On the west side, the structure rises at once from the plain like a pyramid; the face being broken in different directions, partly by the torrents, and partly by what seems to have been some convulsion of nature. At the foot of the northern side, vast masses of solid brick-work are scattered over the rubbish. The building is seen to most advantage to the south; for on that side it is by far the most perfect. The tower there rises by high and distinct stages (four), receding one within another, in proportion to their respective elevations. "Here is a ruin," says an elegant writer, "corresponding, in a most surprising degree, with the tower of Belus, as described by Herodotus. The total circumference of the base is two thousand two hundred and eighty-six feet instead of one thousand nine hundred and sixty, the square of a stadium. The east and west sides remain of the original breadth nearly, and a greater portion of rubbish from the top crumbled down upon their sides, the north and south are thereby elongated; the present height of the ruin, to the top of the wall, is two hundred and thirty-five feet--less than one-half of the original height--consequently the _débris_ round the base might be expected to be much more considerable, so as to make the circumference of the base greater than it appears to be. But it must be remembered, that Alexander the Great, when he took possession of Babylon, after the defeat of Darius, employed ten thousand men for two months in removing the rubbish, preparatory to removing the tower[132]. It is probable they had only cleared the south side, before the work was abandoned; which would account for the south face being more perfect than any of the others. If we add to this, that vast quantities of the bricks have been taken away by the natives of the country, for building modern towns, the circumstance that the base so little exceeds the dimensions, given by Herodotus, will no longer appear unaccountable."