Some Inscribed Objects from Sherif Khan in the British Museum

Abstract

The inscribed objects published here have never been adequately published anywhere, or, in one case, never published at all. The purpose of this article, therefore, is to describe each of the objects in detail and to publish the inscriptions in full. Two of the inscriptions are on stone mace-heads of a distinctive type, and are significant for the dating and derivation of such mace-heads. This will be discussed, and since little has been written about the site of Sherif Khan (ancient Tarbiṣu), the history of modern excavations there will be traced and a brief sketch will be provided of the ancient history of the city.The first excavations at Sherif Khan were by Layard, who worked there in January and February, 1850. They were reopened by Rawlinson in the spring of 1852, and all the objects considered here come from his excavations. They can be identified from a report sent by Rawlinson to the Trustees of the British Museum on the 21st April. 1852.