'Narrative of a journey to the site of Babylon in 1811, now first published: memoir on the ruins; with engravings from the original sketches by the author: remarks on the topography of ancient Babylon, by Major Rennell; in reference to the memoir: second memoir on the ruins; in reference to Major Rennell's remarks: with narrative of a journey to Persepolis: now first printed, with hitherto unpublished cuneiform inscriptions copied at Persepolis: by the late Claudius James Rich, Esq., formerly the Resident of the Hon. East India Company at Bagdad. Edited by his widow.' [‎99] (185/474)

of babylon.
99
the latter passage would appear rather to justify the
former reading, to avoid the seeming tautology be
tween ion and I conclude he must have taken
the common translation of the Bible as sufficient au
thority, without further examination ; for he allows
the Chaldee word (Targ. Gen. xi. 3) to sig
nify bitumen, in direct opposition to his definition
of the corresponding Hebrew word, nil 1 ? signifies
hricle, of course the burnt sort from its root; and
both Golius and Castell, perhaps relying too much
on the Hebrew derivation, translate the Arabic word
hurnt brick also. Nevertheless it is now exclu
sively applied by the Arabs to the brick merely dried
in the sun.
The general size of the kiln-burnt brick is thir
teen inches square, by three thick: there are some
of half these dimensions, and a few of different
shapes for particular purposes, such as rounding
corners, &c. They are of several different colours;
white, approaching more or less to a yellowish cast,
like our Stourbridge or fire brick, which is the
finest sort; red, like our ordinary brick, which is
the coarsest sort; and some which have a blackish
cast and are very hard. The sun-dried brick is con
siderably larger than that baked in the kiln, and
in general looks like a thick clumsy clod of earth, in
which are seen small broken reeds, or chopped
straw, used for the obvious purpose of binding them;
in like manner the flat roofs of the houses at Bagdad
are covered with a composition of earth and mortar
h 2