It consists of a beam supported in the centre, at one end of
which is tied a rope with a bucket or vessel for raising the water, and
at the other end is fixed a counterweight.* On an Assyrian bas-relief
found at Kuyunjik are representations of the shadduf in operation,
two of them being used, the one above the other, to raise the water to
successive levels. These were probably the contrivances usually employed
by the early Babylonians for raising the water to the level of their
fields, and the fact that they were light and easily removed must have
made them tempting objects to the dishonest farmer. Hammurabi therefore
fixed a scale of compensation to be paid to the owner by a detected
thief, which varied according to the class and value of the machine
he stole. The rivers and larger canals of Babylonia were used by the
ancient inhabitants not only for the irrigation of their fields, but
also as waterways for the transport of heavy materials. The recently
published letters of Hammurabi and Abeshu' contain directions for the
transportation of corn, dates, sesame seed, and wood, which were ordered
to be brought in ships to Babylon, and the code of Hammurabi refers to
the transportation by water of wool and oil. It is therefore clear that
at this period considerable use was made of vessels of different size
for conveying supplies in bulk by water.
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