the diminutive size of some inscriptions. Her sons worked enamel, and thus adorned the humble brick: like their Egyptian teachers, they were skilful in ivory-carving, in cutting cylinders of jasper and _pietra dura_, and in gem-engraving on carnelian, onyx, sardonyx, amethyst, agate, chalcedony, and lapis lazuli. As regards Assyrian metallurgy, few articles of iron have been found in the river-valley’s damp and nitrous soil, but the metal is denoted, as in Egypt, by a blue tint, and the god Ninib is termed the ‘lord of the iron coat.’ Gold and silver were profusely used as ornaments. Lead was dug in the Montes Gordæi (Kurd Mountains) near Mosul, the original Ararat of ‘Noah’s ark.’ Copper vessels, bright as gold when polished, were found in the palaces of Nimrúd: the ore was brought from the northern highlands heading the Tigris Valley, where the Arghana ma’adan (Diyar-i-Bekr mine) long supplied the Ottoman Empire. The place that exported their tin is disputed.[666] They worked well in bronze: of this alloy many castings have been found: utensils, as pots and cauldrons, cups, forks and spoons, dishes, and plates, plain and ornamented; tools, as picks, nails, and saws; thin plates; the so-called razors;[667] lamps; weapons; an ægis-like object also found in Egypt; lance-heads, shields, and door-sockets each weighing six pounds and three and three-quarter ounces.[668] The bronze gates of Balawat, with plates eight feet long showing the triumphs of Shalmaneser II. (B.C. 884–850), attest high art. Layard supplied the British Museum with many iron articles from the north-western palace at Nimrúd, and some had iron cores round which bronze had been cast for economy. Amongst them were iron chain-armour, two rusty helmets ornamented with bronze; picks, hammers, knives, and saws.[669] The approximate date may be assumed at B.C. 880. [Illustration: FIG. 203.—ASSYRIAN LANCE WITH COUNTER-WEIGHT.] [Illustration: FIG. 204.—ASSYRIAN SPEAR-HEAD.] [Illustration: FIG. 205.—ASSYRIAN ‘RAZOR.’ A sickle-shaped tool from a bas-relief. A similar weapon in iron, found at Pæstum in Lucania, is preserved in the Musée d’Artillerie at Paris.]