Monument of Unknown Soldier, Memorial monument in Hay Zawra, Iraq

The Monument to the Unknown Soldier sits atop an artificial hill shaped as a low truncated cone 250 m in diameter. Its centrepiece is a cantilevered reinforced-concrete dome 42 m across, inclined 12 degrees, representing a dira'a (Iraqi shield) falling from a dying warrior's grasp. Beside it stands a copper-clad spiral tower recalling the Samarra minaret, and a seven-layer metal cube above an underground museum.

Construction began in 1979 and finished in 1982 during the Iran-Iraq War, designed by Italian architect Marcello D'Olivo. The project was completed during a period of heavy casualties for the nation.

The monument's shield shape refers to the dira'a, a traditional Iraqi shield, shown slipping from a dying warrior's hand. The cube beneath it has seven metal layers, standing for the seven levels of Jannah, with red acrylic sheets between them for the blood of slain soldiers. The Victory Arch nearby, added in 1989, holds 5,000 Iranian helmets collected from battlefields.

Access to the underground areas requires descending through a central shaft, so visitors should expect tight spaces during exploration. Natural light filtering from above creates reasonable visibility throughout the interior.

The cube beneath the shield is built from seven metal layers, which the sources link to the seven levels of Jannah in Islamic belief; sheets of red acrylic between them stand for the blood of slain Iraqi soldiers. A shaft with windows carries daylight down to the underground museum, where visitors look up through the openings to the cube.