Numerous ancient artefacts found in ISIS safe house in Mosul

More than 100 Assyrian and Early Islamic artefacts have been discovered in the house of an ISIS official in Mosul’s West Bank after it was recaptured by the Iraqi Army. Among the relics are household pottery items such as jugs, vases and bowls.

Pottery from Mosul (by Iraqi government handout via Daily Telegraph)

Iraqi government released information about ancient artefacts found in houses used by ISIS in recaptures zones of Mosul. Experts confirmed the objects being genuine archaeological relics, among which are clay pots, Palace Ware pottery, a large hand mill and a handful of large vases. The artefacts date back thousands of years to the Assyrian Empire and are believed to have been dug up from the Nineveh ruins and the ancient Assyrian capital, Nimrud.

Artefacts from Mosul (Mosul Eye)
Pottery from ISIS safe house in Mosul (by ABC News)
Mortars and pottery objects (by ABC News)

The tip came from a local resident as the army was doing a tour of homes in the former Christian area of Mosul. The said house was said to have been used by an ISIS emir. When the special forces searched this one house, many priceless artefacts were discovered. The army also found documents detailing the contents of the haul of artefacts in an ISIS official’s home in the Az-Zirai neighbourhood. The Islamist group kept a record of each of the items, along with an estimated price each relic could reach.

Numerous vessels found in Mosul (by ABC News)
Close-up of the artefacts (by ABC News)
ISIS terrorists are known to have been smuggling genuine and fake artefacts out of Iraq through their Syrian territory for years. The militants are thought to have earned tens of millions of dollars out of selling antiquities on the black market since capturing Mosul in 2014. The presumption about the findings is the jihadists intended to sell the pieces but were interrupted before they could do so.
Ancient pottery (by ABC News)
Inspection of artefacts (by ABC News)

(after ABC News, 9News, Mosul Eye, Iraqi government handout, Daily Telegraph & International Business Times)

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