Major archaeological discovery in Northern Iraq

(16 Jul 2001)

1. Older site with temple and complete winged lion statues
2. Ruins of newly discovered site
3. Various of Iraqi experts excavating the site
5. Man in the Ancient Well at Nimrud
6. SOUNDBITE: (English) Muzahim Mahmoud Hussien, Chief of the Excavation team Nimrud
"These two lions are a big size but the upper part is destroyed because it is near the surface, and also because maybe some person attacked it and destroyed it in ancient times. And these two lions are important because on the faces are text and the text was translated by a sepical doctor (expert) in our department in Mosul University who told us it belonged to the King Ashur the second who ruled the Assyrian Empire in the 9th century B-C."
7. Various of previously discovered site with intact winged lions

STORYLINE

An important archaeological discovery has been unearthed in Northern Iraq.

The Iraqi Antiquities and Heritage Department announced Monday the discovery of a temple and two-winged lions in the ancient city of Al-Nimured.

The findings date back to 800 (eight hundred years) B-C.

In the temple dedicated to the Goddess Ishtar (an ancient Goddess of Love and War) are two-winged standing lions.

On each side of the lions, experts found uniform writings and ornamentations which revealed that the two lions date back to the era of Ashur, the most famous Assyrian King who reigned from 883 - 859 B.C.

The empire of Assyria was situated in northern Mesopotamia, what is now modern Iraq.

Assyria was the major power in the ancient Near East from about 900 to about 600 B-C and the capital cities of Nimrud and Nineveh were unrivalled in size and splendor.

Nimrud is already celebrated for its ancient Assyrian tombs and statues.

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