Ancient Assyrian rock carvings in Iraq show procession of gods riding mythical animals

Ancient Assyrian rock carvings in Iraq show procession of gods riding mythical animals

Archaeologists discovered ancient carved Assyrian reliefs of the king In a procession of gods and goddesses riding animals and mythical creatures, 

The Assyrian carvings are almost three thousand years old and were uncovered by Italian and Iraqi archaeologists who excavated about 300 miles north of Baghdad, in the Kurdistan Region in the north of Iraq, in the Faida District south of Duhok.

Dr Daniele Morandi Bonacossi of the Udine University in Italy, led for Land of Nineveh Archaeological Project collaborating with archaeologists from the Duhok Directorate of Antiquities.

According to the university excavator in Faida, there exists “no other” comparable Assyrian rock art, with the exception of carvings discovered at the Khinnis archaeological site near the city of Mosul in 1845.

Dating from around 2,800 years ago and cut ‘from’ the limestone, in relief, above the ancient irrigation canal, the story is set in the period of expansion of the Assyrian Empire and features the Assyrian King Sargon II at both ends of the procession of the seven main Assyrian gods and goddesses.

All the gods and goddesses are riding animals and mythical creatures including horses, bulls, lions and dragons and each faces the direction the water once flowed in the ancient canal beneath them.

According to an article in Live Science , Dr. Morandi Bonacossi said the carving feature: the sun god Shamash on a horse and the moon god Sin is on the back of a horned lion. Furthermore, the god of wisdom is mounted on a dragon, while the weather god is on a horned lion and a bull. Ishtar, the goddess of love and war sits on a lion and Ashur, the chief Assyrian god, is perched upon a dragon and a horned lion, while his wife Mullissu sits on a decorated throne supported by a lion.

The famous Assyrian king Sargon ruled from 722 BC until 705 BC and according to the Hebrew Bible , he invaded and defeated the  Kingdom of Israel .

It was under his rule that the canal had been built for local irrigation. His son and successor, Sennacherib, ruled until 681 BC and rebuilt the ancient city of Nineveh alongside the Tigris River, on the outskirts of modern Mosul.

He integrated his father’s canal into a much more expansive irrigation network that transformed the Assyrian Empire into an agricultural giant.

In a National Geographic article about the new discovery, Hassan Ahmed Qasim Duhok from the Directorate of Antiquities, said the carvings were first seen in 1973 by a British team who noted the tops of three stone panels but tensions between Kurds and the Baathist regime in Baghdad prevented further work.

Then, in 2012, Dr. Morandi Bonacossi identified six more reliefs but all archaeological work was abandoned in 2014, when ISIS captured nearby Mosul. However, a full scientific excavation resumed in 2017 after the terrorist organization was finally driven out of the region.

You would think such an incredible discovery would more than satisfy archaeologists, but it only seems to have peeked their exploratory natures, as they now suspect more might lie beneath.

Dr. Morandi Bonacossi told Live Science that the 4-mile-long (6.5 km) canal, which once carried water to farmland in the Faida district during the eighth century BC, had been filled in a long time ago. However, the archaeologist says it’s “highly probable” that more reliefs and maybe monumental celebratory cuneiform inscriptions are still buried under the soil debris that filled the canal, waiting to be uncovered.

The Faida archaeological site has traditionally been the focus of vandalism and looting caused by rapid and urban expansion, including the construction of a modern aqueduct nearby, which now threatens the site, according to Dr. Morandi Bonacoss.

However, Faida is currently undergoing a major salvage and restoration project, and a new archaeological park is being created nearby, which will help protect the site from further incursions.