The only relics found at Kouyunjik which I can refer to the Achæmenian Persian period, are the remains of several dishes and vases in serpentine and marble. One fragment of this nature is inscribed with Egyptian hieroglyphs, characteristic, according to Mr. Birch, of the time of the Ptolemies.
Part of Colossal Head, from Kouyunjik.
Of Assyrian relics obtained from the ruins, the most interesting are
A colossal beardless head in limestone, remarkable for the boldness of the style. It is, probably, part of a lion-sphinx.
Handles in the form of the heads of lions, and other fragments of vases and dishes.
A fragment of striped marble, carved with figures in relief, and bearing an inscription with the genealogy and titles of Essarhaddon.
A gold ear-ring adorned with pearls, resembling those still in common use amongst Arab women.
A rude circular vessel in limestone, ornamented on the outside with figures in relief of the Assyrian Hercules struggling with the lion.
Moulds for casting ear-rings and other ornaments in gold and silver. The forms upon them are all purely Assyrian, as the lion-headed deity, the cone, the bull’s head, and the sacred signs seen in the Nimroud sculptures round the neck of the king. The largest mould is in limestone, the others in serpentine. They are precisely such as are used to this day by Arab goldsmiths.