however, and the great open courts were faced with slabs of alabaster,
covered with sculptures and inscriptions, the illustrated narrative of the
wars and labors of the monarch. There were two miles of such sculptured
panelling at Koyunjik. At the portals of the palace, to guard the
approach, were stationed the colossal human-headed bulls.

[Illustration: SCULPTURES FROM A GATEWAY AT KHORSABAD.]

An important adjunct of the palace was the temple, a copy of the tower-
temples of the Chaldaeans. Its position is marked at present by a lofty
conical mound rising amidst and overlooking the palace ruins.

Upon the decay of the Assyrian palaces, the material forming the upper
part of the thick walls completely buried and protected all the lower
portion of the structure. In this way their sculptures and inscriptions
have been preserved through so many centuries, till brought to light by
the recent excavations of French and English antiquarians.

THE ROYAL LIBRARY AT NINEVEH.--Within the palace of Asshur-bani-pal at
Nineveh, Layard discovered what is known as the Royal Library. There were
two chambers, the floors of which were heaped with books, like the
Chaldaean tablets already described, The number of books in the collection
has been estimated at ten thousand. The writing upon some of the tablets
is so minute that it cannot be read without the aid of a magnifying glass.
We learn from the inscriptions that a librarian had charge of the
collection. Catalogues of the books have been found, made out on clay
tablets. The library was open to the public, for an inscription says, "I
[Asshur-bani-pal] wrote upon the tablets; I placed them in my palace for
the instruction of my people."