A scientist solves the mystery of mysterious archaeological symbols in Iraq dating back to 700 BC

An archaeologist explains the mysterious ancient symbols found in a 2,700-year-old temple in the city of Dur Sharukin in Iraq, which have puzzled experts for more than a century.

The sequence of "mysterious symbols" appears on temples at various sites in the ancient city of Dur-Sharrukin, known today as Khorsabad, northern Iraq, which was ruled by Sargon II, King of Assyria (721-704 BC).

The sequence of five symbols - lion, eagle, bull, fig tree, and plow - first became known to the modern world through drawings published by French excavators in the late 19th century. Since then, there has been a flurry of ideas about what these symbols might mean.

They have been compared to Egyptian hieroglyphs that were interpreted as reflections of imperial power, and were suspected to represent the name of the king.

Dr. Martin Worthington of Trinity College of Languages, Literatures and Cultural Studies in Dublin proposed a new solution in a paper published April 26 in the Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, for these symbols.

Worthington, who specializes in the languages ​​and civilizations of ancient Mesopotamia, including the Babylonian, Assyrian, and Sumerian civilizations, believes that the Assyrian words for the five symbols (lion, eagle, bull, fig tree, and plow) contain, in this sequence, sounds that indicate the Assyrian form of the name “Sargon.” " (šargīnu). He also pointed out that sometimes the same name can be written in shorthand using only three symbols (lion, tree, plough) as shown at the archaeological site.

Dr Worthington commented: “The study of ancient languages ​​and cultures is full of mysteries of all shapes and sizes, but it is not unusual in the ancient Near East for one to encounter mysterious symbols on a temple wall.”

According to Dr. Worthington, each of the five symbols can also be understood as a constellation. Thus, the lion represents the constellation Leo, the eagle represents the eagle constellation, and the fig tree represents the now-defunct constellation "jaw", based on the fact that the word iṣu (tree) sounds similar to the word isu (jaw).

"The effect of the five symbols was to place Sargon's name in the sky forever, a clever way to make the king's name immortal," Worthington adds. "Of course, the idea of ​​great individuals writing their names on buildings is not unique to ancient Assyria."

Ancient Mesopotamia, or modern Iraq and neighboring regions, was home to the Babylonians, Assyrians, Sumerians and others, and is explored today through cuneiform writings that are still abundant.

In fact, writing may have been invented there around 3400 BC. Therefore, although Sargon's scholars were not aware of it, by creating new written codes they made the history of Mesopotamia resonate more than a thousand years ago.

Dr. Worthington explained: “I cannot prove my theory, but the fact that it works with both the five-symbol sequence and the three-symbol sequence, and that the symbols can also be understood as culturally appropriate combinations, fascinates me greatly.”

He continued: “This region of the world, which includes present-day Iraq and parts of Iran, Turkey, and Syria, is often referred to as the cradle of civilization. It is the place where cities and empires were born, and its story is a large part of human history. Solving mysteries (or trying to solve them) is "It's particularly interesting, but Mesopotamian studies in general has a larger goal of understanding the complexity and diversity of a large portion of human societies and cultural achievements."