Colossal Guardian Lion. Assyrian, about 865-860 BC. From Nimrud, Temple of Ishtar, 15 tonne lion symbolized Ishtar, the Assyrian goddess of warm and guarded the entrance to her temple. The cuneiform inscription gives the name of the temple's builder, Ashurnasirpal II (882-859 BC).The lion is one of a par excavated by Austen Henry Layard in 1850. A Second fragmentary pair was found by Iraqi Archaeologists in 2001

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Colossal Guardian Lion. Assyrian, about 865-860 BC. From Nimrud, Temple of Ishtar, 15 tonne lion symbolized Ishtar, the Assyrian goddess of warm and guarded the entrance to her temple. The cuneiform inscription gives the name of the temple's builder, Ashurnasirpal II (882-859 BC).The lion is one of a par excavated by Austen Henry Layard in 1850. A Second fragmentary pair was found by Iraqi Archaeologists in 2001

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Size: 4000px × 5037px
Location:
Photo credit: © World History Archive / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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