German and Kurdish archaeologists have uncovered a 3,400-year-old Bronze Age palace on the eastern bank of the Tigris River, near the Mosul Dam reservoir.

According to the archaeologists it is one of the most important recent finds in the region.

The German-Kurdish team came upon a surprising discovery as ruins emerge from the waters of the Tigris River due to the extreme draughts.

It was in fact the draught that unexpectedly brought the ancient palace to light.

“The find is one of the most important archaeological discoveries in the region in recent decades and illustrates the success of the Kurdish-German cooperation,” Kurdish archaeologist Hasan Ahmed Qasim told the press.

The site of Kemune on the eastern Tigris can be dated to the time of the Mittani Empire, which dominated large parts of northern Mesopotamia and Syria from the 15th to the 14th century BC.