"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." [‎٢‎٥] (٤٧٤/١٠٠)

JOURNEY TO BABYLON.
25
It has a dome and a spire in shape resembling a pine
apple, similar to the one at the tomb of Zobeide, the
celebrated wife of Haroun al Raschid, and Sheikh
Shehab-ud-deen of Bagdad. On the top of the spire
of the Mesjid-el-Shems was a mud cap on a pole, not
unlike the cap of liberty. They pretend to say that
this turns with the sun. From this I penetrated
among the gardens of the western side of Hillah in
every direction, and by the most unfrequented paths,
but saw nothing resembling the remains of any
ancient building. Indeed it stands to sense that
there can be nothing of this nature among the gar
dens. They could not cultivate such heaps of ruins
as those of Mujelibe, and any inferior mound simply
composed of earth, they would certainly have le
velled. I do not understand M. Otter's expression,
that the site of Babylon is generally covered with
wood, and that most of the ruins are concealed in
coppices. There are no vestiges of wood near this
plain except the gardens on the banks of the river,
and those belonging immediately to the town. At
all events, coppice was a wrong word to make use of,
and we must probably attribute this to the faultiness
of the translation.
I rode partly round the town walls ; they are very
miserable, composed chiefly of mud, with here and
there a semicircular tower repaired with bricks.
Near the Tahmasia gate they were repairing the
walls, or rather making men work with fine square
bricks brought from the Kasr. There is a small