3000 year-old Nimrud still lies in destruction скачать в хорошем качестве

3000 year-old Nimrud still lies in destruction

(24 Feb 2020) LEAD IN: In Iraq, the archaeological site of Nimrud still lies in ruins three years after the liberation of the area from the Islamic State group. Iraqi officials say unexploded devices on site are the main obstacle hindering the restoration process of the ancient monument. STORY-LINE: Nearly 3,000 years ago the city of Nimrud, also known as Kalhu, was the capital of the powerful Assyrian Empire. Now, the site is mere ruins. In 2015, the Islamic State group destroyed the ancient city almost erasing one of the most important archaeological sites in the Middle East. Now, more than three years after the militants were driven out, Nimrud still looks ravaged , its treasures disappearing. "Since it (Nimrud site) was blown up and since its liberation (retaken from IS) and up until now, we haven't seen any artifact, or a landmark being restored," says local resident Salah Hamid. The wreckage of the Assyrian Empire's ancient capital lies unprotected and vulnerable. Fragments of ancient reliefs, chunks of cuneiform texts, pieces of statues and other rubble are scattered everywhere. IS militants had boasted of the destruction to purge their self-declared "caliphate" of anything they deemed pagan or heretical. They had dismantled the winged bulls, known as Lamassu. The bearded male heads of the statues are also missing — likely taken to be sold on the black market as IS has done with other artifacts. An entire palace was blown up with explosives, along with the temples of Nabu and of the goddess Ishtar. The Smithsonian Institution initiated a project in 2017 to support the restoration of the site. They started training staff from the Nineveh board of heritage on collecting and documenting the artifacts. In the first stage of the restoration , the rescue team of Nimrud site initiated the collecting samples of the artifacts for documentation purposes. The second phase of the restoration started at the end of 2019. But the process is going very slow, says Zaid Ghazi, head of Nimrud site rescue team. "The site was blown up and it still contains many explosives and IEDs that might not have exploded yet. This poses a complete threat to the members of the (rescue) team. If another explosion occurred, it would lead to a further destruction of the site, God forbid. We are awaiting for the arrival of a specialized team that will support us with scanning the area," explains Ghazi. Nimrud was the seat of power of the Assyrian empire from 879-709 BC, an era when Assyrian armies expanded out across the Levant, capturing Damascus and other cities, crushing the kingdom of Israel and turning its neighbour Judah into a vassal. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...