Name of Object:

Ker Porter’s box

Location:

London, United Kingdom

Holding Institution:

The British Museum

 About The British Museum, London

Date of Object:

c. 1800

Inventory Number:

1821.0120,17

Provenance:

?

Description:

In 1814 Ker Porter, British artist and travelller, visited Rich. Together they explored famous sites in Iraq. He mistook the ruins at Aqar Quf for the Tower of Babel. The box contains fragments of a Babylonian mudbrick and bitumen, matching the Biblical description of the Tower.

Citation of this web page:

"Ker Porter’s box" in "Sharing History", Museum With No Frontiers, 2024. https://sharinghistory.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;AWE;uk;3;en

MWNF Working Number: UK 003