Severe Drought in Iraq Uncovers 2000-Year-Old Tombs

Low water levels resulting from a severe drought that has caused a [humanitarian crisis](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/8/19/iraq-is-facing-a-water-crisis-hit-by-one-of-its-worst-droughts-in-century) in parts of Iraq have exposed a series of ancient tombs in the country’s north.

Archaeologists have discovered approximately 40 tombs, believed to be around 2,300 years old, along the cracked banks of the Mosul Dam in Iraq’s Khanke region, as reported by [Al Jazeera](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/8/31/drought-in-iraq-unearths-more-than-2000-years-old-tombs). The reservoir is the largest in the country. The drought — one of Iraq’s worst in nearly a century — has made previously inaccessible sites available to archaeologists.

The burial site, archaeologists told the [AFP](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZofISM1gpU), dates back to the Hellenistic period of Iraq, which followed the establishment of the Seleucid empire in [312 BCE](https://www.britannica.com/place/Seleucid-Empire). Tomb fragments were first discovered at the reservoir in 2023, when archaeologists uncovered approximately five sites.


Teams are piecing together the fragments before the artifacts are sent to a regional museum for further examination and preservation, according to reports.

“The droughts have a significant impact on many aspects, like agriculture and electricity. But, for us archaeologists … it allows us to do excavation work,” Bekas Brefkany said to [AFP](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZofISM1gpU).

The country’s water reserves have [dropped to 8% capacity](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ancient-tombs-discovered-iraq-due-to-drought/), according to local authorities. “As the water level drops, we expect to find other archaeological sites,” archaeologist Nazim Zibari told [AFP](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZofISM1gpU). “This work that we are doing now is very difficult, complex, and it takes time.”

The team of archaeologists told the news agency that they would try to extract as many artifacts as possible before the water levels rise again.