He stalled oxen and sheep, for sacrifice and feasting, in the
outhouses and pens within the temple precincts, and he heaped up grain
in its granaries. Its storehouses he filled with spices so that
they were like the Tigris when its waters are in flood, and in its
treasure-chambers he piled up precious stones, and silver, and lead in
abundance. Within the temple precincts he planted a sacred garden which
was like a mountain covered with vines; and on the terrace he built
a great reservoir, or tank, lined with lead, in addition to the great
stone reservoir within the temple itself. He constructed a special
dwelling-place for the sacred doves, and among the flowers of the temple
garden and under the shade of the great trees the birds of heaven flew
about unmolested.
The first of the two great cylinders of Gudea ends at this point in the
description of the temple, and it is evident that its text was composed
while the work of building was still in progress. Moreover, the writing
of the cylinder was finished before the actual work of building the
temple was completed, for the last column of the text concludes with a
prayer to Ningirsu to make it glorious during the progress of the work,
the prayer ending with the words, "O Ningirsu, glorify it! Glorify the
temple of Ningirsu during its construction!" The text of the second of
the two great cylinders is shorter than that of the first, consisting
of twenty-four instead of thirty columns of writing, and it was composed
and written after the temple was completed.
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