The Excavations at Nimrud (Kalḫu), 1953 (Continued)

In 1953, as has been previously explained, one of our objectives was to extend the dig in the area Z.T. Not only did we expect to make further discoveries there, but we intended to climb back on to the Ziggurrat Terrace and to re-examine the ninth century temples discovered by Layard, particularly that of Ninurta and the ‘Small Temple.’ It was also desired to locate some of the other religious buildings mentioned in the texts of Aššur-naṣir-pal.It was found, however, that the task of clearing the ground on the top of the terrace was beyond the resources of the Expedition, for the quantity of late debris which would have had to be removed from the south and east sides of the Ziggurrat was too great an obstacle to overcome in the short time at our disposal. Moreover the great expense of money which would have been involved in this operation was beyond our means; it also became obvious as we excavated the eastern side of Z.T. that this particular area had been repeatedly plundered, and that the chances of making any significant discoveries were poor. Nevertheless it is not impossible that further work in this disturbed ground might yet produce some important information, and we could hardly affirm with any confidence that such a task is not worth attempting.

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