2-580-382 - © CM Dixon/Heritage Images

Stone lion's head, Neo-Assyrian, about 680-670 BC, From Sippar, southern Iraq. This lion's head of white limestone comes from the Temple of Shamash. Known as the Ebabbar ('Shining Temple'), it was one of the most important traditional and prestigious religious centres in Mesopotamia. The head has a worn inscription naming the Assyrian king Esarhaddon (680-669 BC) and his father Sennacherib. It is not clear, therefore, whether this is a Babylonian or an Assyrian piece. From the British Museum's collection.