volume 2 - Robert Bedrosian's Armenian History Workshop

68 Death of a Watchman.
been destroyed by fire. Though the people of Mosul
had been accustomed to see excavations carried on at
Kuyunjik for fifty years, and must have known that the
mound had never yielded gold or precious stones,
crowds visited the chambers where we were digging
expecting to see undreamed of treasures brought to
light. It had been rumoured in the town that I could
read mismdri [i.e., cuneiform) writing, and the people
were convinced that I had obtained information as to
the exact spot where the ancient Assyrians had buried
their gold and silver. Pending the arrival of the Delegate
two officials had been deputed to watch us digging
so that they might be on the spot ready to claim all
treasure for the Government, and they found their task
very dull. Three days after we began to dig one of
them caught a chill, which developed into pneumonia,
and he died, and soon after this his companion was
withdrawn and we were left unwatched until the Delegate
arrived. Meanwhile, in spite of bitterly cold
winds, and rain and snow, we continued to dig through
the debris, and each day produced a " find " in the
shape of a tablet or fragment. Nimrud and I shared
the work of watching on alternate days, but it was cold
and dreary work.
One evening in the second week of February as we
were riding through the bazar we noticed signs of excitement,
and presently we were told that a high official
from Stambul had arrived and was asking for me.
The official very soon found me, and he turned out to be
the Delegate who had been sent by the Ministry of
Public Instruction at Stambul to watch our excavations.
He expected me to lodge him in our court, but there was
no room for him, and he had to go to one of the Khans
in the town. Before I left him that afternoon I gave
him a good meal in the bazar, for he was in a most
pitiable condition, and he told me the story of his
journey. It is necessary to state here the terms on
which he undertook the duties of Delegate. The Turkish
regulations laid it down that the excavator was to pay
the Delegate deputed to serve with him :£T20 per month