The relief, discovered in the North Palace of Nineveh near modern-day Mosul, dates to the 7th century BCE and shows King Ashurbanipal flanked by the god Ashur and the goddess Ishtar, a rare depiction of Assyrian deities in palace art.
Ashur was the chief national god of ancient Assyria and symbolized imperial authority, while Ishtar was the goddess of fertility and war and the patroness of Nineveh.
The massive relief slab, originally measuring approximately 5.5 meters in length and 3 meters in height, was found in fragments behind a niche opposite the entrance to the throne room and would once have occupied a prominent position within the palace.
Archaeologists plan further study of the relief, which is expected to provide new insights into Assyrian art, religious symbolism, and imperial ideology.
