
These pictures show the shattered remains of what was once one of the most magnificent cities in the Middle East.

The ancient Iraqi city of Nimrud has been reduced to rubble by Islamic State, who were forced out of the famed archaeological site in November.

The terror group was driven out by Iraqi forces, but left behind scenes of devastation, with much of the ancient Assyrian city destroyed.

Nimrud, in northern Iraq, was 3,000 years ago the capital of what is believed to have been the world's first empire.

The remains of a large stone figure of a lamassu, an Assyrian winged bull deity, are piled near the gates of the ancient palace where they once stood in Nimrud

This picture, taken by the U.S. Army in 2008, shows the statues of the lamassu, the winged, human-headed bulls that stood at the gates of the palace

Iraqi archaeologist Layla Salih, who has devoted herself to guarding the ruins of the ancient site, examines the remains of one of the destroyed lamassu statues

Since 2014, Islamic State has deliberately destroyed cultural heritage in Iraq, Syria, and to a lesser extent in Libya, including 28 historic religious buildings.

The valuable items from some buildings were looted by jihadis in order to smuggle and sell them to finance terror.

The winged, human-headed bulls that once stood sentry at the nearly 3,000-year-old palace at Nimrud were believed to protect the king from evil.

Now their stone remains are piled in the dirt, hacked to pieces by Islamic State in its fervor to erase history.

More than a month after the militants were driven out, the ancient capital of the Assyrian Empire is still in danger: It lies unprotected, vulnerable to looters, and the treasures of one of the Middle East's greatest archaeological sites are disappearing, piece by piece.

With the government and military still absorbed in fighting the war against Islamic State in nearby Mosul, the wreckage of the Assyrian Empire's ancient capital lies unprotected and vulnerable to looters.

Sami Al-Khoja, a UNESCO official, pauses while participating in an assessment tour of the damage to the ancient site

A stone tablet with cuneiform writing is seen in the foreground as UNESCO's Iraq representative Louise Haxthausen documents the damage wreaked by Islamic State

An ancient relief lies shattered in the Northwest Palace at the nearly 3,000-year-old site of Nimrud, which has been left devastated by Islamic State

'When I heard about Nimrud, my heart wept before my eyes did,' said Hiba Hazim Hamad, an archaeology professor in Mosul who often took her students there.

Perhaps the only vigilant guardian left is an Iraqi archaeologist, Layla Salih. She has visited multiple times, photographing the wreckage to document it and badgering militias to watch over it.

'The good thing is the rubble is still in situ,' she said. 'The site is restorable.'

However, Salih estimates that 60 percent of the site was irrecoverable.

Earlier this month, the UN's cultural agency called for emergency measures to be put in place to prevent further looting at the historic city.

This image made from video posted online by Islamic State group militants in April 2015 shows militants using heavy tools to destroy a large stone figure of an lamasssu

Militants blew up and hacked apart much of the nearly 3,000-year-old city's remains, destroying one of the Middle East's most important archaeological sites

Nimrud was founded in the 13th century BC on a dirt plateau on the edge of the Tigris River valley about 18 miles southeast of Mosul, and the site's palaces and temples were spread over 360 hectares (900 acres).

From 879-709 BC, Nimrud was the capital of the Assyrians, one the ancient world's earliest empires.

The city and was retaken by Iraqi forces on November 13 after it was overrrun by ISIS in 2014.

A 140-foot-high ziggurat once arrested the gaze of anyone entering Nimrud. Now there is only lumpy earth.

Archaeologists had never had a chance to explore the now-bulldozed structure.

Iraq archaeologist Layla Salih, left, confers with UNESCO's representative in Iraq Louse Haxthausen amid the rubble of one of Nimrud's destroyed buildings

An Iraqi Army general stands near a stone slab depicting a winged genie at the entrance to the Northwest Palace

UNESCO's Iraq representative Louise Haxthausen documents the damage wreaked by the Islamic State group at the ancient site

A fact-finding mission sent by the UNESCO agency confirmed 'large-scale, systematic' destruction and recommended greater protection for what remains of the site.

'Emergency measures will entail the immediate physical protection of the site in order to allow for detailed documentation and preventing potential looting of remaining fragments,' said a statement.

In modern excavations , the site yielded a wealth of Mesopotamian art, while troves of gold and jewellery were found in the tombs of queens.

Hundreds of written tablets deepened knowledge about the ancient Middle East.

Touring the site, UNESCO's representative to Iraq, Louise Haxthausen, called the destruction 'absolutely devastating.'

'The most important thing right now is to ensure some basic protection,' she said.

But the government has many priorities. It is still fighting IS in Mosul, and the list of reconstruction needs is long.

A fragment of an Assyrian-era relief shows the image of a genie holding a pine cone at the ancient site of Nimrud that was destroyed by Islamic State

Those remains that have survived the assault by Islamic State are vulnerable to looters, who have been raiding the historic site

Some of the carvings and buildings remain, but archaeologists estimate that 60 per cent of the ancient site is irreparable

There are also tens of thousands of citizens living in camps, and much of the city of Ramadi is destroyed.

More than 70 mass graves have been unearthed in IS territory, which other ancient sites remain under IS control.

None of the various armed groups around Nimrud - whether the military or various militias - has been dedicated to guarding it.

Salih said that during the UNESCO tour she noticed that some of the ancient bricks from the rubble had been neatly piled up as if to be hauled away - perhaps, she suspects, to repair homes damaged in fighting. Stone tiles at the palace entrance vanished from where she saw them last.

Two locals were arrested with a marble tablet and stone seal from Nimrud, presumably to sell, but it was unclear what happened to the artifacts seized from them.

Salih is seeking international funding to pay someone to guard the site, but she recognises the job will have to go to one of the militia factions, who are unlikely toprovide full protection.

'There isn't another choice, as you see,' she said.