A destroyed artifact in the Mosul Museum on March 8 Photo: IC
A stone relief of Nergal Homme Nike Vapormax Collegiate Marine Pas Cher , God of the Underworld, previously on display at the Mosul Museum Photo: IC
It was once home to priceless archaeological treasures, but these days you get into the Mosul Museum in Iraq's second city via a gaping hole in the basement.
In the darkness lies a pile of rubble - all that remains of two ancient Assyrian statues of winged bulls, smashed to pieces by Islamic State group jihadists.
Iraqi forces announced that they retook the building from IS on March 6 as they pushed into west Mosul as part of a vast offensive to oust the jihadists from the northern city.
Taking the museum was a symbolic victory.
In a notorious video issued in February 2015, the jihadists were seen attacking items at the museum with sledgehammers and pneumatic drills Nike Air VaporMax Plus Homme Jaune Noir Pas Cher , destroying priceless pre-Islamic artefacts.
Today, the museum is in ruins - nothing escaped the attackers.
In a darkened hall, a heap of stones marks the spot where tourists once admired two imposing "lamassu" statues, Assyrian winged bulls with human faces.
The two-meter-tall monuments weighed more than four tons, according to Iraqi archaeologist Layla Salih.
In the rubble Nike Air VaporMax Plus Homme Army Vert Pas Cher , what appear to be the remains of carved legs and wings can be seen. Other pieces of smashed stone bear inscriptions in the cuneiform alphabet.
Amid the ruins, a hole leads to the basement, where twisted iron bars are visible in the foundations.
From time to time, an explosion rocks the building, a plain structure of ochre rock Nike Air VaporMax Plus Homme Noir Pas Cher , as Iraqi forces fire rockets at IS positions.
On the first floor, two Iraqi snipers huddle behind narrow windows, their weapons trained. An IS sniper is operating nearby.
Assyria, with its capital Nineveh in the area of present-day Mosul, was a kingdom in northern Mesopotamia that became one of the most powerful empires in the ancient Middle East.
Assyrian art is famous for its bas-reliefs showing scenes of war.
As well as the two lamassu Nike Air Vapormax Plus Homme Bordeaux Pas Cher , the museum housed a winged lion of similar proportions, says Salih.
The three lost sculptures "were among the most valuable pieces in the museum," she says.
The building had housed 100 objects, she adds, and all but six of them were originals.
"Antiquities weighing more than four tons were impossible for them to steal Air VaporMax Plus Homme Nike Sunset Noir Orange Pas Cher , so they were destroyed on the spot."
The second-most important museum in Iraq, the building also housed Hellenic objects dating from centuries before the Christian era.
But now, the iron and wood showcases are empty, covered with broken glass.
Labels discarded on the ground bear witness, in Arabic and English Air VaporMax Plus Homme Nike Triple Blanche Pas Cher , to inestimable losses:
"Two silver goblets found in the royal cemetery of Ur... dating from 2600 BC."
"Various small objects found in the royal palaces of Nimrud - 9th century BC."
Others mention pottery, marble or alabaster tablets and a Mamluk-era copper candleholder decorated with floral motifs.
IS jihadists seized a string of ancient sites in their lightning 2014 advance across Iraq and Syria.
After declaring their supposed caliphate that summer, they plundered and destroyed several of them.
The jihadists cast their destruction of artefacts as the religiously mandated elimination of idols, but they have had no qualms about selling smaller pieces on the black market to fund their rule.
In one video, they were seen using bulldozers Air VaporMax Plus Homme Nike Cool Grise Pas Cher , pickaxes and explosives to demolish Nimrud, a jewel of the Assyrian empire founded in the 13th century BC.
At the museum, little survived except two massive coffins decorated with inscriptions from the Koran. Salih says they belonged to 13th century Shiite imams.
"A restoration is possible, but it will be difficult to know if we will find all the fragments, or if some are missing Nike Air VaporMax Plus Femme Rose Pas Cher ," she says.
WELLINGTON， March 27 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand on Monday became the first Western developed country to sign a cooperation agreement with China on the Belt and Road (B&R) Initiative.
Visiting Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and his New Zealand counterpart， Bill English， witnessed the signing of the memorandum of understanding， which adds to the long list of ground-breaking achievements the two countries have scored in bilateral cooperation.
China and New Zealand will explore the possibilities of bilateral cooperation in various fields to promote interconnectivity between the two countries， Li told a joint press conference with English.
New Zealand was the first Western developed country to conclude bilateral negotiations on China's accession to the World Trade Organization， to recognize China's full market-economy status， to sign and implement a bilateral free trade agreement with China， and to join the China-initiated Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank as a founding member.
The B&R Initiative， which comprises the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road and was proposed by China in 2013， aims to build a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along and beyond the ancient land and maritime Silk Road trade routes.
Li arrived in Wellington on Sunday for a four-day visit to the Oceanian country， the first by a Chinese premier in 11 years.
Ahead of the press conference， Li held talks with English on bilateral ties and cooperation.
During his trip， Li will also meet Governor-General Patsy Reddy and opposition Labor Party leader Andrew Little， and attend a series of business and culture exchange events.
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