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| During
the spring of 1989, continuing excavations at Nimrud under Iraqi direction
discovered a tomb chamber under the "harem" of Ashurnasirpal's
palace. The tomb contained the remains of two women covered with the
remnants of dark textiles decorated with gold rosettes and beads.
The bodies were interred with a wealth of gold jewelry, including
a crown, a headband of woven links, amulets, and solid gold bracelets
encrusted with precious stones. The names of two Babylonian kings
inscribed on some of the objects indicate that they may be of southern
Mesopotamian origin. Additional finds from the tomb include cylinder
seals, a stone funerary tablet, and inscribed bowls, four made of
gold and one made of a rare, transparent rock crystal. Each bowl is
inscribed with the name of one of three previously unknown Assyrian
queens, Yabâ, Banîti, and Atalia. While the grave goods
indicate that they belonged to three queens, the remains of only two
individuals have been recovered. The contents of one of the several
vessels inside the tomb were analyzed and identified as cremated human
remains, possibly of the third queen named in the inscription. The
objects found in the tombs remain in Iraq. |
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