London weekend

I’ve just spent a couple of hours in the magnificent and fascinating exhibition at the British Museum, “I am Ashurbanipal, king of the world, king of Assyria.”

Huge great panels, statues, tablets in Cuneiform writing and parchment in Aramaic, intricately carved or created during the reign of this king who was the most powerful man on earth between 699 and 631 BC. This was the high point of the Assyrian empire, centred on his great city, Nineveh (now in Northern Iraq).

The British Museum are working with Iraq, in particular the people of the Museum in Mosul, to recover, repair and restore the treasures damaged or destroyed by Daiesh. Training in the UK, the latest equipment and techniques, and then working together in Iraq, they aim to save as much as they can of this important heritage. There is a moving and uplifting short piece of film.

Many of the gypsum panels were brought to the UK in the 1860s and are in wonderful condition.

We can enjoy them, free of the controversy of the “Elgin” marbles or the Rosetta Stone.