Archaeologists discover ancient palace of King Sennacherib beneath shrine destroyed by ISIS

Archaeologists surveying the destruction left by ISIS have discovered the ancient palace of King Sennacherib beneath the ruins of the Tomb of the Prophet Jonah.

The Nebi Yunus shrine, which is believed to contain the tomb of Jonah, was blown up by ISIS when they took over parts of northern Iraq in 2014, Telegraph reported. The shrine is a popular pilgrimage site located on top of a hill in eastern Mosul.

The archaeologists were able to uncover the extensive damage wrought at the site by the terror group after the Iraqi army recaptured the area last month.

It was discovered that ISIS had dug tunnels deep under the demolished shrine and into a previously undiscovered and untouched palace dating back to 600 B.C.

In one of the tunnels, Iraqi archaeologist Layla Salih identified a marble cuneiform inscription of King Esarhaddon, believed to be created around 672 B.C. While the King's name does not appear in the cuneiform slab, a historian who saw photographs of it said it contained legible phrases used only to describe him. It reportedly refers to the king's efforts to rebuild Babylon after his father Sennacherib had it destroyed.

The biblical book of II Kings recounted Esarhaddon's ascent to the throne after Sennacherib was murdered by two of his sons.

"And it came to pass, as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sarezer his sons smote him with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead," stated Kings II 19:37.

Prof. Eleanor Robson, chair of the British Institute for the Study of Iraq, said that the terror group's destruction paved the way to a "fantastic find."

"There's a huge amount of history down there, not just ornamental stones. It is an opportunity to finally map the treasure-house of the world's first great empire, from the period of its greatest success," she told Telegraph.

Salih, who supervises the five-man team conducting the emergency documentation, believes that ISIS had taken hundreds of artifacts before Iraqi forces were able to liberate the eastern part of the city.

She voiced her concern that the tunnel built by the terror group could collapse within weeks and potentially destroy the new finds.

Experts from the British Institute for the Study of Iraq and other international teams have offered to help the archaeologists secure and document the site. UNESCO has scheduled a meeting in Paris later this month to discuss who will be sent.