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Jonah and the Whale

In war-torn Iraq, ISIS fighters in Iraq detonate explosives under the shrine of "Nebi Yunus" – the Tomb of Jonah – destroying a site sacred to three religions. But when ISIS flees, archaeologists discover that beneath the rubble lies a 2,700-year-old temple complex, an ancient Assyrian palace previously unknown to history. Dr. Katharyn Hanson is an archaeologist with the Smithsonian Institution's Museum Conservation Institute. She was relieved to discover that ISIS' destruction wasn't complete: "The archaeological artifacts are still there," she explains in the film. "That's the part that gives me hope." Massive sculptures, cryptic inscriptions and mysterious figures reveal the story of a cruel despot, a dark fertility cult and a character who may have inspired one of the Bible's best-known tales.

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