ed an enormous human head sculptured out of the
alabaster of the country.

They had uncovered the upper part of a figure, the remainder of which
was still buried in the earth. I saw at once that the head must belong
to a winged bull or lion, similar to those at Khorsabad and Persepolis.
It was in admirable preservation. I was not surprised that the Arabs had
been amazed and terrified at this apparition. They declared that this
was one of the giants whom Noah cursed before the flood, and was not
the work of men's hands at all. By the end of March I unearthed several
other such colossal figures. They were about twelve feet high and twelve
feet long.

I used to contemplate for hours these mysterious emblems, and muse over
their intent and history. What more noble forms could have ushered the
people into the temples of their gods? They formed the avenue to the
portals. For twenty-five centuries they had been hidden from the eye of
man, and now they stood forth once more in their ancient majesty.

_III.--Unearthing the Palaces of Assyria_

As the discoveries proceeded in several successive seasons, they threw
vivid light on the manners and customs of the Assyrians. My working
parties were distributed over the mound, in the ruins of the north-west
and south-west palaces; near the gigantic bulls in the centre, and in
the south-east corner, where no traces of buildings had as yet been
discovered.

I was anxious to pack some of the slabs, which were of the highest
interest, to England. They represented the wars of the king and his
victories over foreign nations. Above him was the emblem of the supreme
deity, represented, as at Persepolis, by a winged man within a circle,
and wearing a horned cap resembling that of the human-headed lions. Like
the king, he was shooting an arrow, the head of which was in the form of
a trident.

Four bas-reliefs, representing a battle, were especially illustrative of
Assyrian customs. A eunuch is seen commanding in war, as we have before
seen him ministering to the king at religious ceremonies, or waiting on
him as his arms-bearer during peace. Judging from the slabs, cavalry
must have formed a large and important portion of the Assyrian armies.

The lower series of bas-reliefs contained three subjects: the siege of a
castle, the king receiving prisoners, and the king with his army
crossing a river. To the castle, the besiegers had brought a
battering-ram, which two warriors were seeking