---
title: Dog-Shaped Gold Amulet From Kish: Neo-Babylonian Period, 700-500 BCE
author: British Museum
source: https://www.worldhistory.org/image/21870/dog-shaped-gold-amulet-from-kish/
format: machine-readable-alternate
license: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/)
updated: 2026-06-15
---
# Dog-Shaped Gold Amulet From Kish: Neo-Babylonian Period, 700-500 BCE
_Authored by British Museum_
## Image File
[](https://www.worldhistory.org/uploads/images/21870.jpg)
## Image Caption
Dog-shaped amulet, [gold](https://www.worldhistory.org/gold/) [sculpture](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/Sculpture/), Kish, modern-day Babil Governorate, Iraq, 700-500 BCE.
Kish, in ancient [Mesopotamia](https://www.worldhistory.org/Mesopotamia/), was one of the major centres of political power and economic activity under the [Sumerians](https://www.worldhistory.org/Sumerians/) and Babylonians. Its prosperity is reflected in valuable artefacts recovered from the archaeological site of Tell al-Uhaymir (“the red hill”) in Iraq. The small gold amulet shown here was excavated there in 1930 and is now held in the British Museum. Regarded as objects with protective divine power, amulets of this kind have been linked to [Gula](https://www.worldhistory.org/Gula/) (also known as Ninkarrak), the goddess of healing and patron of medical practitioners. The ring hook on the back suggests that this dog-shaped amulet may have been worn as a pendant or attached to clothing for protection.
The amulet dates to between 700 and 500 BCE, possibly during the reign of the Neo-Babylonian king [Nebuchadnezzar II](https://www.worldhistory.org/Nebuchadnezzar_II/) (605/604-562 BCE). He is associated with Kish’s final period of prosperity, marked particularly by his major refurbishment and enlargement of the [city](https://www.worldhistory.org/city/)’s great [ziggurat](https://www.worldhistory.org/ziggurat/) dedicated to the [war](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/War/) [god](https://www.worldhistory.org/God/) Zababa and the goddess [Ishtar](https://www.worldhistory.org/ishtar/).
British Museum, London.
## Cite This Work
### APA
Museum, B. (2026, June 15). Dog-Shaped Gold Amulet From Kish: Neo-Babylonian Period, 700-500 BCE. *World History Encyclopedia*.
### Chicago
Museum, British. "Dog-Shaped Gold Amulet From Kish: Neo-Babylonian Period, 700-500 BCE." *World History Encyclopedia*, June 15, 2026. .
### MLA
Museum, British. "Dog-Shaped Gold Amulet From Kish: Neo-Babylonian Period, 700-500 BCE." *World History Encyclopedia*, 15 Jun 2026, .
## License & Copyright
The British Museum has released this image under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International ([CC BY-NC-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/)) license. You can read more about the British Museum and Creative Commons [here](https://www.britishmuseum.org/about_this_site/terms_of_use/copyright_and_permissions.aspx). [Original image](https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/W_1930-1014-1?selectedImageId=359762001) by [**British Museum**](https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/W_1930-1014-1?selectedImageId=359762001). Submitted by [Nathalie Choubineh](https://www.worldhistory.org/user/nathalie.choubineh/ "User Page: Nathalie Choubineh"), published on 15 June 2026. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/deed.en). This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. When republishing on the web a hyperlink back to the original content source URL must be included. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.