Apkallu reliefs also appear in Assyrian palaces as guardians against evil spirits.

Similar, but smaller figures had been used in Assyrian palaces for almost two centuries.

A prominent presence is the winged bull, a protective spirit guarding Assyrian palaces and cities.

The walls of Assyrian palaces were lined with sculptured and coloured slabs of stone, instead of being painted as in Chaldea.

Massive amounts of ivory furniture pieces were found in many Assyrian palaces pointing to an intense trade relationship with North Syrian Neo-Hittite states at the time.

The walls of the Assyrian palaces were lined with slabs of stone instead of brick, and were colored instead of painted as in Chaldea.

The earliest examples are those shown in the bas-reliefs representing the Assyrian palaces, where they were employed as window balustrades and apparently had Ionic capitals.

The palace, restored as a site museum, is one of only two preserved Assyrian palaces in the world, the other being Sennacherib's palace at Nineveh.

Their history goes back to antiquity where they appear on sculptured panels in Assyrian palaces constructed between 700 and 900 BC.

Possibilities include contacts between Athura and Persia were frequent and Achaemenid architects visited the Assyrian palaces.