2,600-year-old relief on Nineveh’s glorious past unearthed in Assyrian royal palace

NINEVEH, Beth Nahrin (Iraq) — A team from Germany’s Heidelberg University has uncovered a 2,600-year-old relief in the western section of a throne room within a royal palace in ancient Nineveh, the historic capital of the Assyrian Empire in northern Iraq.  

Discovered after years of excavations that began in 2018, the intricately carved panel depicts a ceremonial scene featuring key religious and political symbols of Assyrian power. It shows the supreme Assyrian god Ashur alongside Ishtar, the goddess of love and war and patron deity of Nineveh, standing beside King Ashurbanipal, a powerful visual representation of the divine protection believed to shield Assyrian rulers. 

This discovery is exceptionally rare, since no similar relief has been documented before, making it a crucial discovery for understanding the ideological and political foundations of Assyrian civilization. 

Researchers from the German team stated that the relief serves as tangible evidence of the architectural and religious symbolism used to reinforce the majesty of Assyrian kings. They noted that the throne hall itself was designed to project imperial power, reaffirming Nineveh’s status as a dominant capital in ancient Beth Nahrain (Mesopotamia). 

Alongside the relief, the team continues to document the palace’s structure and the ancient water channels that once supplied the city, aiming to reconstruct daily life and royal ceremonies in one of the ancient Near East’s most influential cities. 

The team hopes these findings will raise global awareness of Assyrian heritage and support preservation efforts for the archaeological sites of northern Beth Nahrin, many of which have suffered severe damage due to the conflicts of recent years.