The archaeological site of Kurd Qaburstan, located in the Erbil region of northeastern Iraq, has emerged as an invaluable source of knowledge about the Middle Bronze Age Mesopotamian civilization. Recent excavations led by Tiffany Earley-Spadoni, an associate professor of history at the University of Central Florida (UCF), have revealed surprising findings that could redefine our […]
Iraq
Posted inStone Age Archaeology
Evidence of Early Forms of Pottery Production and 8,000-Year-Old Buildings Discovered in Iraqi Kurdistan
In the vast Navkur plain near the city of Rovia in Iraqi Kurdistan, a team of archaeologists from the University of Udine has made exceptional discoveries at the Asingeran and Kanispan sites. These excavations, carried out as part of the Asingeran Excavation Project in collaboration with the Directorate of Antiquities of Dohuk, have revealed valuable […]
Posted inIron Age Archaeology
Fabulous New Discoveries Inside the Temple of Ninurta in Nimrud: Two Shrines, Statue Platforms with Cuneiform Inscriptions, a Kudurru and Other Artifacts
As part of efforts to preserve cultural heritage, recent archaeological work in Nimrud, Iraq, led by the Penn Museum in collaboration with Iraqi archaeologists, has brought to light fascinating discoveries that enrich our understanding of the ancient Assyrian Empire. This research, part of the Penn Nimrud Project, falls under the University of Pennsylvania’s Iraq Heritage […]
Posted inBronze Age Archaeology
Structures Found in Iraq Reveal the Deliberate Collapse of One of the First Centralized Governments Over 5,000 Years Ago
At the archaeological site of Shakhi Kora, located in the Iraqi Kurdistan region, excavations have provided new insights into the origin and evolution of the earliest state institutions, dated to the fourth millennium BCE. An international team led by Professor Claudia Glatz from the University of Glasgow has uncovered structures and objects that reveal both […]
Posted inMedieval Archaeology
The Site of the Battle of al-Qadisiyyah, which in 637 CE Pitted the Arabs against the Sassanian Empire and Was Key in the Expansion of Islam, Has Been Discovered
A team of archaeologists led by Dr. William Deadman from the Department of Archaeology at Durham University has successfully pinpointed the site of the historic Battle of al-Qadisiyyah. This battle, which took place between 637 and 638 CE, is known as a key confrontation in the expansion of Islam beyond the Arabian Peninsula, culminating in […]
Posted inAntiquity
The Mesopotamian Stele Showing the First Phalanx Formation in History
When we talk about a phalanx in a military context, we automatically think of Alexander the Great’s Macedonian army, with its compact formation of armored infantrymen armed with long sarissas. These were arranged in 64 squares or syntagmas, 16 men across (each in a one-square-meter space) by as many in depth, forming a total of […]
Posted inMiddle Ages
The Zanj Rebellion, when slaves and Bedouins rose against the Abbasid Caliphate
In the year 869 AD, the Great Heathen Army of Danish Viking Ivar the Boneless was conquering the English kingdom of East Anglia, an earthquake followed by a tsunami ravaged the northwest of Japan, Stela 11 was erected in Tikal, and the Byzantine fleet under Emperor Basil I was struggling to expel the Muslims from […]
Posted inArchaeology
Buildings, Cuneiform Tablets, Cylinder Seals, and More Than 400 Archaeological Artifacts Unearthed in Ancient Babylon
In a significant advancement for archaeology in Iraq, an excavation expedition in the historic province of Babylon has uncovered a total of 478 archaeological artifacts, marking a milestone in the study of ancient civilizations that thrived in the region. The mission, led by archaeologist Quhtan Abbas Hassan Aboud, has revealed findings that offer new perspectives […]
Posted inStone Age Archaeology
The Zagros Mountains were the place where Neanderthals and modern humans interbred
An international team of researchers has used innovative ecological modeling techniques to identify, for the first time, the possible geographical areas where Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans might have encountered and interbred tens of thousands of years ago. The study, recently published in the journal Scientific Reports, highlights the crucial role played by certain geographical […]
Posted inStone Age Archaeology
Archaeological Discoveries in Northern Iraq Evidence the Rise of Private Property and the First City-States
Since 2015, a team of researchers from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) has been carrying out an ambitious international archaeological research project in the historic region of Northern Mesopotamia, currently known as Iraqi Kurdistan. This area, which has been closed to international archaeological research due to complex geopolitical situations, has recently opened, allowing the […]
