07/06/2022
A team of German and Kurdish archaeologists has unearthed a 3,400-year-old Matani-era city on the Tigris River. The settlement emerged earlier this year from the waters of the Mosul Reservoir as water levels plummeted due to a severe drought in Iraq. The vast city with a palace and several large buildings may be the ancient city of Zakhiko - which is believed to have been an important center of the Matani Empire (ca. 1550-1350 BC). Iraq is one of the countries in the world most affected by climate change. The south of the country has been suffering from severe drought, especially for months. Since December, large quantities of water have been pumped out of Mosul's reservoir, Iraq's most important reservoir, to prevent crops from drying out. This led to the re-emergence of a Bronze Age city that sank decades ago without any archeological investigation. It is located in Kamun in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. This unexpected event suddenly put pressure on archaeologists to excavate and document parts of this large, important city as soon as possible before it sinks again. Kurdish Archaeologist Dr. Hassan Ahmad Qasim, Chairman of the Kurdistan Archaeological Organization, and German Archaeologists June-Professor. Dr. Ivana Plzez (University of Freiburg) and Prof. Dr. Peter Fleisner (University of Tنbingen) unanimously decided to carry out joint rescue excavations in Camon.
