Archaeologists explore Bronze Age site emerging from Mosul dam

Remains of a palace at the site emerged from the waters in 2010, and in 2018, when water levels were again low, archaeologists carried out a short campaign, documenting the palace.

As the water levels of the Mosul dam reservoir fell during extreme drought, a team of German and Kurdish archaeologists headed to Kemune in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq to carry out rescue excavations at the Bronze Age site.

above left Archaeologists explored the site of Kemune, normally submerged by the Mosul reservoir, when water levels were low earlier this year. left One of the vessels that contained cuneiform tablets, dating from the Middle
Archaeologists explored the site of Kemune, normally submerged by the Mosul reservoir, when water levels were low earlier this year. IMAGE: Universities of Freiburg and Tübingen, KAO.

Remains of a palace at the site emerged from the waters in 2010, and in 2018, when water levels were again low, archaeologists carried out a short campaign, documenting the palace and uncovering some cuneiform tablets. The latest fieldwork, carried out in January and February this year by Hasan Ahmed Qasim (Kurdistan Archaeology Organisation), Ivana Puljiz (University of Freiburg), and Peter Pfälzner (University of Tübingen) in collaboration with the Directorate of Antiquities and Heritage in Duhok, has mapped a large part of the city surrounding the palace, including several substantial buildings, and unearthed an archive of more than 100 cuneiform tablets held within five ceramic vessels. ‘It is close to a miracle that cuneiform tablets made of unfired clay survived so many decades under water,’ said Pfälzner.

The city – possibly ancient Zakhiku, a place recorded in a Middle Bronze Age source – dates to the Mitanni Empire, which ruled over much of northern Mesopotamia between c.1550 and 1350 BC. As well as the palace, it contained a fortification with walls and towers, an industrial complex, and a large multi-storey storage building.

One of the vessels that contained cuneiform tablets, dating from the Middle Assyrian period. IMAGE: Universities of Freiburg and Tübingen, KAO.

The sun-dried mud-brick walls are relatively well preserved, as they were buried by the upper parts of the buildings, which collapsed during an earthquake around 1350 BC. The cuneiform tablets, some of which are still in clay envelopes and may be letters, date from the Middle Assyrian period shortly after the earthquake and, when studied, may provide information about the transition from Mitanni to Assyrian rule in the region.