A 3,400-year-old city from the time of the Mittani Empire – an ancient Hoorite kingdom located north of Mesopotamia on the Tigris River, was discovered by German and Kurdistan researchers. The ancient settlement was discovered in the waters of the Mosul Reservoir earlier this year, when water levels dropped due to an extreme drought in Iraq. The city, which included a palace and several large buildings, was an important center of the Mitani Empire (between 1550–1350 BC).
“This huge structure is of special importance, as it must have stored enormous quantities of goods that were probably brought from all over the region,” said Dr. Ivana Polgiz of Freiburg University. ).
The site was sunk about 40 years ago when the Mosul Reservoir was built, and has never been thoroughly researched by archaeologists. Since then, it has returned to the surface when the drought has forced residents of the area to pump water from the dam.
Within days, the unplanned incident prompted a team of German and Kurdish researchers to begin excavations and finally map the village. The site was almost destroyed in an estimated earthquake, in 1350 BC. However, researchers uncovered more than 100 clay tablets bearing pegs – an ancient syllable method that was common in Mesopotamia, Syria, Persia and the region of Ararat – dating to the Assyrian period Middle, shortly after the earthquake disaster that struck the city.
Reporters can tell valuable information about the company’s immigration and the end of the Mitani era. “It’s almost a miracle, the clay pots made of clay have survived so many years underwater,” said Dr. Peter Flanzer of Tubingen, one of the crew.