Transcriber's Note:
Some names with different spellings have not beencorrected as these spellings are possibly alternatespellings for the same person or location.
The cover image was created by the transcriberand is placed in the public domain.
MESOPOTAMIAN
ARCHÆOLOGY
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE ARCHÆOLOGY OF BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA. BY PERCY S.P. HANDCOCK, M.A. WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS, ALSO MAPS
LONDON: MACMILLAN AND CO. LTD., AND PHILIP LEE WARNER, ST. MARTIN’SSTREET. MDCCCCXII
DEDICATED TO
A. M. LORD
IN RECOGNITION
OF MANY ACTS OF FRIENDSHIP
PREFACE
IN every department of science the theories of yesterdayare perpetually being displaced by the empiricalfacts of to-day, though the ascertainment of these factsis frequently the indirect outcome of the theories whichthe facts themselves dissipate. Hence it is that the worksof the greatest scholars and experts have no finality, theyare but stepping-stones towards the goal of perfect knowledge.Since the publications of Layard, Rawlinson,Botta and Place much new material has been made accessiblefor the reconstruction of the historic past of theBabylonians and Assyrians, and we are consequently ableto fill in many gaps in the picture so admirably, and asfar as it went, so faithfully drawn by the pioneers in thefield of excavation and research. This work, which owesits origin to a suggestion made by Dr. Wallis Budge,represents an endeavour on the part of the writer to givea brief account of the civilization of ancient Babyloniaand Assyria in the light of this new material.
It is hoped that the infinitude of activities and pursuitswhich go to make up the civilization of any countrywill justify the writer’s treatment of so many subjects ina single volume. It will be observed that space allottedto the consideration of the different arts and crafts varieson the one hand according to the relative importance ofthe part each played in the life of the people, and on theother hand according to the amount of material availablefor the study of the particular subject.
No effort has been spared to make the chapters onArchitecture, Sculpture and Metallurgy as comprehensiveas the limitations of the volume permit, while forPg viiithe sake of those who desire to pursue the study of any ofthe subjects dealt with in this book, and to work up thesketch into a picture, a short bibliography is given atthe end.
It has not been thought desirable to amass a vast numberof references in the footnotes, and the writer is therebydebarred from acknowledging his indebtedness to theworks of other writers on all occasions as he would liketo have done.
In addition to the chapters which deal expressly withthe cultural evolution of the dwellers in Mesopotamia,two chapters are devoted to the consideration of theCuneiform writing—its pictorial origin, the history ofits decipherment, and the literature of which it is thevehicle, while another chapter is occupied with a historicalreview of the excavations. The