Ancient tombs unearthed in Iraq due to drought

Archaeologists in drought-hit Iraq have discovered 40 ancient tombs after water levels in the country's largest reservoir declined, an antiquities official said Saturday. The tombs, believed to be over 2,300 years old, were unearthed at the edges of the Mosul Dam reservoir in the Khanke region of Duhok province in the country's north.

The team surveyed the area in 2023 but only spotted parts of a few tombs. They were only able to work on the site when water levels dropped "to their lowest" this year. In recent years, archaeologists have uncovered ruins dating back thousands of years in the same area, as a result of droughts that have plagued Iraq for five consecutive years.