'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in reference to Major Rennell's remarks: with narrative of a journey to Persepolis: now first printed, with hitherto unpublished cuneiform inscriptions copied at Persepolis: by the late Claudius James Rich, Esq., formerly the Resident of the Hon.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.' [‎166] (254/474)

SECOND MEMOIR ON THE
which appears to have been built in receding stages,
which bears the most indisputable traces both of the
violence of man and the lapse of ages, and yet con
tinues to tower over the desert, the wonder of suc
cessive generations,—it is impossible that their per
fect correspondence with all the accounts of the
Tower of Belus should not strike the most careless
observer, and induce him to attempt clearing away
the difficulties which have been suggested by Major
Rennell against its reception within the limits of
Babylon. I am of opinion that this ruin is of a
nature to fix of itself the locality of Babylon, even to
the exclusion of those on the eastern side of the river;
and if the ancients had actually assigned a position
to the Tower irreconcileable with the Birs, it would
be more reasonable to suppose that some error had
crept into their accounts, than to reject this most re
markable of all the ruins. But there is no necessity
for either supposition. From the view of the ancient
historians I have taken in the foregoing part of this
Memoir, it will appear that none of them has posi
tively fixed the spot where the Tower of Belus
stood; and if we receive the dimensions of Babylon
assigned by the best of the ancient historians—him
self an eye-witness—both the Birs and the eastern
ruins will fairly come within its limits. Against re
ceiving his testimony we have only our own notions
of probability. We have reduced the dimensions
merely because they do not accord with our ideas ot
the size of a city; but we know Babylon to have