Testament of Adam

TESTAMENTUM ADAMI Through INDEX TESTAMENTUM ADAMI

[The Ethiopic text and an Arabic version was published by Bezold in Noldeke's Festschrift , Gieszen, 1906. See also Brit. Mus. Add. 16251 and Add. 16217 (Dillmann, Catalogus, Nos. XXXIV and XXXVII.]

THE HOURS OF THE DAY.

And, moreover, understand thou concerning the hours of the day and of the night, and how it is seemly that ye should make supplication to God, and to pray to Him at each of His seasons. For my Creator taught me all this, and He told me the names of all the wild animals and beasts, and of the birds of heaven, and then God made me to understand the number of the hours of the day and of the night, and He told me how the angels praise God. Understand, then, O my son, that at the first hour of the day the prayer of my children ascendeth to God. And at the second hour the prayer and petition of p. 243 the angels take place. At the third hour the birds of the heavens praise Him. And at the fourth hour the spiritual beings worship Him. And at the fifth hour all the wild beasts and animals salute Him. At the sixth hour the petition of the Kirubel (Cherubim) taketh place. And at the seventh hour all the angels enter the presence of God, and go forth therefrom, for at this hour the prayer of every living thing ascendeth to God. At the eighth hour the shining denizens of heaven praise Him. And at the ninth hour the angels of God who stand before the throne of the Most High do homage unto Him. And at the tenth hour the Holy Spirit overshadoweth the waters, and the devils flee away and remove themselves from the waters. And if the Holy Spirit did not overshadow the waters at this hour every day, no one could drink of the waters, [for if he did] his flesh (i.e. body) would be destroyed by the evil devils. And if the priest taketh water at this hour and mixeth with it holy oil, and anointeth the sick and those who are possessed of foul spirits with the mixture, they shall be healed of their sickness. And at the eleventh hour the glorifyings of the righteous take place. And at the twelfth hour God, the Most High, receiveth the prayers and petitions of the children of men. p. 244

THE HOURS OF THE NIGHT.

And at the first hour of the night the devils render thanks and praise to God Most High, and there is in them no evil and no harm for anyone until they have finished their service of homage. And at the second hour of the night the fish and every creature that is in the waters praise God, and the wild beasts and the whales. And at the third hour the fire praiseth Him—now it is in the lowest depth, and in that hour no one can address Him (?). And at the fourth hour the Surafel (Seraphim) proclaim Him Holy. And at the fifth hour the waters which are above the heavens praise Him. Now long ago I sat and listened to the angels at this hour, and [marvelled] how they cried out; [their cry] was like the noise of a mighty wheel, and they cried out like the waves of the sea with the voice of praise to God. And at the sixth hour the clouds praised God in fear and trembling. And at the seventh hour the earth was hushed in silence and every creature that was upon it, and the waters slumbered. And if at this hour the priest taketh some water and mixeth holy oil with it, and he anointeth therewith the sick and those who cannot sleep at night because of [their] pain, those who are sick will be healed, and those who are wakeful will fall asleep. At the eighth hour the earth maketh to grow grass p. 245 and green herbs, and maketh the trees to put forth leaves and fruit. And at the ninth hour the angels perform their service of homage to God, and the prayer of the children of men cometh into the presence of God the Most High. And at the tenth hour the gates of heaven are opened, and God heareth the prayer of the children of the believers, and the petition which they ask from God is granted unto them; And at the sound of the wings of the Seraphim at that time the cocks crow and praise God. And at the eleventh hour there is joy and gladness on all the earth, for the sun entereth into the Garden {i.e. Paradise), and his

light riseth in all the ends of the world, and illumineth every created thing. And at the twelfth hour it is befitting for my children to stand up before God, and pay homage to Him, for at this hour there resteth a great silence on all the heavenly beings.

ADAM FORETELLS THE COMING OF CHRIST.

Now therefore know thou all this, and hearken unto my word, and understand that the Word of God, the Most High, shall come down upon the earth, even as He told me at the moment when He thrust me out from the Garden (Paradise). For He told me that His Word in later days should become man from a woman who was a virgin whose name was Mary, and should p. 246 hide in her, and put on flesh, and be born like a man with great power, and operative skill and knowledge. No one shall know Him except Himself and him to whom He manifested [Himself]. And God said that He should go about with people on the earth, and grow in days and years, and should perform signs and wonders openly, and should walk upon the sea as upon dry land, and should rebuke the sea and the winds openly, and they should be subject unto Him, and that He should cry out to the waves of the sea and they should make answer to Him speedily. And that He should make the blind to see, and the lepers to be cleansed, and the deaf to hear, and the dumb to talk, and should raise up the paralytics, and make the lame to walk, and should turn many from error to the knowledge of God, and should drive out the devils from men.

And besides [these things] God spake unto me, saying, "Be not sorrowful, O Adam, for thou didst wish to become a god and didst transgress my command. Behold, I will stablish thee, not at this present, but after a few days." And again He spake unto me, saying, "I am God Who made thee to go forth from the Garden of Joy into the earth, which shall shoot forth thorns and brambles, and thou shalt dwell therein. Bend thy back, and make thy knees p. 247 to totter in old age, and I will make thy flesh food for the worms. And after five days and half a day I will have compassion upon thee, and shew thee mercy in the abundance of my compassion and my mercy. And I will come down into thy house, and I will dwell in thy flesh, and for thy sake I will be pleased to be born like an [ordinary] child. And for thy sake I will be pleased to walk in the market place. And for thy sake I will be pleased to fast forty days. And for thy sake I will be pleased to accept baptism. And for thy sake I will be pleased to endure suffering. And for thy sake I will be pleased to hang on the wood of the Cross. All these things [will I do] for thy sake, O Adam."

To Him be praise, and majesty, and dominion, and glory, and worship, and hymns, with His Father and the Holy Spirit from this time forward and for ever and ever. Amen.

Furthermore, thou must know, O my son, Seth, behold a Flood shall come and shall wash the whole earth because of the children of Kayal (Cain), the murderer, who slew his brother through jealousy, because of his sister Lud. And after the Flood and many weeks the latter days shall come, and everything shall be completed, and his time shall come and fire shall consume everything which is p. 248 found before God, and the earth shall be sanctified, and the Lord of Lords shall walk about on it."

And Seth wrote down this Commandment, and sealed it with his seal, and with the seal of his father Adam, which he took with him from the Garden (Paradise), and with the seal of Eve his mother.

Footnotes

1 1.e. five thousand five hundred years.

SUPPLEMENTARY TRANSLATIONS FROM THE "BOOK OF THE BEE."

THE ASSUMPTION OF THE VIRGIN. OUR LORD'S APPEARANCES AFTER THE RESURRECTION. THE LAST SUPPER. THE NAMES OF THE APOSTLES AND DISCIPLES. CHRONOLOGY. GOG AND MAGOG. ANTI-CHRIST. THE GREEK TRANSLATION OF THE HEBREW BIBLE.

The extracts quoted in the preceding pages show how largely Solomon, Bishop of Al-Basrah, borrowed from the "Cave of Treasures" when compiling his work, "The Book of the Bee," especially when he was dealing with the history of the early Patriarchs. But he did not bring his book to a close with the narrative of the Crucifixion, for his aim was to describe briefly the progress of Christianity after the death of Christ; and in doing this he collected and set down in writing a considerable amount of information regarding the Apostles and disciples, and their lives and deaths, and a number of facts and legends which he accepted and wished the p. 250 Nestorians in his diocese especially to believe. In fact, the "Book of the Bee," though written by a Nestorian bishop, may be regarded as a supplement or continuation of the "Cave of Treasures," which, according to ancient tradition, was written by a Jacobite bishop. Both works are included in the collection of texts which the learned priest Homo copied in the British Museum MS. Add. 25875, and both were so highly esteemed that copies of them were made for the library of the church of the Virgin Mary in 'Amedia. The following summary is based on my translation of the Syriac text published at Oxford in 1886.

THE DEATH AND ASSUMPTION OF THE VIRGIN MARY

Mary lived twelve years after our Lord's Ascension; the sum of the years which she lived in the world was fifty-eight years, but others say sixty-one years. She was not buried on earth, but the angels carried her to Paradise, and angels bore her bier. On the other hand, we read in the History of the Virgin , "And the blessed Mary departed this life in the year of Alexander, 394 (i.e. A.D. 82-83). At the Annunciation she was thirty years old, and she lived also the thirty-three years of the Dispensation; and after the Crucifixion she lived fifty-eight p. 251 years. The years which she lived were one hundred and twenty-one." In the same book we have: "And Mary remained in Jerusalem, and grieved because of her separation from our Lord Jesus Christ, and the absence of the apostles from her. And she prayed and cast frankincense into the fire, and lifted up her eyes and spread out her hands to heaven, and said, 'O Christ, the Son of the living God, hearken unto the voice of Thy handmaiden, and send unto me Thy friend John the Young with his fellow-apostles, that I may see them and be comforted by the sight of them before the day of my death; and I will praise and adore Thy goodness.'" And straightway it was revealed by the Holy Spirit to each one of the apostles, in whatever country he was in, that the blessed Mary was about to depart from this world into the never-ending life. And the Spirit summoned them, along with those of them who were dead, to be gathered together at daybreak to the blessed Mary for her to see them: and each one of them came to her from his own land at dawn by the agency of the Holy Spirit, and they saluted Mary and each other, and adored her. Thomas was in India, and an angel took him up and brought him. And he found the angels carrying her bier through the air; and they brought it nigh to Thomas, and he also prayed and was blessed by her. p. 252

OUR LORD'S APPEARANCES AFTER HIS RESURRECTION

He appeared ten times: 1. To Mary Magdalene (John xx. 11 , 18). 2. To the women at the grave ( Matt. xxviii. 9 , 10). 3. To Cleophas ( Luke xxiv. 18) . 4. To Simon Peter ( Luke xxiv. 34) . 5. To all the disciples except Thomas ( Luke xxiv. 36 -49; John xx. 19 -23). 6. To the disciples, Thomas being with them ( John xx.

24-29). 7. On the Mount ( Matt, xxviii. 16 -20). 8. On the Sea of Tiberias (John xxi. 1 -24). 9. At His Ascension (Mark xvi. 19 ; Luke xxiv. 50 -53). 10. To the Five Hundred at once ( I Cor, xv. 6) . After His Ascension he appeared to Paul ( Acts ix. 3 -9; I Cor, xv. 3) . and to Stephen ( Acts vii. 55 -60).

THE LAST SUPPER

Some men have a tradition that when our Lord broke His body in the Upper Chamber, John, the son of Zebedee, hid a part of his portion until our Lord rose from the dead. When Thomas put his finger near to our Lord's side, and it rested on the mark of the spear, the disciples saw the blood. And John took that piece of consecrated bread, and wiped up that blood with it; and the Easterns Mar Addai and Mar Mari took that piece, and sanctified this p. 253 unleavened bread which has been handed down among us. Others say that when John took that piece of consecrated bread in his hand, it burst into flame, and burnt in the palm of his hand, and the palm of his hand sweated, and he took that sweat and hid it for the sign of the Cross of baptism.

THE APOSTLES

The Apostles were Twelve and Seventy; their names are:—

SIMON, the chief of the Apostles, was from Bethsaida, of the tribe of Naphtali. He preached for one year in Antioch, where the disciples were [first] called Christians, and he built there the first church, in the house of Cassianus, whose son he restored to life. He lived in Rome twenty-seven years. He was crucified, head downwards, by Nero, in the 376th year of the Greeks (65-64 B.C.).

ANDREW, his brother, preached in Scythia, Nicomedia, and Achaia. He died in Byzantium and was buried in the church which he built there.

JOHN, the son of Zabhdai (Zebedee), was from Bethsaida, of the tribe of Zebulon. He preached in Ephesus, was exiled to Patmos, and then returned to Ephesus, where he built a church. Three of his disciples went with him:—IGNATIUS, p. 254 later bishop of Antioch, who was thrown to the beasts in Rome; POLYCARP, later bishop of Smyrna who was burnt to death; and JOHN, who succeeded him as bishop. John, the son of Zebedee, was buried by John, his disciple, at Ephesus, and his grave is unknown. John, his disciple, was also buried at Ephesus. He wrote the Revelation, and said that all he had written in that book he had received from John the Evangelist.

JAMES, the brother of John, preached in Bethsaida and built a church there. Herod Agrippa slew him with the sword in the year following the Ascension of our Lord. He was buried at Akar, a city of Marmarika.

PHILIP, from Bethsaida, was of the tribe of Asher. He preached in Phrygia, Pamphylia and Pisidia; he died in Pisidia, and was buried in the church which he built there. He lived as an apostle 27 years.

THOMAS, from Jerusalem, was of the tribe of Judah. He taught the Parthians, Medes and Indians; he baptized the daughter of the Indian king, who had him speared to death. Habban the merchant brought his body to Edessa and buried it there. Some say he was buried in Mahluph in India.

MATTHEW, from Nazareth, was of the tribe of Issachar. He preached in Palestine, Tyre and p. 255 Sidon, and went as far as Gabbula ( i.e . al-Jabbal, a town in Coelesyria). He died, and was buried in Antioch.

BARTHOLOMEW, from Endor, was of the tribe of Issachar. He preached in Armenia, Ardeshir, Ketarbol, Radbin and Pruharman. He first went to Golthon in Armenia, came back to Artaschu, and then went on to

6 4

Her, Zarevant and Urbianos. He lived as an apostle for 30 years, and then Hursti (Rhustni or Herostmi), king of Armenia, crucified him in Urbianos. He was buried in the church which he had built in Armenia. The king of Armenia in the time of Bartholomew was called Sanadrog (Sanatruk).

JUDE, the son of James, sumamed THADDAEUS (TADDAI), who is also LEBBAEUS (Lebbai), from Jerusalem, was of the tribe of Judah. He preached in Laodicea, and in Antaradus and Arwad (Ruwad). He was stoned in Arwad, and died and was buried there.

SIMON ZELOTES, from Galilee, was of the tribe of Ephraim. He preached in Shemeshat (Samosata), Parin (Perrhe), Zeugma, Halab (Aleppo), Mabbog (Manbig), and Kenneshrin (Kinnesrin). He built a church in Kyrrhos, and died and was buried there.

JAMES, the son of Alphaeus (Halphai), was from the Jordan, and of the tribe of Manasseh. He preached in Tadmor (Palmyra), Kirkesion p. 256 (Kirkisiya), and Callinicos (ar-Rakkah), and came to Batnan of Serug (Sarug), where he built a church, and died and was buried there.

JUDAS ISCARIOT, the Betrayer, from Sekharyut, was of the tribe of Gad or Dan. MATTHIAS, of the tribe of Reuben, came in his stead. He preached in Hellas and in Sicily, where he built a church, and died, and was buried in it.

JAMES, the brother of our Lord, was cast down from a pinnacle of the Temple whilst preaching in Jerusalem; then a fuller of cloth smashed in his skull with a club, and afterwards they stoned him.

JOHN THE BAPTIST was of the tribe of Levi. Herod the tetrarch slew him, and his body was buried in Sebastia.

ANANIAS (HANANYA), John's disciple, taught in Damascus and Arbil. Pol, the general of Aretas (Aristus) slew him, and he was buried in his church at Arbil.

PAUL, of Tarsus, was a Pharisee and of the tribe of Ephraim (or, Benjamin ?). He went to Peter at Rome, and Nero ordered them to be slain. On their way to the place of slaughter they gave the laying on of hands of the priesthood to their disciples, Peter to Mark, and Paul to Luke. Peter was crucified and Paul was beheaded, and Mark and Luke brought their p. 257 bodies into the city. But Paul's head could not be found. At length a shepherd found it, and he laid it by his sheep-fold. At night a fire blazed over it, and the shepherd went and told bishop Xystus and the clergy, and when they saw the head they recognized it as Paul's head. They laid the head at the feet of Paul's body, and, having prayed the whole night, the head was found to have joined itself to the body. From his call to the end of his life was 35 years; he travelled for 31 years, and he was in prison at Caesarea for two years, and for two years in Rome. He was martyred in the thirty-sixth year after the Passion of our Lord, and was buried in the royal catacombs in Rome.

LUKE, the physician and Evangelist, was a disciple of Lazarus, and was baptized by Philip in the city of Beroea. He was beheaded by Horos, the governor of Alexandria under Tiberius, whilst preaching there; he was buried in that city.

MARK the Evangelist preached in Rome, and died and was buried there. He was either the son of Simon Peter's wife or the son of Simon; and Rhoda was his sister. He was first called John, but the Apostles changed his name to Mark.

ADDAI, from Paneas, preached in Edessa and Mesopotamia in the days of Abhgar the king; he p. 258 built a church in Edessa. Herod, son of Abhgar, slew him in the fortress of Aggel, or Engil, north of Amid. He

was buried either in Edessa or Rome.

AGGAI, the disciple of Addai, was a silk weaver; because he refused to give up his preaching, Herod, son of Abhgar, broke his legs with a club and he killed him.

THADDAEUS was slain by Herod, son of Abhgar, and was buried in Edessa.

ZACCHAEUS (Zaccai), the publican, was slain whilst preaching in Mount Horon.

SIMON, the leper, taught in Ramah, and the Jews slew him there.

JOSEPH, the Senator, taught in Galilee and Decapolis, and was buried in Ramah.

NICODEMUS, the Pharisee, the friend of our Lord, died in Jerusalem, and was buried there. Some say that he was buried by his brother Gamaliel in Kephar Gamla.

NATHANIEL was stoned whilst preaching in Mount Horon (or. Mount Hebron), and died.

SIMON, the Cyrenian, was slain in the island of Chios.

SIMON, son of Cleopas, was bishop of Jerusalem. At the age of one hundred years he was crucified by Irenaeus (or, Hereos?), the chiliarch.

STEPHEN was stoned to death in Jerusalem, and was buried in Kephar Gamla. p. 260

MARK (sumamed John) taught at Nyssa and Nazianzus; he built a church at the latter place, and died and was buried there.

GEPHAS (Gal, ii. 9 ; I Cor, i. 12) taught in Baalbec, Hims (Emesa), and Nathron (Batharun); he died and was buried in Shiraz (Shaizar ?).

BARNABAS, a native of Cyprus or a member of a family of Cyprians settled in Antioch, undertook two preaching missions in that Island, and then went and preached in Northern Italy and Kura for some time. Later he returned to Cyprus, where, according to one tradition, he suffered martyrdom. The various accounts of his life and preaching are described by Lipsius in his Apostelgeschichte (Bd. ii. Heft 2, pp. 276- 320).

TITUS taught in Crete, and died and was buried there.

SOSTHENES taught in Pontus and Asia, and was cast into the sea by Nonnus, the prefect.

CRISCUS (CRESCENS) taught in Dalmatia; he died of hunger in Alexandria.

JUSTUS taught in Tiberias and Caesarea, where he died and was buried.

ANDRONICUS taught in Illyricum, where he died and was buried.

RUFUS was slain whilst teaching in Zeugma.

PATROBAS taught in Chalcedon, and died there, p. 260
HERMAS, the shepherd, taught in Antioch and died there.

NARCISSUS taught in Hellas, and died there.

ASYNCRITUS went to Beth-Huzaye (Ahwaz, Khuzistan), and died there.

ARISTOBULUS taught in Isauria, and died there.

ONESIMUS, the slave of Philemon, fled to Paul in Rome, where his legs were broken, and he died. APOLLOS was burned to death by Sparacleus (?), governor of Gangra.

OLYMPAS, STACHYS and STEPHEN died in prison in Tarsus.

JETNIAS was slain in Samos.

THEOCRITUS died in Ilios.

MART ALUS (I) was slain by the Barbarians.

NIGER taught in Antioch, and died there.

LUCIUS was dragged behind a horse and died.

ALEXANDER was thrown into a pit in Heracleopolis (Hierapolis ?) and died. MILUS was drowned at Rhodes.

SILVANUS and HERODION (Rhodion) were slain at Acco.

SILAS taught at Sarapolis (Hierapolis ?), and died there.

TIMOTHY taught in Ephesus, and died there.

MANAEL was burned to death in Acco.

The EUNUCH of Candace was strangled on the island of Parparchia. p. 261 JASON and SOSIPATRUS were thrown to the beasts in Olmius.

DEMAS taught in Thessalonica, and died there.

OMIUS (HYMENAEUS) taught in Melitene, and died there.

THRASEUS was thrown into a fiery furnace at Laodicea.

BISTORIUS (ARISTARCHUS) taught in the island of Ka, and died there. ABRIOS and MOTOS died in Ethiopia.

LEVI was slain in Paneas by Charmus.

NICETIANUS (NICETAS) was sawn in twain in Tiberias.

JOHN and THEODORUS were thrown to the beasts at Baalbec. EUCHESTION (?) and SIMON were slain by Methalius in Byzantium. EPHRAIM (APHREM) taught in Baishan, and died there.

JUSTUS was slain at Corinth.

JAMES taught in Nicomedia, and died there.

THE NAMES OF THE APOSTLES

The TWELVE ( Matt, x. Mark iii. Luke vi. Acts i.) .

1. Simon Peter.

2. Andrew, his brother.

3. James, the son of Zebedee.

4. John, his brother.

5. Philip.

6. Bartholomew.

7. Thomas.

8. Matthew.

9. James, the son of Alphaeus.

10. Labbaeus (Thaddaeus).

11. Simon the Canaanite.

12. Judas Iscariot (in whose stead came Matthias).

The SEVENTY.

1. James, the son of Joseph.

2. Simon, the son of Cleopas.

3. Cleopas, his father.

4-8. Joses; Simon; Judah; Barnabas; Manaeus (?).

9. Ananias, who baptized Paul.

10. Cephas, who preached at Antioch.

11. Joseph, the senator.

12. Nicodemus, the Archon.

13. Nathaniel, the chief scribe.

14. Justus (i.e. Joseph, called Barshabba).

15-17. Silas; Judah; John (Mark).

18. Mnason, who received Paul.

19. Manael, foster-brother of Herod.

20. Simon, called Niger.

21. Jason (see Acts xvii. 5 -9).

22. Rufus (see Rom, xvi. 13) .

23. Alexander.

24. Simon, the Cyrenian, their father.

25. Lucius, the Cyrenian.

26. Judah (mentioned in the Acts).

27. Judah, who is called Simon.

28. Eurion (Orion), the splay-footed.

29-32. Thorns; Thorisus; Zabdon; Zakron.

The following were chosen with Stephen:—

33. Philip, whose three (sic) daughters prophesied (see Acts xxi. 9 ).

34-36. Stephen; Prochorus; Nicanor.

37-39. Timon; Parmenas; Nicolaus ( Acts vi. 5) .

40. Andronicus, the Greek ( Rom, xvi. 7) .

41. Titus; Timothy.

42.

The following were with Peter in Rome:—

43. Hermas; Plighta.

44.

45-47. Patrobas; Asyncritus; Hermas.

The following came with Peter to Cornelius:—

48. Criscus ( II Tim, iv. 10) ; Milichus.

49.

50. Kiriton (Crito); Simon.

51.

52. Gaius, who received Paul.

53. Abrazon (?); Apollos.

54.

The following were rejected from among the Seventy, for they were followers of Cerinthus, and denied our Lord's divinity:—

55-57. Simon; Levi; Bar-Kubba.

58-60. Cleon; Hymenaeus; Candarus.

61-63. Clithon (?); Demas; Narcissus.

64-66. Slikispus; Thaddaeus; Marutha.

In their stead there came in:—

Luke, the Physician.

Apollos, the elect.

Ampelius; Urbanus; Stachys.

Popillius (Publius); Aristobulus.

Stephen; Herodion, the son of Narcissus.
Olympas; Mark, the Evangelist.

Addai; Aggai; Mar Mari.

CHRONOLOGY

From Adam to the Flood was 2262

From the Flood to Abraham was 1015

From Abraham to the Exodus from Egypt was 430

From the Exodus to Solomon and the building of the Temple was 400 From Solomon to the First Captivity, which Nebuchadnezzar led away captive 495

From the First Captivity to the prophesying of Daniel was 180

From the prophesying of Daniel to the Birth of our Ford was 483

[5265]

years.

All these make 5345 years (sic).

From Alexander to our Ford was 303 years.

From our Ford to Constantine was 341 "

In the year 438 of Alexander, the Macedonian, the kingdom of the Persians had its beginning.

[For 438 read 538, as the Sasanian dynasty was founded by Ardashir I in A.D. 226.]

Know, O my brother readers, that from the beginning of the creation of Adam to Alexander was 5180 years.

OF GOG AND MAGOG

When Alexander was king, and had subdued countries and cities, and had arrived in the East, he saw in the confines of the East those men who are of the children of Japhet. They were more wicked and unclean than all [other] dwellers in the world; filthy people of hideous appearance, who ate mice and the creeping things of the earth, and snakes and scorpions. They never buried the bodies of their dead [but ate them]. People ignorant of God, and unacquainted with the power of reason, but who lived in this world without understanding like ravening beasts. When Alexander saw their wickedness, he called God to his aid, and he gathered together and brought them and their wives and children, and made them go in, and p. 266 shut them up within the confines of the North. This is the gate of the world on the north, and there is no other entrance or exit from the confines of the world from the east to the north. And Alexander prayed to God with tears, and God heard his prayer and commanded those two lofty mountains which are called "the children of the north," and they drew nigh to one another until there remained between them about twelve cubits. Then he built in front of them a strong building, and he made for it a door of brass, and anointed it within and without with oil of Thesnaktis (i.e. an oil which cannot be burnt off with fire or scraped off with an iron tool), so that if they should bring iron implements near it to force it to open, they would be unable to move it; and if they wished to melt it with fire, it would quench it; and it feared neither the operations of devils nor of sorcerers, and was not to be overcome [by them]. Now there were twenty-two kingdoms imprisoned within the northern gate, and their names are these:—

Gog, Magog.

Nawal, Eshkenaz (Eshkin).

Denaphar (Difar).

Paktaye (the people of Paktue in the Thracian Chersonesus).

Welotaye (Ludaye).

Humnaye (the Huns), Parzaye. p. 267
Daklaye, Thaubelaye (Tuklaye).

Darmetaye, Kawkebaye.

Dog-men (Cynocephali).

Emderatha, Garmido.

Cannibals, Therkaye (Thracians).

Alanaye (the Allani), Pisilon.

Denkaye (Dunkaye).

Saltraye (Saltaye).

At the end of the world and at the final consummation, when men are eating and drinking and marrying wives; and women are given to husbands; when they are planting vineyards and building buildings, and there is neither wicked man nor adversary, on account of the assured tranquillity and certain peace; suddenly the gates of the north shall be opened, and the hosts of the nations that are imprisoned there shall go forth. The whole earth shall tremble before them, and men shall flee and take refuge in the mountains and in caves and in burial places, and in clefts of the earth; and they shall die of hunger, and there will be none to bury them, by reason of the multitude of afflictions which they will make men suffer. They will eat dead dogs and cats; they will give mothers the bodies of their children to cook, and they will eat them before them without shame. They will destroy the earth, and there will be none able to stand before them. After one week of p. 268 that sore affliction, they will all be destroyed in the plain of Joppa, for thither will all those [people] be gathered together, with their wives and their sons and their daughters.

OF THE COMING OF ANTI-CHRIST

In a week and half a week after the destruction of these wretches shall the son of destruction appear. He shall be conceived in Chorazin, bom in Bethsaida, and reared in Capernaum. Chorazin shall exult because he was conceived in her, Bethsaida because he was bom in her, and Capernaum because he was brought up in her; for this reason our Lord proclaimed Woe to these three [cities] in the Gospel ( Matt, xi. 21) . As soon as the son of perdition is revealed the king of the Greeks will go up and stand upon Golgotha, where our Lord was crucified; and he will set the royal crown upon the top of the holy Cross, upon which our Lord was crucified; and he will stretch out his two hands to heaven, and will deliver over the kingdom to God the Lather. The holy Cross shall be taken up to heaven, and the royal crown with it; and the king will die immediately. The king who shall deliver over the kingdom to God will be descended from the seed of Kushath, the daughter of Pil, the king of the Ethiopians; for Armelaus (Romulus), the king of the Greeks, took Kushath to p. 269 wife, and the seed of the Ethiopians was mingled with that of the Greeks. Lrom this seed shall a king arise who shall deliver the kingdom over to God, as the blessed David hath said, "Cush will deliver the power to God" ( Ps. lxviii. 31) .

Diorite statue of Bau, the goddess of fertility. She sits on a throne set upon water, and her supports and footstool are geese. (See page 280 .)

When the Cross is raised up to heaven straightway shall every head and every ruler and all powers be brought to nought, and God will withdraw His providential care from the earth. The heavens will be prevented from letting fall rain, and the earth from producing germs and plants; and the earth shall remain like iron through drought, and the heavens like brass. Then will the son of perdition appear, of the seed and of the tribe of Dan; and he will show deluding phantasms, and lead astray the world, for the simple will see

the lepers cleansed, the blind with their eyes opened, the paralytic walking, the devils cast out, the sun when he looks upon it becoming black, the moon when he commands it becoming changed, the trees putting forth fruit from their branches, and the earth making roots to grow. He will show deluding phantasms [of this kind], but he will not be able to raise the dead. He will go into Jerusalem and will sit upon a throne in the Temple, saying, "I am the Christ," and he will be borne aloft by legions of devils like a king and a lawgiver, naming himself God, and p. 270 saying, "I am the fulfilment of the types and the parables." He will put an end to prayers and offerings, as if at his appearance prayers are to be abolished and men will not need sacrifices and offerings along with him. He becomes a man incarnate by a married woman of the tribe of Dan. When this son of destruction becomes a man, he will be made a dwelling place for devils, and all Satanic workings will be perfected in him. There will be gathered together with him all the devils and all the hosts of the Indians; and before all the Indians and before all men will the mad Jewish nation believe in him, saying, "This is the Christ, the expectation of the world." The time of the error of the Anti-christ will last two years and a half, but others say three years and six months. And when everyone is standing in despair, then will Elijah (Elias) come from Paradise, and convict the deceiver, and turn the heart of the fathers to the children and the heart of the children to the fathers; and he will encourage and strengthen the hearts of the believers.

THE HEBREW BIBLE TRANSLATED INTO GREEK

Ptolemy Philadelphus reigned 38 years. In the third (or, sixth) year of his reign the fifth millennium from the creation of the world ended. This king asked the Jews who were captives in Egypt, and seventy (or, seventy-two) old men p. 271 translated the Scriptures for him, from Hebrew into Greek, in the Island of Pharos. In return for this he set them free, and gave back to them also the vessels of their temple. Their names were:—

Josephus

Hezekiah

Zechariah

John

Ezekiel

Elisha

Of the tribe of Reuben.

Judah

Simon

Samuel

Addai

Mattathias

Shalmi

Of the tribe of Simeon.

Nehemiah

Joseph

Theodosius

Basa

Adonijah

Daki

Of the tribe of Levi.

Jothan

Abdi

Elisha

Of the tribe of Judah.

Ananias

Zechariah

Hilkiah

Isaac

Jacob

Jesus

Sambat

(Sabbateus)

Simon

Levi

Of the tribe of Issachar.

Judah

Joseph

Simon

Zechariah

Samuel

Shamli

Of the tribe of Zebulon.

Sambat

Zedekiah

Jacob

Isaac

Jesse

Matthias

Of the tribe of Gad.

Theodosius

Jason

Joshua

John

Theodotus

Jothan

Of the tribe of Asher.

Abraham

Theophilus

Arsam

Jason

Jeremiah

Daniel

Of the tribe of Dan.

10.

Jeremiah

Eliezer

Zechariah

Benaiah

Elisha

Dathi

Of the tribe of Naphtali.

11.

Samuel

Josephus

Judah

Jonathan

Dositheus

Caleb

Of the tribe of Joseph.

12.

Isalus

John

Theodosius

Arsam

Abijah

Ezekiel

Of the tribe of Benjamin.

[Ptolemy II, sumamed Philadelphia, was the son of Ptolemy I, Soter, by Beremce, and was bom 308 B.C.; he reigned as sole king from 283 to 247 B.C., when he died. His name was transcribed by the Egyptian annalists thus:—

PTU[0]LMIS

and his title Philadelphus by meri sen (l.e. "brother-loving"). He enlarged the great Alexandrian Library, which was founded by his father, and in his day it is said to have contained as many as 400,000 books, (i.e. rolls of papyrus). It was by his orders that Manetho, a priest of Sebennytus in the Delta compiled his History of Egypt.]

PHILADELPHUS

ABRAHAM AND THE CITY OF UR.

Kitchen in the Gig-Pak-Ku at "Ur of the Chaldees," showing tank, wall, rope-ring and fire-place. (See page 280 .)

The paragraphs which the author of the "Cave Treasures" devotes to the history of Terah and Abraham throw new light upon the lives of these patriarchs and the conditions under which they lived in the city of Ur, and they contain many interesting details which are not recorded in the Book of Genesis, and some new information concerning the overthrow of the city of Ur by the "Wind Flood." It is quite clear that Terah and Abraham were great, powerful and wealthy shekhs, and their large flocks of sheep and goats and herds of camels suggest that they were owners and breeders of cattle on a large scale, and masters of caravans. The three hundred and eighteen trained men, born in his house (Gen, xiv. 14) , whom Abraham armed and sent forth to rescue Lot, his nephew, were probably the armed guards who marched with his flocks and herds and caravans and protected them. Up to the present no person p. 274 mentioned in the cuneiform inscriptions can be identified either with Terah or Abraham, but all the facts which the recent excavations at Ur have brought to light show that in Abraham's day the inhabitants of the city were given up wholly to idolatry, their chief object of worship being Nannar, the Moon-god. Not only did Abraham smash his father's idols, but under the divine guidance he freed himself from the custom of offering up his firstborn to devils. Further, when he saw his city attacked by hosts of enemies from the north and from the low-lying lands to the south, there was nothing left for him to do but migrate to the country which God promised to give him. Putting all the evidence together, it is clear that Abraham was a great, strong and independent chief in Babylonia, and that his power waxed greater when he established himself at Harran. The rescue of Lot

shows that his armed retainers formed an effective military body, and the greatness of his might and influence is proved by the fact that he compelled Ephron the Hittite to sell him the cave of Machpelah. And the Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who seized Sarah, would hardly have listened to Abraham's objections unless he knew that Abraham had a following strong enough to make his restitution of Sarah a necessity, p. 275

THE EXCAVATIONS AT UR OF THE CHALDEES.

Of the greatness and importance of Ur of the Chaldees politically and commercially, the excavations which Mr. C. L. Woolley has conducted for the British Museum and the University of Pennsylvania during the last five years afford abundant evidence. In my little book, Babylonian Life and History , London, 1925,1 gave a brief summary of what had been done up to the time of going to press, and it is necessary to describe the progress of

PLATE III

General view of the ziggurat and the excavations at "Ur of the Chaldees."

the work during the winters of 1924-25 and 1925 - 26 . The facts are derived from Mr. Woolley's official reports, published in the Antiquaries' Journal , Vol. V, No. 4, and Vol. VI, No. 4. As already said, the Ziggurat which stands in the west comer of the Temenos enclosure was cleared during the winter of 1923- 24, and in 1924-25 work was begun on the Temenos or Sacred Area itself. A good general view of the site already excavated is given on Plate III . Already in 1925, Mr. Woolley was able to report as follows: "Summarizing our results in this part of the field, we can say that we have now a complete plan of the Ziggurat and its surroundings in the Neo-Babylonian period after the wholesale reconstructions of Nebuchadnezzar II and Nabonidus, the complete plan of the Kassite period for three p. 276 sides of the Ziggurat, a good part of the plan of the buildings of the Larsa period (2000 B.C.), and that of Ur-Engur's (i.e. Ur-Nammu's) work on one side of the tower, together with a general idea of its lines on two of the other sides." The Ziggurat of Ur-Nammu was built on a terrace which on this side had a width of 34 metres, and cones of baked clay bearing Ur-Nammu's dedication of the building E-temen-ni-il had been inserted in the vertical joints of the brickwork. For the first time these cones were found in their original position. A specimen of these cones is given on Plate IV . Ur-Nammu built E Nannar, or Temple of the Moon-god, on the terrace level of E-temen-ni-il. During the Larsa period Ur-Nammu's buildings were reconstructed, and prominent among the kings who carried out this work were Sinidinnam (2086-2080 B.C.) and Warad Sin (2072-2060 B.C.). Cones and other monuments show that En-an-na-tum, high-priest of

PLATE IV

Nannar, and son of king Ishme-Dagan, and Sumu-ilum, who built a temple to Innina, and Silli-Adad, and Kudur Mabug had all worked here.

The principal builder at Ur during the Kassite period was Kuri-Galzu, but his work was not of the best kind, and as his successors did no repairs on his buildings, they fell into decay. The arched doorway which he built in the p. 277 sanctuary of E-Dublal-mah is shown on Plate IV . For seven hundred years nothing of importance in connection with the temple buildings at Ur was done. Nebuchadnezzar II and his grandson practically rebuilt the public buildings at Ur. They found the ancient shrines so hopelessly destroyed or so completely buried that on a traditional site they were able to employ a new design or radically to reshape the old, and even to change the location of a sanctuary whose name alone perhaps survived. Under the rule of the Persians the city gradually sunk into ruin and decay.

PLATE VI

The E-Dubal-mah, or Hall of Justice, at "Ur of the Chaldees" as it was incorporated in the E-Gig-Par of Nabonidus; the north-east side.

To the south-east of the Ziggurat stood the Temple of Nin-gal, which was built by Sinbalatsu-ikbi (see the door socket of this king on Plate VIII) , the Assyrian governor of Ur (650 B.C.), and was restored by Nabonidus. Mr. Woolley's excavations showed that it was built on the site of the first temple of Nin-gal, which dated from the reign of Kuri-Galzu in the XIVth century B.C.

PLATE V

The ruins of the great Hall of justice (E-Dubal-mah) at "Ur of the Chaldees," as seen from the south corner.

To the south-east of the temple E-Nun-Mah are the temple E-Dublal-Mah, the work of Kuri-Galzu ( Plate V), and the E-Gig-Par which was built by Nabonidus ( Plate VI ). The latter building is 95 metres long and 50 metres wide, and is oriented N.W. and S.E., and there is no doubt that it was the p. 278 convent in which Bel-Shalti-Nannar, daughter of Nabonidus and sister of Belshazzar, ruled as Lady Superior of the sacred women of Ur. In the rooms of this convent were found a very large number of small but important objects, e.g. gate sockets, sculptured reliefs, school-exercise tablets, teaching tablets, tablets marked with squares in lines used in playing games, etc., and one room was used as a Museum, for it contained inscribed objects with labels attached for teaching purposes! The remains found in E-Dublal-Mah included portions of a statue, dating from 2800 B.C.; a limestone plaque with reliefs representing the worship of Nannar ( Plate XIII , No. 1); portions of the great stele of Ur-Nammu ( Plate XI , No. 2); alabaster rams forming the sides of a throne (Plate XIII , No. 2); etc.

PLATE XI

{facing page 208 )

A stele of the TTTrd Dynasty from the E-Gig-Par at "Ur of the Chladees." (See page 280 .)

The King Ur-Nammu making an offering to Nannar and Nin-Gal. From the great stele of Ur-Nammu. (See page 278 .)

During the winter of 1925 - 26 , Mr. Woolley and his men excavated the great Gig-Par-ku site at Ur. The earliest buildings of which any actual ruins were found belonged to the period of the First Dynasty of Ur (about 4000-3500 B.C.). In digging down to trace the Third Dynasty foundations, they found a short section of a wall constructed with kiln-burnt plano-convex bricks set over a foundation of rough limestone blocks, a wall identical in every respect with that of the temple built by king p. 279 A-an-ni-pad-da at Al-'Ubed. Among the buildings of the Third Dynasty of Ur (2300 B.C.) was the temple of Ur-Nammu, but remains of its walls are wanting. Thirteen gate sockets were found, and the inscription on them reads, "Ur-Nammu, the mighty man, the king of Ur, the king of Sumer and Akkad, has built the splendid Gig-Par for his Lady Nin- Gal" ( Plate VII , Nos. 2 and 3). On the ruins of Ur-Nammu's temple his grandson Bur-Sin built a temple which was dedicated by him to the goddess Nin-Gal. An inscribed door socket of Bur-Sin is shown on Plate VIII . This temple was probably destroyed about 2000 B.C. by the Elamites, who captured the city and brought the rule of the Third Dynasty of Ur to an end.

PLATE VIII

The next temple that occupied the site was built by En-an-na-tum, son of Ishme-Dagan, king of Isin. The building was rectangular and measured 79 metres by 76Vi metres, and its angles were oriented to the

cardinal points of the compass. It was surrounded by a massive wall, and had two entrances; at the east angle was a gate tower. The building was divided into three parts by the cross corridor, and by a wall running parallel with it; it contained two temples, several small shrines, and a considerable number of small rooms, in which the priests and priestesses lived. Some of the rooms were used p. 280 as kitchens and pantries, and some as sepulchral chambers in which the bodies of dead priests were buried. A view of the great kitchen in Gig Par Ku is given on Plate IX . The building supplies a complete plan of an early Sumerian sanctuary, which has hitherto been wanting. The temple flourished in a greater or lesser degree all through the reign of Hammurabi, and down to the eleventh year of the reign of his son Samsu-iluna; its destruction probably took place during, or as a result of, the revolt which took place in the following year. Among the important objects found in the ruins may be mentioned:—1. A diorite statuette of the goddess Eau, the great "World- Mother" ( Plate X) , which was made about 2400 B.C. 2. Diorite statuette of the goddess Nin-Gal (about 2080 B.C.). 3. A limestone plaque on which are sculptured scenes of worship (about 3000 B.C.) ( Plate XI , No. 1). 4. An alabaster model of the lunar disk dedicated to Nannar by the daughter of Sargon of Agade (about 2630 B.C.). 5. A granite bowl of Naram-Sin of Agade (2550 B.C.), which about 300 years later (about 2250 B.C.) was presented to the temple at Ur by the daughter of king Dungi (or, Shulgi).

PLATE VII

1. Stone duck weight of Shulgi, King of Ur, about 2200 B.C. (See page 285 .)

2. Bronze shoe of a door pivot and its stone socket inscribed with the name of Ur-Nammu, about 2600 B.C. (See page 279 .)

3. Hard stone fragment with an inscription of Ur-Nammu. (See page 279 .)

The excavation of the "Palace Site "has yielded much useful information, and the further exploration of the so-called Tomb Mound has p. 281 laid bare the foundations of many houses, and yielded many small, but interesting, antiquities, tablets, terra-cotta figures, cylinder seals, pottery, etc. Among the tablets were several dating from the period of Rim-Sin (1980 B.C.); these were inscribed with hymns and religious texts written in honour of the Moon-god Nannar.

Mr. C. L. Woolley resumed work at Ur on October 28, 1926, and continued the excavations until February, 1927, when want of funds brought his operations to a standstill. The results of his labours during the past winter are of extraordinary importance, and through the courtesy of Sir Frederic Kenyon, Director of the British Museum, and the late Dr. Byron Gordon, Director of the Museum of the University of Pennsylvania at Philadelphia, I am enabled to describe them briefly in the following pages.

The site first selected for work during the past winter was a lofty mound outside the wall built by Nebuchadnezzar II round the Sacred Area, and when a space measuring 200 feet by 150 feet was cleared, several blocks of houses, divided by narrow streets, were found. Hitherto the Expedition had excavated only temples and fortifications which, after all, tell us little or nothing about the private daily life of Abraham's neighbours, but Mr. Woolley felt that the time had come for him to explore the ruins of the p. 282 houses of the merchants and the poorer class of inhabitants of "Ur of the Chaldees," and the results he obtained greatly exceeded his expectations. When a house fell down in Babylonia the ruins were levelled and another house was built on them, and in some mounds several layers of houses, each layer belonging to a different period, have been identified. On the site selected by Mr. Woolley the rains and winds and storms of four thousand years had removed all the more modem layers of houses, and he was able to get to work at once on a fine collection of houses which were built about 2100 B.C. The main walls being built of burnt brick, were in a good state of preservation; the interior walls were of mud brick, laid on burnt brick foundations, which rose two or three feet above the brick-paved floor. Thus the foundations formed a "damp course," and the state of the walls showed that the dwellers in the houses were not troubled by damp. The visitor, on passing through

the doorway, entered a small ante-chamber, which led into the courtyard; this was partly covered in. The reception room was on one side, and the kitchen and pantry, etc., were on the other. The bedrooms of the family were on the upper floor, which were entered from a wooden gallery running round all four sides of the court yard. p. 284 Close to the front door was the stairway, the treads of which are made of solid brick. The walls of these houses are still about 20 feet in height, and the plan of them and the general arrangement of the rooms on the ground floor and upper floor are reproduced to this day in the houses of merchants and well-to-do folk at Baghdad and Hillah. There is little doubt that it was in houses of this kind that Serug, Terah, Nahor and Abraham lived. The houses and their courtyards stood side by side in rows, as at the present day; the streets then as now were narrow. An excellent representation of a street is given on Plate XII . {See page 283 for a drawing of the interior of a private house.}

When the master of the house died he was usually buried under it, together with his engraved stone cylinder-seal, pots, and inscribed clay tablets. As was to be expected, no furniture of any shape or kind was found in the houses, and even the burial places under them had been rifled. But, in spite of this, Mr. Woolley succeeded in collecting from the site a considerable number of clay tablets inscribed with tables of square and cube roots, hymns, and records of the buildings erected by various kings of Ur. Among the miscellaneous objects found may be mentioned a bottle of blue and black glass which probably came from Syria; this interesting object was probably made about 1500 B.C.p. 285

The works that were carried out after the excavation of the houses was finished threw much light upon the history of Ur in the first half of the third minennium B.C. There is now no doubt that a temple tower or Ziggurat existed at Ur as early as 2800 B.C., for portions of its walls made of plano-convex mud bricks were found buried under the Ziggurat made by Ur-Nammu 2600 B.C. Under the temple of E-nin-makh a very interesting object was discovered in the shape of the cover of an ivory toilet box bearing a Phoenician inscription (see Plate XIV , No. 1), and with it were several articles for the toilet in ivory, and a beautifully engraved comb. The remains of the royal buildings, which were erected about 2000 B.C., prove that the Sumerians, even at that early period, were able to construct halls with arches and vaulted roofs. It is clear that many of the statements which were made by architectural authorities two or three generations ago will have to be greatly modified in the light of the discoveries made at Ur. In a great commercial centre like Ur accurate weights were of prime importance, and the fine diorite duck-weight inscribed with the name of king Shulgi shows that as early as 2500 B.C. standard weights were in use in Babylonia (see Plate VII , No. 1). This standard was in use in Babylonia two thousand years later, as an inscription on a weight of Nebuchadnezzar II testifies, p. 286

The next portion of the site selected for careful excavation was the area at the south-east end, inside the wall built by Nebuchadnezzar II, where there were no buildings. A trench cut across it brought to light an early cemetery, containing graves which were made not much later than 3000 B.C. These graves yielded a large quantity of pottery; vases in diorite, hard stone, alabaster, and steatite, many of beautiful shape and design; copper bowls, vases, pots, axe-heads, adzes, spears, razors, knives and daggers; gold, silver and carnelian beads; lapis lazuli pins with heads of gold or silver; cylinder-seals beautifully engraved; rock-crystal cylinder-seals with copper caps and cores made of white or coloured paste; gold tiaras, chains, finger-rings, ear-rings, beads, amulets, etc. All these show that the crafts of the metal worker and the jeweller had reached a very high state of perfection when the first kings of the 1st dynasty of Ur began to reign in the second half of the fourth millennium B.C. When these graves were made they were only about one foot below the level of the surrounding country, but now they lie some 15 or 20 feet under the accumulated rubbish of fifty centuries. The latest graves were, according to Mr. Woolley, made about 3000 B.C., and the earliest some 500 years earlier. Among the objects found in the p. 287 lowermost layer of graves were two cylinder-seals each inscribed with the name of a king of Ur who reigned over the city several hundreds of years before its history as a great commercial centre began. In the uppermost layer the cylinder-seals are inscribed with the names of officers of the household of the daughter of Sargon of Agade, about 2600 B.C.

This princess was the High Priestess of the Moon-god of Ur.

The four principal methods of burial were as follows:—(1) The body, in its ordinary apparel, was wrapped in a mat and laid on a mat at the bottom of the grave; the vases, weapons, ornaments, etc., were placed round about it. (2) The body was placed in a wickerwork coffin, together with the small objects; the vessels in pottery, stone, etc., were grouped round it. (3) The body was laid in a wooden coffin, with the objects to be buried with it, some being enclosed in little coffers. (4) The body was laid in an oval case made of clay. In the oldest graves of all, traces of partial cremation were found. The problem of how the early Sumerians disposed of their dead has now been solved. As the Egyptians buried their dead on the west bank of the Nile, so also did the Sumerians transport the bodies of their dead across the great canal which flowed by the west wall of the city of Ur, and bury them in the western desert, p. 288

Before the close of the season cylinder-seals bearing the names of five early kings, of whom three were unknown to history, were found. From the lapis lazuli cylinder-seal of Queen Nin-Kur-Nin the name of her husband Mes-anni-padda , the founder of the 1st dynasty of Ur has been recovered. Several of the kings of this dynasty have hitherto been regarded as mythical.

Mes-anni-padda

Below the black stratum which lies under the graves of the period of 3000 B.C. the richest graves were found. Here were discovered clay tablets, inscribed with a semi-pictographic script, and seals bearing the names of kings unrecorded in history. Among the other important "finds" may be mentioned:—(1) Eight shell plaques decorated with linear patterns (see Plate XV ) and animal figures; the lines are filled in with colour, red and black. (2) A royal gaming board, which consists of 20 shell plaques, decorated with linear designs and inlay of red paste and lapis lazuli, and framed with lapis lazuli, ivory and mother-of-pearl. It is the Sumerian equivalent of the so-called draught-boards which have been found in Egyptian tombs, and seems to indicate that the Sumerians, as well as the Egyptians, believed that their dead amused themselves by playing some game like that of draughts in the Other World, p. 289

But the greatest "find" of all was made just before the end of the season. About 18 feet below the level of the ground Mr. Woolley came upon a hoard of copper tools and weapons. This consisted of sets of chisels and bundles of heavy spear-heads, and side by side with these were two gold chisels and a gold spear-head. Further research brought to light more copper weapons, arrows by the quiverful, lance-points, a mace, axe- heads, and parts of bows. Round about these were pendants in camelian, lapis lazuli and gold, the gold binding for a bow, an adze of solid gold, its wooden handle being covered with plaster painted red and bound with thin gold. Lying a little apart was a silver baldric, to which was attached a "vanity case" of gold filigree work, containing a pair of tiny tweezers, spoon and stiletto, all of gold, hung upon a silver ring. Close by was a dagger (see Plate XIV , No. 2). The hilt is formed of one piece of deep-coloured lapis lazuli studded with gold, and the blade is of burnished gold; the sheath is of solid gold. The back of the latter is plain except for two lines of simple beading, but the front is entirely covered with an intricate design in filigree work. The dagger and its sheath are marvels of design and workmanship, and as they were made at least fifty-five centuries ago, they are among the oldest and finest specimens of the craft of the goldsmith in the world, p. 290

All the more important antiquities which have fallen to the share of the Trustees of the British Museum are exhibited in the Babylonian Rooms of the Museum, and are on view all day and every day. Mr. Woolley has written and published in October each year in The Antiquaries' Journal a detailed report, with excellent plans and a large number of photographic plates, of the work done at Ur during the preceding winter, and to these the reader who requires fuller and more detailed information about the work is begged to refer. The Trustees of the British Museum have also decided to publish a full scientific Report on the work, with maps,

plans, and photographs, and the first volume of it, which deals with the discovery of the temple of A-an-ni- pad-da at Tall al-'Ubed, near Ur, by Dr. H. R. Hall, and the completion of its excavation by Mr. Woolley, has already appeared. A smaller work on the temple of Tall al-'Ubed is being prepared by Dr. H. R. Hall, and Mr. C. J. Gadd, of the British Museum, is writing the history of Ur from the time of the Seven Wise Men who flourished before the Flood to the final downfall and decay of the city about 300 B.C.