at Nineveh bore the same name as his very ancient temple at Borsippa
(the modern Birs-i-Nimrûd), viz., "E-Zida."


Discovery of the Palace Library of Ashur-bani-pal.

In the spring of 1852 Layard was obliged to close his excavations
for want of funds, and he returned to England with Rassam, leaving
all the northern half of the great mound of Kuyûnjik unexcavated. He
resigned his position as Director of Excavations to the Trustees of the
British Museum, and Colonel (later Sir) H. C. Rawlinson, Consul-General
of Baghdâd, undertook to direct any further excavations that might
be possible to carry out later on. During the summer the Trustees
received a further grant from Parliament for excavations in Assyria,
and they dispatched Rassam to finish the exploration of Kuyûnjik,
knowing that the lease of the mound of Kuyûnjik for excavation
purposes which he had obtained from its owner had several years to
run. When Rassam arrived at Môsul in 1853, and was collecting his men
for work, he discovered that Rawlinson, who knew nothing about the
lease of the mound which Rassam held, had given the French Consul,
M. Place, permission to excavate the northern half of the mound, i.e.,
that part of it which he was most anxious to excavate for the British
Museum. He protested, but in vain, and, finding that M. Place intended
to hold Rawlinson to his word, devoted himself to clearing out part
of the South West Palace which Layard had attacked in 1852. Meanwhile
M. Place was busily occupied with the French excavations at Khorsabad,
a mound which contained the ruins of the great palace of Sargon II,
and had no time to open up excavations at Kuyûnjik. In this way a year
passed, and as M. Place made no sign that he was going to excavate at
Kuyûnjik and Rassam's time for returning to England was drawing near,