Archaeologists in Iraq defy militants
Archaeologists from the University of Manchester have been working in Iraq and making "significant discoveries", while Islamic State militants have been bulldozing historic Assyrian sites. "If the militants think they can erase history we are helping to make sure that can't happen," said archaeologist Jane Moon. They have been excavating a Babylonian administrative centre from 1500BC. It has […]Sean Coughlan reports for the BBC:
Archaeologists from the University of Manchester have been working in Iraq and making "significant discoveries", while Islamic State militants have been bulldozing historic Assyrian sites. "If the militants think they can erase history we are helping to make sure that can't happen," said archaeologist Jane Moon. They have been excavating a Babylonian administrative centre from 1500BC. It has provided more than 300 artefacts for the Iraq Museum in Baghdad. The Manchester archaeologists, believed to be on one of only two international teams operating in non-Kurdish Iraq, have returned to the UK after three months of fieldwork, near to the ancient city of Ur.
