Iran Press/ Middle East: A team of archaeologists was able to discover a large fortification with walls and towers, an industrial complex, and a multi-story storage facility to study the ruins for only the second time since a dam was built nearby in the 1980s.
The site was not cataloged or studied before the dam’s construction.
Archaeologists think the ruins may be of Zakhiku, a major hub for the Mittani empire which thrived on the banks of the Tigris River between 1550 and 1350 BCE. The site was previously studied in 2018 when the waters of the Mosul reservoir drained enough to reveal the remains of the ancient city. But scientists only had a short time to study it before the water-filled back up again. They managed to unearth a large palace but not much else.
They also found over 100 unfired clay tablets, imprinted with cuneiform, that somehow survived not only centuries but decades underwater. Scientists hope the tablets will offer them some clues about the lives of the citizens of the Mittani empire, or what was going on when the city fell.
It is believed that a large earthquake shook the region, toppling buildings in the city and forcing residents to abandon it. It was the rubble from the fallen buildings that helped protect the remaining ones from the elements, including the water that covered them for more than four decades.
The team that studied the site was from Iraq and Germany. Their quick work has given archaeologists troves of materials that may tell us more about the Mittani empire.
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