Satellite Image of Mosul

1969 AD
Photographic Paper
Mosul
EDU001

Oriental Institute Museum

Artifact Description

Satellite Image of Mosul

This is a satellite image of the modern city of Mosul, Iraq, taken on December 6, 1969. Archaeologists use images such as this one to determine the overall layout of a site. In this case, the wall of the ancient city of Nineveh (which once stood on the site) is clearly visible, as are the remains of the palaces of the Assyrian kings, Ashurbanipal and Sennacherib. The palace of Ashurbanipal contained a library where a large collection of cuneiform tablets was found.

Multimedia

The Mystery of Archaeology
Dr. Gil Stein, Director of the Oriental Institute, talks about archaeology in this video.

Suggested Readings

Leacroft, Helen and Richard. The Buildings of Ancient Mesopotamia. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc., 1974.

Renfrew, Colin and Paul Bahn. Archaeology: Theory, Methods, and Practice. New York: Thames and Hudson, 1991.

Wenke, Robert. Patterns in Prehistory: Humankind's First Three Million Years. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1990.

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