Scientists Think They've Found a Huge Goddess-Worshiping Lost City In Iraq
The ancient lost city of Natounia is only known to exist from references on ancient coins, and archaeologists have identified its likely location.
By Jordan Pearson
July 20, 2022, 8:10am
The Parthian Empire was a power in ancient Iran for hundreds of years, but not much is known about it due to a lack of primary historical sources. Now, researchers believe they may have identified the lost Parthian city of Natounia in the Zagros Mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan.
Natounia is only known to exist thanks to references on ancient coins, from which archaeologists infer it was named after a Parthian king and was located "on the Kapros," which today is the Lower Zab river. A study published on Tuesday in Antiquity by researchers in Germany and Iraq makes the case for this ancient city likely being the mountain fortress of Rabana-Merquly, which they say meets the known criteria.
Rabana-Merquly has been excavated over the years, and evidence shows the fortress was occupied over millennia by different groups, from the time of the Parthians to the Sasanian era, through a period of Islamic occupation, and into the modern era. The new study analyzed the site and came up with some surprising conclusions.
They established that numerous defensive structures built into the mountain are connected as part of the whole site, which sprawls over 100 hectares. They also conclude that it is likely Natounia based on rock-reliefs of an anonymous king they believe was a member of the ruling Parthian dynasty of the ancient kingdom of Adiabene, and the site's location on the Lower Zab.
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By Katie Hunt, CNN
Updated 7:01 PM ET, Tue July 19, 2022
Researchers excavate the perimeter wall at the entrance to Rabana Valley in Iraqi Kurdistan.
(CNN)A 2,000-year-old fortress built on a mountainside in what's now Iraqi Kurdistan could be part of a lost royal city called Natounia.
With the help of drone photography, archaeologists excavated and cataloged the site during a series of digs between 2009 and 2022. Situated in the Zagros Mountains, the stone fortress of Rabana-Merquly comprises fortifications nearly 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) long, two smaller settlements, carved rock reliefs and a religious complex.
The fortress was on the border of Adiabene, a minor kingdom governed by the kings of a local dynasty. These rulers would have paid tribute to the neighboring Parthian Empire, which extended over parts of Iran and Mesopotamia approximately 2,000 years ago, according to research led by Michael Brown, a researcher at the Institute of Prehistory, Protohistory and Near-Eastern Archaeology of Heidelberg University in Germany, with the help of Iraqi colleagues.
Carvings at the entrance to the fortress depict a king of Adiabene, based on the dress of the figure, in particular his hat, Brown said. The carving resembles other likenesses of Adiabene kings, particularly one found 143 miles (230 kilometers) away at the site of an ancient city called Hatra.
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https://us.cnn.com/2022/07/19/world/iraq-fortress-lost-city-scn/index.html
