Sumer Journal

2014, after capturing Mosul, IS troops destroyed the Nebi Yunus mosque and the tomb
of prophet Jonah. Located on the southern citadel of ancient Nineveh, the mosque rose
over the ruins of an Assyrian royal residence, which had remained largely unexplored.
This ancient building called in the royal inscriptions “military palace” (ekal māšarti)
had been founded by king Sennacherib and completed by his successors. During two
years until the liberation of the eastern part of Mosul, IS henchmen dug a complex network
of tunnels and looted the palace core including the throne-hall and some adjacent
rooms. Together with their Iraqi colleagues a team of researchers from the University of
Heidelberg was able to examine the network of looting tunnels and carry out preliminary
excavations. During the reported seasons 2018 and 2019 the tunnels have been surveyed,
photographed and scanned. The collected data allowed to reconstruct a precise plan of
the throne-room wing and to create 3D models. In the investigated area a lot of inscribed
brick were found, mostly from the reign of Sennacherib. The walls of the main rooms were
covered with gypsum panels bearing short royal inscriptions on their back sides. Except
of winged bulls arranged in pairs at the main entrances they were undecorated. The
decoration of the walls consisted originally of glazed bricks with patterns of rosettes and
strips, but also of figural motives. During the 2019 campaign a small treasury room was
excavated in the north of the throne-room containing remains of the Egyptian artefacts
brought to Ninive as booty or tribute by Esarhaddon or Ashurbanipal.

The exploration, investigation, and archaeological excavations brought us many names
of archaeological sites and hills. However, there are still a large number of unknown and
unexcavated sites. It is known that archaeological excavations aim at discovering human
products in the past at any site, moreover, presenting and submitting these findings to
researchers for study and analysis in order to reach results that lead to documenting the
history of those sites.
The result of the excavations of Tell Al-Layeh was that it represented a well-known
era in Mesopotamia, although it was an era of occupation, but it left its distinctive and
well-known artistic productions in the land of Mesopotamia on a large scale, namely the
Parthian era, which lasted more than a century.

State Board of Antiquities and Heritage conducted an excavations project in 2013
(fourth season) at Abu al-Zaar site which located in Babylon governorate 4.8 km to the
south-east of ancient Babylon city. The excavations activities unearthed many storage
rooms, pottery kilns with groups of different kind and size of pottery objects such as jars,
cups, plates and big numbers of covers those used with jars, it was probably was industrial
area to make pottery vessels. On the floor of the rooms many silver and copper coins
found those gave us an evidence that our site dated to the Sasanian period

This research dealt with the various pottery products that were discovered during the
salvage excavations of a part of the Alwat al-Fahl site in the Najaf governorate. The pottery
finds varied between pottery jars of different sizes and shapes, pots and lamps, and
pottery dolls of different colours, industries and decorative styles. Also, some of those
pottery came glazed, and all dated to the late Abbasid era, when the pottery and ceramics
industry reached the stage of creativity.

These cones are a small group in relation to the large number of similar pottery cones
that were discovered in the city of Lagash, which date back to the reign of Prince Kudia.
The four are similar in shape, signs and content with slight difference in some signs,
advance and delay of some lines. At the beginning, the name of the god Ningishzida is
given for blessing, then the name King Gudia, the name of the city, then the name of the
goddess Catom Dok, the name of the erected temple, and the verb built, and in comparison
with published cones, these phrases are essential in each cone.

The platforms and terraces were among the most important issues of Iraqi architecture,
whether in temples or palaces. Kings and rulers were interested in building them for
themselves or for their gods. The terraces and platforms are divided according to their
function, including a terrace for offering, for placing the statue of the gods, and a decision
–making terrace. As for the materials from which they are made, they are similar to the
ones that used in the Iraqi architecture, whether it was brick, adobe brick or stone, and
sometimes decorated with precious materials such as gold and silver.

Stone statues are considered among the arts made by the Mesopotamian inhabitants
since ancient times. These statues were a direct result of man’s perceptions about the
manifestations of nature and its impact on his life and to enjoy goodness and fertility.
The iconography developed, and the purposes that were carved for, their sizes, and
methods of carving varied in different periods. It is well known that the ancient Assyrian
period was one of the periods shrouded with mystery from the political and artistic
aspects. As we have received few artistic models compared to the medieval and modern
Assyrian periods, especially with stereoscopic carving, which is the subject of research.
Accordingly, five unpublished humanity stone statues dating back to the ancient Assyrian
period were studied and represented by stereoscopic sculpture of human statues obtained
through excavations from different archaeological sites that overshadowed part of the
arts of that period.

Owl is considered one of the familiar raptors in the environment of Mesopotamia and
to the present time. It rarely appears in the daytime as it is active at night. The cuneiform
texts have indicated the existence of owls since the Sumerian period, but its figure was not
implemented on the artistic scenes until the ancient Babylonian era. The research deals
with owls in cuneiform texts and technical evidences including the environment and anatomical
features of owls. The research is divided into two axes. The first axis deals with
the existence of owls in cuneiform texts, in addition to several paragraphs about naming,
its association with the goddess, analogy, literary writings, and evil spirits. While the
second axis deals with owls in artistic scenes. The research also includes conclusions,
sources and images.

The research sheds light on an important aspect of ancient Egyptian history during the
eighteenth dynasty, especially during the reign of Amenhotep III (1405 - 1367 BC) and
his son Amenhotep (IV) (1367 - 1350 BC), who were got married with foreign princesses
from the regions of the ancient Near East for political and diplomatic reasons, as evidenced
by the texts contained in the Amarna letters.

The thought of the Mesopotamian man has deep roots in the depth of human civilization,
and his choice of symbols of authority did not come out of the blue, but rather due
to his ideology and philosophy in this choice. The symbols of authority, although they are
known among the local people, they are reflecting religious political ,social and economic
significations. the choice of symbols from the social motive had a great impact in drawing
the superiority and highness image of these symbols in the thought of the Mesopotamian.
The simulation that these symbols addressed to the Mesopotamian man came to reflect
the respect of man and influenced by the logic of power and his sovereignty at that time
through the symbols of the crown ,the stick ,and the scepter ,as a simulation of human
thought and his ambition to build and rise through the use of the symbols of (the throne,
the rob ,and the ring).

The usages and linguistic phenomena in the Arabic language are many, and we may
find a familiar usage that was explained by the grammarians and interpreted with several
interpretations. At the same time, we find linguistic usages that were interpreted as
not being regular in the language, or that they are abnormal or extraneous usages, or
attributed by mistake to certain peoples who spoke them, as happened in the language of
(Yataakabouna fikum malaika) or the language of (akaluni albaraghith), which was said
to be the language of (Bilharith).
We have mentioned within this research the reasons for the linguistic overlapping and
mixing and the transition, directly or indirectly, from the ancient to the modern, then tothe most up to date. We have found abundant examples in the Akkadian language for the
presence of two subjects in one sentence. If we search in the rest of the Samic languages,
we will find an explanation for this use and those phenomena. We also discussed the
relationship of grammatical elements in the composition of the Akkadian sentence and
the obligation to make the subject nominative and the object accusative, i.e. accepting
the effect of the verb, as is the case in the Arabic language. Most of our evidences were
the legal texts in the Code of Hammurabi for strict grammatical adherence, and among
many verbal morphological formulas and some nominal ones, we found a perfect match
between the Arabic and Akkadian formulas in the structure and meaning, and the selected
formulas were the basic formulas for the verb movement in the Akkadian language.

The research sheds light on an important aspect of the Assyrian history between
(681-858 BC) by documenting the military victories achieved by King šalman-Ashrad
(Shalmaneser III) (824-858 BC) and his successors on the Assyrian throne from one side
and another Finally, the research also focuses on the immortalization of the narrative
project of King Sin-Akhee-Rib (Sennacherib) (681-704BC) with relief carving and cuneiform
text executed on the facades of the mountainous heights of various shapes and sizes
to commemorate the achievements of the kings of Assyria in the northern and eastern
sides and to be far from all Staying away from the hands of abusers. Also, rock carvings
are considered one of the means of propaganda and media for the Assyrians, so these
sculptures are an important source for the study of modern Assyrian history.

This research deals with the study of the planning and architectural details of one of the
heritage houses located in the Erbil Citadel, which has not been studied before and has
become a very important matter, especially as it suffers from ruin, many of which are in
poor condition and some maintenance is currently being carried out focused on the important
and main buildings. A planning, architectural and documentary study is a must,
and in this research the study is devoted to House No. (3/45).

immemorial. Man’s belief in the existence of the influence of hidden forces that bring
him bad luck and the necessity of seeking help from mighty powers, led him to do things,
that suggest to him, that have magical power affecting his life. When Islam came, there
were some Hadiths of the Prophet that prohibited the possession of amulets, but these
Hadiths did not weaken or reduce the people’s use of amulets. Rather, this belief has
continued to develop and spread widely in the Islamic era and to this day. Amulets had
many uses, including protection from the evil eye and evil, healing from diseases and
calamities, and to bring goodness, blessing, luck and good fortune. The texts and references
found in historical books about the use of amulets and belief in them, and what is
included in the treasuries of international museums of various examples of these amulets
and incantations dating back to the Islamic era are only evidences of the continued use
and belief in amulets in the Islamic era.

In this research, we dealt with the ways to protect and preserve archaeological sites
and historical monuments according to what we have reached, with some conclusions
and recommendations that we found necessary to sustain the protection and preservation
processes.
Therefore, developing a strategy to work on protecting, preserving and revitalizing archaeological
sites and historical monuments is extremely important, and all international
and national efforts must join forces to achieve the desired goal.

The British Museum archive preserves hundreds of letters
sent by collectors of archaeological artefacts found
in Iraq who regularly wrote in the late 19th century from
Baghdad to offer smuggled cuneiform tablets for sale to
the department of Egyptian and Assyrian antiquities. Elias
Gejou and Ibrahim Elias Gejou are among the many antiquities
dealers who made such sales to the department, and
given their patronym. It is natural to speculate they may
have been from the same family. But if so, how were they
related? In order to bring their relationship to light, this
article presents archival material that demonstrate Elias
Gejou was the father of the well-known antiquities dealer
Ibrahim Elias Gejou.

The New Sumerian Period represents the economic prosperity
period in Mesopotamia, as each city state had its
own prominent and distinct economy from the other. Among
these cities is the city of Umma, which represents one of the
important cities from which we received many economic
texts that provided us with a clear image of the economic
life in Mesopotamia and the most important families that
dominated the economy at that time. The content of the
cuneiform texts written in Umma varies; such as the texts
of distribution of materials, sales and purchase contracts,
etc…
The text that we are about to study here is one of the many
texts related to the leasing and distribution of animals,
which showed the types of animals that existed at that time,
their uses, and the people who disposed of those animals,
whether they were sold, bought, rented, or slaughtered.
The text presents group of field animals namely: bulls,
cows, donkeys, and female donkeys, they were dedicated to
clearance for plowing and received by the plowmen or for
slaughter, or they may have died, all these animals were
dedicated to clearance in one day.