Ancient boat discovered in southern Iraq
The ancient boat discovered in Warka, southern Iraq. (Image source: Antiquities and Heritage Authority)
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – Dr. Laith Majid Hussein, Head of the General Authority for Antiquities and Heritage, recently reported that the Iraqi-German mission during the excavation season in the spring of 2022 discovered an archaeological boat in the vicinity of the ancient city of Warka, southern Iraq.
Dr. Hussein indicated that the Antiquities Authority will carry out a restoration process on it and present it to the public in the future. He stressed that the discovery of the boat was carried out in 2018 within the framework of the systematic surface survey work east of the ancient city of Warka, in an area where there are remains of ancient canals, fields, settlements and small production centers, which still indicate the richness of life in Warka in the past.
The Iraqi-German team gradually discovered was that the boat was made of organic materials (such as reeds, palm fronds or wood) and coated with bitumen.
The boat is 7 meters long, 1.4 meters wide, and in many places no more than 1 cm thick. There are no longer any remnants of the organic matter of which the boat was made, but its traces can only be seen in the form of imprints on the bitumen structure.
Dr. Hussein added during the discovery of the boat, it was documented in 3D using the photogrammetric documentation technique, and the archaeological context showed that the boat sank in a river about 4000 years ago and was covered by sediments after that. During the process of gradual discovery of the boat, it was covered with layers of mud and plaster to stabilize it
According to the Iraqi Antiquities Law, it was transferred to the Iraqi Museum in Baghdad in order to restore it and conduct more detailed scientific studies on it, and it is planned to be displayed in the future to the public.