HALAMATA
CAVE
![](Maltai_Reliefs_-_Halamata_Cave.jpg)
Maltai
reliefs in Halamata Cave
Location
:
Near Dohuk, Iraq
History
:
Founded
:
704 BC - 681 BC
Cultures
:
Assyrian Empire
Halamata
Cave is an archaeological site near Duhok in the Kurdistan Region
of Iraq. The caves contain the Assyrian relief carvings known as
the Maltai reliefs.
The
cave is located seven kilometres south-west of Dohuk, above the
village of Geverke. The site is composed of "four Neo-Assyrian
bas-reliefs carved into the cliff-side above the village of Malthai".
The reliefs are approximately six metres long and two metres high.
The reliefs all show a procession of nine figures, and were first
photographed by British explorer Gertrude Bell in 1909.
According
to ArtStor, the reliefs "depict the Assyrian king worshipping
the main divinities in the Mesopotamian pantheon" and date
from 704 BC to 681 BC. As with the reliefs at Khinnis, the reliefs
at Halamata Cave are "associated with the northern canal system
built by the Assyrian king Sennacherib (r. 704-681 BCE) to carry
water to his capital city of Nineveh".
The
reliefs are unique because "Unlike other examples of Assyrian
royal art, in which the king is represented worshipping symbols
of gods, these reliefs show the king gesturing in front of anthropomorphic
deities, or gods in human form."
In
2016 the reliefs had to be cleaned and restored after vandals spray
painted a Kurdish flag on them. In February 2018, thieves removed
a part of the relief carvings. "The archeological piece stolen
is called Sanharib,” said Nivin Mohammed, head of legal affairs
for Duhok's archeology directorate. These incidents have increased
in recent years, and the Kurdistan Region authorities have been
criticised for not doing enough to prevent the erasure of Assyrian
cultural heritage in the region.
Source
:
https://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Halamata_Cave