Nineveh
Kuyunjik / Nebi Yunus
Iraq · Nineveh
In brief
Nineveh, on the east bank of the Tigris, was the last capital of the Assyrian Empire. Palaces, temples and extensive tablet archives have been uncovered at the excavation site, which includes the mounds of Kuyunjik and Nebi Yunus.
What was found?
- 1Library of Ashurbanipal tablets
Cuneiform tablets found in the palaces contain texts on divination, religious practices, and other fields of knowledge. Records on the tablets also provide information about the collection and copying of works.
- 2Lion hunt reliefs
Stone reliefs decorating Ashurbanipal's North Palace depict the king's lion hunt. They allow the representation of the ruler in palace art to be examined.
- 3Sennacherib's Southwest Palace
The palace Sennacherib commissioned after making Nineveh his capital. Parts of the building later also housed Ashurbanipal's tablet collections.
What does it point to?
At Nineveh, palace architecture, images of rulers, and collections of written knowledge came together within the same administrative milieu. Tablets brought from different Mesopotamian centers and recopied show that knowledge circulated between individuals and cities.
What did it teach us?
- Documented that texts were collected, copied, and catalogued in Assyrian palaces.
- Showed that palace collections included tablets from different cities and private owners.
- Enabled the architecture of the last Assyrian capital and the visual representation of its rulers to be understood through concrete remains.
Images
Latest news / selected archive
In 2022, stone reliefs dating to Sennacherib's reign and approximately 2,700 years old were found during excavation and restoration work at the Mashki Gate.
Record
- Culture
- Assyrian
- Team / historical
- University of Pennsylvania Iraq Heritage Stabilization Program and Iraqi State Board of Antiquities and Heritage
- Coordinates
- 36.3594°, 43.1528°
Sources
- archeologie.culture.gouv.fr
- web.sas.upenn.edu
- nationalgeographic.com
- en.wikipedia.org
- Yale Üniversitesi — Cuneiform Commentaries Project
Nearby excavations
- Nimrud 33 km
- Ashur 101 km
- Teppe Hasanlu 218 km
- Çavuştepe Fortress 223 km
- Ayanis Fortress 261 km
- Zerzevan Castle 274 km
- —
- —
- 12.000
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All excavation sites (395)
Türkiye
- Acemhöyük
- Aizanoi
- Alabanda
- Alacahöyük
- Amos
- Ani
- Aphrodisias
- Arslantepe Mound
- Aspendos
- Assos
- Ayanis Fortress
- Aşıklı Höyük
- Barcın Höyük
- Blaundus
- Boncuklu Höyük
- Can Hasan I
- Carchemish
- Claros Sanctuary
- Clazomenae
- Domuztepe
- Ephesus
- Euromus
- Gordion
- Göbekli Tepe
- Hadrianopolis in Paphlagonia
- Hattusha
- Hierapolis
- Iasos
- Kaman-Kalehöyük
- Karahantepe
- Karatepe-Aslantaş
- Kaunos
- Kibyra
- Knidos
- Kültepe-Kanesh
- Laodicea on the Lycus
- Letoon Sanctuary
- Limyra
- Magnesia on the Maeander
- Medieval City of Beçin
- Metropolis in Ionia
- Miletus
- Myra
- Nemrut Dağ
- Nysa on the Maeander
- Olympus in Lycia
- Oymaağaç Höyük — Nerik
- Patara
- Pergamon
- Perge
- Phaselis
- Priene
- Sagalassos
- Sanctuary of Apollo at Didyma
- Sanctuary of Labraunda
- Sapinuwa
- Sardis
- Sayburç
- Side
- Stratonikeia
- Tell Atchana – Alalakh
- Teos
- Tripolis on the Meander
- Troy
- Uluburun Shipwreck
- Xanthos
- Yenikapı – Theodosian Harbour Excavations
- Yeşilova Höyük
- Yumuktepe
- Zerzevan Castle
- Zeugma
- Zincirli Höyük — Sam'al
- Çatalhöyük
- Çavuştepe Fortress
- Çayönü
- Çukuriçi Höyük
