Something wonderful happened as Iraqi and University of Pennsylvania archaeologists worked to undo the devastation inflicted by ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) in two Gulf Wars. Excavating in Nineveh, the ancient Assyrian capital, in what is now Northern Iraq, they discovered 2,700-year-old sculpted marble reliefs depicting the reign of King Sennacherib. Recovery of the previously unknown tablets, and the broader restoration effort, is examined in Penn Museum's Preserving Assyria.

Assyria, which was located in Mesopotamia, is considered the world's first empire. It existed from 2000 BCE to 612 BCE, and was led by Sennacherib from 705 to 681 BCE. Sennacherib moved the rapidly expanding kingdom's capital to Nineveh. The ancient site is now encircled by the modern city of East Mosul.

Preserving Assyria. $13-$18 (free for members and kids 5 and under). Through February 2026, at Penn Museum, 3260 South Street, Philadelphia. (215) 898-4000 or Penn Museum.

The king envisioned Nineveh as a fortified haven, directing the cultivation of parks and orchards, the creation of a canal system for irrigation, and construction of a "palace without rival", all protected by a gated wall. Beyond the wall, hydraulic infrastructure harnessed the region's water to create a green countryside. Assyrian prosperity was built not merely on ingenuity, but on brutal wars to secure domination over neighboring regimes.

Iraqis lead the preservation of Iraq's heritage

Seven marble tablets were found by an Iraqi-led team of archaeologists and heritage experts working at Nineveh's Mashki Gate, one of 18 in the wall ringing the city. In 2016, ISIS destroyed the gate's previous reconstruction, completed about 50 years ago. When Iraqi forces retook the area in 2017, emergency work began to stabilize, safeguard, and research Mashki Gate.

In 2018, Penn established the Iraq Heritage Stabilization Program (IHSP) to support communities affected by conflict and empower them to protect and preserve cultural heritage. The program follows the approach of another Penn project, Safeguarding the Heritage of Syria and Iraq. Both efforts aim to ensure that decisions on safeguarding and interpreting cultural heritage in at-risk areas rest within the culture, and that those decisions draw on a range of perspectives, from archaeologists and museum professionals to community members.

"Working closely with our Iraqi colleagues and local communities, scientific field archaeology is ... shedding new light on ancient cultures and ... enabling us to reconstruct damaged sites in more authentic and sustainable ways. Our main goal is to reestablish and enhance access to cultural heritage as a fundamental human right," said Dr. Michael Danti, director of IHSP, who curated Penn's exhibition with the program's emeritus director, Dr. Richard L. Zettler. Beginning March 6, Danti will lead an online class: The Deep Dig: The Rise and Fall of Assyria.

Modern tech meets an ancient world

The tablets visitors see at Penn Museum are 3D printed recreations, in keeping with contemporary practice of leaving artifacts in the culture to which they belong. And though visitors won't see the actual items--in person, at least--interpretive technology enables observers to interact in ways not possible with fragile originals.

Run your fingertips over carved Assyrian archers drawing their bows. Make a rubbing of fruit-bearing trees on a raised stencil. On a touchscreen, page through The Monuments of Nineveh (1848), Austen Henry Layard's exquisite sketchbook. The 19th-century British archaeologist excavated in Nineveh and Nimrud, 20 miles south, where in 2024, Penn and Iraqi archaeologists made another remarkable discovery, revealing two well-preserved shrines.

Visitors can tour King Sennacherib's digitally reconstructed palace, about half of which Layard excavated between 1847 and 1851. The residence, also known as the Neo-Assyrian Southwest Palace, is referenced in a large clay brick (701-693 BCE) from Penn Museum's collection. Its Assyrian inscription translates to, "Palace of Sennacherib, great king, strong king, king of the world, king of Assyria: he indeed built the 'Palace Without Rival' anew to be his lordly residence inside Nineveh."

Signed, sealed, finally delivered

The marble tablets found near Mashki Gate originally hung in the palace. At some point, they were removed and prepared for reuse, sawn into pieces and partially, but not completely, erased. The slabs, which measure about five-and-a-half feet high by four-to-five-and-a-half feet wide, were found in a chamber sealed in the 1970s by the Iraqi Antiquities Service. The chamber had never been fully excavated.

Carving is still visible on the lower portions, possibly because those parts were positioned below floor level. The gate excavation site and continuing fieldwork are depicted in exhibition photographs and a video in which Danti and Dr. Ali al-Jabouri, professor emeritus at the University of Mosul, marvel at the find. Danti compares the tablets' recovery to a phoenix rising from the ashes, while al-Jabouri says the restored panels reconnect him to his heritage.

Preserving Assyria reawakens awareness of the world's first empire through the stories of people: those who built it, those who've searched for it, and those for whom it is family history. Its interactive materials add a visceral dimension to intellectual understanding, deepening visitors' appreciation of a heritage that belongs to humanity while safeguarding cultural icons that belong to Iraq.