A 3,400-year-old city has been discovered by a team of researchers in the Tigris River, Iraq due to a severe drought that depletes its water resources. The palace and several large buildings have been discovered possibly Zakhiku, which was an important city in the Mittani Empire from 1550 to 1350 BC.
In a press release, the researchers say that rising global temperatures and variable rainfall are factors that make Iraq “one of the countries in the world hardest hit by climate change.” climate”.
Wasana Punyasena, Mercy Corps’ deputy country director for Iraq, told The Lancet in October 2021: “Amid growing populations and the climate crisis, water scarcity in Iraq threatens to exacerbate it. conflict, food insecurity, health conditions and economic instability.
“The loss of water from rivers and drought threatens at least seven million people in Iraq,” Punyasena added.
Agriculture is one of Iraq’s largest economic sectors and since December 2021, huge amounts of water have been pumped out of the Mosul reservoir to protect crops from drought. The high demand for water caused the reservoir to dry up enough for the city to emerge on the nearby Tigris River.
This isn’t the first time the ancient city has surfaced – archaeologists began excavating the site in late 2018 when the water level in the reservoir receded during a severe drought.The researchers stated that the degree of drying of the reservoir by 2022 was “an unforeseen event” and put sudden pressure on archaeologists to document the city as much as possible before when the water level is replenished.Pottery containing inscribed clay tablets were also found, and the researchers hope that they will provide information about the end of the ancient city and the rise of Assyria.
