Asset number
596107001
Description
Limestone stela in the form of a boundary-stone: consisting of a block of calcareous limestone, shaped and prepared on four sides to take sculptures and inscriptions. It is now mounted on a stone plinth. Face A has been sculptured in comparatively high relief with symbols, arranged in six registers; First register: (1) Eight-pointed star ; (2) Crescent; (3) Solar disc. Second register : (4) Horned headdress upon a shrine; (5) A second horned headdress upon a shrine; (6) A third horned headdress upon a shrine. Third register : (7) Spear-head upon a shrine, beside which appears the fore-part of a horned dragon ; (8) Wedge upon a shrine, beside which appears the fore-part of a horned dragon, or composite monster ; (9) Yoke reversed, upon a shrine. Fourth register: (10) Eagle-headed mace, or standard; (11) Twin-lion-headed mace, or standard ; (12) Horse's head, with neck and shoulders, upon a shrine, standing within a double arch upon a raised base, possibly intended to represent a shrine; (13) Bird on perch. Fifth register: (14) The goddess Gula seated upon a shrine, with a dog lying beside her ; (15) Scorpion-man, wearing a cylindrical headdress, and shooting with a bow. The Scorpion-man has the head, arms and torso of a man, and below his girdle he has the body and tail of a scorpion, and the legs and claws of a bird. Sixth register: (16) Lightning-fork, supported by a bull, couchant; (17) Turtle: (18) Scorpion; (19) Lamp on pedestal; and (20) Serpent, extending from the centre of the stone at the top, down the left-hand side of the first five registers. Faces B and C each bear a single column of inscription, the lines running the full width of the stone. The top of the stone and Face D have been left blank, except for the serpent, which has been carved to the left of the emblems on Face A. Inscribed with a Charter from the reign of Nebuchadnezzar I.
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