Neo-Assyrian wall panel
- Gallery: Room 10a
- Culture: Neo-Assyrian
- Date: 700BC-692BC
- Object type: wall panel, relief
- Materials: gypsum
- Museum number: 124904
- 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
This Neo-Assyrian wall panel captures a dramatic moment in ancient warfare. You’re looking at the beginning of the Assyrian assault on Lachish, an important ancient city. In the scene, you'll notice slingers and archers positioned at the back, actively hurling stones and shooting arrows.
Carved from gypsum, the panel is detailed yet retains the bold lines typical of Assyrian relief art. These artworks were often part of palace walls, serving both decorative and informational purposes—recording military achievements for all to see.
Created around 700 to 692 BC, this relief comes from the South West Palace in Nineveh—then the grand capital of the Assyrian Empire. The panel is part of a set of related pieces found in the same excavation. The imagery offers a rare glimpse into siege warfare in the ancient Near East.
Keep in mind that each figure and gesture tells a larger story, one of power and conquest in a time of ancient empires.
See it in person
Neo-Assyrian wall panel is on display in Room 10a 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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