The discovery and decipherment of the trilingual cuneiform inscriptions — John Shaqi
The discovery and decipherment of the trilingual cuneiform inscriptionsBooth, Arthur John
History
The discovery and decipherment of the trilingual cuneiform inscriptions
Booth, Arthur John
Achaemenian inscriptions; Cuneiform inscriptions
Nearly thirty years had now elapsed since the last edition of Sir Thomas
Herbert’s book was published (1638). He was still living, and no doubt
he became sensible of the deficiency of his own account of Persepolis in
comparison with that of Della Valle. It appears also that a Mr. Skinner
had recently returned from Persia, with whom Herbert had the advantage
of conversing. He had, moreover, preserved ‘the mixt notes’ he took at
the time of his visit, nearly forty years before, and with a memory thus
refreshed he sat down to compose a greatly enlarged account of the famous
ruins.[35] He also gave instructions to the engraver Holler to execute
an entirely new design of the place, which was accomplished in 1663. The
view is still characterised by the most surprising inaccuracy. It is
upon a much larger scale, and is a far more pretentious work than its
predecessor. We now ascend to the platform by a double staircase parallel
to the line of the terrace, but it is still erroneously represented
projecting prominently from beyond it. At the summit we observe the four
animals and the two columns of the Porch. There is, however, no trace of
the walls the animals supported. In front are an elephant on one side
and a rhinoceros on the other, having ‘visages with beards and long hair
like men, agreeable to that fourth beast which Daniel looked upon.’ One
of the other animals is ‘like unto a Pegasus,’ ‘trapped with warlike
mail’; but the fourth ‘is so disfigured that it cannot be described.’
Turning to the right, we see at the edge of the terrace a tombstone of
the usual pattern, engraved apparently with cuneiform letters. It stands
entirely by itself, and is no doubt the jasper or marble table referred
to in the text. Beyond it, upon the same level, are a large number of
columns and the ruins of many others are to be seen strewn upon the
ground. He tells us ‘there be but 19 pillars at this day extant, yet
the fractures and bases of 21 more are perspicable.’ ‘It is evident,’
however, he continues, ‘there were in all a hundred pillars when the
place was in perfection, as appears by the vacant spaces and also bases
... which are yet visible.’ The entire centre of the picture is occupied
by a raised platform, no less than thirty feet above the level of the
porch and columns. It is approached by a double staircase constructed in
precisely the same manner as the first. The north wall of this elevated
terrace stretches across, west to east, from the columns below to the
hill that bounds the platform on the east, and it is completely covered
from end to end with bas-reliefs. This sculptured wall was entirely
forgotten by Herbert in his earlier editions, and it is now described
elaborately, the description being evidently borrowed from Della Valle,
a few errors being introduced, possibly from the ‘mixt notes.’ Having
ascended to this elevated terrace, we come to a huge two-storied
building, open at the top, resembling a modern factory gutted by a fire.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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