Adab/' and I am wonderingif the name Adappa can be the same. I haveno means of determining it here. It is certainthat Bismya is not Isin ; it may be Adappa."Robert Francis Harper, Director.Haskell Oriental Museum,July 25, 1904.CONFERENCES OF THE CORRESPONDENCE-STUDYDEPARTMENT.Summer Quarter students had two opportunities this year to learn of the work of theCorrespondence-Study Department. On July20 the President of the University addressed ageneral assembly in Kent Theater on "TheExtra-Mural Work of the University of Chicago." An attendance which more than filledthe large amphitheater attested the lively interest in this unique phase of the University'sactivity. Attention was called to the fact that,of the five divisions into which the Universityis organized, three — namely, the UniversityPress, the University Affiliations, and the University Extension — are concerned with nonresident work. The University ExtensionDivision is organized into two co-ordinate departments — the Lecture-Study Department140 UNIVERSITY RECORDand the Correspondence- Study Department.Through the former the University reachesgroups of individuals in neighboring communities, and through the latter, individual studentsanywhere. The results and possibilities of individual student work away from the University,were presented in detail.On the following afternoon, July 21, a conference was held in the Chapel at which somespecial features of correspondence work werediscussed. Associate Professor Frank J.Miller, of the Department of Latin, spoke on" The Informal Course ; " Dr. C. H. Neilson,of the Department of Physiology, on "TheFormal Course;" and Professor Wilbur S.Jackman, Principal of the Elementary Schoolof the School of Education, on "The Feasibility of Nature-Study by Correspondence."The addresses at these two meetings will beprinted in full in the September issue of theUniversity Record.AN APPOINTMENT TO THE CECIL RHODESSCHOLARSHIP FOR ILLINOIS.Mr. Robert L. Henry, Jr., who graduatedfrom the University of Chicago in 1902 withthe degree of Ph.B., has been unanimouslychosen by the state committee of college anduniversity presidents for the first Cecil Rhodesscholarship allotted to Illinois. The committeeconsisted of President Edmund J. James, ofNorthwestern University; President CliffordW. Barnes, of Illinois College; President M.II. Chamberlin, of McKendree College; Acting President T. G. Burrill, of the Universityof Illinois ; and President William R. Harper,who acted as chairman.Mr. Henry was fitted for the University ofChicago at the Chicago Manual TrainingSchool and at the Harvard School. At the timeof his appointment to the Rhodes scholarship hewas a student in the second year of the LawSchool of the University. For three years Mr.Henry was a highly successful member of theUniversity track team, and was prominent in connection with student publications and honorary societies.The scholarship is for three years' study atthe University of Oxford, and is valued at$1,500 a year. Mr. Henry will leave for Oxfordin September.Mr. Charles F. T. Brooke, a graduate studentand Fellow in German at the University duringthe past year, has also received an appointmentto a Rhodes scholarship, being awarded thehonor from the state of West Virginia.MEETING OF THE CHICAGO PRESS CLUB AT THEUNIVERSITY.Wednesday afternoon and evening, July 2J,the Chicago Press Club visited the University.On the arrival of members at the Tower, theywere met by a student reception committee, andguides were assigned who took them on a tourof the University buildings and grounds. Although rain came up in the afternoon and keptmany away who would otherwise have attended,by six o'clock more than a hundred people wereon the grounds. The Quadrangle Club and theWoman's Union extended their hospitality,serving light refreshments toward evening. Athalf -past six there was an organ recital in LeonMandel Assembly Hall, and a concert given bymembers of the Press Club. About half-pastseven a student dinner was served to a hundred and fifty guests in the Men's Commons,Hutchinson Hall. After dinner there werespeeches by the President of the Universityand Dean Harry Pratt Judson, and poems wereread and stories told by Messrs. W. D.Nesbit, Emerson Hough, and Opie Read. Adance in the Reynolds Club concluded the day'sentertainment.THE FACULTIES.On July 6, 1904, the number of matriculations in the University of Chicago had reached20,000. The first matriculation was recordedin September, 1892.UNIVERSITY RECORD 141"Are School Teachers Underpaid?" is thesubject of a much-discussed contribution byPresident William R. Harper in the July number of The World To-Day.At the June commencement of Beloit CollegeMr. William Gorsuch, of the Department ofPublic Speaking, acted as one of the judges inthe Senior Oratorical Contest.Professor George E. Hale, Director of theYerkes Observatory, received from Beloit College at its commencement in June, 1904, thehonorary degree of Doctor of Laws.On July 13 Rev. Lemuel Moss, D.D., LL.D.,died at his home in New York city. Dr. Mosswas prominent as an educator and editor, andwas formerly president of the old University ofChicago..The University Preachers for the month ofAugust are Assistant Professor Herbert L.Willett, of the Department of Semitic Languages and Literatures, and Professor John P.Mahaffy, of the University of Dublin.Professor Rollin D. Salisbury, Dean of theOgden (Graduate) School of Science andHead of the Department of Geography, received the honorary degree of Doctor of Lawsfrom Beloit College at its commencement inJune, 1904.In the July issue of the American Journal ofTheology Dr. Edgar J. Goodspeed, of the Department of Biblical and Patristic Greek, has acritical note on "The Madrid Manuscript ofLaodiceans."Associate Professor Marion Talbot, of theDepartment of Household Administration,received from Cornell College in Iowa thehonorary degree of Doctor of Laws at its commencement in June, 1904." The College East and West " is the title ofan illustrated article in the August issue of TheWorld T o-Day by the editor, Professor ShailerMathews, of the Department of Biblical andPatristic Greek. Mr. Mathews also discusses in the same number "The Situation hiColorado."In the July issue of the Biblical World, President William R. Harper makes the fourth contribution, "Prophecy and Prophetism duringthe Davidic Period," to the series of Constructive Studies in the Prophetic Element in theOld Testament.Word has been received of the death of aformer well-known and successful student atthe University of Chicago, Mrs. Lizette Seiden-sticker Richardson, who went to the PhilippineIslands as a teacher. At the time of her deathshe held a responsible position as a teacher inone of the government schools.Mrs. Zella Allen Dixson, Associate Librarianof the University, announces the publication ofa new volume on book-plates. It is entitled" Concerning Book-Plates : A Handbook forCollectors," and contains over two hundredpages and many plates. Mrs. Dixson is bothauthor and publisher of the volume.Under the heading of " Men and Women ofthe Month" in the July issue of The WorldTo-Day is a discussion of the recent scientificachievements and honors of Professor GeorgeE. Hale, Director of the Yerkes Observatory.A full-page portrait of Mr. Hale accompaniesthe comment. Mr. Hale is now on leave ofabsence for the prosecution of solar research atMt. Wilson near Pasadena in California.In the July number of the American Journalof Semitic Languages and Literatures is a description of "Ethiopic Manuscripts from theCollection of Wilberforce Eames," by Dr.Edgar J. Goodspeed, of the Department ofBiblical and Patristic Greek. The same number contains Reports 14 to 17 from Dr. EdgarJ. Banks, Field Director for the Excavations atBismya in Babylonia, the reports being editedby Director Robert Francis Harper.Lecturers and Instructors for the SummerQuarter of 1904 have been drawn from a great142 UNIVERSITY RECORDvariety of educational institutions in the UnitedStates, among them being Yale University, theUniversity of Washington, Harvard University,the University of Utah, Union College, LelandStanford Jr. University, Amherst College, theUniversity of Illinois, Allegheny College, OhioState University, Cornell University, and theLTniversity of Wisconsin.On the evenings of July 14 and 15 there waspresented in the Leon Mandel Assembly Hallthe famous old English morality play entitled" Everyman." The drama was interpreted bya company of players under the directionof Mr. Rudolph E. Magnus. There was alarge attendance on both nights. " Everyman "has also been presented at Harvard, Yale,Princeton, and other universities, having beenfirst revived at the University of Oxford abouttwo years ago.Mr. Henry Harwood Hewitt, son of Dr.Charles E. Hewitt, Student Secretary in theDivinity School, recently completed with honorsa course in the Ecole de Beaux Arts of Paris,after five years of study. Mr. Hewitt enteredthe University of Chicago at its opening andwas graduated with the degree of A.B. in 1896.He later graduated at the Boston Institute ofTechnology. Mr. Hewitt has accepted the position of instructor in Architectural Design atthe Art Institute of Chicago.Professor George E. Vincent, of the Department of Sociology, contributed to the Augustissue of The World To-Day an illustrated articleon " Student Clubs and the University Spirit."Among the illustrations is an especially attractive view of the Library in the Reynolds Cluband a general view of the Tower Group ofbuildings. Mr. Vincent gives some account ofthe Reynolds Club House architecturally, theorganization of the Club, and its contribution tothe social life and spirit of the University.Among the distinguished lecturers fromEurope for the Summer Quarter of 1904 areEugen Philippovich, Professor of Economics in the University of Vienna, the general titleof whose lectures is the "History and Theoryof Foreign Trade Policy;" John PentlandMahaffy, A.M., D.D., Mus.D., Professor ofPolitical and Economic History in the University of Dublin, whose lectures concern "TheRise and Growth of Hellenism ; " Herbert HallTurner, Sc.D., F.R.S., Savilian Professor ofAstronomy in the University of Oxford, whogives six illustrated lectures on "AstronomicalDiscovery ; " and Hugo De Vries, Professor ofBotany and Director of Botanical Gardens andLaboratories of Plant Physiology, the University of Amsterdam, who delivers four lectureson " The Mutation Theory."In the July number of the American Journalof Sociology Professor Albion W. Small, theeditor, has a ninth contribution on " The Scopeof Sociology." The preceding chapters havealready appeared in the Journal. In the sameissue is a fourth contribution from Mr. HowardWoodhead on "The First German MunicipalExposition." Mr. Woodhead received thedegree of Bachelor of Arts at the University ofChicago in 1900, and is now a Fellow in theDepartment of Sociology and Anthropology.On July 6 the Filipino Commissioners to theLouisiana Purchase Exposition paid a visit tothe University and were officially welcomed byDean Harry Pratt Judson in the Reynolds ClubHouse. Dr. Baldomero Roxas responded forthe visitors in Spanish, which was interpretedby Mr. A. W. Ferguson, who accompanied theCommission from the Philippines. AssistantProfessor George C. Howland, of the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures,was a member of the Chicago committee ofentertainment.The opening article in the June issue of theJournal of Political Economy is a discussionof " Hobson's Theory of Distribution," by Professor J. Laurence Laughlin, Head of theDepartment of Political Economy. In theUNIVERSITY RECORD 143same number is a contribution by EdithAbbott, a Fellow in the Department of Political Economy, on "Wage Statistics in theTwelfth Census." Mr. Wesley C. Mitchell,of the University of California, who took hisDoctor's degree at the University of Chicagoin 1899, summa cum laude, and was formerlyan instructor in the Department of PoliticalEconomy, has a note in the same numberon "The Real Issues in the Quantity-TheoryControversy."The fifty-ninth Contribution from the HullBotanical Laboratory appears in the July issueof the Botanical Gazette, under the title of" Spermatogenesis and Oogenesis in EphedraTrifurca." It was written by Mr. William J. G.Land, Assistant in the Department of Botany.Mr. Land himself made the drawings for thefive full-page illustrations which accompany thearticle. In the same number also is the sixtiethContribution from the Laboratory, "An Experiment on the Relation of Soil Physics toPlant Growth," written by Dr. Burton E.Livingston and Mr. Gerhard H. Jensen. Mr.Livingston is an Assistant in the Department of Botany. The article is illustrated by threefigures."Babylonian and Assyrian Imprecations" isthe title of translations in the Biblical Worldfor July, by Professor Robert F. Harper, of theDepartment of Semitic Languages and Literatures. In the same number are the most recentreports from the work of exploration and discovery at Bismya in Babylonia. Ten illustrations accompany the reports, which are editedby Robert Francis Harper, Director of the Oriental Exploration Fund (Babylonian Section).The regular University reception for theSummer Quarter was held on the evening ofJuly 12. The President of the University andMrs. Harper received in Hutchinson Hall, andwere assisted by members of the Facultiesrepresenting the Departments of Philosophy,the Historical Sciences, the Ancient Languages,the Modern Languages, and Science. In theLibrary of the Reynolds Club representatives ofthe Professional Schools, including the LawSchool, the School of Education, and the Divinity School, also received. The reception followed immediately the Tuesday evening concertin the Leon Mandel Assembly Hall.The Code of HammurabiKING OF BABYLON ABOUT 2250 B.C.Edited by ROBERT FRANCIS HARPER,Professor of the Semitic Languages and Literatures in the University of ChicagoPART I, SECOND EDITIONThe best proof of the popularity of a book is its continued sale. If a work meets a populardemand, public interest in it is cumulative ; the narrow circle of its first friends widens and soonextends over states and countries. This has been our experience with The Code of Hammurabi.The collection of these ancient laws of Babylon presents material of the greatest value to thoseinterested in social institutions, and contains many laws that in a modified form appear today uponour statute books. Students are giving this code most serious consideration, and many are undertaking a critical and comparative study of the details. The edition that we have put out is ideal forsuch use, as it contains an autographed text of the original inscription, a transliteration, and avery careful translation, all fully indexed and arranged in convenient form.OF SPECIAL INTEREST TOHIS TORIA.N1S, because the habits, customs, and traditions of the ancient Babylonians are crystallized in these laws ; the direct light thrown upon social conditions makes it possible to piece together a very satisfactory narrative leading up to the promulgation of the code.JTJIvIST»$ will find a wealth of material bearing on all sorts of civil and criminal controversies ; also curious survivals of primitive customs, and many sections showing transitional stagesin legal procedure.E-CONOMI»S>I\S will find very elaborate provisions bearing on property rights, wagesland rents, interest, prices, transportation, irrigation, building, and many other interestingfeatures indicative of advanced economic conditions.50CIOLOGI5 T iS will be surprised at the advanced stage and complexityof social institutions in ancient Babylon. Slavery was well established and hedged aboutwith many elaborate legal provisions. The status of master and servant is carefullydefined. The position of husband and wife is discussed at great length. The armywas highly organized.THEOLOGIANS will find in this code many similarities to thatof Israel and also marked contrasts. The two codes are written in the sameliterary style and present not a few cases of actual verbal agreement. Acritical comparison of the two will be found very interesting.A second part will be published in the fall of the present year, atnet, containing a critical examination of the Code of Hammurabi and acomparison with that of Moses, by President William R. Harper, of theUniversity of Chicago.THE SECOND EDITION READY FOR DELIVERY JUNE FIRSTLarge 8vo, 104 plates + 214 pages, cloth. Price $4.00, net; postpaid, $4.28AT ALL BOOKSELLERS, OR DIRECT FROMTHE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESSCHICAGO, ILLINOIS