northeast corner of the palace. Its most unique feature consists in
the scheme of decoration on its walls, which are covered with row upon
row of bulls and dragons represented in the brilliant enamelled bricks.
Some of these creatures are flat and others raised in relief. Those
in relief are being taken apart to be sent to Berlin, where they will
be again put together for exhibition.

The friezes on this gate of Ishtar are among the finest examples of
enamelled brickwork that have been uncovered and take their place
beside "the Lion Frieze" from Sargon's palace at Khorsabad and the
still more famous "Frieze of Arches of King Darius" in the Paris Louvre.

The German party have already established the claim of Herodotus as
to the thickness of the walls of the city. Herodotus estimated them
at two hundred royal cubits (348 feet) high and fifty royal cubits
(86-1/2 feet) thick. At places they have been found even thicker. So
wide were they that on the top a four-horse chariot could easily turn.

The hanging gardens of Babylon, said to have been built to please
Amytis the consort of Nebuchadnezzar, were classed as among the Seven
Wonders of the World. Terraces were constructed 450 feet square, of
huge stones which cost millions in that stoneless country. These were
supported by countless columns, the tallest of which were 160 feet
high. On top of the stones were layers of brick, cemented and covered
with pitch, over which was poured a layer of lead to make all absolutely
water-tight. Finally, on the top of this, earth was spread to such a
depth that the largest trees had room for their roots. The trees were
planted in rows forming squares and between them were flower gardens.
In fact, these gardens constituted an Eden in the air, which has never
since been duplicated.