US EditionArchaeologists Unearth an Ancient Relief Depicting an Assyrian King and Rare Deities
- A Heidelberg University team led by Prof. Dr. Aaron Schmitt excavated a monumental relief in King Ashurbanipal's North Palace at ancient Nineveh, Iraq.
- The discovery comes after extensive research at the Kuyunjik mound, where the relief was found concealed within a soil-filled excavation likely dating back to the Hellenistic era, several centuries after its original creation.
- The relief, carved from a massive stone slab measuring 5.5 by 3 meters and weighing around 12 tons, portrays the seventh-century BC Assyrian king accompanied by prominent gods and additional figures.
- Prof. Schmitt noted the relief was originally in a niche across from the throne room's main entrance and suggested a winged sun disk was mounted above it, highlighting the unique deity depictions.
- Researchers plan to examine the relief in detail and share their findings soon, working alongside Iraq’s antiquities authority to reassemble and exhibit the fragments at the site where they were originally found for visitors to see.
16 Articles
16 Articles
Assyrian Relief Discovered: He Had the King Beheaded and His Head Hung on a Tree
The Assyrian Empire rose to world power under Assurbanipal in the 7th century BC. In its palace in Nineveh, German archaeologists discovered a relief that sheds light on the ambivalent rule of this great king.
Relief of King Ashurbanipal With Assyrian Gods Unearthed in Ancient Nineveh
Portion of the “Garden Party” relief, depicting Ashurbanipal (right) and his queen Libbali-sharrat (left). Credit: Mary Harrsch / CC BY-SA 4.0 Archaeologists have uncovered a large stone relief depicting King Ashurbanipal, the last powerful ruler of the Assyrian Empire, at the ruins of ancient Nineveh on the eastern bank of the Tigris River in northern Iraq. The discovery was made by a team from the University of Heidelberg, which has been excav…
Signs of the Times
Archaeology & ArtsSpectacular find in the ancient city of Nineveh
A team from Heidelberg University excavating in Iraq made a spectacular find: In the throne room of the North Palace of King Ashurbanipal in the ancient city of Nineveh, the archeologists discovered large portions of a monumental relief that depicts the ruler of the Assyrian empire from the seventh century BC along with two important deities and other figures. The relief was carved on a massive stone slab 5.5 meters long and three meters high an…
Archaeologists uncover monumental relief of King Ashurbanipal in ancient city of Nineveh
A team from Heidelberg University excavating in Iraq made a spectacular find: In the throne room of the North Palace of King Ashurbanipal in the ancient city of Nineveh, the archaeologists discovered large portions of a monumental relief that depicts the ruler of the Assyrian empire from the seventh century BC along with two important deities and other figures.
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