What is known about the 3400-year-old city that emerged from under the water in Iraq?

Scientists constantly scare us with globalwarming, and these warnings are not unfounded. The fact is that due to the increase in air temperature, glaciers are melting, which can subsequently lead to the flooding of cities and the death of many species of animals and plants. But there is one plus in this - sometimes global warming indirectly helps archaeologists discover unknown cities of the ancient world, which in the course of history ended up under water. So, in 2018, a flooded city was found in Iraq, which belonged to the ancient Mitanni empire. From time to time, he again finds himself under water, but scientists manage to excavate and protect the ancient buildings from moisture. Let's find out the details about this unusual archaeological site?

The excavation site of the ancient city is called Kemune

Doubtful plus of global warming

Iraq is among the countries with the mostsuffer from global warming. For several years now, the southern part of the state has received great damage from a severe drought. To prevent crops from drying out and crop losses, the authorities decided to take water from the reservoir in the city of Mosul. The water in the huge reservoir became less and in 2018 people found the remains of ancient buildings on the shore. Archaeologists immediately arrived at the site and began to excavate.

Mosul reservoir

Sometimes the Mosul reservoir fills up againwater, so scientists have very limited time to study ancient structures. To protect them from water, they cover them with a plastic dome. When the city is again shown on land, work on the study of the ruins is resumed, and each time the scientists have very little time. What did they find and learn about ancient structures?

Ruins of an ancient city in Iraq

Flooded city in Iraq

First, the flooded city clearly belongedthe state of Mitanni, which was located near the Tigris River and was home to many Hurrians and Semites. Scientists are not sure, but most likely they discovered the city of Zakiku, which was an important center of the ancient state. According to researchers, the state of Mitanni existed between 1550 and 1350 BC.

Excavation of one of the ancient structures

When the ruins of the ancient city first appeared inIn 2018, archaeologists were able to document the presence of the remains of an ancient settlement. Three years later, the city resurfaced, and scientists began to map it. One of the largest structures of the alleged Zakiku is the palace. Also in the city there is a fortification with a wall and towers, an industrial complex and a huge warehouse.

Walls of an ancient warehouse

According to researcher Ivana Puljiz (IvanaPuljiz), they are most interested in the warehouse. There is a possibility that a huge number of ancient artifacts are stored inside it. Moreover, they were clearly produced not only in Mitania, but were brought from other ancient states.

SOMETIMES MYSTICAL SOUNDS ARE HEARD UNDER THE WATER. WHAT IS THIS? ANSWER HERE.

Why did the ancient city collapse and sink?

Scientists were surprised that despitestay under water, the walls of the structures are very well preserved. And this despite the fact that the bricks used in the construction were not subjected to heat treatment! It is believed that the ancient city was destroyed in 1350 BC, as a result of a strong earthquake. And it ended up under water around the 1980s, during the construction of the reservoir. How the builders did not notice the ancient structures, and even such large ones, is not clear.

As you can see, a large number of people are involved in the excavations.

Another interesting find isceramic jugs, inside of which more than 100 unbaked clay tablets with inscriptions were found. According to scientists, they appeared after the destruction of the city. At the moment, scientists want to decipher them, because the information contained in the tablets can tell a lot about the ancient city. At a minimum, archaeologists want to know who lived in the city and what they did.

It's a miracle that cuneiform tablets made from unbaked clay survived after being underwater for a long time, said researcher Peter Pfalzner.

At the time of flooding, the ruins of the ancient city are covered with plastic. Perhaps in the future, scientists will learn more details about the ancient city, and we will definitely tell you about it - subscribe to our Zen.

Ceramic vessel with clay tablets

We also have a Telegram chat with over 4,000 members. Become one of them!

There are quite a few sunken cities in the world, andscientists are constantly studying them. For example, on our website there is an article about Heraklion - I personally consider it the most amazing of its kind. That's why.