Archaeologists uncover ancient Lamassu in Iraq

(Photo/Iraq State Board of Antiquities and Heritage via Facebook)

The Word | Oct. 24, 2023

A team of Iraqi and French archaeologists have re-excavated an ancient Assyrian winged-bull statue in northern Iraq after decades of lying underground. 

Iraq’s State Board of Antiquities and Heritage said in a statement Tuesday that the winged bull, made of one contiguous piece of stone, was uncovered in Khorsabad, also called Dur-Sharrukin, a village in northern Iraq approximately 15 km northeast of Mosul. According to the statement, the relic was originally discovered in 1992 before the head of the bull was stolen in 1995 and eventually recovered and preserved in the Iraq Museum. History Daily reports the remaining structure was reburied for preservation amid tensions after the Gulf War. 

This particular winged bull, or Lamassu, dates back to the Neo-Assyrian empire under the reign of King Sargon II, whose palace was housed in Khorsabad. In March of 2015, ISIS reportedly razed the city, targeting and destroying troves of cultural heritage.