The stone of the carved winged lions at the entrance to the Assyrian galleries of the British Museum was once described as a quartz-eyed-gneiss. In reality, as optical, chemical, and x-ray tests have shown, the stone is gypsum, this particular type being known as "Mosul marble" and widely used as a monumental stone by the Assyrian kings.

GeoRef, Copyright 2004, American Geological Institute. Reference includes data from Bibliography and Index of Geology Exclusive of North America, Geological Society of America, Boulder, CO, United States