et high, served as the place where the
dead were deposited. These vaults were constructed of bricks, and an
extended series of them gave to the necropolis the appearance of little
houses, suggestive of primitive mud huts. This simplicity, due in the
first instance to the lack of stone as building material in Babylonia,
corresponded to the very simple character which the dwelling-house
retained. The one-story type of dwelling, with simple partitions,
prevailed to the latest period. It was only in the temples and palaces
that architectural skill was developed. In Assyria, although soft stone
was accessible, the example of Babylonia was slavishly followed. It is
due to this that so few traces of private houses have been found in the
Mesopotamian explorations,[1268] and the almost primitive character of
the graves--more primitive, by virtue of the strength of the
conservative instinct in everything connected with the dead, than the
dwellings of the living--readily accounts for their nearly complete
destruction. Simple as the houses of the dead were, they were yet
carefully guarded against the invasion of air and dust; and even after
centuries of neglect the contents are found to be perfectly dry.

The explorations at Nippur show that the tub and bowl forms of the
coffin continued to be used during the period extending from Hammurabi
to Nabonnedos. In later times, it would appear, the custom of placing
food and drink with the dead fell into disuse.[1269] We may perhaps find
that, as was the case in Egypt, symbolical representations of food--a
clay plate with the food modeled in clay--took the place of the old
custom. Fewer utensils, too, are found in the graves of the later
period; but, on the other hand, ornaments increase, until, when we reach
the Persian and Greek periods, mirrors are quite common, and golden
veils are placed over the dead, while handsome earrings, breastpins, and
necklaces indicate the growth of this luxurious display. The clay
coffins, too, are beautifully glazed and ornamented with elaborate
designs. A trace of foreign--perhaps Graeco-Egyptian--influence may be
seen in the human head modeled on the coffin. Naturally, at all times
the different ranks occupied by the dead involved more or less
modifications of the prevailing customs. The rich were placed in more
carefully built vaults than the poor. The coverings and ornaments varied
with the station of the deceased; but in general it may be said that,
d