An excavation in northern Iraq has unearthed a 2,700-year-old alabaster sculpture of the winged Assyrian deity Lammasu, which was found virtually intact despite its large dimensions. Only the head is missing, which is part of the collection of the Iraq Museum in Baghdad, after being confiscated by customs officials from smugglers in the 1990s.
The sculpture weighs 18 tons and measures 3.9 meters high, a size that is usually only found in Egypt or Cambodia, as explained by the French person in charge of the excavation, Pascal Butterlin. “I had never unearthed something so big in my life,” he explained in amazement to the AFP agency.
The protective deity Lamassu is a legendary hybrid being, mainly from Assyrian mythology, represented with the body of a bull or lion, the wings of an eagle and the head of a human. They used to guard the gates of cities or palaces and, according to legend, they instilled fear and respect in enemies.
The discovered statue, which stands out for its good condition and attention to detail, stood at the entrance to the ancient city of Khorsabad, about 15 kilometers north of the modern city of Mosul. It was commissioned during the reign of Sargon II, who ruled between 722 and 705 BC.
