Archaeologists are uncovering a largely hidden side of Nimrud, the ancient Assyrian capital in northern Iraq, after nearly 180 years of research focused mainly on its royal center. A new project is mapping the vast Lower Town, revealing streets, residential neighborhoods and large building complexes that remained largely unexplored since excavations began in the 19th century.
The research, led by Daniele Morandi Bonacossi of the University of Udine, is examining how the wider city was organized and how its residents lived.
Nimrud served as an imperial capital from 879 to 707 B.C. Its Lower Town covered about 340 hectares, or roughly 840 acres, within nearly 5 miles of fortification walls.
Archaeologists historically concentrated on the acropolis, where excavations uncovered palaces, temples, artworks and inscriptions. Among finds from Nimrud are Neo-Assyrian writing boards. Research has shown that the ancient writing boards preserve evidence of cuneiform writing on wax.
Researchers turn to Nimrud’s overlooked Lower Town
British archaeologist Austen Henry Layard began excavating Nimrud in 1845. His work and later investigations concentrated heavily on structures associated with Assyrian kings and their courts. The Lower Town received far less attention.
Archaeologist Paolo Fiorina investigated parts of its urban layout between 1987 and 1989, but the work ended amid the First Iraq War. The University of Udine’s Nimrud Lower Town Archaeological Project, known as NiLTAP, is now conducting a broader investigation.
Nimrud offers unusually favorable conditions for studying an Assyrian city. Unlike other major capitals, its Lower Town was not intensively resettled after the Assyrian Empire fell in 612 B.C. The area is now mostly farmland, where shallow plowing has caused relatively limited damage to archaeological remains.
Similar technology is being used in other areas to examine Assyrian cities beyond their monumental centers. At Khorsabad, magnetometer surveys have revealed previously unknown buildings and urban features.
Declassified images help map the ancient city
Researchers studied historical aerial and satellite imagery, including declassified U.S. intelligence imagery from the U-2, CORONA, and HEXAGON missions dating from 1967 to 1974. The images showed signs of an organized urban landscape. Researchers identified possible fortifications, gates and streets, as well as densely occupied districts and possible open spaces.
During the 2025 field season, the team combined the historical imagery with drone surveys and high-precision GPS mapping. Researchers also surveyed the Lower Town on foot and recorded archaeological material found across the surface. Pottery showed intensive occupation during the Middle Assyrian, Neo-Assyrian, and post-Assyrian periods.
The team also recovered inscribed baked bricks and fragments of five prisms belonging to the Assyrian kings Sennacherib and Ashurbanipal. Archaeologists have recently uncovered additional major evidence linked to Ashurbanipal at Nineveh, including a large stone relief depicting the king alongside major Assyrian deities.
Underground surveys reveal streets and neighborhoods
Magnetometer surveys allowed researchers to examine structures hidden beneath the Lower Town without excavation.
Preliminary results revealed organized street systems, domestic neighborhoods and larger building complexes. Researchers compared those underground features with evidence recorded through surface surveys, historical imagery and modern mapping.
The findings provide a clearer view of Nimrud as a complete urban center. They could help researchers understand where people lived, how neighborhoods were arranged, and how different parts of the capital were connected. The investigation is also challenging earlier ideas about Nimrud’s water supply.
Researchers examined the Patti-Ḫegalli canal, constructed under King Ashurnasirpal II, who made Nimrud an imperial capital. New topographic evidence suggests that another canal system farther north may instead have served as the city’s principal water source.
If confirmed, the finding could change researchers’ understanding of how Assyrian engineers supplied the capital with water.
Research could reshape understanding of Nimrud
For generations, knowledge of Nimrud has largely come from its royal palaces, monumental art and inscriptions. That evidence provides extensive information about Assyrian kings and their courts but offers a more limited picture of the wider population.
The new project is beginning to fill that gap by examining residential areas, streets, infrastructure and other parts of the Lower Town.
Future work will expand geophysical surveys and include targeted excavations and geoarchaeological investigations. Those studies could help researchers determine how different areas of Nimrud were used and how the city changed over time.
The project could ultimately provide one of the clearest pictures yet of everyday urban life in an Assyrian imperial capital, revealing the city that existed beyond the monumental buildings that have dominated research at Nimrud since the 19th century.
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