Researchers have made a number of intriguing discoveries at an ancient city that served as a short-lived capital for one of antiquity’s most significant and powerful empires.
The settlement—known as Dur-Sharrukin—is located at the site of present-day Khorsabad, a village in northern Iraq. It was constructed during the reign of King Sargon II, who ruled the Assyrian empire from 721 B.C. until his death in 705 B.C.
Sargon built the city, which he named after himself, to serve as the new capital of the empire. But he was killed unexpectedly in battle, with his son and successor relocating the capital to the settlement of Nineveh shortly afterwards. Dur-Sharrukin was gradually abandoned in the subsequent decades, having never been fully completed.
Now, a research team have announced the results of an investigation into the ancient archaeological site that revealed evidence of previously unknown buildings and infrastructure within the square city walls, which enclose an area of more than one square mile. The findings indicate that more construction had been completed at the site than previously thought.
Research at Dur-Sharrukin has been hampered by conflict in recent years. In 2015, members of the Islamic State (IS) destroyed parts of the ancient city, and shortly afterwards the area saw fighting between Kurdish and IS soldiers.
But in 2022, a team led by Jörg Fassbinder of Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Germany, mapped around seven percent of the city area using a high-resolution magnetometer. This device can identify characteristic magnetic properties in various types of soil, rock and other materials, allowing archaeologists to “see” hidden features below the ground.
In order to conduct the survey, the researchers carried the magnetometer system, which weighs around 33 pounds, by hand, walking in long straight lines to cover a total area of 2.79 million square feet over the course of a week. Given the turbulent nature of the region, the team decided not to mount the magnetometer to a drone or another vehicle so as not to attract unwanted attention.
After collecting the magnetic data, the team were able to generate grayscale images of the site that revealed the outlines of several previously unknown structures. These include five huge monumental buildings, including what appears to be a 127-room villa that is twice the size of the White House. The survey also identified other intriguing features, such as possible palace gardens.
“Every day we discovered something new,” Fassbinder said in a press release.
“All of this was found with no excavation. Excavation is very expensive, so the archaeologists wanted to know in detail what they could expect to achieve by digging. The survey saved time and money. It’s a necessary tool before starting any excavation.”
In one site of interest identified by the survey, the team did dig a a small test trench, which confirmed the existence of a “very substantial” building with 13-foot thick walls made out of mud brick that appear to be up to four feet high.
The features identified by the survey will require further investigation, but the work has already provided significant new insights into the development of the short-lived ancient capital.
The research findings were presented on Monday, December 9 at the American Geophysical Union’s 2024 Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.—although the findings have yet to be published in a peer-reviewed journal.
Do you have a tip on a science story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about archaeology? Let us know via science@newsweek.com.