The Peabody Museum is always evolving. We are committed to building a greater understanding of science, culture, and community, giving space to a wider range of collaborators and experts, and listening to our visitors. Each time you come back to the Peabody, expect to see something a little different - and be a part of that change yourself.
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The Cyrus Cylinder
March–June 2024
This inscribed clay cylinder, on loan from the British Museum, is sometimes called “the first charter of human rights,” and was on display at the Yale Peabody Museum during its 2024 reopening.
The piece, named after King Cyrus I, founder of the Persian Empire, was excavated in 1879 by Mosul-born archaeologist and diplomat Hormuzd Rassam, who sent it to the British Museum in London. Another small piece, donated to Yale University in 1922 by James B. Nies, was later reunited with the London fragment once researchers realized that the two were related. The pieces are usually on display together at the British Museum.