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"Extract from a General Letter from the Honb. Court of Directors, dated the 13th February 1817". This confirms the Court of Directors' agreement to appoint Dr Wallich as Superintendent of the Botanical Gardens. Handwritten by unknown hand.

'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.

'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 addressed to Col. Sykes by Captn. M. Kittoe dated Sherghatti (Sherghati), 3 December 1846' in which he writes of his exploring in 'Gaya' and finding antiquities with inscriptions which he believes relate to gifts from rich people and the building of Hindu temples. He has copied the inscriptions and hopes to interpret them.

He has only found four or five fragments of Buddhist architecture but many small sculptural stones. He has sketched one find (copy of sketch is present) and describes others. He asks Sykes to compare with his notes on the caves at Ellora. At Bodh Gaya he has found many fragments of Buddhist sculptures which he also describes and compares with others. He has also discovered another Asoka pillar at 'Bakremee', the site of an ancient city. It is broken into pieces but describes it and its connections with other excavations and objects.

'Extract from a letter addressed to Mr(Edwin) Norris by Major Rawlinson, dated Baghdad, 27 November 1846' in which he writes of inscriptions - that he thinks they may be relatively easy to interpret but that the language seems to be a compound of Turkish and Armenian and the names are apparently historical Kings of Armenia. He also writes of the progress of the excavations at Nineveh.

"Extract from a Letter addressed to the Secretary of the R.A.S by the Revd. Wm. [Meason] dated at Tonghoo 27th August 1859" concerning the potential donation of his forthcoming book. Handwritten, 1 piece, 3 sides.

'Extract from a letter addressed to Colonel Sykes by District Surgeon Elijah Impey, dated Ahmednuggur (Ahmednagar), 28 September 1846 on the discovery of a Colossal Buddhist Figure on the face of a hill in the Satpoorah (Satpura) range.' He describes his discovery of Buddhist remains and the finding of the figure.

'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 of Capt. M. Kittoe, addressed to Colonel Sykes, dated Chunar, 18 January 1848' in which he writes of his forthcoming journey during which he hopes to collect items for the Society's museum. Despite poor health he has been steadily making progress with the inscriptions and writes of some he has with him and his attempts at translation.

'Extract from a letter of Capt. T. J. Newbold, dated Alexandria, 10 January 1847' in which he writes of inscriptions recently found in the excavations. He transcribes the inscriptions and gives a description of the temple in which they were found.