ABSTRACT
Given the limited means at his disposal, Layard had to take some drastic decisions concerning the continuation of the excavations. It was obvious that he was not in a position to conduct a real uncovering of the large palaces, systematically moving from room to room, and he instead felt constrained to simply follow the walls where the reliefs were. This was a procedure also adopted by Botta at Khorsabad, as can be seen from his plans, which show the rooms themselves as unexcavated, and it was naturally based on the fact that the sculptures were seen by all as the most important finds. It was obvious that he had to take a special interest in them, but he was painfully aware that there was a major risk that important antiquities were hidden in those parts of the rooms which were not touched. The method meant that the excavations took place in narrow trenches which followed the walls of the palace, turning at corners and doorways and creating a veritable labyrinth. It was of course an effective way of securing the finds he was most interested in, and when used on the Northwest palace at Nimrud it was not so damaging, for this building had been largely empty before it was abandoned and became an open ruin. Nevertheless, British archaeologists working here since the Second World War have indeed made unique finds in rooms which Layard felt forced to leave untouched.
