Carved slabs from Assyrian Empire

 

An Iraqi-American excavation team has unearthed a monumental rock-carving relief in a major archaeological site in the northern city of Mosul.

The carvings were found at Mashki Gate, or Al Maska in Arabic, one of the monumental gates for the old city of Nineveh, the imperial capital and most populous city of the Assyrian Empire.

The reliefs date back to the era of the Assyrian King Sinharib who reigned from 705 to 681 BC, Iraqi State Board of Antiquities and Heritage director Dr Laith Majid Hussein said 

The eight marble relics show war scenes as well as palm, grape, pomegranate and fig trees, said Ali Shalgham, head of the excavation team.

The Mashki Gate is one of several set up at the nearly 12km stone and mud brick wall of the archaeological site of Nineveh in the heart of Mosul.

The “water carriers' gate” is believed to have been used to lead livestock to nearby Tigris River or to bring water to the city.