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Soldiers helping restore cultural treasures in Ninevah

Aug- 6-2004 » Filed Under: Iraq News

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By Sgt. 1st Class Julie Friedman

Local workers painstakingly recreate the ramp leading up to the Nergal Gate using the authentic Assyrian cobblestone pattern.

MOSUL, Iraq (Army News Service, Aug. 6, 2004) - Two major historic sites in Mosul dating back to the 8th century B.C. are being restored with help from the 416th Civil Affairs Battalion.

Maj. Wayne Bowen, head of the 416th’s Higher Education and Antiquities Team, is working with Ninevah Director of Antiquities, Muzahim Mahmood, to facilitate restoration projects at the Nergal Gate and King Sennacheribe’s palace.[...]

The 416th is working with UNESCO to complete the second phase of the project, which will provide additional security with an improved fence and lighting, improve the road for better access and remove a large oil tank that was installed on the property during the Second World War.

Bowen hopes that once the site is restored and protected it will again be an important site for tourism, along with the renovated Nergal Gate.

“They are a part of the cultural heritage of Iraq and they belong to the people of Iraq, but they are also an essential part of the history of mankind,” he said. “So much of what we know about the beginnings of civilization, culture and technology came directly from this region of the world.”


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