The lowering of the waters of rivers and reservoirs unearthed archaeological treasures In the basins of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, the cradle of some of the world’s oldest civilizations and as they pass through Iraq and Syria, which have been the scene of constant drought in recent years.
It is in the Mesopotamian region, which is one of the hardest hit areas, as in other parts of the world where the drop in the level of rivers and reservoirs has revealed Iberian villages in Spain, Buddhist statues in China or dinosaur footprints in the USA. climate change and drought unexpected archaeological treasures reappear.
The decrease in the flow of the Euphrates has revealed many archaeological sites in northern Syria, including some cemeteries dating back 11,000 years. Submerged by the Al Asad reservoirIt was built in the early 1970s.
Mohamed Nazeer Awad, Director General of Syrian Antiquities and Museums, told Efe that among these sites, the one on the top of Tel Qamluq, where many settlements from the 3rd and 4th millennium BC emerged.
Awad acknowledged that as a result of the armed conflict that began in 2011, his department did not have direct access to these findings because they were in an area controlled by the SDF. declared an autonomous administration in the northern and northeastern parts of the country.
However, he added that they received reports and images from technicians and archaeologists in the region.
dating back 11,000 years
The sediments had already been explored before the reservoir was filled as part of an international campaign to save the legacy that would be covered by the waters after the dam’s construction.
With the retreat of the flooded area, the Tel Meribet site also emerged, along with the historically recognized site and remains from the ninth millennium before Christ. The first Syrian wall in the region is about 11,000 years old.
Even more surprising is the city that arose in Iraqi Kurdistan, on the shores of the Mosul dam reservoir, expanding by water scarcity.
about The city of Zajiko, an important cultural center of the ancient Mitanni kingdomIt developed between 1550-1350.
Drought in Iraq took three years between charges, from Baghdad to countries in the basins of its two main rivers, primarily Turkey (the birthplace of both the Euphrates and Tigris) and Iran (where Iran’s major tributary the Karun is located). it took. Tigris is coming. ), failing to comply with agreements on water quotas.
Babylonian Reference
Bex al Brefkani, Director of Antiquities and Heritage in the Kurdish-Iraqi province of Dohuk, told Efe: Zajiko, mentioned in ancient Babylonian texts but whose exact location is unknown, rose from the waters. For the first time in 2018, but their constant hiatus allowed to explore many places of the city last year.
These include two-story residential and administrative buildings, a place for a metal foundry, wide walls and towers up to six meters wide,” he said.
It was also found at this archaeological site, which was returned by the reservoir, about three kilometers from the town of Komuna. A section of the building walls with multiple brick walls, seals, pottery, cuneiform texts and remnants of their original colours.
The level of the reservoir allows excavations to be carried out in the area overseen by the Iraqi Kurdish Directorate of Antiquities and Heritage in Dohuk and the German universities of Tübingen and Freiburg.
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Source: Informacion
