Middle Babylonian boundary-stone
- Gallery: Room 55
- Culture: Middle Babylonian
- Object type: boundary-stone, kudurru
- Materials: limestone
- Museum number: 90858
- Museum: The British Museum
- Collection record: British Museum website
- Image © The Trustees of the British Museum, shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence.
Listen to the free audio guide
About this object
Before you stands a limestone boundary-stone from ancient Babylonia, carved in striking high relief. This Middle Babylonian artifact is rich with symbols and inscriptions, arranged across six registers on its front face. You’ll notice celestial imagery such as an eight-pointed star and a solar disc, alongside figures like horned deities and mythical creatures. In the fourth register, a horse's head and an eagle-headed standard stand beside a shrine, capturing the grandeur of ancient Near Eastern artistry. Inscribed in cuneiform on two columns, the text records a royal charter issued by Nebuchadnezzar I. It outlines land privileges and includes harsh oaths to dissuade any violation of the decree. The stone’s rich details offer a rare glimpse into the region's legal and religious traditions over 2,500 years ago.
See it in person
Middle Babylonian boundary-stone is on display in Room 55 at the British Museum on Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, London — free to enter. Choose British Museum on audioguide.london and take a photo of it to hear this free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
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