Mesopotamia

Three thousand years of cities between two rivers, and then the long argument about who gets to keep them. People wrote here first, though "invented writing" flatters it: the earliest tablets are accounting notes that do not encode grammar, and the overwhelming majority of everything ever written in cuneiform is receipts. The law codes are older than Hammurabi and less merciful as they get later. The kings who look most brutal are simply the ones who carved their own conquests into stone while their neighbours did not. Then the diggers came, and the objects left: Botta and Layard shipping reliefs down the Tigris, Woolley splitting Ur between London and Philadelphia, the Ishtar Gate rebuilt inside a Berlin museum. In 2003 about fifteen thousand things were taken from the Baghdad museum, not the hundred and seventy thousand that got reported, and the larger loss was the sites themselves, pitted by shovels where no camera was pointing. This archive runs from the fifth millennium BC to now, and states for each object where it is and how it got there.

A chronological documentary of 1,000 moments spanning 5600 BC–2026 on Loreline.

Curated by Olivier · last updated 2026-09-20

Eras

Seals, Cylinder seals and stamp seals, and the impressions they were made to leave. A seal is a few centimetres of carved stone that produces a continuous scene when rolled across wet clay, which makes it both a signature and a picture. They survive in enormous numbers, they were the single largest category taken from Baghdad in 2003, and museums almost always photograph the seal beside its modern impression so you can read what the object was for.
Statues, Sculpture in the round and the small figures people kept. The Tell Asmar hoard with its enormous eyes, the Gudea statues, Ebih-Il the seated steward, the bronze head from Nineveh, the Warka mask, foundation pegs driven into temple corners, and the apotropaic figures like Pazuzu that were meant to keep worse things away.
Vessels, Everything worn, poured from or carried, and the material where the Royal Cemetery at Ur dominates. Puabi's headdress, the gold and lapis work, the Ram in a Thicket, the Royal Game of Ur, the Standard of Ur, the Warka Vase, the Nimrud ivories, beads and metalwork and glazed ware. On the death pits that produced much of this: human sacrifice is better supported now than in Woolley's day, but his account of a gentle poisoning was overturned by later imaging that found blunt-force trauma, and no cup he described was ever chemically tested.
Tablets, Everything written on clay, which is where this civilisation is loudest. Literary tablets, school exercises, omen compendia, mathematical tablets like Plimpton 322, letters, the map of the world, and the Flood Tablet that George Smith read in 1872. But the honest proportion matters: the overwhelming majority of surviving cuneiform is administrative, receipts and ration lists and accounts of barley, and that is the real texture of the record. Also the modern life of tablets: being read, conserved, digitised, seized and repatriated.
Reliefs, Carved stone, and the most spectacular material in the archive. The Assyrian palace orthostats above all: the lion hunts, the siege of Lachish, Ashurnasirpal's winged genii, the Black Obelisk, the Stele of the Vultures, the victory stele of Naram-Sin, the Hammurabi stele, and the lamassu that guarded the gates. Read them knowing what they are: royal self-documentation, carved by the people making the claims, which is why Assyria reads as uniquely violent when its neighbours simply left no comparable record of themselves.
Sites, The places themselves, mostly mounds now. Uruk, Ur, Eridu, Nippur, Girsu, Babylon, Nineveh, Nimrud, Assur, Khorsabad and Mari, and the ziggurats at Ur, Aqar Quf and Choga Zanbil. Aerial and satellite imagery, including the looting pits that only show from above. Also the reconstructions built on top of the ruins, which are their own kind of historical document.
Museums, Where the objects live now, which is the facet that carries provenance because provenance is a question about location. The Ishtar Gate reassembled in Berlin, the British Museum Assyrian galleries, the Louvre Khorsabad court, the Iraq Museum in Baghdad, Penn, ISAC in Chicago, the Sulaymaniyah Museum. Galleries, storerooms, conservation labs and the labels themselves. Every object here from the Metropolitan carries its accession number and the museum's own credit line, so a viewer can see how it was acquired rather than only that it is held.
Excavation, The digging itself, then and now. Botta at Khorsabad and Layard at Nimrud and Nineveh in the 1840s, Rassam, Koldewey at Babylon, Andrae at Assur, Woolley at Ur with Agatha Christie and Max Mallowan on site, and current work at Girsu with Iraqi teams. Much of the best material here is not photography at all but the great nineteenth-century published folios, engraved and printed before cameras could do the job, which record objects that were later lost, damaged or dispersed.
Looting, Loss, and what was done about it. The 1991 and 2003 museum losses, the pitted sites, the damage done at Babylon by a military camp, the demolitions at Nimrud and the Mosul Museum, then the seizures, the forfeitures and the repatriations, including the Gilgamesh Dream Tablet. On the 2003 looting the number everyone knows is wrong: about fifteen thousand items were taken, not a hundred and seventy thousand, and roughly six thousand had come back by 2009. The larger and less filmable loss is the looting of unexcavated sites. Note that this is the thinnest facet in the archive, because free imagery of loss barely exists while imagery of possession is abundant.

5600 BC - Stamp seal and modern impression: geometric pattern. 5600 to 5000 BC. Stamp seals predate cylinder seals and reach back into the Halaf and Ubaid periods, well before the first cities. They were pressed rather than rolled, and they mark ownership and authority on sealings that survive where the sealed goods do not. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Gift of Martin and Sarah Cherkasky, 1986.
5600 BC - Seated female. 5600 to 5000 BC. Southern Mesopotamia has no stone, no metal ore and almost no timber. Lapis lazuli came from Badakhshan in Afghanistan, carnelian from the Indus, copper from Oman. Trade is not a footnote to this material, it is a precondition. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Purchase, Leon Levy and Shelby White Gift, 1985.
5000 BC - Loop-handled circular seal. 5th to 4th millennium BC. Stamp seals predate cylinder seals and reach back into the Halaf and Ubaid periods, well before the first cities. They were pressed rather than rolled, and they mark ownership and authority on sealings that survive where the sealed goods do not. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Bequest of Lester Wolfe, 1983.
4000 BC - Figurine. 4th to 1st Millennium BC, from Nippur. Southern Mesopotamia has no stone, no metal ore and almost no timber. Lapis lazuli came from Badakhshan in Afghanistan, carnelian from the Indus, copper from Oman. Trade is not a footnote to this material, it is a precondition. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Rogers Fund, 1959.
3600 BC - Conoid seal with pinched apex. 3600 to 2900 BC. Stamp seals predate cylinder seals and reach back into the Halaf and Ubaid periods, well before the first cities. They were pressed rather than rolled, and they mark ownership and authority on sealings that survive where the sealed goods do not. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Gift of Martin and Sarah Cherkasky, 1985.
3500 BC - Ritual scene before a temple facade Late Uruk ca. 3500, 3100 BCE. The seal impression depicts a procession of three nude figures approaching a schematically represented temple. The first figure is pouring something from one vessel into another, the second stands but is partially obscured by damage, and the third raises an object, likely a vessel, in his clasped hands.
3500 BC - Seal amulet in the form of a recumbent fox. 3500 to 2900 BC. Stamp seals predate cylinder seals and reach back into the Halaf and Ubaid periods, well before the first cities. They were pressed rather than rolled, and they mark ownership and authority on sealings that survive where the sealed goods do not. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Purchase, 1886.
3500 BC - Seal amulet in the form of a fish. 3500 to 2900 BC. Stamp seals predate cylinder seals and reach back into the Halaf and Ubaid periods, well before the first cities. They were pressed rather than rolled, and they mark ownership and authority on sealings that survive where the sealed goods do not. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Gift of Martin and Sarah Cherkasky, 1987.
3500 BC - Drilled cushion-rectangular plaque seal. 3500 to 2900 BC. Stamp seals predate cylinder seals and reach back into the Halaf and Ubaid periods, well before the first cities. They were pressed rather than rolled, and they mark ownership and authority on sealings that survive where the sealed goods do not. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1942.
3500 BC - Drilled hemispheroid seal. 3500 to 2900 BC. Stamp seals predate cylinder seals and reach back into the Halaf and Ubaid periods, well before the first cities. They were pressed rather than rolled, and they mark ownership and authority on sealings that survive where the sealed goods do not. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Gift of Martin and Sarah Cherkasky, 1983.
3500 BC - Seal amulet in the form of a recumbent bovid. 3500 to 2900 BC. Stamp seals predate cylinder seals and reach back into the Halaf and Ubaid periods, well before the first cities. They were pressed rather than rolled, and they mark ownership and authority on sealings that survive where the sealed goods do not. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Gift of Walter Hauser, 1959.
3300 BC - Seal amulet in the form of a bird of prey. 3300 to 2900 BC. Stamp seals predate cylinder seals and reach back into the Halaf and Ubaid periods, well before the first cities. They were pressed rather than rolled, and they mark ownership and authority on sealings that survive where the sealed goods do not. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Gift of Walter Hauser, 1958.
3300 BC - Amulet of a lion. 3300 to 2900 BC. Southern Mesopotamia has no stone, no metal ore and almost no timber. Lapis lazuli came from Badakhshan in Afghanistan, carnelian from the Indus, copper from Oman. Trade is not a footnote to this material, it is a precondition. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Gift of Miss Helen Miller Gould, 1910.
3300 BC - Jar with a spout and punctate decoration. 3300 to 3100 BC. Southern Mesopotamia has no stone, no metal ore and almost no timber. Lapis lazuli came from Badakhshan in Afghanistan, carnelian from the Indus, copper from Oman. Trade is not a footnote to this material, it is a precondition. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Gift of the Robert Haber family, 1993.
3300 BC - Seal amulet in the form of a lion's head. 3300 to 2900 BC. Stamp seals predate cylinder seals and reach back into the Halaf and Ubaid periods, well before the first cities. They were pressed rather than rolled, and they mark ownership and authority on sealings that survive where the sealed goods do not. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Gift of Walter Hauser, 1958.
3300 BC - Cylinder seal and modern impression: "pigtailed" ladies in front of loom (?); containers with loop handle. 3300 to 2900 BC. Cylinder seals were rolled across damp clay to sign and secure documents, and the impression, not the stone, was the point. They are among the most numerous surviving Mesopotamian objects and around 5,000 were among the roughly 15,000 items taken from the Iraq Museum in 2003. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Gift of Martin and Sarah Cherkasky, 1984.
3300 BC - Seal amulet in the form of a reclining cow. 3300 to 2900 BC. Stamp seals predate cylinder seals and reach back into the Halaf and Ubaid periods, well before the first cities. They were pressed rather than rolled, and they mark ownership and authority on sealings that survive where the sealed goods do not. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Gift of Walter Hauser, 1955.
3300 BC - Fragment of a bowl with a frieze of bulls in relief. 3300 to 2900 BC. Southern Mesopotamia has no stone, no metal ore and almost no timber. Lapis lazuli came from Badakhshan in Afghanistan, carnelian from the Indus, copper from Oman. Trade is not a footnote to this material, it is a precondition. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Gift of Alastair Bradley Martin, 1950.
3100 BC - Cylinder seal and modern impression- ritual scene before a temple facade MET DP270679. 3100 BC. Cylinder seal; Stone-Cylinder Seals. Cylinder seals were rolled across damp clay to sign and secure documents, and the impression, not the stone, was the point. They are among the most numerous surviving Mesopotamian objects and around 5,000 were among the roughly 15,000 items taken from the Iraq Museum in 2003.
3100 BC - Cuneiform tablet: administrative account with entries concerning malt and barley groats. 3100 to 2900 BC, probably from Uruk (modern Warka). The earliest tablets from Uruk IV, roughly 3350 to 3200 BC, are accounting notations recording commodities and quantities. They do not encode Sumerian grammar, so writing that can record connected speech is a later development. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Purchase, Raymond and Beverly Sackler Gift, 1988.
2900 BC - Cylinder seal. 2900 to 2700 BC. Cylinder seals were rolled across damp clay to sign and secure documents, and the impression, not the stone, was the point. They are among the most numerous surviving Mesopotamian objects and around 5,000 were among the roughly 15,000 items taken from the Iraq Museum in 2003. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Gift of Martin and Sarah Cherkasky, 1987.
2700 BC - Duck amulet. 2700 to 2600 BC, from Nippur. Southern Mesopotamia has no stone, no metal ore and almost no timber. Lapis lazuli came from Badakhshan in Afghanistan, carnelian from the Indus, copper from Oman. Trade is not a footnote to this material, it is a precondition. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Rogers Fund, 1962.
2700 BC - Bead. 2700 to 2600 BC, from Nippur. Southern Mesopotamia has no stone, no metal ore and almost no timber. Lapis lazuli came from Badakhshan in Afghanistan, carnelian from the Indus, copper from Oman. Trade is not a footnote to this material, it is a precondition. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Rogers Fund, 1962.
2700 BC - Vessel. 2700 to 2350 BC, from Nippur. Southern Mesopotamia has no stone, no metal ore and almost no timber. Lapis lazuli came from Badakhshan in Afghanistan, carnelian from the Indus, copper from Oman. Trade is not a footnote to this material, it is a precondition. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Rogers Fund, 1959.
2700 BC - Adze head (?). (?), ca. 2700 to 2600 BC, from Nippur. Southern Mesopotamia has no stone, no metal ore and almost no timber. Lapis lazuli came from Badakhshan in Afghanistan, carnelian from the Indus, copper from Oman. Trade is not a footnote to this material, it is a precondition. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Rogers Fund, 1962.
2700 BC - Cow amulet. 2700 to 2600 BC, from Nippur. Southern Mesopotamia has no stone, no metal ore and almost no timber. Lapis lazuli came from Badakhshan in Afghanistan, carnelian from the Indus, copper from Oman. Trade is not a footnote to this material, it is a precondition. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Rogers Fund, 1962.
2600 BC - Bowl. 2600 to 2500 BC, from Nippur. Southern Mesopotamia has no stone, no metal ore and almost no timber. Lapis lazuli came from Badakhshan in Afghanistan, carnelian from the Indus, copper from Oman. Trade is not a footnote to this material, it is a precondition. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Rogers Fund, 1962.
2600 BC - Rim sherd. 3rd millennium BC, from Tell Taya. Southern Mesopotamia has no stone, no metal ore and almost no timber. Lapis lazuli came from Badakhshan in Afghanistan, carnelian from the Indus, copper from Oman. Trade is not a footnote to this material, it is a precondition. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Rogers Fund, 1972.
2600 BC - Female head with elaborate hairstyle. 2600 to 2500 BC, from Khafajah. Southern Mesopotamia has no stone, no metal ore and almost no timber. Lapis lazuli came from Badakhshan in Afghanistan, carnelian from the Indus, copper from Oman. Trade is not a footnote to this material, it is a precondition. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Rogers Fund and Gifts of Lucy W. Drexel, Theodore M. Davis, Helen Miller Gould, Albert Gallatin, Egypt Exploration Fund and Egyptian Research Account, by exchange, 1950.
2600 BC - Jar fragment with reclining bulls. 2600 to 2500 BC, from Nippur. Southern Mesopotamia has no stone, no metal ore and almost no timber. Lapis lazuli came from Badakhshan in Afghanistan, carnelian from the Indus, copper from Oman. Trade is not a footnote to this material, it is a precondition. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Rogers Fund, 1962.
2600 BC - Sherd. 3rd millennium BC, from Tell Taya. Southern Mesopotamia has no stone, no metal ore and almost no timber. Lapis lazuli came from Badakhshan in Afghanistan, carnelian from the Indus, copper from Oman. Trade is not a footnote to this material, it is a precondition. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Rogers Fund, 1972.
2600 BC - Eye inlay for a statue. 2600 to 2500 BC, from Nippur. Southern Mesopotamia has no stone, no metal ore and almost no timber. Lapis lazuli came from Badakhshan in Afghanistan, carnelian from the Indus, copper from Oman. Trade is not a footnote to this material, it is a precondition. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Rogers Fund, 1962.
2600 BC - Cylinder seal with animal contest and banquet scene. 2600 to 2350 BC. Cylinder seals were rolled across damp clay to sign and secure documents, and the impression, not the stone, was the point. They are among the most numerous surviving Mesopotamian objects and around 5,000 were among the roughly 15,000 items taken from the Iraq Museum in 2003. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Gift of Nanette B. Kelekian, in memory of Charles Dikran and Beatrice Kelekian, 1999.
2600 BC - Necklace. 2600 to 2500 BC, from Ur (modern Tell al-Muqayyar). Southern Mesopotamia has no stone, no metal ore and almost no timber. Lapis lazuli came from Badakhshan in Afghanistan, carnelian from the Indus, copper from Oman. Trade is not a footnote to this material, it is a precondition. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Dodge Fund, 1933.
2600 BC - Beaker. 3rd millennium BC, from Tell Taya. Southern Mesopotamia has no stone, no metal ore and almost no timber. Lapis lazuli came from Badakhshan in Afghanistan, carnelian from the Indus, copper from Oman. Trade is not a footnote to this material, it is a precondition. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Rogers Fund, 1972.
2600 BC - Earring. 2600 to 2500 BC, from Ur (modern Tell al-Muqayyar). Southern Mesopotamia has no stone, no metal ore and almost no timber. Lapis lazuli came from Badakhshan in Afghanistan, carnelian from the Indus, copper from Oman. Trade is not a footnote to this material, it is a precondition. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Dodge Fund, 1933.
2600 BC - Female head. 2600 to 2350 BC. Southern Mesopotamia has no stone, no metal ore and almost no timber. Lapis lazuli came from Badakhshan in Afghanistan, carnelian from the Indus, copper from Oman. Trade is not a footnote to this material, it is a precondition. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Rogers Fund, 1952.
2600 BC - Ritual vessel or stand. 2600 to 2500 BC, from Nippur. Southern Mesopotamia has no stone, no metal ore and almost no timber. Lapis lazuli came from Badakhshan in Afghanistan, carnelian from the Indus, copper from Oman. Trade is not a footnote to this material, it is a precondition. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Rogers Fund, 1962.
2600 BC - Cylinder seal and modern impression: seated goddess before figures carrying boxes, one placed on "altar". ", ca. 2600 to 2500 BC. Cylinder seals were rolled across damp clay to sign and secure documents, and the impression, not the stone, was the point. They are among the most numerous surviving Mesopotamian objects and around 5,000 were among the roughly 15,000 items taken from the Iraq Museum in 2003. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Gift of Martin and Sarah Cherkasky, 1984.
2600 BC - Cylinder seal and modern impression. 2600 to 2500 BC. Cylinder seals were rolled across damp clay to sign and secure documents, and the impression, not the stone, was the point. They are among the most numerous surviving Mesopotamian objects and around 5,000 were among the roughly 15,000 items taken from the Iraq Museum in 2003. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Gift of Martin and Sarah Cherkasky, 1984.
2600 BC - Cylinder seal and modern impression: bull-man, bearded hero, and lion contest frieze. 2600 to 2350 BC. Cylinder seals were rolled across damp clay to sign and secure documents, and the impression, not the stone, was the point. They are among the most numerous surviving Mesopotamian objects and around 5,000 were among the roughly 15,000 items taken from the Iraq Museum in 2003. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Gift of Walter Hauser, 1955.
2350 BC - Bowl rim sherd. 3rd millennium BC, from Tell Taya. Southern Mesopotamia has no stone, no metal ore and almost no timber. Lapis lazuli came from Badakhshan in Afghanistan, carnelian from the Indus, copper from Oman. Trade is not a footnote to this material, it is a precondition. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Rogers Fund, 1972.
2350 BC - Sherd with incised decoration. 3rd millennium BC, from Tell Taya. Southern Mesopotamia has no stone, no metal ore and almost no timber. Lapis lazuli came from Badakhshan in Afghanistan, carnelian from the Indus, copper from Oman. Trade is not a footnote to this material, it is a precondition. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Rogers Fund, 1972.
2350 BC - Cuneiform tablet- distribution of copper knives MET vs62 70 95.jpeg (color). ), 2350 BC. Cuneiform tablet; Clay-Tablets-Inscribed. The overwhelming majority of surviving cuneiform tablets are administrative and economic: receipts, ration lists, inventories, loans and contracts. Literary texts are commonly estimated at only a few percent of the corpus.
2350 BC - Bowl sherd. 3rd millennium BC, from Tell Taya. Southern Mesopotamia has no stone, no metal ore and almost no timber. Lapis lazuli came from Badakhshan in Afghanistan, carnelian from the Indus, copper from Oman. Trade is not a footnote to this material, it is a precondition. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Rogers Fund, 1972.
2350 BC - Jar rim sherd. 3rd millennium BC, from Tell Taya. Southern Mesopotamia has no stone, no metal ore and almost no timber. Lapis lazuli came from Badakhshan in Afghanistan, carnelian from the Indus, copper from Oman. Trade is not a footnote to this material, it is a precondition. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Rogers Fund, 1972.
2350 BC - Axe head. 2350 to 2150 BC. Southern Mesopotamia has no stone, no metal ore and almost no timber. Lapis lazuli came from Badakhshan in Afghanistan, carnelian from the Indus, copper from Oman. Trade is not a footnote to this material, it is a precondition. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Purchase, Mrs. Vladimir S. Littauer Gift, 1969.
2300 BC - Head of a ruler. 2300 to 2000 BC. Southern Mesopotamia has no stone, no metal ore and almost no timber. Lapis lazuli came from Badakhshan in Afghanistan, carnelian from the Indus, copper from Oman. Trade is not a footnote to this material, it is a precondition. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Rogers Fund, 1947.
2250 BC - Rectangular plaque seal with stepped pyramidal back. 2250 to 2000 BC. Stamp seals predate cylinder seals and reach back into the Halaf and Ubaid periods, well before the first cities. They were pressed rather than rolled, and they mark ownership and authority on sealings that survive where the sealed goods do not. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; The Cesnola Collection, Purchased by subscription, 1874, 76.
2112 BC - Statue fragment. 2112 to 2004 BC. Southern Mesopotamia has no stone, no metal ore and almost no timber. Lapis lazuli came from Badakhshan in Afghanistan, carnelian from the Indus, copper from Oman. Trade is not a footnote to this material, it is a precondition. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Bequest of W. Gedney Beatty, 1941.
2112 BC - Cylinder seal and modern impression: worshiper pouring a libation before a seated god. 2112 to 2004 BC, from Nippur. Cylinder seals were rolled across damp clay to sign and secure documents, and the impression, not the stone, was the point. They are among the most numerous surviving Mesopotamian objects and around 5,000 were among the roughly 15,000 items taken from the Iraq Museum in 2003. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Rogers Fund, 1959.
2112 BC - Cylinder seal with ritual scene. 2112 to 2004 BC. Cylinder seals were rolled across damp clay to sign and secure documents, and the impression, not the stone, was the point. They are among the most numerous surviving Mesopotamian objects and around 5,000 were among the roughly 15,000 items taken from the Iraq Museum in 2003. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Gift of Nanette B. Kelekian, in memory of Charles Dikran and Beatrice Kelekian, 1999.
2100 BC - Bull's head. 2100 to 2000 BC. Southern Mesopotamia has no stone, no metal ore and almost no timber. Lapis lazuli came from Badakhshan in Afghanistan, carnelian from the Indus, copper from Oman. Trade is not a footnote to this material, it is a precondition. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Gift of Alastair Bradley Martin, 1973.
2094 BC - Foundation figure of king Shulgi of Ur, carrying a basket. 2094 to 2047 BC, from Nippur. Votive figures were placed in temples to stand in perpetual prayer on behalf of the donor, which is why the eyes are so large. The worshipper was represented rather than present. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Rogers Fund, 1959.
2090 BC - Head of Gudea. 2090 BC, probably from Girsu (modern Tello). Gudea ruled Lagash around 2100 BC and had himself carved repeatedly in hard imported diorite. The statues came from Girsu, modern Tello, where Ernest de Sarzec began digging in 1877, work that effectively proved the Sumerians had existed after their existence had been doubted. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Fletcher Fund, 1949.
2090 BC - Statue of Gudea, named “Gudea, the man who built the temple, may his life be long”. ”, ca. 2090 BC, probably from Girsu (modern Tello). Gudea ruled Lagash around 2100 BC and had himself carved repeatedly in hard imported diorite. The statues came from Girsu, modern Tello, where Ernest de Sarzec began digging in 1877, work that effectively proved the Sumerians had existed after their existence had been doubted. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1959.
2080 BC - Human-headed bison. 2080 BC, probably from Girsu (modern Tello). Southern Mesopotamia has no stone, no metal ore and almost no timber. Lapis lazuli came from Badakhshan in Afghanistan, carnelian from the Indus, copper from Oman. Trade is not a footnote to this material, it is a precondition. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Rogers Fund, 1996.
2051 BC - Cuneiform tablet case impressed with cylinder seal, for cuneiform tablet 86.11.249a: receipt of a kid. 2051 BC, probably from Drehem (ancient Puzrish-Dagan). The overwhelming majority of surviving cuneiform tablets are administrative and economic: receipts, ration lists, inventories, loans and contracts. Literary texts are commonly estimated at only a few percent of the corpus. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Purchase, 1886.
2051 BC - Cuneiform tablet: receipt of a kid. 2051 BC, probably from Drehem (ancient Puzrish-Dagan). The overwhelming majority of surviving cuneiform tablets are administrative and economic: receipts, ration lists, inventories, loans and contracts. Literary texts are commonly estimated at only a few percent of the corpus. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Purchase, 1886.
2046 BC - Statue fragment bearing incised cuneiform inscription of Amar-Sin. 2046 to 2038 BC. Southern Mesopotamia has no stone, no metal ore and almost no timber. Lapis lazuli came from Badakhshan in Afghanistan, carnelian from the Indus, copper from Oman. Trade is not a footnote to this material, it is a precondition. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Bequest of W. Gedney Beatty, 1941.
2040 BC - Cuneiform tablet: receipt of straw. 2040 BC, probably from Drehem (ancient Puzrish-Dagan). The overwhelming majority of surviving cuneiform tablets are administrative and economic: receipts, ration lists, inventories, loans and contracts. Literary texts are commonly estimated at only a few percent of the corpus. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Purchase, 1886.
2040 BC - Cuneiform tablet: receipt of reeds. 2040 BC, probably from Drehem (ancient Puzrish-Dagan). The overwhelming majority of surviving cuneiform tablets are administrative and economic: receipts, ration lists, inventories, loans and contracts. Literary texts are commonly estimated at only a few percent of the corpus. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Purchase, 1886.
2029 BC - Cuneiform tablet impressed with cylinder seal: shipment of barley. 2029 BC, probably from Umma (modern Jokha). The overwhelming majority of surviving cuneiform tablets are administrative and economic: receipts, ration lists, inventories, loans and contracts. Literary texts are commonly estimated at only a few percent of the corpus. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Purchase, 1886.
2029 BC - Cuneiform tablet impressed with cylinder seal: balanced account of barley. 2029 BC, probably from Lagash (modern al Hiba). The overwhelming majority of surviving cuneiform tablets are administrative and economic: receipts, ration lists, inventories, loans and contracts. Literary texts are commonly estimated at only a few percent of the corpus. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Purchase, 1886.
2000 BC - Plaque. 2000 to 1600 BC, from Nippur. Assyrian palace reliefs record conquest in detail, but their reputation for unique brutality is an artefact of asymmetric self-documentation. The Assyrians carved their campaigns in stone and their neighbours did not. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Rogers Fund, 1959.
2000 BC - Plaque with a nude female between two bearded males wearing kilts. 2000 to 1600 BC. Southern Mesopotamia has no stone, no metal ore and almost no timber. Lapis lazuli came from Badakhshan in Afghanistan, carnelian from the Indus, copper from Oman. Trade is not a footnote to this material, it is a precondition. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Purchase, Friends of Inanna Gifts, 1998.
2000 BC - Head of a bull or bison. 2000 to 1600 BC. Southern Mesopotamia has no stone, no metal ore and almost no timber. Lapis lazuli came from Badakhshan in Afghanistan, carnelian from the Indus, copper from Oman. Trade is not a footnote to this material, it is a precondition. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Purchase, Nathaniel Spear Jr. Gift, 1989.
2000 BC - Openwork plaque with figures. 2000 to 1600 BC. Assyrian palace reliefs record conquest in detail, but their reputation for unique brutality is an artefact of asymmetric self-documentation. The Assyrians carved their campaigns in stone and their neighbours did not. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Gift of Mrs. Elias S. David, in memory of Elias S. David, 1984.
2000 BC - Plaque of Humbaba. 2000 to 1600 BC. Assyrian palace reliefs record conquest in detail, but their reputation for unique brutality is an artefact of asymmetric self-documentation. The Assyrians carved their campaigns in stone and their neighbours did not. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Gift of Mrs. Elias S. David, in memory of Elias S. David and Edward S. David, 1974.
2000 BC - Molded plaque: bull-men flanking a tree trunk surmounted by a sun disc. 2000 to 1600 BC. Assyrian palace reliefs record conquest in detail, but their reputation for unique brutality is an artefact of asymmetric self-documentation. The Assyrians carved their campaigns in stone and their neighbours did not. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Rogers Fund, 1932.
1900 BC - Jar sherd. 2nd millennium BC, from Tell Taya. Southern Mesopotamia has no stone, no metal ore and almost no timber. Lapis lazuli came from Badakhshan in Afghanistan, carnelian from the Indus, copper from Oman. Trade is not a footnote to this material, it is a precondition. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Rogers Fund, 1972.
1900 BC - Part of a necklace: pendant and beads. 19th to 18th century BC. Looting pits at an Iraqi archaeological site. The larger loss was never the Iraq Museum: unexcavated site looting removed far more, and it gets less coverage because there is no dramatic footage of it. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Bequest of W. Gedney Beatty, 1941.
1800 BC - Roller. 18th century BC. Southern Mesopotamia has no stone, no metal ore and almost no timber. Lapis lazuli came from Badakhshan in Afghanistan, carnelian from the Indus, copper from Oman. Trade is not a footnote to this material, it is a precondition. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Gift of Mrs. Elias S. David, in memory of Elias S. David, 1984.
1780 BC - Cuneiform tablet impressed with two cylinder seals: loan of barley. 1780 BC, probably from Dilbat. The overwhelming majority of surviving cuneiform tablets are administrative and economic: receipts, ration lists, inventories, loans and contracts. Literary texts are commonly estimated at only a few percent of the corpus. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Purchase, 1886.
1700 BC - Cylinder seal and modern impression: suppliant goddess. 17th to 16th century BC, said to be from Dilbat. Cylinder seals were rolled across damp clay to sign and secure documents, and the impression, not the stone, was the point. They are among the most numerous surviving Mesopotamian objects and around 5,000 were among the roughly 15,000 items taken from the Iraq Museum in 2003. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Gift of Georg Hahn, 1947.
1700 BC - Cylinder seal cap. 17th to 16th century BC, said to be from Dilbat. Cylinder seals were rolled across damp clay to sign and secure documents, and the impression, not the stone, was the point. They are among the most numerous surviving Mesopotamian objects and around 5,000 were among the roughly 15,000 items taken from the Iraq Museum in 2003. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Fletcher Fund, 1947.
1600 BC - Seal-shaped inscribed amulet. 16th to 12th century BC. Southern Mesopotamia has no stone, no metal ore and almost no timber. Lapis lazuli came from Badakhshan in Afghanistan, carnelian from the Indus, copper from Oman. Trade is not a footnote to this material, it is a precondition. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Rogers Fund, 1952.
1600 BC - Mace head. 2nd Millennium BC. Southern Mesopotamia has no stone, no metal ore and almost no timber. Lapis lazuli came from Badakhshan in Afghanistan, carnelian from the Indus, copper from Oman. Trade is not a footnote to this material, it is a precondition. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Purchase, 1886.
1400 BC - Head. 14th to 13th century BC. Southern Mesopotamia has no stone, no metal ore and almost no timber. Lapis lazuli came from Badakhshan in Afghanistan, carnelian from the Indus, copper from Oman. Trade is not a footnote to this material, it is a precondition. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Rogers Fund, 1932.
1000 BC - Cuneiform tablet: lunar procedure text (?). (?), ca. late 1st millennium BC. The overwhelming majority of surviving cuneiform tablets are administrative and economic: receipts, ration lists, inventories, loans and contracts. Literary texts are commonly estimated at only a few percent of the corpus. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Purchase, 1886.
1000 BC - Cuneiform tablet: fragment, content uncertain. 1st millennium BC. The overwhelming majority of surviving cuneiform tablets are administrative and economic: receipts, ration lists, inventories, loans and contracts. Literary texts are commonly estimated at only a few percent of the corpus. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Purchase, 1886.
1000 BC - Inscribed clay ball. 1st millennium BC. Southern Mesopotamia has no stone, no metal ore and almost no timber. Lapis lazuli came from Badakhshan in Afghanistan, carnelian from the Indus, copper from Oman. Trade is not a footnote to this material, it is a precondition. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Purchase, 1886.
1000 BC - Cuneiform tablet: fragment of Syllabary A. 1st millennium BC. The overwhelming majority of surviving cuneiform tablets are administrative and economic: receipts, ration lists, inventories, loans and contracts. Literary texts are commonly estimated at only a few percent of the corpus. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Purchase, 1886.
1000 BC - Cuneiform tablet: commentary on Enuma Anu Enlil, tablet 5. 1st millennium BC. The overwhelming majority of surviving cuneiform tablets are administrative and economic: receipts, ration lists, inventories, loans and contracts. Literary texts are commonly estimated at only a few percent of the corpus. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Purchase, 1886.
1000 BC - Cuneiform tablet: unidentified fragment. 1st millennium BC. The overwhelming majority of surviving cuneiform tablets are administrative and economic: receipts, ration lists, inventories, loans and contracts. Literary texts are commonly estimated at only a few percent of the corpus. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Purchase, 1886.
1000 BC - Cuneiform tablet: fragment of school exercise tablet, Urra=hubullu, tablets 14, 20, 21. 1st millennium BC. Lexical series such as Urra equals hubullu are vast catalogues of trees, vessels, animals, stones and professions, copied for over two thousand years. They are the world's first reference works and they are how scribes learned. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Purchase, 1886.
1000 BC - Cuneiform tablet: hymn to Marduk. 1st millennium BC. The overwhelming majority of surviving cuneiform tablets are administrative and economic: receipts, ration lists, inventories, loans and contracts. Literary texts are commonly estimated at only a few percent of the corpus. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Purchase, 1886.
1000 BC - Cuneiform tablet: fragment of Syllabary B. 1st millennium BC. The overwhelming majority of surviving cuneiform tablets are administrative and economic: receipts, ration lists, inventories, loans and contracts. Literary texts are commonly estimated at only a few percent of the corpus. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Purchase, 1886.
900 BC - Beads. 9th to 7th century BC, from Nimrud (ancient Kalhu). Southern Mesopotamia has no stone, no metal ore and almost no timber. Lapis lazuli came from Badakhshan in Afghanistan, carnelian from the Indus, copper from Oman. Trade is not a footnote to this material, it is a precondition. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Rogers Fund, 1952.
900 BC - Furniture plaque carved in relief with sphinx. 9th to 8th century BC, from Nimrud (ancient Kalhu). Assyrian palace reliefs record conquest in detail, but their reputation for unique brutality is an artefact of asymmetric self-documentation. The Assyrians carved their campaigns in stone and their neighbours did not. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Rogers Fund, 1964.
900 BC - Cylinder seal with mythological contest scene. 8th century BC. Cylinder seals were rolled across damp clay to sign and secure documents, and the impression, not the stone, was the point. They are among the most numerous surviving Mesopotamian objects and around 5,000 were among the roughly 15,000 items taken from the Iraq Museum in 2003. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Gift of Nanette B. Kelekian, in memory of Charles Dikran and Beatrice Kelekian, 1999.
900 BC - Incised horse frontlet carved into the shape of a flowering, volute palmette tree. 9th to 8th century BC, from Nimrud (ancient Kalhu). Assyrian palace reliefs record conquest in detail, but their reputation for unique brutality is an artefact of asymmetric self-documentation. The Assyrians carved their campaigns in stone and their neighbours did not. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Rogers Fund, 1960.
900 BC - Cloisonné furniture plaque with a figure holding a sword. 9th to 8th century BC, from Nimrud (ancient Kalhu). Assyrian palace reliefs record conquest in detail, but their reputation for unique brutality is an artefact of asymmetric self-documentation. The Assyrians carved their campaigns in stone and their neighbours did not. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1967.
900 BC - Furniture or cosmetic box plaque carved in relief with a striding bull. 9th to 8th century BC, from Nimrud (ancient Kalhu). Assyrian palace reliefs record conquest in detail, but their reputation for unique brutality is an artefact of asymmetric self-documentation. The Assyrians carved their campaigns in stone and their neighbours did not. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Rogers Fund, 1964.
900 BC - Cylinder seal with cultic banquet scene. 9th to 8th century BC. Cylinder seals were rolled across damp clay to sign and secure documents, and the impression, not the stone, was the point. They are among the most numerous surviving Mesopotamian objects and around 5,000 were among the roughly 15,000 items taken from the Iraq Museum in 2003. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Gift of The Right Reverend Paul Moore Jr., 1985.
900 BC - Champlevé furniture or cosmetic box plaque with a griffin and a floral frieze. 9th to 8th century BC, from Nimrud (ancient Kalhu). Assyrian palace reliefs record conquest in detail, but their reputation for unique brutality is an artefact of asymmetric self-documentation. The Assyrians carved their campaigns in stone and their neighbours did not. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Rogers Fund, 1960.
900 BC - Head of mushhushshu. 9th century BC, from Balawat. Southern Mesopotamia has no stone, no metal ore and almost no timber. Lapis lazuli came from Badakhshan in Afghanistan, carnelian from the Indus, copper from Oman. Trade is not a footnote to this material, it is a precondition. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Rogers Fund, 1957.
900 BC - Border strip. 9th to 8th century BC, from Nimrud (ancient Kalhu). Assyrian palace reliefs record conquest in detail, but their reputation for unique brutality is an artefact of asymmetric self-documentation. The Assyrians carved their campaigns in stone and their neighbours did not. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Rogers Fund, 1958.
900 BC - Drinking vessel ("istikan"). "), ca. 9th to 7th century BC, from Nimrud (ancient Kalhu). Southern Mesopotamia has no stone, no metal ore and almost no timber. Lapis lazuli came from Badakhshan in Afghanistan, carnelian from the Indus, copper from Oman. Trade is not a footnote to this material, it is a precondition. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Rogers Fund, 1962.
900 BC - Plaque in the form of a tree. 9th to 8th century BC, from Nimrud (ancient Kalhu). Assyrian palace reliefs record conquest in detail, but their reputation for unique brutality is an artefact of asymmetric self-documentation. The Assyrians carved their campaigns in stone and their neighbours did not. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Rogers Fund, 1958.
900 BC - Head of a female or goddess wearing a necklace. 9th to 8th century BC, from Nimrud (ancient Kalhu). Southern Mesopotamia has no stone, no metal ore and almost no timber. Lapis lazuli came from Badakhshan in Afghanistan, carnelian from the Indus, copper from Oman. Trade is not a footnote to this material, it is a precondition. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Rogers Fund, 1954.
900 BC - Furniture plaque carved in relief with a striding, falcon-headed winged sphinx supported by two kneeling figures. 9th to 8th century BC, from Nimrud (ancient Kalhu). Assyrian palace reliefs record conquest in detail, but their reputation for unique brutality is an artefact of asymmetric self-documentation. The Assyrians carved their campaigns in stone and their neighbours did not. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Rogers Fund, 1964.
900 BC - Bearded warrior holding a spear. 9th to 8th century BC, from Nimrud (ancient Kalhu). Southern Mesopotamia has no stone, no metal ore and almost no timber. Lapis lazuli came from Badakhshan in Afghanistan, carnelian from the Indus, copper from Oman. Trade is not a footnote to this material, it is a precondition. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Rogers Fund, 1954.
900 BC - Head of a male or female figure. 9th to 8th century BC, from Nimrud (ancient Kalhu). Votive figures were placed in temples to stand in perpetual prayer on behalf of the donor, which is why the eyes are so large. The worshipper was represented rather than present. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Rogers Fund, 1962.
883 BC - Miniature corbel ("hand of Ishtar") MET DP-13085-001. 883 BC. Nimrud, ancient Kalhu, capital under Ashurnasirpal II and the site of the Northwest Palace, the Nimrud ivories and the queens' tombs found by the Iraqi archaeologist Muzahim Mahmud Hussein between 1988 and 1990, a discovery usually left out of Western tellings. It was bulldozed in 2015, and it was the real catastrophe of that year, more than the Mosul Museum video.
883 BC - Relief panel. 883 to 859 BC, from Nimrud (ancient Kalhu). Assyrian palace reliefs record conquest in detail, but their reputation for unique brutality is an artefact of asymmetric self-documentation. The Assyrians carved their campaigns in stone and their neighbours did not. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Gift of John D. Rockefeller Jr., 1932.
883 BC - Brick with inscription of Ashurnasirpal II MET DP247101. 883 BC. Nimrud, ancient Kalhu, capital under Ashurnasirpal II and the site of the Northwest Palace, the Nimrud ivories and the queens' tombs found by the Iraqi archaeologist Muzahim Mahmud Hussein between 1988 and 1990, a discovery usually left out of Western tellings. It was bulldozed in 2015, and it was the real catastrophe of that year, more than the Mosul Museum video.
883 BC - Brick with inscription of Ashurnasirpal II MET DP249702. 883 BC. Nimrud, ancient Kalhu, capital under Ashurnasirpal II and the site of the Northwest Palace, the Nimrud ivories and the queens' tombs found by the Iraqi archaeologist Muzahim Mahmud Hussein between 1988 and 1990, a discovery usually left out of Western tellings. It was bulldozed in 2015, and it was the real catastrophe of that year, more than the Mosul Museum video.
883 BC - Human-headed winged bull (lamassu). ), ca. 883 to 859 BC, from Nimrud (ancient Kalhu). A lamassu, the human-headed winged bull that guarded Assyrian palace gateways. Several were carved with five legs, so the figure reads as standing when seen from the front and as walking when seen from the side. The Nergal Gate lamassu at Nineveh was destroyed in 2015. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Gift of John D. Rockefeller Jr., 1932.
800 BC - Cylindrical box fragment with female figures. 8th century BC, from Nimrud (ancient Kalhu). Votive figures were placed in temples to stand in perpetual prayer on behalf of the donor, which is why the eyes are so large. The worshipper was represented rather than present. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Rogers Fund, 1954.
800 BC - Stamp seal (octagonal pyramid, worn) with musician. 8th century BC. Stamp seals predate cylinder seals and reach back into the Halaf and Ubaid periods, well before the first cities. They were pressed rather than rolled, and they mark ownership and authority on sealings that survive where the sealed goods do not. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Purchase, 1893.
800 BC - Jar with geometric decoration. 8th to 7th century BC, from Nimrud (ancient Kalhu). Southern Mesopotamia has no stone, no metal ore and almost no timber. Lapis lazuli came from Badakhshan in Afghanistan, carnelian from the Indus, copper from Oman. Trade is not a footnote to this material, it is a precondition. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Rogers Fund, 1954.
800 BC - Furniture or cosmetic box plaque carved in the round with striding bull. 8th to 7th century BC, from Nimrud (ancient Kalhu). Southern Mesopotamia has no stone, no metal ore and almost no timber. Lapis lazuli came from Badakhshan in Afghanistan, carnelian from the Indus, copper from Oman. Trade is not a footnote to this material, it is a precondition. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Rogers Fund, 1954.
800 BC - Stamp seal (octagonal pyramid, worn) with cultic scene. 8th to 7th century BC. Stamp seals predate cylinder seals and reach back into the Halaf and Ubaid periods, well before the first cities. They were pressed rather than rolled, and they mark ownership and authority on sealings that survive where the sealed goods do not. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Purchase, 1893.
800 BC - Stamp seal (scaraboid) with deity and divine symbols. 8th to 6th century BC. Stamp seals predate cylinder seals and reach back into the Halaf and Ubaid periods, well before the first cities. They were pressed rather than rolled, and they mark ownership and authority on sealings that survive where the sealed goods do not. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Purchase, 1893.
800 BC - Plaque carved in relief with sphinx trampling figure. 8th to 7th century BC, from Nimrud (ancient Kalhu). Assyrian palace reliefs record conquest in detail, but their reputation for unique brutality is an artefact of asymmetric self-documentation. The Assyrians carved their campaigns in stone and their neighbours did not. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Rogers Fund, 1964.
800 BC - Stamp seal (bull-shaped) with animal. 8th to 7th century BC. Stamp seals predate cylinder seals and reach back into the Halaf and Ubaid periods, well before the first cities. They were pressed rather than rolled, and they mark ownership and authority on sealings that survive where the sealed goods do not. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Purchase, 1886.
800 BC - Inlay. 8th to 7th century BC, from Nimrud (ancient Kalhu). Southern Mesopotamia has no stone, no metal ore and almost no timber. Lapis lazuli came from Badakhshan in Afghanistan, carnelian from the Indus, copper from Oman. Trade is not a footnote to this material, it is a precondition. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Rogers Fund, 1958.
800 BC - Plaque fragment. 8th to 7th century BC, from Nimrud (ancient Kalhu). Assyrian palace reliefs record conquest in detail, but their reputation for unique brutality is an artefact of asymmetric self-documentation. The Assyrians carved their campaigns in stone and their neighbours did not. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Rogers Fund, 1958.
800 BC - Cylinder seal with cultic scene. 8th to 7th century BC. Cylinder seals were rolled across damp clay to sign and secure documents, and the impression, not the stone, was the point. They are among the most numerous surviving Mesopotamian objects and around 5,000 were among the roughly 15,000 items taken from the Iraq Museum in 2003. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Gift of Nanette B. Kelekian, in memory of Charles Dikran and Beatrice Kelekian, 1999.
800 BC - Openwork furniture plaque with a "woman at the window". ", ca. 8th century BC, from Nimrud (ancient Kalhu). Assyrian palace reliefs record conquest in detail, but their reputation for unique brutality is an artefact of asymmetric self-documentation. The Assyrians carved their campaigns in stone and their neighbours did not. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Rogers Fund 1959.
800 BC - Stamp seal (oval conoid) with cultic scene. 8th to 6th century BC. Stamp seals predate cylinder seals and reach back into the Halaf and Ubaid periods, well before the first cities. They were pressed rather than rolled, and they mark ownership and authority on sealings that survive where the sealed goods do not. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Gift of Martin and Sarah Cherkasky, 1984.
750 BC - Stamp seal (bifacial disk) with cultic scene and monsters. 8th to 7th century BC. Stamp seals predate cylinder seals and reach back into the Halaf and Ubaid periods, well before the first cities. They were pressed rather than rolled, and they mark ownership and authority on sealings that survive where the sealed goods do not. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Gift of Martin and Sarah Cherkasky, 1984.
725 BC - Relief plaque. 8th to 7th century BC, probably from Ashur (modern Qal 'at Sherqat). Assyrian palace reliefs record conquest in detail, but their reputation for unique brutality is an artefact of asymmetric self-documentation. The Assyrians carved their campaigns in stone and their neighbours did not. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Rogers Fund, 1951.
721 BC - Panels of a writing board MET DP110589. 721 BC. Nimrud, ancient Kalhu, capital under Ashurnasirpal II and the site of the Northwest Palace, the Nimrud ivories and the queens' tombs found by the Iraqi archaeologist Muzahim Mahmud Hussein between 1988 and 1990, a discovery usually left out of Western tellings. It was bulldozed in 2015, and it was the real catastrophe of that year, more than the Mosul Museum video.
721 BC - Panels of a writing board. 721 to 705 BC, from Nimrud (ancient Kalhu). Southern Mesopotamia has no stone, no metal ore and almost no timber. Lapis lazuli came from Badakhshan in Afghanistan, carnelian from the Indus, copper from Oman. Trade is not a footnote to this material, it is a precondition. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Rogers Fund, 1954.
700 BC - Cuneiform tablet: fragment of a field lease. 7th to 4th century BC. The overwhelming majority of surviving cuneiform tablets are administrative and economic: receipts, ration lists, inventories, loans and contracts. Literary texts are commonly estimated at only a few percent of the corpus. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Purchase, 1886.
700 BC - Cuneiform tablet: fragment of an accounting record (?). (?), ca. 7th to 4th century BC. The overwhelming majority of surviving cuneiform tablets are administrative and economic: receipts, ration lists, inventories, loans and contracts. Literary texts are commonly estimated at only a few percent of the corpus. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Purchase, 1886.
700 BC - Cuneiform tablet: fragment of a contract (?). (?), ca. 7th to 4th century BC. The overwhelming majority of surviving cuneiform tablets are administrative and economic: receipts, ration lists, inventories, loans and contracts. Literary texts are commonly estimated at only a few percent of the corpus. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Purchase, 1886.
700 BC - Cuneiform tablet: fragment. 7th to 4th century BC, probably from Babylon (modern Hillah). The overwhelming majority of surviving cuneiform tablets are administrative and economic: receipts, ration lists, inventories, loans and contracts. Literary texts are commonly estimated at only a few percent of the corpus. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Purchase, 1886.
700 BC - Cuneiform tablet: agreement regarding division of property. 7th to 4th century BC, probably from Babylon (modern Hillah). The overwhelming majority of surviving cuneiform tablets are administrative and economic: receipts, ration lists, inventories, loans and contracts. Literary texts are commonly estimated at only a few percent of the corpus. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Purchase, 1886.
700 BC - Cylinder seal with three-figure contest scene. 7th century BC. Cylinder seals were rolled across damp clay to sign and secure documents, and the impression, not the stone, was the point. They are among the most numerous surviving Mesopotamian objects and around 5,000 were among the roughly 15,000 items taken from the Iraq Museum in 2003. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Gift of Martin and Sarah Cherkasky, 1985.
700 BC - Stamp seal (conoid) with monsters. 8th to 6th century BC or later. Stamp seals predate cylinder seals and reach back into the Halaf and Ubaid periods, well before the first cities. They were pressed rather than rolled, and they mark ownership and authority on sealings that survive where the sealed goods do not. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Gift of Nanette B. Kelekian, in memory of Charles Dikran and Beatrice Kelekian, 1999.
700 BC - Cuneiform tablet: fragment of a contract involving a house. 7th to 4th century BC. The overwhelming majority of surviving cuneiform tablets are administrative and economic: receipts, ration lists, inventories, loans and contracts. Literary texts are commonly estimated at only a few percent of the corpus. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Purchase, 1886.
700 BC - Stamp seal (octagonal pyramid) with cultic scene. 7th to 6th century BC. Stamp seals predate cylinder seals and reach back into the Halaf and Ubaid periods, well before the first cities. They were pressed rather than rolled, and they mark ownership and authority on sealings that survive where the sealed goods do not. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Gift of Frederic Newlin Price, 1959.
700 BC - Stamp seal (oval conoid) with two-figure contest. 8th to 6th century BC. Stamp seals predate cylinder seals and reach back into the Halaf and Ubaid periods, well before the first cities. They were pressed rather than rolled, and they mark ownership and authority on sealings that survive where the sealed goods do not. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Gift of Nanette B. Kelekian, in memory of Charles Dikran and Beatrice Kelekian, 1999.
676 BC - Cuneiform prism describing the restoration of Babylon by Esarhaddon, stamped with Assyrian hieroglyphic inscription. 676 to 672 BC, probably from Babylon (modern Hillah). The overwhelming majority of surviving cuneiform tablets are administrative and economic: receipts, ration lists, inventories, loans and contracts. Literary texts are commonly estimated at only a few percent of the corpus. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Purchase, 1886.
650 BC - Figurine of animal (dog or mushhushshu). ), ca. late 7th century BC, from Nimrud (ancient Kalhu). Southern Mesopotamia has no stone, no metal ore and almost no timber. Lapis lazuli came from Badakhshan in Afghanistan, carnelian from the Indus, copper from Oman. Trade is not a footnote to this material, it is a precondition. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Rogers Fund, 1959.
626 BC - Cuneiform tablet: fragment of a promissory note for dates. 626 to 539 BC. The overwhelming majority of surviving cuneiform tablets are administrative and economic: receipts, ration lists, inventories, loans and contracts. Literary texts are commonly estimated at only a few percent of the corpus. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Purchase, 1886.
625 BC - Cuneiform tablet: fragment of a quittance (?). (?), ca. 625 or 603 BC. The overwhelming majority of surviving cuneiform tablets are administrative and economic: receipts, ration lists, inventories, loans and contracts. Literary texts are commonly estimated at only a few percent of the corpus. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Purchase, 1886.
606 BC - Cuneiform tablet: account of dates as imittu-rent, Ebabbar archive. 606 BC, probably from Sippar (modern Tell Abu Habba). The overwhelming majority of surviving cuneiform tablets are administrative and economic: receipts, ration lists, inventories, loans and contracts. Literary texts are commonly estimated at only a few percent of the corpus. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Purchase, 1886.
604 BC - Processional Way, Babylon - Google Art Project-x1-y1. 604 BC. The Ishtar Gate of Nebuchadnezzar II's Babylon, glazed brick with lions, aurochs and the mushhushshu dragon of Marduk. The reconstruction in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin is assembled from excavated fragments shipped out by Robert Koldewey's expedition, so the most famous view of Babylon is in Germany.
604 BC - Cuneiform tablet: account of delivery of halilu-tools, Ebabbar archive. 604 to 562 BC, probably from Sippar (modern Tell Abu Habba). The overwhelming majority of surviving cuneiform tablets are administrative and economic: receipts, ration lists, inventories, loans and contracts. Literary texts are commonly estimated at only a few percent of the corpus. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Purchase, 1886.
604 BC - Processional Way, Babylon - Google Art Project-x0-y1. 604 BC. The Ishtar Gate of Nebuchadnezzar II's Babylon, glazed brick with lions, aurochs and the mushhushshu dragon of Marduk. The reconstruction in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin is assembled from excavated fragments shipped out by Robert Koldewey's expedition, so the most famous view of Babylon is in Germany.
604 BC - Cuneiform cylinder: inscription of Nebuchadnezzar II commemorating the reconstruction of Etemenanki, the ziggurat at Babylon. 604 to 562 BC, from Babylon (?). Etemenanki, the ziggurat of Babylon, is commonly identified with the Tower of Babel. The identification is a reasonable inference rather than an attested fact, and almost nothing of the structure survives above foundation level. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Purchase, 1886.
604 BC - Cuneiform tablet: fragment of an account record (?). (?), ca. 604 to 562 BC. The overwhelming majority of surviving cuneiform tablets are administrative and economic: receipts, ration lists, inventories, loans and contracts. Literary texts are commonly estimated at only a few percent of the corpus. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Purchase, 1886.
604 BC - Processional Way, Babylon - Google Art Project-x0-y0. 604 BC. The Ishtar Gate of Nebuchadnezzar II's Babylon, glazed brick with lions, aurochs and the mushhushshu dragon of Marduk. The reconstruction in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin is assembled from excavated fragments shipped out by Robert Koldewey's expedition, so the most famous view of Babylon is in Germany.
604 BC - Processional Way, Babylon - Google Art Project. 604 BC. The Ishtar Gate of Nebuchadnezzar II's Babylon, glazed brick with lions, aurochs and the mushhushshu dragon of Marduk. The reconstruction in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin is assembled from excavated fragments shipped out by Robert Koldewey's expedition, so the most famous view of Babylon is in Germany.
604 BC - Processional Way, Babylon - Google Art Project-x1-y0. 604 BC. The Ishtar Gate of Nebuchadnezzar II's Babylon, glazed brick with lions, aurochs and the mushhushshu dragon of Marduk. The reconstruction in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin is assembled from excavated fragments shipped out by Robert Koldewey's expedition, so the most famous view of Babylon is in Germany.
600 BC - Cuneiform tablet: promissory note for silver, Esagilaya archive. 6th century BC, probably from Babylon (modern Hillah). The overwhelming majority of surviving cuneiform tablets are administrative and economic: receipts, ration lists, inventories, loans and contracts. Literary texts are commonly estimated at only a few percent of the corpus. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Purchase, 1886.
600 BC - Stamp seal (octagonal pyramid) with animal contest. 6th to 4th century BC. Stamp seals predate cylinder seals and reach back into the Halaf and Ubaid periods, well before the first cities. They were pressed rather than rolled, and they mark ownership and authority on sealings that survive where the sealed goods do not. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Gift of Nanette B. Kelekian, in memory of Charles Dikran and Beatrice Kelekian, 1999.
586 BC - Cuneiform tablet: account of barley issue for a prebendary, Ebabbar archive. 586 BC, probably from Sippar (modern Tell Abu Habba). The overwhelming majority of surviving cuneiform tablets are administrative and economic: receipts, ration lists, inventories, loans and contracts. Literary texts are commonly estimated at only a few percent of the corpus. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Purchase, 1886.
580 BC - Cuneiform tablet: fragment, Ebabbar archive. 580 BC, from Sippar (?). The overwhelming majority of surviving cuneiform tablets are administrative and economic: receipts, ration lists, inventories, loans and contracts. Literary texts are commonly estimated at only a few percent of the corpus. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Purchase, 1886.
576 BC - Cuneiform tablet: account of barley for bird-fodder, Ebabbar archive. 576 BC, probably from Sippar (modern Tell Abu Habba). The overwhelming majority of surviving cuneiform tablets are administrative and economic: receipts, ration lists, inventories, loans and contracts. Literary texts are commonly estimated at only a few percent of the corpus. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Purchase, 1886.
575 BC - Cuneiform tablet: record of silver for supplies, Ebabbar archive. 575 BC, probably from Sippar (modern Tell Abu Habba). The overwhelming majority of surviving cuneiform tablets are administrative and economic: receipts, ration lists, inventories, loans and contracts. Literary texts are commonly estimated at only a few percent of the corpus. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Purchase, 1886.
569 BC - Cuneiform tablet: fragment of a promissory note for dates, Esagilaya archive. 569 BC, probably from Babylon (modern Hillah). The overwhelming majority of surviving cuneiform tablets are administrative and economic: receipts, ration lists, inventories, loans and contracts. Literary texts are commonly estimated at only a few percent of the corpus. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Purchase, 1886.
566 BC - Cuneiform tablet: account of barley as agricultural dues, Ebabbar archive. 566 BC, probably from Sippar (modern Tell Abu Habba). The overwhelming majority of surviving cuneiform tablets are administrative and economic: receipts, ration lists, inventories, loans and contracts. Literary texts are commonly estimated at only a few percent of the corpus. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Purchase, 1886.
558 BC - Cuneiform tablet: declaraton before witnesses (?), Esagilaya archive. 558 BC. The overwhelming majority of surviving cuneiform tablets are administrative and economic: receipts, ration lists, inventories, loans and contracts. Literary texts are commonly estimated at only a few percent of the corpus. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Purchase, 1886.
556 BC - Cuneiform tablet: promissory note for cress and barley, Esagilaya archive. 556 BC. The overwhelming majority of surviving cuneiform tablets are administrative and economic: receipts, ration lists, inventories, loans and contracts. Literary texts are commonly estimated at only a few percent of the corpus. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Purchase, 1886.
555 BC - Cuneiform tablet: promissory note for barley, Esagilaya archive. 555 to 539 BC, probably from Babylon (modern Hillah). The overwhelming majority of surviving cuneiform tablets are administrative and economic: receipts, ration lists, inventories, loans and contracts. Literary texts are commonly estimated at only a few percent of the corpus. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Purchase, 1886.
550 BC - Cuneiform tablet: promissory note for barley. 550 BC. The overwhelming majority of surviving cuneiform tablets are administrative and economic: receipts, ration lists, inventories, loans and contracts. Literary texts are commonly estimated at only a few percent of the corpus. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Purchase, 1886.
549 BC - Cuneiform tablet: account of flour, Ebabbar archive. 549 BC, probably from Sippar (modern Tell Abu Habba). The overwhelming majority of surviving cuneiform tablets are administrative and economic: receipts, ration lists, inventories, loans and contracts. Literary texts are commonly estimated at only a few percent of the corpus. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Purchase, 1886.
544 BC - Cuneiform tablet: fragment of a hire contract. 544 BC. The overwhelming majority of surviving cuneiform tablets are administrative and economic: receipts, ration lists, inventories, loans and contracts. Literary texts are commonly estimated at only a few percent of the corpus. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Purchase, 1886.
522 BC - Cuneiform tablet: list of workmen, Ebabbar archive. 522 to 486 BC, probably from Sippar (modern Tell Abu Habba). The overwhelming majority of surviving cuneiform tablets are administrative and economic: receipts, ration lists, inventories, loans and contracts. Literary texts are commonly estimated at only a few percent of the corpus. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Purchase, 1886.
522 BC - Cuneiform tablet: fragment of a receipt for silver. 522 to 486 BC. The overwhelming majority of surviving cuneiform tablets are administrative and economic: receipts, ration lists, inventories, loans and contracts. Literary texts are commonly estimated at only a few percent of the corpus. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Purchase, 1886.
500 BC - Cuneiform tablet: fragment of an agreement concerning a dowry (?). (?), ca. late 5th century BC. The overwhelming majority of surviving cuneiform tablets are administrative and economic: receipts, ration lists, inventories, loans and contracts. Literary texts are commonly estimated at only a few percent of the corpus. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Purchase, 1886.
500 BC - Alabastron. 1st millennium BC. Southern Mesopotamia has no stone, no metal ore and almost no timber. Lapis lazuli came from Badakhshan in Afghanistan, carnelian from the Indus, copper from Oman. Trade is not a footnote to this material, it is a precondition. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917.
1572 - Philips Galle, Babylons mure, 1572, KKSgb10002-6, Statens Museum for Kunst. Provenance is about where things are. Objects that stayed in Iraq are the hardest for an archive like this to show, and objects that left are the easiest, because the institutions holding them abroad publish open-licensed images and the Iraqi institutions largely do not.
1664 - Entrée d'Alexandre dans Babylone - Charles Lebrun - Musée du Louvre Peintures INV 2898 ; MR 1919. Provenance is about where things are. Objects that stayed in Iraq are the hardest for an archive like this to show, and objects that left are the easiest, because the institutions holding them abroad publish open-licensed images and the Iraqi institutions largely do not.
1665 - Charles Le Brun - Entry of Alexander into Babylon. Provenance is about where things are. Objects that stayed in Iraq are the hardest for an archive like this to show, and objects that left are the easiest, because the institutions holding them abroad publish open-licensed images and the Iraqi institutions largely do not.
1800 - Plimpton 322
1849 - Coupe sur la ligne a" b" du plan général (du monument) (NYPL b14308483-1534701). * Contents: t. 1-2. Architecture et sculpture. 1849.--t. 3-4. Inscriptions. 1849.--t. 5. Texte. 1850. The nineteenth-century excavation folios of Layard, Botta and Place recorded Assyrian palaces in engraved plates. Much of what they drew has since been destroyed or has weathered away, so the plates are now primary evidence in their own right.
1849 - Armes diverses (NYPL b14308483-1534858). * Contents: t. 1-2. Architecture et sculpture. 1849.--t. 3-4. Inscriptions. 1849.--t. 5. Texte. 1850. The nineteenth-century excavation folios of Layard, Botta and Place recorded Assyrian palaces in engraved plates. Much of what they drew has since been destroyed or has weathered away, so the plates are now primary evidence in their own right.
1849 - Boucliers et béliers de formes diverses (NYPL b14308483-1534859). * Contents: t. 1-2. Architecture et sculpture. 1849.--t. 3-4. Inscriptions. 1849.--t. 5. Texte. 1850. The nineteenth-century excavation folios of Layard, Botta and Place recorded Assyrian palaces in engraved plates. Much of what they drew has since been destroyed or has weathered away, so the plates are now primary evidence in their own right.
1849 - Coiffures diverses (NYPL b14308483-1534862). * Contents: t. 1-2. Architecture et sculpture. 1849.--t. 3-4. Inscriptions. 1849.--t. 5. Texte. 1850. The nineteenth-century excavation folios of Layard, Botta and Place recorded Assyrian palaces in engraved plates. Much of what they drew has since been destroyed or has weathered away, so the plates are now primary evidence in their own right.
1849 - 1. Bord de l'autel; 2. Salle VIII, 25; 3. Salle VIII, 17; 4. Salle VIII, 12; 5. Fragment provenant de la Salle VIII (NYPL b14308483-1535070). * Contents: t. 1-2. Architecture et sculpture. 1849.--t. 3-4. Inscriptions. 1849.--t. 5. Texte. 1850. The nineteenth-century excavation folios of Layard, Botta and Place recorded Assyrian palaces in engraved plates. Much of what they drew has since been destroyed or has weathered away, so the plates are now primary evidence in their own right.
1849 - Façade L. Plan et élévation des faces sud-ouest, sud-est, et de la partie K (NYPL b14308483-1534703). * Contents: t. 1-2. Architecture et sculpture. 1849.--t. 3-4. Inscriptions. 1849.--t. 5. Texte. 1850. The nineteenth-century excavation folios of Layard, Botta and Place recorded Assyrian palaces in engraved plates. Much of what they drew has since been destroyed or has weathered away, so the plates are now primary evidence in their own right.
1849 - Façade L. Plan et élévations de la face nord-ouest (NYPL b14308483-1534704). * Contents: t. 1-2. Architecture et sculpture. 1849.--t. 3-4. Inscriptions. 1849.--t. 5. Texte. 1850. The nineteenth-century excavation folios of Layard, Botta and Place recorded Assyrian palaces in engraved plates. Much of what they drew has since been destroyed or has weathered away, so the plates are now primary evidence in their own right.
1849 - Façade L. Revers du No. 26 (NYPL b14308483-1535058). * Contents: t. 1-2. Architecture et sculpture. 1849.--t. 3-4. Inscriptions. 1849.--t. 5. Texte. 1850. The nineteenth-century excavation folios of Layard, Botta and Place recorded Assyrian palaces in engraved plates. Much of what they drew has since been destroyed or has weathered away, so the plates are now primary evidence in their own right.
1849 - Façade L. Revers du No. 9 (NYPL b14308483-1535068). * Contents: t. 1-2. Architecture et sculpture. 1849.--t. 3-4. Inscriptions. 1849.--t. 5. Texte. 1850. The nineteenth-century excavation folios of Layard, Botta and Place recorded Assyrian palaces in engraved plates. Much of what they drew has since been destroyed or has weathered away, so the plates are now primary evidence in their own right.
1849 - Façade N. Plan et élévation de la face nord-est (NYPL b14308483-1534717). * Contents: t. 1-2. Architecture et sculpture. 1849.--t. 3-4. Inscriptions. 1849.--t. 5. Texte. 1850. The nineteenth-century excavation folios of Layard, Botta and Place recorded Assyrian palaces in engraved plates. Much of what they drew has since been destroyed or has weathered away, so the plates are now primary evidence in their own right.
1849 - Façade N. Plan et élévations des la faces nord-ouest, sud-est (NYPL b14308483-1534718). * Contents: t. 1-2. Architecture et sculpture. 1849.--t. 3-4. Inscriptions. 1849.--t. 5. Texte. 1850. The nineteenth-century excavation folios of Layard, Botta and Place recorded Assyrian palaces in engraved plates. Much of what they drew has since been destroyed or has weathered away, so the plates are now primary evidence in their own right.
1849 - Façade N. Taureau 9 (NYPL b14308483-1534942). * Contents: t. 1-2. Architecture et sculpture. 1849.--t. 3-4. Inscriptions. 1849.--t. 5. Texte. 1850. The nineteenth-century excavation folios of Layard, Botta and Place recorded Assyrian palaces in engraved plates. Much of what they drew has since been destroyed or has weathered away, so the plates are now primary evidence in their own right.
1849 - Façade N. Taureau 17 (NYPL b14308483-1534946). * Contents: t. 1-2. Architecture et sculpture. 1849.--t. 3-4. Inscriptions. 1849.--t. 5. Texte. 1850. The nineteenth-century excavation folios of Layard, Botta and Place recorded Assyrian palaces in engraved plates. Much of what they drew has since been destroyed or has weathered away, so the plates are now primary evidence in their own right.
1849 - Façade n. Revers du No. 37 (NYPL b14308483-1535060). * Contents: t. 1-2. Architecture et sculpture. 1849.--t. 3-4. Inscriptions. 1849.--t. 5. Texte. 1850. The nineteenth-century excavation folios of Layard, Botta and Place recorded Assyrian palaces in engraved plates. Much of what they drew has since been destroyed or has weathered away, so the plates are now primary evidence in their own right.
1849 - Façade n. Revers du No. 33 (NYPL b14308483-1535062). * Contents: t. 1-2. Architecture et sculpture. 1849.--t. 3-4. Inscriptions. 1849.--t. 5. Texte. 1850. The nineteenth-century excavation folios of Layard, Botta and Place recorded Assyrian palaces in engraved plates. Much of what they drew has since been destroyed or has weathered away, so the plates are now primary evidence in their own right.
1849 - Façade n. Revers du No. 34 (NYPL b14308483-1535063). * Contents: t. 1-2. Architecture et sculpture. 1849.--t. 3-4. Inscriptions. 1849.--t. 5. Texte. 1850. The nineteenth-century excavation folios of Layard, Botta and Place recorded Assyrian palaces in engraved plates. Much of what they drew has since been destroyed or has weathered away, so the plates are now primary evidence in their own right.
1849 - Façade m. Revers du No. 19 (NYPL b14308483-1535064). * Contents: t. 1-2. Architecture et sculpture. 1849.--t. 3-4. Inscriptions. 1849.--t. 5. Texte. 1850. The nineteenth-century excavation folios of Layard, Botta and Place recorded Assyrian palaces in engraved plates. Much of what they drew has since been destroyed or has weathered away, so the plates are now primary evidence in their own right.
1849 - Façade n. Revers du No. 28 (NYPL b14308483-1535065). * Contents: t. 1-2. Architecture et sculpture. 1849.--t. 3-4. Inscriptions. 1849.--t. 5. Texte. 1850. The nineteenth-century excavation folios of Layard, Botta and Place recorded Assyrian palaces in engraved plates. Much of what they drew has since been destroyed or has weathered away, so the plates are now primary evidence in their own right.
1849 - Façade N. Plan et élévations des portes M, P, Q (NYPL b14308483-1534719). * Contents: t. 1-2. Architecture et sculpture. 1849.--t. 3-4. Inscriptions. 1849.--t. 5. Texte. 1850. The nineteenth-century excavation folios of Layard, Botta and Place recorded Assyrian palaces in engraved plates. Much of what they drew has since been destroyed or has weathered away, so the plates are now primary evidence in their own right.
1849 - Façade n. Plan et élévations de la face sud-est (NYPL b14308483-1534722). * Contents: t. 1-2. Architecture et sculpture. 1849.--t. 3-4. Inscriptions. 1849.--t. 5. Texte. 1850. The nineteenth-century excavation folios of Layard, Botta and Place recorded Assyrian palaces in engraved plates. Much of what they drew has since been destroyed or has weathered away, so the plates are now primary evidence in their own right.
1849 - Façade n. Plan et élévations de la face nord-est (NYPL b14308483-1534723). * Contents: t. 1-2. Architecture et sculpture. 1849.--t. 3-4. Inscriptions. 1849.--t. 5. Texte. 1850. The nineteenth-century excavation folios of Layard, Botta and Place recorded Assyrian palaces in engraved plates. Much of what they drew has since been destroyed or has weathered away, so the plates are now primary evidence in their own right.
1849 - Façade m. Taureau (porte k, 1), de profil (NYPL b14308483-1534738). * Contents: t. 1-2. Architecture et sculpture. 1849.--t. 3-4. Inscriptions. 1849.--t. 5. Texte. 1850. The nineteenth-century excavation folios of Layard, Botta and Place recorded Assyrian palaces in engraved plates. Much of what they drew has since been destroyed or has weathered away, so the plates are now primary evidence in their own right.
1849 - Fragment (NYPL b14308483-1535052). * Contents: t. 1-2. Architecture et sculpture. 1849.--t. 3-4. Inscriptions. 1849.--t. 5. Texte. 1850. The nineteenth-century excavation folios of Layard, Botta and Place recorded Assyrian palaces in engraved plates. Much of what they drew has since been destroyed or has weathered away, so the plates are now primary evidence in their own right.
1849 - Façade n. Revers du No. 48 (NYPL b14308483-1535053). * Contents: t. 1-2. Architecture et sculpture. 1849.--t. 3-4. Inscriptions. 1849.--t. 5. Texte. 1850. The nineteenth-century excavation folios of Layard, Botta and Place recorded Assyrian palaces in engraved plates. Much of what they drew has since been destroyed or has weathered away, so the plates are now primary evidence in their own right.
1849 - Montants de la porte O (NYPL b14308483-1534953). * Contents: t. 1-2. Architecture et sculpture. 1849.--t. 3-4. Inscriptions. 1849.--t. 5. Texte. 1850. The nineteenth-century excavation folios of Layard, Botta and Place recorded Assyrian palaces in engraved plates. Much of what they drew has since been destroyed or has weathered away, so the plates are now primary evidence in their own right.
1849 - Parasol, chasse-mouches, bracelets et pendants d'oreilles (NYPL b14308483-1534860). * Contents: t. 1-2. Architecture et sculpture. 1849.--t. 3-4. Inscriptions. 1849.--t. 5. Texte. 1850. The nineteenth-century excavation folios of Layard, Botta and Place recorded Assyrian palaces in engraved plates. Much of what they drew has since been destroyed or has weathered away, so the plates are now primary evidence in their own right.
1849 - Plan topographique général de l'enceinte et du monticule de Khorsabad (NYPL b14308483-1534694). * Contents: t. 1-2. Architecture et sculpture. 1849.--t. 3-4. Inscriptions. 1849.--t. 5. Texte. 1850. The nineteenth-century excavation folios of Layard, Botta and Place recorded Assyrian palaces in engraved plates. Much of what they drew has since been destroyed or has weathered away, so the plates are now primary evidence in their own right.
1849 - Plan, coupe, élévations et détails de construction de l'enceinte (NYPL b14308483-1534695). * Contents: t. 1-2. Architecture et sculpture. 1849.--t. 3-4. Inscriptions. 1849.--t. 5. Texte. 1850. The nineteenth-century excavation folios of Layard, Botta and Place recorded Assyrian palaces in engraved plates. Much of what they drew has since been destroyed or has weathered away, so the plates are now primary evidence in their own right.
1849 - Plan général du monument (NYPL b14308483-1534698). * Contents: t. 1-2. Architecture et sculpture. 1849.--t. 3-4. Inscriptions. 1849.--t. 5. Texte. 1850. The nineteenth-century excavation folios of Layard, Botta and Place recorded Assyrian palaces in engraved plates. Much of what they drew has since been destroyed or has weathered away, so the plates are now primary evidence in their own right.
1849 - Pavé de la porte d (grecque) (NYPL b14308483-1534906). * Contents: t. 1-2. Architecture et sculpture. 1849.--t. 3-4. Inscriptions. 1849.--t. 5. Texte. 1850. The nineteenth-century excavation folios of Layard, Botta and Place recorded Assyrian palaces in engraved plates. Much of what they drew has since been destroyed or has weathered away, so the plates are now primary evidence in their own right.
1849 - Plan du monumnet isolé x, situé à l'angle occidental du monticule (NYPL b14308483-1534846). * Contents: t. 1-2. Architecture et sculpture. 1849.--t. 3-4. Inscriptions. 1849.--t. 5. Texte. 1850. The nineteenth-century excavation folios of Layard, Botta and Place recorded Assyrian palaces in engraved plates. Much of what they drew has since been destroyed or has weathered away, so the plates are now primary evidence in their own right.
1849 - Salle II. Plan (NYPL b14308483-1534744). * Contents: t. 1-2. Architecture et sculpture. 1849.--t. 3-4. Inscriptions. 1849.--t. 5. Texte. 1850. The nineteenth-century excavation folios of Layard, Botta and Place recorded Assyrian palaces in engraved plates. Much of what they drew has since been destroyed or has weathered away, so the plates are now primary evidence in their own right.
1849 - Salle I. Plan et élévations des trois faces et de la porte A (NYPL b14308483-1534741). * Contents: t. 1-2. Architecture et sculpture. 1849.--t. 3-4. Inscriptions. 1849.--t. 5. Texte. 1850. The nineteenth-century excavation folios of Layard, Botta and Place recorded Assyrian palaces in engraved plates. Much of what they drew has since been destroyed or has weathered away, so the plates are now primary evidence in their own right.
1849 - Salle II. Élévations des quatre faces et des portes B, C, F, G, H (NYPL b14308483-1534745). * Contents: t. 1-2. Architecture et sculpture. 1849.--t. 3-4. Inscriptions. 1849.--t. 5. Texte. 1850. The nineteenth-century excavation folios of Layard, Botta and Place recorded Assyrian palaces in engraved plates. Much of what they drew has since been destroyed or has weathered away, so the plates are now primary evidence in their own right.
1849 - Salle IX. Plan et élévations des quatre faces et des portes Y, Z (NYPL b14308483-1534819). * Contents: t. 1-2. Architecture et sculpture. 1849.--t. 3-4. Inscriptions. 1849.--t. 5. Texte. 1850. The nineteenth-century excavation folios of Layard, Botta and Place recorded Assyrian palaces in engraved plates. Much of what they drew has since been destroyed or has weathered away, so the plates are now primary evidence in their own right.
1849 - Salle IV. Plan (NYPL b14308483-1534774). * Contents: t. 1-2. Architecture et sculpture. 1849.--t. 3-4. Inscriptions. 1849.--t. 5. Texte. 1850. The nineteenth-century excavation folios of Layard, Botta and Place recorded Assyrian palaces in engraved plates. Much of what they drew has since been destroyed or has weathered away, so the plates are now primary evidence in their own right.
1849 - Salle IV. Élévations des quatre faces et des portes D, I, T (NYPL b14308483-1534775). * Contents: t. 1-2. Architecture et sculpture. 1849.--t. 3-4. Inscriptions. 1849.--t. 5. Texte. 1850. The nineteenth-century excavation folios of Layard, Botta and Place recorded Assyrian palaces in engraved plates. Much of what they drew has since been destroyed or has weathered away, so the plates are now primary evidence in their own right.
1849 - Ornement symbolique attenant au timon d'un char. Étendard figurant dans un bas-relief de la salle II (NYPL b14308483-1534857). * Contents: t. 1-2. Architecture et sculpture. 1849.--t. 3-4. Inscriptions. 1849.--t. 5. Texte. 1850. The nineteenth-century excavation folios of Layard, Botta and Place recorded Assyrian palaces in engraved plates. Much of what they drew has since been destroyed or has weathered away, so the plates are now primary evidence in their own right.
1849 - Plan, (sur une grande échelle,) des façades principales et des salles, avec numéros de renvoi correspondants à ceux des planches représentan. (NYPL b14308483-1534699). * Contents: t. 1-2. Architecture et sculpture. 1849.--t. 3-4. Inscriptions. 1849.--t. 5. Texte. 1850. The nineteenth-century excavation folios of Layard, Botta and Place recorded Assyrian palaces in engraved plates. Much of what they drew has since been destroyed or has weathered away, so the plates are now primary evidence in their own right.
1849 - Façade n. Bas-relief 5 (NYPL b14308483-1534728). * Contents: t. 1-2. Architecture et sculpture. 1849.--t. 3-4. Inscriptions. 1849.--t. 5. Texte. 1850. The nineteenth-century excavation folios of Layard, Botta and Place recorded Assyrian palaces in engraved plates. Much of what they drew has since been destroyed or has weathered away, so the plates are now primary evidence in their own right.
1853 - Austen Henry Layard - Monuments of Ninevah- Plate 6, Fish-god (Nimroud); Figure near an Entrance - 2010.668 - Cleveland Museum of Art. The nineteenth-century excavation folios of Layard, Botta and Place recorded Assyrian palaces in engraved plates. Much of what they drew has since been destroyed or has weathered away, so the plates are now primary evidence in their own right.
1853 - Austen Henry Layard - Monuments of Ninevah- Plate 3, Human-headed Bull and Winged Figure from a G - 2010.669 - Cleveland Museum of Art. The nineteenth-century excavation folios of Layard, Botta and Place recorded Assyrian palaces in engraved plates. Much of what they drew has since been destroyed or has weathered away, so the plates are now primary evidence in their own right.
1853 - Austen Henry Layard - Monuments of Ninevah- Plate 32, Huntsmen with Gazelle, Hare and Birds (Khor - 2010.564 - Cleveland Museum of Art. The nineteenth-century excavation folios of Layard, Botta and Place recorded Assyrian palaces in engraved plates. Much of what they drew has since been destroyed or has weathered away, so the plates are now primary evidence in their own right.
1855 - Vestiges of Assyria. Sheet lst an Ichnographic Sketch of the remains of ancient Nineveh with the enceinte of the modern Mosul... ; Sheet 2nd. 1b53102706h (1 of 3). Nimrud, ancient Kalhu, capital under Ashurnasirpal II and the site of the Northwest Palace, the Nimrud ivories and the queens' tombs found by the Iraqi archaeologist Muzahim Mahmud Hussein between 1988 and 1990, a discovery usually left out of Western tellings. It was bulldozed in 2015, and it was the real catastrophe of that year, more than the Mosul Museum video.
1869 - Austen Henry Layard, Vanity Fair, 1869-08-28. Statesmen No.30: Caricature of The Rt Hon Austen Henry Layard . Caption reads: "He combines the love of truth and art with equal devotion and success.". The nineteenth-century excavation folios of Layard, Botta and Place recorded Assyrian palaces in engraved plates. Much of what they drew has since been destroyed or has weathered away, so the plates are now primary evidence in their own right.
1871 - Portret van Austen Henry Layard The right hon. Austen Henry Layard (titel op object), RP-F-2001-7-235B-16. The nineteenth-century excavation folios of Layard, Botta and Place recorded Assyrian palaces in engraved plates. Much of what they drew has since been destroyed or has weathered away, so the plates are now primary evidence in their own right.
1872 - Portret van Austen Henry Layard The right hon. Austen Henry Layard (titel op object), RP-F-2001-7-236-16. The nineteenth-century excavation folios of Layard, Botta and Place recorded Assyrian palaces in engraved plates. Much of what they drew has since been destroyed or has weathered away, so the plates are now primary evidence in their own right.
1884 - Cyrus cylinder extract. The Cyrus Cylinder, a Babylonian foundation deposit recording Cyrus the Great's capture of Babylon in 539 BC, the event that ends this archive's ancient span. It is often described as the first charter of human rights, a modern reading that the text itself does not support: it is a conventional Mesopotamian royal building inscription in form.
1896 - Gudea cylinder A (flat view). Gudea ruled Lagash around 2100 BC and had himself carved repeatedly in hard imported diorite. The statues came from Girsu, modern Tello, where Ernest de Sarzec began digging in 1877, work that effectively proved the Sumerians had existed after their existence had been doubted.
1896 - Nippur vase of Lugalzagesi. Southern Mesopotamia has no stone, no metal ore and almost no timber. Lapis lazuli came from Badakhshan in Afghanistan, carnelian from the Indus, copper from Oman. Trade is not a footnote to this material, it is a precondition.
1897 - Ridpath's history of the world; being an account of the ethnic origin, primitive estate, early migrations, social conditions and present pro. (1897) (14803434373). The 2015 Mosul Museum video showed both replicas and genuine originals being destroyed, and accounts that present only one half of that are wrong in both directions. Nimrud, bulldozed the same year, was the real catastrophe.
1906 - Black Obelisk, Jewish delegation to Shalmaneser III. The Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III, ninth century BC, from Nimrud. It carries what is generally identified as the earliest surviving depiction of an Israelite king, named as Jehu son of Omri, making it a rare point where the Assyrian record and the biblical narrative touch on a named individual.
1909 - Restitution matérielle de la Stèle des Vautours. (a cast or replica, not the original object). The Stele of the Vultures, roughly 2450 BC, recording Eannatum of Lagash's victory over Umma. It is among the earliest surviving narrative reliefs and one of the earliest depictions of organised warfare. Louvre, from Girsu.
1911 - Scheil dynastic tablet (1911). The overwhelming majority of surviving cuneiform tablets are administrative and economic: receipts, ration lists, inventories, loans and contracts. Literary texts are commonly estimated at only a few percent of the corpus.
1913 - Babylonian Marriage Market, by Sir Edwin Long. The larger loss was never the museum. Unexcavated site looting removed far more, and it gets less coverage because there is no dramatic footage of it.
1922 - Book illustration showing the statue 'A ram caught in a thicket' found during the archaeological excavations at Ur LOC matpc.11531. The Ram in a Thicket, roughly 2600 BC, from the Royal Cemetery at Ur. Two were found. Woolley named it from Genesis, a borrowed title rather than an ancient one. The pair were split by partage between the British Museum and the Penn Museum.
1923 - Baghdad 1923 Bell Cornwallis Eskell Bourdillon. Photograph of various British and Iraqi dignitaries in Baghdad in 1923 during the era of en:Mandatory Iraq . From second left to right in the front row, en:Kinahan Cornwallis , en:Sassoon Eskell , en:Gertrude Bell . Standing behind Gertrude Bell is en:Bernard Henry Bourdillon . Mesopotamian cities were built in mud brick, and mud brick melts. The sites are mounds, not standing ruins, and there is no Mesopotamian Parthenon.
1923 - Transcription of the Weld-Blundell Prism. Stephen Herbert Langdon (1876-1937) Published in 1923. The overwhelming majority of surviving cuneiform tablets are administrative and economic: receipts, ration lists, inventories, loans and contracts. Literary texts are commonly estimated at only a few percent of the corpus.
1923 - Translation of the Weld-Blundell Prism. Stephen Herbert Langdon (1876-1937) Published in 1923. The overwhelming majority of surviving cuneiform tablets are administrative and economic: receipts, ration lists, inventories, loans and contracts. Literary texts are commonly estimated at only a few percent of the corpus.
1925 - Meissner Babylonien und Assyrien clay map 1925. The Babylonian Map of the World, a clay tablet showing Babylon at the centre of a disc encircled by a bitter river. It is a schematic of a cosmology rather than a navigational map.
1932 - Iraq. Ashur (Qalat Sherqat). 40 miles S. of Mosul. A general view of the ruins LOC matpc.16187. Title: Iraq. Ashur (Qalat Sherqat). 40 miles S. of Mosul. A general view of the ruins Abstract/medium: G. Eric and Edith Matson Photograph Collection Physical description: 1 negative :. Mesopotamian cities were built in mud brick, and mud brick melts. The sites are mounds, not standing ruins, and there is no Mesopotamian Parthenon.
1932 - Iraq. Ashur (Qalat Sherqat). 40 miles S. of Mosul. The ruins showing remains of ancient castle in background LOC matpc.16186. Title: Iraq. Ashur (Qalat Sherqat). 40 miles S. of Mosul. The ruins showing remains of ancient castle in background Abstract/medium: G. Eric and Edith Matson Photograph Collection Physical description: 1 negative :. Mesopotamian cities were built in mud brick, and mud brick melts. The sites are mounds, not standing ruins, and there is no Mesopotamian Parthenon.
1932 - Iraq. Ashur (Qalat Sherqat). 40 miles S. of Mosul. El-Qala'a. The castle. A close view LOC matpc.16188. Title: Iraq. Ashur (Qalat Sherqat). 40 miles S. of Mosul. El-Qala'a. The castle. A close view Abstract/medium: G. Eric and Edith Matson Photograph Collection Physical description: 1 negative :. Mesopotamian cities were built in mud brick, and mud brick melts. The sites are mounds, not standing ruins, and there is no Mesopotamian Parthenon.
1932 - Iraq. Ur. (So called of the Chaldees). Temple of Nannar, the moon God LOC matpc.16103. Title: Iraq. Ur. (So called of the Chaldees). Temple of Nannar, the moon God Abstract/medium: G. Eric and Edith Matson Photograph Collection Physical description: 1 negative :. Mesopotamian cities were built in mud brick, and mud brick melts. The sites are mounds, not standing ruins, and there is no Mesopotamian Parthenon.
1932 - Iraq. Babylon 'the great.' Various views of the crumbling ruins. The Via Sacra LOC matpc.16076. Title: Iraq. Babylon "the great." Various views of the crumbling ruins. The Via Sacra Abstract/medium: G. Eric and Edith Matson Photograph Collection Physical description: 1 negative :. Mesopotamian cities were built in mud brick, and mud brick melts. The sites are mounds, not standing ruins, and there is no Mesopotamian Parthenon.
1932 - Iraq. Babylon 'the great.' Various views of the crumbling ruins. Among the great palaces LOC matpc.16073. Title: Iraq. Babylon "the great." Various views of the crumbling ruins. Among the great palaces Abstract/medium: G. Eric and Edith Matson Photograph Collection Physical description: 1 negative :. Mesopotamian cities were built in mud brick, and mud brick melts. The sites are mounds, not standing ruins, and there is no Mesopotamian Parthenon.
1932 - Iraq. Ur. (So called of the Chaldees). The great ziggurat LOC matpc.16092. The Great Ziggurat of Ur, built by Ur-Nammu around 2100 BC and partly reconstructed under Saddam Hussein. It is one of the few Mesopotamian sites with standing architecture, because most were built in mud brick and mud brick melts into mounds.
1932 - Iraq. Birs Nimrud. (Possibly the Tower of Babel). So-called Tower of Babel. Distant view LOC matpc.16129. Etemenanki, the ziggurat of Babylon, is commonly identified with the Tower of Babel. The identification is a reasonable inference rather than an attested fact, and almost nothing of the structure survives above foundation level.
1932 - Iraq. Ur. (So called of the Chaldees). The ziggurat from the N.W. LOC matpc.16094. Title: Iraq. Ur. (So called of the Chaldees). The ziggurat from the N.W. Abstract/medium: G. Eric and Edith Matson Photograph Collection Physical description: 1 negative :. Mesopotamian cities were built in mud brick, and mud brick melts. The sites are mounds, not standing ruins, and there is no Mesopotamian Parthenon.
1932 - Iraq. Babylon 'the great.' Various views of the crumbling ruins. Massive brick buildings LOC matpc.16072. Title: Iraq. Babylon "the great." Various views of the crumbling ruins. Massive brick buildings Abstract/medium: G. Eric and Edith Matson Photograph Collection Physical description: 1 negative :. Mesopotamian cities were built in mud brick, and mud brick melts. The sites are mounds, not standing ruins, and there is no Mesopotamian Parthenon.
1933 - CH-NB - Irak, Uruk (Warka)- Zikurrat - Annemarie Schwarzenbach - SLA-Schwarzenbach-A-5-03-131. Irak, Uruk (Warka): Zikurrat; Ansicht Zikkurat aus der Ferne. Mesopotamian cities were built in mud brick, and mud brick melts. The sites are mounds, not standing ruins, and there is no Mesopotamian Parthenon.
1934 - Grave of Meskalamdug (PG 755, B) at Ur, next to royal tomb PG 779 (A) and royal tomb PG 777 (C). Mesopotamian cities were built in mud brick, and mud brick melts. The sites are mounds, not standing ruins, and there is no Mesopotamian Parthenon.
1938 - Oriental Institute Staff 1938. Oriental Institute staff photographed in 1938, the generation that ran the Khorsabad and Tell Asmar excavations. Institute publications from these decades carry enormous quantities of excavation photography.
1952 - Nippur, Part II [1951-1952]. Expedition film from the 1951 to 1952 season at Nippur, part two. This footage is the joint Penn and Oriental Institute work carried out with the Iraq Directorate of Antiquities under Fuad Safar and Taha Baqir.
1952 - Nippur, Part III [1951-1952]. Nippur expedition film from the 1951 to 1952 season, part three. Iraqi archaeologists including Fuad Safar and Taha Baqir led the national side of postwar fieldwork after partage ended in 1936.
1985 - 1980s Baghdad, Iraq, Statues and Monuments, Baghdad Museum. Archive footage of Baghdad's statues, monuments and museum in the 1980s. Film of the Iraq Museum before 1991 is scarce, which is part of why the 2003 losses were hard to quantify.
1999 - A Journey Through the Museum Galleries (1999). A 1999 tour of the Penn Museum galleries. Penn co-funded Woolley's excavation at Ur with the British Museum and holds half the finds under the partage division, including the Bull-Headed Lyre and Puabi's jewellery.
1999 - Treasures From The Royal Tombs of Ur - Revised 1999. Penn Museum's 1999 presentation of treasures from the Royal Tombs of Ur. The Ur finds were split three ways between London, Philadelphia and Baghdad under partage.
2003 - Iraqi Looters in the Archaeological site of Isin 2. Looting pits at an Iraqi archaeological site. The larger loss was never the Iraq Museum: unexcavated site looting removed far more, and it gets less coverage because there is no dramatic footage of it.
2003 - Iraqi Looters in the Archaeological site of Isin 1. Looting pits at an Iraqi archaeological site. The larger loss was never the Iraq Museum: unexcavated site looting removed far more, and it gets less coverage because there is no dramatic footage of it.
2003 - WRAP Bremer tours mass grave site and Babylon. Paul Bremer tours Babylon during the occupation. The Coalition Provisional Authority period is when the base at Babylon was established.
2004 - Archaeologist critical of damage US military caused to ancient ruins. An archaeologist criticises damage caused by the US military to ancient ruins. Camp Alpha at Babylon involved trenching, vehicle traffic over archaeological deposits and the use of ancient material in defences.
2004 - Ancient ruins of Babylon back under Iraqi control. Babylon returns to Iraqi control. The site was occupied by coalition forces after 2003 and Camp Alpha caused documented damage to ancient fabric.
2006 - Hatra-26682. Looting pits at an Iraqi archaeological site. The larger loss was never the Iraq Museum: unexcavated site looting removed far more, and it gets less coverage because there is no dramatic footage of it.
2007 - Saddam Hussein's Mission to Rebuild Babylon. Saddam Hussein's programme to rebuild Babylon, laying new brick on ancient foundations with his own name stamped into it. The reconstruction is now itself part of the site's documented history and a reason its World Heritage listing took so long.
2007 - General Edgington visits Ali Air Base DVIDS64692. Chaplain (Capt.) Robert Borger gives a guided tour to Maj. Gen. David Edgington Oct. 26, at the Great Ziggurat of Ur. Borger explained to Edgington the historic and biblical importance of the area and how the ancient city of Ur was the blue print for future civilizations.
2007 - U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates meets with military policemen and security guards at the Great Ziggurat of Ur, Iraq, Jan. 19, 2007 Defen. 070119-D-7203T-021. The Great Ziggurat of Ur, built by Ur-Nammu around 2100 BC and partly reconstructed under Saddam Hussein. It is one of the few Mesopotamian sites with standing architecture, because most were built in mud brick and mud brick melts into mounds.
2007 - Defense.gov photo essay 070119-D-7203T-016. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates receives a tour of one of the structures next to the Ziggurat of Ur, Iraq, Jan. 19, 2007. The ziggurat was believed to be a place of worship, dedicated to the moon god Nanna in the Sumerian city of Ur in ancient Mesopotamia.
2008-06-04 - Royal Tombs of Ur. An overview of the Royal Tombs of Ur from the Penn Museum. Human sacrifice at Ur is better supported now than in Woolley's day; what changed is the manner, with evidence of heat and mercury treatment indicating bodies were preserved and displayed rather than simply buried.
2008 - Stolen Ancient Artifacts Returned to Iraq Museums. Stolen antiquities returned to Iraqi museums. The 2003 theft from the basement store took roughly 10,000 small objects, mostly cylinder seals and beads, and those are the hardest to trace.
2008 - Flickr - The U.S. Army - www.Army.mil (130). Nimrud, ancient Kalhu, capital under Ashurnasirpal II and the site of the Northwest Palace, the Nimrud ivories and the queens' tombs found by the Iraqi archaeologist Muzahim Mahmud Hussein between 1988 and 1990, a discovery usually left out of Western tellings. It was bulldozed in 2015, and it was the real catastrophe of that year, more than the Mosul Museum video.
2008 - Flickr - The U.S. Army - 081215-F-5855M-047. Nimrud, ancient Kalhu, capital under Ashurnasirpal II and the site of the Northwest Palace, the Nimrud ivories and the queens' tombs found by the Iraqi archaeologist Muzahim Mahmud Hussein between 1988 and 1990, a discovery usually left out of Western tellings. It was bulldozed in 2015, and it was the real catastrophe of that year, more than the Mosul Museum video.
2008-09-21 - Art & Empire: Treasures from Assyria in the British Museum (MFA Boston). Art and Empire, treasures from Assyria in the British Museum, shown in Boston. Touring exhibitions are how Assyrian material reaches audiences beyond the few cities that hold it.
2009-02-19 - Beyond Babylon - Curatorial Talk - Part 1 of 3. A Met curatorial talk on Beyond Babylon, part one, covering second-millennium exchange across the eastern Mediterranean and the Near East. The Amarna letters, written in Akkadian, show diplomacy conducted in Mesopotamian script far outside Mesopotamia.
2009-02-19 - Inside the Gallery—Beyond Babylon, Ancient Near Eastern Art. Inside the Met's Beyond Babylon exhibition of ancient Near Eastern art. The Met's Ancient West Asian Art department, renamed from Ancient Near Eastern, holds Nimrud reliefs, Gudea material and a large cylinder seal collection.
2009-02-19 - Beyond Babylon - Curatorial Talk - Part 3 of 3. Beyond Babylon curatorial talk, part three, at the Metropolitan Museum. The exhibition traced trade and gift exchange rather than a single civilisation.
2009-02-19 - Beyond Babylon - Curatorial Talk - Part 2 of 3. Beyond Babylon curatorial talk, part two. Akkadian cuneiform functioned as the diplomatic lingua franca of the Late Bronze Age, used by courts that spoke nothing like it.
2009 - The hidden treasures of the Iraqi National Museum. A walk through the hidden treasures of the Iraqi National Museum. The objects that stayed in Iraq are the hardest for any archive to show, because no Iraqi institution runs an open-access image programme, while the objects that left are photographed freely.
2009 - Treasures of Iraq's national museum to go online. Iraq's national museum puts its holdings online. Digitisation is the practical route to visibility for a collection that is physically hard to reach.
2009-09-04 - Cultural Heritage Project in Iraq - Part One. Penn Museum's cultural heritage project in Iraq, part one. American museums that hold Iraqi material have taken on training and conservation roles in Iraq itself.
2009-11-06 - Iraq's Ancient Past. Penn Museum curators on Iraq's ancient past and the museum's long involvement in it. The partage system, under which excavators divided finds with the host country, ended in Iraq with the 1936 antiquities law.
2009-12-14 - Dressing Queen Puabi. Penn Museum conservators dress a mannequin in Queen Puabi's reconstructed headdress of gold, carnelian and lapis. Her name is read from a lapis cylinder seal found on her body; the title can mean queen, lady or priestess, so calling her a queen is convention rather than a settled reading.
2010-01-05 - Conservation Project - Babylon, Iraq. A World Monuments Fund conservation project at Babylon. The site was used as a military base after 2003, and the resulting damage from Camp Alpha is documented in the WMF and UNESCO assessments.
2010-06-03 - Ashur (Qal'at Sherqat) (UNESCO/NHK). Ashur, Qal'at Sherqat, presented by UNESCO. The city gave Assyria both its name and its chief god, and it remained the ceremonial centre after the political capital moved.
2010-06-03 - Hatra (UNESCO/NHK). Hatra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in northern Iraq. Hatra is a Parthian-era city, so it is not Mesopotamian in the third to first millennium BC sense, and it should be labelled as what it is.
2010 - Looters target Iraq antiquities. Looters target Iraqi antiquities. Site looting is the larger loss and gets less coverage than the museum precisely because there is no dramatic footage of a field being dug over.
2010 - Iraq National Museum, looted in 2003, is open for special visitors only. The Iraq National Museum open only to special visitors, years after the looting. For long stretches the collection existed but the public could not see it.
2010 - Iraq elections: The palace that Nebuchadnezzar built. The palace built at Babylon under Saddam Hussein, overlooking the ancient city. Modern rulers have repeatedly used Mesopotamian antiquity to make claims about themselves.
2010 - Burney Relief lions. The Burney Relief, also called the Queen of the Night, an Old Babylonian terracotta plaque of a winged goddess. Its authenticity was doubted for decades after it surfaced on the market and is now generally accepted. Whether the figure is Ishtar, Ereshkigal or Lilith is unresolved.
2010 - Operation Iraqi Freedom DVIDS284466. The Great Ziggurat of Ur, built by Ur-Nammu around 2100 BC and partly reconstructed under Saddam Hussein. It is one of the few Mesopotamian sites with standing architecture, because most were built in mud brick and mud brick melts into mounds.
2010 - Operation Iraqi Freedom DVIDS284469. U.S. Soldiers from 17th Fires Brigade walk the stair case of one of the most well-preserved monuments from the remote age of the Sumerians, the Ziggurat of Ur, Iraq near Contingency Operating Base Adder, May 18. The Ziggurat was constructed as a place of worship in the 21st century B.C.
2010 - Operation Iraqi Freedom DVIDS284470. U.S. Soldiers from 17th Fires Brigade visit a historical site, the Ziggurat of Ur, Iraq near Contingency Operating Base Adder, May 18. The Ziggurat was constructed by King Ur-Nammu as a place of worship in the 21st century B.C.
2010 - Enki Bilal 20100328 Salon du livre de Paris 1. Enki Bilal au Salon du livre de Paris lors de la conférence Dessine-moi un roman . Mesopotamian cities were built in mud brick, and mud brick melts. The sites are mounds, not standing ruins, and there is no Mesopotamian Parthenon.
2010-08-10 - The Tower of Babel with British Museum curator Irving Finkel. Irving Finkel on the Tower of Babel and the ziggurat Etemenanki at Babylon. Etemenanki was real and really fell into ruin, but identifying it as the specific structure behind Genesis 11 is a scholarly hypothesis, and the confusion-of-tongues element is not attested in any Mesopotamian source.
2010-10-07 - Exploring the Roots of Mesopotamian Civilization: Excavations at Tell Zeidan, Syria. Excavations at Tell Zeidan in Syria, exploring the Ubaid roots of Mesopotamian civilisation before the Uruk period. The Ubaid horizon precedes the first cities and the first tablets by centuries.
2010-10-15 - Death and the City: Recent Work at Tell Brak, Syria. Recent work at Tell Brak in Syria, an early urban centre in the north. Brak shows monumental building and large settlement independent of the southern Uruk sequence.
2010-11-15 - Le code d'Hammurabi - Musée du louvre. The Louvre presents the Code of Hammurabi stele, Sb 8, about 2.25 metres of stone carrying roughly 282 provisions. It is not the oldest law collection: the Code of Ur-Nammu precedes it by about three centuries, and Ur-Nammu prescribes fines where Hammurabi prescribes mutilation.
2011-01-18 - Die geretteten Götter aus dem Palast vom Tell-Halaf | Interview mit Eva Strommenger. Eva Strommenger on the Tell Halaf sculptures in Berlin, shattered by a wartime bomb and painstakingly reassembled from thousands of fragments. Tell Halaf is in Syria and its sculpture is Aramaean rather than Assyrian, but the reassembly is a landmark of museum conservation.
2011-04-25 - Treasures from the Royal Tombs of Ur. 1920s.
2011 - A looter's pit (left) at the ancient Sumerian city of Kish, Iraq. Fragments of pottery (right) are scattered near the pit. Looting pits at an Iraqi archaeological site. The larger loss was never the Iraq Museum: unexcavated site looting removed far more, and it gets less coverage because there is no dramatic footage of it.
2011 - Dr. Donny George crop. Donny George Youkhanna, the Iraqi archaeologist who ran the Iraq Museum through the 2003 looting and the recovery programme that followed, and who later left Iraq under threat.
2011 - Record of 300 clothing items issued to workmen, Third Dynasty of Ur, Sumeria, c. 2035 BC - Royal Ontario Museum - DSC09608. Exhibit in the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. This exhibit is old enough so that it is in the public domain, and photography was permitted in the museum. I took this photograph and release it into the public domain. Provenance is about where things are. Objects that stayed in Iraq are the hardest for an archive like this to show, and objects that left are the easiest, because the institutions holding them abroad publish open-licensed images and the Iraqi institutions largely do not.
2011 - Ebih-Il Louvre AO17551 n08. Votive figures were placed in temples to stand in perpetual prayer on behalf of the donor, which is why the eyes are so large. The worshipper was represented rather than present.
2011 - Ebih-Il Louvre AO17551 n11. Votive figures were placed in temples to stand in perpetual prayer on behalf of the donor, which is why the eyes are so large. The worshipper was represented rather than present.
2011 - Conservation worries for Iraq's ancient Ur site. Conservation concerns at Ur. Woolley dug here from 1922 to 1934, and the site has been managed with limited resources ever since.
2011 - Jemdet Nasr cylinder seal 1. Cylinder seal from the Jemdet Nasr period (3100-2900 BC). Find location: Khafajah Sin Temple IV (Iraq) Current location: Oriental Institute Museum, Chicago (USA). Cylinder seals were rolled across damp clay to sign and secure documents, and the impression, not the stone, was the point. They are among the most numerous surviving Mesopotamian objects and around 5,000 were among the roughly 15,000 items taken from the Iraq Museum in 2003.
2011 - Oriental Institute Museum. Three groups of fighting gods (5948893140). The Tell Asmar hoard, votive figures buried under the floor of the Square Temple at Eshnunna. They were placed in temples to stand in perpetual prayer on behalf of the donor, which is why the eyes are so large: the worshipper was represented rather than present.
2011 - Oriental Institute Museum. Hero, lions and intertwined snakes (5948228059). White limesotne, Early Dynastic (2700-2350 BC). Cylinder seals were rolled across damp clay to sign and secure documents, and the impression, not the stone, was the point. They are among the most numerous surviving Mesopotamian objects and around 5,000 were among the roughly 15,000 items taken from the Iraq Museum in 2003.
2011 - Jemdet Nasr cylinder seal 2. Cylinder seal from the Jemdet Nasr period (3100-2900 BC) Find location: Khafajah Houses I (Iraq) Current location: Oriental Institute Museum, Chicago (USA). Cylinder seals were rolled across damp clay to sign and secure documents, and the impression, not the stone, was the point. They are among the most numerous surviving Mesopotamian objects and around 5,000 were among the roughly 15,000 items taken from the Iraq Museum in 2003.

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