at Nimrud and discovered four tombs of Neo-Assyrian royal women. In the same general area Mallowan discovered the burial, Muzahim Mahmoud Hussein and his team noticed parts of the brick floor in the Southern Section were sticking up at odd angles. The flooring was removed, which led to the discovery of Tomb I, the first of a total of four sealed tombs uncovered by Hussein located within and underneath the Northwest Palace. The tombs not only housed the bodies of various royal women of the Neo-Assyrian Empire––identified by inscriptions, stamps, and adornment, but contained priceless artifacts such as jewelry, decorations, and ceramics that provided new insight into Assyrian culture and craftsmanship. Obstacles Since the discovery, there have been continuous obstacles in the discernment, recording and preservation of data and information from the Queens’ Tombs. Some of the difficulties were due to the age of the find. The burials were disturbed and looted in antiquity, so the original dress and arrangement of bodies and objects is lost. For example, in Tomb II, a second queen was laid on top of the first about 20–50 years later, and this displaced the original position of the first queen and her belongings. As well, in Tomb III, the main coffin was found empty except a bone fragment and one bead, but three other coffins with partial skeletons were found in the antechamber. The unusual arrangement of the coffins and the lack of a body or objects in the main burial suggests that the tomb was looted and possibly rearranged in antiquity. Archaeologists meticulously excavated Tombs I and IV. But due to security issues, they were forced to hastily dig Tombs II and III. For example, information regarding dimensions, findspots, photographs, and detailed descriptions were sometimes left out of the record. Additionally, these objects now reside in an unknown repository in Iraq, so this information cannot be recovered. In addition to the rushed excavation, archeologists also faced budget cuts, lack of supplies, and insufficient funding due to the outbreak of Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s and its subsequent sanctions. These adversities continued with the Gulf Wars. The difficulties with preserving objects found in the tombs did not end with excavation. Important objects found in the Queen's Tombs were kept in a vault of Baghdad's central bank. Unfortunately, the bank was bombed twice while the objects were in its care. It was bombed first at the