Evidence of Early Forms of Pottery Production and 8,000-Year-Old Buildings Belonging to the Elite of the Time Discovered in Iraqi Kurdistan

Archaeologists from the University of Udine have uncovered two ancient human settlements in the Rovia sub-district of Dohuk province in Iraqi Kurdistan, thought to date back some 8,000 years.

The discovery took place at the site of Kanispan, a Neolithic settlement from the 7th millennium BC.

The province’s Director of Antiques and Heritage, Bekas Brifkani, told Shafaq News Agency that the sites were discovered in Asinkran and Kanisban areas, located in the Nafkor plain near the Rovia district in eastern Duhok.

Important information about the earliest agricultural societies and how they evolved into more complex communities has been uncovered by these excavations, which were conducted as part of the Asingeran Excavation Project in cooperation with the Directorate of Antiquities of Dohuk.

The project, coordinated by Marco Iamoni, is part of the Humanities and Cultural Heritage Department of the University of Udine. ‘The information obtained in Asingeran and the new Kanispan site is exceptional,’ emphasizes Professor Iamoni, lecturer in Archaeology and Art History of Ancient Western Asia and the Eastern Mediterranean.

Some of the oldest methods of grain processing and  pottery making, which date back more than 8,000 years, were found in Asinkran.

Meanwhile, evidence of early agricultural specialization and craft production was discovered at the Kanisban site, a Neolithic settlement from the 7th millennium BCE.

At the nearby Asinkran site, two monumental buildings dating back about 7,000 years were uncovered. “These buildings, the Rectangular Mudbrick Building and the White Building were constructed on a high mound and likely served as residences for the social elite of that era,” he explained.

Large buildings at Asingeran indicate the presence of sophisticated social structures from very early times, while early evidence of  ceramic production and cereal cultivation at Kanispan represents a significant milestone in prehistoric archaeology.

The project’s primary objective is to determine how early egalitarian agricultural societies developed into more complex communities with social stratification and labor specialization. Modern societies are thought to have been influenced by this transformational model.

Brifkani described the discovery as an “important step” in reconstructing the history of human development in the region, highlighting the Kurdistan Region’s significance as “one of the main centers of early civilization.”

The results will be examined in specialized labs using DNA, paleobotanical, and ceramic analyses. These studies are being carried out in partnership with the National Museum of Denmark and the universities of Padua and Bologna.

The findings will shed light on the subsistence and social organization systems in the Navkur plain and aid in reconstructing the social structure of the area’s first communities and their agricultural practices.

The Asingeran site shows a continuous occupation from the Ceramic Neolithic to the early 3rd millennium BCE, with a significant period of reoccupation in the 2nd millennium BCE. In addition to the two large buildings mentioned, the area has revealed traces of Ottoman-era dwellings (1500–1800 CE), including small stone houses, hearths, and domestic ovens.

Ancient Babylon Excavation Uncovers 478 Artifacts Including Cuneiform Tablets, and Cylindrical Seals

The Iraqi State Board of Antiquities and Heritage (SBAH) announced that 478 artifacts were uncovered during an excavation expedition in the historic province of Babylon.

The Director of the Excavations Department accompanied the Missions Follow-up Committee to site 19/3 in Sector 38 of Al-Fayyadiya district to examine the work of the archaeological mission in the Babil governorate, according to a statement released by SBAH.

Under the direction of archaeologist Quhtan Abbas Hassan Aboud, the mission has uncovered information that provides fresh insights into ancient Mesopotamian life and culture.

During the visit, the head of the committee received a detailed explanation from the mission leader regarding the findings of the excavation.

The Al-Fayadiya district’s 19/3 excavation site is separated into two sectors, A and B. There are two layers of archaeological stratification in Sector A, which is 6 dunums (roughly 6,000 square meters) in size.

However, the structural discoveries in Sector B, which spans a wider area of 9 dunums (roughly 9,000 square meters), have been even more abundant.

Two distinct residential units with rooms of varying sizes that may have served different purposes in the daily lives of the prehistoric occupants have been discovered in this zone.

According to Soheil Al-Tamimi, Director of the Department of Excavations, who was present during the visit of the Mission Monitoring Commission, the first layer corresponds to the Sasanian period. However, this layer has suffered considerable damage due to erosion and human intervention over the centuries.

The second layer dates to the ancient Babylonian period, and the better-preserved, which has sparked special interest among researchers who hope to uncover more about the characteristics of urban life during that era.

The excavation team found 478 diverse artifacts, including pottery jars, cuneiform texts, and cylindrical seals, according to the statement, which added that work is still ongoing to complete the scientific excavation work according to the specified period.

The missions committee suggested that all excavation work be disclosed, that the work be photographed and drawn, and that the artifacts be recorded by the scientific contexts that SBAH adheres to.

These findings promise to provide fresh insight into the material culture and urban growth of one of the most powerful civilizations in ancient history and mark a breakthrough in Babylonian archaeological studies.

Rare 2,800-year-old Assyrian Scarab Seal-Amulet Found in Tabor Nature Reserve

A hiker in northern Israel found a rare scarab seal amulet from the First Temple period on the ground in the Tabor Nature Reserve in Lower Galilee.

A scarab amulet used by an Assyrian official was found recently by Erez Abrahamov, 45, of Paduel. Abrahamov found the scarab near the bottom of Tel Rekhesh, associated with the city of Anaharath mentioned in the Book of Joshua.

The find, announced by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), hints at the possible presence of Assyrian or Babylonian officials in the region during the eighth century BCE.

It may have been used by an Assyrian or perhaps Babylonian official almost 2,800 years ago, at the time of the First Temple.

At first, I thought it was just a stone, but when I picked it up I could see it was engraved, said Erez Avrahamov. Upon closer inspection, he realized it depicted a mythical creature. He contacted the Israel Antiquities Authority about his discovery.

The rare find was transferred to the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) as required by law, and Abrahamov received a certificate of appreciation for his efforts.

The scarab, a reddish-brown carnelian stone, is roughly the size of a fingernail. One side of the stone depicts a beetle, while the other is intricately engraved with the figure of a griffin or winged horse. This style of art is typical of the Assyrian and Babylonian civilizations that flourished during this time.

Scarabs were considered sacred by the Egyptians and represented renewal and rebirth.

However, their significance went beyond the spiritual realm. They were used as administrative seals, particularly by high-ranking officials.

The discovery of this scarab in Israel’s Lower Galilee region suggests that Assyrian or Babylonian officials were present at Tel Rekhesh during Assyrian rule.

Archaeologist Itzik Paz, who excavated Tel Rekhesh, studied the find to gain more context. One of the most significant seals discovered here, according to him.

According to Paz, This beetle seal gives us a glimpse into the Assyrian administration that was here. If we can precisely date this seal, it could shed light on Assyrian presence at this strategic site, added Paz.

Headless Lamassu Sculpture Uncovered in Iraq

What has a curly beard that would make Santa Claus jealous, feathered wings and a muscular physique? No, it’s not Ozzy Osbourne on tour – you are forgiven – it’s the celestial being, the Lamassu.

A sculpture of this mythical creature dating back to the 8th Century BC was unearthed on Tuesday by archaeologists in northern Iraq, largely intact despite its huge dimensions.

Many of these towering winged alabaster deities were stationed at the entrances of ancient cities across the Neo-Assyrian Empire, now modern-day Iraq.

Boasting the head of a man, the body of a bull and the wings of an eagle, these monuments symbolised intelligence, strength and freedom. Female versions also existed and were called ‘apsasu’.

Weighing 18 tonnes, and carved from a single piece of limestone, the head was confiscated from smugglers in the 90s.

“The head of the Lamassu was cut away and was stolen and recovered during the 90s by the customs in Baghdad. I think now the head is in the Baghdad museum. The rest of the body was found here and is in excellent shape” said Pascal Butterlin, a professor of Archeology at Paris Sorbonne University.

First mentioned in the 19th century by French archaeologist Victor Place, the relief dropped from public records until the 1990s when Iraqi authorities earmarked it for “urgent intervention”.

It was originally erected at the entrance to the ancient city of Khorsabad, some 15 kilometres north of the modern city of Mosul.

It was commissioned during the reign of King Sargon II who ruled from 722 to 705 BC and erected at the city’s gates to provide protection

“We can now study the whole context of this beautiful gate which might still be in very good condition” continued Butterlin.

“I never unearthed anything this big in my life before,” Butterlin said of the piece measuring 3.8 by 3.9 metres “Normally, it’s only in Egypt or Cambodia that you find pieces this big.

“The attention to detail is unbelievable,” said the professor of Middle East archaeology at the University of Paris I Pantheon-Sorbonne.

It was during this period that looters pillaged the head and chopped it into pieces to smuggle it abroad.

The rest of the relief was spared the destruction wreaked by the Islamic State jihadist group, which overran the area in 2014. Residents of the modern village of Khorsabad reportedly hid it before fleeing to government-held territory.

Mysterious 5,500-Year-Old Sumerian Star Map Recorded Massive Asteroid Hit To Earth

A 5,500-year-old clay tablet discovered in the 19th century in the underground library of King Ashurbanipal in Nineveh is an astronomical treasure.

The ancient “document” excavated in present-day Iraq by Sir Henry Layard offers unprecedented insight into astronomical observations that took place more than 5,500 years ago in ancient Mesopotamia. Long believed to be an Assyrian tablet, computer analysis that compared it to Mesopotamia’s sky in 3300 BC has revealed that it actually has much older Sumerian origins.

The “Astrolabe,” the earliest known astronomical instrument, is depicted on the tablet. It consists of a segmented disk-shaped star chart with rim markings for the many angles that can be measured. For more than 150 years, experts have been baffled by the ancient clay tablet housed in the British Museum. The Cuneiform tablet No. K8538 in the British Museum collection is known as “the Planisphere.” (Source)

Over 5,600 years ago, an amazing event occurred when a kilometer-long asteroid collided with the Alps in Köfels, Austria. Unfortunately, significant portions of the planisphere on this tablet (approximately 40%) are missing, due to damage caused by the sacking of Nineveh. The reverse of the tablet is not inscribed.

Archibald Sayce and Robert Bosanquet discovered the tablet’s astronomical relation in 1880 and named it “Astrolabe.” Leonard William King took the first step toward content analysis by creating a picture facsimile of the tablet. In 1912, his work was published.

The image facsimile of the cuneiform writing signs is perfectly transliterated, but he did not translate the facsimile signs into modern language. He joined an archaeological expedition to the same site at Nineveh hoping to find other astronomical tablets with additional information, but nothing useful was ever found. King presumed that K8538 was a “Planisphere,” showing the night sky over Nineveh.

Three years later, in 1915, Ernst F. Weidner released his work on K8538. He made an effort to decipher each of the 8 distinct tablet parts on the book’s six pages, but the text remained a mystery to him. He described it as “magic.” Because the star distributions on the tablet do not match those in the Nineveh sky, he rejected King’s term “Planisphere.”

Two authors, Alan Bond and Mark Hempsell ultimately made significant advances twenty years later. They note in the introduction to their book that, up until 2008, “there has never been a comprehensive and consistent translation of this unique tablet [which] might relate to an impact of a Near Earth Object.” (Source)

They re-translated the cuneiform inscription and claimed the tablet recorded the Köfels’ Impact, an ancient asteroid strike that struck Austria somewhere around 3100 BC. This caused a stir in the archaeological community.

Since geologists first examined the massive landslide in the 19th century, it has been a mystery. It is 500m deep and has a five-kilometer circle. It is situated near Köfels in Austria. Due to the evidence of crushing pressures and explosions, researchers in the middle of the 20th century came to the conclusion that it must have been caused by a very huge meteor impact.

Since Köfels lacks a crater, it does not appear as an impact site should to modern eyes. The idea that it is just another landslide, however, does not account for the facts that confounded the prior experts. What ties the complex Sumerian star chart found in the Nineveh library’s subterranean to the enigmatic impact that happened in Austria?

The clay tablet may be examined to determine that it is an astronomical work because it features drawings of constellations and names of recognized constellations in the text. Although it has received a lot of attention, no one has offered a credible explanation for what it is after more than a century.

The researchers have identified what the Planisphere tablet alludes to using contemporary computer algorithms that can mimic trajectories and recreate the night sky thousands of years ago. The K8538 observation tablet was created by an unknown alert Sumerian astronomer who recognized the historical significance of the event on his astronomical lookout tower and decided to record it. Bond and Hempsell dubbed him “Lugalansheigibar – the great man who observed the sky.”

Half of the tablet records planet positions and cloud cover, just like any other night, but the other half records an object large enough to note its shape even though it is still in space. The astronomers accurately recorded its trajectory relative to the stars, which is consistent with an impact at Köfels to within one degree of error.

The observation indicates that the asteroid is larger than a kilometer in diameter and that its original orbit around the Sun was an Aten type, a class of asteroid that orbits close to the Earth and is resonant with the Earth’s orbit.

This trajectory explains why there is no crater at Köfels. The incoming angle was very low (six degrees), which means the asteroid clipped a mountain called Gamskogel above the town of Längenfeld, 11 kilometers from Köfels, causing the asteroid to explode before it reached its final impact point. It grew into a five-kilometer-wide fireball as it traveled down the valley (the size of the landslide).

When it hit Köfels, it created enormous pressures that pulverized the rock and caused the landslide, but it did not create a classic impact crater because it was no longer a solid object.

Mark Hempsell, discussing the Köfels event, said: “Another conclusion can be made from the trajectory. The back plume from the explosion (the mushroom cloud) would be bent over the Mediterranean Sea re-entering the atmosphere over the Levant, Sinai, and Northern Egypt.”

“The ground heating though very short would be enough to ignite any flammable material – including human hair and clothes. It is probable more people died under the plume than in the Alps due to the impact blast.”

As a very rare scientific observation tablet, the K8538 provides comparative facts that aid in realistic forecasts of asteroid devastation and the resulting megadroughts on Earth. The British Museum is now in charge of preserving and protecting this valuable document, which was created by Sumerian astronomer Lugalansheigibar.

A large stone monument depicting the goddess Ishtar has been unearthed in the ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud

Archaeologists from the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archeology and Anthropology, working with an Iraqi excavation team, have unearthed a large stone monument depicting the goddess Ishtar in the ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud.

Archaeologists have uncovered more monumental finds in Nimrud, one of the heritage sites severely damaged by the so-called Islamic State (ISIS) in northern Iraq.

Among the new relics discovered at the site are those from a 3,000-year-old temple dedicated to Ishtar, the Mesopotamian goddess of love and war and the goddess with the earliest written evidence.

During earlier excavations in Nimrud, the same team revealed a 2,800-year-old palace belonging to an Assyrian king Adad-Nirari III, who reigned from 810–783 BCE.

This season, the team continued working inside the palace and expanded its efforts to include the Temple of Ishtar, which burned when Nimrud was sacked by an invading army in 612 BCE.

Chief among their finds were fragments of a large stone monument that depicts the goddess Ishtar inside a star symbol.

“Our greatest find this season was a spectacular fragment from the stone stele that shows the goddess Ishtar inside a star symbol. This is the first unequivocal depiction of the goddess as Ishtar Sharrrat-niphi, a divine aspect of the goddess associated with the rising of the planet Venus, the ‘morning star,’ to be found in this temple dedicated to her,” Dr. Michael Danti, Program Director of the Iraq Heritage Stabilization Program and archeologists at the University of  Pennsylvania, said in a statement.

This season’s new discoveries largely focus on the splendor of Adad-Nirari III’s rule and ancient Nimrud’s affluence.

Two enormous stone column bases that the archaeologists discovered suggest the palace was grandly decorated with exquisitely carved columns.

Evidence of a sizable stone basin, which the researchers think may have served as a central heating system, was found inside the throne room.

In addition, they discovered scattered pieces of ostrich eggshell and ivory, both of which were rare and would have been extremely valuable in the early Bronze Age.

5,500-Year-Old Sumerian Star Map History in Recorded: The Impact Of A Massive Asteroid

For more than 150 years scientists have tried to solve the mystery of a notorious cuneiform clay tablet that reveals that in the past the impact case of so-called Köfel was detected. The circular stone-cast tablet was discovered in the late 1800s from the 650 BC King Ashurbanipal‘s underground library in Nineveh, Iraq.

Data processing, which was long believed to be an Assyrian tablet, mirrored the sky over Mesopotamia in 3300 BC and proved to be much more ancient in Sumerian origin.

The tablet is the first astronomical instrument, the “Astrolabe.”  It consists of a segmented, disk-shaped star chart with marked units of angle measure inscribed upon the rim.

Unfortunately, considerable parts of the planisphere on this tablet are missing (approximately 40%), damage which dates to the sacking of Nineveh. The reverse of the tablet is not inscribed.

Still under study by modern scholars, the cuneiform tablet in the British Museum collection No K8538 (known as “the Planisphere”) provides extraordinary proof for the existence of sophisticated Sumerian astronomy. In 2008 two authors, Alan Bond and Mark Hempsell published a book about the tablet called “A Sumerian Observation of the Kofels’ Impact Event”.

Raising a storm in archaeological circles, they re-translated the cuneiform text and assert the tablet records an ancient asteroid strike, the Köfels’ Impact, which struck Austria sometime around 3100 BC.

The giant landslide centered at Köfels in Austria is 500m thick and five kilometers in diameter and has long been a mystery since geologists first looked at it in the 19th century.

The conclusion drawn by research in the middle 20th century was that it must be due to a very large meteor impact because of the evidence of crushing pressures and explosions. But this view lost favor as a much better understanding of impact sites developed in the late 20th century.

In the case of Köfels, there is no crater, so to modern eyes, it does not look as an impact site should look. However, the evidence that puzzled the earlier researchers remains unexplained by the view that it is just another landslide.

So what is the connection between the sophisticated Sumerian star chart discovered in the underground library in Nineveh and the mysterious impact that took place in Austria?

Examination of the clay tablet reveals that it is an astronomical work as it has drawings of constellations on it and the text has known constellation names. It has attracted a lot of attention but in over a hundred years nobody has come up with a convincing explanation as to what it is.

With modern computer programs that can simulate trajectories and reconstruct the night sky thousands of years ago, researchers have established what the Planisphere tablet refers to. It is a copy of the night notebook of a Sumerian astronomer as he records the events in the sky before dawn on 29 June 3123 BC (Julian calendar).

Half the tablet records planet positions and cloud cover, the same as any other night, but the other half of the tablet records an object large enough for its shape to be noted even though it is still in space.

The astronomers made an accurate note of its trajectory relative to the stars, which to an error better than one degree is consistent with an impact at Köfels. The observation suggests the asteroid is over a kilometer in diameter and the original orbit about the Sun was an Aten type, a class of asteroid that orbit close to the Earth, that is resonant with the Earth’s orbit.

This trajectory explains why there is no crater at Köfels. The incoming angle was very low (six degrees) which means the asteroid clipped a mountain called Gamskogel above the town of Längenfeld, 11 kilometers from Köfels, and this caused the asteroid to explode before it reached its final impact point. As it traveled down the valley it became a fireball, around five kilometers in diameter (the size of the landslide). When it hit Köfels it created enormous pressures that pulverized the rock and caused the landslide but because it was no longer a solid object it did not create a classic impact crater.

Mark Hempsell, discussing the Köfels event, said: “Another conclusion can be made from the trajectory. The back plume from the explosion (the mushroom cloud) would be bent over the Mediterranean Sea re-entering the atmosphere over the Levant, Sinai, and Northern Egypt.

“The ground heating though very short would be enough to ignite any flammable material – including human hair and clothes. It is probable more people died under the plume than in the Alps due to the impact blast.”

In other words, the remarkable ancient star map shows that the Sumerians made an observation of an Aten asteroid over a kilometer in diameter that impacted Köfels in Austria in the early morning of 29th June 3123 BC.

U.S. Repatriates Looted Artifact to Iraq

Atlanta FBI agents started investigating the stolen art last year. The artifact turned up at an Emory University museum in 2006.

The FBI announced Thursday that the U.S. has returned a stolen Iraqi artifact that has been missing for 20 years, officials said.

The “Furniture Fitting with Sphinx Trampling a Youth” first disappeared in Baghdad in 2003.  

It was recently being held at the Michael C. Carlos Museum at Emory University in Atlanta before it was returned. The Carlos Museum purchased the artifact from a third party in 2006.

The FBI said that the party used a fake record with the wrong date the artifact entered the country.  

“While we realize there was no ill intent on behalf of Emory University, we are glad our agents could return a small part of history back to where it belongs in Iraq,” said Keri Farley, Special Agent in charge of FBI Atlanta.

Atlanta FBI Agents began investigating the theft last year in January. Officials with the Emory museum handed over the artifact to FBI Atlanta agents last December.

According to historians, the art dates back to the Iron Age, which happened in the 7th Century B.C. It is made of ivory, pigment and gold leaf.

FBI Agents in Washington returned a 2,700-year-old antiquity to the Iraqi Government. The artifact was displayed at the Carlos Museum at Emory University after officials were shown a fake provenance. FBI Atlanta believes the artifact was looted from Baghdad in 2003. @FBIBoston pic.twitter.com/Flun80qNj5

— FBI Atlanta (@FBIAtlanta) March 9, 2023

Officials held a ceremony Wednesday at the Iraqi Embassy in the nations capital where the special agent team presented the artifact to an Iraqi official.  

The team signed documents at the ceremony where they made it the artifact’s return to Iraq official.

Agents believe the artifact was stolen during the looting of the Iraq Museum in 2003. Experts determined it was stolen from the Iraq Museum using photographs. 

“The protection of the world’s cultural heritage is a priority for the U.S. Government,” said Special Agent Rafael Jimenez. 

Officials said the piece was stolen with thousands of other priceless artifacts.