Iraq: Archaeological murals dating back 2,700 years have been discovered in Mosul
War scenes and trees from the Assyrian Empire
Archaeologists in northern Iraq last week found 2,700-year-old stone reliefs of war scenes and trees from the Assyrian Empire.
A team of experts in Mosul discovered the inscriptions on marble slabs, and the team is working to restore the site of the Al-Masqa Gate, which was overrun by the terrorist organization ISIS in 2016.
Fadel Mohammed, director of the restoration works, said the team was surprised to discover "8 wall carvings with inscriptions, decorative drawings and inscriptions."
Wall carvings with inscriptions, decorative drawings and inscriptions
The Maska Gate was one of the largest gates of Nineveh, the ancient Assyrian city of this historical region of Mesopotamia.
The unearthed sculptures show a fighter preparing to fire an arrow, while palm trees appear on other sculptures.
"The inscriptions show that these murals were built or made during the reign of King Sennacherib," Muhammad added, referring to the king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire who ruled from 705 to 681 BC.
ISIS invaded vast areas of Iraq and Syria in 2014, and launched a systematic campaign of destruction on priceless archaeological sites in both countries. Extremists have vandalized museums and destroyed important archaeological sites in their quest to erase history.
In 2017, Iraqi forces with the support of an international coalition led by the United States in Mosul ousted the extremist organization, and two years later, the organization lost the last lands it had occupied.
The territory of Iraq is the cradle of some of the oldest cities in the world. There are thousands of archaeological sites across the country where the Sumerians, Babylonians and Assyrians once lived.
Wall carvings with inscriptions, decorative drawings and inscriptions
Source: websites