Lamassu · UniteThe99

Lamassu

These colossal lamassu once guarded a gateway in the citadel wall of Sargon II’s capital, Dur Sharrukin, modern Khorsabad in Iraq. Paul Émile Botta’s excavations of 1843–1844 uncovered four monumental lamassu in total. Two were cut into transportable sections and sent to Paris, where they remain in the Louvre. The other pair was initially left at Khorsabad because of its enormous weight. In 1849, Henry Rawlinson acquired the remaining two. They were sawn into sections, transported to Britain and reassembled. Today, both are displayed in the British Museum. Later excavations uncovered additional lamassu. Two selected by Victor Place were lost when his convoy was attacked and sank near Qurnah in 1855. Another, discovered in 1929, was transported to Chicago, while further examples remained in Iraq.

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Lamassu