In this hybrid coupling of Egyptian to Assyrian art the least trained observer can discern what belongs to each of the two constituent elements. The position of the outstretched wings, one raised, the other lowered, before and not behind the figures, the uræi, the pshent, the shenti, the hawk-headed gods, the lotus-flower, the sphinx, and the _crux ansata_, properly belong to Egypt. The long-fringed robe of the priests, the curled hair and beard, the cylindrical tiara, the fire-altar, the sacred tree, and the lions are, besides other features, the property of Assyria and Chaldæa. The writing alone is Aramaic or Phœnician. At the Achæmenid epoch, seals are found in Phœnicia, the workmanship of which shows signs of Persian influence; sometimes even the legend, although Aramæan, gives us a Persian name. From the fourth century B.C., lastly, the glyptic art, following the same laws as the other branches of art, is rapidly invaded by the Greek genius. Engraved stones with Cypriote or Phœnician legends show subjects incontestably interpreted by Greek artists, even when the incidents are oriental; at last we find Greek subjects, so that the oriental influence is only shown by the legend, which still remains Phœnician. We are then arrived at the age of Alexander, and the ancient civilisations of the East have ceased to live. CHAPTER IX. _ARCHÆOLOGICAL DISCOVERIES AT SUSA._ § I. M. DE MORGAN’S MISSION IN SUSIANA. The progress of oriental archæology leads us from one surprise to another. Year after year discoveries are made in rapid succession, which we watch with breathless interest as they transform and elucidate some chapter in the history of those primitive civilizations from which our own is in part derived. Following the discoveries made in Chaldæa, Assyria, and Phœnicia, another region of the East now takes its turn in throwing light on the past--the country of Elam, or Susiana, a region hitherto almost unknown to us, although in the earliest ages of the world it played an important part. The ruins of Susa, situated at the north of Ahwaz, form a number of immense tells which cover an extent of four and a half to six square miles on both banks of the river Kerkha. The plain, which is dominated by these majestic mounds as far as the banks of the Karún, stretches far to the north, where it is bounded by the Bakhtiyari mountains. Southward it extends to the _Shatt al Arab_ and Lower Chaldæa.