Deciphered Clay Tablets Reveal Whereabouts of Lost City

Archaeologists had always known that the Northern Mesopotamian city of Mardaman had existed, they just didn’t know where. They had read about it in ancient texts, and knew that it had existed as a provincial capital that had been conquered and destroyed many times between 2200 and 1200 BC, but they just didn’t know exactly where it lay.

University of Tuebingen Until now. From the NY Post: The discovery of clay tablets in Iraqi Kurdistan has helped archaeologists unlock the mystery of an ancient lost city. The 92 clay tablets were unearthed last summer by archaeologists from Germany’s University of Tübingen during an excavation in the village of Bassetki. Stored in a pottery vessel and wrapped with clay, experts believe that they may have been hidden away for posterity.

Bassetki Mound - University of Tuebingen The tablets were deciphered and revealed that they city was indeed Mardaman and that it had been the seat of a governor for a previously unknown Assyrian Empire province. Again from NY Post: “All of a sudden it became clear that our excavations had found an Assyrian governor’s palace,” added Professor Peter Pfälzner of the University of Tübingen, who led the excavation. “Mardaman certainly rose to be an influential city and a regional kingdom, based on its position on the trade routes between Mesopotamia, Anatolia and Syria.”

_ _

Wikipedia The Bronze Age site at Bassetki was first discovered in 2013 by archaeologists from the University of Tübingen. Other last cities have been discovered in Iraq in recent years. Last year, for example, archaeologists harnessed spy satellite imagery and drones to help identify the site of an ancient lost city in Northern Iraq.

_ _

Max Pixel The site, Qalatga Darband, was first spotted when archaeologists analyzed US spy satellite imagery from the 1960s that were declassified in the 1990s. Experts at the British Museum used the data to map a large number of carved limestone blocks at the site, indicating substantial remains. A drone survey highlighted other potential buildings at the site.