Page:Discovery and Decipherment of the Trilingual Cuneiform Inscriptions.djvu/366

Rh CHAPTER VI

DECIPHERMEXT OP THE THIRD OR BABYLONIAN COLUMN — IIINCKS AND RAWLINSON — A.D. 1846-1861

The task of deciphering the Third or Babylonian CoUinin led to far more important results, and cannot be so briefly summarised. The earliest inscriptions found in Babylonia were observed to consist of two well-marked styles of writing the cuneiform character. One of these styles was to be seen on the Michaux Stone, published in the Collection of Millin. The other occurs on the numerous bricks that were picked up upon the ancient site of Babylon, and on a immber of cylinders. But the most remarkable example of this style was found hi the long inscription obtained by Sir Harford Jones and published by the East India Company. The first style is by far the simplest, and it is known as the Cursive or New Babylonian; the other is so elaborate that Grotefend called it the ' Zierschrift '; * but it is generally described as the Lapidary or Old Babylonian. All the early scholars were struck by the close similarity of the writing in the third column at Persepolis to the first or simplest form of Babylonian. Munter went a step farther, and pointed out that the similarity extended to the Old Babylonian of the brick inscriptions. In the collection of inscriptions made by Mr. Rich, he thought he

^ Beitriige, 1840, p. 00.

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