Stone panel from the North-West Palace of Ashurnasirpal II (Room B, panel 17 top)

Gypsum wall panel with a complete composition in relief: two Assyrian archers are shooting at the enemy; they are dressed and armed as typical Assyrian soliders, with pointed helmets, short kilts, swords and bows, and with quivers on their backs. Two of the trees growing on the bank are crudely draw and hardly identifyable, but the third is unmistakably a date-palm. There are three enemies in the water: their long robes indicate that they are all people of high status rather than ordinary soldiers. One is swimming, and has been hit by arrows. The other two are using inflated animal-skins to help support themselves in the water, blowing into them as they struggle towards the fort on the right. The one without a beard is probably a eunuch. The foundations of the fort, which may be on an island, appear to be of stone, whereas the walls themselves would probably have been mud-brick. The arched shape of the doors is typical of the period. There are traces of the standard inscription at the bottom of the panel.