230 crates of Assyrian artifacts sank in the Tigris River in 1855 when barges were attacked and looted en route to Europe. Only 28 of 230 crates were ever recovered. Nearly 170 years later, the rest still lie scattered on the riverbed. One of archaeology's greatest losses.
1855 Tigris River Shipwreck Lost 230 Crates of Mesopotamian Artifacts
Key facts
- In 1855, 230 crates weighing over 30 tons of artifacts from Babylon, Nimrud, Nineveh, and Dur Sharrukin were shipped from Mosul down the Tigris River to Basra
- On May 13, 1855, the convoy left Baghdad on the second leg of the journey
- The shipment was attacked by bandits and pirates due to political instability and the local ruler Abu Sa'd attacking the convoy
- Barges sank under the weight of bandits and were damaged by pirates' crafts, causing crates to fall into the Tigris River
- Only 28 out of 230 crates were ever recovered - 7 initially found, then 21 more discovered along river banks or repacked after locals scavenged items
- No manifest or log book recorded what was packed, so the contents largely remain a mystery to this day
- Lost items included: 2 lamassu (winged bull statues), 2 wind genies, foundation tablets of Dur Sharrukin, statues, bronze objects, gold, and original site reports
- The disaster handed the lead in Mesopotamian archaeology to the British Empire, with French archaeology stalled for over 20 years
- Remains of the lost cargo still lie scattered beneath the Tigris River nearly 200 years later
Sources
Ancient statues lost in the waters of the Tigris River - CSMCcsmc.uni-hamburg.de
The forth kelek, carrying a human-headed winded bull, sank in deep water. In the end, only 28 crates were salvaged, and six months later a ...
[PDF] NEW LIGHT ON NIMRUDuruk-warka.dk
Assyrian designers only a limited range were used in the. North-West Palace. Six-curled heroes (lahmu), lion demons, scorpion men, etc., were not chosen, while ...
Qurnah disaster - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
The Qurnah disaster was a May 1855 shipwreck at Al-Qurnah, in modern Basra Governorate Iraq, near the confluence point of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
The Qurnah Disaster - Biblical Archaeology Societybiblicalarchaeology.org
In all, only about 28 crates of antiquities, including the winged genie and the human-headed bull statues from the rafts that made it to Al ...
ASSYRIAN ANTIQUITIES LOST IN TRANSLATION - jstorjstor.org
The most celebrated disappearance is that of the French convoy of Assyrian antiquities wrecked in 1855 near Qurna at the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates ...
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