New Delhi: An international team of researchers have found a 3,400-year-old Mitanni Empire-era city which was once located in Iraq’s Tigris River. The Mitanni was an Indo-Iranian empire centred in northern Mesopotamia which flourished from about 1500 to 1350 BC. The city emerged from the waters of the Mosul reservoir early this year as water levels fell rapidly due to extreme drought in Iraq.
According to a statement released by University of Tübingen, the extensive city with a palace and several large buildings could be ancient Zakhiku, which is believed to have been an important centre in the Mitanni Empire.
How Did The Ancient City Reemerge From The Waters?
Iraq is one of the countries in the world most affected by climate change, with the south of the country particularly suffering from extreme drought for months.
Since December last year, large amounts of water have been drawn down from the Mosul reservoir, Iraq’s most important water storage, to prevent crops from drying out.
Because of this, a Bronze Age city which had been submerged decades ago without any prior archaeological investigations reappeared. According to the statement, the Bronze Age city is located at Kemune in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
Archaeologists are excavating and documenting different parts of this large, important city as quickly as possible before it gets resubmerged. The rescue excavations at Kemune took place between January and February 2002, in collaboration with the Directorate of Antiquities and Heritage in Duhok, which is the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
What Buildings Have Been Uncovered?
The researchers succeeded in largely mapping the city within a short time. Several large buildings, including a palace, were uncovered. The palace had already been documented during a short campaign in 2018. A massive fortification with walls and towers, a monumental, a multi-storey building, and an industrial complex are among the structures recently uncovered. The extensive urban complex dates to the time of the Mitanni Empire, which controlled large parts of northern Mesopotamia and Syria, the statement said.
Kurdish archaeologist Dr Hasan Ahmed Qasim said the huge magazine building is of particular importance because enormous quantities of goods must have been stored in it, probably brought from all over the region. He added that the excavation results show that the site was an important centre in the Mitanni Empire.
What Kept The Walls Preserved?
According to the statement, the researchers were surprised to see how well-preserved the walls are, despite the fact that they are made of sun-dried mud bricks, and were under water for more than 40 years. The good preservation of the walls is due to the fact that the city was destroyed in an earthquake around 1350 BC, during which the collapsing upper parts of the walls buried the buildings.
Five Ceramic Vessels Discovered
The discovery of five ceramic vessels that contained an archive of over 100 cuneiform tablets is also a subject of interest to the researchers. Cuneiform was a system of writing used in the ancient Middle East. The tablets date to the Middle Assyrian period (1363 BC to 912 BC), shortly after the earthquake disaster struck the city.
According to the statement, some clay tablets, which may be letters, are still present in their clay envelopes. The researchers believe that this discovery will provide important information about the end of the Mitanni-period city and the beginning of the Assyrian rule in the region.
Professor Peter Pfälzner, who was involved in the research, said it is close to a miracle that cuneiform tablets made of unfired clay survived so many decades under water.
Excavated Buildings Covered With Plastic Sheeting
The excavated buildings were completely covered with tight-fitting plastic sheeting, and covered with gravel fill, to avert further damage to the important site by rising water.
According to the statement, the excavated buildings have been covered to protect the walls of unbaked clay and any other finds still hidden in the ruins during times of flooding.