Wiping the slate clean

The Assyrian Sacred Tree assaulted with a sledgehammer, by a member of  ISIL. Picture acquired via the BBC, taken in Nimrud by ISIL themselves, to promote their activity.

The Sacred Tree is the subject of one of the chapters of The Sacred History of Being, and is a key piece of evidence for the understanding of Assyrian theology, and the monotheism why underpins it.

Mercifully the image of the Sacred Tree  was repeated often, as a component of Assyrian palace decoration, and there are many examples of it in western museums. But it is always dispiriting to see puritan ignorance in action in the name of religion.