Battle scene of Assyrians storming a citadel

A low relief carved into a dark stone slab shows armored soldiers in tiered rows advancing at lower left, while figures on the right fall or crouch beneath a line of crenellated towers. Fine incised detail defines the rows of men and the walls, suggesting a siege.

Look closer: A small figure crouches among the fallen at the lower right, near the edge of the slab.

Artist

Unknown

Date

ca. 704–681 BCE

Medium

Gypsum alabaster

Source

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Size

2912 × 4000 px

Credit (appreciated, not required for public-domain works): The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1955