Wall nail

This puzzling ‘wall nail’ is one of hundreds found in the storerooms of the great temple tower (ziggurat) of the city of Chogha Zanbil in Iran. The object bears an inscription reading: ‘I, king Untash-Napirisha’, referring to the builder of the temple tower.
The exact meaning or function of this mushroom-shaped object is not clear. The round, neatly finished end bearing the inscription is clearly meant to be visible (and legible). The ‘shaft’, on the other hand, is finished only roughly and intended to be sunk (invisibly) into a wall. Objects like these may have had a decorative function. It has also been suggested that they were used to tie large curtains or cloths onto.
The object used to be in the possession of Roman Ghirshman, the Frenchman who excavated Chogha Zanbil. Ghirshman excavated hundreds of these ‘wall nails’. This specimen must have been among themas well. Apparently, Ghirshman had no trouble considering such archaeological finds his own if that suited him, to do with as he wanted.