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Archaeologists have discovered 2,700-year-old rock paintings in the northern part of Iraq depicting military scenes and trees from the time of the Assyrian Empire, BTA reported.

The carvings on marble slabs were discovered in Iraq's second-largest city, Mosul, by experts working to restore the site of the ancient Mashki Gate, which was bulldozed by Islamic State militants in 2016.

Fadhil Mohammed, head of the restoration work, said the team was surprised to find "eight wall paintings with inscriptions, decorative drawings and written characters".

A tomb from the time of Ramesses II has been discovered in Israel

Mashki was one of the largest gates of Nineveh, an ancient Assyrian city in this part of the historical region of Mesopotamia.

The carvings discovered show a warrior preparing to shoot an arrow, while others depict palm trees. 

"The writings show that these murals were built or made during the reign of King Sennacherib," added Muhammad, referring to the ruler of the Neo-Assyrian Empire who ruled from 705 to 681 BC.

The Islamic State group seized large parts of Iraq and Syria in 2014 and has waged a campaign of systematic destruction of priceless archaeological sites in both countries.

Extremists vandalized museums and destroyed major archaeological sites in their desire to erase history.

Iraqi forces, backed by a US-led international coalition, liberated Mosul from Islamic State in 2017. Two years later, the militants lost the last piece of land they once controlled.

Some of the earliest cities in the world were located in what is now Iraq.

Thousands of archaeological sites are scattered across the country where the Sumerians, Babylonians and Assyrians once lived.

Iraq

rock paintings