Central Building at Kalhu
Creators: Jamie Novotny Copyright © The Contributors. Sharing and remixing permitted under terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License (cc-by).
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https://pleiades.stoa.org/places/942018830
36.098365, 43.32865
- Representative Locations:
- Representative location of the Central Building (1000 BC - 540 BC) accuracy: +/- 5 meters.
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- Central Building (English, AD 1800 - AD 2099)
- Central Building at Kalhu part of (physical/topographic) Nimrud (1000 BC - 540 BC)
- Central Building at Kalhu located near Northwest Palace at Kalhu (1000 BC - 540 BC)
- Less than certain: Central Palace at Kalhu abuts Central Building at Kalhu (1000 BC - 540 BC)
palace, temple
Pleiades
The Central Building was excavated by Austen Henry Layard in 1845–51, Horzmud Rassam in 1853–54 and 1878–79, William Kennett Loftus in 1854, Sir Max Mallowan in 1951–52, and Janusz Meuszynski in 1975–76.
The south-facing entrance was decorated with limestone wall-panels, some of which had winged spirits fighting animals or mythical beasts sculpted on them, and four human-headed, winged colossi (with the feet of bulls and lions); see the Learning Sites reconstructions for details. At least three free-standing monuments — including the famous "Black Obelisk" of Shalmaneser III (r. 858–824 BC), the "Rassam Obelisk" (from the time of Ashurnasirpal II), and an unfinished/crudely-carved statue of a eunuch/courtier — were erected in front of this important building.
The function of the Central Building, which Ashurnasirpal II (r. 883–859 BC) had constructed in the middle of the Kalhu citadel, is presently unknown. Some scholars have suggested that it might have been a temple, while other have proposed that it was a palace.
Jamie Novotny, 'Central Building at Kalhu: a Pleiades place resource', Pleiades: A Gazetteer of Past Places, 2021 <https://pleiades.stoa.org/places/942018830> [accessed: 12 May 2024]
{{cite web |url=https://pleiades.stoa.org/places/942018830 |title=Places: 942018830 (Central Building at Kalhu) |author=Novotny, J. |accessdate=May 12, 2024 1:22 pm |publisher=Pleiades}}