down to succeeding generations, the wisdom
of the past.

The Sacred Objects in the Temples,--Altars, Vases, Images, Basins,
Ships.

The earliest altars were made of the same material as the zikkurats and
sanctuaries. One found at Nippur at an exceedingly low level was of
sun-dried bricks.[1433] How early this material was replaced by stone,
we are not in a position to say. Gudea, who imports diorite from the
Sinai Peninsula to make statues[1434] of himself, presumably uses a
similar material for the sacred furnishings of his temples, though
custom and conventionality may have maintained the use of the older clay
material for some time. In Assyria, altars of limestone and alabaster
became the prevailing types. The shape and size of the altars varied
considerably. The oldest known to us, the one found at Nippur, was about
twelve feet long and half as wide. The upper surface was surrounded by a
rim of bitumen.[1435] Assyrian altars now in the British museum are from
two to three feet high. The ornamentation of the corners of the rim of
the altar led to giving the altar the appearance of horns.[1436] The
base of the altar was either a solid piece with a circular or oblong
plate resting on it, or the table rested on a tripod.[1437] The latter
species was well adapted for being transported from place to place by
the Assyrian kings, who naturally were anxious to maintain the worship
of Ashur and of other gods while on their military expeditions. Much
care was spent upon the ornamentation of the altars, and, if we may
believe Herodotus, the great altars at Babylon were made of gold.[1438]
In front of the altars stood large vases or jars of terra cotta, used
for ablutions and other purposes in connection with the sacrifices. Two
such jars, one behind the other, were found at Nippur. They were
ornamented with rope patterns, and the depth at which they were found is
an indication of the antiquity and stability of the forms of worship in
the Babylonian temples. It may be proper to recall that in the Solomonic
temple, likewise, there were a series of jars that stood near the great
altar in the large court.[1439]

A piece of furniture to which great religious importance was attached
was a great basin known as 'apsu,'--the name, it will be recalled, for
'the deep.' The name indicates that it was a symbolical representation
of the domain of Ea. In Gudea's days the symbol is already known,[1440]
and it continues in use to the end o