Words appear: "Nimrud, Assyria, 2014." An aerial view shows an archeological site. The image transforms to a three-dimensional animated rendering: "The Northwest Palace in the 9th century B.C." A wall surrounds ancient city buildings. A palace with interior chambers and courtyards borders a river. Our view descends toward the palace. Crenulated towers rise from the palace wall: "Entrance to the palace complex." We glide over three distinct courtyards, connected by arched passages. A crenulated high wall surrounds an interior courtyard. Birds fly past us as we descend into the space. Sculptures of winged animals with human heads line arched doorways. A few two-wheeled carts rest nearby. Animation shows a man in a long robe walking, and more men gathered near a door. Our view passes between two statues flanking the entryway, where guards push open a door. "Entrance to the throne room." Inside, geometric designs in shades of blue, yellow, and red decorate the top of a wall above a stone bas-relief. More words: "Images of military campaigns and hunting line the walls." Our view pans the carved images. In animation, tall torches cast a flickering glow in the spacious room. "The throne was placed at the far end of the room." A few figures stand near the throne, situated on top of a platform. Words continue: "The next room is a more restricted space with images of magical protective winged figures." A border composed of interlocking circular patterns tops the carved images of magical figures. Our view settles on a relief depicting a figure with an eagle head, human body, and wings. Shades of green and orange fill in the details: "Pigment analysis reveals the original painted colors of the reliefs." Our view glides toward a doorway. A guard opens wooden doors and we enter another chamber lined with stone carvings. Our view approaches a carving of a bearded man: "A relief showing the king, now on display in The Metropolitan Museum of Art's permanent galleries." Our view pivots. Sunlight shines into the room from the nearby courtyard. We exit between two sculpted animal figures. Words appear: "An inner courtyard that serves the private quarters of the palace." We glide across the courtyard. Tiles compose the smooth floor. Lining another passage are more winged sculptures with human heads on animal bodies: "Winged guardian figures, one of which is now on display in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's permanent galleries." Fade to black. Credits: Modeling, Rendering and Animation by Learning Sites Inc. Lead Visual Artist: Geoff Kornfeld More names appear for archeological data and interpretation; and additional modeling and texturing. Copyright 2014 Learning Sites, Inc.