Explorations in Bible lands during the 19th century - H. V. Hilprecht

DURING WW CENTURY: ASSYRIA AND BABYLONIA 105
valuable antiquities.
Among other relics of the past, Layard
found a crouching lion in alabaster, a pair of winged lions
in a coarse limestone, the bodies of two lions carved out of
one stone and forming a pedestal ;
the statues of two exquisite
but crumbling sphinxes, and several interesting bas-reliefs
uniting the head of an eagle or a lion with the body and arms
of a man. He could now definitely prove that the slabs
hitherto found in this section of the mound, and originally
chiefly brought from the northwest edifice, were never meant
to be exposed to view in the later palace. " They were, in
fact, placed against the wall of sun-dried bricks, and the
back of the slab, smoothed preparatory to being resculptured,
was turned towards the interior of the chambers."
order to ascertain, therefore, the name of the king who built
this palace, he had to dig behind the slabs. By continuing
his researches in this new light, he soon found cuneiform
inscriptions which bore the name of Esarhaddon, king of
Assyria (2 Kings 19:37).
Important as all these discoveries turned out to be, they
were far surpassed by his finds in two other sections of
the ruins. In the largest room of the northwest palace,
which apparently had served as the royal reception hall,
a series of the most beautiful and most interesting sculptures
were brought to light, glorifying King Ashurnasirapal
(885-860 b. c.) in war and peace. All the scenes are realistic
and full of life, executed with great care and spirit.
Here the monarch is followed by his warriors, himself standing
in a chariot and discharging arrows, while enemies are
tumbling from their horses or falling from the turrets of a
besieged city ; there, in a boat, he is crossing a river full of
tortoises and fishes, and lined with date-groves and gardens ;
then, again, he receives the prisoners, led by warriors and
counted by scribes, or he is returning victoriously in procession,
followed by his army and preceded by musicians
and standard-bearers, while above them fly vultures with
In