The excavation took place in all kinds of weather. The pressure was on to complete as much work as possible before the water completely covered the site again.
“We were under a lot of pressure since it was unclear how much time we would have and when the water would rise again,” Puljiz said. “We owe the great results to an extremely motivated and dedicated team that worked almost nonstop for several weeks in all kinds of weather including snow, rain, fog, hail and storms.”
“Since the city was located directly on the Tigris, it may have played an important role in connecting the core region of the Mittani Empire, which was located in present-day northeastern Syria, and the empire’s eastern periphery,” Puljiz said.
The team found partially standing towers, a palace and several other large buildings among the ruins of a fortified outpost. The researchers also found fortified walls. The city was built with sun-dried mud bricks.
The dig also unearthed five ceramic vessels containing more than 100 tablets inscribed with cuneiform script. These artifacts appear to be an ancient correspondence method. And appear to date back to the Middle Assyrian period. Which means they were in use after the earthquake.
