3,400-year-old 'lost city' emerges from Tigris River after drought, prompting archaeologists to investigate

• Image Credit: Internet

• Jun 1, 2022 | Poonam Nath

After a prolonged drought led local waters to recede in the region, the Bronze Age village surfaced from the Mosul reservoir earlier this year.

Digital Desk: After a big depletion in the area, a 3,400-year-old 'lost' city rose from the Tigris River in Iraq, causing archaeologists to hurry to study before it vanished again.

The historical city was discovered by an international team of archaeologists in Iraq's Kurdistan Region.

After a prolonged drought in the region caused local waters to recede, the Bronze Age village appeared from the Mosul reservoir earlier this year.

According to the reports, the city was built sometime between 1475 BC and 1275 BC, when the Mitanni Empire controlled the northern Euphrates-Tigris region.

The team of German and Kurdish archaeologists unearthed 100 antique clay tablets after immediately reaching the Mosul reservoir. 

After further examination, a village with mud-bricked walls and a palace, multi-story buildings, multiple towers, and massive structures were discovered.

According to a statement from the University of Freiburg, the city dates back to the Mittani Empire era in the Bronze Age. It could have been a representation of the ancient city of Zakhiku.

Around 1350 BC, an earthquake nearly destroyed Zakhiku.

According to the university, "the enormous metropolis with a palace and other massive buildings could be ancient Zakhiku – considered an important location in the Mittani Empire (ca. 1550-1350 BC)."

"The massive magazine structure is particularly significant since enormous quantities of products must have been stored there, most likely brought from around the region," stated Dr Ivana Puljiz of the University of Freiburg.

According to reports, archaeologists had never extensively studied the site before.

The university added, "This good preservation is attributable to the fact that the city was devastated in an earthquake approximately 1350 BC, during which the crumbling upper parts of the walls buried the houses."

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