Rare find made by a group of American and Iraqi archaeologists near al-Masqa, demolished by jihadists. They found eight stone engravings with war scenes from the time of King Sennacherib, who ruled his people between 750 and 681 BC Cultural heritage is the true “black gold” of Iraq, more than oil.
Mosul () – A team of Iraqi and American archaeologists has made an exceptional discovery: they have found eight valuable rock carvings over 2,700 years old. The sculptural pieces show war scenes dating back to the time of the Assyrian kings. The mission operates in Nineveh governorate and has started an excavation and restoration project near the famous al-Masqa gate, which was demolished by the Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) between 2014 and 2017, during the period when the jihadist group controlled the city in northern Iraq.
According to the Director General of the Research and Excavation Department, Ali Shalgham, the pieces of antiquity “belong to the second season of excavations and contain war scenes”. Analyzing the cuneiform engravings, he adds, “they were found to belong to the time of King Sennacherib,” who ruled his people between 750 and 681 BC.
The find consists of eight slabs of marble stone (alabaster), whose engravings represent Assyrian soldiers, one of whom tries to shoot an arrow. The images include palm trees, grapes, pomegranates, and figs that were found inside the palace of King Sennacherib. After the discovery, experts from the University of Pennsylvania will take care of the conservation of the sculptures to prevent their deterioration due to the weather, which endangers the heritage of the country.
The expert explains that the tasks consist of preparing the ground for the maintenance of the foundations and walls of the al-Masqa gate, one of the oldest, located in the western part of Mosul. In a second stage, the most demanding intervention will be carried out, with the restoration of the door to bring it to its original state. The goal is to make it look as it did before it was demolished at the hands of the men of the self-styled “caliphate” in 2016. This is a large-scale project funded by the International Coalition for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Zones ( ALEF).
The restoration of cultural heritage is one of the priorities emphasized by the Chaldean Church and its Patriarch, Card. Louis Raphael Sako. The goal is to “preserve heritage and dismantle” the fundamentalist ideology that led to the destruction of monuments and treasures in Nimrud, Hatra and Mosul. Since his time as Archbishop of Kirkuk, the Cardinal has denounced that what he defines as a “universal good” that must be safeguarded, such as archaeology, which alone is worth “more than oil”. It is a task that falls to all Iraqis, not just Christians, and which he invited to undertake as early as 2016, during the “International Conference for the Safeguarding of Cultural Heritage in Conflict Theater Areas”held in Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates).
In this framework, the restoration works of the famous church of the clock (the church of Al-Saa, Our Lady of the Hour), also in Mosul, are being carried out, which are advancing thanks to a joint project of the Emirates and UNESCO, and which also include the al-Nouri mosque. The place of worship of the Dominican Fathers dates back to the end of the 19th century and was famous for its bell tower with a clock, a gift from Napoleon III’s wife, Eugenie of France. Before blowing it up with explosives, ISIS militiamen looted the building, looting assets of historical and cultural value that were preserved inside.
