207 Symbols of conquest in Sennacherib’s reliefs of Lachish: impaled prisoners and booty David Ussishkin The siege and conquest of the city of Lachish in Judah was portrayed by Sennacherib in a series of stone reliefs displayed in his royal palace at Nineveh (Paterson 1915; Barnett, Bleibtreu and Turner 1998; Ussishkin 1982). This series is the most elaborate set of reliefs depicting a siege of a city that was erected by Sennacherib or by any other Assyrian monarch. The reliefs are carved in the schematic Assyrian artistic style; nevertheless, in my view, they represent a realistic picture of Lachish under siege and of its inhabitants going into exile (Ussishkin 1980, 1982; for different views see Jacoby 1991; Uehlinger 2003). The ‘Lachish reliefs’ portray a unique picture of a fortified city and its inhabitants in the period of the kingdom of Judah. The various scenes are shown in detail and it appears that the artist dedicated much thought in order to show accurately every aspect, important and minute alike. The present paper, dedicated to Roger Moorey, an old friend and esteemed col- league, discusses one of these aspects. The ‘Lachish reliefs’ combine two scenes which took place at different times: on the left side of the relief series the battle on the city is depicted, while the right side shows an ‘after the battle’ scene—the deportation of inhabitants and the removal of booty from the conquered city. The two scenes are ‘combined’ in the centre of the relief series, in the segment of the relief portraying the city gate (Fig. 1). On the one hand, the assault on the gatehouse is represented in detail and a siege machine is shown ramming its upper part, while a large siege ramp is shown to the right of the gatehouse. On the other hand, the inhabitants are shown leaving the conquered city through the city gate. The deported inhabitants walk in a row along a road- way which descends from the city gate and passes near the edge of the siege ramp. The file of deportees advances towards the right-hand side of the relief, where it joins Assyrian soldiers carrying booty in a procession that passes in front of Sennacherib seated on his throne. Significantly, the siege of the city is positioned symmetrically in the very centre of the relief series, opposite the monumental entrance to the room in which they were exhibited. The city and its fortifications together with the Assyrian siege ramp are rendered on a smaller scale compared with the scenes