Editing Nimrud (section)

===Artworks===
[[File:Detail of a glazed terracotta tile from Nimrud, Iraq. The Assyrian king, below a parasol, is surrounded by guards and attendants. 875-850 BCE. The British Museum.jpg|thumb|Detail of a glazed terracotta tile from Nimrud, Iraq. The Assyrian king, below a parasol, is surrounded by guards and attendants. 875–850 BC. The British Museum]]

Nimrud has been one of the main sources of [[Assyrian sculpture]], including the famous palace reliefs. Layard discovered more than half a dozen pairs of colossal guardian figures guarding palace entrances and doorways. These are ''[[lamassu]]'', statues with a male human head, the body of a lion or bull, and wings. They have heads carved in the round, but the body at the side is in [[relief]].<ref>Frankfort, 154</ref> They weigh up to {{convert|30|ST|t|order=flip}}. In 1847 Layard brought two of the colossi weighing {{convert|10|ST|t|order=flip|0}} each including one lion and one bull to London. After 18 months and several near disasters he succeeded in bringing them to the [[British Museum]]. This involved loading them onto a wheeled cart. They were lowered with a complex system of pulleys and levers operated by dozens of men. The cart was towed by 300 men. He initially tried to hook up the cart to a team of buffalo and have them haul it. However the buffalo refused to move. Then they were loaded onto a barge which required 600 goatskins and sheepskins to keep it afloat. After arriving in London a ramp was built to haul them up the steps and into the museum on rollers.

Additional {{convert|30|ST|t|adj=on|order=flip}} colossi were transported to Paris from [[Khorsabad]] by [[Paul Emile Botta]] in 1853. In 1928 [[Edward Chiera]] also transported a {{convert|40|ST|t|adj=on|order=flip}} colossus from Khorsabad to Chicago.<ref name="Mesopotamia 1995 p. 112"/><ref>Oliphant, Margaret ''The Atlas Of The Ancient World'' (1992) p. 32</ref> The [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] in New York has another pair.<ref>[http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/32.143.2 Human–headed winged lion (lamassu)], 883–859 b.c.; Neo–Assyrian period, reign of Ashurnasirpal II</ref>
[[File:Levantine - Inlay Cow Suckling a Calf - Walters 711170.jpg|thumb|left|[[Nimrud ivory]] piece showing a cow suckling a calf]]

The [[Statue of Ashurnasirpal II]], [[Stela of Shamshi-Adad V]] and [[Stela of Ashurnasirpal II]] are large sculptures with portraits of these monarchs, all secured for the British Museum by Layard and the British archaeologist [[Hormuzd Rassam]]. Also in the British Museum is the famous [[Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III]], discovered by Layard in 1846. This stands six-and-a-half-feet tall and commemorates with inscriptions and 24 relief panels the king's victorious campaigns of 859–824&nbsp;BC. It is shaped like a temple tower at the top, ending in three steps.<ref>Frankfort, 156-157, 167</ref>

Series of the distinctive Assyrian shallow [[relief]]s were removed from the palaces and sections are now found in several museums (see gallery below), in particular the [[British Museum]]. These show scenes of hunting, warfare, ritual and processions.<ref>[https://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/galleries/middle_east/room_7-8_assyria_nimrud.aspx "Assyria: Nimrud (Rooms 7–8)"], British Museum, accessed 6 March 2015;Frankfort, 156-164</ref> The [[Nimrud Ivories]] are a large group of ivory carvings, probably mostly originally decorating furniture and other objects, that had been brought to Nimrud from several parts of the ancient Near East, and were in a palace storeroom and other locations. These are mainly in the British Museum and the [[National Museum of Iraq]], as well as other museums.<ref>Frankfort, 310-322</ref> Another storeroom held the Nimrud Bowls, about 120 large bronze bowls or plates, also imported.<ref>[https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/research_projects/all_current_projects/the_nimrud_bowls.aspx The Nimrud Bowls], British Museum, accessed 6 March 2015; Frankfort, 322-331</ref>

The "Treasure of Nimrud" unearthed in these excavations is a collection of 613 pieces of gold jewelry and precious stones. It has survived the confusions and [[Archaeological looting in Iraq|looting]] after the [[2003 invasion of Iraq|invasion of Iraq]] in 2003 in a bank vault, where it had been put away for 12&nbsp;years and was "rediscovered" on June 5, 2003.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/06/0602_030602_iraqgold.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031008204754/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/06/0602_030602_iraqgold.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 8, 2003|title=Ancient Assyrian Treasures Found Intact in Baghdad|publisher=[[National Geographic Society|National Geographic]]|access-date=6 March 2015}}</ref>