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Ancient Nimrud (Calah)

ProofRead and Updated June 19th 2019

[Note: Spending much time in the vicinity of Mosul, Austen Henry Layard became increasingly
interested in locating and unearthing the great cities of biblical renown. Mistaking Nimrūd,
site of the Assyrian capital of Calah, for Nineveh, he excavated there (1845–51) and discovered
the remains of palaces of 9th- and 7th-century-BC kings and a large number of important
artworks. These included sculptures from the reign of King Ashurnasirpal II and a huge winged
bull that remain among the most valued treasures of the British Museum.

After his celebrated and unprecedented success, he turned his attention in 1849 to the mound
opposite Mosul on the eastern bank of the Tigris River, where he found Nineveh. His new effort
uncovered the palace of Sennacherib and many extraordinary artworks] (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
 One of the great cities of Assyria situated on the Tigris River
south of Mosul; in the last century it was wrongly identified
by Layard as the site of Nineveh and his book Nineveh And Its
Remains [Abridged and Titled Discoveries at Nineveh] refers in
fact to this site. Unlike many of the cities of Mesopotamia
Nimrud was not a long-lived site occupied from the pre-historic
period but was a new foundation by Shalmaneser I of Assyria in
the mid 13th century BC. Its heyday was in the time of
Assurnasirpal II (884-859 BC) who made it the capital of
Assyria; it remained the capital till circa 710 BC when the
capital was transferred first to Khorsabad and subsequently to Nineveh ...

The walls enclosed circa 200 hectares and a citadel in the southwest corner housed a Ziggurat, a
temple dedicated to Ninurta (patron deity of the city), another dedicated to Nabu (god of
 writing) and a series of palaces. The largest and most important is the Northwest Palace built
by Assurnasirpal II ...

Many sculptures were brought back to England by Layard and are now in the British Museum. In the
southeast corner of the city was the arsenal built by Shalmaneser III (859-824 BC) and yet
another royal palace. Perhaps the most famous finds from Nimrud are the delicately carved ivory
plaques found in large numbers in the palaces of both the citadel and the arsenal. They may
originally have been mounted on wooden furniture ... (AHSFC).

Mad to See the Monuments: How ancient Assyria saved Victorian Bible scholarship
By Steven Holloway in Bible Review 17:6 -- December 2001 (BAS)

The History of the Ancient Near East Electronic Compendium

The Ancient Near

East
by Mark Alan McDonald

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