One of the most imposing exhibits you view at the British Museum are the enormous human-headed, winged bull sculptures that stand guard as you enter the Assyrian galleries.
Excavated by Henry Austen Layard in the Victorian period they were shipped, along with many carvings and reliefs from Nimrud, near Mosul, to London where they have been on display ever since. A number of these sculptures are on display at the British Museum, but they can also be seen in museums in Berlin, Paris, New York and Iraq.
This year in Iraq another huge statue was excavated near Mosul, weighing 18 tons. The head had been broken off by looters many years ago (though since recovered). In 2014 locals had buried what remained to hide it from the terrorist group ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq and Syria) who would have otherwise destroyed it. We can be grateful that the British Museum has freely displayed objects like this, safe from looters and vandals, for nearly two centuries.
