Assyrian rock reliefs discovered in Iraq

30 June 2020

Among the numerous archaeological excavations carried out in Iraqi Kurdistan over the past decade, in September 2019 an Italian team led by Daniele Morandi Bonacossi (University of Udine) uncovered Assyrian rock reliefs dating from the 8th and 7th centuries BCE. Since 2012, archaeologists have been exploring the site of Faydah, about 50 km north of Mosul in Iraq. The excavations had to be interrupted in 2014 when Daesh took over the region, and it was only after the jihadists were defeated that the archaeologists were able to return to the site.

Ten bas-reliefs, displayed in the open along a six-kilometre-long ancient irrigation canal, depict gods in procession, standing on mythical animals and facing the Assyrian ruler. It is most likely King Sargon II (720-705) who had the irrigation canal dug to supply water to the vast expanse of fields in the Nineveh hinterland. His son Sennacherib, after moving his capital to Nineveh, enlarged the canal system to bring water to his majestic gardens.

The bas-reliefs were carved on huge blocks five metres long and two metres high. The first figure in the divine procession is Ashur, the chief god of Assyria, with one foot on the back of a dragon and the other on a horned lion. His wife, Mulissu, sits on a throne carried by lions. They are followed by other important gods of the Assyrian pantheon: Sin, the moon god, Shamash, the sun god, Ishtar, the goddess of war and love, and Nabu, the god of scribes and knowledge. According to archaeologists, the gods are looking in the direction of the flowing water of the canal fed by karst springs.

Assyrian rock reliefs are relatively rare, as monumental art is usually reserved for the royal palace. Moreover, Sargon II was known for his military exploits and the construction of a new capital, Khorsabad, which he barely had time to inaugurate. He would therefore also have invested in major works to supply the population in the heart of his empire.

Archaeological research in the Near East is still full of surprises.