146 
ASSYRIAN GALLERIES. 
right hand raises a dagger; the left, as well as the legs and feet, are 
lost. 
In the middle of the Room stands a circular bowl in limestone, 
much mutilated. Round the exterior is a frieze of small figures in 
relief, representing groups of men and lions in combat, probably forms 
of the Assyrian Hercules. 
NIMROUD CENTRAL SALOON. 
With this room commences the series of sculptures excavated by 
Mr. Layard, in 1847 and 1850, in different parts of the great mound 
at Nimroud. They are, with a few exceptions, executed in a species 
of alabaster, abounding in Mesopotamia, which is easily decomposed 
either by moisture or fire. 
To the left of the door, on entering from the Kouyunjik Gallery, 
is a group of sculptures found in a ruin termed by Mr. Layard, with 
reference to its position on the mound, the South-West Palace. This 
edifice was erected by Essarhaddon, the son and successor of Sen¬ 
nacherib, with materials obtained, in great measure, from the spolia¬ 
tion of the palaces erected by the earlier Assyrian dynasty on the 
North-West side, and in the centre of the mound. 
Against the North w’all, by the door, are two slabs; on the upper is 
a horseman, wearing a crested helmet, pursued by two Assyrian horse¬ 
men, who are wounding his horse with their spears. 
Below this is a fragment of a subject representing the siege of a 
city; a bucket, lowered by a pulley, is seen through the walls; one of 
the besiegers is cutting its rope. 
Over the slabs is a head from a small statue, apparently of an 
eunuch ; the nose, which w’as originally a separate piece let in, has 
been lost. 
On the adjoining wall is a large bas-relief, divided horizontally into 
tw^o tiers, the upper of which bears a representation of a strong city 
on a mound or hill, having walls with battlements and towers, and 
from which sheep, and captives bearing spoil, are being driven by 
Assyrian warriors. The lower scene represents a king in his chariot 
moving in procession, part of another chariot appearing before him. 
The king is attended by a parasol-bearer and a charioteer, and his 
horses are led by two ushers. Between the tiers is part of an inscrip¬ 
tion, originally extending over several adjoining slabs, upon one of 
which is mentioned the receipt of tribute from Menahem, King of 
Israel. This sculpture must therefore have been executed either for 
Pul, who invaded Samaria about 769 R c., and is stated, in 2 Kings 
XV. 19, to have levied tribute from Menahem ; or perhaps for his suc¬ 
cessor, Tiglathpileser, with whose history, in the opinion of .Dr. 
Hincks, the account more nearly tallies. 
Above this slab is another, on which are two horsemen in conical 
helmets pursuing a third, and thrusting him from his horse with their 
spears. Behind is a vulture, bearing off the intestines of a fallen 
warrior. 
In front of these is a colossal head, in a triple-homed tiara, of a 
