Archaeologists find treasure trove of Assyrian kings discovered in ISIS excavated tunnels

Express (U.K.) ^ | Sat, Apr 18, 2020 | Brian McGleenon

[nickcarraway]

ISIS fighters discovered an ancient Assyrian palace under the ruins of Mosul, but unfortunately, they looted and sold off the tantalising treasures they discovered.

Professor Peter Miglus, the archaeologist who has led work at the site, said that gold kept by Sennacherib may have been discovered by ISIS.

He said: “We can presume many very valuable objects must now be on the black market."

The archaeologists found gold objects littered within the tunnels that were discarded by ISIS.

Gold from ancient Egypt, such as a gold scarab ring and a small sceptre with the ankh, the pharaonic symbol that represents life are still at the site.

An Assyrian engraving

Professor Miglus maintains the fact Isis overlooked these objects suggests it seized and sold many more.

The archaeologists also uncovered two panels that, unusually, show women facing outwards, and carrying plants.

Nearly all Assyrian reliefs are of men, in profile.

Professor Miglus, of Heidelberg University, said the excavations carried out by Isis had identified the palace throne room, the largest of any in the palaces.

He acknowledged the irony that this work was possible only because of Isis’s attempts to destroy history.

He said: “It makes me unhappy to say that this work makes me happy."

Sales of looted antiquities were the second-biggest source of income for the jihadists, after oil smuggling.

Attempts to excavate the site in the 19th and 20th centuries were curtailed for fear of disturbing the shrine and offending local people.

Modern-day Mosul stands on the ruins of the city of Nineveh.

Nineveh was an ancient Assyrian city of Upper Mesopotamia, located on the outskirts of Mosul in modern-day northern Iraq.

Until the year of its sacking in 612 BC, it was the largest city in the world.

[nickcarraway]

Ping

[nickcarraway]

Could ISIS have done something useful, by accident? I’m just glad it wasn’t destroyed as pagan.

[Tax-chick]

Sales of looted antiquities were the second-biggest source of income for the jihadists, after oil smuggling.

Interesting.

[fella]

That oil was traded with the Erdogan family for safe passage of ISIS volunteers, medical care for their wounded, ammunition and other war materials. that trade continues in NW Syria.

[Tax-chick]

Thanks, that’s very interesting.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks nickcarraway.

• ISIS' Destruction of 3,000-Year-Old Assyrian Site 'Worse Than We Thought' [11/23/2016 9:10:48 AM PST]
• ISIS barbarians destroy 2,000-year-old 'Gate of God' close to their Iraqi stronghold [04/17/2016 6:22:45 PM PDT]
• Isil video shows destruction of 3,000-year-old Assyrian city of Nimrud [04/12/2015 8:00:22 AM PDT]
• ISIS 'bulldozed' ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud: Iraq govt [03/05/2015 1:25:41 PM PST]
• IS 'bulldozed' ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud: Iraq govt [03/05/2015 1:21:38 PM PST]

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• Assyrian Deportation and Resettlement [10/02/2019 5:09:00 PM PDT]
• Who Were the Assyrians? [07/04/2019 10:49:07 PM PDT]
• The Collapse of the Assyrian Empire and the Evidence of Dur-Katlimmu [07/03/2019 9:13:58 AM PDT]
• Mesopotamian King Sargon II envisioned ancient city Karkemish as western Assyrian capital [04/22/2019 7:06:25 PM PDT]
• Archaeologists Find Assyrian Tablets in Turkey, Some About Women's Rights [07/19/2015 1:05:42 AM PDT]
• The men who uncovered Assyria [03/23/2015 7:27:08 PM PDT]
• The men who uncovered Assyria [03/23/2015 11:38:23 AM PDT]
• Population boom, droughts contributed to collapse of ancient Assyrian Empire [11/09/2014 1:06:55 PM PST]

[Fresh Wind]

Note the picture at the link (Getty, so can’t repost) of a bearded muscular Assyrian man carrying a pocketbook.

Some things never change.

[Grimmy]

A whole trove of kings!