Excavation reveals significant ancient structures in Iraq’s Kirkuk province dating back 4,000 years

Mudbrick structures and artefacts believed to date back to the 3rd and 2nd millennia BCE

Excavations in Kirkuk province in northern Iraq reveal ancient structures and artefacts dating back to 4,000 years. Photo: The General Authority for Antiquities and Heritage

Scientists have discovered an ancient settlement with hundreds of artefacts in Iraq, believed to be more than 4,000 years old, as efforts to explore the country's trove of historical sites intensify.

While digging at a mound known locally as the Arab Kombt, in the province of Kirkuk, archaeologists found structures believed to date back to the third and second millennia BCE, between the Early Dynastic and Old Babylonian eras, the General Authority for Antiquities and Heritage said late on Tuesday.

They discovered mud-brick buildings, workshops, pottery kilns and graves containing funerary items. As many as 250 artefacts were recovered, such as pottery jars, figurines, seals, stones and metals, which indicate the industry and trade activities of the time, authorities said.

Iraq has nearly 25,000 known archaeological sites, most of which have been badly affected by decades of war and mismanagement. Many of these sites were neglected and closed to the public and became an easy target for looters as they were poorly guarded.

Major excavation projects were disrupted by the Iraq-Iran war in the 1980s and subsequent conflicts, including the militia violence that followed the 2003 US-led invasion and the war against ISIS after the extremist group seized large areas of northern and western in Iraq in 2014.

Over the past decade, archaeologists from the US, UK, France, Germany and Italy began returning in numbers as the security situation improved to work alongside their Iraqi counterparts. Notable finds have been made in recent years, including a monumental rock-carving relief dating back to the reign of the Assyrian King Sinharib (705 to 681BC). Work is also under way to restore sites such as Al Nuri Mosque, several churches and museum in the northern city of Mosul, all of which were damaged by ISIS before its defeat in 2017.

Kirkuk, about 270km north of Baghdad, is located near the foot of the Zagros Mountains in northern Iraq. The oldest part of its capital, Kirkuk city, is clustered around a citadel built on an ancient mound. The city was called Arrapha during the period of Assyrian prominence between ninth and 10th centuries BCE.

After the 1991 Gulf War, when a US-led international coalition repelled Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait and the UN imposed economic sanctions, illegal archaeological digs became widespread, mainly in remote areas that troops were unable to secure. With the fall of Baghdad during the 2003 US-led invasion that ended Saddam's regime, looters broke into the Iraqi National Museum and made off with priceless artefacts, only a few thousand of which have been recovered.

Looters continue to dig at unprotected archaeological sites, leading to hundreds of artefacts showing up on the international market. With the help of the international community, Iraq has managed to retrieve thousands of pieces of its stolen heritage from various countries.