s and lilies of Solomon's temple must have been
nearly identical with the usual Assyrian ornament, in which, and
particularly at Khorsabad, the promegranate frequently takes the place
of the tulip and the cune.

But the description given by Josephus of the interior of one of
Solomon's houses still more completely corresponds with and
illustrates the chambers in the palaces of Nineveh. "Solomon built
some of these (houses) with stones of ten cubits, and wainscoted the
walls with other stones that were sawed, and were of great value, such
as were dug out of the bowels of the earth, for ornaments of temples,"
etc. The arrangement of the curious workmanship of these stones was in
three rows; but the fourth was pre-eminent for the beauty of its
sculpture, for on it were represented trees and all sorts of plants,
with the shadows caused by their branches and the leaves that hung
down from them. These trees and plants covered the stone that was
beneath them, and their leaves were wrought so wonderfully thin and
subtle that they appeared almost in motion; but the rest of the wall,
up to the roof, was plastered over, and, as it were, wrought over with
various colors and pictures.

To complete the analogy between the two edifices, it would appear that
Solomon was seven years building his temple, and Sennacherib about the
same time in erecting his great palace at Kouyunjik.

The ceiling, roof, and beams of the Jewish temple were of cedar wood.
The discoveries of the ruins at Nimroud show that the same precious
wood was used in Assyrian edifices; and the king of Nineveh, as we
learn from the inscriptions, sent men, precisely as Solomon had done,
to cut it in Mount Lebanon. Fir was also employed in the Jewish
buildings, and probably in those of Assyria.

In order to understand the proposed restoration of the palace at
Kouyunjik from the existing remains, the reader must refer to the cut,
on page 427, of the excavated ruins. It will be remembered that the
building does not face the cardinal points of the compass. We will,
however, assume, for convenience sake that it stands due north and
south. To the south, therefore, it immediately overlooked the Tigris;
and on that side rose one of the principal facades. The edifice must
have stood on the very edge of the platform, the foot of which was at
that time washed by the river, which had five massive staircases
leading to the river. Although from the fact of there having been a
grand