The action is about to begin; let’s rock! In this alabaster bas-relief, a child lifts up a trapdoor, releasing a lion from his cage. The child himself has a small cage for protection. From Room C of the North Palace, Nineveh (modern-day Kouyunjik, Mosul Governorate), Mesopotamia, Iraq. Circa 645-535 BCE. The British Museum, London. Photo © Osama S.M. Amin.