File 1450/1919 ‘Mesopotamia & Kurdistan: Geological Reports on’ [‎94r] (202/522)

that of Hammam Ali on the opposite bank of the river. The best place for
a boring would be 300 yards N. of the present village.
HUMAIRAH DOME.
There seems to be another gentler dome or crest-rise between Humairah-
as-Sifia and Rumairah-al-E liyah, and since there are two small sulphur
emanations near the former, tins might also be worth testing. A boring at
Hawi Arslan should be put down first however.
THE NIMRUD SEEPAGES.
Finally there are the seepages of tarry oil in the Shur Darah stream
immediately S.-E. of Nimrud. I found flat cakes of asphalt inside the city
of Mmrud in two places, but they may have been carried there. As no
Tertiary rocks are exposed in this area which is hidden beneath alluvium,
it is difficult to locate a test-boring. As the Lower Ears do occur to the
N.N.-W. and were not observed to the S.S.-E., perhaps the former direction
is the more promising, between Salamiyah and Nimrud. As will be seen
from the map, there is a low dome of the Red Clay and Sandstone series
S.-E. of ISTimrud, pitching towards that city, so that the seepages are more
likely to belong to a dome N.-W. of the city. Perhaps a more detailed and
prolonged survey on a larger scale map might bring out data for guidance
with respect to the Nimrud seepages which are fairly copious: there is the
usual odour of hydrogen sulphide.
HAMMAM ALI.
The seepages at Hammam Ali on the W. bank of the Tigris were des
cribed in the last report. They are connected, as indeed are the Hawi
Arslan and Nimrud seepages, with the main anticline or anticlinorium whose
axis extends beneath the Jab-al-Mishrak up past Kharrar. But it is very
probable that the Hammam Ali seepages, like those of Hawi Arslan and
Nimrud, occur in a minor anticlinal fold in the flank of the main anticline.
The area was a vast swamp of mud at the time of my visit, though whether
better weather would have made a more thorough examination more success
ful is doubtful, owing to lack of exposures. Whether an extended search
with a large scale map or whether the drill alone will throw light on this
area, I cannot say. As the seepages are of some importance the following
remarks are offered for what they are worth. Reference has been made above
to a minor line of anticlinal folding along the E. bank of the Tigris, through
Hawi Arslan and Humairah. There seems also to be a similar line along
the W. bank, east of and parallel to the road between Hammam Ali and
Mosul. This general line extends perhaps from Mosul as far south as
Yuhainah, and would pass through Hammam Ali. I am unable to state
where along this line a boring would best be made, whether N.N.-W. of
Hammam Ali in the Huslaun plain, or S.S.-E. in the Yuhainah plain,
whether on any of the small islands in the river here, or whether in any part
of the hills between Lazzaba and Abu Sif.
NIMRUD.
Several dressed slabs still remain inside the walls of 'Nimrud, some
curved with figures or scroll-work, others bearing inscriptions. Most of
these blocks consist of gypsum, and in one case of alternating layers of
gypsum and marly limestone. A figure of a man’s head has suffered con
siderably from the weather, but the freshly exposed inscriptions are sharp
and distinct. Dressed blocks of limestone, also from the Lower Ears, are
seen, and one of yellowish sandstone perhaps from the Red Clay and Sand
stone series.
SULPHUR AND BITUMINOUS EARTH AT JUDAIDAH.
Between the Monastery of Mar Behnam and the village of Judaidah is
a small exposure of Lower Ears, succeeded southwards by sandstone belong
ing to the Red Clay and Sandstone series dipping at 15 degrees, a little W.
of S. This outcrop occurs on the top of a low hill about f mile S. and a little
E. of Judaidah. In the Lower Ears is a small pool of water, eight or nine
feet in diameter, in which hydrogen sulphide bubbles up in small quantity, a
little of which becomes oxidised yielding free sulphur. Bituminous earth
occurs round the bank of the pool. It is known as the “ Leper’s Pool ” and
is believed to be the spot which the Abbot of Shaikh Sharmatli struck with
his staff in order to produce the w^ater in which he cured the girl martyr
Sara of her leprosy and baptised both her and her brother Behnam. Although
the exudation of hydrogen sulphide is small, the margin of the pool is three or
four feet high and steep enough to enable the gas to concentrate on the surface
of the water in still weather. Before the War, one of the monks of Behnam,
while bathing in this pool, was rendered unconscious by the gas and
drowned; a second monk, in trying to extricate the body, also succumbed to

File 1450/1919 ‘Mesopotamia & Kurdistan: Geological Reports on’ [‎94r] (202/522)

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