Furniture plaque carved in relief with spear ca. 9th century B.C. Iran Excavations at Hasanlu in Iran yielded a large number of carved ivory fragments, many in a distinctive style found only at this site, which probably decorated wooden furniture or were used as small precious objects such as boxes. The citadel at Hasanlu was attacked and destroyed around 800 B.C., most likely by military forces of the powerful state of Urartu, centered in present-day Armenia, eastern Turkey, and northwestern Iran. In the fire that destroyed the citadel, many objects were crushed and shattered. The blackened appearance of most of the Hasanlu ivories is due to their exposure to high temperatures at the time of the citadels destruction.This fragment shows the lower legs of two barefoot warriors, advancing toward each other. The spear tip of the warrior at left touches the foot of the adversary at right. This piece may be part of another plaque in the Metropolitan Museums collection (65.163.8), or a sim