Discovery amid Destruction

‘Return to Babylon’ that explores archaeological revelations in Mosul, Iraq following the ransacking by ISIS in 2014, has gone out on PBS ‘Secrets of the Dead’ strand.  The film explores the pain of the destruction of priceless artefacts in Mosul, but also charts the amazing revelations that have emerged since ISIS left the city.  Mosul sits on the site of the ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh at the heart of the Assyrian Empire.  Representations of Ancient Assyrian gods were seen as blasphemous and destroyed. Other treasures were sold off on the black market to fund the fighting.  But in the aftermath, archaeologists are piecing back together the treasures and making remarkable finds as they explore tunnels dug by ISIS under the city.  There are also testing a theory that Nineveh and its amazing water system might in fact be the real site of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of Seven Ancient Wonders of the World.

The film was directed by Duncan Bulling, Produced by Matias Gaggiottii and Exec Producer was Marc Tiley.  It was a PBS/CBC/France 5/SVT/ZDF co-production. 

Read the review by The Wall Street Journal here.