Nineveh and Its Remains: the Gripping Journals of the Man Who Discovered the Buried Assyrian Cities

In the middle of the nineteenth century, British archeologist Austen Henry Layard uncovered parts of several ancient Assyrian cities buried beneath the earth, including the capital of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, Nineveh. Nineveh was one of the greatest cities of its time and was an important religious center around 3000 BC. Commerce and religion thrived in the city, which was decorated with ornate stone carvings and reliefs and boasted well-defended walls and an aqueduct. However, the city was sacked in 612 BC, and its citizens were either deported or murdered. From that time forward, the city remained unoccupied, until Layard's excavation in the mid-1800s brought its treasures back into the world.
Layard, in this stunningly honest account, describes his journeys around Asia Minor, traveling by caravans to remote places with unfamiliar cultures, religious practices, and customs. He recounts discovering the vast city in the land of Nimrod, and excavating Bas-reliefs, winged lions,...