The upper surface of the tell of the acropolis at Susa for a depth of nearly two metres contains remains of the buildings and antiquities of the Achæmenian kings and others of both later and earlier dates. In these upper strata of the mound are found remains of the Arab, Sassanian, Parthian, Seleucian, and Persian periods, mixed indiscriminately with one another and with Elamite objects and materials of all ages, from that of the earliest patesis down to that of the Susian kings of the seventh century B.C. [Illustration: 160.jpg BABIL.] The most northern of the mounds which now mark the site of the ancient city of Babylon; used for centuries as a quarry for building materials. The reason of this mixture of the remains of many races and periods is that the later builders on the mound made use of the earlier building materials which they found preserved within it. Along the skirts of the mound may still be seen the foundations of the wall which formed the principal defence of the 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 Narâm-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 Achæmenian kings, for, besides its walls, it had the additional protection of the steep slopes of the mound.