1. Khorsabad
2,700 year-old-city in northeastern Iraq, known for its colossal statues of winged bulls with human heads. Assyrian King Sargon II built his palace here between 717 and 706 BC. Paint was still preserved, as was written documentation about how its construction was organised.
2. Assyrian Lion Statues
Originally from the Arslan Tash archaeological site near Aleppo in Syria, they’d been moved to Raqqa city centre in the 1980s. The statues date to the 8th century and were seated at the entrance gate of Arslan Tash, which was conquered by the Assyrians in 9th century BC and had been part of an Iron Age kingdom.
3. The winged bulls at Nineveh
Standing at the Nergal Gate at Ninevah for nearly 3,000 years, near Mosul, Iraq. Also known as “lamassu,” the winged bulls date to the early 7th century BC and guarded a principal gateway to the ancient Assyrian capital of Nineveh. According to UNESCO, Nineveh “was one of the most important cultural centres in the ancient world enjoying a prominent role in the field of developing human civilisation, in that it was the greatest metropolis where various branches of arts and learning originated.”
4. Mosque of the Prophet Younis (Jonah’s Tomb)
Located in Mosul, Iraq, near the walls of Nineveh. Believed to be the burial place of the prophet Jonah, who was swallowed by a whale in stories from both the Bible and the Koran. It was built on an archaeological site dating back to 8th century BC and attracted religious pilgrims from multiple faiths around the world.
5. Sufi Shrines
Located in the Aleppo countryside in Syria. Sufi shrines are the tombs of Sufi saints. Shrines on the eastern Aleppo plateau have been destroyed, including the tomb of Meqam Shiekh Aqil al Manbaj, an important Muslim mystic.
6. Nimrud
The ruins of an ancient city located on the Tigris River just south of Mosul in Iraq. Nimrud was founded in 13th century BC and was the capital of the neo-Assyrian empire. The site contains the palace of Ashurnasirpal, the king of Assyria, and large numbers of relics and statues still remained in their original locations.
7. Mosul museum
Iraq’s second-largest museum, located in Mosul, Iraq. The museum houses relics from the UNESCO World Heritage site of Hatra, as well as artifacts from Nineveh. One crucial treasure appears to have been lost, a 7th century winged bull.
8. Hatra
2,300-year-old city south of Mosul, Iraq. Hatra is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It consists of a well-preserved complex of temples that blend Hellenistic and Roman architecture with Eastern decorative features.
9. Mari
An ancient Bronze Age site located on the western bank of the Euphrates River near Syria’s border with Iraq. Remains date back to 3000 BC. The site’s greatest treasures are thought to be the thousands of clay tablets that describe the civilization’s legal system, economy and diplomacy.
10. Tell Ajaja and Tell Brak
Ancient settlement mounds in northeastern Syria. The sites contained large Assyrian statues and relics believed to be 3000 years old.
Source: Newswires
