Atabeg era antiquities discovered in Al-Nuri Mosque in Mosul, Iraq

MOSUL, Iraq — The Iraqi Antiquities and Heritage Authority stated that during joint work between the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and cadres of the General Authority for Antiquities and Heritage, important antiquities were discovered in Al-Nuri Mosque and its leaning minaret — the hunchback, al-Ḥadbā — in the old city of Mosul.

According to the Authority, four rooms were found under the chapel of Al-Nuri Mosque, connected to each other by gates. The rooms are about 3.5 meters wide and 3 meters Tall and built of plaster and stone.

The floors of the rooms are paved with stones in the form of a corridor. On both sides, there are rectangular and square basins covered with bitumen dating back to the Atabeg era. Columns were found separating these rooms. Historians suggested that they were columns of the Church of the Forty Martyrs.

It is believed that the mosque was built on top of the church.