The Nimrud Ivories: Their Discovery & History
The Nimrud Ivories are a vast collection of figures, panels, and plaques, carved from ivory, dated to the 9th to 7th centuries BCE, discovered in the ruins of the ancient city of Nimrud. Today, they are considered among the finest archaeological jewels of ancient Mesopotamia - and their history is fascinating.
In 1845, the archaeologist Austen Henry Layard began excavations at the ruins of the city of Nimrud in the region which is modern-day northern Iraq. Layardâs expedition was part of a larger movement at the time to uncover ancient sites in Mesopotamia that would corroborate stories in the Bible, specifically in books of the Old Testament such as Genesis and Jonah. The archaeologists who excavated the sites throughout Mesopotamia in the mid-19th century were seeking physical evidence to support accounts of the Great Flood, the Tower of Babel, and cities such as Nineveh and Kalhu, among other biblical references. Their work, ironically, would have the complete opposite effect of what was intended: they discovered a civilization that existed long before the first biblical books were written, one which had, in fact, produced the first stories concerning a global flood and an ark, and which was far more advanced than had previously been thought.
These discoveries would revolutionize human understanding of world history, which, previously, had been heavily influenced by the Bibleâs version of events. Prior to these expeditions, little was known about Mesopotamian history outside of the Assyrians and Babylonians because they were the people best documented by ancient Greek historians and mentioned in the Bible. The great Mesopotamian cities of the past lay buried under the sands after the fall of the Assyrian Empire in 612 BCE, and their histories lay buried with them.
History of the City & Discovery of the Ivories
When Layard began his work at Nimrud, he did not even know which city he was excavating. He believed he had discovered Nineveh and, in fact, published his bestselling book on the excavation, Nineveh and its Remains, in 1849, still confident in that belief. His book was so popular, and the artifacts he uncovered so intriguing, that further expeditions to the region were quickly funded.
Further work in the region established that the ruins Layard had uncovered were not those of Nineveh but of another city, which was then referred to as Nimrud. The archaeologist William K. Loftus took over from Layard in 1854 and excavated Nimrud further, discovering, among other treasures, the magnificent works of art known today as the Nimrud Ivories (also known as the Loftus Ivories).
Nimrud was an important city in ancient Mesopotamia known as Kalhu (also Caleh, Calah), which became the capital of the Assyrian Empire under Ashurnasirpal II (reign 884-859 BCE), who moved the central government there from the traditional capital of Ashur. The city existed as an important trade center from at least the 1st millennium BCE. It was located directly on a prosperous route just north of Ashur and south of Nineveh. The Assyrian Empire was ruled from Kalhu from 879 to 706 BCE, when Sargon II (reign 722-705 BCE) moved the capital to his new city of Dur-Sharrukin (Khorsabad).
Following the death of Sargon II, his son Sennacherib (reign 705-681 BCE) abandoned Dur-Sharrukin and moved the capital to Nineveh. Kalhu continued to be an important city to the Assyrians, however, and the palaces and residences were richly adorned and ornamented with gold, silver, precious gems, and the intricate works of art that have come to be known as the Nimrud Ivories.
â The Nimrud Ivories: Their Discovery & History
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