"سرد لرحلة إلى موقع مدينة بابل في ١٨١١، طُبعت الآن لأول مرة: مذكرات على الأطلال؛ مع نقوش من الخرائط المدبئية للمؤلف: ملاحظات على طبوغرافية بابل القديمة،بقلم الرائد رينيل؛ في إشارة إلى المذكرات: مذكرات ثانية على الأطلال؛ في إشارة إلى ملاحظات الرائد رينيل: مع سرد لرحلة إلى برسبوليس: طُبعت الآن لأول مرة، مع كتابات مسمارية نسخت في برسبوليس ولم تُنشر من قبل: كتبها الراحل كلوديوس جيمس ريتش، المحترم، المقيم البريطاني السابق لشركة الهند الشرقية في بغداد. حررته أرملته." [‎١‎٠] (٤٧٤/٨٥)

10
JOURNEY TO BABYLON.
an inferior quality to the exterior facing; but I
did not meet with bricks merely dried in the sun.
Great numbers of written bricks are found here.
The height of these mounds greatly deceive one ;
from their immense extent, and gradual descent into
the level plain, appearing much lower than they
really are.
I met here with a man who had been sent from
Bagdad, in order to superintend the repairs of the
fortifications of Hillah; he had a number of Arabs
at work digging out bricks, who were of great use to
me in directing me to the most perfect vestiges of
building. They took me to a place called the Kasr,
or, according to their pronunciation, or the
Palace; in going to which we observed a con
tinuation of the wall above mentioned, but without
the external facing of fine brick—the cement ap
peared perfectly white. To the north is an old tree
of greater apparent girth than any found in this
country, and of which only the external surface of
one side remains, and yet it is perfectly fresh and
vigorous. The people told me they believed it had
been there ever since the time of ancient Babylon—
it seems a kind of Salix. Upon the opposite side I
observed a great number of willows. About a hun
dred yards from the tree, which lies in the direction
of N.N.E. from it, is the remarkable ruin called the
Kasr or Palace—the parts which remain are as
clean and perfect as if they had been just built. It
corresponds exactly with the four points of the