'Extract from a letter from Major Rawlinson to Mr (Edwin) Norris, dated Baghdad, 7 December 1846' in which he writes of his discovered inscriptions that their language is different to Babylonian though written in Babylonian characters. He thinks Assyrian is a connecting link and that old Egyptian may aid in deciphering. He is waiting for mail to come from Syria and hopes there will be something from Norris on the Babylonian excavations.

'Extract from a letter addressed by Major Rawlinson to Mr Norris, dated Baghdad, 27 April 1847' in which he writes of Dr Hincks' discovery of the numerals of cuneiform of which he has no doubt that Hincks is right. He continues to write of the information he has been able to interpret from the inscriptions and his deciphering of some of the symbols.

'Extracts from letters of Major Rawlinson addressed to Mr Norris'. Extracts from letters dated 25 February, 28 March, 28 April and 15 July 1848, in which he writes firstly of how his indisposition has interrupted his explorations but he is working on the translations from the copies of the inscriptions he has made. In March he writes of making the most of learning about Babylonian knowledge whilst in the desert and of the discoveries he made. In April he had concluded that the roots of Babylonian are biblical and monosyllabic. He has found Babylonian words in the Rabbinical Chaldee. He has also found what he believes to be a description of Nebuchadnezzar's buildings. In July he remarks that his Assyrian progress is satisfactory. He has made good progress on a translation from the Nimrud obelisk and in his understanding of the different grammatical parts of the language.