Tehran – According to the British Museum, two,900-year-old carved panels from the Nimlud city of ancient Assyria show soldiers swimming across the river using inflatable goat skins.
The plaster rescue excavated in the 1840s from the northwest palace of King Ashrnasirpal II in today’s Iraq depicts an army crossing the river alongside swimming horses. Some soldiers are seen using free, intense, row-grilled small boats, or animal skins that have bulged out due to buoyancy, Irna reported Tuesday.
Originally installed on the walls of the King’s Throne Room and the royal apartments, panels form part of a series depicting military campaigns, royal rituals and hunting scenes. The crown-shaped inscription on the top records the king’s lineage and achievements.
Researchers at the British Museum say animal skin flotation devices, possibly made from goats and pigs, will appear on multiple Nimrude panels. These were used to dry out weapons and to promote the crossing of the rivers of surprise during military operations.
Ruling from 883 to 859 BC, Ashrnasirpal II expanded Assyrian territory through military innovations, including the use of flotation devices. The Assyrian Empire maintained its control in Mesopotamia for centuries until it collapsed around 600 BC.
The panel is currently part of the British Museum’s collection.
The ancestral lands that make up Assyrian homeland cover ancient Mesopotamia and the regions surrounding the Tigris and Zab rivers. Today, the region is divided into modern Iraq, southeastern Turkey, northwest Iran, and northeastern Syria.
morning