German archaeologists from Heidelberg University (UOH) excavated debris of Bas -Relief of the 7th century BC in the ancient Niniva (Modern Iraq), describing the last great rule of Assyria Ashurbanipal along with the supreme gods. The opening is reported on the official website of the scientific organization.
Nineveh, located next to the current city of Mosul, is the capital of the Assyria Empire and is still one of the most important archaeological monuments of Mesopotamia.
A giant stone with a length of 5.5 meters and weighing about 12 tons was found in the throne room of the northern palace. The relief, in addition to the king, described the supreme god Ashur and the goddess Ishtar – the patron of Nineveh, as well as mythical creatures.
This is a unique image – among the thousands of reliefs of Assyria known to us, in reality there is no scene with the main gods, he said, the head of excavations, Professor Aaron Schmitt said.
Interestingly, fragments of relief are preserved due to the fact that they were buried in the pit during the Greek period (the third century of the work BC), allowing them to avoid the attention of previous researchers.
Scientists have a detailed research plan to detect and, in the future, bring it back to the original position – to the position opposite the main entrance of the throne room, where visitors can see relief.