100 
ASSYRIAN ANTIQUITIES. 
[ground 
Nos. 136-156, 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 gate- 
ways with ornamental mouldings ; the assailants at once mining, breach- 
ing, and scaling ; a battering-ram plied from the interior of a moveable 
machine, surmounted by a tower, which is filled with archers and 
sliugers ; the besieged lowering grappling-irons from a bastion to catch 
the ram, and hurling firebrands to ignite the machine ; the besiegers 
playing water on the flames ; and each side discharging arrows and stones. 
No. IQa. Upper part of a male figure, with the eyes and hair tinted 
black, exhibiting a greater amount of artificial colour than any other 
Assyrian sculpture yet discovered. 
In the middle of the room are eight Table Cases, containing 
miscellaneous small objects found at Nimroud, chiefly in the 
ruins of the North-west edifice, and probably therefore of 
the age of Assur-nazir-pal, about B.C. 880. 
Case H has several miscellaneous bronze objects, small bells, 
weapons, and articles of furniture, parts of thrones, chariots, and vases. 
Case I contains some of the most interesting articles in the 
collection. The principal are a series of ivory-carvings from the North- 
west edifice, one having an Egyptian name within a hieroglyphical 
cartouche, and many others exhibiting Egyptian figures or deco- 
rations, — a conclusive proof of an intimate connection between 
Egypt and Assyria at a very early period ; a large variety of ivory- 
carvings of more purely Assyrian character, one with Phoenician in- 
scription, found in the South-east edifice. 
Case K contains objects in bronze and iron, parts of thrones, two 
with Phoenician inscriptions, bowls containing bones of hands of 
enemies. 
Case L has some more bowls, and a remarkable collection of 
bronze weights, in the form of recumbent lions, on some of which are 
engraved bilingual inscriptions, in the Phoenician, and cuneiform or 
Assyrian characters. 
Case M contains several bronze bowls, with embossed and 
engraved ornaments of great beauty and curiosity, some of distinctly 
Egyptian style, such as winged gryphons, scarabsei, &c. 
Case N has some miscellaneous antiquities obtained or exca- 
vated by Mr. G. Smith, in Assyria and Babylonia, and presented by the 
proprietors of the Daily Telegraph. Amongst them a stone tablet of 
Vulnirari 1. recording the conquests of Assyrian kings and repairs, 
from Kalah Shergat, a brick of Shalraaneser I. ; another of Assur- 
bani-pal, and some contract tablets, dated in the reigns of the later 
Babylonian kings. 
Case 0 contains fragments of terracotta tablets and miscellaneous 
articles from the same collection. Amongst them are figures of deities, 
and a cone with Cyprian inscription from Nimroud. 
