Balawat Gates
Full-size replica in the British Museum (top) and smaller gate in the Istanbul museum (bottom)
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| Material | Bronze and wood |
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| Created | c.860 BCE |
| Discovered | 1878 |
| Present location | British Museum, Walters Art Museum, Istanbul Archaeology Museums and Mosul Museum |
The Balawat Gates are three sets of decorated bronze bands that had adorned the main doors of several buildings at Balawat (ancient Imgur-Enlil), dating to the reigns of Ashurnasirpal II (r. 883-859 BC) and Shalmaneser III (r. 859-824 BC). Their extensive use of narrative art depicting the exploits of Assyrian kings has cemented their position as some of the most important surviving works of art of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, comparable to the extensive Assyrian palace reliefs. When the Neo-Assyrian Empire fell in 614-612 BC, Balawat was destroyed. The wooden elements of the gates decomposed, leaving only the bronze bands (some of which were badly damaged). The remains of two sets of gates can be found in the British Museum's collection, those from the Temple of Mamu are housed in the Mosul Museum. Small sections of the Shalmaneser bronze door bands are also at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore and in the Istanbul Archaeology Museums.
Contemporary inscriptions suggest that the gates at Balawat near Nimrud were made of cedar. They were not hinged as they opened by turning massive pine pillars which were decorated with bronze and turned in stone sockets. Archaeologists believe that the gates were originally 6.8 metres high and these estimates have been used to create full size reconstructions of the gates at the British Museum. The gates in the British Museum were discovered in 1878 by local archaeologist Hormuzd Rassam. Rassam was the first Assyrian archaeologist. By the time of their discovery the wood had already rotted away and only remnants of the decorated bronze bands remained. The eight bands on each door would have been over 285 feet long in total and they decorated and strengthened the outer face and door post of each door. 265 feet of the bands are in the British Museum whilst 2 feet are at the Walters Museum in Baltimore. The variety of the images gives archaeologists an insight into the life, technology and civilisation at that time. The pictorial information is supplemented by inscriptions which give further information.
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