Monumental relief discovered in palace of Nineveh

 

Fragments of relief discovered at Nineveh

Pieces of a monumental relief have been discovered in the palace of King Ashurbanipal in Nineveh, the ancient capital of Assyrian Empire near present Mosul, Iraq. The relief has been dated to be built around 645-635 BC. It depicts the king with dieties Ashur and Ishtar accompanied by unidentified figures.

The relief was unearthed from the throne room of king’s northern palace. It was carved from a stone slab 18 feet long and 9.8 feet high. The relief weighs 12 tons. The find is unprecedented for its size and for the gods it displays as no other depictions of Ashur and Ishtar have been found in Assyrian palaces.

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