REUSING THE PAST

Archaeologists discover how an embattled Assyrian king fortified Nineveh

- BENJAMIN LEONARD

Thousands of years after it was founded around 3000 B.C. in what is now Mosul, Iraq, the city of Nineveh underwent a sweeping campaign of urban renewal. This redevelopment project was led by the newly crowned Neo-Assyrian king Sennacherib (reigned 704-681 B.C.), who sought to transform the ancient city into a suitable imperial capital. Sennacherib built a huge royal residence and expanded the city's footprint, surrounding it with high walls punctuated by 19 imposing gates. Inscriptions commemorating the walls' construction describe one of the gates as "that of Ea who causes my springs to flow," says University of Pennsylvania archaeologist Michael Danti. "Ea was a water deity and was also associated with wisdom, rituals, and incantation." This particular gate provided direct access to the Tigris River and is known as the Mashki Gate, or the "Gate of the Watering Places."