Ancient Carvings Discovered at Iconic Iraq Monument

  An Iraqi worker excavates a rock-carving    relief at the Mashki Gate, to the ancient      Assyrian City of Nineveh, on the outskirts    of what is today the northern Iraqi city of    Mosul, October 19, 2022. (AFP image)

U.S. and Iraqi archaeologists working to reconstruct the Mashki Gate, a cultural heritage site bulldozed by Islamic State extremists in 2016 have unearthed extraordinary 2,700-year-old rock carvings among the ruins.

Also unearthed are eight finely made marble bas-relief carvings depicting war scenes from the rule of the Assyrian kings in the ancient city of Nineveh, a local Iraqi official said Wednesday

The detailed carvings show a soldier drawing back a bow in preparation to fire an arrow, as well as finely chiseled vine leaves and palms.

The gray stone carvings date to the rule of King Sennacherib, in power from 705 to 681 BC, according to a statement from the Iraqi Council of Antiquities and Heritage.

Sennacherib was responsible for expanding Nineveh as the Assyrians' imperial capital and largest city — sitting on a major crossroads between the Mediterranean and the Iranian plateau — including constructing a magnificent palace.


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