KHANKE, Iraq: Archaeologists in drought-hit Iraq have discovered 40 ancient tombs after water levels in the country’s largest reservoir declined, an antiquities official said on Saturday.
The tombs, believed to be over 2,300 years old, were unearthed at the edges of the Mosul Dam reservoir in the Khanke region of Duhok province in the country’s north.
“So far, we have discovered approximately 40 tombs,” said Bekas Brefkany, the director of antiquities in Duhok, who is leading the archaeological work at the site.
Iraq, which is particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, has been facing rising temperatures, chronic water shortages, and year-on-year droughts.
His team surveyed the area in 2023 but only spotted parts of a few tombs.
