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platform had, however, been laid out as an n
rooms towards west and north. Most of the
open trapezoid space paved with limestone
slabs. Two circular offering tables built of
stone and with a low scat between them stood
in the middle of the courtyard. East of the
offering tables three stone altars were erected s ?
and in the southwestern end of the courtyard
stood a row of nearly 1 m. high stone blocks,
each of which was perforated by a round hole.
Along the edge of the holes, clear marks of ear
were visible. In the northeastern corner of the
courtyard there was a square pit in the floor.
Here the remains of a foundation deposit were
found : alabaster jars, a beaker, a few weapons,
a male figure, a small bird, and a considerable
number of nails and fragmentary sheets-every-
thing of copper In the same area a bull’s head
of copper and several stone jars were found
under the floor.
As in the preceding phase the central
platform rested on a lower, oval terrace en
closed by an ashlar wall, which still stands to a
height of more than 4 m. towards the south.
The new terrace covered a somewhat larger
area than the older one. It has presumably
measured about 100m. in an east-west direction,
Fig. 6. Alabaster jars from the foundation
and ca. 60 m. from north to south. The basin
deposit of the third temple.
and the long flight of steps that were built in
connection with the second temple and the well
soutwest of the temple were incorporated in the pressions on small lumps of clay and an impre
new architectural unit. ssion on the side of a red jar. A thorough
Among the objects from the foundation analysis of the chronological placing of these
deposits of the third temple, the similarity of seals has not as yet been made* but it is obvious
the small male figure and the bulls’ head of that within the nearly 500 seals known today
copper to finds from Ur and Susa belonging to various styles can be distinguished which both
the middle or later half of the third millennium in time and space are widely spread. In Kuwait
B.C. has previously been pointed out. It has some of the seals have been found in association
also been mentioned that the alabaster jars, with Akkabian cylinder seals. A unique double-
found beneath the floor of the third temple, convex seals in a gold setting has on one side
were of Egyptian origin. At least two of these four gazelles cut in a style characteristic of the
tall cylindrical jars must on account of the rim best local'seals, on the other side a represen
profiles be assigned to the later part of the Old tation of two nude heroes derived from proto
Kingdom. types of the Akkad period. While some of the
In the time of the third temple stamp seals thus may go back to earlier times, others
seals of steatite occur. They are of the type were still in use in the Isin-Larsa period. An im
that in the Bronze Age is found in great number pression of a stamp seal of late type has for
along the west coast of the Arabian Gulf from instance been found on a cuneiform tablet,
Kuwait to Bahrain. In Barbar, nine of these dated to the tenth year of the regin of King
seals were found, together with six seal im- Gungunum of Larsa (ca. 1923 B. C.)}
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