'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in reference to Major Rennell's remarks: with narrative of a journey to Persepolis: now first printed, with hitherto unpublished cuneiform inscriptions copied at Persepolis: by the late Claudius James Rich, Esq., formerly the Resident of the Hon.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.' [‎169] (257/474)

RUINS OF BABYLON.
169
the appellation of Brouss (F) : he never visited it
himself; indeed the undertaking is not always
practicable without a strong escort. The excellent
Niebuhr, whose intelligence, industry, and accuracy
cannot be too often praised, suspects the Birs to
have been the Tower of Belus. He gives a very
good account of it even from the hasty view which
circumstances would allow of his taking ; " Au sud-
ouest de Helle a 1J mille, et par consequent a I'ouest
de I'Euphrate, on trouve encore d'autres restes
de I'ancienne Babylone : ici il y a toute une colline
de ces belles pierres de murailles dont j'ai parle ;
et au dessus il y a une tour qui a ce qui parait est
interieurement aussi toute remplie de ces pierres
de murailles cuites ; mais les pierres de dehors (qui
sait combien de pieds d'epaisseur) sont perdues par
le tems dans cette epaisse muraille, ou plutot dans
ces grands tas de pierres : il y a ici et la de petits
trous qui percent d'un cote jusqu'a I'autre; sans
doute pour y donner un libre passage a Fair, et pour
empecher au dedans I'humidite, qui auroit pu nuire
au batiment." {Voyage, vol. ii. p. 236.) In this
description the Birs may be recognised, even through
the obscurity of a job translation.
After this, I was certainly surprised to find that
Major Rennell not only excludes it from the limits of
Babylon, but even doubts the mound being artificial.
So indisputably evident is the fact of the whole mass
being from top to bottom artificial, that I should as
soon have thought of writing a dissertation to prove
that the Pyramids are the work of human hands, as