After IS declared a caliphate in the summer of 2014, thousands of archaeological sites in Iraq fell into the hands of its fighters. Archaeologists returning to areas recaptured from IS have found other ancient sites turned into parking lots, statues smashed and manuscripts disappeared.
Magnificent winged bulls which guarded the entrance to the Nergal Gate have been mutilated and Nebi Yunus, the site of a palace, has suffered far greater damage than expected and is in danger of collapse because of tunnelling. At Nebi Yunus, it seems that IS was driven out just in time.
At Nebi Yunus, it seems that IS was driven out just in time. Iraqi forces found a network of tunnels, largely following the course of ancient sculptures which lined the palace walls.While these tunnels have hugely damaged the archaeology of the mound, IS did not have time to loot or destroy these sculptures.
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