Evidence of the items on display in the Nergal Gate Museum is provided by the photographic database "Nineveh & Nebi Yunis photos 2008," "
Nimrud 2008-10," and "
Nimrud Survey Photos Bott Oct 2008," posted on March 7, 2015 to the IraqCrisis Mailing List by Suzanne E.
the world, including the Lewis Chessmen and the
Nimrud Ivories,
Many of the items on display originate from archaeological sites in Iraq, including Nineveh and
Nimrud, cities recently ravaged by Daesh when the group stormed the ancient sites armed with sledgehammers and drills.
The world watched in horror as video footage emerged of ISIS's destruction of sites in Iraq and Syria, particularly the April 2015 destruction of the ancient Assyrian palace at
Nimrud, Iraq, and the October 2015 destruction of the Arch of Triumph and the Temple of Bel at the Roman site of Palmyra, Syria.
The Ancient Civilizations Forum, established in Athens on April 24, seeks to protect ancient heritage from extremism, particularly in Syria and northern Iraq from the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group, which sabotages and destroys ancient places in Palmyra, Nineveh and
Nimrud.
Herrmann tells the story of a few of the magnificent carved ivories that archaeologists have found at
Nimrud, where Assyrian kings had collected them from all over the Levant.
During the early first millennium bce (known historically as "The Age of Ivory") literally thousands of carved ivories found their way to the Assyrian capital city of Kalhu, or modern
Nimrud, in northern Iraq.
Her book begins with a memory of visiting the historical site of
Nimrud as a girl, and a quick mention of the fact that the site's famous winged lions have since been destroyed by the group Daesh, or ISIL.
In March 2015, ISIS fighters destroyed Iraq's ancient Assyrian city of
Nimrud. In July 2014, extremists in Mosul destroyed what was believed to be the tomb of Jonah, a key figure in Christianity, Judaism and Islam, among others.
They also ransacked the ancient palace in the Assyrian city of
Nimrud south of Mosul.
A fragment of an Assyrian-era relief shows the image of a genie holding a pine cone at the ancient site of
Nimrud, destroyed by Islamic State group militants.