'Extract from a letter addressed by Major Rawlinson to Mr Norris, dated Bisitun, 20 July 1847' in which he writes of his arrival a week previously and the collecting of scaffolding and ladders in order to examine the great sculpture. He writes that he has been poorly repaid for his trouble as the inscriptions are proving difficult.

'Extract from a letter of Major Rawlinson addressed to Mr Norris, dated Behistun, Sept. 20, 1847' in which he is delighted to report that having returned to the site ten days previously, with renewed health and spirit, he has found a considerable portion of the Babylonian inscription to be legible. He has made copies of the inscription using a powerful telescope resulting in him obtaining a list of Babylonian names and a 'tolerable' vocabulary.