Through the principal portal, with its grooved towers, we enter the vestibule (1), from which doors to right and left lead to the side-chambers, and which opens directly on to the square court. In the cella (18) with the adyton (19) the postament that stood in the niche immediately opposite the entrance had been taken away, and only the brick casket (_k_) that contained the statuette of Papsukal (Fig. 243) was still there. Similar brick caskets lay in the court doorway that led to the buildings connected with the cella, in the middle and on the western side of the southern main entrance. The two small chambers (20 and 21) near the chamber in front of the cella are accessible from it, as well as directly from the court. The entire cella building (17–22), as in the temple of Borsippa (Fig. 246), forms a completely self-contained block, separated from the enclosing wall of the temple by a narrow passage (10). From this passage room 9 can be reached, and also the southern series of rooms. This series (11–15) consists of four rather small rooms and apparently a court (13), in which two circular storage places are built. [Illustration: FIG. 244.—Ground plan of temple of Ishtar of Agade, Merkes. ] [Illustration: FIG. 245.—Section of temple of Ishtar of Agade, Merkes. ] There is a side entrance on the east which opens into the court through a small vestibule (4) that communicates with the main vestibule through chambers 3 and 2. Two small rooms (5 and 6) are accessible from the court. The wall decoration is as usual composed of flat pillars on the outside of the building and in the court. The main entrance on the south, and the door from the court leading to the cella (Fig. 247), are distinguished by a double framing. The three doors on the east side of the court, the side entrance, and the actual cella door have a single frame. The grooving on the front of the towers of the main entrance, and of the door leading from the court to the cella is simply rectangular. It was only during the last restoration of the building that the simple grooves were elaborated by stepped additions, like those of the Ninib temple. [Illustration: FIG. 246.—Ground-plan of Ezida, the temple of Nebo, in Borsippa. ] [Illustration: FIG. 247.—Temple of Ishtar of Agade in Merkes; view of cella façade. ]