The discovery of the ruins in the Mosul Dam reservoir on the banks of the Tigris river inspired a spontaneous archeological dig that will improve understanding of the Mittani Empire, one of the least-researched empires of the Ancient Near East, the Kurdish-German team of researchers said in a press release.
"The find is one of the most important archaeological discoveries in the region in recent decades," said Kurdish archeologist Hasan Ahmed Qasim.