136 
ASSYRIAN GALLERIES. 
between those of Nitnroud and Kouyunjik. The visitor, entering 
from the Greek Galleries, finds himself in the Nimroud Central 
Saloon ; but in accordance with the system here pursued, of ascend¬ 
ing continuously, as far as possible, from the later monuments to the 
earliest, he should turn to the left, and pass through the North door of 
this room into the 
KOUYUNJIK SIDE-GALLERY. 
The collection of bas-reliefs in this room was procured by Mr. 
Layard, in 1849 and 1850, from the remains of a very extensive 
Assyrian edifice excavated by him in the great mound of Kouyunjik. 
This edifice appears, from the inscriptions remaining on many of 
its sculptures, to have been the palace of Sennacherib, who is 
supposed to have reigned from about B.c. 716 to R.c. 698. It was 
subsequently occupied by his grandson Ashurakhbal, or Sardana- 
palus the younger, w’ho reigned towards the middle of the seventh i 
century, b.c. Monuments of both these kings are included in j 
the collection. Those of Sennacherib are sculptured generally in I 
gypsum or alabaster, those of Ashurakhbal in a harder limestone. | 
Most of the sculptures were split and shattered by the action of fire, 
the palace having apparently been ruined by a conflagration, probably , 
at the destruction of Nineveh : indeed, many single slabs reached this 
country in 300 or 400 pieces. These have been simply rejoined i 
without attempt at restoration. Immediately to the left on entering is 
1. A cast from a bas-relief cut in the rock, at the mouth of the ■ 
Nahr-el-Kelb River, near Beyrout, in Syria, placed here in illustration 
of the Kouyunjik series, which succeeds it. It represents Sennacherib, i 
standing in the conventional attitude of worship, with sacred or sym¬ 
bolical objects above him, and is covered with a cuneiform inscription. i 
In the rock, adjoining the original relief, are six similar Assyrian 
tablets, and three Egyptian bas-reliefs, with hieroglyphic inscriptions, 
bearing the name of Rameses IL, who at an earlier period is supposed 
to have passed through Palestine. Presented hy the Duke of North¬ 
umberland, K. G. 
The sculptures on the left, or West side of the Gallery, are all of 
the period of Sennacherib, and illustrate the wars he carried on, and j 
the tributes he received. They are, for the most part, fragments of 
more extensive works. The subjects represented are as follows : — 
2. A galley, with a long straight rostrum^ or beak, propelled by 
two banks of rowers; on the upper deck are warriors, whose shields 
are arranged along the side of the galley. In the water appears a i 
crab devouring a fish. 
3. Part of a river, in which are seen fish of various kinds^. The 
bank is overgrown wdth reeds. Beside these is an unarmed horseman at¬ 
tacked by an Assyrian warrior on foot, and raising his hand for quarter. ^ 
^ 3*". Fragment of a head from a colossal figure of an eunuch. 
4—8. A series of Slabs, mutilated in the upper part, from a chamber 
marked xxviii, in Mr. Layard’s ground-plan of the Palace of Kou- > 
yunjik; they commemorate apparently the expedition of Sennacherib 
