The Conquest of Assyria: Excavations in an Antique Land, 1840-1860

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Summary: Mesopotamian Archaeology Begins
Review: Larsen's "The Conquest of Assyria" is a handsome volume about the re-discovery and archaeology of ancient Assyria and deciphering the cuneiform script against the backdrop of both Ottoman-held Iraq and the high Victorian society.The book centers on the three giants of discovery-the romantic Austen Henry Layard,the melancholy Paul Emile Botta, and scholar-soldier Henry Rawlinson. Seperately Botta and Layard would un-earth huge palaces with giant winged human-headed bulls guarding the entrances, and friezes showing the king at war, hunting lions, and praying to his gods. These fantastic finds would bring back to life a dead civilization shrouded in myth and legend. Larsen weaves biographies, major political dilemmas and the impact the digs had on bible-conscious Europe through an exciting story of important excavations and adventure with warring and plundering bedouin tribes, cholera, and travels to regions yet to be mapped. Perhaps the greatest tale of archaeology. A true classic.