The lion, the duck and the scorpion : Royal Assyrian Weights from the North-West Palace at Nimrud

The history of the North-West Palace at Nimrud palace, founded by Ashurnasirpal II (883-859 BC), spans the entire Neo-Assyrian empire, until the final destruction of the town in 612 BC. Among the economic and administrative devices found in the NW Palace, inscribed and/or marked balance weights stand out. Several specimens bear royal inscriptions identifying them as instruments pertaining to the imperial administration, guaranteed by the name of the king and by the specific mention of metrological values. The paper presents in detail context, function and metrological analysis of the balance weights retrieved in the palace discussing them in the framework of the Neo-Assyrian economy.