Nimrud (ancient Kalhu) in northern Iraq, was the capital of the Assyrian Empire during most of the 9th and 8th centuries BC, and remained a major centre until the destruction of the Empire in 612 BC. This authoritative account, written by two of the excavators of the site, traces its history and its gradual revelation through archaeological excavation, begun by Layard in the 19th century and continuing to the present day. The volume is abundantly illustrated and includes finds that have not previously been published, together with illustrations and the most complete account in English so far of the remarkable discoveries made in recent years by Iraqi archaeologists in the tombs of the Assyrian Queens. Contents: Introduction; Chapter 1: The Land of Assyria - Setting the Scene; Chapter 2: Major Palaces on the Citadel; Chapter 3: Tombs, Wells and Riches; Chapter 4: Temples, Minor Palaces and Private Houses; Chapter 4: Fort Shalmaneser: the ekal masarti; Chapter 6: The Written Evidence; Chapter 7: Types of Object and Materials from Nimrud; Chapter 8: Post-Assyrian Nimrud; Epilogue.

On a sculptural recreation of a room from an ancient Iraqi palace, in the wake of lootings by Western archaeologists and ISIS Using Arab-language newspapers and wrappers from food products imported from the Middle East, Iraqi American artist Michael Rakowitz (born 1973) has recreated to scale Room H from the Northwest Palace of the ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud (Kalhu). Part of a reception suite, Room H was originally lined with seven-foot-tall carved stone reliefs, including an inscription detailing Ashurnasirpal II's achievements and winged male figures, many of which have been removed by Western archaeologists over the last 150 years. Here, Rakowitz has "reappeared" only those panels that were in situ in Room H when the remains of the palace were destroyed by the jihadist group the Islamic State (ISIS) in 2015. Areas from which the reliefs had already been removed by 19th-century archaeologists are left blank, resulting in what Rakowitz calls "a palimpsest of different moments of removal."

The important corpus of Neo-Assyrian political and administrative letters discovered in ancient Calah (present-day Nimrud) by Sir Max Mallowan in the early 1950s has been partially accessible to Assyriologists in marvellous hand-copies and preliminary transliterations and translations since 1955, thanks to the pioneering efforts of the late H. W. F. Saggs. Nevertheless, his long-awaited edition of the entire corpus, which appeared in 2001, left a great deal of room for improvement. This critical edition, based on careful study of the originals in the British Museum and the historical background of the letters, clarifies a host of problems and details pertinent to the reign of Tiglath-pileser III in particular, and for the first time makes this extraordinary collection of letters completely accessible to the historian.