Observations placeholder
Nimrud - Carved ivory figures in Phoenician style
Identifier
022175
Type of Spiritual Experience
Background
Nimrud is the Aramaic name for the ancient Assyrian city originally known as Kalhu, located 30 kilometres (20 mi) south of the city of Mosul, and 5 kilometres (3 mi) south of the village of Selamiyah (Arabic: السلامية), in the Nineveh plains in northern Mesopotamia.
It was a major Assyrian city between approximately 1250 BC and 610 BC. The city is located in a strategic position 10 kilometres (6 mi) north of the point that the river Tigris meets its tributary the Great Zab. The city covered an area of 360 hectares (890 acres). The ruins of the city were found within one kilometre (1,100 yd) of the modern-day Assyrian village of Noomanea in Nineveh Province, Iraq. This is some 30 kilometres (19 mi) southeast of Mosul.
Archaeological excavations at the site began in 1845, and were conducted at intervals between then and 1879, and then from 1949 onwards. Many important pieces were discovered, with most being moved to museums in Iraq and abroad. In 2013 the UK's Arts and Humanities Research Council funded the "Nimrud Project", directed by Eleanor Robson, whose aims were to write the history of the city in ancient and modern times, to identify and record the dispersal history of artefacts from Nimrud, distributed amongst at least 76 museums worldwide (including 36 in the United States and 13 in the United Kingdom).
Archaeologists believe that the city was given the name Nimrud in modern times after the Biblical Nimrod.
In March 2015, the Iraqi government reported that ISIL had used bulldozers to destroy excavated remains of the city. A video posted online by the group in April 2015 showed the site being destroyed by bulldozers and explosives.
A description of the experience
Egyptianizing figures on either side of a tree with a winged disk Mesopotamia, Nimrud. Ivory. During the 9th to 7th C. BCE, vast quantities of luxury goods, often embellished with carved ivory in Phoenician styles, accumulated in Assyrian palaces, much of it as booty or tribute. This plaque, once part of a piece of furniture, is carved in high relief in a typical Phoenician style with Egyptian themes and motifs.
