Darius I Inscription, 522-486 BCE

Large clay tablet with foundation inscription of Darius I (522-486 BCE).

The inscription is written in Old Persian and describes the construction of Darius’s palace at Susa.

“…This palace which I built at Susa, from afar its ornamentation was brought. Downward the earth was dug, until I reached rock in the earth. When the excavation had been made, then rubble was packed down, some 40 cubits in depth, another [part] 20 cubits in depth. On that rubble the palace was constructed…”

Curtis, John and Nigel Tallis, Forgotten Empire- The world of Ancient Persia. London- British Museum Press, 2005.