News / News Bulletin

Ancient 5,000-year-old city emerges from Mosul Dam as waters recede

Monday, 01 September 2025 3:12 AM [ Last Update: Monday, 01 September 2025 3:12 AM ]

The dramatic drop in water levels at Iraq's Mosul Dam has unveiled a stunning archaeological breakthrough in the Dohuk province of Iraq's Kurdistan region - the discovery of a 5,000-year-old ancient city.

Footage captured on Saturday shows archaeologists excavating the site, uncovering ancient ceramic coffins and well-preserved human skeletons.

"We have managed to uncover 40 pottery coffins made of clay, dating back approximately 2,300 years to the Hellenistic Seleucid era, around 300 years BC," said Bekes Brifkani, head of Duhok Antiquities Department.

He noted that the site contains traces of successive historical periods, the earliest dating back to the Nineveh 5 era around 2,900 BC - evidence, he said, that the location has been continuously inhabited for over 5,000 years.

The site, submerged following the construction of the Mosul Dam in 1986, began to resurface this year following a significant drop in the dam's water levels, according to a statement from the Directorate of Antiquities.

(Source: AFP)

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.ir