'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in reference to Major Rennell's remarks: with narrative of a journey to Persepolis: now first printed, with hitherto unpublished cuneiform inscriptions copied at Persepolis: by the late Claudius James Rich, Esq., formerly the Resident of the Hon.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.' [‎125] (213/474)

ANCIENT BABYLON.
125
previous to the formation of the
and that the long mound on the west, which connects
this Mound of Amran with that of the Kasr, was
made at the same time with the circular one, whether
as a part of the military defences alone, or as a dam
to prevent inundations; as the river at that period
passed, as I conceive (from the arrangement of ano
ther part of the mound), through the bed so
often mentioned; or it might have been to answer
both purposes.
I shall close these observations on the site of An
cient Babylon with some further remarks on this de
serted bed of the Euphrates, as the existence of it
not only shows that the river has, in one instance at
least, entirely changed its course through the ruins
in that part, but that it has also had some considerable
effect on the present distribution and state of these
mounds.
Mr. Rich thus describes it (page 67) :—" The em-
" bankment of the river is separated from the Mounds
" of Amran and the Kasr by a or
" ravine 150 yards in breadth, the bottom of which
" is white with nitre, and apparently never had any
"buildings in it, except a in the
« centre of it."—This, as I have said before, has every
character of a river-bed, and is, moreover, precisely
of the same breadth with the Euphrates; that is, 150
yards, as it has already been stated from the autho
rity of Mr. Rich (page 53).
This ancient bed is traceable through a course of