File RAS GOV7/22 - Extracts from letters of Major Rawlinson addressed to Mr Norris

4 pages handwritten

'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.

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