Archaeologists find 2,700-year-old rock paintings in Iraq

The bas-reliefs survived because they were buried underground for several millennia.

The unique find was made during the reconstruction of the monumental gate in the city of Mosul in northern Iraq, which grew up on the site of ancient Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian Empire, which existed for more than a thousand years – from the 17th century. BC e. and until the 7th century. BC e. Nineveh was surrounded by a powerful 12-kilometer wall with 15 gates. Each of the entrances to the city was given the name of one of the Assyrian gods, for which they are called the “Gate of God”.

An unexpected discovery was made during the reconstruction of the Mashka Gate, which was destroyed in 2016 by the terrorist group “Islamic State”, banned in the Russian Federation.

Time did not spare the ancient wall of the capital of the Assyrian Empire – it was destroyed and rebuilt more than once. One of the last reconstructions was under Saddam Hussein: about a quarter of a century ago, archaeologists recreated five gates – Shamash, Nergal, Khalzi, Adad and Mashki.

However, in 2016, the gates of Mashka and Adad, as well as parts of the ancient ramparts, were bulldozed by ISIS terrorists as symbols of “idolatry.” Scholars around the world have called this act of vandalism a crime against humanity. In 2021, archaeologists began work to study and restore the destroyed structures. We dug into the ground several cultural layers and found 12 marble slabs with ancient bas-reliefs.

“The bas-reliefs date back to the era of the Assyrian king Sinkharib, who ruled from 705 to 681 BC,” said Dr. Laith Majid Hussein, director of the Iraqi State Board of Antiquities and Heritage.

Archaeologist Fadel Mohammed Khodr, who discovered the slabs with bas-reliefs, believes that they could be in the palace of King Sinkharib, and later were used by his grandson in the construction of the gate and eventually went deep underground. The bas-reliefs of those carved plates that were on the surface were hewn over time and the drawings disappeared. But those that were underground survived.

Now researchers are studying images that depict battles. The Assyrian Empire was one of the most warlike powers of the ancient world, so it will take time for scholars to determine exactly which events are reflected in the bas-reliefs.

Work on the restoration of the “Gate of God” is scheduled to be completed by 2023. The $1.1 million cultural heritage restoration project is being carried out by experts from the University of Mosul and the University of Pennsylvania in collaboration with the International Conflict Heritage Alliance.