Israelites of Astartu 8th Century BC Recreation made of resin 7 by 11 inches. Tiglath-pileser III invaded Israel in 740 BC. He took prisoners from the city of Astartu(Ashtoreth north of Gilead) into exile. This relief was discovered in Nimrod (Iraq) in 1845 by Austen Henry Layard, and is now on display in the British Museum. This plaque shows these Israelites' being driven away into exile into Assyria. See 2 Kings 15:29. Tiglath-pileser III (Pul) destroyed the Northern Kingdom of Israel's army, and deported the Reubenites, Gadites, and the people of Manasseh to Halah, Habor, Hara, and to the Gozan river (1 Chronicles 5:26).