The largest Lamassu found in Mosul – History Blog

The largest record Neo-Assyrian Winged Bull (also known as Lamassu) was found in Tell Nabi Yunus, Mosul, in Iraq’s famous ancient city of Nineveh. Located in the remains of the throne room built by King Esarhaddon (681-669 B.C.), Lamassu is 6 meters (20 feet) high and towering above the famous example of the British Museum, reaching a height of 3.5 to 4.2 meters (11.5-13.8 feet).

according to [Iraq’s Minister of Culture, Ahmed Fakkak al-Badrani]the palace’s architecture consists of several adjacent halls leading to the throne room, each guarded by Lamassu at the entrance. Archaeologists believe that the newly revealed statue is a matching couple, with the front door leading to the throne hall.

This is not the first Lamassu to be discovered on the scene. A smaller specimen was found on the left side of the palace, with a size of less than four meters. In 2021, Iraqi authorities announced the discovery of another large wingspan, although smaller than the new discovery. However, the latest excavations have revealed the largest record ever, making the site the focus of research on monumental sculptures of Assyria.

Sennacherib’s son and Ashurbanipal’s father, Esarhaddon became one of the most powerful rulers of the New Asian Empire. Even though he was the youngest son, he was appointed heir by his father and had to fight his elder brother, seizing the throne after his brother assassinated his father. He was a general who was able to conquer Egypt and Syria and increased the size of the Neo-Assyrian Empire to the greatest extent in a short decade.

The inscriptions found in Nebi Yunus date back to the reigns of Sennacherib (705-681 B.C.) and Esarhaddon, indicating that it was built by the former, when it was a military palace spanning the southwest wall of the city on the Tigris River. It was used as royal residence, armory, horses, barracks, parade grounds, horses, mules, chariots and equipment to be called to fight. Archaeological remains of courtyards, workshops, administrative offices and barracks have been found, on the other side of the building, the Throne Room Suites and State Apartments are decorated “in Hittite style” as inscriptions for Sennacherib. Esarhaddon greatly increased the palace and its courtyard, expanding the size of the residential area to make it comparable to other residential palaces.

Peter Nicholas, an archaeologist at the University of Heidelberg, told the Iraqi News Agency (INA) that the excavation team also found many cuneiform tablets written by Kings Sennacherib, Esarhaddon, and rulers of Ashurbanipal and most prominent Neo-Assy-Assyrian empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire empire em Other artifacts seem to represent the trophy of war in Egypt and the Levant, providing a richer picture of the far-reaching battles of Assyria.

Nebi Yunus is known as the tomb of the Prophet Jonah. In the early days of Christianity, there was a church on site and a reference to the 10th century Mosque of Jonah. There was also a small village and an associated cemetery, so even when the excavation of Nineveh began in the 19th century, archaeologists were told that there was no Nebi Yunus. Only a few limited excavations were allowed between the houses, and a significant excavation by the governor of the Ottoman Empire, Helmi Pasha, found the entrance to the throne chamber.

In July 2014, the mosque was blown up by the Islamic State. They claimed the mosque had become a “place of apostasy, not a place of prayer”, and they demolished the graves, cleaned up all rubble, and laid the site flat to ensure it could never be rebuilt. The destruction above must cause damage to the Neo-Asyrian layer below, and the greed of ISIS is the greed that fundes war and terrorism through the cultural heritage of its control sites, causing greater damage. They search for sold antiquities to rob in the tunnel under the mosque tunnel, even if they pretend to destroy everything opposite to their faith.

A new excavation project was started in 2018 by the Assyrian Institute of Heidelberg University and Ancient Near East Archaeology in collaboration with the Iraqi Antiquities and Heritage Committee. They began to explore the “robbery tunnel”. In 2019, the project expanded to excavate and preserve the remains of Nineveh, including Nebi Yunus Mound.