Mesopotamian Archaeology: An introduction to the archaeology of Mesopotamia and AssyriaHandcock, Percy S. P. (Percy Stuart Peache)
History
Mesopotamian Archaeology: An introduction to the archaeology of Mesopotamia and Assyria
Handcock, Percy S. P. (Percy Stuart Peache)
Iraq -- Antiquities
In Fig. 43 we have a reproduction of a portion of one of these bands. In
the upper register we have a procession of foot-soldiers armed with
maces, swords, bows and quivers, and also a charioteer, all in
attendance on the king, who goes before; in the lower register a number
of chariots are seen crossing a river by means of a bridge of boats. The
whole is beaten out in relief on the reverse, with the exception of
fine lines representing the horses’ trappings or the decoration of
garments. Strange to say, the reins of the chariot horses on these
gate-sheaths are sometimes raised in relief by the repoussé method,
sometimes on the other hand they are incised. At the top and bottom of
each register a row of the ubiquitous rosettes are introduced as a
decorative accessory, and the nails which fastened the metal bands to
the woodwork transfixed the rosettes. In Fig. 44 we have another scene
in which is represented the capture of a certain city called Dabigu. The
centre of the upper register is occupied with a representation of the
Assyrian camp, within which the king is seen seated before the royal
pavilion and attended by two eunuchs, while behind the camp there is
another band of eunuchs, and in front to the right of the register there
is a detachment of bowmen. Below, the assault of the city “by the
assault of engines and the attack of foot soldiers and mines and
breaches”[114] is vividly represented. The city itself has apparently an
outer and an inner wall, both of which are crenelated as usual. The
outer wall has an arched gate to the left, while within the city there
are various conical shaped objects which recall the domed and conical
roofs seen in Fig. 9. Three archers are defending the inner wall of the
city, while only one archer and another warrior remain at their posts on
the outer wall, the lower part of which appears to be speedily
succumbing to the irresistible attack of the battering-ram. The latter
has six wheels and seems to bear a kind of platform on which some
Assyrian soldiers have taken their stand and from which they are
discharging their unerring shafts; behind are a troop of archers
actively engaged though very passively portrayed, as is always the case
with Assyrian representations of human beings.[115]
In the recent excavations conducted by the Deutsche Orient-Gesellschaft
at Ashur, bronze plates for overlaying and decorating doors, precisely
similar to those found by Rassam at Balâwât, were brought to light.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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