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Neo-Assyrian bas-relief depicting ships carrying and dragging cedar logs from Lebanon, guided by protective deities. Court in Dur-Sharrukin, present day Khorsabad, the unfinished capital city of Sargon II, c. 700 BCE. Mesopotamian lands were poor in stone and forest, so...

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Neo-Assyrian bas-relief depicting ships carrying and dragging cedar logs from Lebanon, guided by protective deities. Court in Dur-Sharrukin, present day Khorsabad, the unfinished capital city of Sargon II, c. 700 BCE. Mesopotamian lands were poor in stone and forest, so...

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A relief fragment depicting an Assyrian soldier conducting captives across the water. In the lower part of the panel, the pole used to propel the boat appears to hit a dead body in the water. Neo-Assyrian period, ca. 668–627 BCE, from Iraq, now housed at the Metropolitan Museum

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A relief fragment depicting an Assyrian soldier conducting captives across the water. In the lower part of the panel, the pole used to propel the boat appears to hit a dead body in the water. Neo-Assyrian period, ca. 668–627 BCE, from Iraq, now housed at the Metropolitan Museum

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Ancient Akkadian Obelisk: The Maništūšu Stele — A 4,200-year-old black basalt monument from Mesopotamia, covered in cuneiform inscriptions recording royal land grants by King Maništūšu, son of Sargon of Akkad. One of the earliest detailed records of property ownership.

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Ancient Akkadian Obelisk: The Maništūšu Stele — A 4,200-year-old black basalt monument from Mesopotamia, covered in cuneiform inscriptions recording royal land grants by King Maništūšu, son of Sargon of Akkad. One of the earliest detailed records of property ownership.

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A kuphar is a type of coracle or round boat traditionally used on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in ancient and modern Mesopotamia. The top image is an Assyrian relief dating back to 700-692 BCE and depicts a kuphar, while the bottom one is an old photo of a kuphar in Baghdad in 1932

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A kuphar is a type of coracle or round boat traditionally used on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in ancient and modern Mesopotamia. The top image is an Assyrian relief dating back to 700-692 BCE and depicts a kuphar, while the bottom one is an old photo of a kuphar in Baghdad in 1932

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A large Neo-Assyrian lapis lazuli cylinder seal from Babylon in Iraq, and dated to the reign of the king Esarhaddon , depicting the storm god Adad, standing on a stylized pedestal, with bolts of lightning in his hands, and a lion-dragon on a leash lying at his feet

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A large Neo-Assyrian lapis lazuli cylinder seal from Babylon in Iraq, and dated to the reign of the king Esarhaddon , depicting the storm god Adad, standing on a stylized pedestal, with bolts of lightning in his hands, and a lion-dragon on a leash lying at his feet

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Bas-Relief of the Lion Hunt from the palace of the Assyrian king Ashurnasirpal II in Nimrud, Neo-Assyrian empire, ca. 883–859 BCE. They show the ritual "hunt" in an arena where captured Asian lions were released from cages for the king to kill with arrows...

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Bas-Relief of the Lion Hunt from the palace of the Assyrian king Ashurnasirpal II in Nimrud, Neo-Assyrian empire, ca. 883–859 BCE. They show the ritual "hunt" in an arena where captured Asian lions were released from cages for the king to kill with arrows...

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An illustration from the 16th century CE Codex Ríos, depicting the Toltecs dragging a dead giant that the god Tezcatlipoca had abandoned near the capital Tula. In Aztec mythology, the Quinametzin are a race of giants that were punished by the gods because they did not venerate them

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An illustration from the 16th century CE Codex Ríos, depicting the Toltecs dragging a dead giant that the god Tezcatlipoca had abandoned near the capital Tula. In Aztec mythology, the Quinametzin are a race of giants that were punished by the gods because they did not venerate them

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Gilgamesh as Master of Animals, grasping a lion in his left arm and snake in his right hand, in an Assyrian palace relief , from Dur-Sharrukin, now held in the Louvre.

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Gilgamesh as Master of Animals, grasping a lion in his left arm and snake in his right hand, in an Assyrian palace relief , from Dur-Sharrukin, now held in the Louvre.

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Bronze calf with silver plating, representing Ba'al-Sapon, and a pottery shrine, 16th century BCE. This cultic fixture was placed outside the city gate of ancient Ashkelon, on a slope headed towards the port so sailors could worship Ba'al-Sapon, a protector of sailors in Canaanite religion

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Bronze calf with silver plating, representing Ba'al-Sapon, and a pottery shrine, 16th century BCE. This cultic fixture was placed outside the city gate of ancient Ashkelon, on a slope headed towards the port so sailors could worship Ba'al-Sapon, a protector of sailors in Canaanite religion

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The 4000-year-old Harput relief, now housed at the Elazig City Museum in Turkey, was discovered by chance in 2016. This 4-ton limestone relief depicts the conquest of a fortress and the arrival of prisoners before the king

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The 4000-year-old Harput relief, now housed at the Elazig City Museum in Turkey, was discovered by chance in 2016. This 4-ton limestone relief depicts the conquest of a fortress and the arrival of prisoners before the king

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Relief of a warrior, or of a War deity of Hatti, made of limestone. From the King's gate of ancient Hattusa, the capital of the Hittite Empire; dated to 14th - 13th c BCE ca. The original piece at the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, Ankara , a replica in situ

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Relief of a warrior, or of a War deity of Hatti, made of limestone. From the King's gate of ancient Hattusa, the capital of the Hittite Empire; dated to 14th - 13th c BCE ca. The original piece at the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, Ankara , a replica in situ

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When Alexander marched toward Persepolis in 330 BC and set the city ablaze, Persian artisans were carving the capital of a new column. Over 2,300 years later, the unfinished capital still sits on the same stone base where it was being shaped.

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When Alexander marched toward Persepolis in 330 BC and set the city ablaze, Persian artisans were carving the capital of a new column. Over 2,300 years later, the unfinished capital still sits on the same stone base where it was being shaped.

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One of the famous Nimrud Ivories, depicting a lioness devouring a man. This furniture panel with gold leaf and carnelian and lapis inlays was made by Phoenician craftsmen for the palace of Ashurnasirpal II, King of Assyria , at his capital known in ancient times as Kalhu

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One of the famous Nimrud Ivories, depicting a lioness devouring a man. This furniture panel with gold leaf and carnelian and lapis inlays was made by Phoenician craftsmen for the palace of Ashurnasirpal II, King of Assyria , at his capital known in ancient times as Kalhu

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A relief from Kom Ombo Temple depicting the Ancient Egyptian calendar, a 365-day solar calendar divided into 3 seasons , with four 30-day months per season, followed by 5 extra days, also known as the "birthdays of the gods", at the end of the year

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A relief from Kom Ombo Temple depicting the Ancient Egyptian calendar, a 365-day solar calendar divided into 3 seasons , with four 30-day months per season, followed by 5 extra days, also known as the "birthdays of the gods", at the end of the year

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Wall painting from the tomb of the Egyptian vizier Rekhmire at the Theban necropolis, Egypt , dated to 1400 BCE ca. It depicts representatives of foreign lands whom Rekhmire received, i.e. Minoans , Nubians , Syrians

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Wall painting from the tomb of the Egyptian vizier Rekhmire at the Theban necropolis, Egypt , dated to 1400 BCE ca. It depicts representatives of foreign lands whom Rekhmire received, i.e. Minoans , Nubians , Syrians

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The 900-year-old Ancestral Puebloan Nankoweap Granaries located 700 hundred feet above the banks of the Colorado River in Arizona. The granaries served as grain storage facilities that were designed to be sealed, protecting food stores from seasonal flooding, rodents, and insects

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The 900-year-old Ancestral Puebloan Nankoweap Granaries located 700 hundred feet above the banks of the Colorado River in Arizona. The granaries served as grain storage facilities that were designed to be sealed, protecting food stores from seasonal flooding, rodents, and insects

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Schist Gandharan reliefs depicting foreigners and non-Buddhists drinking, dancing, and playing music. From a Buddhist stupa site in Pakistan, c. 100 CE, now housed at the Cleveland Museum of Art

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Schist Gandharan reliefs depicting foreigners and non-Buddhists drinking, dancing, and playing music. From a Buddhist stupa site in Pakistan, c. 100 CE, now housed at the Cleveland Museum of Art

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