As the waters of Mosul reservoir dropped thanks to extremely high temperatures and long-term drought, a mound started to emerge above the waterline, and soon, the ruins of a 3,400-year-old village came into view, CNN reports.
Since January, archeological teams worked quickly to excavate the site, believed to be an ancient city called Zakhiku, before a future rainstorm might fill the reservoir. The Bronze Age settlement, part of the Mittani Empire, was destroyed by an earthquake around 1359 BCE.
Rain has refilled the reservoir now, making the site unexaminable. Still, in the months the site was available, numerous items were recovered that will shed light on the little-known Mittani Empire, which ruled the region from 1550 BCE to 1350 BCE. Among them: about 100 cuneiform tablets that somehow survived in the waters of the reservoir.