Archaeologists have discovered 30 ancient tombs on the banks of Mosul dam in Iraq after water levels declined.
The tombs are believed to be more than 2,300 years old and were unearthed at the edges of the Mosul dam reservoir in the Khanke region of the Duhok province in the north of the country, reported the AFP news agency.
“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.
The dam, on the Tigris River about 50km from Mosul, provides power and water to many areas in Iraq's north. Over the past several years, droughts have enabled archaeologists to discover ruins dating back thousands of years in the same area.
“The droughts have a significant impact on many aspects like agriculture and electricity. But for us archaeologists … it allows us to do excavation work,” Mr Brefkany said. The newly discovered tombs are said to date back as far as the Hellenistic or Hellenistic-Seleucid period, according to Mr Brefkany.
Further work is under way to excavate the tombs and transfer them to the Duhok Museum for further study and preservation, before the area becomes submerged again.
Iraq is particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change and has been facing rising temperatures, chronic water shortages and year-on-year droughts. Temperatures have risen to 48°C in many areas of Iraq this summer, with some provinces registering higher than 50°C. Many residents are swimming in rivers and using water hoses to cool off.
The latest heatwave this summer has highlighted Iraq’s vulnerability to climate change, with the UN ranking it the fifth most at risk from global warming. Iraq has endured its worst drought in decades and summer temperatures, particularly in July and August, often soar above 50°C.
Since it was built in 1980, the dam has required regular maintenance involving injections of cement on leaking areas, in a process called grouting. The dam was briefly seized by the extremist group ISIS in 2014, leading to a lapse in maintenance that weakened its already flawed structure.
Under a $300 million contract funded by the World Bank, an Italian company called Trevi carried out maintenance and repair works in 2016.
