Stunning ancient stone carvings survived ISIS demolition

In Mosul, Iraq, archaeologists have discovered 2,700-year-old stone carvings that escaped the barbarism of Islamic extremistsState when they tore down the ancient monumental Mashki Gate in 2016 as an "idolatrous" symbol of the pre-Islamic period. The carvings date from the reign of the Assyrian king Sinacherib between 705 and 681 BC.

Senacherib was responsible for the rise and expansion of Nineveh's power as the Assyrian imperial capital and largest city. With its magnificent palace, it lay at a major crossroads between the Mediterranean Sea and the Iranian plateau. The mighty king was known for his military campaigns, including against Babylon, and his extensive expansion.

"A total of eight finely worked marble bas-reliefs depict war scenes from the reigns of the Assyrian kingsls in the ancient city of Nineveh," Fadel Mohammed Khodr, a local Iraqi official and head of the archaeological team, said on Wednesday. Detailed engravings show a soldier drawing a bow to shoot an arrow or delicately rendered vine leaves and palm trees.

"We believe that these engravings were moved from the Sinnacherib palace and reused by the king's grandson for the construction of and renovation of the Mashki Gate and also to expand the then guard room," Khodr said. The part of the carvings that protrudes above the ground has been literally erased from the stone over the centuries. "Only below ground has the building retained its carvings," he added.

The International Alliance for the Preservation of Heritage in Conflict Areas (ALIPH) said the Mashki Gate was an exceptional building: "ISIS targeted the fortified gate because it was an iconic part of Mosul's skyline, a symbol of the city's long history," the organisation said in a statement about the gate, which was reconstructed in the 1970s. It was rebuilt in the 1970s and demolished by bulldozer in 2016.

More than 10,000 archaeological sites have been uncovered in Iraq so far. The territory was also home to Sumerians and Babylonians and one of the earliest records of written texts. In recent decades, however, Iraq has become a hub for smugglers and looters who have decimated the country's ancient history. Then in 2014 and 2017, Islamic State groups targeted pre-Islamic treasures with bulldozers and explosives. They have also used the smuggling and sale of relics to fund their terrorist operations.

US soldiers and their allies also damaged the ruins of Babylon on several occasions, using the fragile site as a military camp after the US invaded Iraq in 2003. A 2009 report by the cultural agency Unesco said the soldiers and their contractors caused the city major damage to the city by "digging, cutting or grading."

ALIPH is supporting the reconstruction of the Mashki Gate with a team of archaeologists from Mosul University in Iraq and experts from the University of Pennsylvania. The restoration project is being carried out in collaboration with Iraqi heritage authorities. It aims to turn the damaged monument into an educational centre on the history of Nineveh.

Roman Nemec

Sources: bbc.com, abc.net.au

Archaeologists want to turn the gate into an educational centre

The Mashki Gate is one of the monumental gateways to the ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh on the outskirts of present-day Mosul

This engraving shows an archer

Unique engravings at the Mashki Gate