Name: Assyrian swimmer
What is it: A relief scene engraved in plaster
Hometown: Royal Palace of Nimlud (near modern-day Mosul, Iraq)
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When it was made: Between 865 and 860 BC
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What it tells us about the past:
This repeatedly rescued Nimlud, a major city in the ancient Assyrian Empire of today’s Iraq. This is regularly drifting through the internet, as it was called scuba diving evidence nearly three thousand years ago. However, the wall panels actually depict the army crossing the river, with the soldiers navigating the waves with the help of ancient flotation devices.
The plaster panels are one of several excavated from the North West Palace in the 1840s and were built around 865 BC at the order of King Ashrnasirpal II. Originally located around the interior walls of the throne room and royal apartments, the carved panels depict the king who engaged in rituals and game animals and led military campaigns.
This panel fragment from the British Museum collection shows several men and horses crossing the river. The horse is swimming and pulling the lead by cavalry. One soldier swims freely, one rows a small boat, and two use goat leather bags that are inflated because the soldiers are floating.
The crown-shaped inscription running across the top of the panel traces the king’s lineage and explains his important achievements. According to the British Museum, the two-dimensionality of perspective is the perfect figure and typical of Assyrian art, rather than half marching.
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Animal skin or bladder floats appear several times on Nimrude wall panels and may have been made from goats or pigs. Floats were used to keep soldiers’ weapons dry and to help the army sneak up on the enemy. Ashrnasirpal II is known for his military power and his atrocities, and his innovative tactics, including a goat-skin float, helped him to significantly expand his empire in the 9th century BC.
It is interesting to reflect on how much the Assyrian army conquered if it had scuba gear, but the humble goat skin represents an important invention that helped to maintain power in Mesopotamia for centuries until the empire fell around 600 BC.
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