Stone slab discovery reveals clues to major deities of ancient Assyrian empire
A huge stone slab discovered near the Iraqi city of Mosul offers new clues to the major deities of the ancient Assyrians, who ruled one of antiquity's great empires.
Unearthed by a German team at the ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh, the relief depicts the 7th-century BC ruler King Ashurbanipal, flanked by the gods Ashur and Ishtar. They are accompanied by a mythological creature known as a fish genius, who granted the gods and the king life and salvation.
'These figures suggest that a massive winged sun disk was originally mounted above the relief,' one of the archaeologists said, adding that more work is needed to fully understand the monument's significance.
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