Assyrian cuneiform inscriptions found in ISIS looting tunnels

Archaeologists uncovered 2700-year-old inscriptions within looters’ tunnels dug by ISIS beneath the Tomb of Jonah in the ancient Iraq city of Nineveh, Mosul, Iraq.

Tunnels under Nineveh (by Eleanor Robson)

The seven inscriptions were discovered within tunnels dug beneath the Tomb of Jonah. Some of them describe the rule of an Assyrian king named Esarhaddon. The inscriptions were discovered in four tunnels beneath the biblical prophet’s tomb, which is a shrine that’s sacred to both Christians and Muslims. The shrine was blown up by ISIS during its occupation of Nineveh from June 2014 until January 2017. ISIS members dug the tunnels to look for archaeological treasures from the Assyrian times.

Inscription found in the tunnels (by Stevan Beverly)

One of the inscriptions reads: “The palace of Esarhaddon, strong king, king of the world, king of Assyria, governor of Babylon, king of Sumer and Akkad, king of the kings of Lower Egypt, Upper Egypt and Kush“. Other inscriptions also say that Esarhaddon defeated the Kush rulers and chose new rulers to govern Egypt. Other one states that Esarhaddon “reconstructed the temple of the god Asshur“. Rebuilt the ancient cities of Babylon and Esagil, and “renewed the statues of the great gods.” The texts also tell of Esarhaddon’s family history, saying that he is the son of Sennacherib who ruled between 704-681 BC, and a descendent of Sargon II whose reign was between 721–705 BC. He was was also “king of the world, king of Assyria“.

(after Stevan Beverly, Eleanor Robson & Live Science)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.