Assyrian finds from a mound by the Tigris River

Excavations at Ziyaret Tepe Mound (Tusshan) in Turkey’s Diyarbakır province revealed an Assyrian city dating back to 9th century BC on the border between Anatolia and Mesopotamian Assyrian Empire.

Excavations at the site (by Daily Sabah)

The site has been excavated for a couple of seasons by Marmara University and Cambridge University. The site is located by Tigris River, and is the largest mound among four other mounds in the region. The site was identified as a garrison town dated to the Assyrian period. The city is surrounded by city walls and there are large palaces and mansions on the top level of the city centre while there are administrative buildings and warehouses in the lower city. According to archaeologists the Assyrian King arrived and visited the city in 882 BC. He announced the establishment of these garrisons with epigraphs he built. A tablet from Tusshan revealed that the city was demolished in 611 BC, meaning that the state was alive between 882 and 611 BC.

The site of excavations (by Daily Sabah)

Researchers have unearthed structures such as the governor’s palace, some residences of the elite and barracks. One of the most interesting finds is a clay tablet with cuneiform script containing names of 60 women who were brought to Tusshan. Archaeologists also discovered graves belonging to senior executives and palace workers buried in the backyards of Assyrian palace. There are also traces of both settled cultures and also nomadic societies that used the site before and after the Asyrian period.

(after Daily Sabah)

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