Massive Assyrian Winged Bull Unearthed in Iraq, Largest Ever Found

The main quality successful the Epic of Gilgamesh, the past Uruk king is simply a apt campaigner to person been the biblical king Nimrod. Credits: Kadumago, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Archaeologists successful Iraq person uncovered what they accidental is the largest Assyrian winged bull ever recorded, a monumental sculpture astir six meters gangly that could redefine the standard of Mesopotamian art.

The lamassu, a hybrid carnal with the assemblage of a bull, the wings of an eagle, and a quality head, was recovered successful the ruins of King Esarhaddon’s throne hallway astatine the Nabi Yunus tract successful Mosul, portion of past Nineveh.

Colossal find surpasses each known examples

The recently revealed statue surpasses each known lamassu, which typically scope from 3.5 to 4.2 meters (11.5 to 14 feet). Famous examples are displayed successful the British Museum and the Louvre. Even the monolithic figures excavated astatine Nimrud successful the 19th period seldom scope the size of the Mosul bull.

العراق يعلن اكتشاف أكبر ثور مجنح في تاريخ الدولة الآشورية بارتفاع 6 أمتار

بالصور : اكتشاف ثور مجنح يزين واجهة قصر الملك الآشوري أسرحدون خلال أعمال التنقيبات المشتركة للبعثة العراقية – الألمانية في موقع تل النبي يونس بمدينة الموصل pic.twitter.com/nVrjzlgrrX

— ‏أماكن العراق 🇮🇶 IRAQ PLACES (@iraq_places) September 19, 2025

At adjacent to six meters (20 feet), the find marks a milestone successful Assyrian archaeology and underscores the standard of imperial ambition nether Esarhaddon, who ruled from 681 to 669 BCE. Archaeologists judge the fig erstwhile formed portion of a brace flanking the entranceway to the king’s throne hall.

Palace of a almighty Assyrian king

Esarhaddon is remembered arsenic 1 of the astir almighty rulers of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, credited with rebuilding Babylon and starring campaigns successful Egypt and crossed the Near East. His palace astatine Nineveh, according to researchers, was designed with adjoining halls starring to the throne room, each entranceway guarded by lamassu.

The Nabi Yunus tract has yielded akin finds before. A smaller lamassu measuring conscionable nether 4 meters was unearthed successful the 1990s, and different ample illustration was announced successful 2021. The latest discovery, however, towers supra them all, cementing the site’s presumption arsenic a halfway for the survey of Assyrian monumental art.

Cultural and tourism value stressed

Ruwaid Muwafaq, manager of the Nineveh Antiquities and Heritage Inspectorate, said the find would “greatly heighten the archaeological and touristic value of the site.” Excavations are being conducted by Iraq’s antiquities authorization successful practice with Germany’s Heidelberg University.

Peter Nicholas, an archaeologist from Heidelberg, explained that teams besides recovered cuneiform tablets inscribed with the writings of Kings Sennacherib, Esarhaddon, and Ashurbanipal, arsenic good arsenic artifacts believed to beryllium spoils from campaigns successful Egypt and the Levant.

Discovery raises questions for scholars

The find comes arsenic Iraq invests heavy successful restoring Mosul’s taste heritage, overmuch of which was damaged successful caller conflicts. For scholars, the elephantine lamassu raises caller questions astir Assyrian creation and engineering. Was it a singular committee by Esarhaddon, oregon grounds of a contented present mostly lost? How was specified a colossal fig carved and installed?

Experts caution that further documentation is needed. Precise measurements, 3D scans, and conservation enactment volition corroborate the statue’s afloat dimensions and context.

If verified, the Mosul lamassu would basal arsenic the largest ever recorded, surpassing each known examples and erstwhile again projecting the spot and grandeur of a civilization that flourished astir 2,700 years ago.