Umayyad-era mud mosque found in Iraq News

The site is about 1,300 years old and represents a rare discovery in an archaeologically rich region of Iraq.

Baghdad, Iraq – An excavation mission at the British Museum, along with a local Iraqi group, has found a mud mosque dating back to AH 60 or 679 AD or 679 AD in the country’s archaeologically rich Dhi Qar governorate, authorities said.

The mosque found in the village of Al-Rafa’i is located in the middle of a residential city. The mosque is approximately eight feet (26 feet) wide and five feet (16 feet) long. In the center of the mosque is a small hermitage of the imam, according to the latest excavations that can hold up to 25 people.

Governor Ali Shalgham, head of the investigation and excavation department, said the discovery was “one of the most important and major discoveries” because it was built entirely of mud and dates back to the early years of Islam.

Shalgham says few archeological sites from the Umayyad period have been found. However, due to erosion, little information has emerged about this time of Islam.

“We found very little information to let us know about the Islamic era,” Shalgham told the State Iraqi News Agency. “The mud found was found near the surface of the site, so there were few traces of the building left due to erosion caused by water, wind and rain.”

“Shy financial allocations”

There are many archeological sites in the Dhi Qar governorate, including the Water Site, an ancient Sumerian city-state in Mesopotamia. In his time historical visit last year in Iraq, Pope Francis also toured Ur.

Lately, its archaeological richness has also attracted foreign missions. A French excavation team, for example, recently found the palace of King Sin-Ednam at the Archaeological Site in Larsa, Tulul al-Sinkara Governorate. A team of Russian-Iraqi archaeologists also discovered an ancient settlement about 4,000 years old earlier this year.

However, for years conflicts and poor financial management, an oil-rich country has shown no clear interest in archeology in recent years.

“Shy financial allocations to this sector have undermined Iraq’s research and exploration missions in previous years,” Iraqi archeology researcher Hassan al-Salami told Nasiriyah News Network.

“This coming period will witness the discovery of important archaeological landmarks in Dhi Qar, especially in the presence of missions and in collaboration with the Governor’s Department of Antiquities.”

In an interview with a local news channel, the head of the Dhi Qar Antiquities Department, Amar Abdel Razaaq, called on the next government to turn the government into an “archaeological capital of Iraq”.

“The number of foreign and domestic tourists this season has doubled and is an opportunity to take advantage of,” Razaaq said.