US EditionArchaeologists Unearth an Ancient Relief Depicting an Assyrian King and Rare Deities
- In 2025, archaeologists from Heidelberg University uncovered an immense carved stone slab in the throne room of Nineveh’s North Palace in Iraq, featuring King Ashurbanipal alongside prominent deities and other figures.
- The excavation at Kuyunjik mound, conducted since 2022 within the framework of the Heidelberg Nineveh initiative initiated in 2018 and overseen by Prof. Dr. Stefan Maul, led to the discovery.
- The relief, carved on a 5.5 by 3 meter stone slab weighing about 12 tons, portrays the last great Assyrian ruler flanked by two major deities in a rare depiction.
- Prof. Dr. Aaron Schmitt said the relief originally stood in a niche opposite the throne room entrance, a premier palace location, and noted a winged sun disk appeared above it.
- The fragments were buried centuries later, possibly during the Hellenistic period, and plans exist to restore and publicly display the relief to deepen understanding of Assyrian culture.
19 Articles
19 Articles
Monumental Discovery Unearthed In Ancient Nineveh Reveals Lost Gods Of Assyria - Worthy Christian News
by Worthy News Staff (Worthy News) – German archaeologists from Heidelberg University have made a landmark discovery in Iraq that is reshaping our understanding of the ancient Assyrian Empire. While excavating the ruins of Nineveh—once the empire’s capital and famously the setting of the biblical story of Jonah—a team uncovered a monumental relief depicting King Assurbanipal flanked by the major deities Assur and Ištar. The massive stone slab, m…
Ancient Nineveh Yields another Spectacular Discovery: A relief of Ishtar and Assur
A team of archaeologists has announced the discovery of a monumental stone relief in Iraq depicting King Ashurbanipal, along with Ishtar, Ashur, and other religious figures. “This find is a rare and invaluable window into the spiritual and political world of one of history’s most powerful empires.”
The Assyrian Empire rose to world power under Assurbanipal in the 7th century BC. In its palace in Nineveh, German archaeologists discovered a relief that sheds light on the ambivalent rule of this great king.
Relief of King Ashurbanipal With Assyrian Gods Unearthed in Ancient Nineveh
Portion of the “Garden Party” relief, depicting Ashurbanipal (right) and his queen Libbali-sharrat (left). Credit: Mary Harrsch / CC BY-SA 4.0 Archaeologists have uncovered a large stone relief depicting King Ashurbanipal, the last powerful ruler of the Assyrian Empire, at the ruins of ancient Nineveh on the eastern bank of the Tigris River in northern Iraq. The discovery was made by a team from the University of Heidelberg, which has been excav…
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