It appears that the caravan bringing them down to Alexandretta,
from whence they were to be shipped to Philadelphia, was attacked by
robbers, and the sculptured stones were thrown upon the desert as
useless, and there they remained for some years. Finally they were
recovered, shipped to this country (about twenty-five years ago), and
arriving at their destination during the absence of the consignee, were
deposited temporarily in a subterranean storeroom at his manufactory.
In some way they were overlooked, and here they have remained unopened
until they were rediscovered a few days ago; meanwhile the missionary
and his friend have both passed away, ignorant of the fact that the rare
gift had finally reached its destination and had become again lost.
The cuneiform inscription is now being translated by an Assyrian scholar
(Rev. Dr. J.P. Peters, of the Divinity School), and its identity is
established; it came from the temple of King Assur-nazir-pal, a famous
conqueror who reigned from 883 to 859 B.C.
The slab was cut into three sections, 3x31/2 feet each, for convenience
of transportation, and they have been somewhat broken on the journey;
fortunately, however, this does not obliterate the writing.
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