Incredible images reveal inside 2,600-year-old palace found buried under the ruins of a shrine blown up by ISIS in Mosul
Palace of Assyrian King Esarhaddon found beneath Nabi Yunus shrine, which jihadis destroyed
IRAQI troops have discovered an ancient palace beneath the ruins of a shrine destroyed by ISIS.
When security forces liberated eastern Mosul they discovered a labyrinth of tunnels under the Nabi Yunus shrine, which jihadis blew up in July 2014.
The militants dug the network in the hill under the shrine – which reputedly marks the tomb of the Prophet Jonah – to plunder artefacts from within.
Incredible pictures show inside the tunnels, which are still filled with artefacts dating back to nearly 3,000 years ago.
Layla Salih who is in charge of antiquities for Nineveh province, said: "We fear it could all collapse at any time. There are cave-ins in the tunnels every day."
Layla said the precious relics date back to the Assyrian period, and come from the palace of King Esarhaddon, who ruled from 681-669 BC.
Two mural sculptures in white marble show winged bulls with only the sides and feet showing.
Other images show beautiful carvings depicting people, with inscriptions in an ancient language.
Layla said: "These finds are very important. They teach us more about Assyrian art.
"In general, their sculptures show people in profile, whereas here we have women face on."
She said ISIS had not been able to remove many of the treasures for fear of the hill coming crashing down upon them.
But the terror group plundered other smaller artefacts, such as ancient pottery.
Iraqi authorities found 107 items of pottery in a house east of Mosul that were in good condition and most likely exhumed from the tunnels of Nabi Yunus.
Salim Khalaf, an Iraqi Culture Ministry official, said more than 700 archaeological items had been exhumed from the site and sold on the black market.
The jihadi group has carried out a widespread campaign of destruction of archaeological treasures across territory it seized in Iraq and Syria.
Many shocking scenes were filmed and posted on the internet, such as the destruction of Nimrud – the jewel of the Assyrian empire founded in the 13th century BC.
Jihadis were seen laughing as they destroyed a great number of precious relics with pickaxes, sledgehammers and bulldozers.
The fanatics have also caused incalculable damage to the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, blowing up many of its famous features.
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