before Sennacherib, and whose principal monuments are to be seen in the Nimroud collection. It is covered with small bas-reliefs, representing the various exploits of the monarch.

Towards the North end of the room is the upper part of another obelisk of the same king, also discovered by Mr. Rassam.

Towards the South end, a circular bowl in limestone, procured by Mr. Layard, and sculptured with bas-reliefs of men and lions.

Five Table Cases in the middle of the room contain small objects discovered in various excavations.

In No. 61 are seals, engraved stones, and cylinders of hard stone: amongst them are a cylinder of Dungi, King of Babylonia, about B.C. 2000; a fragment, with the name of Durigalzu, a king of Babylon, about B.c. 1400; and a stone, with the name of Nebuchadnezzar, B.C. 600; cylinders of Sennacherib, about B.C. 700; and one of Darius I., B.C. 520.

No. 62. Terracotta figures of a king, the god Dagon, and the hunting dogs found behind the bas-reliefs at Kouyunjik, Assyrian weights in form of ducks, necklaces, gold earring with pearls, &c. Several cylinders and gems with Phoenician, Pehlevi, Sassanian, and Himyaritic inscriptions. An oval gem, with Vararanes IV. trampling on a prostrate Roman, A.D. 389; an oval gem, with the busts of a Sassanian monarch and queen, about the 6th century, A.D.

No. 63. Terracotta tablets with cuneiform inscriptions: amongst them are the Assyrian canon of names of Eponymous officers, from B.C. 911 to B.C. 660; the record of the Egyptian campaigns of Assurbani-pal, B.C. 668, in which are mentioned Gyges, Necho, and Tirhaka; sale tablets with Phoenician inscriptions, and others dated from Nabonidus, B.c. 555, to the Seleucidæ, B.c. 164; a series of seals, two with the name of the Egyptian monarch Sabaco.

No. 64. Objects in iron and bronze-bracelets, fetters, and swords. No. 65. Terracotta tablets with cuneiform inscriptions: amongst them, an Assyrian planisphere; the phonetic names of the months; a cuneiform syllabary; tablet of Assyrian laws; hieroglyphic forms of cuneiform characters; a list of square roots; a tablet, giving an account of the descent of Ishtar, the Assyrian Venus to Hades, and the principal fragments of the three tablets giving the Chaldean account of the Deluge, Creation, and Tower of Babel.

NIMROUD CENTRAL SALOON.

With this room commences the series of sculptures excavated by Mr. Layard in 1847 and 1850, in different parts of the great mound at Nimroud; with which have been placed one or two sculptures since obtained by Mr. Rassam from the same locality.

To the left of the door, on entering from the Kouyunjik Gallery, is a small group of slabs in relief, consisting of sculptures discovered in the South-western edifice of the great

H

mound, which is believed to have been constructed by Essarhaddon, the son and successor of Sennacherib, towards the beginning of the seventh century B.C., with materials obtained, in a great measure, from the spoliation of the palaces erected in other parts of Nimroud by the earlier Assyrian dynasty.

The most important object in this group is a large bas-relief, divided horizontally into two tiers, the upper representing the evacuation of a city, and the lower an Assyrian monarch in his chariot. The inscription, of which a part exists on this slab, and the remainder was upon others adjoining it, recorded the receipt of tribute from Menahem, King of Israel, and thus indicates that this sculpture was executed for Tiglath Pileser II., though subsequently transferred by Essar-haddon to his own palace.

Adjoining this is a colossal head of a human-headed bull, on a larger scale than any yet brought to Europe, and supposed to be of the time of Essar-haddon himself.

Against the two central pilasters stand two statues excavated by Mr. Rassam in the South-eastern edifice of Nimroud, each representing the god Nebo, and bearing an inscription to the effect that it was made by a sculptor of Nimroud at the order of Vul-nirari (a king who reigned about B.C. 780), and of his wife Sammuramat, who is supposed to be the original of the somewhat mythical Semiramis of the Greek and Roman writers.

On the opposite, or Western side of the room, are some bas-reliefs discovered by Mr. Layard in the ruins of the Central edifice at Nimroud, which are supposed to be intermediate in date between the ruins already referred to and those of the great edifice at the North-west quarter of the mound. The subjects are chiefly military.

To the left, or Southern side of the passage from the Hellenic Room, is seen the evacuation of a captured city, in which (as well as in the bas-relief immediately above) the various quadrupeds introduced are portrayed with great fidelity and spirit, the sculptor, as usual in Assyrian art, exhibiting greater power in the treatment of animal subjects than of the human form.

On the other side of the passage are three representations of sieges, in which the mounds thrown up by the besiegers, their battering-rams, and archers masked by loop-holed screens, evince their military skill, whilst the three impaled captives, on one of the slabs, give equal evidence of their cruelty.

Above these are two heads, known from the inscription on the lefthand slab to represent Tiglath-Pileser II. and an attendant.

In the centre of the room stands one of the most important historical monuments which have been recovered from Assyria, an obelisk in black marble, found near the centre of the great mound. It is

decorated with five tiers of bas-reliefs, each continued round the sides; and the unsculptured surface is covered with cuneiform inscriptions, which record the annals of Shalmaneser for thirty-one years, commencing about B.C. 860. The bas-reliefs illustrate the presentation of offerings to the king by his numerous tributaries, and the inscriptions record the names of the donors, amongst whom are Jehu "of the house of Omri," the Israelitish king, and Hazael, the contemporary king of Syria.

Against the columns are placed two tablets, with figures and inscriptions of Shalmaneser and Assur-izir-pal, found at Kurkh; on one Ahab is mentioned.

The remainder of the Nimroud collection belongs altogether to the period of Assur-izir-pal, or Assur-nazir-pal, the earliest Assyrian monarch of whom any large monuments have been procured, and who is believed to have reigned about B.C. 880. The sculptures were found by Mr. Layard partly in the ruins of an extensive edifice at the North-west quarter of Nimroud, and partly in two small adjacent temples of the same date, one of which was dedicated to the Assyrian "God of War."

Beside the door into the Kouyunjik Gallery is a colossal lion, which, with a companion figure, decorated the sides of a doorway in one of the small temples just mentioned. It is covered with inscriptions, and, like all the figures found in similar situations, provided with five legs, so as to appear perfect both from the front and the side.

Near this stands a small statue, on its original pedestal, found in the same temple with the lion, and representing Assur-izir-pal.

Of the remains of the North-west edifice the principal are two colossal figures, one a winged and human-headed lion, and the other a bull, not originally forming a pair, but taken from two different doorways. Though of smaller dimensions than usual, they are, both in delicacy of execution and excellence of preservation, amongst the finest specimens of Assyrian art.

Over the North door leading into the Kouyunjik Gallery is a lintel from the palace at Kouyunjik, representing a vase and two dragons. The South door leads into the

.

NIMROUD GALLERY.

This room contains a continuation of the series last described. The bas-reliefs on the West side were all found in one chamber of the North-west edifice. Those on the opposite side are partly from other chambers of the same edifice, partly from the small adjacent temple of the "God of War." The slabs with large figures bear inscriptions running horizontally across the middle; those with small figures have generally had inscriptions on the border above and below, though these have in many instances been cut off in ancient times. The double

row of slabs occupying the greater part of the West side is arranged exactly as in the original building, excepting that a break occurs in one place, where some slabs have been lost.

The following are the most interesting subjects in this room, commencing on the left, or East side. The first eight slabs are from the North-west edifice :—

No. 19. Two persons, distinguished by their caps and pointed shoes as foreigners, bringing with them two monkeys, as tribute to some personage represented on a lost slab.

No. 20. The king, Assur-nazir-pal, in a richly-embroidered dress, and the cap distinctive of royalty, with a sword, of which the hilt is elegantly decorated with wrestling lions.

Nos. 21-26. Six slabs, representing the king among his attendants, supernatural and human, apparently returned from battle or the chase. The large dimensions, elaborate execution, and almost perfect preservation of this series, places it among the finest examples of Assyrian bas-relief. The figures are all sumptuously attired, their robes fringed and embroidered with sacred or mystical ornaments; their sandals are painted in black and red, the bows of the eunuchs red, and the eyes of all of them black. It may be observed that the parts here indicated, together with the hair in some cases, and the necks, and edges of the mouths, of two men with lions' heads on two slabs hereafter mentioned, are the only objects on which colour is discernible in any of the Assyrian sculptures; nor does the condition of the surface of those sculptures at all confirm the idea that the whole was originally covered with pigments:

The succeeding slabs (Nos. 27-30) are from the small temple of the "God of War." Nos. 27 and 28 stood originally, as here, at right angles to each other, No. 27 being on the external wall of the building, and Nos. 28, 29, on the side of a doorway leading to one of the chambers. On the opposite side of the doorway was a similar group, of which the slab on the external wall (No. 32) was alone removed by Mr. Layard.

Nos. 28, 29. A four-winged figure, with a three-forked thunderbolt in each hand, pursuing a monster or demon; a composition which, from its repetition on each side the doorway, probably typified the extrusion of the Evil Spirit from the temple. Although shattered into fragments, and much decomposed by fire, these slabs still display considerable merit in design.

No. 29*. A restoration of the slab which originally occupied the position corresponding to this, and the same in subject as the next.

No. 30. Slab from the opposite side of the doorway, forming the companion to No. 29*. It presents a figure of the Fish-god, or Dagon.

The remaining bas-reliefs in this room are all from the North-west edifice.

No. 38 represents an eagle-headed figure, evidently a deity, supposed by some to be Nisroch, in whose temple Sennacherib was slain. No. 36. A lion-hunt, which, though originally belonging to the North-west edifice, had been removed in ancient times, and was found in an isolated situation. It is here placed, for the purpose of comparison, opposite to some slabs of similar subject.

Nos. 37-40. A collection of bas-reliefs, representing what are believed to be religious rites. In each group two figures are seen, standing or kneeling before a species of tree, whose foliage is sculptured similarly to that known as the "honeysuckle ornament" of Greek architecture and vase-painting; one hand of each figure is raised, and generally holds some mystic offering or symbol, such as a fir-cone, a pomegranatebranch, a necklace, &c.

Upon the West side of the room is a similar subject (No. 2), on a bas relief within a boldly-projected border; two kings are here introduced in the conventional attitude of sacrifice or adoration, and each attended by a winged and triple-horned figure; above the mystic tree is the symbol of Divinity, sometimes described under the Persian name of Ferouher, being a small figure within a winged circle, holding a ring. The same symbol reappears, under a modified form, in some of the battle-scenes, where the Divinity seems to watch over the person of the king, and sometimes draws a bow at his enemies.

The double frieze, which next succeeds, may be regarded as illustrating the prowess of Assur-nazir-pal, both in the chase and in war. First come the hunting-scenes-Nos. 3a and 3b, a bull-hunt, and the successful return; Nos. 4a and 4b, a lion-hunt, with similar sequel. Afterwards the military scenes, among which may be distinguishedNos. 7b-9b. The passage of a river by the king and his army. The chariots are embarked in boats; the horses swim behind, guided by halters; many of the soldiers are likewise swimming, supported by skins inflated with air; others on shore are inflating skins previously to entering the stream.

Nos. 106-126. The capitulation of a city, and the king receiving the prisoners and spoil, a subject extending over a part of slab No. 13b. The original of No. 126 was so shattered, that Mr. Layard did not attempt to remove it, but made a careful drawing, from which has been executed the painting which here fills the vacant space. A portion of this slab subsequently obtained is opposite.

Nos. 11a-13 a. The return from battle. To the left is seen the ground plan of a circular building, divided into four apartments, in each of which are figures preparing food; adjoining is a tent, with horses and grooms; beyond are soldiers at their games, and musicians; and to the right, the king in a triumphal procession.

Nos. 136-15b. Siege of a city by Assur-nazir-pal, a subject presenting many curious details of military architecture and engineering, both aggressive and defensive; walls with serrated parapets, arched gateways with ornamental mouldings; the assailants at once mining, breaching, and scaling; a battering-ram plied from the interior of a moveable machine, surmounted by a tower, which is filled with archers and