Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
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Exit the gallery at the far end, then hang a U-turn left. Pause at the entrance of Room
10c to see the impressive...
Two Winged Bulls from the Palace of Sargon
These marble bulls (c. 710-705
B.C.
) guarded the entrance to the city of Dur-Sharrukin
(“Sargonsburg”), a new capital (near Nineveh/Mosul) with vast palaces built by Sargon II
(r. 721-705
B.C.
). The 30-ton bulls were cut from a single block, tipped on their sides, then
dragged to their place by POWs. (In modern times, when the British transported them here,
they had to cut them in half; you can see the horizontal cracks through the bulls' chests.)
