Sebastien Rey

In some rare good news for locals of the war-torn city of Mosul in northern Iraq, a 2,600-year-old Assyrian palace has been discovered underneath a shrine that was demolished by ISIS back in 2014, complete with untouched artefacts and marble sculptures.

As Iraqi forces fight to take back Mosul from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), archaeologists trained by the British Museum are preparing for another battle; trying to save what they can of the city's heritage.