Assyrian shrine found in burned temple in Iraq

Archaeologists have discovered two well-preserved temples in an Assyrian temple at the ancient site of Nimrud in northern Iraq, which was burned down in ancient times. The larger temple has a stone platform with a cuneiform inscription by King Ashurnasirpal II. The smaller one had a pulpit that was badly damaged when the temple burned down.

A collaborative team of archaeologists from the Penn Museum and Iraq continues to excavate the Temple of Ninurta and its ziggurats this year as part of the museum’s Nimrud Project, a cultural heritage site under the Iraqi Heritage Stabilization Plan (IHSP) As one of its conservation initiatives, the program works to protect at-risk archaeological sites and restore those damaged by ISIS’s massive cultural destruction between 2014 and 2017.

The temple was partially excavated in the 19th century by Nimrud’s first excavator, Sir Austen Henry Layard, and in the early 20th century by Agatha Christie’s The husband, Sir Max Mallowan, did some digging (see Murder in Mesopotamia), but they only scratched the surface. This year marks the third season that the Nimrud Project team has excavated the temple, uncovering artifacts and remains that shed new light on Assyrian gods and how they were worshiped.

The Temple of Ninurta is dedicated to Ninurta, the national god of the Assyrian Empire and the god of war. It was plundered and burned by the Babylonians (from southern and central Iraq) and the Medes (from western Iran) around 614-12 BC. The remains found by archaeologists directly match the description of its structure in cuneiform inscriptions. For example, they found well-preserved cedar wood from the Lebanon Mountains, which is recorded in the inscriptions of King Ashurnasirpal II (883-859 B.C.) as being also used in the construction of the temple area.

according to [Dr. Michael Danti, Program Director of the IHSP]The most interesting find is the kudurru, a cuneiform stele in the temple dating from 797 BC that contains the symbols of important gods. It records a royal decree conferring the governorship of Hindanu, a region on the Euphrates River on the border between Syria and Iraq.

“The Assyrian king Adad-Nerari III (811-783 B.C.) assigned this strategic area to La Sapa (located west of the Tigris River and northwest of Nimrud in the Habur River region) A governor named Nergal-Eresh,” Dr. Dandy explained. “It strongly emphasizes that no one can dispute Nergal Eresh’s claim to his new territory. It ends with a long list of curses for anyone who violates the agreement, damages the stele, or removes it from the temple.”

The researchers also discovered well-preserved clay tablets with cuneiform script written in Assyrian, a dialect of Akkadian, which revealed details of the temple’s economic activities, such as silver loans and asset lists, as well as Commentaries written in Aramaic (a language and script) were widely used during the later Assyrian Empire. Other objects discovered during the excavation include stone bowls set into the temple’s brick floor (possibly used to pour libations during religious ceremonies), gryphon head carvings, glazed pottery and stele fragments, ivory carvings and jewelry. The wide variety of object types, materials, and artistic styles reflect the rapidly growing wealth of the Assyrian empire and its vast military conquests and trading connections.