Massive Dam Dries Up Resulting The Discovery Of Ruins Of 3,400-Year-Old City Emerge

The vestiges of individuals and civilizations long gone from the mortal realm reappear as rivers and glaciers recede under warmer temperatures. Iraq has been particularly hard struck in recent months, ravaged by severe drought, with the Mosul reservoir diminishing as water is withdrawn to save crops from drying up.

In the midst of this turmoil, the remnants of an ancient city that had been submerged for decades have resurfaced. Because the dam was built in the 1980s before the settlement was examined and catalogued archaeologically, its reappearance represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for scholars to investigate it. Kemune is the name of the archaeological site.

The ruins include a palace and numerous other massive constructions that date back to the region's Bronze Age, some 3,400 years ago. Scientists believe the ruins are those of Zakhiku, a flourishing capital of the Mittani Empire that flourished on the Tigris River between 1550 and 1350 BCE.

This isn't the first time the city has risen from the sea like Atlantis. The dam lowered enough in 2018 to allow archaeologists a small opportunity to find and describe the ruins before the water level rose and engulfed them once more.

When the city began to reappear in December 2021, archaeologists were ready to go in and take advantage of the second brief opening.

Archaeologist Hasan Ahmed Qasim of the Kurdistan Archaeology Organization in Iraq, along with colleagues Ivana Puljiz of the University of Freiburg and Peter Pfälzner of the University of Tübingen in Germany, began mapping the enigmatic city in January and February of this year. The researchers discovered some additional interesting structures in addition to the palace that was discovered in 2018. The Mittani Empire left behind a gigantic fortification with a wall and towers, an industrial complex, and a massive multi-story storage facility.

During this time, the region was ravaged by an earthquake, which toppled buildings and resulted in a protective layer of rubble falling over the remaining intact walls, hiding their painted murals and the contents of the structures.

The dam has subsequently been refilled, once again drowning the city, but precautions have been taken to ensure that it will be maintained for future excavations when the water recedes. The ruins have been covered with plastic to prevent further erosion and destruction in the coming years.

Meanwhile, the frantic labour has provided archaeologists with material to investigate, which could provide insight on the lives of the ancient Mittani who previously inhabited the once-great city.