Images

This is a gold pommel from the hilt of a dagger. Many rivet holes can be seen. Early Dynastic Period, circa 2600 BCE. From the Royal Cemetery at Ur, Southern Mesopotamia, modern-day Iraq. Part of objects allotted to the British Museum from...

Agirgal was probably the name of the owner of the bowl. It was found in grave PG33. Akkadian to Neo-Sumerian Period, 2300-2100 BCE. From the Royal Cemetery at Ur, Southern Mesopotamia, modern-day Iraq. Part of objects allotted to the British...

This shell was imported from modern-day Oman and was incised and decorated. One end (the upper one) was engraved with a bird's head; the bird's eye would have been inlaid with lapis lazuli. As a lamp, this shell would have contained oil...

Vessels of soft stone, including chlorite or steatite, came from Iran and they demonstrate the extensive trade network of the cities of Southern Mesopotamia during this period. This green chlorite vessel is straight-sided and has an imbricated...

Cyrus the Great (d. 530 BCE) in a detail of a modern copy from a 6th century BCE bas-relief at Pasargadae inscribed "I am Cyrus the king, an Achaemenian". (Olympic Park, Sydney)

Roman sarcophagus with relief depicting four scenes from the myth of Medea following the homonymous tragedy by the Athenian poet Euripides. Topics from Greek mythology were a popular motif in Rome for sarcophagus reliefs, especially when...

19th century CE statue of Ambiorix, prince of the Eburones (1st century BCE), in Tongeren, Belgium.

Ivory figure of a griffin-headed demon, from Altıntepe, an Urartian fortress and temple located in eastern Anatolia, 8-7th BCE. Museum of Anatolian Civilisation, Ankara.

Mural painting uncovered in the Urartian temple at Altıntepe. The painting is made of clay and plaster and features winged demons standing on either side of a sacred tree with plants, flowers and geometric motifs. 8th - 6th century BCE. (Museum...

Copper. The weight range: chalkos e.g. – 1,3-3,1 gr., dichalkon e.g. – 3,7-5 gr., tetrachalkon e.g. – 6,1 gr. d≈14 mm. Obverse: Caps of Dioscuri, surmounted by six, or eight-pointed stars. Reverse: Thyrsos of Dionysus, i.e. of Mithridates...