A statue from Nimrud on display at The British Museum, November 2014.

I was very upset to learn that a few days ago ISIS looted and bulldozed the ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud in Iraq. This war crime is a terrible tragedy, and I hope that not all of the city’s treasures were destroyed. Fortunately, many artefacts from Nimrud are preserved in various museums around the world. In a way, that is bittersweet. I really wish that artefacts from Nimrud could primarily be displayed in Iraq rather than in foreign museums. However, considering the present political situation, I am relieved that many artefacts have survived overseas. A few months ago, I saw some spectacular artefacts from Nimrud in The British Museum.  For this week’s “Monday Geology Picture” I am sharing a picture of one of the very impressive statues from Nimrud that I saw at The British Museum. While I am happy that this statue has survived, I mourn the other statues and artefacts that were recently destroyed.