Images

Detail of the head of an Assyrian protective spirit with the head of an eagle, found in the temple of Ninurta at Kalhu (Nimrud), c. 865-860 BCE. The British Museum, London.

Granite sphinx of Taharqa, 25th Dynasty, c. 690-664 BCE. This statue from Kawa (Temple T) in Sudan shows the Pharaoh's face on a Lion figured sphinx, a form of royal representation borrowed from Middle and New Kingdom art. Taharqa was...

This is a terracotta bust of the Roman wine-god Bacchus, 50-100 CE. Found near Porta Latina, Rome. Townley Collection, Terracotta D 432, British Museum, London, UK.

Rock carvings of King Sennacherib I in Kenis, Iraq. At this point water from the Gomel Gorge was diverted into the Atrush Canal to provide water for the Assyrian city of Nineveh.

These are the remains of the oldest known aqueduct in the world. The Jerwan Aqueduct was constructed by king Sennacherib I of Assyria between 703 and 690 BCE. It represents a great feat of Assyrian engineering. The aqueduct was transporting...

Cuneiform writing on the Jerwan Aqueduct (703-690 BCE). King Sennacherib I of Assyria made sure that, thousands of years later, people would know that it was he who ordered the construction of this feat of Assyrian engineering.

A section of a Roman road with a typical polygonal stone surface. The stones also show the ruts made by Roman wheeled vehicles. This section is beneath the Arco dei Gavi, a 1st century CE arch in Verona, Italy.

A section of surviving Roman road near Cirauqui in northern Spain. The curb stones can be clearly seen, a common feature of Roman roads.

A map showing the principal routes of the Roman road network in 125 CE.

A reconstruction of Inca ruler Atahualpa made by G.S.Stuart. (Ojai Valley Museum, California)