Ancient palace emerges from drought-hit Iraq reservoir

9 Jul 2019

Ancient palace emerges from drought-hit Iraq reservoir

Ancient palace emerges from drought-hit Iraq reservoirA 3,400-year-old palace emerged from the Mosul Dam reservoir on the banks of the Tigris River after water levels dropped because of drought. This place is in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.

A study of the ruins was carried out by archaeologists from the University of Tübingen's Institute for Ancient Near Eastern Studies, Germany and the Kurdistan Archaeology Organization.
 	This study will improve understanding of the Mitanni Empire, one of the least-researched empires of the Ancient Near East.

The palace, known as Kemune, is described as a carefully designed building with mud-brick walls up to two meters thick.

The team found wall paintings in shades of red and blue, which were probably a common feature of palaces at the time but have rarely been found preserved.
 	Ten clay tablets covered in cuneiform, an ancient system of writing, were also discovered. High-resolution photos of the texts have been sent to Germany for translation. They hope to gain more information about the Mitanni empire and its organisation from the texts.

Archaeologists first became aware of the site in 2010 when water levels in the reservoir were low, but this is the first time they have been able to excavate. However, the site was submerged shortly again after this study.

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A 3,400-year-old palace emerged from the Mosul Dam reservoir on the banks of the Tigris River after water levels dropped because of drought. This place […]

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