Images

From the mountain region; found in a hoard with 4 other similar figurines. The hands might have held a weapon. From Gezzine (Jezzine), modern-day Lebanon. Middle Bronze Age, 2400-2000 BCE. (The British Museum, London)

This extraordinary statue is one of the earliest large-scale representations of the human form. It was found as part of a cache of up to 25 statues buried in a pit under the floor of an abandoned house. All of these statues have naturallistically...

These 2 small fragments once belonged to a large clay tablet inscribed with a duplicate of the Cyrus Cylinder text. They were identified among The British Museum extensive collections of clay tablets in December 2009 and January 2010. The...

This extraordinary statue is one of the earliest large-scale representations of the human form. It was found as part of a cache of up to 25 statues buried in a pit under the floor of an abandoned house. All of these statues have naturalistically...

During the late 3rd millennium BCE, the area of the middle Euphrates developed a distinctive regional culture. Between 1963-1973 CE, an international rescue mission excavated a large number of sites in this region which were threatened by...

This fine decorated pottery takes its name from the modern name of Tell Atchana, Alalakh. It was defined by the excavator Sir L. Woolley as a locally produced variant of the so-called "Nuzi ware", a similarly fine and elaborated decorated...

This fine decorated pottery takes its name from the modern name of Tell Atchana, Alalakh. It was defined by the excavator Sir L. Woolley as a locally produced variant of the so-called "Nuzi ware", a similarly fine and elaborated decorated...

This head belongs to a well-known statue, identified as Meleager, the ancient Greek hero who took part in the hunt for the Caledonian boar. Full length versions which survive show the hero standing with his hunting dog, spear, and the boar's...

This ecstatic procession features 2 satyrs and a female follower of Dionysos (Bacchus), god of wine. The satyr and maenad at the front play pipes (aulos) and a small drum. The other satyr carries a thyrsos, Dionysos' staff, and is accompanied...

Chests of this sort were used to contain the bones of individuals in secondary burials. These were burials in which the body had been exposed and allowed to decay before the bones were gathered. At Azor, on the coast of Israel, a rock-cut...