Height : 5.06m, Width : 4.72m, Depth : 14.03cm This decorative frieze of polychrome glazed brick shows an army, the men carrying spears, bows and quivers. Are they the royal guards of Darius I (522–486 BC), whom Herodotus called “the Immortals,” or might they represent an idealized image of the Persian people? The frieze is probably inspired by the brick friezes of Babylon, although the technique is different. That may be a legacy from the Middle Elamite Period, which saw the appearance of decoration in glazed siliceous brick. The Frieze of Archers had two symmetrical lines of soldiers, parading at a slow march. Each archer's hands are joined together on the shaft of his spear, and hanging from his shoulders is a bow, its ends in the form of duck's heads, and a quiver.