TEHRAN -- The ruins of a temple, statues, and wall paintings from the Assyrian period (884-860 B.C.) were discovered during a recent excavation in Iraq.

Ten Iraqi archaeologists discovered two huge statues of winged lions, the remains of a temple, and wall paintings in Nineveh, the ancient capital of Assyria. Nineveh is located opposite Mosul, Iraq.

Jaber Khalil Ebrahim, the director of the Archaeology and Cultural Heritage Organization of Iraq, told AFP that the discoveries reveal that the Assyrian temple was dedicated to Ishtar (the Assyrian and Babylonian goddess of love and war). Meanwhile, the remains of a pyramidal building with cuneiform inscriptions was also discovered.

Ebrahim said that this was the second time that a statue of a winged lion has been discovered in Iraq in the past 150 years. In 1850, two similar statues were also discovered by English archaeologists in the same region, of which one is kept in Iraq and the other one in England.

He added that many winged cows were also discovered. Assyrian kings placed statues of winged lions and cows at the gates of their palaces, believing that these statues prevented wicked souls from entering.

Mahmoud Hossein, the head of the archaeological group, stated that the temple contains a 20-meter-long hall and some inscriptions.