=Temple at Nippur.=--The earliest example, so far disclosed, is a temple at =Nippur=, which bears a close resemblance to the oldest pyramid in Egypt, =Medum=, before the latter had been faced. It is on the principle of the _stepped-pyramid_, consisting of several stories, each of which sets back from the one below it, while the walls of all have a batter. The terraces on one side are of extra width to allow for the stairways. This old type of stage-temple, called in the East _ziggurat_ (holy mountain), derived probably from the ancient custom of worshipping in “high places,” was still preserved in the famous [Illustration: “SARGON’S CASTLE,” NEAR KHORSABAD CONJECTURED RESTORATION. P. 67] [Illustration: PART OF “LION FRIEZE” AND “FRIEZE OF ARCHERS” EXECUTED IN GLAZED TILES. P. 72] [Illustration: DETAILS OF WALL DECORATION AT KOYUNJIK SHOWING (LEFT) THE HANDLING OF A COLOSSAL BULL STATUE; AND (RIGHT) THAT THE ASSYRIANS USED SOME FORM OF DOME-ROOFS] =Temple of Nebo=, rebuilt by Nebuchadnezzar at =Borsippa=. Only four stages of the latter survive, but a record discovered in the ruins shows that the original number was seven, dedicated to the seven planets and decorated with the colours sacred to each. The ground story of this temple was 272 feet square and 45 feet high, while the total height of the structure was about 160 feet. It is noteworthy that the tomb-pyramid of =Medum= also consisted of seven stories. In a ziggurat at =Tello=, opened up by the French savant, de Sarzac, was discovered a magnificent collection of statues of diorite--a mixture of granite, felspar and hornblende--dark grey in colour--which is now in the Louvre. One of these, which has lost its head, represents a certain Gudea, priest-king and architect of Lagash. He is seated and carries on his lap a tablet, on which a fortified enclosure is engraved, while in the corner appear a dividing scale and a stylos. =Sargon’s Castle.=--The oldest palace remains have been discovered at =Nimroud=, the ancient Calah. They belong to the palace of Assur-nazar-pal (885-860 <small>B.C.</small>). Ten miles to the northeast, at =Khorsabad=, the French explorer P. E. Botta, discovered in 1843 the remains of a tower and palace, which subsequent excavations have proved to be the ruins of Dur-Sharrukim, “Sargon’s Castle,” built by Sargon as a royal residence (705-702 <small>B.C.</small>). The remains of the palace, being the most extensive of those hitherto explored, can be studied as a type of Assyrian palace architecture.