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The monumental Assyrian deity was intentionally buried to keep it safe from looters and attacks by ISIS, and has finally been recovered.
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Archaeologists hope to reunite the 18-ton torso of the Assyrian deity with its head, severed by smugglers decades ago
An archaeologist said that he was surprised to find the intact statute of the Assyrian deity in Iraq as these large sculptures are usually found in Egypt or Cambodia.
Since its first excavation in 1992, the remarkably well-preserved lamassu sculpture has survived multiple attacks on cultural heritage in the region.
'I never unearthed anything this big in my life before,' says French archaeologist