Discoveries in the Ruins of Nineveh and Babylon

An 1853 account in two volumes of the British archaeological expedition that discovered the palace of the Assyrian king Sennacherib.

The British archaeologist Layard (1817–1894) discovered important evidence about ancient Mesopotamia and the Assyrian civilisation. This 1853 book describes his second expedition, which led to the identification of Kouyunjik as the Assyrian capital Nineveh. Volume 1 covers early stages of the excavations and Layard's journey to the Khabur region.Sir Austen Henry Layard (1817–1894) was one of the leading British archaeologists of the nineteenth century. His excavations provided important evidence about ancient Mesopotamia, particularly about the Assyrian civilisation, and his books - part travel writing, part specialised archaeological studies - are beautifully evocative. First published in 1853, this two-volume study follows the earlier Nineveh and its Remains (1849). It describes Layard's second expedition to the Near East, in 1845, which led to the identification of Kouyunjik as the great Assyrian capital Nineveh. In this richly illustrated book, Layard focuses on the description and interpretation of ruins, as he tells of the discovery of the lost palace of the Assyrian king Sennacherib (eighth century BCE) in northern Iraq. Volume 1 is an account of the excavations at Kouyunjik, and also describes a journey along the Khabur river in Syria, where Layard assesses the influence of Assyrian art on the region.