11 July 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

2700-year-old Assyrian carvings found near Mashki Gate destroyed by Isis

The U.S. and Iraqi archaeologists have unearthed ancient rock carvings believed to be more than 2,700 years old in Iraq’s northern city of Mosul.

The marble slabs were discovered while restoring the Mashki Gate, an ancient monument partially destroyed by Islamic State militants (IS, formerly Isis) when they took over the city in 2016.

The relief carvings depict scenes of war from the reign of Assyrian kings in the ancient city of Nineveh, according to a statement issued by the Iraqi State Board of Antiquities and Heritage on Wednesday.

According to the Director General of the Department of Investigation and Excavation, Ali Shalgham said: “the cuneiform engravings were discovered that they belong to the time of King Sennacherib, who led his people between 750 and 681 BC.”

Iraqi workers excavate a rock-carving relief recently found at the Mashki Gate, one of the monumental gates to the ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh, on the outskirts of what is the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.
Iraqi workers excavate a rock-carving relief recently found at the Mashki Gate, one of the monumental gates to the ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh, on the outskirts of what is the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.

The discovery consists of eight marble (alabaster) slabs, which bear carvings featuring Assyrian soldiers, one of whom is intent on shooting an arrow, as well as palm trees, grapes, pomegranates, and figs that were located inside King Sennacherib’s palace.

Sennacherib was responsible for enlarging Nineveh, the imperial capital and largest city of the Assyrians, which was situated on a significant intersection between the Iranian plateau and the Mediterranean. He also built a magnificent palace.

Fadel Mohammed Khodr, head of the Iraqi archaeological team working to restore the site, said the carvings were likely taken from Sennacherib’s palace and used as construction material for the gate.

“We believe that these carvings were moved from the palace of Sennacherib and reused by the grandson of the king to renovate the gate of Mashki and to enlarge the guard room,” Khodr said.

Detail of rock carvings at the Mashki Gate site in Mosul, Iraq. Iraqi State Board of Antiquities and Heritage
Detail of rock carvings at the Mashki Gate site in Mosul, Iraq. Photo: Iraqi State Board of Antiquities and Heritage

The Mashki Gate was one of the largest in Nineveh, and was an icon of the city’s size and power. The gate was reconstructed in the 1970s but was destroyed with a bulldozer by IS militants in 2016.

Mr. Khodr said that when the marble slabs were positioned at the gate, they were partly buried. The sections underground were preserved and bear the carvings seen today; whatever was above ground was wiped smooth over the centuries.

ALIPH, the Swiss-based International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Areas, said the Mashki Gate had been an “exceptional building.” ALIPH is supporting the reconstruction of the Mashki Gate by a team of archaeologists from Iraq’s Mosul University alongside U.S. experts from the University of Pennsylvania.

Related Articles

Burials covered in red dye discovered in Serbian barrows

18 February 2022

18 February 2022

Polish archaeologists excavating two barrow mounds in Vojvodina, in the northern part of the Republic of Serbia, have uncovered the...

Ancient Roman Fast Food: Songbirds Were a Popular Snack in 1st-Century Mallorca

11 June 2025

11 June 2025

Roman fast food, ancient Roman cuisine, song thrush consumption, Roman street food, Mallorca archaeology, Pollentia findings, Roman bird bones, ancient...

Iran’s legendary ruined city “Susa”

12 August 2021

12 August 2021

Ancient Susa is one of the oldest cities in the world. The Elamite, Persian, and Parthian empires formerly ruled over...

Researchers measure the impact of Population Pressure on Prehistoric Violence in Japan’s Yayoi Period

23 August 2021

23 August 2021

Are wars part of human nature? Do people tend to fight instinctively or do they war as a result of...

Researchers able to reconstruct the development of Barbegal’s former watermills over time with the help of carbonate deposits

7 July 2024

7 July 2024

Archaeologists are faced with a difficult task: how can information be obtained about buildings or facilities of which – if...

Scotland’s oldest tartan discovered in Highlands bog

1 April 2023

1 April 2023

According to new research, a piece of fabric discovered in a bog in the Scottish Highlands may be the oldest...

A Rare Roman-Era Bronze Filter Discovered in Hadrianopolis, Türkiye

11 February 2025

11 February 2025

Archaeologists excavating at Hadrianopolis in Karabük, Türkiye, have unearthed a 5th-century AD bronze filter used in Roman and Byzantine times...

Archaeologists Unearth 2500-Year-Old Settlement in North Macedonia

10 April 2025

10 April 2025

Recent archaeological excavations at Gradishte, near the village of Crnobuki in North Macedonia, have unveiled a significant ancient settlement that...

World’s Oldest Murder

14 February 2021

14 February 2021

Researchers found a mass grave in a cave in Spain, now known as Sima de los Huesos, or the Pit...

Archaeologists have unearthed an incredible hoard of over 300 Iron Age ‘potins’ in West London

17 July 2021

17 July 2021

Archaeologists at an HS2 construction site in Hillingdon, West London discovered an astonishing treasure of over 300 Iron Age ‘potins”....

A ‘very rare’ clay figurine of god Mercury and a previously unknown Roman settlement were discovered at the excavation site in Kent

23 February 2024

23 February 2024

At a previously unknown Roman settlement that was formerly next to a busy port but is now 10 miles from...

The World’s Oldest Mummies “Chile’s Ancient Mummies Older than Egypt’s”

20 February 2024

20 February 2024

At the beginning of the 20th century, mummies dating back 2000 years before the Egyptians were found in the Atacama...

Obsidian Research in Alberta Uncovers Evidence of Extensive Long-Distance Trade Among Indigenous Peoples Before European Contact

31 March 2025

31 March 2025

Recent research into obsidian artifacts in Alberta, a province located in western Canada, has unveiled significant evidence of long-distance trade...

New Discoveries at Ancient Greek City of Paestum’s ‘Little Doric Temple’ in Italy

16 April 2023

16 April 2023

Archaeologists have made a series of extraordinary discoveries that may fundamentally alter the understanding of the past of the ancient...

In southern Turkey, the remains of a Roman villa whose floor was decorated with geometrically patterned mosaics were unearthed during construction

13 July 2022

13 July 2022

Workers working to lay the foundation of a new building in the Defne district of Hatay, southern Turkey, by accident...