Ancient rock carvings that are believed to be more than 2,700 years old have been unearthed by a team of archaeologists in Iraq‘s northern city of Mosul.
The marble slabs were found during restoration work on the Mashki Gate, an ancient monument that was partially destroyed by Islamic State militants when they captured the city in 2016.
The relief carvings show scenes of war from the rule of Assyrian kings, in the ancient city of Nineveh, the Iraqi State Board of Antiquities and Heritage said in a statement Wednesday.
Dec. 11, 201601:48
The gray stone carvings date to the rule of King Sennacherib, in power from 705 to 681 B.C., the statement added.
Sennacherib was responsible for expanding Nineveh as the Assyrians’ imperial capital and largest city — siting on a major crossroads between the Mediterranean and the Iranian plateau — including the construction of a palace.
The discovery was made last week by an Iraqi team, alongside American experts from the University of Pennsylvania who are helping to lead the reconstruction effort.
The “discovery consisted of eight marble slabs carved with a relief representing scenes of Assyrian soldiers, in addition to palm trees, grapes, pomegranates and figs belonging to the palace of King Sennacherib,” Ali Shalgham, the director general of Iraq’s Investigations and Excavations Department, told NBC News on Thursday.
Fadel Mohammed Khodr, head of the Iraqi archaeological team, said in a statement that the carvings were likely taken from Sennacherib’s palace and used as construction material for the gate.
“We believe that these carvings were moved from the palace of Sennacherib and reused by the grandson of the king to renovate the gate of Mashki and to enlarge the guard room,” he added.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
