acropolis in the time of Xerxes, and in many
places not only are the foundations preserved but large pieces of the
wall itself still rise above the surface of the soil.

[Illustration: 160a.jpg "STELE OF VICTORY"]

[Illustration: 160a-text.jpg TEXT FOR "STELE OF VICTORY"]

Stele of Naram-Sin, an early Semitic King of Agade in
Babylonia, who reigned about B. C. 3750. From the photograph
by Messrs. Mansell & Co.

The plan of the wall is quite irregular, following the contours of the
mound, and, though it is probable that the wall was strengthened and
defended at intervals by towers, no trace of these now remains. The
wall is very thick and built of unburnt bricks, and the system of
fortification seems to have been extremely simple at this period.

[Illustration: 161.jpg ROUGHLY HEWN SCULPTURE OF A LION STANDING OVER A
FALLEN MAN, FOUND AT BABYLON.]

The group probably represents Babylon or the Babylonian king
triumphing over the country's enemies. The Arabs regard the
figure as an evil spirit, and it is pitted with the marks of
bullets shot at it. They also smear it with filth when they
can do so unobserved; in the photograph some newly smeared
filth may be seen adhering to the side of the lion.

The earlier citadel or fortress of the city of Susa was built at the top
of the mound and must have been a more formidable stronghold than that
of the Achaemenian kings, for, besides its walls, it had the additional
protection of the steep slopes of the mound.

Below the depth of two metres from the surface of the mound are found
strata in which Elamite objects and materials are, no longer mixed with
the remains of later ages, but here the latest Elamite remains are found
mingled with objects and materials dating from the earliest periods of
Elam's history. The use of un-burnt bricks as the principal material
for buildings erected on the mound in all ages has been another cause
of this mixture of materials, for it has little power of resistance to
water, and a considerable rain-storm will wash away large portions
of the surface and cause the remains of different strata to be mixed
indiscriminately with one another. In proportion as the trenches were
cut deeper into the mound the strata which were laid bare showed remains
of earlier ages than those in the upper layers, though here also remains
of different periods are considerably mixed. The only building that has
hitherto