BAGDAD, IRAQ—Asharq Al-Awsat reports that heavy rains have uncovered pottery, coins, and pieces of metal in the region of ancient Babylon. The artifacts date back to the Parthian Empire (247 B.C.–A.D. 224) through the Islamic period. “Last year, 1,000 pieces were discovered this way, which proves that the ruins may be close to the surface and not always buried deep in the ground,” said Hussein Fleih, Babylon’s director of antiquities. To read in-depth about cuneiform tablets from Babylon and other areas of ancient Mesopotamia, go to “The World's Oldest Writing.”