Vandals damage 3000-year-old Assyrian wall sculptures

A wall sculpture dating back 3000 years to King Sennacherib, King of Assyria (705-681 BCE) has been vandalised for the second time in a few years by vandals using painted Islamic slogans.

Islamic religious graffiti on the 3000-year-old engraved sculptures. Credit: Naseem.jpg

In the past, a similar incident occurred where this sculpture on the wall of Shandokha in the Duhok province was vandalised by painting the Kurdish flag.

The perpetrator or group responsible for that act remains unknown.

Naseem Sadiq interviewed Dr Bakis Jamaladdin Hasan Albrifkani, the Duhok Antiquities Director, to discuss this incident.

Dr Bakis Jamaladdin Hasan Albrifkani, Director of the Duhok Antiquities. Credit: Naseem.jpg

According to Dr Albrifkani, the vandals concealed their identities using Islamic slogans and failed to realise the damage they caused to such a valuable and historically significant artefact.

Authorities have ordered the removal of the paintings from the wall and are planning to turn the location into a tourist spot.

For further details, please refer to the interview.