3,400-Year-Old Mittani City Emerges from Dried-Up Tigris River in Iraqi Kurdistan

A severe drought in Iraqi Kurdistan has led to the re-emergence of a 3,400-year-old city, believed to be Zakhiku, a major center of the Mittani Empire. The city was submerged for decades after the construction of the Mosul Dam between 1981 and 1984. As water levels dropped due to intensive irrigation, archaeologists seized the opportunity to excavate. The dig was led by Hasan Ahmed Qasim of the Kurdistan Archaeology Organization, alongside Ivana Puljiz from the University of Freiburg and Peter Pfälzner from the University of Tübingen. In 2018, a palace was discovered before waters rose again. Between January and February 2022, a large fortified structure with towers and high mudbrick walls was uncovered, some sections standing several meters tall and remarkably well-preserved after over 40 years underwater. The walls survived thanks to a protective coating applied after an earthquake destroyed the city in 1350 BCE. Additional finds include a multi-story storage building and a workshop, both dating to the Mittani period (1550–1350 BCE). Five ceramic vessels containing over 100 cuneiform tablets from the Middle Assyrian period were also found, offering insights into the civilization that followed the earthquake. Pfälzner expressed astonishment at the tablets' intact condition after decades underwater. However, the water level is rising again, threatening to resubmerge the ruins.