The five great monarchies of the ancient eastern world; or, The history, geography, and antiquites of Chaldaea, Assyria, Babylon, Media, and Persia . nt of rope to sledge, on whichthe bull was placed for transport(Koyunjik). Chap. VI. ASSYRIAN MECHANICAL SCIENCE. 499 end, which could not otherwise have been reached, andthe lever was worked by means of them. We have thus unimpeachable evidence as to themode whereby the conveyance of huge blocks of stonealong level ground was effected. But it may befurther asked, howwere the blocks raisedup to the elevation atwhich we find themplaced ? Upon this
The five great monarchies of the ancient eastern world; or, The history, geography, and antiquites of Chaldaea, Assyria, Babylon, Media, and Persia . nt of rope to sledge, on whichthe bull was placed for transport(Koyunjik). Chap. VI. ASSYRIAN MECHANICAL SCIENCE. 499 end, which could not otherwise have been reached, andthe lever was worked by means of them. We have thus unimpeachable evidence as to themode whereby the conveyance of huge blocks of stonealong level ground was effected. But it may befurther asked, howwere the blocks raisedup to the elevation atwhich we find themplaced ? Upon thispoint there is no di-rect evidence; butthe probability is thatthey were drawn upinclined ways, slop-ing gently from thenatural ground to thetop of the Assyrians werefamiliar with inclinedways,^ which theyused almost alwaysin their attacks on walled TDlaCeS and ^^^ °^ ^ bas-relief, showing a pulley and a warrior. ^ cutting a bucket from the rope. which m many cases they constructed either of brick or stone .^ The Egyp-tians certainly employed them for the elevation of largeblocks ;* and probably in the earlier times, most nations. ^The banks of Scripture (2Kings, xix. 32 ; Is. xxvii. 33). ^ See Mr. Layards Monuments,2nd Series, Plates 18 and 21. ?* The great stones of which thepyramids were built were certainlyraised from the alluvial plain to therocky platform on which they stand in this way. (Herod, ii. 124; com-pare Wilkinson in the authors He-rodotus, vol. ii. p. 200, note.^) Dio-dorus declares that the pyramidsthemselves were built by the help ofmounds (i. 62, § 6). This, however,is improbable. 2 K 2 500 THE SECOND MONARCHY, Chap. YT. who affected massive architecture had recourse to thesame simple but uneconomical plan/ The crane andpulley were applied to this purpose later. In theAssyrian sculptures we find no application of eitherto building, and no instance at all of the two in com-bination. Still each appears on the bas-reliefs sepa-rately—the crane e
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