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Archaeologists discover nearly 3,000-year-old rock carvings in ancient city in Iraq

Intricate carvings were discovered in the ancient city of Nineveh.
Iraq map
Posted at 5:25 PM, Nov 04, 2022
and last updated 2022-11-04 19:25:57-04

Today, what was the ancient city of Nineveh is marked by two large mounds, Tell Kuyunjiq and Tell Nabī Yūnus “Prophet Jonah."

That is the area where a team of archaeologists from the University of Pennsylvania in the U.S. have discovered some intricate rock carvings that are 2,700-years-old, Heritage Daily reports.

The area is just outside of the Iraqi city of Mosul.

Fadhil Mohammed, the head of the restoration works, said his team found eight murals that had inscriptions and drawings along with writings.

ISIS carried out a campaign of destruction over a large part of Iraq and Syria in 2014 destroying archaeological sites to erase history. Theses were thankfully saved.

“The writings show that these murals were built or made during the reign of King Sennacherib,” Mohammed said, speaking of the Neo-Assyrian empire king. That king ruled from 705 to 681BC.

Iraqi forces that were supported by a U.S. - international coalition was able to liberate Mosul from ISIS in 2017.