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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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Austen Henry Layard
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(1817–94, GCB 1878)
Archaeologist who excavated two important sites in Iraq. The first was at *Nimrud, which he wrongly believed to be *Nineveh. It yielded many treasures from the palace of the Assyrian king, *Ashurnasirpal II, including the great human-headed winged lions which are now in the British Museum. The second site was indeed Nineveh, where Layard's assistant, Henry Rawlinson, later discovered the palace of *Ashurbanipal. Here were found the great bas reliefs of a royal lion hunt, also now in the British Museum.
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