Many of the priceless reliefs showing gods, mythical beasts and kings were destroyed by Islamic State group militants with explosives and reduced to rubble.
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00:00 A winged Lamassu sculpture has been discovered in northern Iraq.
00:04 This mythical creature, part bull, part eagle and once with the head of a man, was unearthed
00:08 by a team of archaeologists.
00:10 The 2,700-year-old relic was found perfectly preserved underground in the modern-day village
00:15 of Khorsabad.
00:17 Locals here buried the monument before fleeing the region during the Islamic State occupation.
00:22 These ancient alabaster creations once guarded the gates of ancient cities across the Neo-Assyrian
00:26 Empire, but many were destroyed by militants.
00:29 The head of the sculpture is on display at the Iraq Museum in Baghdad.
00:32 [WHOOSH]