the most beautiful objects in the Gizeh Museum--which carries back the
history of the island to the age of the pyramid-builders of the fourth
dynasty. The boulder was subsequently concealed under the southern side
of the city-wall, and as fragments of inscribed papyrus coeval with the
sixth dynasty have been discovered in the immediate neighbourhood, on
one of which mention is made of "this domain" of Pepi II., it would seem
that the town of Elephantine must have been founded between the period
of the fourth dynasty and that of the sixth. Manetho is therefore
justified in making the fifth and sixth dynasties of Elephantine origin.

It is in Babylonia, however, that the most startling discoveries have
been made. At Tello, M. de Sarzec has found a library of more than
thirty thousand tablets, all neatly arranged, piled in order one on the
other, and belonging to the age of Gudea (b.c. 2700). Many more tablets
of an early date have been unearthed at Abu-Habba (Sippara) and Jokha
(Isin) by Dr. Scheil, working for the Turkish government. But the most
important finds have been at Niffer, the ancient Nippur, in Northern
Babylonia, where the American expedition has brought to a close its long
work of systematic excavation. Here Mr. Haynes has dug down to the very
foundations of the great temple of El-lil, and the chief historical
results of his labours have been published by Professor Hilprecht (in
_The Babylonian Expedition of the University of Pennsylvania_, vol. i.
pl. 2, 1896).

About midway between the summit and the bottom of the mound, Mr. Haynes
laid bare a pavement constructed of huge bricks stamped with the names
of Sargon of Akkad and his son Naram-Sin. He found also the ancient wall
of the city, which had been built by Naram-Sin, 13.7 metres wide. The
_debris_ of ruined buildings which lies below the pavement of Sargon
is as much as 9.25 metres in depth, while that above it, the topmost
stratum of which brings us down to the Christian era, is only 11 metres
in height. We may form some idea from this of the enormous age to which
the history of Babylonian culture and writing reaches back. In fact,
Professor Hilprecht quotes with approval Mr. Haynes's words: "We must
cease to apply the adjective 'earliest' to the time of Sargon, or to any
age or epoch within a thousand years of his advanced civilization." "The
golden age of Babylonian history seems to include the reign of Sargon
and of Ur-Gur."

Many of the inscripti