Purr-fectly Printed Brick

As deinstallation of #Awondertobehold begins, our last object history post for this exhibition features everyone’s favorite artifact! Do you notice something unusual on this brick? In antiquity, as today, city life included wayward animals scampering across your path!

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The process of brick-making in ancient Babylonia took place in flat open-air spaces-- an irresistible invitation to free roaming cats and dogs. While the clay was still malleable, it was possible to impress royal inscriptions and stamps onto the bricks. Yet these are not the only marks that are preserved. Dogs and cats also wandered around the brickyards, as evidenced by paw impressions on some brick faces like this one. This aspect of Babylonian city life may be hinted at in a letter written by the citizens of Babylon to the Assyrian king Esarhaddon (r. 680–669 BCE): “Whoever enters inside it (Babylon), his privileged status is secured ... Not even a dog that enters inside it is killed.”

Check out our story to see some contemporary cat pawprints spotted by one of our curators outside a Whole Foods in New Jersey. Chances are you have also seen wild and domestic animal paw prints preserved in concrete-- we invite you to share your photos using the hashtag #isawishtarslionathome and tag us!

Fragmentary brick stamped with cuneiform inscription of Nebuchadnezzar II and impressed with a dog’s paw print
Neo-Babylonian Period (reign of Nebuchadnezzar II, 604–562 BCE)
Baked clay
Babylon, Iraq
H. 22.5 cm; W. 28 cm; D. 8.5 cm
Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Vorderasiatisches Museum: VA Bab 04060.005
© Staatliche Museen zu Berlin – Vorderasiatisches Museum; Photo: Olaf M. Teßmer